Our Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. We actually had 3 different Christmases - Chris' family on Christmas Eve morning, our family on Christmas Day morning and my family on Christmas Day afternoon.

On Christmas Eve morning, we had Chris' family over for breakfast and to open presents. I made this Mixed Berry French Toast casserole, it was yummy! Then we opened presents, which was a little crazy with 4 kids and 7 adults! Then we all headed downstairs to play Chris' sister's new Wii. Brayden and Logan even enjoyed playing. I only got a few pictures from this day becuase we were all having so much fun together! Christmas morning we stayed home and had our Christmas as our family. This is the first year I can remember having Christmas morning for ourselves, at least since we have had kids! It was very relaxing and enjoyable, I hope we can set aside that time every year!! We opened presents and then Chris and the boys put together Lego's and played while I made breakfast. We just had a lazy morning, we weren't all even dressed until close to lunchtime. After Preston's nap we headed over to my parent's house to open presents and eat dinner. It isn't very often that me and my family and all my sisters and their boyfriends/husbands can get together, so it was good to see them all again. My mom made a turkey, kind of like another Thanksgiving dinner - it was good! Then we all just hung out and played games.
We were all exhausted by the end of Christmas day, but we had a good time visiting with family and being together to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

All because two people fell in love

Tonight, nine years ago, Chris and I got engaged! I was so excited that he was proposing, I don't think I even let him talk that much, I just kept interrupting him because I was so excited! (Sorry, sweetie)

"Then"

We were both only 19 years old at the time, so young and in love! I don't think I could've imagined how different and wonderful my life would be nine years from that night! I love this man so much -- he truly is my best friend!

"Now"

Well, that pretty much sums it up!

This audio clip is from the children's Christmas play at our church last week. Logan is the first speaker and Brayden is the second, but the girl at the end has the best line! So true, makes me tear up every time!

It Can't Really be Christmas (Thanks, dad, for making this audio clip!)

I hope everyone has a Merry CHRISTmas!

Bandaiditis

We have a really bad case of some kind of rare disease at our house. Apparently it is contagious and is starting to infect even the youngest of our family. Adults seem to be immune as Chris and I haven't had any symptoms yet. Here are the symptoms, in case you need to diagnose this in your own house:

• imaginary or invisible "owies" appearing anywhere on the body (although sometimes a small scratch or red mark may be seen on the skin)
• a strong, sudden desire to have a bandaid on said "owie"
• relief should be felt as soon as bandaid is placed on body
• within an hour or two, "owie" is feeling good enough that bandaid can be removed
• another "owie" will soon reappear and process will be repeated

Even Preston is starting to notice how fun bandaids can be, although he hasn't actually asked for one yet. Good thing I can get 40 count boxes of bandaids at the dollar store -- makes me feel better about wasting several a day!!

Christmas play

Brayden and Logan were in the children's Christmas play at church on Sunday. Preston was too young to be in it, but maybe next year. It was so cute -- I just love watching children's programs because they aren't perfect and the kids really make it their own, just by being kids and doing what kids do.

Logan was a shepherd.

Brayden was a wise man. I thought his costume was very cool!

They both had speaking parts that they memorized and delivered well! Logan had a little wardrobe malfunction at one point (his tunic came untied and his head wrap fell down over his eyes), but he just got it fixed quickly and quietly and kept going. We are very proud of our two little boys who did so well learning the music and their lines and who put on a great performance!

One silly monkey, falling off the bed

We had a dramtic bedtime on Saturday. I had just put Brayden and Logan to bed and was in the kitchen making dinner for myself when all of the sudden I heard a loud "THUD" and then crying. I came into the boys' room to find Logan on the floor and Brayden just coming out to get me. Apparently they had been talking and playing and Logan had been leaning too far over on the top bunk and fell off. At first I just hugged him and put him back to bed, but then I realized he was bleeding all over the place. I took him into the bathroom to find that he had bit the inside of his lower lip pretty badly and also got a rug burn on his nose and upper lip. Poor guy. I had him swish some water around in his mouth and gave him some ibuprofen and ice. The ice really seemed to help, he stopped crying when that was on there. This picture was taken the next morning, you can kind of see that his lip was fat and under his nose, it was red.

