Our very Full House

This week, I want to remember (2/6-2/10)

2012-02-10T21:16:00.000-06:00

Monday, February 6

Laundry day. Mounds and mounds and mounds and mounds of it. I know everyone has different ways of doing laundry, but I do it all in one day. Every Monday.

It's a lot. A LOT....

(this is two loads pictured, and I do about 8-10 each Monday)

But eventually, it was conquered and all was clean and spotless again in the laundry room.

For about seven minutes, anyway. *sigh*

Tuesday, February 7

Left the Lolee girl alone for about three minutes in the kitchen.

Big mistake.

Darn that salt container!

While I was tidying up my bedroom, we heard the 'this is just a test' weather siren. Actually, at that moment, I had my camera in hand and caught poor Ethan's immediate reaction. For some reason, he is all of a sudden terrified of tornadoes. It's a season all children go through, I'm sure--being scared of the weather.

I reassured him through the whole thing, but I know he was very relieved when that siren ended!

Lola found her new set of hat and gloves (I found them at Old Navy for her for next year
for .98 cents! Woot!) and decided to model them for me....but she couldn't figure out how
to get them on right! I did what every mother would do:
~~put down my camera immediately and helped her~~
laughed at her and took pictures!

We colored some pictures and made some crayons....

....and then after lunch, Lola hit a milestone: she sat all the way through reading time. It was the first time she has ever done that! We read for over 30 minutes and she did not try to move once! I was so proud of her.

Reading before the kids' rest time every day is something I have always done, since before Colin was Lola's age. I've been a bit worried because Lola just hasn't shown the interest in books the way her brothers always did. She doesn't like to sit for them, and usually just wanders around Ethan's room while I read to him.

But the last few days, she has seemed very interested...and maybe today, something inside her snapped! This reader Momma was so happy!

It always tickles me...the kids are never, ever tired....

....but they are both out in no time!

Wednesday, February 8

One of those absolutely tornado-like days. It was one ~~chaotic event~~ thing after another, and I truthfully don't even know where the day went--but I looked up and it was gone. We did most of the normal things (and had great luck with Lo at reading time again!), but there was a definite touch of crazy added in for good measure.

No photos. Booooooo.

A fun thing of note--I got my hair cut and highlighted! Love, love when I get to do that.

Thursday, February 9

Grocery store time!

Of course, it would fall on the coldest day of the week...but what must be done must be done!

On that note: I hate how long that takes! We left the house at 8:30, and by the time I got there (about a 25 minute drive for me), shopped, checked out, loaded the car, drove home, unloaded the kids, unloaded the groceries into the house, then put everything away--we were past lunchtime! And hungry kids mean grouchy kids. Whew.

That afternoon, we got some Valentine's Day cards and goodies from Grandma 'Nette and Grandpa!

I think it is just the sweetest thing in the world that they do that for our kids.

They were thrilled!

Ethan has been coughing more and more....he was so sweet at dinner when he prayed, "Dear Jesus....please help me to feel better soon."

I never want to forget that innocence. That sweetness.

Thank you, God, for my babies--and the lessons they teach me every day.

Friday, February 10

Friday morning, the older two requested their favorite for breakfast: keeny (zucchini) bread....

As much as Ethan usually loves keeny bread himself, this morning it apparently was not his number one choice. When I told him,
"Ethan, we're having keeny bread this morning!"
He replied,
"Mommy, would you like to hear the list of my favorite breakfast foods?"
Keeny bread didn't make the cut.

The younger two requested a bath after breakfast, and since I had some packing to do

in my bedroom, I obliged! Baths are a very easy way to keep these two in one place and

out of trouble for a good length of time!

(Yes....I have a purple tub. Long story--it was here when we moved...it'll

be gone when it's this room's turn for a remodel! One bathroom at a time!)

While in the bath, Ethan began examining his bruises.

"Mommy....do you know why I have all these marks on me?"

Me: "Why, buddy?"

E: "Because Colin and Cameron do damage to me when we are playing."

*giggle*

He also had to show me a 'new trick'.

My children definitely have different definitions of gaming.

Lola: Sesame Street Chutes and Ladders.....

....and Ethan: the Wii head.

Ethan, after lunch: "Mommy....can I please play Mario Kart on the Wii?"

Me: "Yes, buddy. You've been a very good boy today."

Ethan, already focused on the task ahead (and no longer on the conversation, apparently):

"So have you, Mommy."

Distracted, much?

The boys came home from school and Colin began work on his Valentine's Cards for his classmates....I can't wait to share that with you next week!

Funny things I've neglected to blog

2012-02-07T14:08:00.000-06:00

Facebook is storming the globe, of course--and many times, nowadays, when my children say something funny, I just pop over there and posted it as my status for friends and family to see.

Today, however, I wanted to record them all here. So, if you're reading these as duplicates--my apologies! (Although I'm not that sorry for you, I guess--who doesn't need more laughter in their day!?)

This Momma has to record for prosperity purposes!

Ethan, playing basketball on the Wii:
"Mom, guess who I have on my team?"
Me: "Who, buddy?"
E: "It's me, you, and Grandma 'Nette."
Me, drumming up some excitement: "Are ya gonna win!?"
E: "Probably not with that team."

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Lola: "Happy birthday, poopy head!" (She mumbles a lot, but of course THAT was clear as a bell)
My head drops into both of my hands....I look up to see each brother laughing and pointing at another brother! They knew the next question out of my mouth was going to be:
"WHO taught her that!?"
and then Ethan added to the laughter by blaming Buddy--our Elf on the Shelf!!

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This little girl climbed up onto the table and helped herself to a couple of apples....
and my inner junior higher instantly came out.

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Around Christmas time, we read quite a few books about the nativity, which was great! It wasn't as great, however, the day Ethan saw a lady in a burqa and shrieked (in a quiter-than-Mommy-would-have-liked-restaurant):

"Mom! It's MARY! From baby Jesus and Joseph and Mary in the manger!

(Though, to be fair, middle Eastern garb does look quite a bit like biblical attire....)

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Speaking of stories of Christmas:

Me: "Ethan, do you remember our story from last night? What was the name of the angel who told Mary that she was going to be baby Jesus' mother?"

(Looking for the answer Gabriel)

Ethan: "Uh.....ummmmm....."

Me: "It started with a "G". Guh....guh....gaaaaaa....."

Ethan: "Gabraham!"

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And, Christmas songs.....

"Tha paddles are glowing....the baby awakes.....

(Ethan, singing Away in a Manger)

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Cameron, the day after his birthday: "Mom? I still feel like I'm five."

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We actually got a bit of snow a couple of weeks ago--more like a dusting. Ethan was so excited. It didn't last long, though, and when he looked out the sliding glass door after his rest, he proclaimed:

"Aw, Mom! All the snow died!"

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For the last couple of years, we have had a lot of fun with our Elf on the Shelf. His name is Buddy, and although we don't use him as a behavior modification technique (think, "You better be good because Buddy is watching you and will tell Santa!") the boys love to get up every morning and find where Buddy has "hidden".

One night, I hid Buddy in the stockings, and had the bright idea to put some torn paper underneath.

(Buddy has a tendency to be naughty once in a while.)

Ethan woke up, and, after he had found him, looked him square in the eyes and said:
"BUDDY! You're not supposed to be opening presents before Christmas! Shame on you!"

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My boys love to create "Miis" on the Wii. They have created many characters resembling real life people, including a few of the Bears players--Forte, Urlacher, and Hester, to name a few.

One night, while playing frisbee golf as the "Hester" mii, I overheard Cameron, trying to justify his poor score to Ethan, who was beating him rather solidly:

"Well.....this is golf. Not football. It's not Hester's game. What do you expect?

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Lola: "Tammy!"

Cameron: "What?"

Lola: "Tam-mmy!"
Cameron: "What?!"

Lola: "TAM---MMMMY!"

Cameron, loudly: "Lola, what? You're supposed to say SOMETHING!"

Lola, shouting: ".......SOME! ......TING!!"

*********************************************************************************************

Oh, my children...I am so thankful God gave each and every one of you a great sense of humor! You each brighten my day--every day--more than you will ever know!!

This week, I want to remember (1/30-2/3)

2012-02-03T21:06:00.000-06:00

Monday, January 30

The kids spent the day playing with Ethan's new birthday toys!

Lola was quiet and I found her like this. This girl loves her some things she shouldn't touch!

And, it was such a beautiful day....

....that we were able to get some outdoor time in, too!

We've sure been blessed with such a mild winter.

The kids have been outside more times than I can count.

Lola used her new dishes from Grandma Nette at dinner! She loved them.

Shane built Ethan his new train track so he would wake up to a nice surprise on his birthday!

Tuesday, January 31

It's Ethan's birthday! And Mommy's, too!

The boys woke up and decided to add to Ethan's track.

Banana nut muffins for breakfast!

Special request of the birthday boy (and why we baked so many of them last week!)

Ethan was a little confused opening Gram's card (which contained a check)....

....until I told him what it was!

We played Candy Land, read lots of books, and did some learning time.

Then, in the middle of the day--I got flowers!

First, a bouquet of roses (Thank you Dad and Amy, they are absolutely lovely!) and then

a very colorful assortment containing one of my faves--Gerbera Daisies--from Shane.

