L has been toying with the idea of getting her ears pierced for a while. When we were at Woodfield Mall today she decided to take the plunge. She held onto the store's teddy bear (which had its own ears pierced) and went ahead with it.
She teared up after the first piercing, but sat still enough for the girl to complete the job. L chose rainbow flower earrings as her starter set. What a way to end the year!
They couldn't resist buying Wicked T-shirts after last night's show. E already had one. Had to get a picture of all three in their shirts.
This morning Grandma and Aunt Cindy went with me to take L to Build-a-Bear Workshop in Oakbrook Center. L got a $40 gift card from Santa and was able to buy two animals - a purple iCarly bear and a brown bunny. She even had money left over to buy bows for each. Course, I had to pay the tax.
E went with Grandma and Aunt Cindy to see Wicked tonight. We all had dinner at Maggiano's before the show and gave them a little tour of Chicago's Christmas lights. L snuck into this photo.
It was great to the extended family again and the cousins' new house. The kids had a great time playing pool and the slot machines in the basement with the older cousins. They also enjoyed playing with Heidi, the dog. 
Tonight we went to church for the Christmas Eve candlelight service.It was a beautiful, snowy night and it's suppose to snow overnight for a very white Christmas. 
Then we came home and the kids got to open one present from us - their pajamas. L got slippers because she couldn't wait till Christmas to open her pajamas.
And L set out cookies and milk for Santa, along with a long letter she decided she needed to write him last night.
Imagine my surprise when I was at Walgreens today and saw a 40th anniversary set for $2.99. I tried to open them to make sure the cards looked the same as the set I first had. I bought them and was happy to see that, they are indeed, identical to the ones I remember. Then, unfortunately, I saw them at Target for $1 a deck.
Tonight when Andy got home from work we drove downtown Chicago for the annual Christkindlmarket. We didn't find any ornament we wanted to buy this year, but E and B each had a cup of hot chocolate and L bought a hollow chocolate Santa. And B couldn't resist a bag of fresh cotton candy.
Then we walked to Pizzeria Due for some deep-dish pizza. Yum! Because it was cold (and longer than the four-block walk he told me it would be!) Andy walked back to the parking garage by his office to get the car when we finished eating. I waited with the kids in the foyer of the restaurant. Here's my sad attempt at a group picture. Notice L playing on the handrail. Soon after this, we waited outside so they'd stop playing around. 
E was busy chopping up onions, tomatoes and cilantro this afternoon as she prepared to go to Grandma B's house and cook her dinner tonight. On the menu was Lemon Chicken Tacos, tortilla chips and salsa, and refried beans. E gathered all the ingredients and hauled everything to Grandma's house. All Grandma has to do is sit back and enjoyed a rare home-cooked meal!
E got a sweater, a shirt, a couple of books and a Pillow Pet (a penguin). B got a Yu-Gi-Oh card booster pack, a White Castle gift card, a big bag of Chex Mix (his favorite!) and a GameStop gift card. He also got a second set of Yu-Gi-Oh cards, but thought he had most of those so he wants to return that set. L got a fuzzy robe, Taylor Swift's new CD, "Speak Now," Littlest Pet Shop toys and a Pillow Pet (a unicorn). 
E also was able to bring home a quilt Grandma made out of E's too-small T-shirts. It includes all the T-shirts from her plays at Concordia University's summer camps, a MythBusters' shirt, a Pilgrim Church T-shirt and a couple of Girl Scout T-shirts. E says it's warm and toasty.
My surprise gift of the night was a Hallmark ornament that looks just like the little Fisher-Price Schoolhouse I got for Christmas when I was in first grade. The original toy is still at the farm, in decent shape, and all the parts of there, I think. Now I have a little schoolhouse for my tree. Thanks, Cindy!
We headed to Staunton this morning for the Bentrup Christmas. B was making us cold in the car, sitting there with his shirt off. Brrr. The Buick hit 7,777 miles just as we reached the farm. Our Christmas celebration is tomorrow. Tonight we celebrated nephew A's 15th birthday. Here the cousins posed for a silly picture.
