A Christmas Recap...A Little Late

We had a good holiday this year.  Charlie and Sammy are at a fun age (and I love that at Christmas time, they are both the SAME age!  This year they are 5!) where they are full of belief in the magic and wonder of Christmas and Santa, but they are also beginning to have a solid belief and understanding that Jesus is the reason we are celebrating.  I love watching their faith emerge, and see how important it is to them.  It's one of the many times I am glad we made the decision to send them to a private, religious school.

Here are some highlights from our Christmas celebration:

This is one of my ALL TIME favorite pictures of my boys.

I love getting the boys all dressed up for things.  I need to be better about making sure they have dressy wardrobe options.  It's something that I find easy to overlook with boys.

Jeff and I on Christmas Eve

Jeff hates having his picture taken, and rarely lets me get him in a good shot.  (This one was taken by Evan!  It helps to have someone else in the house who can click the shutter in an intelligent way.)  I am always a little sad when I see slideshows of couples at weddings, because pictures of Jeff and I are few and far between.  Our slideshow would have maybe five pictures.  So, I am super thankful to have captured this. 

It's a girl!!

My brother Creighton and his awesome wife Lindsey are expecting a baby in July.  This is my Mom discovering on Christmas Eve that IT'S A GIRL!!  We have 6 boys and now 2 girls as grandkids in our family.  This was a huge Christmas gift for all of us.  I can't wait to see these two become parents.

Sammy feeding "Elizabeth"

Someday Sammy may kill me for posting this picture, but I love it.  This year, my Sammy who is my rough and tough football obsessed boy, asked for a Baby Alive.  Jeff was slightly horrified and asked him why.  Sammy said, "I want to practice being a good Daddy!"  And how does that not melt your heart?  I love this about him, so Santa was on a mission to find a Baby Alive.  He named her Elizabeth, and I love watching how careful and gentle he is with her.  He is going to make a FANTASTIC husband and father someday.  You're welcome future daughter in law!!!

Evan's favorite gift of 2011

This year, despite my protestations, my brother Creighton and my BIL Luke bought Evan a TV for his bedroom.  Creighton also gave Evan an XBox 360 to go with it.  Evan loves his new additions to his bedroom...I'm just sad we may never see him again, as it's hard now to get him to come out of his room! :)

VERY early Christmas morning

This year my choir at church sang at midnight Mass, so this picture was taken very early on Christmas morning, after "Santa" had made his delivery.  I love this moment...everything frozen in a cozy Christmas scene, before the fun begins.

I hope all of you had a great Christmas too...I'm just sad we have to wait a whole year for it to be back.  I truly believe it's the most wonderful time of the year!!

Good Bye 2011

One of my favorite bloggers, Audrey McClelland from Mom Generations, says at the end of the year she likes to look back at three things: health, happiness, and family.  I really like this idea...to me these are some of the most important things in my life, with the addition of faith.

I struggled with my health this year.  In light of my Dad's death at only 58 from genetic heart issues, I am hyper aware of my health.  I know that what I do now can greatly affect how much time I get to spend on earth with my precious family.  My PCOS is getting worse, and I know this can also impact my heart health.  I feel great that my new diet, which is really more of a lifestyle change, is helping this.  I've already lost 10% of my body weight.  I have an appointment scheduled with a new specialist next week, and I going to be picking the brain of a very wise friend who also has PCOS to hopefully get more of my symptoms under control.  It's my goal in 2012 to do everything I can to get healthier.

There isn't a day that goes by that I am not thankful for my family.  We have had our challenges this year with both Evan and Charlie, but Jeff and I took positive steps in helping our children to improve in their academics and their behavior.  It's been hard, but I am so proud of us for working hard on these things.  Parenting...no one can prepare you for how HARD it can be!!  This year, I want to be more purposeful and present in my actions as a Mom.  Too many days I am just trying to get by and get through.  I don't want to waste my time with them.

