Fun plans

It's going to be a busy morning! We have fun plans to ring in the New Year. Your only hint is that Owen is upstairs singing at the top of his lungs, "it's going to be a fun day" over and over and over :)

Have a safe and happy new year's eve!

Alphabet

Oh, my goodness. My poor son. His mother is such a terrible teacher.

Owen got some alphabet flash cards in his stocking and we have been playing with them off and on today. I don't want him getting frustrated, but good grief he really doesn't know many letters. I don't know any memory tricks for letters. Are there some? Or does he just need to memorize them? It's so hard helping him when I can't imagine not knowing this stuff. Oh, its going to be a long road ahead, what happens when I actually don't remember/know the stuff. Yikes!

No homeschooling in my future for sure!

Picnic Lunch

After going to Costco this morning we packed our lunches and loaded them in Owen's backpack (his idea) and walked/rode to his preschool for a picnic lunch. Then the boys played on the playground. Now it's quiet time!!

Go Eagles!

Way to BEAT those CowBOYS!

Having Fun

We made two trips to the playground during our stay with my parents. My sister took these shots. The men (EJ and Alex) spent a majority of their playground time with Owen's new gift a motorized airplane. They had way more fun with it than Owen.

I had to include a picture of Yeager, although not the greatest. Mason was heading to the bath when Alex decided to hold both "babies" at the same time. They share their own language and were constantly playing together. Yeager has quickly outgrown Mason by 40 lbs.

I must also include that Owen is now friends with Yeager. Its a Christmas miracle. Within 4 hours, Owen went from keeping out of Yeager's reach to playing and petting him. He even gave him a good night kiss. WOW! Now we really are one big HAPPY family.

Christmas Play

We had a great Christmas day being together and just playing with all our new "toys." My sister and brother in-law arrived later in the day for another round of opening presents. This was the very first Christmas eve and morning that we haven't all been together. We missed them a lot, but it was fun to extend our gift exchanging and have another excuse for a second Christmas morning breakfast on Friday!

Christmas Morning

Our Christmas morning started very early. Mason woke up around 5 for some unknown reason. In an effort not to wake everyone in the whole house, he and I snuggled on a LazyBoy in the dark for over an hour. By 6:30 Owen was up and we had two very eager and excited boys. I think Mason was mostly excited to see Grandma and Sir again. We sandwiched a delicious cinnamon bun and egg breakfast between all the unwrapping.

I didn't get a lot of pictures unwrapping, mostly because Owen was so quick:) But we did get a great video! Owen was sent on a little hunt for his present from Grandma and Sir. CAUTION: Don't turn your volume up too loud.

Christmas Eve

The 2nd Annual "sleigh" ride through my parents neighborhood to see Chrismas lights.

with Love,

Christmas Eve

Gingerbread Train

Grandma came today and brought a gingerbread train kit. Perfect activity for a 4 year old. Not so fun with an 18 month old.

Mason did have fun sampling all the sweets.

WARNING: Made in a factory with sneezing and coughing. Definitely contains germs.

We've moved

Apparently while we were sleeping last night our house was picked up and moved to Alaska. The temperature this morning with wind chill was a brisk 6 degrees. It was a cold ride to therapy this morning. BURR! Welcome to Winter everyone today is the first day!

Tough guy

Turns out Owen is one sick boy. I thought he was on the mend but yesterday evening he started running a fever. I am not proud to say this but I did my usual freaking out. Laid my clothes out for the ER, kept the front porch light on and did a lot of praying. Thankfully he slept well and made it through the night with just one more dose of Motrin. This morning we took both boys to the Doctor. Owen has an ear infection, sinus infection and something viral in his chest. Mason is the same minus the ear infection (probably b/c we caught it in time). The amazing thing is that Owen never complains. Not a word about his ear, etc. He has always been this way. Tonight EJ and I took turns saying our good nights. As I did I savored the blessing of being this little boy's mom. I sang him songs and rubbed his back and prayed for him. And as I did, I was reminded of the times my mom did the very same thing. A mom's touch has amazing powers, and I sometimes still can't believe that is me.