Later that night, we went to dinner for our birthday and had a great time with our family.

The boys sat at the end of the table and had their own conversation.

Adults are boring.

My cousin Haley and Lolee girl. Haley is having a baby girl herself in just a few weeks!

Yummy cake!

Told you it was yummy.

Haley and I

Lola took her turns around the table sitting on laps.

First, it was Grandma Jane's turn....

Then it was Daddy's.

What a great birthday!

Wednesday, February 1

(How are we in the second month of the year already? Wha?)

It was Errand Day. I did a lot, lot, lot of things--but no pictures! :) Just one of those busy-keeping-the-house-running days.

Thursday, February 2

We woke up...and I was able to give the boys a lesson on fog.

Lola has been showing lots and lots of signs...and today was the day. Underpants!

We ditched the diapers and she did really well. Only one accident, which I thought was great.

I kept her in undies and a robe only, for ease of dressing/undressing. I had put her on the

potty several times when I saw this:

then this....

....and then this!

She had ditched her clothes and climbed up there all by herself.

This girl never ceases to surprise me!

On the toilet note, when you turn five in our home, it means you start doing the deed all by yourself. And by doing the deed, I do mean the 'wiping' deed. So, between Ethan learning to wipe himself (and me checking him) and Lola going potty every 7.4 minutes (and wiping her), I think I washed hands (including Lola's, Ethan's, and my own) about 438 times. (All numbers approximate. Whew.)

Ethan played on his train again for what seemed like hours.....even Lola loved it!

Then the weather cleared up--it turned into a gorgeous day....

....so they kids were able to play outside again!

And, when the big boys got home from school, Ethan informed them:

"Guys. That bird saw his shadow."

Friday February 3

My poor babies stayed home from school today. I wouldn't say they are "super" sick, but Col and Cam each have a cough that I didn't want to expose the other children to.

We ran our poor nebulizer silly....but it seemed to really help.

Colin and I had this conversation:

Colin: "Mommy, I'm most like a monkey."

Now, to be fair, this absolutely came out of nowhere. I try really hard to respond to my children at all times, rather than reacting to them (I fail a lot, but I try!) but in this situation, I was at a loss.

Me: "Uh.....huh?"

Colin: "Well. Monkeys are wild. Monkeys are independent. Monkeys are loud. Monkeys are fast in trees. And monkeys are goofy."

Me, failing again: "Uh....o....kay."

(He later went on to explain that, in school, they are doing an art project where they have to choose an animal that they are most like, and do a project on it. Which helped, knowing that that conversation did not, in fact, come out of nowhere! It was a pretty funny few minutes of conversation.)

Sometimes...on days like today, it appears....a girl just has to get her Tinkerbell on.

We had another lovely "Family Night" at home. We ate some Tombstone pizzas, picnic-style (a.k.a. in front of the TV--rare for us--and yes, I was feeling gourmet, thankyouverymuch) and watched Mr. Popper's Penguins! Cameron was so excited when he heard which movie I had chosen. His exact words were: "Mommy, Hayden and Waylon (schoolmates) both said that movie is so funny, and that the penguins in it pooter all the time!"

Apparently, it takes nothing more than bodily functions to get laughs out of little boys! And, considering Shane was giggling quite a bit, it seems that some things never change!

We all really enjoyed it.

Christmas Day

2012-02-02T17:27:00.000-06:00

(Totally forgot to add this cute pic from the Christmas Eve service...so I'm adding it here!)

By the way--that is a giant mint in Colin's mouth, in case you were wondering!

Christmas morning we got all dolled up again and headed back to church.

This smile of Lola's kills me!

Sweet Ethan and Cameron, in almost identical poses

Our friends' daughter matched Lola--and no, we didn't plan that!

Had to snap a picture of the adorable little ladies.

Our adult choir sang a lovely cantata with several songs by Travis Cottrell (so that tells you how good they were!) After the music there was a bit of preaching--all to reflect the goodness of God to send His Son for us!

Some pictures by the tree after the morning service.

My mom, Lola and I

Our family

And one of Grandma Jane and the kids.

Then it was back home to open presents from Grandma Jane.

The boys all got brand new backpacks (Ethan picked JETS green)....

....and brand new lunchboxes with their names on them!

Cameron chose a bright yellow backpack.

Just like his personality!

Then came the LEGOS!! A new, huge hit with our boys.

Daddy got an awesome new Adidas jacket from Grandma Jane, too.

Grandma got a big surprise--a new Keurig!

The boys also got Bears knit hats and matching gloves from Grandma.

Ethan, as usual, had to model his!

Then Grandma opened her favorite gift--a shutterfly calendar.

She loves to get these each year.

Lola got a new PINK coat, a PINK lunchbox with her name on it, and what else?

A PINK backpack!

It is not only me who thinks it is so much fun having a girl after three boys!

Remember that picture of the angel on the wrapping paper, with the flipped out hair?

*grin*

After gift opening, we spent some time playing.

The boys and Grandma making crayons

This thing is really pretty cool, and a great use of old crayons!

It definitely held the boys' interest for several hours.

Lola decided to dress up....

....and there's that smile again!

Love this girl.

It was a tiring, fun-filled day and we loved every minute of it!

Ethan's 5th birthday!

2012-01-31T10:40:00.000-06:00

Today, my littlest guy is five!

We had a birthday party with family on Saturday to celebrate. Ethan absolutely loves Mario Kart, so that was the theme of the day!

He loved his balloon....

....both sides of it!

We were so fortunate to have both our close family and some far-away family come.

Lolee girl snuggling with Aunt Aimee (love Livy checking Lo out in the background!)

My niece, Olivia. Love this girl! She loves to come to my house, sit at my counter, and watch me

as I go about the kitchen. But she does not love to chat with me! Most of the time she

just sits in silence, taking it all in!

Olivia's sister Annelyse is exactly 9 months younger than Lola.

They played really well together, despite some "MINE!" moments from Lola,

who usually doesn't have to share her dollies with anyone!

{Also, have to mention here....Lola's hair was compliments of Aunt Aimee. Bwahahaaa!}

Two adorable girlies!

Grandma 'Nette playing the "Get the Legos out of Lola's mouth" game

Lola decided to try on Annelyse's boots when she wasn't looking. She loved them!

The cousins played Mario Kart for a while, while we waited for everyone to arrive.

So cute with them all lined up on the couch!

Uncle Rog holding the girls

Ethan had such a hard time waiting to open presents! At one point in the day, when Aunt Aimee told him it was only a few more hours till he could open them, he was so upset that he told her he just thought we should cancel his birthday! But the time finally arrived.

We decided to let him open Grandma Jane's present first, then eat, then open the rest.

Luke checking things out while E opened...

....something he had been asking for for a while....

....a new Imaginext Samurai castle!

Ethan has a real love affair with Imaginext. Actually, all of my boys do. Even Colin, at 8 1/2,

still really enjoys playing with them. There are all kinds of things to do (so kids really love them)

but no batteries so it really encourages free, creative play (which I love!)

My Aunt Karen (being goofy!) and Uncle Tony

My cousins, Hanna and Hilary

My mom (Grandma Jane) and Shane's mom (Grandma 'Nette)

Grandpa and Annelyse

After dinner (pizza, requested by Ethan!) it was finally time to open the rest of E's presents.

His eyes were gleaming!

Soon there was paper flying everywhere.

Aunt Aimee is truly one of the best gift givers I know....

....and she didn't disappoint this time! Love the look on his face!

A giant, super soft Mario Kart blanket!!

Ethan loved it and has slept with it every night since.

Grandma 'Nette and Grandpa got Ethan his other favorite toys--trains.

From Mommy and Daddy--the one Imaginext plane he doesn't have!

Aunt Karen got all three of the boys a very cool new board game.

The boys played it with me and Grandma 'Nette the very next day and it was really fun.

Last but not least....

....our very good friends got Ethan a Nintendo DS....

....complete with the Mario Kart game.

He was pretty ecstatic over everything!

Tom showing Ethan how to get the system working

Cupcake/cake time!

Brooklyn and Lola enjoying their very blue cupcakes

All kids love to lick the icing off! They know where the good stuff is.

It seems unreal that this baby....

....is now this grown up boy! I love you Ethan Ryan--Happy 5th birthday!

Ethan is one
Ethan is two
Ethan is three
Ethan is four (two links)

This week, I want to remember (1/23-1/27)

2012-01-28T13:02:00.001-06:00

Monday, January 23

It's Lola's birthday!
We didn't do a whole lot, because Lolee girl wasn't feeling well. She cried a good portion of the day saying, "I hold you Mommy! I hoooooold you!" So, I would pick her up, snuggle her, and carry her around with me doing whatever needed to be done. At rest time, she even let me rock her to sleep--which is a real rarity these days! I was glad God gave me another day to pretend she was a little baby again--she really is transforming in front of my very eyes into a beautiful, independent little girl.

I couldn't get a smile out of her....

So....I enlisted an ally.

The bond between these two....

....is absolutely precious.

