Happy New Year!!

We rung in the new year by celebrating this girl's birthday- she's THREE!

Three years of adventure...

and shoes (remember her first word was "shoes"? She's still very opinionated about her shoe selections)....

and nail polish and makeup (she loves all things girly and organizes my makeup drawer daily.  She secretly painted her nails once on her own, too...that didn't end well)....

and playdates....

and snuggles and books, books, books.....

and coffee dates....

and friends...

For her birthday breakfast, she chose chocolate chex and blueberry muffins with chocolate milk:

 And tacos for dinner...only when we got there she ordered a cheeseburger....LOL

The kids made her a cake for dessert:

 And she got some new beds for her babies!

Rewind a few weeks to Christmas! We were blessed with lots of family time.

We spent Christmas day at home, and there were a few surprises in store.  We continued our tradition of taking the kids shopping for each other.  They get to secretly choose a gift for each member of the family, wrap it, and place it under the tree.  We opened them on Christmas Eve.  They are always so proud of their selections- and it's an absolute hoot to see all the things they pick out.

Among the favorites were...

a squishy brain 

an actual toboggan...(I'm sure you can guess how this ended)

Tessa got a new supply of stickers, I'm stocked up on lipstick and scarves, and they've all been having fun with the magic kit ;)

HO HO HO!

Christmas Eve!

Christmas morning at home, just the 6 of us. 

We gave them a series of clues so they could guess the big surprise! 

The last clue was a puzzle they had to put together upside down....turned it over....and revealed that we are taking a trip to DISNEY!!!

Dan and I got all dressed up for the Crema Christmas party.  Had to leave early because of a kid throwing up....but it was fun while it lasted! 

We spent the weekend before Christmas in Emporia!

This girl loves her babies!

The perfect shirt for Ellie! 

The girls created a "Fashion Shop", and we all scheduled appointments. 

We spent some time in Wichita after Christmas to celebrate Christmas and ALL the birthdays!

We continued our tradition of walking the Journey to Judea with the Largens...a sweet time together as we prepared for Christmas: 

In November, we had another birthday boy in the house! 

 We celebrated with friends at Ernie Miller Nature Center, one of our favorite places.

Will's teacher knows him well ;)  He ALWAYS has something interesting to say!

 Gosh, I just LOVE this kid- he's so fun and funny and cool and I just can't get enough of him!

Another big milestone in the Linhart house: we finally said good-bye to our trusty glider.  I've had this chair since before Caleb was born! This piece of furniture holds so many memories for us.  I sat in it when I was pregnant with Caleb, rocking in my quiet clean house, while Dan put together our first crib, dreaming about what it would be like to be a mom.  I sat it it all hours of the night, feeding, rocking, praying, soothing, crying, dozing off, and dreaming about what it would be like to get sleep again.  I rocked sick babies and big kids, waiting for the medicine to kick in and for the fevers to drop.  I read to each of them, every single night, while holding them in this chair.  Every night for 10 years.  As the kids grew, it traveled from room to room, and from house to house.  It holds some of my sweetest and most tender memories. 

10 years of my life, and so many hours spent sitting in this exact spot, in this chair, with my babies. So needless to say, I was a bit sentimental when it finally left our house. 

I made Caleb take some pictures in it before I let it go....as you can tell he is thrilled :)

That same week, I upgraded all of the hangers in his closet to adult sized hangers- his big kid clothes were falling off of the child-sized ones....for some reason this was a big deal, too.  All the feels. 

OK, what else has happened? Halloween:

Dan and I had a little costume fun of our own at the Gatsby Swing Party at Union Station!

A little KU football fun with our family! It was fun to be back on campus again. 

Thomas Rhett concert + shenanigans with my mom and brothers in Wichita: 

Ellie.Belle Sweets & Treats is going strong! 

We had an open house in December for all of our friends and customers who have supported our business this past year! We will celebrate our one year anniversary in March. 

 Two of Ellie's besties helped hostess the party, and they couldn't have been cuter!! 

And their moms are pretty awesome too! 

 

She recruited some other helpers:

 Brand new business cards! 

Just another typical day...I found this one sleeping in her doorway, after an "I'm not tired" meltdown. And then I pulled a light saber out of the washing machine....

The kids are in love with grandpa and grandma's new puppy, Jasper:

That's all I can think of for now. 
I'll end with a little story:

After a little trip to the gym, Tessa and I headed out to the parking lot.  We approached our van, and I was pressing the key fob buttons, but the magical open-by-yourself doors weren't working.  Hmm.  So I tried the unlock button...still nothing.  I started to get annoyed- I JUST had the battery replaced in this key fob.  Then I remembered there is a hidden key inside.  I finally figured out how to get it loose, but to my surprise, it didn't even fit in the key hole.  GREAT.  A faulty key.  How do they expect people to get into their vehicles if the key fob battery dies??? Why don't engineers think of these things?  I called Dan and explained that our key fob was broken and Tessa and I needed rescued ASAP.  He left his work and headed our way.  As I waited, I continued trying to jam it in and repeatedly tried to forcefully open the door (like that would work...).  All of the sudden, the lock popped up...MIRACLE.  I thought, "Wow, that was a delayed response...maybe the battery is super low".  At the same time this was all happening, a mom and her son headed towards for us.....and proceeded to give my a funny look....and then got in the van....THEIR.VAN.   The one that looks exactly like OUR van.   So I slinked away with my head down, towards my own van at the other side of the parking lot.  It unlocked with no trouble at all.  And it's been working great ever since...

So here's to 2018! I hope it is year full of love and laughter and new adventures. 

My word for the year: Simplify.

Simplify: 

Freedom from complexity and division.  Saying yes to what matters, and letting go of the rest. Unplugging and decluttering.  Practicing presence.  Creating space. Chasing slow. Pursuing margin.  Starting each day with a grateful heart.

CHEERS!