Christmas

We've had a fun week around here! The boys and I spend the afternoon of Christmas Eve making cookies for Santa (yes, they still believe!).

We went to mom and dad's house to have our family Christmas on Christmas Eve. It is always fun to get together with everyone. Ahhh...I love being part of such a big family which seems to grow even larger every year. The boys always have a great time with their cousins. There is certainly never a dull moment when the whole family is at mom and dad's!

Darren had to work on Christmas day so the boys and I enjoyed a leasurely morning in our pj's. The boys got all of their things out of their stockings and played for a bit. Then we took a break for breakfast and got back to the business of opening the rest of the packages that Santa left. It was fun and relaxing for both myself and the kiddos to slowly enjoy Christmas morning. The boys were able to play with all the new toys from my side of the family and Santa all day.

After Darren got off work at 5, we headed to Papa and GramPat's house for the Heath's Christmas. It was a lot of fun too. It is always a bit calmer than the craziness at Nina and Poppy's since the boys are the only grandkids on Darren's side. It is a welcome change. I enjoy the contrast between both families. Both are so amazing...we are blessed indeed!

On Friday morning mom and I did something we've never done before. We took advantage of Darren being off and left the kids with him and headed to the mall for the after Christmas sales. We thought it would be a hectic nightmare, but were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't bad at all. We really enjoyed the day and found tons of good deals. Apparently we had so much fun yesterday that we decided to do it again today. We headed to a different mall and then went to a really great place called 'The Market' where I love to buy things for my house. And I did find plenty of things there! I had a ball spending my Christmas money! Most people who know me know that I hold tight to my money and usually don't have my Christmas cash spent until March or April but as I write this I have spent all but $11. Oh, it was fun.

Now I need a few days rest (shopping is hard work) and then it's time to pack up all the Christmas decorations and start getting ready for Coby Lane's 6th birthday! He wants a Monster Jam (it's a monster truck game on Connor's X-Box) birthday party theme. Interesting! I'll have to see what I can come up with. I better get busy.

sickly

The boys last week of school before Christmas Break was hectic. The boys had their class Christmas parties, Coby's class went caroling and the third grade had a Christmas program titled Cookies and Carols. We had a fun-filled week and were so looking forward to the break. We love being able to sleep in and staying in our jammies all day if we want to. Actually, Coby, Cale and I like to sleep in...Connor wakes up like clockwork whether it's a school day or not! Unfortunately the beginning of our break has not turned out as planned. I have been taking care of two sick little boys...

Coby woke up sick on Saturday morning with the stomach virus that is going around and then Cale ended up sick on Monday morning. I made a bed on the bathroom floor for Coby and as soon as Coby moved out, Cale moved in. I'm crossing my fingers that somehow Connor, Darren and I will not get it.

ear plugs

Every night we pray together as a family before the kids go to bed. I peek out of one eye every now and then to make sure that Cale is paying attention or at least staying out of trouble. This is what I saw when I peeked tonight....



Darren had tactical team training last week and the ear plugs he uses while shooting got thrown in the wash with his uniform. After finding them, I gave them to Darren who had left them on the coffee table. Apparently Coby found them while we were praying and thought they might be of use...too bad they were in backward!

hustle and bustle

This has been a busy week as I am trying my best to get my Christmas shopping done...one day I was able to shop child-free and the other two days I had Coby and Cale along (thankfully mom was with us too). I have been to the mall 3 out of the past 5 days and I have yet to finish my shopping! I am really disappointed in the selections this year...especially the selections for girls 14 months and under! I've never had girls to shop for and now I have all of these precious nieces and nothing seems good enough or cute enough for them. I want to get something girly and cute, but I cannot find anything. It is stressing me out!! Then, I feel guilty for feeling stressed out over the fact that I cannot find the perfect gift because that is not what Christmas is about. I keep telling the boys that we need to remember that Christmas is not about giving or getting gifts but about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Gifts are a fun part of Christmas and it is fun to both give and receive, but I really want the boys to understand why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. I know I seem to forget...way too often.

Cale has been begging to go see Santa, so we stopped off for Cale to have a visit and picture with Santa during one of our many mall trips. Cale marched right up to Santa, got into his lap and gave a picture perfect smile on the first try! Then, he proceeded to tell Santa that he wants a race car. I think Santa is getting off easy this year...at least where Cale is concerned.

