A Few of my Favorite Christmas Moments

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Jay and I have been trying to teach Sam and Eli what Christmas is about and why we give gifts and also thankfulness for what we get. I worry that they (Sam more so than Eli) will open a gift from someone and say that they didn't want that. We went to eat dinner and exchange Christmas gifts with some friends Saturday night and on our way to the restaurant, we were telling the boys that even if it is a box of rocks, we tell the person 'Thank You.' Well...we got to the restaurant, ate dinner and then it was time for gifts. Sam didn't want to open his present. He said that he wanted to wait until we got home. We begged him to open it so our friends could see him. He was set on opening it when we got home. As soon as we pulled in the driveway at home, Sam asked if he could open his present. We got inside and let him open it and it was a tool set with a tool box. He LOVED it! He looked at me and said "Mom, I thought this was a box of rocks but it was a tool set instead!" The poor little guy takes everything so literally!

A Santa Filled Weekend

We took the boys to see Santa at the mall this weekend. We looked through toy books and made their Christmas lists before we went. Sadly, Santa has already finished making all the toys for Sam and Eli and only a couple of the things on their lists will be under our tree on Christmas morning! As we were making their lists, I'm telling ya....they wanted it all! Even dolls! I think the just got excited and wanted a little bit of everything.

Waiting in line. This took 2 hours! They were so patient!

In the 2 hours we waited, Sam said about every 2 minutes that he wanted to sit in Jay's lap, not Santa's. I think he was a little nervous. I was very proud of him though because he did great!

Eli, on the other hand, was screaming "SANTA!!!! I'M COMING TO SEE YOU!" He couldn't get in Santa's lap fast enough!





Yesterday, we went to the McWane Center to watch Polar Express and see Santa again.
Here's my little one's in their Christmas jammies...





Sam didn't want to see Santa this time

Funny Guys

The boys and I were shopping at Wal-Mart last week and looking at all the Christmas stuff. Eli saw a Santa hat and wanted to wear it so I put it on his head and then I moved on to my grocery shopping. He started saying "but I need my Christmas socks!" I had no clue what he was talking about so we walked back to the Christmas section and I realized that he was talking about stockings. He really thought that we wear them on our feet.
Here are their "Christmas socks"


Sam put Luke's burp cloth on his head this morning and says "Look Mom, I'm Moses!" Sam often makes sure to pray for Moses in his bedtime prayers. It's pretty funny!

I took this picture of my Luke after bathtime last night. He is such a happy boy!

O Christmas Tree

For the past 3 years, we have been going to a local farm to cut down our Christmas tree. I LOVE this tradition that we started for our family. The boys love it too! I'm sure it's not Jay's favorite thing since he is the one who has to do all the work cutting it down! They make it very fun for the family. They have horse and buggy rides around the farm. They have apple cider, candy canes and popcorn for everyone. It's lots of fun!


Eli liked this little one







Here's Jay giving the boys a little lesson on counting the circles to see how old trees are



TIMBER!!




Wiped out!

Eli's First School Picture

We got these back yesterday. He looks like such a big boy!!

Pajama Day

Today was Pajama and Movie Day at Sam and Eli's school. They were excited to wear their new Spiderman jammies that Grandma got them.


On our way home from school this afternoon, Sam told me that he got put in time out. Actually, here is how our conversation went:

me: How was your day, Sam. What did you do?

Sam: Mom, I've got some good news and bad news for you. Let's only talk about this for a minute and then lets talk about something else.

me: What's the bad news?

Sam: The GOOD news is that my teacher was mostly good today. The bad news is that she was bad too.

me: How was she bad?

Sam: She put me in timeout

me: WHY?!

Sam: I was doing this **acting out silliness** during the days of the week song.

I can imagine how it all played out. He tends to be silly at the times he needs to be serious and serious at the times he can be silly. I had to explain to him that his teacher wasn't being bad by putting him time out. I thought it was kind of funny that he only wanted to talk about it for a minute and then talk about something else. He wanted to tell me but not get in trouble for it!

Here is a picture of my sweet Luke. He helped me with Christmas shopping while Sam and Eli were at school.

I love those little chubby cheeks!

6 Years and 3 Little Boys Later...

Yesterday was mine and Jay's 6th Anniversary. We had plans for my mom to watch the boys on Saturday night & us go out on a date (it would have been our first date since Luke has been here). Plans got changed once my tooth cracked and fell off Saturday while I was eating lunch. Darn Sun Chips! I spent some of the day yesterday at the dentist getting it fixed. Thank GOD for a wonderful dentist & friend who came in on the weekend for me! (I'm getting my THANK GOD FOR DR. TODD bumper sticker made now!) Although things didn't go as planned, our anniversary was perfect!
Jay, I had a great time going out on a date with you and our boys last night. I LOVE YOU!

Thanksgiving Day Pictures

Sam and Eli watching the Macy's Parade

Our Family

Sam and Eli with their cousin, Lexi

Playing at Grandma's



Luke's first bite of big boy food! I couldn't eat my Thanksgiving meal without sharing some with my little guy. Yummy sweet potatoes!

And he LOVED them!

My mom, stepdad and the grandkids

Jay's mom and the grandkids