At first, I think Brayden was afraid I would be mad at him as he kept saying "it wasn't my fault". I just told him that it was no one's fault and it was just an accident. Then about five minutes later he said "mom, it actually was my fault. I started playing with Logan and he leaned too far over to see me and then fell". I told him he shouldn't be playing, but it still wasn't his fault, just an accident. I told him I wasn't mad at him, just happy that Logan was not seriously hurt. Brayden really wanted to do something to make Logan feel better, so he climbed up in his bed with him and rubbed his back while I was looking at Logan's lip and trying to comfort him. Then Brayden suggested that he could sleep up on the top bunk with Logan, but I said if they wanted to sleep together, they'd have to sleep on Brayden's bottom bunk or on the floor with their sleeping bags (I didn't want someone to fall out of the bed again!). Logan chose the floor and they both slept there all night.

It was so sweet that Brayden was really concerned and wanted to help his brother. Sometimes it seems they just fight all day, but when stuff like this happens, I know they do have a deep, brotherly bond!

Cheap therapy

It's been almost two months that I've been at this blogging thing now and I must say that I really like it! It's nice to have a way to communicate and stay in touch with friends and relatives out of town without having to send out mass emails (or a ton of individual emails)!

But I have another reason that I love it.....it has been really good for me to get my thoughts out, even if they are kind of random and unorganized. It was actually my husband who pointed out to me that it was probably therapeutic for me to write about things. I had never thought about it that way, but it is totally true. Being a stay at home mom is wonderful, but there is a little downside of not having any way to really express myself to other adults on a regular basis. And this year I have been even more uninvolved with friends and other things than I used to do with other moms for various reasons. I used to HAVE to talk to someone on the phone or in person at least once a day or I'd just be going crazy by the time Chris walked in the door at night and I would talk his poor ear off!!

Sometimes I worry that my blog posts are kind of boring or unimportant, well......oh well, this blog is my journal....a peek into my everyday life, crazy and awesome as it is! This blog is just as much (if not more) for me than for all my readers and sometimes just getting my thoughts, ideas and feelings out of my head on to "paper" helps me to refocus and go about my day a little calmer!

So, to all my readers out there, thank you for coming and "listening" to me when I just need some adult conversation!!

C is for Cookie

I spent the majority of this weekend in the kitchen making batches and batches of cookies! It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed the time I got to spend with my mom and with the boys.

Friday night and Saturday morning I made pebernoder with my mom at her house. Pebernoder is a danish cookie that has been in my mom's family for generations. They taste kind of like a sugar cookie, but they are in little, 1/2 inch square pieces. I really enjoyed making those with her, although it is a very long process. Brayden and Logan were very good helpers -- they helped mix the dough and roll it out into snakes.

I also made roll-out sugar cookies this weekend. I made all the dough on Saturday and then let it sit in the refrigerator till Sunday, when Brayden and Logan helped me cut them out and decorate them. I think Preston had the best job though.

I am officially sick of making cookies, I probably won't be making any more for a very long time! We will be giving most of them away as gifts, but we probably have 2 dozen left over for us. I guess we'll be eating cookies for awhile, but I don't mind, that is one of the yummiest things about Christmas!

Spinning and running

One day last week, it was really cold and snowing out and we had been cooped up inside most of the morning. We all had a bit of cabin fever and the boys had a lot of pent-up energy that had mostly been put into pushing each other's buttons. However, I came into the kitchen to find them all playing nicely and having fun (my niece Madison even got in on the action a little). I'm not sure what they were doing, but it's cute to watch them just run around enjoying themselves!! An added bonus was that they got some of their energy out!!

If you can't see the video, you can try to view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52G5DwJ-sXY

Mama's little boy

Lately Preston has been such a mama's boy. When he is upset, tired, sick, etc, I am the only one he wants to hold him or try and calm him down. I feel bad for Chris because sometimes he is really trying hard to soothe or play with Preston and Preston just isn't having any of it. I know that Preston loves his daddy, but it is still probably hard for Chris when Preston just pushes him away. I try to not get too frustrated and just be happy that he knows he can come to me for lots of love and cuddles, but at times it is hard when he is fussy and I really need a break. Good thing for him he's pretty cute and hard to resist (**wink**).Well anyway, last night Chris had a basketball game and he wasn't home when I was putting the boys to bed. After his bath, I was getting Preston ready for bed - putting on his pajamas and brushing his hair, etc. and I was talking to him about how we were going to read a book, cuddle with his blanket and then go to bed. I asked him what book he wanted to read when all the of the sudden he looked at me and said "dada, vroom, vroom" and pointed to his truck book. The night before, Chris had put Preston to bed and apparently Preston was upset that his daddy wasn't home to do it again. When I sent him to go get his book, he instead ran out to the living room and looked out the window for daddy. I told him that daddy wasn't home and that I could read his truck book, but I guess I don't make very good sounds for trucks because Preston just picked a Sesame Street book for me to read! (It kind of looks like Preston is crying in this picture, but he is actually giggling really hard!)