Coby had a mission of his own during our shopping trips. He wanted a scarf and we realized just how hard it is to find a scarf that is fit for a prince (there are tons for princesses however). We looked at the mall, Target and Wal-Mart. Finally, we found just what he wanted on day THREE of shopping....at Old Navy. He wore it everywhere that day. It wasn't quite warm enough for a coat so he just wrapped his scarf around his little neck and proudly wore as part of his outfit. I love that Coby is slowly discovering his own style and has the ability to express himself artistically both on paper and in dress.

Something funny from the week: Last night I was extremely tired and on my own as Darren was at a meeting. I was helping Connor with his spelling words and he was not giving his best effort and I was getting frustrated. I finally just told him that if he didn't want to take the time to learn the words he was struggling with, that was his choice and I wasn't going to let it be my problem. It is his grade after all. It killed me to say that to him, but it's true...I cannot force him to learn if he's not willing. However, there wasn't going to be much fun if he chose that route (i.e. loss of XBox, computer, outdoor play, etc.)! Right after this, we sat down at the table for dinner and Coby looked at me and said, "Mommy, I don't think you're going to get anything for Christmas this year." I asked why and he informed me that I wasn't being very kind about Connor's homework and Santa and God are watching me. He was then quiet for a minute and finally said, "Maybe daddy will get you a present though."

tender moments

Last night was our weekly family movie night. Darren joined us for dinner, but had an extra job after that so the boys and I were on our own for the movie. All four of us cuddled on the couch with our pillows and blankets to watch...

I hadn't seen it before and thought it was really cute. As an added bonus, it happened to be on ABC last night so we didn't have to pay for a rental. While snuggled up watching the movie, Cale was lying with his head next to mine and out of the blue he sweetly said, "You're my best friend mommy." I told him that he was my best friend too. He just looked at me with the happiest little face and said, "Thank you mommy!" No, thank you Cale.

random things

On the way to school this morning, Connor was sharing the story of Abraham with me. I thought he learned about Abraham at Konnect (his Wednesday night program at church) last night. As he continued to share though, Connor mentioned something along the lines of "she tells us a Bible story every day." OK, so he was not talking about his Konnect leader since they only meet one a week.
Me: Who tells you a Bible story every day?

Connor: Mrs. Troyer
Have I mentioned how much I love Connor's teacher this year? She just gets better all the time!

Our family loves to get out and look at Christmas lights every chance we get. We have a house in our neighborhood that is decorated beautifully AND the lights change to music (you just tune in to a certain channel to hear the songs). Cale always wants to drive by the "lucky day house" every time we are out past dark. Why does he call it the lucky day house? Who knows, but it sure is cute and we always know what he's talking about. Last night after we passed by the lucky day house he saw a house with lots of blue lights and he said, "that's a different kind of lucky day house." We have lights up too, but our house has never been referred to as a lucky day house. Guess it's not quite up to snuff! Oh well :)

Coby has been sporting daddy's old Superman cape around the house this week. We watched Superman on Saturday night and Coby really took a liking to it. He thought he'd give flying a try.

thankful

What a year! As I sit here reflecting over the past year I realize that I have so much to be thankful for. My list is very long but here are just a few of the many things that I'm thankful for:

• wonderful husband who I love dearly and who loves me back (and I can be VERY hard to love sometimes)
• healthy, happy children
• an amazing set of parents who raised me in a Christian home
• in-laws who are equally amazing
• 2 brothers and a sister (and their spouses) who I get to see frequently despite the busy schedules had by all
• 6 beautiful nieces and nephews
• friends who are always there with a listening ear
• my children's extraordinary teachers who love my boys

I am blessed beyond measure, therefore if I wrote out the list I have going on in my head it would go on and on and on. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

piano

Coby has discovered that he is really good at playing the piano this past week. Lucky for me, I get to hear him play song after song after song. No, I'm not being sarcastic at all. I can only laugh quietly to myself after I endure one "song" and he comes in and asks did you hear that one? Wasn't that good? Then he quickly heads back to the piano to play me another. It's pretty darn cute, but my ears could sure use a break. I think we're gonna have to fork out some cash for lessons if he continues wanting to play for me! I can just hear him now, "But mommy I already know how to play, I don't need lessons."

out of the mouths of Coby & Cale

Yesterday I told Coby that we really needed to water our flowers or they would die. Coby asked, "Will the flowers go to heaven mommy?" (There seems to be a lot of interest in heaven lately, doesn't there?)

The pics of Cale were taken a few months ago when he had his first bowl of cereal WITH milk!