Cameron came home from school, telling me all about his day. "Mom, we played Star Wars! I was Dark Vader (sic), Waylon was Luke Skywalker, and Ty was Princess Leia." (I got a big laugh out of that one!)
Colin and I played Scrabble after dinner. He's pretty good for an eight year old!
Cameron read his first complete book while I was making dinner (like, a real one with more than one word on the page) and we were all pretty excited for him! Now that he made it all the way through, he just wants to read "one more" all the time! Yay for readers.

That night, Grandma Jane came over to give Lola Belle her presents--a couple

of very neat Leap Frog toys. A little house that does and says tons of things....

(We agreed that the angels on the wrapping paper looked like Lo!)

And she got a toy that looks a lot like my new toy, a Kindle Fire!

She and her nappy hair love it. She calls it "Tinnel!"

Tuesday, January 24

Thought of the day: playdates are good for children. But even better for Mommies!
Lola woke up still sore, but feeling much better! Her mood was improved greatly, which made the day much more delightful.
We stopped for lunch and when I asked Ethan how his steakburger was, he proclaimed: "It's FRESH!"
After baths, the boys did this for about 20 minutes:

We watched a bit more of Star Wars (the original movies--Daddy got them on Blu Ray for Christmas!) before the boys had to go to bed. They love, love Star Wars, which is great because so does their Daddy! It's so cute to see the four of them bond over yet another thing.

Wednesday, January 25

The day Ethan woke up (way too) early, was grouchy most of the morning, and then--after I noticed I hadn't heard him for a few minutes--I checked on him around 10:30 in his room and found this:

The days my boys said these things:

Cameron, getting dressed for school, comes to me in his underwear, distressed:

"Mommy, these undies are NOT right! Something is just very wrong."

Me: "Cameron....those are Ethan's undies."

Cameron: "Whew! Mine have much more room in the legs."

Ethan, during learning time: "I'm going to color the water blue." (chooses a violet crayon)

Me: "Are you going to color it blue, Ethan, or purple?"

E: "Blue." (reaches again for the violet.)

Me, holding out the two crayons: "Ethan, which one is blue and which one is purple?"

Ethan, studying them for a moment: "Eeeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo...."

Colin, after school: "Mommy, we've had snow, then sleet, then rain today!"

Me: "Yep. And it looks like it is starting to sleet again."

Colin: "We're having three kinds of pah-sip-ah-tations."

The day Lola wore pigtails--real ones, near her ears instead of at the top of her head--for the first time!

I didn't get any close up shots of her, but you can kind of see them in this
shot of the kids playing Legos after school:

Thursday, January 26th

Ethan poured the milk on his cereal. All. By. Himself. (It was a big deal!)

Ethan also helped me bake banana nut muffins. Then, he helped clean up!

This child washed ALL the big dishes (you know, the ones that don't go into the dishwasher)

by himself, and did a great job getting them clean.

As soon as Lola heard the word help, she was up--and on me like white on rice.

The dishwasher door opened and bam, she was on it, saying, "I help. I help."

Then, she started saying something even cuter--"Here Mommy. Help you."

After school, the boys came home and we played more Legos. I got up to check where Cameron was (and go to the bathroom) when I found him in there. And immediately, my nose told me he had just done some bid-ness, if ya know what I'm sayin.
Me: "Shoo, Cam. You kinda stunk the bathroom up a bit, bud."
Cameron: "You know what else I did, Mom? Warmed up the toilet seat for ya."

Friday, January 27

Ethan, Lola and I spent this day getting ready for Ethan's 5th birthday party! In the morning, we cleaned up the house.

Just after I finished vacuuming everything, I found this:

Lola had found the salt. And opened it. And dumped it. A lot of it.

And these two pictures were two of about 12 I could have taken.

She left a nice trail from my office floor (above) to the kitchen (below).

Sigh. So everything got double vacuumed. Extra clean, I say!

We did lots of errands--a trip to CVS, a trip to the grocery and the meat store, etc. When we got home, we had some supper and the baking began! Ethan requested cupcakes--chocolate, of course! (He is his mother's son!) So Lola helped me bake.

Anytime the mixer (or any small appliance in my kitchen) starts to whir,

she comes flying over and says, "I see! I see!"

After the cupcakes were in the oven, it was time to make some pizza dough.

Homemade pizza was the special request of the birthday boy!

Lola loves to watch the dough kneading through the window of the machine.

Then, much to my boys'--who had been literally pacing the floor for two hours waiting--delight, Grandma 'Nette and Grandpa showed up! It was immediately time for games. We were so thrilled to have them make the trip down for Ethan's party and spend the weekend with us.

Scrabble it was!

Ethan's birthday party was the next day--more on that later!

Christmas Eve program at Grape Creek

2012-01-27T20:12:00.000-06:00

For the past four years, we have had a children's program at our church on Christmas Eve, and I have had the privilege of directing it. This year was absolutely the most fun I have had yet--the program we did was wonderful! Plus, with all of 'my' church children getting older, we can do more things. It just keeps getting better and better!

My friends were gracious to take some pictures for me, since I was directing.

Ethan, heading up to the stage--all smiles!

You will see that is a common theme throughout the evening.

He marched right up to his spot, beaming the whole time.

He was one of the youngest on the stage, but you sure wouldn't know it by how grown-up he acted!

A moment later, Colin and Cameron filed in behind him.

{Colin's expression kills me!}

There they are! The children of Grape Creek Baptist Church.

Ethan, making his way up to the microphone for his line.

You will notice in many of the pictures that his hands didn't leave his pockets the whole time.

Ethan, Wyatt (middle, son of one of my best friends), and Cameron all had lines regarding the shepherds.

Ethan: "They were poor!"

Wyatt: "They were outcasts!"

Cameron: "They were definitely at the bottom of the food chain!"

There were lots of giggles from those three adorable lines!

Later, Chloe (daughter of same said friend) and Colin said their lines.

Instead of going back to his seat when his line was done, Colin stayed at the microphone.

I was so proud of him--he sang a solo (his second ever--last year he sang one in the adult program)

and did a wonderful job. No nervousness here--he has clearly fallen FAR from the tree on that one.

The boys' cousin Mason (my cousin Haley's son) had some lines too!

This looks semi-dorky. But it's just how I roll. *grin*

I had to end this post with the memories I have of Ethan.

Being the director, I have to focus on all of the children--but, even if he was not my son, Ethan just could not help but stand out. This child worked so hard learning all of the words of all five songs we sung. He listened to the CD over and over (and over and over) until he knew the lyrics better than I did! And he sand his little heart out that night.

I have--I counted--21 pictures that include him, with almost this exact same expression in every shot: mouth open wide, singing and smiling! So many others commented to me also, how well he sung and knew the words.

As a singer myself, I feel so blessed that God has given me

a little guy who loves to do something that I love too!

And who is so CUTE doing it!

Christmas Eve Day

2012-01-27T07:37:00.012-06:00

With Christmas falling on a Sunday this year, things in the present-opening-department went a little bit differently.

Backing up to Friday afternoon, I got a huge surprise when I walked in the door after a couple
of afternoon errands. Shane had bought, picked up, and installed a new hutch for me in my
dining room while I was out! It was one I had seen months ago and commented on.
We both really liked it--needless to say, it was a wonderful gift.
Shane was ready for me and got a great shot of the shock on my face!

The next day, Saturday morning, we decided on a whim to open presents that day.
We didn't want to have to rush through everything to get to church in time and have it be hectic;
we were so glad we did that!
We did stocking first. Lola was so excited!

The boys had the opportunity (at school) to spend some of their money in 'Santa's workshop'.

Our PTO puts it on, and they have some really cute things that are very reasonably priced,

so that the children can pick out their own presents for Dad, Mom, or siblings.

Colin used his very own cleaning money and bought me this ornament

(as did Cameron--so I am very luck to own two of them!)

And he also used his own money to buy Lola a very special necklace.

It is a black rope style necklace (perfect for the breakage factor) with a pink cross on the end.

She loves it and wears it all the time!

Then it was on to the boys' gift for their sister.

They all picked it out for her and couldn't wait for her to open it.

I love the look on her face when she saw all of the dress up inside!

Immediately, the items had to be taken out and put on Lolee. They just could not wait.

The boys opened up lots of goodies. I love to shop clearance all year round, and stash it away in a box. When Christmas came this year, I felt like I hardly had to buy anything because we had so much already and had gotten it all so inexpensively! Two birds with one stone. *grin*

Anything BEARS always brings smiles to their faces!

I found these great gift sets last year, late winter, for $4 apiece!

Each came with a t-shirt, a hat, and a football. Score!

Ethan was so cute. All day, anything he got had to be immediately put on.

Hence, the Mario pajama pants!

And the Bears sweatshirt...I could have posted five different shots of him wearing different things!

Cameron, just having opened a new Bears sweatshirt

And Colin, with his sweatshirt!

The Lolee girl opened up her second big present:

A Veggie Tales Nativity set that sings her favorite song, Away in a Manger!

She saw this in the store and loved it immediately.

I knew we had to get it for her and she plays with it all the time.

The boys have had so much fun with this Crayola crayon maker. Hours of creativity.

Love Ethan's face. This child absolutely adores anything Imaginext!