He also brought home a bean plant from his science class. The teacher said the class' bean plants wouldn't survive the two weeks of winter break alone, so he asked for volunteers to take one home. B volunteered and asked me to pick him up from school because he wasn't sure the bean plant would survive the eight-block walk home in the cold. Now we get to see if he can keep it alive.
Wednesday night the kids helped me finish our Christmas baking. Their favorite part was decorating the sugar cookies. We had to let them dry overnight so Andy could deliver them to the neighbors tonight. 
He took L with him to the first house because L had a present for their dog. She dog-sits when the neighbors are out of town. Andy took the cookies, a Christmas card and a bottle of wine. Well, they opened the wine and had a little party of their own for two hours. I started to think he got abducted or lost in the snow. When they came back, L had a bagful of their daughter's clothes she had outgrown. And the best part? All the clothes were pink! They both had a good time, obviously. Needless to say, the other deliveries will have to wait for another night.
L brought home this "medal" from school today. It says, "You're the hero today." She said her special ed friend's teacher gave it to her because she's so good at helping her friend.
This morning I was over at Irving watching L in the second- and third-grade winter concert. L got to play a xylophone, which she was pretty excited about. She even got dressed up for the occasion.
Afterward, all the parents and kids celebrated with a reception outside the third-grade classrooms. Even with a table full of fruit and veggies, L grabbed a couple slices of cheese and four doughnut holes.
Here's Andy all bundled up as he was leaving for work this morning. It wasn't even 5 degrees outside. The high today is 18. Brrr.
This afternoon Andy and I ventured out into the snow to take the kids caroling with church members. We visited The British Home in Brookfield and sang the usual Christmas songs, even threw in Rudolph and Jingle Bells. Pictured above, L and her friend, J, did a little rap before one of the tunes. It was pretty funny and very unexpected. They planned it on the drive over, in J's mom's car.
Here's L with her Sunday School class lighting the Advent candle during today's church service.
L and Andy went to church this morning to help the Sunday School students bake Christmas cookies. Church members are planning on caroling tomorrow and passing out the cookies. They also made cards to deliver with the cookies.
Meanwhile, E was with the Girl Scouts at a Catholic church in Chicago wrapping gifts for underprivileged children. She said most the time was spent "rewrapping" the gifts the younger girls had done earlier. And the Hannukah wrapping paper that was donated to the Scouts was a definite no-no. The French nuns who run the mission there weren't going to accept any gifts wrapped in Hannukah paper.
E came home from her karate lesson with her new yellow belt and one stripe. She says after Christmas she wants to buy something to display her belts. We both like this cylinder holder.
Then last night L woke us up. She got sick in the night - twice. Today we decided she should stay home from school.
You know it's getting close to Christmas when there's a lot of doors open on my advent calendar house. Each day, the kids wake up and open a door. Inside each door are Hershey's Kisses or Rolos. It's a sweet way to start the day.
Today the Economy Shop hosted a volunteer holiday brunch at the Oak Park Arms. Us ladies in the "women's casuals" room grabbed a table in the back of the room and chatted the morning away. We enjoyed quiche, fruit, muffins, yogurt and cake. 
After the brunch, we continued the festivities at the Ale House with a beverage to toast the holidays. It was a fun afternoon and a great way to get to know each other better.
With temperatures in the mid-20s today, it's a good time to relax, chill and try to stay warm. After school, the kids each did their favorite thing. L went outside to play in the snow. I guess it's not too cold for her. She wants to pile snow up on our bench so it creates a sled hill. It's a project E started yesterday, but didn't have enough snow. With the flakes falling again today, L dediced to give it another try. However, she said the sled wouldn't go down it. I think we need more snow.
Meanwhile, B occupied himself by playing his new Nintendo SNES game, "MegaMan X," that arrived today in the mail. We bought it late last week off of eBay. And E went to her friend's A house to hang out as teens like to do.