And my husband...my wonderful husband.  Jeff is the greatest gift I will every receive from the Lord.  Having this man to walk next to in this journey is a blessing I am thankful for EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  I try not to ever take him for granted.  I fall more in love with him every day I have the honor of being his wife.

Happiness and faith have been so intertwined for me since September 28, 2010, the day my Daddy went to heaven.  In 2011, we continued to heal.  We are learning to be happy again.  But I have learned you never ever stop grieving, and the hole in our family will always be there.  You just learn how to cope with it...which for me is through faith.  It brings me such comfort to know that my Dad's life and death, and how it intertwines with my own, was known by God and in His hands long ago.  It brings me comfort to know that God is working great things in my heart through this experience, and that He has never left my side as we move through this new life without my Dad.  And above all, I take joy in knowing I WILL be with my Dad again, and I want him to be proud of how I carried on and the life I lead after he had to leave.  It's my goal in 2012 to make choices that both my Heavenly Father and my Dad will be proud of.

I'm looking forward to 2012.  I am hoping to have a year of growth.  I want to be a blessing to those around me. 

The View from My Deck

...is not about fireworks this weekend :) Instead, it looks like this:

We returned on Saturday from a wonderful week long vacation at a lake in my favorite state, Minnesota.  We had a fabulous time, and enjoyed scenes like this:

right from our deck.  (More about our trip tomorrow!)  Unfortunately, I came home to a broken dryer, and piles and piles of wet, smelly lake laundry.  I knew I couldn't let it sit, so we've been drying on the deck.  Even more unfortunately, it's a holiday weekend so it will be late in the week before the dryer is fixed, and our neighborhood doesn't allow clothes lines.  So we improvised.  Luckily, our laundry is no match for the hot Nebraska sun and heat.  Clothes are dry in no time!

Also, don't forget, our next session of Bible in 90 Days starts on Monday, July 11th.  Follow this link to sign up!  I would love to have you join me!  I am reading through for the 3rd time, and am also serving as a mentor.

Happy 4th of July!  I hope yours is filled with fireworks and fun, instead of laundry like mine!

Happy Father's Day

I am so blessed to call this man my Father.  I miss him every single day.  I wish he was here so that I could tell him in person, but I am sending lots of love and appreciation to heaven today.  I love you to the moon and back Daddy, and I always will.  I am the luckiest girl to be able to say I am your daughter.

Daddy walking me down the aisle at my wedding

Dad with the grand kids on Christmas Eve

My Dad's Legacy, in the Form of a Sink

My Dad was always helping people.  He helped his brothers and sisters to paint their houses, move into new houses, and do home/car repair.  He helped his friends with the same.  He helped his department at work build frames for their entry into the Sand in the City competition.  Anything anybody needed, he would do.  He built me shelves in my storage room, painted my living room and kitchen, and he put in our wood floor.  When his parents were still alive, he did their bills and went to their house every Saturday to mow the grass and give my Grandpa a shower.

He taught us through his example.  He taught his children to always serve others, and put others first.

I see so much of my Dad in my brother Creighton.  I saw it this Friday when Creighton and my brother in law Luke came over and installed this beauty in my kitchen:

I am sure I have complained about my old kitchen sink here before...it was only 6 inches deep, and did not include a sprayer.  I lived for FIVE STINKIN' YEARS without a sprayer in my kitchen!!  Have you ever tried to clean up after Thanksgiving dinner with a 6 inch sink and no sprayer?  IT IS NOT FUN.  So now, I am loving doing dishes with my 9 1/2 inch deep sink, and it's beautiful, wonderful sprayer.  Best of all though, I got to see a piece of my Dad when Creighton volunteered to help me with this project after hearing me curse the old one.  I love that my parents worked hard to create a family that loves and helps each other.

And fittingly for Memorial Day weekend, yesterday at church we saw that this plaque had been installed at the foot of a tree planted in memorial to my dad:

 It's comforting to know there is this piece of comfort at a place that is so important to us.