This morning Cale had a bowl of cereal with milk in it (having milk in his cereal makes him feel big). When he was done, he came up to me and said, "all nice and clean." I looked at him to see milk dripping down his cheek and he had quite a milk mustache going on. I won't even mention what his pajamas and hands looked like! Funny thing is that he really did think he was nice and clean. I told him that he was actually dirty and messy. He said, "No, I fine. I all nice and clean, don't wash me!" Yeah, right!

fun with TP

Cale asked if we could put his train track together tonight. I told him that it was too close to bedtime so we would build it tomorrow. A little while later, I noticed that the house was unusually quiet, meaning Cale was likely up to something. I found Cale in the laundry room building what he called a "bridge" (which was actually a tower) out of our mega pack of toilet tissue. He had his trash truck ready and waiting to help aid in knocking down the "bridge." He had fun with this for thirty minutes! I'm glad that he found entertainment tonight. Tomorrow he'll have Thomas, Percy, James and friends to keep him company!

Here is his favorite part....

When we were picking up, he put one roll on his head and said," Here's a baseball hat!"

Below is a pic from this morning. Cale was fascinated while watching the printer do its job. Two is such a fun age...everything is fun and new!

new Bible for Coby

Coby got a new Bible today. He has been "reading" his other Bible every night, but it was not easy for a five year old to understand. So, I've been telling him that we'll go get him one that is more age appropriate. He has been looking forward to getting his new Bible for days now.

He is so excited about his new Bible! In fact, while we were outside playing this afternoon he wanted to sit down with me and read it rather than play with Connor and Cale. So, read it we did! It starts from the beginning (just as any other Bible does of course) with God creating the earth...night, day, birds, flowers, etc. He kept stopping me by saying, "Wait, wait, wait, how did God create the flowers? How did He create elephants?" His questions went on and on. He was SO interested and wanted to truly understand how God was able to create every thing.

After a while, Coby asked me where is Jesus?
Me: Well, we haven't got that far yet.
Coby: But what about Christmas? That is His birthday, right?
Me: Yes, He IS alive and His birthday IS Christmas, we just haven't got to that part in the Bible just yet.

I am so happy that Coby wants to learn more about Jesus and truly understand God's Word. There is nothing in this world that matters more.

economical and fantasy

What do these words have in common? Just the fact that they were the words given to the boys for this years Vocabulary Parade at school. Connor was supposed to dress in a costume reflecting fantasy. So, he thought he'd dress up as a wizard. They can make fantasies come true, you see!



Coby was supposed to be economical. He wore old jeans with "patches" covering holes and a plain white shirt with holes sewn up on it. That's economical if you ask me. We didn't spend any money. Yay, I do love to be economical, although Darren just says that I'm just plain cheap! No hurt feelings here...I just take that as a compliment whether he means it as one or not.

kids vote too

When Connor got home from school today, he noticed Cale's sticker and asked "Who did you vote for, Cale?"

Cale very seriously answered, "Rockin' Bama."

Connor looked toward me with panic, "mommy....did you?" No.

It should be noted, however, that I did explain to Connor that while I did not vote for "Rockin Bama," we respect the choices of those who did. The beauty of living in America is that we all have the right to vote and we get to be heard. What a boring world this would be if we all thought alike!

Connor voted at school today too. He got to vote on the school's lunch menu for Wednesday. His vote: mac 'n cheese, little smokies, and smiley fries. Where are the veggies? Thank goodness kids only get to vote once every four years!

politics and the third grader

As I was setting the table for dinner tonight, Connor said "mommy..."

"What Connor?"

"Can Democrats go to heaven?"

Kids really do say the darndest things, don't they? I guess it's obvious who we're voting for in this house.

GO MCCAIN...praying that you can pull this one off! My little Connor has long been a fan of the underdog.

trick or treat

all ready to go

Coby was "army guy" (that's what he calls his costume)

Halloween tradition...

Every Halloween we start out the evening at Clint and Michele's house. We eat dinner there and the boys are spoiled with fun goodies from Clint, Michele and Barbara (Aunt Michele's mom) and bags of toys and treats from GramPat and Papa. Then we go over to Nina and Poppy's for trick or treating. We were especially excited about trick or treating this year because cousins Lincoln, Lauren and Madison were all able to go with us. We had lots of fun and as always, we came home with WAY too much candy.

Uncle J and Lincoln (he was a golfer)

Madison was a CUTE monkey

Darren and Lauren (the cutest pig I've ever seen!)

Connor was Big Poppy

Trick or Treat?

Aunt Emily and Cale

all of my boys

me and the boys taking a rest after a hard night of trick-or-treating

Cale was Tigger (this costume has been passed down from Connor to Coby and now Cale)