All Wrapped Up

Here we are at the end of 2010. I feel like we just rang in the new year with our goofy glasses! There have been lots of Christmasy things happening this month. Christmas with Derek's family. Watching all 3 of our boys perform in the church's Christmas musical. Baking goodies and shopping with friends. Wrapping teacher gifts and making treats for their classroom parties. Maybe I can post some pictures of those fun times to brighten up the dreary January days ahead. Tonight I'm thinking about family. Spending these days with my extended family is so special to me. It only happens every other year. Today I went out with my mom, dad, and brother. Just the 4 of us. It was weird and completely normal at the same time. We've done a lot of laughing together! Ginger and our boys can't play enough in all this snow. Derek gets to rest with our dog at his feet. :) Pretty soon we'll welcome 2011, along with all the changes it will bring. We'll even welcome a nephew in 2011. :) This year has been memorable for me in so many ways. When I look back at 2010 what will I remember most? Hard to say. But this wraps it up for me:

"It is because of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Celebrating this blessed Christmas season, and wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Pictures Pictures Pictures

Since pictures are worth a thousand words, this post is told through pictures!



Their yearly ornaments from my parents: a firetruck for B, a tractor for K, and an airplane for A



Aaron drew our family and wanted to hang it on the tree. Of course I said ok!



It's been windy here. Our jeep is usually parked with the back against the bricks. It turned the corner and ran over my solar light!



Aaron's playing soccer at the YMCA. He's got quite a kick!



Concentrating on dribbling that ball



We went to our first hockey game as a family, and thanks to Derek's brother, we sat in a suite!



This really is the best way to watch a hockey game!



Back at home we ate supper by our tree



little smokies, cheese & crackers, apples & carmel dip, yum!

 We sat by our Christmas tree and Derek asked the boys some Christmas questions. After they got over their disappointment that we weren't watching tv during supper, we had fun. By the end, we were all crowded on one small section of the tablecloth while Aaron hogged the rest. He was so wiggly and squirmy and none of us wanted him spilling our plates and cups! Good thing his cup had a lid, since he knocked it over at least once.

Pictures help us remember moments in time. That's why I take so many! Hopefully my kids will look at our pictures and say, "I remember doing that!" :)

Middle of December

It's 7:15 and Derek and the boys are presently playing the Wii in our family room, while I'm hiding out at the computer in the living room. I'm hearing MUCH laughter float up the stairs! What a perfect sound to write to. :) I wish you could hear it. Sometimes I hear Derek laughing louder than our kids!

This past summer I joined a board of directors for a local non-profit ministry. Besides church and school volunteer work, it's the only time I'm doing something apart from being a wife and mother. This particular organization concerns something very close to my heart, and I just love the opportunity to be part of it. We just had our monthly board meeting this afternoon/evening, and I'm wondering where God will take this ministry in the future. It's obvious that His hand is all over it. On another note, I also love these monthly meetings because Derek steps up to fix supper while I'm gone. I come home from "work" and find the boys cleaning up the dishes and my plate ready and waiting for me on the clean table. Tonight's menu? Crispy chicken salads and muffins!

Turning my thoughts to Christmas, I'm about 2/3 done with my shopping. I found a deal today that, as my sis-in-law likes to say, really gave me a shopper's high! I'm so excited for Kaleb to open it! I mailed my Christmas cards today, and I even got it done by my personal deadline of Dec. 14th. Why is that my deadline for Christmas cards? I really don't know when I started this, but somewhere along the way I equated my cousin's birthday with a benchmark for completing my cards. Some years I succeed, other years I don't. This is one year where I met my goal. I even touched base with my cousin to wish him a happy birthday. I love that guy!

Do I sound super-organized? Don't worry, I'm not. I have mountains of baking yet to do. I haven't wrapped one gift. I don't know what I'm doing for my neighbors or my kids' teachers this year. The bird cage doesn't clean itself, but I keep hoping it will. I won't even describe the bathrooms. . .

But Christmas isn't about all the tasks on my to-do list. It's about Jesus, and where would I be without Him? Sometimes I like to "check out" of all the goings-on around me and align myself with my Savior. The other stuff will somehow get done, and my relationship with Christ needs to take center stage.

Now it's 7:40 and my noisemakers are all upstairs getting ready for bed. I guess that means my time at the computer has ended! We're half-way through "Santa Paws on Christmas Island," and I'm sure I'll be reading another chapter tonight. But before I go, a few funnies. . .

Tucking Kaleb in last night, he complained of a stomach ache. I guess the cabbage in the casserole didn't agree with him. His response? "Mondays just aren't my kind of days!"

Aaron's been singing Christmas songs all over the house. Yesterday he sang a verse to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." He sung it like this: "Now bring us some baby pudding, now bring us some baby pudding...!" I tried to tell him it's "figgy pudding" and we both got the giggles.

Finally, if you know Aaron, you know he injures himself easily. He trips. He runs into walls and sign posts.  He's an accident-waiting-to-happen kind of kid. I thought he was safe in his bed. Nope. He held his water bottle above his head while lying in bed...and dropped it on his ear. Right on a scab. After lots of tears and screams, he FINALLY went to sleep. Let's hope tonight isn't a repeat of last night!