At the very end, we gave Daddy his gift. Does the shape give anything away? *giggle*

A new guitar! Shane has been asking for one and if you remember, even Cameron asked Mrs. Claus for one for Daddy! The boys wanted him to take it out right away, and as we suspected, he loved it.

We had so much fun Christmas Eve day....after a few hours playing with all our new fun things, it was off to our Church's Christmas Eve program!

To be continued....

Colin's school Christmas party

2012-01-25T17:18:00.000-06:00

With having two children in school now, I am finding that I have to make extra effort to make things "equal" when it comes to being a room mother. Since I was a helper for Cameron's Thanksgiving Feast, I didn't help with his Christmas party so I could, in turn, help with Colin's!

We had a great time. I baked cupcakes (seems to be a highly loved, always requested treat of the kiddos!) and Ethan, Lola and I took them in and spent a while with Colin's second grade class.

Ethan always loves seeing the bigger kids and feeling like he is part of everything!

Most of the children in Colin's class know him and always welcome him right in.

Colin and his friend and table mate (and neighbor!), Grace

Tyler and Olivia. Tyler and Colin have bonded over mutual love of Legos, and Olivia was the Prom

Princess when Colin was the Prince last year. She and Colin are very good friends--but, I'm told,

fight like cats and dogs sometimes! They are both so competitive, and most people that see them

together compare them to brother and sister because of the love/hate relationship. *giggle*

Mercee and Kylie.

I just love everything about what this picture says about how fun-loving second graders are!

Lola, enjoying her second-ever candy cane!

Mrs. Ducey is Colin's teacher. She is wonderful and loves Lola (just like everyone seems to!)

We have been so blessed to have such wonderful, gifted, patient teachers who treat the

children almost as if they were their own.

Enjoying some candy and cupcakes

Mrs. Ducey's second grade class!

(For my memory: Front, L to R: Kylie, Ellie, Sam, Colin, Emily, Destiny

Middle, L to R: Gavin, Madison, Grace, Maddie, Tyler, Olivia, Mercee

Back, L to R: Camden, Emma, Tiara, Kaelyn, Ethan, Mrs. Ducey)

Look who's TWO!!

2012-01-23T07:37:00.000-06:00

{And who has a new "smile" for the camera these days....}

Happy second birthday, my sweet girl!
(More to come, soon!)

This week, I want to remember (1/16-1/20)

2012-01-21T23:20:00.005-06:00

Monday, January 16

Having ALL of my boys with me, thanks to a day off of school in honor or Mr. King.
Lots and lots and lots and LOTS of Lego playing.
My friend and her kids coming over to visit and play a bit.
Colin coming up with a really good scrabble word all by himself.
Dinner as a family.
Baths without incidents. (Sometimes miraculous, in and of itself.)
A really all-around-wonderful day.

Tuesday, January 17

Cameron came home with a little hand that had been cut out of construction paper. The hand had a name scribbled on the back, and some numbers on the front. Cameron proudly showed me the hand and then said:

"Mom. Macie gave me this today to give to you. (Hands it to me) It's her phone number. (Pointing) See? Right on there? She wants you to call her so that I can go over to her house. She wants me to spend the night. Not tonight, since it's a school night. But sometime."

I chuckled to myself about the innocence of it all....but then thought I didn't think I was going to have to deal with these particular kinds of issues quite this early!

Then, a few minutes later, after asking Cameron how his day was, he said:

"Mom! Preston threw up all over his desk. Ick!"

And I laughed. Hard. Not because that was necessarily a funny piece of information, but because of ALL of the things that Cameron could have chosen to tell me about his day, he picked that.

He didn't care for my laughter and began to scold me (which just made me laugh more, of course....) "Mom! That's not funny! And it's kinda mean that you are laughing about it!"

We straightened out the reasons for my laughter, and then he was okay.

Later that night, while I was cutting Ethan's hair, he said to me:

"Mommy? What I really, really want for my birthday is....for God to turn me into an Angry Bird."

Wednesday, January 18

Waking up at 7:20--late because I didn't hear the alarm due to my current stuffiness--and panicking because I didn't think I'd be able to get the boys ready for school in time....

.....only to find them up, dressed, with their hair done and helping themselves to cereal.

Lola saying "No fair!" at least a hundred times. Sometimes inappropriately, but mostly in context.

Rearranging Lola's entire bedroom to make room for her dolls/accessories/dress up clothes. We've officially entered into a new era....her dolls have more space than she does.

Making a new recipe for dinner that everyone loved. When asked how it rated (one to ten):
Colin: "Ten!"
Ethan: "Ten!"
Cameron: "A thousand!"
Never one to be outdone, that Cameron.

Thursday, January 19

Ethan, as the boys were heading out the door to go to school, saying: "Can't my brothers just stay home and play with me today?"

So sweet.

That my boys still think it is fun to dress alike, and that they do it on purpose for

school on a regular basis. I'm going to miss that, someday.

That we had Nutella for breakfast.

And lunch.

(Oh....and we stayed in our PJs for....awhile. May or may not have been until bath time.)

How blessed I was to walk into Ethan's room to read before rest time, to hear Ethan teaching Lola how to sing "Blessed be Your Name". And to hear her starting to sing it back.

Ethan and Cameron playing the Wii; Cameron falling behind in Mario Kart and saying, "I'm never going to catch up!" and Ethan chiming right in, not missing a beat, with "You're never going to catch up with THAT attitude."

Friday, January 20

In the morning, as I was packing the boys' lunches, Cameron asked me for a chip clip to put in his lunchbox. When I looked at him questioningly, he said:

"Mommy, I don't usually get to finish all of the chips...and then even when I fold the bag, or try to put them neatly back in my lunchbox, they always spill out! Then they get everywhere inside and spill out on the bus. (Coming over to the drawer, opening it, and pulling out a clip) See? I need one of these."

And then he came home with his goldfish bag neatly clipped. *grin*

Watching Letter factory with E and Lo for the six zillionth time. And singing along as if it was my first.

Tombstone pizza, Star Wars, and snuggling with all of my kiddos. Hearing Ethan say things like "Why does he talk funny? I think he's weird." (Yoda) and Colin still calling him Dark Vader. *grin* A pretty good end to a pretty great week.

Christmas from Grandma 'Nette and Grandpa

2012-01-19T17:37:00.000-06:00

For Christmas this year for the boys, Shane's mom and dad graciously pooled the boys' money together and bought them something pretty spectacular: an indoor basketball hoop!

Now, this thing really is pretty great. It's NBA grade (so says my husband) with a real breakaway rim--and it has been tested at 180 pounds! One night, a couple days before Christmas, Shane installed it while the boys were in the shower.

(Lola helped.)

She's learning early how tools work!

This is her 'I know you're pointing that thing at me but I don't feel like giving you a real smile' smile.

Such a silly girl :)

The boys got out of the shower but we couldn't let them into the room, so they knew something was up and immediately began speculating. Somewhere, the picked up on the basketball idea and ran with it. I think they all had that idea when they came in, but we captured the moment anyway:

You can see they went kinda crazy with excitement! *giggle*

The next few moments (and hours, days, weeks, etc.) were filled with shooting and trying out this great new addition to their room. I think the funniest moment of the whole video is when Ethan is shooting with the yet-to-be-blown-up ball!!

Then, everyone began testing to see if the rim would hold....

Crazy girl hung there for a long time!!

A strong little stinker!

She lasted longer than Colin!

Col swung back and forth a few times and it still held....

But then....the true test. *giggle*

The boys (all four of them) have played tirelessly on this hoop for weeks now. Thank you Lynette and Roger for such a great gift!

Thankful for....

2012-01-19T11:41:00.000-06:00

(playing some more catch-up today....)

Around Thanksgiving, my Pastor's wife Kathy (who teaches our boys and Lola on Wednesday nights) did a project with the children. She had them trace their hand; helped them turn their hand into a turkey; and then they created feathers of all the things they were most thankful for to decorate their turkeys.

I thought the kids' were so cute, and they hang in my office to this day.

Colin was thankful for:

Jesus

Cubs

Bears

Mom and Dad

(maybe need to work on order of priorities, but at least Jesus is at the top)

Ethan was thankful for:

Jesus

the Bears

the Cubs

the Storm

(and all of a sudden, Colin's list looks better than before....at least I made that one)

Cameron was thankful for:

The God

The Bears

The Mom and Dad

The Jesus

and then an extra turkey because he was 'extra grateful'.

(written by himself, the same week that 'the' was a sight word in his K-5 class)

Lola, with some help from her brothers, was thankful for:

Daddy

Mommy

Brothers

Bananas

Hysterical.

Our tree, Christmas light style

2012-01-18T09:14:00.001-06:00

(Life is happening so quickly around me...and I feel like I am missing it because I am so far behind on my blog. I am determined to get caught up this week!)

Every year except one since we moved to Catlin, Shane has decorated our tree outside. It is a ton of work for him, but the results are so wonderful! I've never seen another tree like it, and Shane gets lots and lots of compliments on it each year.

This year, we tried to get some pictures. (Obviously you can see from the clarity that I am not an expert on night shots.)

It is SO lit up that you can see it from pretty far away.

This picture is as we come around the bend in our road.

See that big lighted blotch in the middle? *giggle*

Getting a little closer, you can start to make out the shape a bit more.