Book of Choice

I don't know if it is because Mason has been sick or just a new interest, but he has been "reading" books to himself a lot. He has also been bringing books to me to read. He actually sits long enough to let me read the words. He especially enjoys books with animals and although he can't name the animals he does make attempt sounds they make. That counts for words, right?Today's book of choice is "The Little Red Caboose." I say book of choice b/c he only wants one specific book each day. Owen said, "how many times do we have to read the same book? I hope he doesn't ask for that one at bedtime too!"

Nothing but gray skies

So we added a bit of our own sunshine to our day.

Cold Treat

Homemade apple juice popsicle!

Cry of the sick

So the silence of the very sick has now been replaced with the pterodactyl cry. It comes out of no where and for the slightest little thing and is occassionally accompanied with the thrashing of arms and legs. While I know this means Mason is feeling better it may cause this mamma to lose her mind!

Sick boys

Owen has had a nasty cold for a few days now and last night Mason took a turn for the worst. Needless to say it was not a fun day around here. Mason was not happy unless he was being held or a sleep in his bed. He barely ate of drank anything. He finally called it quits at 6 p.m. tonight. I hope we don't regret it, but I had to put him out of his misery and he was asking to go to bed. Hopefully he'll feel better in the morning.

Following Yonder Star

Tonight after dinner we had a special scavenger hunt. I got the idea from an advent book for children. Basically you cut out paper stars and write clues on each one and hide them. Then the kids are suppose to follow the stars like the wise man did. At the end they find the best gift of all - "baby Jesus" or in our case the Little People Nativity set.

Do you like his "wise man" costume?

This is how he looked a majority of the time. Utterly confused!

Spiderman/Superman was a wise man, right?

You thought Owen looked confused, Mason was the "drummer boy."

In the end, he did find the set. Not quite the hallmark moment I was going for. Oh, well maybe next year.

Ahh

Forget about "bring on the snow" (his tee shirt) I'll take 65 degrees any day. Owen got so excited he was requesting shorts and flip flops. I thought it was a nice treat not wearing a jacket.

Mason was so happy with himself for "riding" this bike. Really he was just pushing it with his feet, but I am not sure he has every done that before. His feet still don't reach the pedals.

Come let us adore Him

A scene from the production Owen and I saw on Saturday struck my heart and has continued to pop in my mind. Our church sermon on Sunday has continued my thinking.

Many of you probably have a nativity scene at home. Ours is much less glamorous than most, its plastic and made by Fisher Price. There are no real specifics in the Bible on the number of people that visited the baby Jesus. For some reason, sets usually contain 3 wise men, 1 or 2 Shepards, Joseph, Mary, Jesus and an angel. Now, I realize a nativity scene can only be but so big, but this small almost dull and boring scene has been forever etched in my mind. I never really put much thought into it.

Suppose the scene was much larger. Suppose 300 or more people came and brought with them their most precious gifts. Suppose they couldn't help but sing, play music and worship him. Well, this was the scene in Saturday's production that has been stuck in my mind. It was truly fantastic. Now, I am not claiming this to be scriptural, I am just saying that it has helped energize my heart for the kind of adoration Jesus deserves as our Savior.

The song, "Come let us adore Him" now brings an entirely different image to my mind. Not one of a calm, quiet and statuesque moment, but one full of energy, excitement and praise for the Lord. I pray that the Lord moves in each of your hearts this Christmas to truly "Adore" Him.

Mom and Son

This afternoon Owen and I attended a special Christmas performance. A local church puts on a HUGE production every Christmas season. The cast is enormous, angels come down from the "heavens" and a real camel makes an entrance. This is my third year going and I was very excited to bring Owen along. A lot of the humor was over his head, but he remained mesmorized the whole 2 hours.