Good Bye 2010

I have very mixed feelings about the departure of 2010.  It was far and above the WORST year of my life.  It did bring the arrival of my nephew Grant, but this was it's only redeeming quality.  August 2010 included my Dad's disastrous surgery.  The next 8 weeks held a miserable struggle for him as he worked to heal and recover.  (Although it was so hard to watch him be so uncomfortable and in pain, I will be forever thankful for this extra time I had to tell him how much I loved him.)  And of course, September brought his death, an event I don't know if I will ever really recover from.

For these reasons I am not sorry to see 2010 go.  2011 has to be better, right?

On the other hand, this is the last year that held my Dad's presence in my life in a physical way.  I am so scared to leave that behind and face a whole year without him.

I spent some time this morning looking back at my 2010 goals that I set back on January 1st.  They included home sanctuary, health, and relationships.  I am going to stick with these again this year, as I don't feel like I did a very good job at most of it.  Sanctuary is definitely the hardest for me.  This year brought a change in schedule for us, as all three boys became old enough to become involved in activities.  Although I limited the boys to one activity each, it still made our evenings after school crazy!  This has made for my most difficult year trying to balance work, family time, and household tasks.  It left me with precious little time for working to make our home a clean and relaxing space.  This is a whole post in itself, but I really feel sometimes that women got a raw deal from the feminist movement of the 60s.  Sure we can have better paying jobs, but this created an economic situation where most women need to have jobs to support their families.  Now we have full time jobs on top of all the responsibilities that women have always had....raising the kids and managing the household.  It's like having three or four full time jobs at once.  And I am standing here in front of you admitting I am not very good at handling and balancing all of that.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now.  I am going to keep trying in 2011 to achieve balance, and find time to create sanctuary.

I learned a lot in the relationship area this year.  I learned you never know when you won't get to see someone again.  I told my Dad in his birthday card that our experience with his surgery taught me to never waste an opportunity to say I love you, to give a hug, or to appreciate.  I am going to work hard to never forget this, and carry this forward into 2011 and beyond.

Health also took on a new perspective as my siblings and I all realized the genetic woes that are stacked against us.  I found out I am in a dangerously  high risk group for heart attack with my high cholesterol problems and genetic history.  I got a treadmill, and changed my diet even further.  I finally, finally, finally lost 10 pounds.  I am hoping for more in the coming year.

I'm going to keep plugging away at these goals this year, and I'm going to forgive myself for not being perfect at achieving them last year.  I am working every day to remember it's okay to be human and not super woman. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful New Year's Eve tonight, and more importantly a wonderful 2011!  Thanks for spending some of your time (which I know is precious!) to be with me here at The Sole Woman.  You are part of what makes the adventure fun for me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe another Christmas Day has passed, in the blink of an eye. I am sad to see it go...I love the holiday season so much! We had a wonderful day yesterday, filled with:

Brotherly Love


Handsome boys ready for church on Christmas Eve (with Evan singing in the choir!)


New family members

Celebrating Christmas Eve at my Mom's house... It was nice to be together, but also much harder than I thought it would be without Dad there. It was so hard to not have him with us, but we made it through one more "first". We made it through together, as a family.


More new family members...this is Lindsey, my brother's infinitely awesome girlfriend. She feels like she has been my sister forever. There are so many things that make her fit into our family perfectly, and it feels like God sent her to us as a gift.


Christmas morning Christmas Trees...


Boys ready to open gifts


...and Hot cocoa and Christmas cookies for breakfast

It was a good holiday, and we felt surrounded by family and love. If you celebrated Christmas yesterday as well, I hope that you had a wonderful day! I count all of you that come here to read my little corner of the blogosphere as one of my Christmas blessings. THANK YOU for spending time with me here at the Sole Woman!

Happy Halloween!

Hope you had as much fun as we did!