I am glad that the boys have a great father who shows interest in them and takes an active role in their upbringing. Too often, sadly, that is not the case. I know Preston will learn in time that mommy and daddy are equally as loving and fun, just in different ways. For now, I am glad that they have his bedtime routine for some one-on-one bonding time!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We got our Christmas tree out and decorated the house for Christmas this week. I always look forward to when it gets close enough to Christmas that we can do this. We put up our tree on Thursday and decorated on Friday. Chris even got out and put the lights up on the house, which made me so happy because now our house is all Christmas-y from the outside too!

Thanks sweetie!

The boys were really excited this year to help me get out our Christmas decorations. They watched with anticipation as I opened each Christmas box and pulled out different things that have been packed away for almost a year now. I showed them some of the Christmas crafts they had made in years past and pictures of them at their first Christmas. Then we got to the ornament box and they were really good helpers with putting the ornaments on the tree. They did good at spacing them out and not just clumping them all in one place.

We buy a new ornament for each boy every year - something that represents what they liked or what they were into that year. The boys have fun looking back at their ornaments from past years and remembering when they liked those things. Because of that, our tree isn't totally decked out in all these beautiful, Christmas-themed ornaments. We have some Sesame Street, dinosaurs, trucks, cars, etc. But I think that gives our tree some character and it tells our family story in a different, neat way!!

"Ta-Da"

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for.....

• Jesus, who loves me no matter what I do.
• Chris, my best friend and the person I most love to spend time with.
• Brayden, Logan and Preston, who make me smile. I love watching them grow.
• Our house, it is the perfect size for our family.
• The fact that we have both sides of our family close by so the boys can grow up and know their grandparents really well.
• Free babysitting because of #5.
• Our church and the ministry opportunities available to us.
• The jobs I have that allow me to stay home and work around the boys' schedules.
• The fact that I get to be a stay-at-home mom.
• My sisters, I love our monthly get-togethers.

Bye, bye naps

So what's the best way to get your kid to take a nap, you ask? Tell them they are big now and they don't have to take naps anymore! At least that's what happened for us.

For a few weeks now, every time we would put Logan in his bed for a nap, he would just play and not even rest. Eventually I would just give up and let him come downstairs with Brayden and they would watch a movie or play. And on the days he did end up falling asleep, he would be so rested he wouldn't go to bed at night very easily and was up way past when we put him to bed. So this weekend, Chris and I decided to just give up the nap for Logan. I have to say, I think it was a lot easier this time since Brayden is already not napping and I already don't have that break in the middle of the day anymore. Yesterday, after lunch I was up in the kitchen and I came down to find this:

I guess just not having the pressure of being forced to take a nap was all it took. Chris was watching the Broncos game and Logan asked if he could cuddle with him. Five minutes later, he was out and slept for a good hour and a half probably. Hmmmm, we might be onto something with this, I wonder what else we can us this strategy with?!?

Writer's block

I have wanted to post something for a few days now, but I can't think of anything interesting or fun to write about. I don't want to lose my loyal readers, all 1-2 of them!!

This has been a long week for our family. Chris had late basketball practice all week, which meant he wasn't home till after the boys were in bed. That meant long days for both of us, me because I was with the boys all day without a break and him, because he had school and then a long practice without eating anything since lunch and being tired.

I feel like I didn't really do anything fun with the boys, it was just a boring week at home doing normal things. We did go swimming on Monday, which was fun, and the library on Tuesday, but then the rest of the week, we just spent at home. And even the things we did get out and do were not as much fun as they could've been because the boys weren't behaving or I was upset about something and we had a lot of "talks" about good behavior and didn't get to just enjoy it. I think we were suffering from a little cabin fever and getting on each other's nerves. I am glad next week is Thanksgiving. Mainly because Chris and Brayden have 3 days off and we will have a little time as a family, but also because it will force me to take a day and reflect on all the things I have to be thankful for!