*editors note: the spots on his shirt are drops from the water we needed to respike his hair, he looked in the mirror at least 3 times before we left to make sure it was standing up perfectly. I may have started something very bad!

New Do

Owen is trying to bring mohawks back in style. Its more of fauxhawk b/c I couldn't bring myself to having it all the way down the back. Yes, it is shaved shorter every where else.

Pageant Promotion

Today was Owen's preschool Christmas pageant. They have been practicing for weeks and he has been telling me all about it. He was suppose to be a Shepard along with most of the boys in his class. Owen and I spent time before naps and bedtime practicing all the songs. It was much more rewarding this year b/c he actually learned them. This morning when we got to school the Director asked me if Owen might want to switch roles. One of the wise men called in sick. Fortunately I knew Owen knew all the parts b/c he has been explaining them all to me. So I said I'd ask him. There was no speaking part involved just a way cooler costume and different entrance, etc. At first he hesitated and then decided to do it. You should have seen his face when we put the costume on him. Shear panic, like a deer caught in headlights. He looked very nervous. Needless to say he did just fine.

This picture was taken after the performance. I didn't get one with the nervous face.

Puppy love

Evidently Mason loves pets so much he as resorted to checking out the classifieds. Somehow he spotted the furry friends and dragged me over to share in his luck. We sat together for awhile taking a look at each cat and dog up for sale or adoption. I think we are in trouble. Sounds like someone else I know. My sister asked for a puppy for Christmas every single year for as long as all of us can remember. Now that she finally got her wish this year, she realized she'll have to come up with something new for the #1 spot. Owen does not share these feelings and wants nothing to do with almost all animals.

8 years

(This is a day late) I can hardly believe we have been married for 8 years. Half of which we have been parents. God has been so good to us. We have an awesome church family, friends near and far, two fantastic boys, parents who continually love and support us, grandparents, sisters and one brother in-law. I have been especially reflective this time of year at the blessings in our lives. I am forever grateful for each of you.
We have had an interesting year with health issues. EJ continues to amaze me with his quick faith and trust that God will provide and direct us. As many of you know he has a very calm demeanor and it really blesses our relationship when we are faced with tough news or decisions. Our kids will benefit as well as they grow to learn the God we serve and place our trust in. Happy Anniversary EJ!
Last night we went out to dinner to celebrate. My sister watched the kids and took this picture. I had to laugh b/c I think all our anniversary pictures are taking with our Christmas tree. I

felt bad for EJ b/c lately I am not the funnest dinner date. My jaw problems hamper the joy of restaurant food. But I was glad to be out celebrating with him and not cooking and we did enjoy completing our thoughts and sentences.

O' Christmas tree

Our Christmas tree finally got decorated yesterday. The boys enjoyed it. And we rearranged just a little bit so the top would have ornaments too :)

love you barnhouse! Mason would walk up to the tree, stick out his arm, and then drop the ornament on the floor. It didn't seem to bother him, he just turned around and got another one.

Only one ornament broke. Not bad!

Yesterday

Yesterday was a good day. We were busy but I got a lot accomplished. Owen had school. Mason and I did the grocery shopping. He has won the heart of our cashier (because he reminds her of her son (he is 20 now) and b/c he is always smiling. It is good when others allow me to appreciate things I take for granted. Mason and I also went to playgroup. We have joined a new playgroup with several friends from church and Sarah M. (be jealous Becca and Michelle!) Now I get to see her and Mallory and Carter almost weekly. Mason had a blast and I am getting to spend time with some ladies that I don't know real well.
I spent nap time in overdrive getting the remains of our weekend tornado picked. The downstairs at least looks good (for now).
The highlight of my day was sitting on the couch with Owen and Mason and watching "Very First Noel." Thanks Aunt Lissa and Uncle Alex, it was great! Its an animated movie of the arrival of Christ. The animation was great and the music was awesome. The narrator is Andy Griffith, so you can't help but relax and enjoy. Plus, Mason sat on my lap for 30 minutes and watched. Not that I should encourage him to watch t.v. but I never get to hold him that long. He loved all the animals and watched the whole thing. It was a great ending to our afternoon.

