Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve in McPherson. It was a great time with delicious soups and desserts, and of course what the kids always look forward too - presents!

Here are some sweet faces enjoying the moment!

This was at the end of the night as the twins are in their jambes, but boy do they love to wrestle with cousin Beau.

And wrestle with each other. Typical brothers.

"Never mind Beau, we got each other to beat up."

"Can I see?"

Money? Chocolate? Either way = Good!

Puppy love.

This face.

The boys in their capes. I loved it. I hope they do too.

Checking the new toys out.

Happy face.

Happy body. 

My first Christmas present to myself

I love these. I love these. I found someone to make the kids profiles for me and Brian hung them in our bedroom so I can see them before I go to sleep. Lemme say it again, I love these.

Brenley's Christmas Program at School

Brian and I have been hearing songs from this Christmas program since before Thanksgiving. We knew the part about Alvin, and a few other songs she would sing softly under her breath when she thought no one was listening. But let me tell you, this girl rocked it out during her Northridge Academy Kindergarten Christmas program.

We swelled with pride.  Her speech problem is NEVER a problem when she gets to singing and dancing.  So proud of our girl and how well she performed. Take a listen.

And here are some other shots of her doing her thing!

She is being Alvin here.  Such attitude. She played the part well.

Quick Catch Up

As I write this, it is Christmas Eve Eve.  Where has this month gone? I knew after Thanksgiving would be a blur until Christmas, and it definitely didn't disappoint. I guess partly I can't believe I got here and I'm still standing with a lot of "to do's" knocked off my list, a house that is decorated, presents that are bought and wrapped, and kids that are in one happy, healthy, piece.

But with the hustle and bustle also comes a few mistakes, like sending my 15 year old niece a Lowe's gift card instead of the iTunes gift card I intended to give her.  And she was too kind to even tell me about it.  It took me looking for the Lowe's card and only finding the iTunes one to think….. surely I didn't send that to Courtney?!?!?  And let's see, I've ruined a few meals trying to go too fast and "make do" with ingredients I had on hand. I'm sure I've forgotten things I haven't even realized. But oh well….I'm going to really try to enjoy this week and the bliss that comes from Christmas.  I'm just so thankful that the weather, while super cold and snow on the ground, appears to be clear for upcoming travels. And my family and myself are healthy. Knock on wood and I'll continue to be thankful to the Lord for our many, many blessings.

Quickly catching up, Beau started basketball this month and he is only playing in MAYB tournaments this season.  His team is off to a solid start and I just so love watching him play.  His aggressiveness makes me the most happiest.  Boy that kid is strong!  And his shot is coming along so well. His confidence has come so far.  Even his fashion sense makes an appearance on the court. Check out the striped socks!

School is now out for him until January 7th!!! He is so excited, and spent his first day off shooting baskets at the YMCA this afternoon, which is tons better than sitting around playing video games all day. Here's hoping we can do more of that over the next two weeks.

And then there is Sister.  The next post will be all about her Christmas program at school, but in the meantime….. here is her on the way to Speech class.  School takes a lot out of this little girl.

And here she is with Santa. He came to her school.

And she learned to tie her shoes this month, so she is not only in the Tooth Club at school, but the Shoe Tie Club. Let's just say Ms. Buckle was feeling generous that day, because her ties are a little loose, but she sure is proud of herself!

But my MOST FAVORITE thing to post about her is her "report card" and this little section right here…and let me preface it by saying, she is so smart, and so generous, and so perfect.  This little "2" she got is from her mother.  We don't always play well with others, especially when we lose.

So blessed with these babies, and a husband who keeps the home fires going when mama is away.

Holiday spirit

I'm starting to get into the holiday spirit a little more now. The kids kind of make it easy for you. They are so excited.

Ernie the Elf has returned. He has already silenced a fight between the two kids. Well played, Ernie, well played.

We had a fun little dinner the other night at our new favorite chicken place. A guy was there making balloon shapes. Dad was Santa Claus, Sis was a jet packing reindeer and Bub was an Elf. So cute!!

And here is Brenley's letter to Santa that she wants mailed. Of course....

Tis the season!!! 

December

I vividly remember writing my New Year's Day post, and now here I am entering the last month of 2013. It's a bit scary how fast the time is going. Not only scary, but overwhelming when I watch my kids outgrow their clothes or my to do list keeps getting longer. Sigh.

I've been such a grump lately for some reason. The holidays should be happy times, but all I can think about is "when am I going to have time for this?" Or "these Christmas decorations are looking so old and tattered."  Or "what should I get this person for a Christmas gift?" But then I go out to the stores and return empty handed because I either didn't find what I was looking for, or I found it and it was way too expensive, or the people at the store annoyed me to the point of simply wanting to return home as fast as I could.  Sigh.

I sure hope when I hit cruise control on December 20th that my happy face comes back on. We will see, I guess.

But in the meantime, I will continue to count my blessings one by one. Family is at the top of the list. Spent some quality time with most of them over Thanksgiving weekend. I never got my camera out, but did capture a few on my phone. You know I must be in a funk when the camera doesn't make an appearance.

This is Will and his "mean face."  I mean, he is cute. 

And this is my son either bored or jealous of the kiddie toys. Proud moment either way.

Okay. So here we go December. Let's do this with a smile on our face.

Randomness

1. It's so cold today. Seriously cold. 

2. Big game in Stillwater tonight. Go Pokes! Beat the Bears!

3. My son is at this cold football game and his Mom is not. Totally not jealous.

4. Brenley has to take a "family" totem pole to school on Monday. Sure she does. Here are our before and after photo's. She loves it. That's all that matters to me.