Christmas program 2011

All the boys participated in the kids choir Christmas program this year.  Preston's 4-year-old choir sang 3 songs and he was also the sheep in the nativity.  Brayden and Logan both sang 5 songs as one big 1st-6th grade choir.  They all did a good job and it was such a good reminder to focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

Travelling with Ashten

Ashten is kind of a high-maintenance car rider.  Doesn't matter if it's a quick trip to the grocery or around town to run a bunch of errands, the girl is demanding!  And not quietly either!

Before we even leave the house I have to try and think of all the things she might need and bring them.  Her milk or water (sometimes both) sippy cup, in case she's thirsty.  A baggie of some kind of snack in case she sees someone else eating and thinks she's hungry.  Her blankie in case she gets so upset that it is the only thing that will calm her down.  A baby doll in case she wants to cuddle it.  A hair bow - I'm not kidding!  There have been times we've been halfway somewhere and she has thrown a royal fit because she didn't have a bow in.  I've learned to just keep an extra one handy.

I don't know what it is, but she is never satisfied in the car.  I can't imagine a car seat is that comfortable, but it's not like she's new to one either.  She's been sitting in one since the first time she rode in the car!  I even have a stash of small toys and books I keep in the car, but she tires of those so easily and I get tired of switching them out all the time.  Half the time she sees something she wants in the front seat somewhere and I spend the next 2 miles trying to decipher what she is saying by guessing everything I can see and think of.  I can usually understand her, but the longer it takes me to figure out what she wants, the louder and more not understandable (what's the word for that - uninteligible?) she gets.

The only thing I've found that works pretty much every time is leaning my arm way back and holding her hand.  Sure, it's very uncomfortable and makes it hard to drive, but so is her crying or yelling from the backseat, so I choose the quiet!

Seriously, girl, can't you just sit still and quiet without being held for like 15 minutes?  It's not like I'm asking to ride in the car for hours on end.  Just a quick trip to Target or something.  It's not that bad, believe me!

Another tooth fairy visit

Logan won the "who will lose their 2nd tooth first?" race!  Last night he was wiggling his tooth and decided he wanted Chris to try and pull it out.  Chris got one good pull, but it didn't quite come out.  However, it was hurting pretty bad at that point, so it was uncomfortable.  For about a half hour Logan couldn't decide if he really wanted to take it out or not, but he finally let Chris pull it again and it popped right out!  Way to go Logan!



Holding his tooth in a baggie - so proud of himself!

Now he can stick his tongue out without opening his mouth, which he thinks is pretty cool.  Now all he wants needs for Christmas is his 2 front teeth!!!

Tooth Fairy Visit

Logan lost his 1st tooth last night.  He was so brave and let Chris pull it out.  He didn't even cry.  He told me later, "it hurt a little, but not so bad to have to cry".  He put his tooth in an envelope, labeled it for the tooth fairy and put it under his pillow.  The tooth fairy left him a note and $2 in it's place this morning! 

This morning, Logan wanted to take the tooth to school and show everyone, so I put it in a baggie for him.  By the way, Logan is not fooled AT ALL by the tooth fairy.  He knows it is Chris and I and he doesn't even want to pretend for fun.  Oh well! 

Now it's a race to see who can lose their 2nd tooth first, Brayden or Logan.  Both of them have another loose tooth (and a permanent tooth already coming up behind it), so my guess is one of them will lose one soon.

Ashten

I think I can officially say we no longer have a "baby" in the house.  Ashten is all toddler these days.  I can't believe how big she's getting, time is going so quickly.

Her current obsession is babies.  She loves real babies, although she thinks anyone in a stroller is a baby, which can make for some embarrassing situations when she is calling a 3-year-old in a stroller a baby.  She loves baby dolls and likes to put them to bed and read to them.  And she loves any kind of baby thing, like car seats, bottles, etc.  A little mommy in the making!

New pictures

My family was all together for Thanksgiving this year.  It's been a while and it was fun to get together again.  We got a new family picture, which I love.  Everyone is looking at the camera, is smiling and has their eyes open - it's a miracle!  Any of you with kids will totally know what I am talking about.

We also got a new sister's picture.  I think it turned out pretty good.  My sisters are beautiful!

First snow

Our first snow of the season was back in October.  Which is not that unusual, but what is unusual is that since then we haven't had any.  It's actually been pretty warm, in the upper 50's or low 60's most of the time.  When it's winter, and especially around the holidays, I want it cold and snowy.  If it wants to be 60 and sunny, then please save that for after Christmas, like in January and February.  Oh, it doesn't work like that?  Bummer!  I guess I'll just have to take the mild weather while I can then.

But anyway, back to the first snow.  This was the first snow that Ashten actually got to go outside and experience.  And she loved it.  After taking the boys to school, we came home and Preston really wanted to go outside and play in it.  So we got all bundled up, which took like, I don't know, 2 hours (haha!), and ventured out.  Preston got cold when some snow fell off a tree and down his back and wanted to go inside, but Ashten wanted to stay out.  She walked all around in the snow and wanted to touch it.  It took a lot of convincing to get her to go back inside when I was getting cold later.   

A Tale of 3 Trees

We have 3 huge trees in our yard.  Two in the front and one in the back.  I enjoy them for about 3 months out of the year.  In the spring, when the buds start forming on the branches, it will get windy or it will snow and then we have buds EVERYWHERE.  When the leaves finally come in, I love it.  The trees provide shade for the house and the deck out back.  We can be on the deck in the middle of the day and not feel too hot.  The trees actually protect our house a little from the hail storms we seem to get on a semi-yearly basis.  But then fall comes and our nice, mature trees drop an insane amount of leaves.  And they are EVERWHERE.  They are in the gutters and in the yard and in the rocks and on the cars and then every time we open a door, the leaves blow in.  It's crazy and messy.  I have to remind myself that not having the shade in the hot, hot summer sun would be much worse than having to clean up leaves and buds, but at this time of the year, I'm not so convinced.  At least the kids love playing in the leaves.  To them, it's not work, it's like a big play mat outside!  Watching them enjoy the leaves and have so much fun in them makes them almost (almost!) bearable.

24 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 24

I'm thankful for Thanksgiving

More specifically, I'm thankful for the first Thanksgiving that started as a celebration of thanks to God for his protection and provision for the Pilgrims during their first winter in the new country.  I'm thankful that the tradition has stuck all these years, even though the original meaning may be lost on many.  I'm thankful that the founders of our country were Christian and knew where their help came from (Psalm 121:1-2).  I'm thankful that our country is rooted in Christianity, a fact that no matter how hard some people try to disguise, will still be a fact nonethless.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to reflect on all the things I am thankful for. 

This little, unofficial "24 Days of Thanksgiving" exercise has been really fun.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, I could go on for the rest of my life and never fully enumerate my blessings.  But, I think thankfulness is a lifestyle and should not be relegated to one holiday once a year.  I hope that this exercise is just a springboard for an attitude of gratitude in my life!  Thank you for reading along, and for those of you who participated on facebook, I hope you were all as blessed as I was by it.

24 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 23

I'm thankful for my family

I am beyond blessed.  God intentionally placed 6, imperfect individuals together in one family that we call ours.  We grew from a family of two in 2000 to a family of six in less than 10 years. That's what I call blessing!  We support each other, encourage each other, sacrifice for each other and most importantly, love each other.  I'm so proud to be part of my family.