Like this man and these boys, just to name a few......

The faith of a child

This morning at breakfast, Brayden asked me "so how did everything get created if Jesus wasn't alive yet?". I explained to him that Jesus was God before he was born as a baby, so he created everything. Then he asked "but who created Jesus if there was no one there before him?" WOW!! How do I explain eternity and a God who has no beginning and no end to a 5-year-old? I said a quick prayer for wisdom and clarity and then told Brayden that Jesus and God are the same person and that they have been around forever, no one created them, they were just there. Fortunately that seemed to pacify his curiosity for now. I am very glad, however, that Brayden has a desire to learn more about God and asks these tough questions. It is so neat to see him have so much faith in something that he doesn't know that much about, but believes with all his heart.

Am I all done growing up?

This is a question I hear every few days at least. For some reason, Logan seems worried that he won't get bigger or won't grow up, or else he's just really anxious to be big! Last night, this was our conversation:

Logan: "I've been Logan for a long time now, I think it's time I had a turn being Brayden."
Me: "Your name is Logan, you will always be Logan."
Logan: "But if I'm always Logan, I will never be bigger."
Brayden: "You will always be Logan, but you can pretend to be Brayden if you want."

Maybe it has something to do with being the middle child and not ever getting to be the oldest or do things before anyone else. I wouldn't really know about that or understand being that I'm the oldest too, but I think I need to be more sensitive to that and try and make him feel special at the age he is at now.

He is really looking forward to ages 4 and 5 right now. When he is 4 he gets to go golfing with Brayden and Chris, something they did this summer that Logan wasn't old enough for yet. When he is 5, we get to go to the family reunion again and he gets to start kindergarten, something he has been looking forward to since this summer. Maybe I need to be better about creating memories for him now while he's 3 instead of making him wait till he's older to do the things he really wants? Either way, he is such a sweet boy who is really growing up too fast for my liking! I can't believe he is already 3-1/2!

Finally!

Today we got our first snow of the season. It seems really late to me, but better late than never, I guess. I was starting to wonder if we'd just go from fall to spring around here! It has been in the 50's and 60's most days with no hint of precipitation for weeks. It isn't that I really just love snow, I just like the changing of the seasons and summer/fall was getting a little long. The boys were super excited to see it snowing this morning. They wanted to get right out and make snowballs, but I told them they'd have to wait for it to accumulate a little bit. It snowed lightly for about 3-4 hours this morning, but really only dusted the grass. After we got home from picking up Brayden from kindergarten, I let the boys go out and run around in what little snow was left. It was already warm enough that they didn't need to wear coats or anything. They had fun, but I think they were disappointed that it was already mostly gone. I am sure after a few snowstorms I'll be ready for spring and warmer temperatures again, but for now, bring on the snow!!

Pinewood Derby

This year, the AWANA group at our church did a Pinewood Derby. Brayden wanted to make a car that looked like Lightning McQueen. Chris came up with the design and Brayden helped Chris saw, sand and paint his car. This is the final result:So Saturday morning, we all went to the church for a breakfast and to watch all the cars race. Logan didn't get to make a car as it was only for the kids who are in kindergarten or older, but he was really supportive of Brayden and sat and watched all morning without complaining
I think it is ironic how both the boys wore their Lightning sweatshirts, kind of like they were on Team Lightning. Maybe they thought about that when they got dressed, I didn't even notice till I looked at the pictures.

It was a double elimination type of bracket and Brayden won his first set of races, but then lost the next two. He was such a good sport though. He had fun just being there and watching all the kids race. That's right, he won 1st place in design (they spelled his name wrong, oh well)! All the winners got a gift card to McDonalds, so of course, we took the boys there that night to celebrate. Brayden has already been asking when the next race will be -- it is hard to explain how long a year is to him, but he does get that it will not be for awhile!

7 on the 7th

I found this online and thought it was cute. Here's a little about me you may or may not know. Happy Friday!