Where did the weekend go?

It can not possibly be Sunday night. I need at least one more day before the week starts. We have had a very busy weekend! On Saturday morning I attended a Christmas brunch for my Wellspring women's bible study. My sister Lissa came to the brunch and then we ran an errand together. It was nice spending time with her. While I was gone, EJ took the boys to our local Christmas parade. Despite the chilly temperatures they had a great time.
Then we enjoyed dinner at a friends house. Owen has been friends with Anna since she was born 11 days after him. We don't see each other as much as we used to, so I found myself reminiscing throughout the evening. The dinner table is so different now. Both kids are so independent and talked the entire time. I really enjoyed watching them interact. We put all four kids to bed so we could stay and have some adult conversation time. Well, at least Ashley and I talked. EJ and James were busy rocking out to the video game "Rock Band." Ashley and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Now I know where Owen gets it!
Today we finally got our Christmas tree. The lights are up and we will hopefully decorate the tree tomorrow. We had a fun dinner with 5 other families that are involved in our weekly bible study. Owen had 7 little girls to play with (he did notice he was the only big boy and handled it beautifully) and the three smallest boys wandered around doing their own thing.

Looking for our tree.
The nursery where we bought the tree has a beatiful indoor display of christmas trees and ornaments. Owen made friends with this bear.

Swimming in the Fall

One of the best and worst features of our neighborhood is it's trees. Beautiful, huge and old trees. We have a gigantic oak in our yard among several smaller oaks, maples, a dogwood, Crape Myrtle and camellia. While these are wonderful in the spring and summer they are the thorn in our sides during the fall. In an effort to save EJ some of his precious weekend time, I was out raking and blowing the leaves. We put all the leaves along the curb and then pay the county $30 to vacuum them up. It's really a great deal and we don't have the extra hassle of bagging them.
The boys took full advantage of the piles. And yes, they are technically playing in the street, but I was careful to watch for cars.

Mason is literally diving in. His feet came up and everything.

So... what's a mom to do when her son looses one shoe of his only pair of shoes in about a 20 foot area of 3 foot deep leaves? Keep in mind I have been raking for close to an hour and I am not sure at what point the shoe came off.

1. think to myself- this isn't really happening


2. totally panic


3. get angry with both boys because surely one of them is to blame


4. frantically kick through the piles


5. when all else fails, call my mom-because she as all the answers, right?


6. drag out the stroller and strap Mason down because he is constantly running into the street (I did after all let him play in the street) and its growing darker by the minute


7. un-rake all my hard work until the shoe is found
   
8. shout, "I found it" and raise it above my head - just in case my neighbors are watching and think I've gone totally bonkers
   

Needless, to say EJ did notice my efforts and was pleasantly surprised! The not so white sock is soaking in some bleach.

Christmas T's

Shopping for boys clothing is NOT my favorite. I usually walk away disgruntled and annoyed that the mom's with little girls have SO many more choices. EJ has a totally different perspective, he sees the money we are saving :) Anyway, holiday clothing is even worse. I find myself getting so frustrated b/c each year is basically the same thing only a slightly different pattern. Poor Mason will have to wear everything twice b/c they usually match. My mom had a great idea to get them Christmas PJs for Christmas morning and then if they wore them for several months no one else would know. It seems that 4 year old boys don't like dorky Christmas PJ's and they especially don't like matching with their 1 year old brothers. So, instead we opted for T-shirts that they will quickly change into on Christmas morning. (This is such a woman's brain, why do we do this to ourselves?)
Owen loves his, and Mason doesn't have a clue. But, here they are with their matching shirts that many of you will see over and over again. Thanks mom for sharing in my stressful quest and for buying their shirts!

Mason would not sit still so this is the best I could do.

They got so involved in their book I couldn't get them to look at me.