Life Update

Oh my poor little blog! How I've missed you! Life has been like a freight train lately though, and it has been a struggle just to keep my family fed and clothed. Thank goodness for Labor Day weekend, because I finally had the chance to deep clean my house. I won't describe how badly it needed it, because you would probably throw up.

Another reason that I had some extra time this weekend is because MY DAD CAME HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL ON FRIDAY!!!! After a LONG 24 day stay in the hospital, he is home. Friday was my day for hospital duty, so I had the absolute honor and privilege of getting to drive him home and help him walk into the house. I cannot put into words how emotional that experience was for both of us. After going through a time when we thought we would never get to see him alive again, tell him we love him, joke around with him, or enjoy family gatherings with him at my parents home, helping him walk through the door was amazing. My heart wanted to burst with thankfulness. My Dad looked around and could just say, "This is wonderful. Just wonderful."

He still has a long way to go in his recovery. He is using a walker to get around, and just a trip to the bathroom wears him out, but we are seeing gradual improvements to his strength every day. He is having trouble retaining fluid as his heart heals, but the doctors tell us this will slowly get better. He has nurses checking in on him at home regularly, and we take his vital signs twice a day and send them in via computer to the nurses station. It's nice to know we have a medical team behind us while he is at home.

Remember over the summer when we were agonizing over whether their new house was the right choice? After all of this, we all recognize that it was God's choice, and He provided it because it is absolutely perfect for my Dad. The layout and size is perfect for his mobility issues. There is no way he could have gone home to their other house filled with stairs. The fact that the house is two seconds away from mine have allowed me to easily take care of things around the house for them, and to help out if Mom and Dad need anything. There have been so many things, large and small, that took place before all of this happened that have made all of this easier on our family. It has been so awe inspiring to see all of the ways that the Lord is taking care of things. It has been the ultimate lesson in trusting His plan, not ours. He truly does know what is best, and will handle things how they should be.

This weekend, I am thankful. For so very many things. Even through trying times, the Lord blesses us, and I am just so thankful for His love and care. We're going to make it through this, and I think we will all be better for it.

Merry Christmas!

Once again, I am up before the rest of my family this Christmas morning. Not sure why this is an annual occurrence, but I think it has something to do with how much I enjoy creating a wonderful Christmas morning for my kids.

It is a bona fide blizzard here in Omaha. It wasn't snowing yet yesterday when we decided to leave for Christmas Eve services. The weather people were initially calling for just a couple of inches to fall by 6 o'clock, so we thought we could make it to church and to my parent's house for our annual Christmas Eve celebration.

Church started at 4:00 (and I am, so , so glad we got to hear Evan's choir sing. They were beautiful!) but by the time we walked out at 5 we were stunned at the amount of snow that had already fallen and was drifting against the cars. We decided to head over to my Mom's anyway, and I am glad for all of us that we did. It was nice to be with family. It just doesn't seem like a holiday if you can't do the same traditions you have every year.

We left my Mom's house at 9:00, and I was really worried we might not get back. The snow was coming down hard, and the blowing and drifting was awful. We actually live outside the city and have to depend on county snow plows, which often seem to be MIA. The county streets were AWFUL. Completely snow packed. Thanks to the help of the good Lord, we got to our own driveway where we finally got stuck in about 8 inches of snow. I had to get out and shovel the tires out, and then push the van the rest of the way into the garage, but we made it!!!

Now I am eagerly awaiting my kids to wake up so I can have a cup of coffee and enjoy my family while the snow still swirls around us. (That's right! It's still blizzarding, and is not scheduled to stop until tomorrow morning!)

The only bad thing? I don't think Santa brought me that snow blower I asked for.

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Enjoy your day.

The 23rd

December 23rd is so bitter sweet.

So much excitement over the events of the next two days, but sad to see the season coming to a close. This is truly my favorite time of the year, especially with my boys, and I am so sad to see it coming to a close.