Shane individually wraps the strands of lights around each branch.

And closer....

It really is pretty spectacular in person--I wish the pictures did it more justice.
Shane ran into one of our friends the other day (who lives around the bend in the other direction
and sees the tree from afar every night) who said he wished Shane would leave the tree up all year
long because he loves to look at it!

Who knows....for the amount of work it takes Shane to do this, (and the fact that sometimes the lights don't come down until April anyway) maybe he will.....

*grin*

What Martin Luther King, Jr. means to a six-year-old

2012-01-10T20:54:00.000-06:00

Since my boys have off of school on Monday, the discussion came up tonight as to why.

Colin: "Because of Martin Luther King."

Cameron: "Junior."

Colin: "Yeah. Martin Luther King, Jr."

(This was funny to me in an of itself, because Colin--the oldest, of course--is always the one with the vast knowledge in our home--Cameron rarely gets to 'one up' him. However, it continued.

Cameron: "Mrs. Winkler told me all about who Martin was."

(Insert stifled giggle from me here. Cameron continues, with quite a bit of emphasis, since all eyes were on him.)

"He was a black man. And he preached. He preached aaaaaaaallllllll over because back then, there were bad men. They were white and they hid behind bushes. When little black kids came along the bad white men would take them away from their mommies and daddies and the white men would make the kids go live at their farms and cut down their corn. They were called snaves."

(I am rolling by this point...internally, of course.)

"The police told Martin not to preach anymore. But he just had to. He had to preach that those white men weren't doing what they were supposed to be doing! He just had to. So they arrested him and took him to jail. Then a bad, bad man shot him and now we have Martin Luther King--(looking pointedly at Colin) Junior-- day."

I think, for a six year old, he relayed a pretty good bit of understanding of what Mr. King did for civil rights. And I think he treated Colin to a bit of information in the process.

Win win.

*grin*

The Astronaut

2012-01-09T08:38:00.000-06:00

The other day in the car, Ethan saw some tractors sitting in a field, and it sparked a 'what I wanna be when I grow up' discussion.

Ethan: "Mom, I wanna be a tractor driver when I grow up."

Me: "You mean, a farmer?"

Ethan: "No," he said plainly. "I don't wanna to be a farmer. I just want to drive a tractor."

Seems reasonable.

He was quiet for a few minutes, and I could tell wheels were spinning. Then, he said:

"Mom. I ashually don't wanna be a tractor driver when I grow up anymore. I wanna drive a rocket......I wanna be a rocket man."

(And thanks to that new Volkswagon commercial that played 14 times during the Broncos game yesterday, enter Elton John in my head.)

Ethan: "Yeah. I wanna be a rocket man......a blaster driver!"

Apparently, he is calling rockets/spaceships/shuttles "blasters" these days. The things you learn in the car.

He sat in the back seat talking for a few minutes about rockets and being a blaster driver. I thought it would be a good opportunity for teaching.

Me: "Ethan, do you remember what blasters drivers are called?"

Ethan: "A blaster driver Mommy. No......wait.....a.....a.....a blast-tra-nat!! A blast-tra-nat!

I like his word better.

Christmas photo shoot

2012-01-04T10:10:00.000-06:00

A few days before Christmas, we dressed the kids up in their matching pajamas to take some pictures for our annual Christmas card. We got sooooo many good ones that it was hard to choose! These are my favorites of the group:

I love this one. Lola was really tickled about something!

I decided I had to have this one framed for my house.
I really felt like this picture captured the best of all of them!

Then we shot some individuals:
Colin

Ethan

Cameron

I was a bit worried if Lola would cooperate. She was feeling a little saucy at first. *grin*

But then she had a little chat with her Daddy, who always puts a smile on her face!

And we have her shot.
Cindy Lou Who.
I mean Lola.

We decided to try a "posed" picture as well. Shane came up with this, and helped the boys get into position. He handed Lola to them, and they all laughed so hard that they could barely keep their composure! Of all the shots I took that night, I'm pretty certain this one is my absolute favorite!

This is the one we used for the Christmas card--and I think my second favorite,

but definitely the one with the best smiles of all of them!

I'm such a blessed Momma!

Morning with Mrs. Claus

2011-12-30T14:16:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we were so happy to participate in our library's "Read with Mrs. Claus" morning. The kids have enjoyed this activity several years in a row now--and this year, Lola was able to really participate too!

The kids got to spend a little bit of time in free play....

...and in writing their letters to Santa before the reading began.

Cameron was very careful about what he put on his list. He included a football and a football helmet. He 'wrote' the letter himself, and the biggest thing he asked for was not even for him--it was a new guitar for his Daddy! (Mrs. Claus seemed to really like that. *grin*)

(Mommy helping Cameron with his letter--picture captured by Mrs. Claus' elf)

Such a proud little guy--Cameron loves writing and practicing his letters,

so this was a very exciting activity for him.

Colin and his friend Sam enjoyed making a paper chain for the library tree.

And Ethan had just one thing on his list:

CARS.

{CARS 2 cars, to be specific.}

Lola, meanwhile, had found her favorite library toy--the PHONE! Typical girl.

Working hard on those letters

After letters, it was time for Mrs. Claus to read. She begins every year with a story of the nativity--and explains to all the children about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. Love that.

But there were lots of fun and silly stories too!

The pop-up books were especially attention grabbing.

(Mommy shooting Mrs. Claus--and that elf was shooting ME!)

Lola lost interest at about book number five....you do what you have to do to keep
little ones entertained, and the activity of choice was fiddling with Mommy's camera.

Then, it was on to ornament making and decorating.

Lola was even able to do her own! She didn't much care for the glue on her fingers,

but she got some glittery things on the ornament to jazz it up.

{And yes....I do know what Colin's looks like. *sigh* This will be funny for years to come....}

Then, it was time to tell Mrs. Claus what they were hoping to get on the big day.

While sitting with Mrs. Claus, Cameron disclosed the fact that he wanted his Daddy to get a guitar.
Mrs. Claus told Cameron that he should learn to play too--so, right there, they added
'a guitar for me, too' to the list! How funny.

Mrs. Claus was a bit surprised at Ethan's list--there was practically nothing on it!

But he assured her that CARS 2 cars was exactly what he wanted.

Lola didn't want to sit at first....but the candy bag helped coax her into it!

Mrs. Claus got a BIG kick out of Lola. She just loved her!

And, she got to give her her very first taste of a candy cane.

My favorite thing our library does (that I think is just SO special) is this:

After the children sit with Mrs. Claus and tell her their list, the library workers collect the letters. And, a few days before Christmas, each child who wrote a list receives a very personalized letter back from Santa himself. This is not your average form letter, as you can see! And this Mommy loves that attention to detail.

(You can tell that we visit the library often if you read through the letters.

Notice the reference about his ravine-tumbling incident....)

(Love this one....)

And Ethan's....

I've said many times how special our little village is...our library and this event in particular is just one of many reasons why I think so!

Thanksgiving, 2011, part one: The Chicago pizza tradition

2011-12-19T21:22:00.000-06:00

Every year, when these three brothers

get together at Thanksgiving,

there is one thing our family is never short on:

LAUGHTER.

Exhibits (above) one, two, three, and (below) four.

It appears as if,

perhaps,

those three brothers

have passed on

their contagious ability

to bond over Chicago pizza,

to be very, very silly

and

to laugh

at just about anything

to their 10 {beautiful} children.

Why I constantly fear having a cup

2011-12-16T14:06:00.002-06:00

Ethan, while he, Lola, and I were doing a Lite Brite project:

"Mommy, someone stinks!"

Me, bending even closer to the children, thinking it *must* be Lola and a diaper situation: "Oh...is it Lola? Is her diaper stinky?"

Ethan, recoiling away: "No....ugh...I fink it's your stinky coffee breaf."

{Anyone have a mint? Sigh. Nothing like your child to ~~knock you down a few notches~~ keep you constantly humble.}

Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast

2011-12-15T19:56:00.002-06:00

A few days after we returned home from our anniversary weekend, Cameron's class put on one of my favorite activities: the Kindergarten Thanksgiving feast!

Both Kindergarten classes get together and host this activity. Ethan, Lola and I loaded up and headed to Cameron's class a bit early to help, and we had so much fun.

The children get to choose whether they want to be pilgrims....or Indians!

Cameron's Indian name was Strong Buffalo. It definitely fits!

After a brief time of getting into 'costume' the children line up

and all go down to the gym for their presentation.

They did several readings and songs and it was sooooo good!

My favorite song came from the old Veggie Tales show Madame Blueberry:

I thank God for this day,

for the sun in the sky,
for my mom and my dad,

For my piece of apple pie!

For my home on the ground,
for His love that's all around,

That's why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart,
I'm glad for what I have--

That's an easy way to start!

For the love that He shares,
'Cause He listens to my prayers,

That's why I say thanks every day!

Ethan is always so excited to be with Cameron whenever we visit the school.

Cameron took us all around the gym, and showed us the teepee....

(Of course, looking with the eyes wasn't good enough--this teepee needed to be experienced!)

....and his pilgrim that he made! He insisted I take a picture of--his words--"the two of them together".

(This happy little pilgrim is now residing in Cameron's Kindergarten memory book!)