Aaron's Circles

This is the year for Aaron to circle what he wants for Christmas. He fills catalogs and newspaper ads with his penciled circles. It keeps him occupied quite nicely, and we get a kick out of what he circles! Here's just a sampling of items he circled in the most recent Target ad:

• penguin pez dispenser
• Kodak red digital camera
• snowman paper plates
• reindeer paper plates
• Black & Decker cordless drill
• digital coin-counting bank
• HP digital photo frame
• portable blu-ray player
• Disney Cars battery powered 4 wheeler
• a bag of peanut butter M&M's, with the hershey kisses crossed out :)
• a box of Wheat Thins

Now there's no reason why I should wonder, "What does Aaron want for Christmas?"  :)

Thankful

I should probably back up a bit before moving full steam ahead into Christmas. With all the goings-on around here I don't want forget to be thankful.

Today I'm thankful for my family. The ones at home, and my big extended family all over the country. I am blessed beyond the beyond. On Thanksgiving we celebrated with Derek's family, gathered around his mom's big table. We each shared something we're thankful for, and then we drew names. I drew Derek's name, and shared what I love about him and a blessing for him this upcoming year. Secretly I'd hoped to pick his name. :) I hope he's able to work for the Lord, and not for the recognition of man. I also hope for great joy to be evident in his life. Braylen and Kaleb's aunts drew their names, and blessed them (and me!) with words of encouragement for them to grow in wisdom and stature. Even Braylen's upcoming middle school years were mentioned. Big changes ahead for him this next year. Aaron drew my name--how sweet. He loves his mommy and wants me to live for Jesus.

Blessings

More blessings

Now it's December, and we're gearing up for Christmas. Our tree is up and the house is decorated. Like others I know, I went with the "less is more" philosophy this year. Most of my decorations stayed in the totes. I'm trying to be less busy with busywork. I'm trying to do things with my family that really matter. What do the kids like most right now? To read chapter books at bedtime and play games with their parents. So we're reading the Santa Paws books and resurrecting our games. Kaleb's struggled with some health issues recently, so decorating our tree wasn't much fun for him this year. Thankfully Derek came up with a way to include him.

Yep, he carried Kaleb on his back like that while he put his ornaments on the tree. What a great dad! Our tree is in our family room for the first time, and I like it a lot. It's just too big for our little living room. Especially with bigger boys running around the house these days.

In the next few weeks we'll do lots of fun things and go lots of fun places. 2010 is almost over. That's hard to believe. For the opportunities I've been given and the people I'm blessed to have in my life, I've loved this year. I'm thankful for the chance to spend a week with my side of the family this Christmas season. Now all we need is a white Christmas. :)

Kaleb's Big Day

As I wrote the date this morning, I had to stop myself from writing 11-30-01. What a difference that #1 makes when it's before the zero instead of after it! Today is 11-30-10, and our sweet Kaleb is nine years old!!!

Our only birthday boy with Christmas lights!

We celebrated with our extended family during the Thanksgiving weekend. I made this pull-apart football cake for Kaleb, which he designed himself! Since I can't paint an eagle with frosting, we picked out a picture and printed it. :) Thankfully I am able to write his name in green like he wanted.



His wish for his very own jersey came true, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa!

 Today, on his actual birthday, he had a party with his friends at our house. We invited 7 boys, and they all came! For a while they played outside, much like they play at recess. It felt like recess when they played inside too. Yikes! I think Kaleb would have been just as happy (or happier) with 2 friends. It's good to know that, and it will make future parties much easier! Still, this group of boys was a lot of fun. Kaleb is blessed with many friends. My scavenger hunt was a big hit, as was this huge yummy cookie.

Kaleb's football field and crowd that he wanted

silly bunch of boys



Night time brought my favorite part of the day, since our little family finally had time to be together without anyone else around. Kaleb talked on the phone to all of his long-distance relatives, and we enjoyed his birthday supper of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. (with chocolate milk of course!) Each one of his presents was a hit, with his favorites being a watch, nerf gun, and tape measure.



big brother is pretty excited as Kaleb talks to his grammy & grampy



Sometimes a dad knows just what to get his son!

Mom knows just what he wants too!

Let's see if I can come up with 9 interesting facts about our new 9 year old son:

1. Kaleb loves eagles--the bird and the football team.
2. Every night he prays and thanks God for his mom and dad because they take such good care of him and keep the house running.
3. He adores his teacher because she is cheerful.
4. One of his favorite songs is "God Bless the USA."
5. He also thanks God that his daddy teaches him how to be a man.
6. Kaleb is the first to play with one of his young cousins, and the first to comfort them when they cry.
7. If he could eat oatmeal and cereal all day long, he would.
8. He only drinks water and milk. Occasionally a few sips of Sprite.
9. He's very good at imitating people--watch out, you might be one of those he likes to imitate!

Happy Birthday to our one-of-a-kind Kaleb! We love you sweet son!