This is the year that Charlie and Sammy are 3 for Christmas, and everything is magic for them. They are anxiously awaiting Santa's arrival, services at church, and going to Grandma's house. I love watching everything through their eyes.

Evan, despite being 11, is just as excited. I love that he is helping me to pass traditions on to his little brothers.

We are forecast to get over a foot of snow Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, but I think we will at least be able to sneak in church and my mom's house on Christmas Eve before things get too bad. And then we will snuggle down in our warm winter beds and wait for reindeer hooves to sound overhead. I've bought steak for a special Christmas Day dinner, and we will celebrate snow bound with our own little family.

I hope all of you have a very blessed Christmas, and that you are safe, warm, loved, and surrounded by family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Stupid Snow and Other News

I am really disgusted with the weather report in these parts.

We are under a Winter Storm Watch from Tuesday night until Thursday evening. We are supposed to get up to 1/2 inch of ice first, and then heavy snows. At this point, it is not looking good for us to get to church on Christmas Eve for Evan's choir to sing, to be with my parents on Christmas Eve, or to drive up to Harlan on Christmas Day to be with Jeff's family. All the special events I have been looking forward to may be canceled. I am praying the storm misses us, but we will see. I am headed to the grocery store tomorrow to pick up some supplies for a Christmas dinner in case we are snow bound.

I am also disgusted with my body.

I went into the doctor today for my regular 6 month check up on my cholesterol, and I learned that while my HDL (good cholesterol) did increase into the normal range for the first time ever, my LDL (bad cholesterol) increased 55 points. To be at the highest end of normal I need it to go down 60 points. All this while on lots of medication, diet, exercise. I asked both my doctor and my Dad (who also has cholesterol problems) if they had any advice. They both said the same thing.

Get new parents.

Since it is too late for that, the doctor has added yet another medication to my repretoire. Thank God for health care reform because we will soon not be able to afford our pharmacy bill!

Evan was tested for both anemia and mono today to try and track down the cause of some strange symptoms he has been having lately including extreme thirst, exhaustion, and diarrhea. No results on his blood work yet, but I am hopeful we will get some answers.

I am trying to be positive today, but it was not a good start to our holiday week. Maybe some present wrapping tonight will help.

Holiday Stress

I am not usually a person who feels a lot of stress during the holidays. It is really and truly my favorite time of the year, especially after my children came along. I love the lights, the decorating, the baking, the events, and the shopping.

This year? Different story.

Remember that blizzard a couple of weeks ago? It was a lovely three days of being snow bound at home with my family. I loved snuggling on the couch and taking a break from life. But taking a break in December means that you are creating a pile up of chores to accomplish during an already very busy time.

Three days last week had me going, going, and going some more until 10:00 every night, hardly sitting down the entire time. So, last Wednesday, I took a personal day from work. I never do this. Usually I save my days and use them as sick days when I have to be caring for sick little ones. I am so glad I indulged myself this year with time. I finished my shopping. I ran errands. I went to the doctor. I wrapped gifts for three hours.

I was by no means done with my holiday chores when the day was done, but I felt so much more in control. I may make this an annual tradition. Sometimes Moms just need time to do some uninterrupted work.

On Thursday, I did something else I have never ever indulged in.

A cleaning lady.

I have always felt that the cleaning is something that I can easily and cheaply do myself. And most of the time? It is. I also feel like it is part of my duty as wife and mom to my family; to make our home a clean and organized space. Maybe it sounds silly, but it is truly something I think God wants me to do to minister to my family. But since I was drowning in chores and jobs this month, I thought...just this once.

Heaven is coming home after working all day to a house that smells fresh and clean. Every surface was shining, the appliances were gleaming, the beds were all made, and it was so beautiful I almost felt like we were in someone else's house. (Which perhaps says something about my cleaning abilities). Evan walked into his room and breathed a reverent "Wow Mom! This is AWESOME." The only downside? It was so clean, I didn't want the children to move or touch anything. Ever again.

