Free Fallin'

When your dad is a youth pastor, you can make a game out of any part of the house!

Snow Day in Wilmington!

So Hope got her first taste (literally) of snow here in Wilmington! What a fun way to wake up - a baby blizzard and a blanket of snow covering the whole neighborhood. We went outside to frolic for about 20 minutes, but then Hope complained about the cold. Let's face it: she's a beach girl whose greatest desire is to get back into her spring dresses!

Christmas Play

Each year we have a children's Christmas play at church; this year it was called Christmas Around the World . . . so the idea was to dress up as a child from any other country. At first Hope wanted to dress up like a Chinese girl (imagine that); then she decided she wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz:

"Mommy, what country is Dorothy from?"

"She's from Kansas. That's in America."

"Can I dress up like Dorothy?"

"No."

In the end she decided to go with being plain old Mary. Of course her good friend, Jack, made a dashing Joseph by her side. Love these kids!

Little Architect

Dinner tonight = 1 candy cane, 13 M&Ms, 2 mints, 2 bites of cheese pizza, more M&Ms when Mom wasn't looking, Skittles (lost count), 8 oz of icing, a handful of red sugar . . . that's gotta be good for her stomach!

We enjoyed another wonderful gingerbread house decorating party this year with our FCC friends. Love those kids!

Tis the Season . . .

. . . for fudge, opening presents with Laney,The Nutcracker and more! We have enjoyed our little traditions here in the Heinrichs home over the past 2 weeks. Hope saw her first performance of the Nutcracker in Myrtle Beach. She was enthralled! I had no idea she could sit still for 2 hours like that. :) On the way home she said, "Mommy, I hope the Sugar Plum Fairy comes into my dreams tonight."

She has her father's sweet tooth; you can see the two of them licking the fudge pot with a little too much joy! Hope got to make it with Mommy this year just like a big girl: stirring the hot pot and all. I love this time of year!

The Clothing Wars of 2008

Now that it is near 30 degrees outside, what is a four year-old to wear? Meet Hope, now part-time host of our own What Not To Wear TV show. Here's an excerpt from a day in the life of me: one very tired mother!

Mommy: "Hope, it's cold outside now. You can't wear your sundress to school during the winter."

Hope: "Why not?"

Mommy: "Because it's cold outside."

Hope: "Weeeelllll, can I wear my purple sundress?"

Mommy (clearly forgetting that purple makes all the difference in temperature): "No, Hope. No sundresses in the winter. Why don't you wear your new jeans?"

Hope: "I don't like jeans."

Mommy: "Why not?"

Hope: "They just don't look pretty."

Mommy: "But Mommy wears jeans. Don't you like my jeans?"

Hope: "No. They don't look pretty."

Mommy (forcing a smile): "How about your skort, tights and this turtle neck?"

Hope: "I don't like turtle necks."

Mommy (looking at the 3 new turtle necks I just bought her): "Why not?"

Hope: "They just bother me."

Mommy (big sigh): "OK, how about this sweater and long-sleeve shirt."

Hope: "Can I wear a short-sleeve shirt?"

Mommy (clenching my teeth): "No. Remember? It's winter."

Hope: "How long is it going to be winter?"

Mommy: "Until March."

Hope: "March is so long away! Do I have to wear a jacket?"

Mommy: "Yes."

Hope (tears rolling now): "Why do I have to wear a jacket?"

Mommy (are we even in the same room together?!): "Because it's cold outside."

Hope (more tears): "Can I take it off at school?"

Mommy: "Yes. Now let's finish getting dressed because so far you are still naked and school starts in 3 minutes."

Hope: "Can I wear my polka dot dress?"

Mommy: "No, that's a summer dress."

Hope: "I don't know what to wear."

Mommy (clearly you know what NOT to wear): "OK, how about choosing between this outfit or that one?"

Hope (squeezing out a fresh round of tears): "I don't like any of those."

Mommy (breathe in, breathe out): "OK, I'll pick the skort and tights and you choose the top."

Hope: "I don't want to go to school anymore."

Mommy (waving the white flag): "Fine. I'm going back to bed!"

Hope: "Can I climb in your bed too?"

Mommy: "Sure."

Hope: "Can I wear my sundress to bed?"

Note that what you see Hope wearing in these photos is strictly for giggly dress up. When she actually goes to bed, she inisists on sleeping in her birthday suit - covers kicked off, heater turned off.

Halloween

Hope decided she wanted to be a "butterfly princess" this year. Not sure what that really means, but we scrounged around through the dress up bin and pulled together a warm costume for what ended up being a pretty chilly night. She also got to have her pick of face paint; naturally the more tacky the better . . .