Cameron and his friend Christian

Then it was off to the actual feast!

It was so funny to see Lola sitting like such a BIG girl on the lunch room stools!

The food was very yummy. The Kindergartners (and their parents) and the teachers did a great job!

I'm always so thankful for my children's school....days like this are NO exception!!

Eleven on Eleven Eleven Eleven

2011-12-05T15:42:00.000-06:00

Shane and I shared a very special anniversary this year. Not the number of years necessarily, but the way it fell.

Eleven years ago, we married--on November 11, 2000.

That meant that we celebrated our eleventh anniversary....on 11/11/11.

We thought that was pretty cool! Okay--I thought that was very cool. I shouted it from the proverbial rooftops for every person who would listen to me!

My mother gave Shane and I the absolute BEST present of all--a whole 24 hours to ourselves! We decided to get away over night in Indianapolis.

We are fortunate to live pretty close to Indy. It is a wonderful city, full of great things to do but not too crowded ~~with scary people~~ ~~with traffic~~ ~~with overpriced everything~~ and it's easy to go there on a whim. So we Pricelined a hotel and headed off!

Quick picture before we got on the road. Photography lesson to be learned here?

Improper lighting causes terrible shadows! *giggle* I love the picture anyway.

We arrived at our hotel, which was nicer than we imagined it would be!

Score big points for Priceline!

The view that night was incredible! Love the city lights.

And the bathroom reminded us of an upscale spa retreat!

I told Shane it was not sleepy time yet. We were going out for a night on the town!

We decided to eat dinner at the famous St. Elmo's Steakhouse. It was wonderful. Right up my alley! Fancy everything (Shane joked with me that the busboys were dressed nicer than him, which was true--they were in tuxedos!) with gourmet food to boot. I was as happy as could be!

Shane was really excited when they brought us out some bread...until he took a peek in the basket.
*sigh*

I believe his words were, "What the what?" but he was brave and tried each one anyway!

His words after eating "the black one" (which, incidentally,

the rest of the world would have referred to as "rye") was.....

"The salt on the outside is delicious."

Got to love that man!

The next day, we awoke to a gorgeous sky and warm fall temperatures.

The hotel breakfast was amazing...even better because it was free!
Compliments of the front desk, in honor of our special anniversary!

We headed out for some adventures. We did some Christmas shopping....

....and of course, another meal before heading back!

We had never eaten at Maggiano's before, but it will definitely not be our last time!
The food was wonderful and so was the atmosphere and service.
I would highly recommend it to anyone!

I love you so much babe! I had such a wonderful anniversary trip--and thank you again, Grandma Jane, for being such a wonderful care taker for the boys and Lola! We could not have had such a wonderful time without you.

Here's to another 11! And another....and another....

Back again, back again, jiggity jig

2011-12-02T12:54:00.000-06:00

{Alright...so I've heard the call from my blog, and I'm back! The type A in me is going to have to catch up chronologically, but for today, I just had to post this. Glad to be back!}

Officially titled,

"Little Miss Yogurt Head"

A letter to Devin

2011-12-01T15:36:00.002-06:00

Dear Devin,

I thought we were friends!

Where have you been? You used to share so much of your life with me. I miss the pictures of your children, the funny things they say, and your telling me about all of the events going on in your family!

I know for a fact you haven't told me about your 11th wedding anniversary, Cameron's Kindergarten feast at school, or how much fun you had over Thanksgiving with your family in Chicago. I know you must have adorable pictures of Lola....at least one or two hilarious things that the boys have said....and I can imagine that there is probably so much more.

Won't you come back?

I miss you.

Signed,
Your very neglected friend,
BLOG

Colin's 8th birthday . . . continued

2011-11-17T20:44:00.000-06:00

The day after Colin's birthday, most of us in the house started passing around a case of the yuckies. Some had this, and some had that....and it was over a week before we were all feeling back to normal! As soon as we were, though, it was time for the rest of Colin's birthday celebration!

Ethan and Cameron each wrapped their present to Colin, purchased with their very own money. My family and I are the janitors of our church, so for several months now, the boys have each been earning a couple of dollars a week helping us clean. It has been a wonderful learning process, showing them how far (and how not-so-far!) a dollar goes.

You can believe that shelling out $3.50 for these CARS cars was both joyful and difficult.

They realize now just how long it takes to earn that money!

Ethan clearly gets his wrapping prowess from his mother.

{Just crumple it all up, buddy. It's still just as fun to open!}

Colin chose Pizza Hut (shudder) so that's where we went for the birthday feast.

Lo was apparently getting really hungry waiting on that pizza....

Colin snuck Grandma Jane's glasses! *giggle*

{I think they make him look like me....}

Ethan, as shy as usual

And, of course....Mr. Cutler.

Colin was so excited to open and find two new CARS cars!

The boys had so much fun giving them to him, too!

The big surprise came a few moments later. Colin has been saving and saving his cleaning money for an mp3 player. It has been all he has talked about for weeks now. At the last minute, Shane found a really inexpensive used one, and were able to get it for Colin. He was overjoyed!!

After supper, Shane took the boys over to the ~~steal-your-money~~ crane machine....

....helped them figure out how to do the controls....

...and lo and behold, a few minutes later, we were taking home a new Illini football player and a weird skull-ghost-biker man.

The story behind this picture warms my heart, too....Colin tried once, then again, then again, and was not able to get anything from the crane. Cameron, on his first try, pulled two out. This caused a few tears, of course--but Colin's tears didn't last long, because his brother promptly handed over one of the prizes.

Love my little tender-hearted Cameron.

We had a great time celebrating Colin!

We all love him so much, and are enjoying each day, watching the man that he is becoming.

We love you Col! Happy 8th birthday!

Lola the vampire

2011-11-08T10:53:00.000-06:00

I came down the hall looking for Lola today, and found her snooping in her brothers' room....when she turned around, she looked like this:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again--you just can't make this stuff up! Love this girl!

Celebrating Colin's eighth birthday

2011-11-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

Colin's birthday is always such a busy, exciting day.

My entire pregnancy with Colin, I prayed and asked God for one thing: "Please, please, please....don't let this baby come on Halloween. Any other day but that one."

God knew best. :) I went into labor the day before, but Colin took a whopping 25 hours to get here--so a Halloween birthday it was!

Before he left for school, he paused a minute to show me how old he is!

Every time I take a picture of Col these days, I marvel at how big he is getting.

Something about those giant grown up teeth make him look so big!

After we got Col and Cam off to school, Ethan helped me bake and decorate some cupcakes. Between Cameron's birthday, the Fall party at school, and Colin's birthday, he's becoming quite proficient at it!

It being Halloween and all, we figured it'd be okay to wear costumes for our errands.

Lola was so excited when we got in the car and I told her we were going to see Colin!

We stopped by Daddy's job and had lunch with him....

....and one of Daddy's co workers thought E's costume was so good that he deserved some early candy!

Then, it was off to school. As soon as Colin saw us, he was all about showing Lola and E off to his class!

She stood in the front of the room with him while the class sang, "Happy Birthday"....

....and Ethan sat next to him and shared a few giggles during cupcake time.

Scratch that. LOTS of giggles.

These two could barely eat their cupcakes, they were laughing so hard!

Lola made her self right at home in Colin's chair.

When it was time to leave, I grabbed my camera and snapped a couple

shots of Lo out in front of the school.

Running from Mommy...she did not want to get back in the car! *giggle*

Miss Sassy--love her expression here, and how her hair almost glows in the sun!

*cutest leopard ever*

When the boys got home, it was time to get changed and head out for Trick-or-Treating!

Lola ended up with two costumes this year--so we did one during the day and one at night!

We were so fortunate to have our very good friends come with us this year for the candy grab. We had quite the crew--a Ninja (please don't miss the blood dripping down his sword--Shane was proud of that one), Wolverine, a little lady bug, Buzz Lightyear, Cinderella, and Iron Man!

Lola could not wait to go! I love the blurry picture....you can really see how fast she was moving!

She was always a few steps behind...but didn't seem to mind.

Every single one in the party fell at one time or another.

It's rough trying to move around in those costumes.

Love this one of me and my little love bug.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. We still have the big birthday "bash" (tomorrow night) so there is more celebrating to come! A great Halloween, great friends, a great birthday....can't ask for more!

EIGHT wonderful years . . . .

2011-10-31T16:04:00.000-05:00

....of this special boy!

{My...how grown up and big you look, my sweet Colin!}

Happy birthday to my sweet little man....Happy Halloween to all of you...and lots more pictures of our day to follow soon!

Ethan . . . . on clarifications

2011-10-27T12:15:00.001-05:00

Ethan, in tears:

"Mom, I'm not crying because I am losing! I'm crying because they are winning."

Perspective

2011-10-26T11:23:00.001-05:00

On this dreary

cold

cloudy day

There

sunshine

all

around me.

{thankful.}

Happy 6th Birthday Cameron!!

2011-10-18T14:39:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, the 14th, my sweet Cameron turned SIX! Ack--where are the years going?

He started the day with his favorite breakfast--zucchini bread!

All lit up, extra-special style, of course.

After Colin and I sang Happy Birthday, he blew out his candles and made his wish.

