surprise visitor

So...several of my friends have had little elves that visit their houses each and every year. I have to admit, I've always thought my boys would never fall for the whole elf sent from Santa to watch them thing. That was until Coby came from school on Wednesday absolutely ecstatic that his class had a visitor from Santa. What was it? An elf, of course! He was SO excited and was enthusiastically sharing all about the elf with his brothers. He was telling of the elf's magic, how it appears to be frozen during the day, only to fly to the North Pole at night and report to Santa of the students' behavior! He also shared that if you touch the elf he might lose his magic and you wouldn't get Christmas gifts. He just went on and on, clearly he BELIEVED in this little elf and at this moment I realized I should've spent the $30 last week when I was contemplating buying him at Pottery Barn Kids. Apparently my boys are not too old! What was I thinking!?! I will say that Connor was laughing at Coby for believing in this little elf, but Coby was not shaken, he believed not only in this little elf, but he is also sure that the REAL Santa is the one at Bass Pro Shop every year!!! I love it.

Anyway, we woke up this morning and as I was getting breakfast (wheat Eggo waffles with peanut butter and syrup for Connor and Coby and a strudel for Cale if you must know!) Coby noticed a book on the breakfast bar. He was thrilled and confused when he realized that this was the book that Snowflake, his classroom elf, brought to his class. I of course hadn't even noticed that there was a book sitting there, so you can imagine my surprise as well! Next thing you know, Coby looked up and noticed that we had a little elf sitting in the area above our kitchen door frame. I guess Santa thought we needed an elf around here this year! Coby and Cale were thrilled and Connor was freaking out! He looked at me and said, "OK, usually I think these kind of things are from you and daddy, but I can tell that you all didn't do this. I am really freaked out by this whole thing!" Heehee!!! I think he is borderline between skeptical and believing. He is a very anxious child by nature and he is very concerned that something like this could make his way into our home without our knowledge as we slept, but at the same time has some doubts. He is in that in between stage, but for now I'm glad that he doesn't KNOW for sure. This is probably our last year for all three boys to still believe and I plan to savor every minute of it!

(Um, holy hair Coby! Keep in mind we had just rolled out of bed and Coby had major bedhead and this is my tired, just out of bed voice!)

We sat down tonight during Family Fun Friday and Coby read the book to us. It is darling and the boys are so excited! I can't believe Christmas is almost here. I love this season!!!! What a fun day.

fireproof

This is for me, for later, so that I don't forget....we went to eat at Chili's after church on Sunday. Connor ordered a cheeseburger with mashed potatoes and gravy (yep, that is a lot of carbs for one meal!). The gravy had a LOT of spicy seasoning on it and it was too spicy for Connor so Cale took it. As he was eating it, he needed a drink and Darren asked if it was too spicy for him which would've been surprising because Cale has my palate and loves all things spicy. Darren on the other hand is not a spicy food kind of guy and Cale is always telling him, "Daddy, you can't handle the spice!" Anyway as Cale was getting a drink on this day, he looked over at Darren and said, "See daddy, I told you my mouth was fireproof!" Don't know where he came up with that one, but it was so cute when he said it because he was serious as can be. And, truth be told, I think his mouth is fireproof. He is our spicy little guy, in both his choice of foods and personality. He is full of spice no doubt!

a time to give thanks: 2010

Design: Mary Engelbreit

This Thanksgiving I can't help but reflect on the year and think of how much I have to be thankful for. Two years ago I made a list of the things I am thankful for and I thought I'd do that again. For many reasons, this year is a very special year to me. I have so much to be thankful for. Here's a just little of what comes to mind....

• First, I am thankful for Jesus, who loves me more than I could ever deserve to be loved and He has shown me His love in ways that have absolutely blown my mind over this past year. I am so thankful that He loves me ENOUGH to allow me to go through hard times so that I can grow and learn from those times. He has definitely done that over this past year....it has been a tough, tough year, but SO worth it!
• I am so thankful for Darren this Thanksgiving. I have never been happier in my marriage or more in love with Darren than I am today and I can say without any doubt that he feels the same way. We are blessed and we know it and appreciate it so much.
• I am so thankful for my boys. So many people can never have children and I am so thankful that we were blessed with our boys. They are healthy, happy, and full of energy...just as they should be. What a blessing they are!
• I have the best parents in the world!!!!! Yes, I do. My mom is my best friend. We have so much fun together and my dad is pretty amazing too! They are always there for me.
• I am thankful that Grandpa was reunited with Grandma in heaven this year. I don't mean that I wasn't sad or that I was ready for him to go....I NEVER would've been ready, but when I really think about it, I think to myself, WOW....what a blessing for grandpa! He is restored and new...and that is a beautiful thing.
• I'm so thankful for my brothers, sister, and brother/sister-in-laws. They are all so very special to me.
• I am thankful for my children's school. All three boys have wonderful teachers and they each care so much for the boys! That is so important to me as a mom.
• I am thankful for seven healthy nieces and nephews (plus two more on the way).
• I am blessed with some of the best friends a girl could ask for and I love them all dearly.
• I am thankful for a warm home, food, transportation, and a steady job in which Darren loves.
• I am grateful that I get to be a stay at home mom. It is hard and frustrating, but I am SO thankful that Darren and I both feel strongly that it is where I need to be.
• I am soooo grateful for my husband who is willing to work hard to provide for our family so I can stay at home with the boys.
• I am thankful for those who have been there for me this past year. It has been the hardest year I've faced in my 34 years, but surprisingly, it has also been the best year of my life this far.