7 Things I Did Before
Worked for the government
Cuddled with our cats
Slept in
Drove an Impala
Dreamed of being a mom
Cleaned whole house once a week
Lived in an apartment

7 Things I Do Now
Stay at home
Read lots of books with the boys
Work as a medical transcriptionist and church bookkeeper
Rub the boys' tummies and sing to them before bed
Drive a minivan
Babysit my niece
Director for Cubbies at our church's AWANA

7 Things I Want To Do
Go on a second honeymoon
Lose 10-15 pounds
Catch up on sleep
Get my Christmas shopping done early
Get a piano
Make more time to just play with the boys
Redo our kitchen (not going to happen anytime soon, but I can dream, right?)

7 Favorite Foods
Chocolate
Spaghetti
Fondue
Cheesy bread
Tacos
Turkey sandwiches
Ice cream

7 Things I Say Most Often
Lord, give me patience!
Put your shoes on
Are you hungry?
Choo-choo (Preston is really into trains right now)
You can ask for that for Christmas
Don't hit (tease, chase, push, etc) your brother
I love you!

Lightning did the trick

Logan has been potty trained for about 7 months now, but he still wore a pull-up at night. Most of the time he would keep it dry, but there were always one or two nights a week where it would be wet when he woke up. I kind of thought that it was just because he was being lazy about it and not really that he couldn't have made it to the bathroom. Plus, those pull-ups aren't cheap and I was sick of buying them! So.....we bought him a new Lightning McQueen car (one with cactus on it) but left it in the package and hung it up on a cabinet in the kitchen. We made him keep his pull-up dry for seven days in a row before he could have it. He did it without any problems at all, confirming that he really was ready, just needed some motivation! So, on Sunday he got his Lightning car, which he was thrilled about. We told him if he didn't keep staying dry at night though, we were going to take it away, but so far so good!

PRAY!!!

'Cuz silence never speaks, so God gave you a voice
(Jonah 33, "Silence Never Speaks")

The most important thing you can do today is pray, for our country, for our leaders and for God's will to be done in this election. And if you haven't already, get out and vote -- God works through His people to bring about His will.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (King James Version)

Boys and dirt

There are a few things about little boys I just don't understand....the desire to play in the dirt and to get all dirty is one of them. We have a huge sandbox in our backyard, but Brayden just had to play in the dirt by the tree instead. I asked him why he didn't want to play in the sandbox instead of the dirt and he said, "mom, big machines don't dig in sand, they dig in dirt and get really dirty!". Silly me!

Funny faces

The funny thing is, they were really trying to smile normal for a posed picture! These are a lot more cute, I think!

I love boys!

I have so many people ask me (even strangers at the store) if I am upset that I have all boys, or if I am going to try again for a girl. I really don't know how to respond to them without going into a lot of detail or being rude. Usually I just try and say that I am so happy with my three sons and I would actually prefer to have another boy if we had more kids, but sometimes I just rudely say "no" and keep walking. It really bothers me when people assume that having sons is a bad thing or that not having a daughter would make any mother sad. I treasure the three, healthy boys that God has given me, and obviously God thinks I must be a good "boy mom" because that is what he has chosen to give me. I thank God every day for the 3 precious gifts that he has given to us!

Children Are A Gift From God
by Sandra Tolson

God sent me three packages

That needed special care

"Take care of these tiny gifts

For they are very rare."

"Watch over them with all your love

And let them feel your touch

Take care of their every need

For you are needed very much."

"These gifts will grow up very fast

As you soon will see

Love them with all your heart

And let them be what they will be."

"When these gifts have fully grown

Look at Heaven up above

Know they exist because of God

And all his precious love."

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:3-5 (New International Version)

Boo at the Zoo and a carnival

We got to have some really fun family time this weekend doing a couple of different Halloween things. First we went to Boo at the Zoo in the morning. The boys love any excuse to put on their costumes and get lots of candy. Brayden dressed up as Buzz Lightyear, Logan as Bob the Builder and Preston as Tigger. They weren't as interested in looking at the animals as they usually are, but we did get to see some of the animals close up and being more active as usual, which was neat.

Preston got tired towards the end of the zoo and ended up falling asleep.

After the zoo, we came home for a quick lunch and then went to a carnival at a church close to our house. The boys got to play little games and jump in the bouncy castle. Brayden even won some yummy cupcakes in the cake walk!

After the carnival, we came home and crashed, all except Brayden -- I don't know where he gets all his energy from. The boys had a great time and it was nice to do something as a family that was out of the ordinary!