Andddddd its December. Woa.

So yeah. A month has passed and it hardly feels like we've taken a breath. I'll give you the quick and dirty review of the last 30 some odd days and promise that there will be more fun updates for the holidays.

November...right before we headed to AL to celebrate Thanksgiving with Granny & Gramps, we spent the morning talking to the Leadership Forum at Children's Hospital. We were invited to share Greta's story with the hospital fancy pants and hopefully remind them that what they do everyday changes peoples' lives. It was cool. Really cool. 3 of Greta's Drs were there and got to see her in all her glory (ie- she was not afraid of the stage- she joined us on stage at the end of the talk). I'm not sure who was more moved. Our only regret is that we didn't see more of G's nursing support staff there- but we hope that our message of thanks was shared with them too. Rest assured they are on our Christmas Card list this year.

The next day we headed down south for some relaxation. It was great to take a break from work, but life in a house with 4 kids under 4 is rarely relaxing! The two big girls- Greta & Evelyn were once again peas in a pod and had alot of fun together. We did notice an uptick in arguments centering on who got to make play decision- but that's pretty normal and no one clobbered each other so we call that a win. The dress up clothes were thoroughly enjoyed & they loved sleeping next to each other (and we loved listening into their nighttime conversation!). Amelia is walking around like she owns the place. She is bold and fearless and desperately wants to be one of the big girls. Next year little Yaya...next year. Wessy did not crawl for Granny & Gramps as we thought he might, but he hammed it up with smiles and giggles. He is the least afraid of Granny & Gramps' dog Bella. There were lots of good snuggles and fun had by all. We also snuck away for a few visits with friends and their kids...little mini reunions which were wonderful.

We are back in MN and barreling towards Christmas. We think our Christmas shopping is done and the house is decorated. We survived the 17 inches of snow that came over the weekend. So we are almost there! Greta really "gets" Christmas this year. Both the story of Jesus' birth AND the presents part. Sigh. The good with the bad. So I think our Christmas will be animated to say the least. We will document the madness, never fear!

We hope you are finding moments of peace amongst the hectic Christmas schedules that we create for ourselves. More soon from the snowy Upper Midwest!