This list could go on and on. We are so very blessed. I can very honestly say that this year more than any other, I have counted my blessings over and over. I have so much to be thankful for and my prayer is that I will never take that for granted (although I am human, so sadly I know there will be times I will).

pre-K feast

Today was the last day of school before Thanksgiving break and I had the pleasure of joining Cale for the Pre-K Thanksgiving Feast. Usually all of the grades have a feast so I was fully prepared to spend most of the day at the school, but for some reason both Connor and Coby's classes didn't have feasts this year (which they were both really disappointed about).

Before Cale's class feast, all the kids lined up and said what they were thankful for. One little boy said he was thankful for Jesus dying on the cross (what a wise little boy!) and many kids said family. They were all very quiet with their answers so you could barely hear them....and then they came to Cale. What was he thankful for? Well, here's the video I shot with my phone so you can see for yourself....

Yep, you heard right. My little Calebug is thankful for GREEN beans! And he was loud and proud in sharing it too! I loved it!!! That response was just so Cale. He is so silly and is always trying to get others to laugh....and he'll certainly never be called shy. He loves showing off for a crowd (which is the complete and total opposite of his brothers). I just love him so!

Next, they sang a few songs.

Then it was time to eat and Cale was WAY too busy for a pic as you can see!

me and the bug

Cale and Kaitlyn

I am so excited it's Thanksgiving break...that means the boys and I get to sleep in for the next five days! Woohoo!

halloween...finally

It's hard to believe that a week has passed since the boys were anxiously waiting to go trick-or-treating. Our city had trick-or-treating on the 30th rather than the 31st which was so nice since that fell on a Saturday. The boys had a great time and so did Darren and I.

We started our evening at GramPat and Papa's house (which is in our neighborhood...isn't that convenient?) for dinner and a little bit of T-or-T'ing with 1 year old cousin Braden before we headed out to do some damage on our own. Here are some shots from Halloween 2010...

It was a fun night and I'm sad it's already over. I love Halloween! I guess it's time to take down my Halloween decor. It's probably past time, but I just wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to it until today....and that is only because Connor just informed me that it is time to put it up. What would I do without him!?!

hoedown and another trip to the pumpkin patch

Last Wednesday was Hoedown Day in Pre-K. Cale was a farmer or a cowboy. I'm not really sure which!?! He looked cute though whatever he was. I didn't get to go to Hoedown Day since the second grade field trip fell on the same day. So I just snapped a quick pic before we headed off to school.

On Wednesday mornings we drop Connor off at 7:30 for Honors Chorus so the boys and I just park and hang out until it's closer to the time school starts. I don't know why but I thought I would get a pic of the boys while we were hanging out.

I also snapped this one of D while he was getting the GPS ready for the field trip. Have I ever mentioned that he hates having his picture taken?

Now, onto Coby's field trip...

What a difference a year makes. Wow. I can't believe how

much he's changed!

It was a lot of fun and I am so glad that this field trip fell on Darren's days off. That rarely happens. Coby loved having us both there and we loved the one on one time we got to share with him. We don't get those moments very often so they are very special to us.

Now I just need to figure out how to make pumpkin bread out of Coby's pumpkin. Every year he wants me to make pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread with his pumpkin. Coby gives me way too much credit as I haven't the slightest clue how to do that. And why would I? Isn't that why they make canned pumpkin? Maybe one day I'll make the effort to learn as I know it would make Coby so happy. Maybe next year....

last of the "first" field trips

October 14th marked the first field trip that Cale has ever been on. I have to admit, I was emotional about this. I was not emotional about the first day of school, but there was just something about seeing my youngest on a school bus that got to me. I wasn't expecting that at all! I remember thinking as the bus drove off that at some point we're going to run out of firsts...and that is what makes me sad. Don't get me wrong, I am completely content with the fact that my kids are 4, 7 and 10. I love that they are no longer "babies" and that they are old enough to take care of many of their own needs. Still, the emotions of this day caught me off-guard as I accompanied my baby on his first field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Thankfully by the time we arrived at the PP I had myself under control and we had ourselves a great time! Here are some pics from our day...

Cale and I had this sweet little boy in our group for the day

I had to laugh as we got onto the train and this little girl jumped on next to Cale before I had a chance to sit next to him. Her mother said her name and I said, "so that's Kate! I've heard so much about her, I am so glad the feeling is mutual!" Her mother went on to tell me that Kate has been telling her since the second day of school that she is going to marry Cale! I know that Cale likes Kate as like he likes all of his friends and speaks about her often, but so far he tells me he is never going to have a girlfriend or get married because he "does not want to stick his tongue in someone else's mouth"! heehee Kate however REALLY likes Cale! She had her arm around him the entire train ride and kept trying to hold his hand the entire day. Cale didn't want apart of any of it and poor Kate's mom was mortified. It was pretty cute though!

I knew Cale was my child for sure when he didn't want to go into the cages with the animals! I completely understood!!!! I've always been skittish of animals...like mother like son!

We had a great day!