I have had such a great weekend as a result. Since everything is clean, I have been able to get to other chores that have long been residing on my to do list. I feel energized by having a fresh start. So while I can't justify it being a regular occurrence, maybe I was wrong about the just this once part.

I am feeling better about Christmas being in 5 days. And I am over feeling guilty for helping myself out. I guess I'm not Super Mom after all, but that's okay.

Blizzard!

In the wee early hours of Monday morning, it snowed 2.5 inches here. It was just enough to make everything look festive, and to make driving a bit tricky. We still had school on Monday though, and the kids were full of snow excitement.

Monday night, the snow started coming down thicker and faster. By the time we woke this morning, our driveway had a fresh 3 inches on it, and school had been cancelled. So, we spent the day snuggling on the couch and watching movies.



Even the cat.

We went outside to shovel and play around 11 o'clock. The driveway was now covered with about 6 inches, so I put a shovel in everyone's hands. Evan is getting to be pretty good, but lets just say Charlie and Sammy were *not* very helpful. The boys had a great time zooming down the slide in the backyard to land in the huge pile of soft, new fallen snow underneath. We were very chilly when we came back in, but it was nothing a good hot bowl of mac 'n cheese couldn't handle.

After lunch we all got down to the business of napping under our electric blankets, and when we awoke, this is what it looked like outside:



Snow, snow, and more snow-still falling quickly in thick, busy flakes. And this is my driveway, only 3 hours after I shoveled it:



Can't even tell we were out there, can you? And even though it is only 4:00 in the afternoon, school has already been canceled for tomorrow as a result of the blizzard warning which will take effect at 9 PM. That's right-the snow is expected to start falling in even heavier amounts. I may give up on the whole shoveling thing until this is over.

Thank the Lord Jeff was able to work from home today, so I didn't have to spend any of my delicious day worrying over his safety.

I think tomorrow I am going to lay in another batch of sugar cookies and make the boys help me decorate. One of the best parts of being a teacher? SNOW DAYS!

Seeing God in the Little Things

Today Rachel Anne over at Home Sanctuary asked the Company Girls:
How is God working in YOUR life? Do you sometimes miss the quiet presence of our amazing God in the hustle and bustle of life?

(I have been reading her blog for a long while now...I love her inspiration and advice, and the motivation to get things done around my home-but this is the first time I have participated in the monthly point challenge and the weekly company coffee!! I'm very excited!)

The thing I am really loving about this holiday season is that I have had the chance to see and feel God through my children. We have made time this week to pick out a holiday movie or book every day after bathtime, and then we all pile onto the couch (even the cat!), turn out all the lights except the Christmas tree, and snuggle in together. While my children enjoy Rudolph and the Grinch, I have loved having time to just stare at their beautiful faces, full of holiday wonder. I have had the chance to kiss their sweet cheeks and smell their freshly washed hair. I have been so thankful for God giving me the honor of raising these children, and the joy of being the mother in this family. I love where I am in my life, especially with my family, and I am SO thankful that the holiday season has provided me with the chance to stop and really experience that joy.

I hope that all of you have the chance this holiday season to love on your family, and to reflect on the blessings on your life. It's one of the best gifts of all.

Amazing Weekend

We have had a wonderful few days around these parts. We did home repair on Wednesday, and knocked a couple of to do items off our to do list. Our fireplace is now functioning for the first time in a year (thanks in part to the removal of a family of mice, but that is a whole other post), and we have new outdoor light fixtures.


Decorations courtesy of Charlie and Sammy

Thursday was a double celebration for us, as we also celebrated my baby turning 3. Which should be impossible, as Sam was just born yesterday. The party was at Casa de la Kleffman this year, which I loved, as I love to cook big dinners. The turkey turned out great, thanks to whatever they do at the Butterball factory, and my sister brought an AMAZING gourmet mac 'n cheese recipe, which my hips thoroughly enjoyed. I vote for it to become a Thanksgiving tradition.