Sweet baby! You can tell he hasn't quite woken up;

my bright-eyed boy isn't quite so bright-eyed yet!

Love these two. :)

About an hour after I took Cam to school, Ethan, Lola and I

returned for snack time with birthday cupcakes!

{Because what 6-year-old doesn't need sugar at 9:30 in the morning?}

Cameron had a birthday crown and was so excited to see us!

I loved the look on his face when Mrs. W. instructed him to climb on his chair,

so the class could sing him the Happy Birthday song!

He was so cute--but embarrassed!

He looked down the whole time. For such a funny, outgoing kid--he sure has a shy side!

The cupcakes....

....were a raging success!

*giggle*

Ethan and Lola made themselves right at home in the classroom!

We actually got to stay at the school for a while, and be a part of fire safety day!

The kiddos were attentive and sat very well....

...and they learned several things about fire safety, including what to do if a pot caught fire....

....or what to do if you were sleeping in your bedroom and smoke started pouring in from the door!

You guessed it--go OUT the WINDOW!

The little Miss even earned her honorary fire badge.

I just crack up when I look at this picture--with Lola and Ethan, right in the midst of all the 'big kids'--but it makes me so grateful too. My children go to *the* most wonderful school. So warm and welcoming,

with friendly staff and teachers who want nothing but the best for the children.

I always leave there feeling so appreciative of all the faculty/staff!

Later that day, Colin's best friend came over--and brought Cameron a gift! We thought it

was such a nice gesture, but couldn't imagine the goodness that was inside: a Cutler jersey!!

Cameron has been dying for one of these, and his face just lit up!!

Of course, Cameron had to put it right on.

This is how he answered when asked, "How do you like it, buddy?"

I think that's means a lot!!

That night, we rounded up the troops and Grandma MJ for a trip to Cameron's

favorite pizza place--the same exact place we went this time last year!

{Oh, my...how the kids have changed in just one short year!}

I have to stop and make a note here about Cameron's balloon bouquet. Grandma Jane volunteered to pick up some "Bears" balloons for Cameron (much like his tractor bouquet from last year!) but the lady at the shop didn't tie them properly. When my mom went to open the door of her car at the restaurant, the Mylar football-shaped balloon that said "BEARS" flew out of the car and into the sky! (Of course, it would have been the $5 balloon, and not the plain ones....) So, Cameron was left with three plain balloons. Then, we walked into the restaurant, and a little boy about one year old spotted the balloons. Cameron went over to his bouquet and took one of the balloons out and gave it to the little boy!

Such a sweet gesture--but it left him with a pretty puny-looking bouquet! *giggle*

{He didn't seem to mind!}

Lola snuggling up to Grandma!

Cameron got a card that transformed into an Iron Man Mask--of course that immediately went on.

Colin and Colden

The birthday boy with Daddy....

....and Grandma....

....and Mommy.

Lo giggling at her brothers

Such a happy girl!

As I was decorating Cameron's cake, he asked me: "What are you going to write on there, Mommy?"

I said, "Happy 6th birthday, Cameron!"

He responded: "You already wrote that on my cupcakes. Can you write instead....ummmmm....'My best birthday of ALL'? And then sign it, 'Cameron'. Can you do that?"

Yes. Yes, I can do that.

Making yet another wish!

We came back to the house after dinner and opened presents.

I wanted to snap a quick picture of Cameron with his present bag before the paper started flying--

if this picture does not capture my boys' nature, I don't know what does!

A new superheroes shirt,

a Bears sweatshirt,

and a Bears coat! Which, he immediately had to model for us, of course.

Of all the pictures I took on Cameron's big day, this series has to be my favorite. All of the boys have been begging for a certain Wii game, and we gave it to Cameron for his birthday. Here is the result as he opened it, and make sure to check all three of the faces in each picture!

Discovery

Shock

Disbelief

Very excited ~~and very loud~~ yelling

{Love Ethan here, looking at Daddy like, "No WAY!!"}

And then, pure elation all the way around!!

I am so blessed to have such great boys in my home....

....and to be celebrating yet another year with this one in particular!

Happy birthday Cameron! We love you so very much.

Always willing to lend a hand

2011-10-12T15:35:00.001-05:00

Today, before we could take a bike ride, I instructed Ethan: "Buddy, you need to go get some socks on."

"Does Lola need socks, too?" he asked.

E is always very helpful with his sister, and I thought it was great the concern he was showing for her...she indeed did need socks, and I told him that.

"I'll get some for her, Momma!"

Score! I had a few things to finish up before we could leave, and his offer would knock one more item off of that to-do list. About four minutes later, I heard him call:

"Mommy! I've got socks on! And some for Lola!"

As I walked into Lola's bedroom, I was treated to this:
{please note the *very* proud look on his face}

I'm pretty sure she loves him more than life--but knows he's awfully silly!

Checking out the apparel....

How dull and boring my days would be without these two and their antics!

Emotions

2011-10-04T14:08:00.000-05:00

Irritated

(at Mommy and the camera)

Enthralled

(at the flowers)

Tickled

(at Mommy's peek-a-boo game)

Really tickled

Curious

(about that squash)

Proud

(of being such a big girl)

Cheesy

(one of my faves)

Shy

(seen only once in a while)

Happy

(seen most all other times)

Happier

Happiest!

Showing off

(quite frequent)

Exploring

(must keep up with those brothers)

Determination

(enough for the household combined)

Caught!!

(giggle)

Pondering

Nervous

(heights)

Serious

(no way she's smiling that far up....)

Subdued

(wait...maybe...just maybe....)

Gloriously, wonderfully joyful

(ah...there it is.)

So thankful for my beautiful, emotional girl.

Treasures from a nature walk -- some you see and some you can't

2011-09-30T09:43:00.001-05:00

I believe everyone goes through it every once in a while. The past few days, it's been me.

I've been in a bit of a funk.

It's weird. Nothing is 'wrong'. Most things are, well--right, actually. I feel close to the Lord, to my kids and my husband, we have everything we could possibly need, we are healthy...the list could go on.

{his "hugest" leaf--an oak}

I couldn't put my finger on what was up, but Wednesday night in my ladies Bible study, Beth Moore smacked me upside the head with it. (High five if you LOVE that woman too.)

Even if you are not a Christian, stick with me here for a moment.

{seeds from a sweet gum tree--referred to by E as "spiky bombs"}

I am doing the study of Esther, and we were discussing how Esther's circumstances of being an orphan had radically affected her life. Beth had done an internet survey, inviting women of all walks of life to talk about some of their situations, and she was reading one of the ladies' survey questions aloud.

One of them went something like this: I feel like the jobs I am doing every day at home as a wife/mother don't matter--and at the same time, I feel guilty for wishing for significance, recognition, and importance.

{the maple tree seeds--he intends to plant his own tree}

Beth talked about the things that that mother probably did daily: wiped snot, cleaned up toys or throw up or toys or dirty dishes or toys, broke up arguments, fed others numerous meals (oh, and cleaned up after each one, too) and got up sometimes countless times a night to deal with who-knows-what. Things that don't seem at all like they make a difference--let alone are glamorous.

{the entire haul from his bucket}

Until, one day, tragedy strikes; and, out of the blue--that mother is gone.

Boy, are those 'insignificant' things that she did awfully noticeable now, once she is not there to do them on a daily basis.

{beautiful huge acorns}

That hit me so hard, but not in the way you might think. I realized not that I am searching for something more glamorous, or important, or significant, but that I am not seeing the joy and significance already present in my everyday life. I am not seeing what I do as purposeful in anyone's eyes--and I'm missing opportunities because of it. She was able to phrase things in such a way to bring me around to seeing what the problem was.

I get up. I feed them. I clean up. I eat (maybe). I do chores. I play with them. I clean up again. I feed them again. I read to them. I work while they sleep. I help with homework. I feed them again. I clean up again. I clean them up. I read to them. I tuck them in. I go to sleep.

{ooooh-ing and aaaaahhh-ing over the spiky bombs}

Then, I do it all over again the next day. And the next. And the next.

Can you relate?

But here's the deeper reality: I've cared for every single need they have ever had since the day they were born.

And, to find true joy, I need to choose to stop looking at these things as chores--and start viewing the mundane as the biggest things anyone will ever do for them in this life. Ever.

Being everything to them for now, while pointing them to the True Everything who will take their lives and do with it only what a loving, all-knowing, all-gracious God can.

{"I love these ones, Mommy....}

Seeing the little things as opportunities.

Like when your child says "I want to give some of my acorns back to the squirrels, Mommy....so they won't be hungry."

An opportunity to discuss loving others; giving; unselfishness; putting others before yourself; kindness.

Or when he asks you before putting each leaf into his bucket "Do you think this is a good one Mommy?" You say "Yes" over and over and watch him put the leaves in the bucket; then decide to test him on one by saying, "No...." and you watch as he puts it back on the ground.

An opportunity to realize just how much your opinion of things really means to him.

We had a wonderful walk together and made wonderful memories.

I will treasure our day yesterday forever.

And now, I'm off to go find something amazing in my day. It'll be there. Guaranteed.

