Well the rental was a success. Ken picked it up before lunch on Saturday and we went from there. The luxury of being able to GO OUT with EVERYONE… now if it was more affordable, cars are not bad… vans another story.

Saturday was our friends Christmas party. We had a few who could not make it, then on top of that Kristen was ill the night before (hope she is MUCH better now!) and then Karyn ended up catching something as well (so not fair!). But we had a nice group over. Sean and Ted came over Friday night and stuck around for the weekend… Nathan, Ada and Anna came over and the entire den Otter family.

We had a potluck dinner topped off with our traditional chocolate candy cane cake…

and then PRESENTS! The kids were so excited, it was a bit of chaos but in the end they all were happy.Anna and Echo slept through the excitement but received some lovely gifts.

I got spoiled with the entire Narnia BBC movie series from Sean and a tripod from Ted! Ken got two Highlander movies. Sadly Trinity ended the evening wheezy and ill so had to stay up so we could monitor her breathing and even then slept in the bed with Ken, Echo and myself. Today she was better but after our out and about time we stopped at Superstore to pick up some Jack&Jill cough syrup.

Today was a special Sunday at our church – the children had their Christmas program. All 3 of the boys were involved… Emanuel’s class were the animals – he was specifically the donkey.

The twins’ were in the class where the girls were angels and the boys shepherds (you know when I was little everyone – boy or girl – in a class was an angel…).

We were all able to go of course (duh rental), and had to be there 30 min before the service to get the boys dressed and ready to go. BUT mom and Mike also came! Which meant that during service I had an Echo holder or Trinity minder. Trinity was very impressed and Echo even sat with my mom for a while.

We got tons of compliments on both of our little girls, though a couple people guessed Echo to be a newborn or close to. It was so wonderful to be out and TOGETHER. Both Ken and myself are proud of our not so little family.

After church, saying good bye to Grandma and Mike, and drying Emanuel’s tears (he HATES it when they leave) we stopped off at McDonalds for apple slices and then continued on to our next big destination – the conservatory and their Christmas drop in program. Much busier than our usual week day visit.

There was a sheet to fill out and find answers to to enter into a draw. The kids had a blast looking for signs and Christmas imagery.

There was a room full of music for them to try our – Sounds of Snow.

And a room just for craft activities (and face painting but we skipped that… the kids have NEVER wanted to face paint and Trinity’s skin is so sensitive I try to avoid unusual things on her face). First off we did the snow globes.

Then snowflakes and cards. Gavin spent the MOST time doing his, with his very own helper lady. He is definitely my artistic boy!

After the conservatory we headed back home, with a quick stop off at Superstore of course… Since Ken and I were up SUPER late with a sick Trinity the night before pretty much the whole family was done in. Though surprisingly Echo slept through the conservatory! Of course she was up most of our party (except when Sean held her!).

Back home to Sean and Ted and hanging out and relaxing. It is so nice to have company over when the weather is so snowy and chilly. Though we are STILL attempting to get our hands on snowpants for the twins. Hopefully after Ken gets paid this week we can spend more than was budgeted and get some. For some reason their size has been SUPER scarce!!! So tomorrow I am double lining their pants and kicking them out to have fun!

OH my mom also brought me the next size up Sprinkles diapers for Echo. I had her pick them up for me as I was unsure as to whether or not we would make it to the store when we visit mom on Christmas Eve. They are HUGE compared to the newborns… and compared  to our Echo. (Who is taller and has had substantial head growth thank you very much… she just likes being slender, like her parents and the rest of the family) I still owe her some money for them but I am glad to have them here and ready!

Out of the 5 kids, Trinity and Emanuel still are really running at the nose, the twins are coughing occasionally but I think the worst has passed. We will spend the rest of the night checking in on Miss Trinity and her breathing though. And tomorrow I will post the video from the service. It takes quite some time uploading on YouTube. So check back!!

I am down to the tutu for Anna (Ken cut tulle, put it away tired and I was unable to FIND IT so had to give them an IOU on her present. I want to be done it by mid week), a cross stitch for a special couple AND some baking to do. I can’t show any pictures of the stitches I HAVE finished as they have yet to be gifted, but I look forward to sharing them when I can. Next year I am hoping to have a whole new series of stitches to share… if we can find the time around all the other back logged projects.

Ken did manage to find some ornaments for Echo – in fact he bought a box set of Kai Lan ornaments, so Trinity got two and Echo the rest. This made Miss Trinity VERY happy and it took a full day to get them ONTO the tree!

Now I am sure I missed some of the nuances of the past 3 days but all in all – great weekend… terrific company and amazing memories.