Soccer photos, 2011

2011-09-27T09:22:00.000-05:00

Storm U6 boys

(Cameron: middle back; Ethan: front left)

Cameron

Ethan

Storm U8 boys

(Shane, coach; Colin: front, second from left)

Colin

{Aren't they just the cutest!?}

We've left the TEEN months

2011-09-23T22:41:00.000-05:00

My sweet girlie has left her teen months.

Today, she turned 20 months old.

She is doing and saying so many things. I thought about listing all the words she says, but it literally changes daily. The list would be very long, and I'm sure I would still forget so many....suffice it to say that she is speaking very well, and has more words in her vocabulary than I remember any of the boys having at this age!

She also understands very well. She follows even two and three step commands when we give them to her. {She must take after her father in that, because everyone knows how much I like to follow given directions!} Every mother says it about their child, but she just seems exceptionally smart!

She no longer sleeps in her standard position--she has a new wacky spot every night. It's fun to go in after she has fallen asleep...you never know what you're going to find!

She loves to dance, and proceeds to show off whenever music comes on.

{Even hymns in church--now that is some funny stuff.}

She has the funniest, cutest expressions. And you never know when you're going to see them!

She runs to the door when Shane gets off work hollering, "Daaaaaadeeeeee!" Talk about cute.

She loves him, and he loves her even more--a special bond there for sure.

She has lots of hair in the back, but hardly any on the sides of her head!

Enough for our favorite, though--PIGGIES!!

She. Has. Attitude.

*grin*

She is loud. Like, supersonic loud. (I have no idea where she gets that from.) Instances this would include would be: screaming when she doesn't get her way; screaming (screeching?) when someone is trying to take a toy or other beloved object from her grasp; screaming when she is excited about something; yelling for Mommy to come and get her from her crib in the morning; or yelling "Guys! Guyyyyys!" at her brothers, when she wants their attention.

She loves to support her Salt Fork Storm soccer-playing brothers!

She lu-hu-huuuuuvvvvs Nutella.

Also just like her mother.

Recently, she discovered that she can skip the whole wheat English muffin altogether--

and just lick the Nutella right off.

Not. Good.

On that note, she also picks the chocolate chips out of the granola bars;

eats them; and then discards the granola. *grin*

She has a smile that lights up the room.

And my heart.

She recently has developed a new skill: climbing. She climbs every stationary thing in our house. She's quite good at it, but still. Scary.

In the video below, I *somehow* managed to capture three of my favorite things:

She knows the 'clinking' sound of the treat jar. When she hears it, she runs into the kitchen and begs for whatever happens to be in there at the moment. (Which means I have to be in constant stealth mode when I'm sneaking peanut M&M's if I don't want to share ~~which is always~~.)
She knows what the Wii is, and can say "Wii", but it's almost German-sounding. It sounds a bit like "Vvvvfeee". Hysterical.
She calls Ethan "E-E" now. He is her buddy--the two have become inseparable since the biggies went back to school. If he is not in the room, then she is searching for him!

I warn you: the video below is horrible quality, but you get the idea. Enjoy my girlie in action and be jealous that I'm surrounded by this face each day! :)

Lola Claire Fransisca, every day is made better by your presence in it. We are thankful to

God for the 20 months He has blessed us with you! We are immensely enjoying watching

you transform from a baby into a sweet, tender, beautiful little girl.

Happy 20's!

Wordless Wednesday: "Hey boys....SMILE!!"

2011-09-21T22:01:00.000-05:00

Old Cars

2011-09-20T13:54:00.000-05:00

My Cameron is such a unique individual. {If you know him in real life, you know just how much 'weight' that sentence really carries.}

One of the things he has displayed to us is a love of "old cars". Since the time he was very young--almost from when he first started talking--he could recognize, point out, and say "Old car! Old car!"

The real kicker is that neither Shane nor I ever pointed those kind of cars out to him and taught him they were old. I guess he just instinctively knew.

We were always amazed at that.

{I feel quite certain he got that love from his Grandpa Danny, who also loved cars from the time he was knee-high.}

To this day, he still sees (and hollers out) at those old cars. So, when I heard that our local Fall Festival was going to be having an old car show, we just knew we had to check it out. We were lucky enough to have Grandma 'Nette and Grandpa down for a visit, so they came along--and we felt sure that Grandpa Danny was there with us in spirit, as well!

Checking out the Impala

Ethan in front of a corvette

Blue Stingray!

56 Thunderbird!

Are you impressed that I knew that?!

Yeah....don't be.

Checking out the whitewalls

Ethan seemed to be particularly drawn to the RED ones!

Cameron loved this one....

....and the mini-cooper!

Herbie!

Cameron didn't care for the Do Not Touch signs, and needed to be reminded several times :-)

He just kept inching closer and closer!

Austin Healey 3000

A 57 Chevy!

Cool!!

Cameron said this one looked like a red "Doc" (from CARS).

Love this picture!

We saw a few roadsters....

{Colin loved this yellow one, and insisted on a picture with it}

....and even a Model T.

Ethan even got to sit in one (which I think, judging from how 'keep-your-kids-away-don't-even-let-them-breathe-on-the-car' crazy most of the owners were, was a pretty rare opportunity)

A racing engine

We all really enjoyed our time at the show.

Who knows, maybe someday Cameron will own and rebuild

one of these himself, and we can go to his very own show!

Just because I love this picture . . . .

2011-09-19T07:55:00.000-05:00

Chalk Masterpiece

2011-09-14T08:41:00.000-05:00

Here is a story,

told by pictures

{and a little narrative from Mommy},

of what happens

when three little boys

and one teeny lady

find some sidewalk chalk they forgot they had....

"SWEET! Chalk! Let's draw something. Here....I'll show you how."

"Oooooh....that's nice, Colin!"

"Look--you can make the hands like this."

"Did you know that when you rub your sweaty face with chalk hands, it makes colors?

Also, on a different note, I need purple.

Has anyone seen the purple?"

"I haven't seen it. It is most definitely not hiding behind my head."

"Wait a minute...."

"Yes it is!!"

"But if you think I'm sharing it with you, boys....you have another thing coming."

"I'll put the purple in all by myself, thankyouverymuch."

"Whatever. I'll just use blue."

"Hey guys....check this out."

"Cool, huh? I know."

"LET'S ALL DO IT!! YEAH!!!"

"I just don't know what gets into you boys sometimes. Such silly adolescent games."

"Clearly, mother...I have not added enough color."

"I'll work on that!"

"I simply can't comprehend this behavior.

I don't understand why Mother is allowing this!"

"Here Ethan....let me help you."

"Really, Mom? Now you're letting them do it to each other?

I'm taking the chalk and I'm out of here.
I'll have no part in this nonsense."

"Hold still! I've got to concentrate really hard."

*pause*

"Because the ground doesn't move when I draw on it, that's why."

"I can't help moving! It feels funny."

*several minutes later, after getting back on track....*

"The masterpiece is done, Mommy! It's our favorite man of all time."

In my book....it might as well be a Picasso.
*grin*

Belly laughing

2011-09-12T15:02:00.000-05:00

Soccer is HERE!!

2011-09-09T11:13:00.000-05:00

We've had so much fun with all three of the boys in soccer this year! Cameron and Ethan are on the same team, and Colin is in the next league up, with Shane coaching again. Last week was our first game, and I wanted to share a few highlights!

Ethan, dribbling through several defenders--he went on to score after this....

....and got a high-five from his big brother!

Cameron, concentrating....

Love this shot of Ethan!

In the first part of Cameron and Ethan's game, Grandma Jane showed up. My boys, who were in the middle of a play, ran off the field to greet her. It was pretty funny--but maybe not to the boys' coach!

Colin and Grandma cheering the younger boys on

Cameron surprised us all by showing some incredible talent on the field.

He had scored seven goals by the time the game was over!

He also showed a bit *ahem* of pride....yeah, that's

something we're gonna have to be working on! *giggle*

(In all fairness, after the game--when we questioned Cameron about this move, he said: "Mom, I was just doing what the soccer players do on the Wii." When we went back and checked out what he was talking about, we found that the players on the FIFA Wii game point at the back of their shirts--as if pointing to their number--when they score. That made us feel a bit better! LOL)

Love this shot of his face after he missed a shot on goal

Grandma helping corral Lola while we watched the game

And yes--I know how she is dressed.

I realize tutus are not typical soccer attire.

However, we (Storm) are white, grey and black--

and this birthday outfit is the ONLY thing she had in her drawer with black in it!

{With the help of Etsy, we're working on that!}

Love this shot of E Ry taking on three defenders all by himself.

He did so well, too, for his first game ever! Scored two goals!

Celebration

Cameron listening to coach Dave in the huddle

Love this one, too!

After the younger boys won, we headed down to watch Shane coach Colin's game.

Lots of fun and excitement at this level!

Daddy giving some last minute instruction

Colin dribbling

He did so well!

I was so proud of Colin--his team ended in a tie, but it was a good game.

He fought for the ball the entire time!

So looking forward to the rest of the season. Go Storm!!

Wordless Wednesday: Bumblebee Piggies

2011-08-31T23:37:00.001-05:00

Dear Ethan:

2011-08-26T13:31:00.000-05:00

When did you start looking so grown up?

{Stop it. You stop it right now.}