After the dishes were done, we had birthday cake in addition to our pie and pumpkin crumble cake. Isn't this 3 year old boy as delicious as the turkey?



Sammy had a blast celebrating with his cousins. I love that this bunch is the best of buds...



Sammy's favorite present was a Spider man costume from my sister, and he has worn it every night since. In fact, he insists on wearing it to bed. I have had to sneak it into the wash.



On Friday I went to Target for the Black Friday experience with the awesome Christi, and I scored a few deals. The best part though was breakfast at Summer Kitchen afterwards. Have you noticed yet how much I've eaten this weekend?! SO MUCH FOOD!

Friday was the actual day of Sammy's birthday, so I wanted to do something fun to make it special for him. So, after some encouragement that I could handle it from my sister and Christi, we went to a Christmas tree farm. You see, we have had an artificial tree for 14 years now, ever since I moved into my first apartment in college. I grew up having real trees for Christmas with my parents, but once I was on my own, I was completely intimidated by the tree stand. You know that thing the man in the family has to fiddle with for three hours, and then even after that the tree is still crooked, and then a day later the tree falls down anyway? After hearing the farm we went too has a special "Marriage Saving Tree Stand" they sell to make it easy, I braved my fears to help Sam have a special day. We got on a hay ride and rode out to the tree field, picked out our own special tree, and got to see it cut down (this part made Sam sad-he was sure the tree wasn't liking this!) Charlie loved the free hot chocolate they offered and the machine that shook the trees to get the dead needles off. It's a good thing Evan talked me into the tree we got, because this one almost reaches the ceiling, and the one I wanted was even taller.



We all had fun decorating, and I have to admit, this tree looks and smells SOOO much better than our artificial one.



And the tree stand was a breeze. I think we will be making a return trip next year. When we had decked the inside and outside of our halls, we celebrated with a viewing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, our new Christmas video.

We've had such a fabulous weekend, I am not sure I am ready to go back to work tomorrow. We are ready for Advent and the Christmas season though. I LOVE this time of year!

Beyond stuffed...

My friends, I hope you had a wonderful day.
The turkey turned out beautifully at my house.
My father in law told me it was the BEST turkey he's ever eaten.
Is there a better compliment than that?

Sammy had fun with cousins and ate lots of birthday cake.
He blew out the candle on the second try.
Presents were opened and Spider Man costumes were worn.

I loved seeing my family.
We drank champagne to celebrate my new NBTC status.
My fridge is now stuffed with leftovers,
and we have lots to eat while watching football tomorrow.

But there is a bad ending.
Within the last two hours I have come down with what I am pretty sure is strep.
Bleh.

I guess you can't have everything.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to stop in quickly and wish all of you a wonderful holiday tomorrow. I hope you are surrounded by family and friends, and between mouthfuls of turkey and pie, you have a chance to be thankful for your blessings. I have plans to kiss all of my blessings tomorrow. All four of those wonderful boys are getting a big smacking kiss.

We will also be wishing Sammy a Happy 3rd Birthday. I can't believe my biggest surprise in life is going to be 3. I love him to pieces. Every bit of him.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!!

I love this week, every year. I love the break from school. I love making the dinner (I have 15 people coming for our Thanksgiving feast, and I couldn't be happier!) I love being encouraged to take a moment to look around at all of my blessings. I love going shopping on Friday and fighting the crowds. I love that Sammy's birthday is always right around Thanksgiving, and I will always remember that I went into labor after eating a lot of turkey leftovers, sitting on the couch next to my husband. (Right after the first hard contraction came, I could only think, "I really shouldn't have eaten all that turkey.") I love decorating the tree and the house and listening to Christmas music.

But most of all, I love that we are poised right at the beginning of the most magical time of year. All of that anticipation, excitement, and fun events still ahead.

I can't wait!

Happy Halloween!

We got a head start to the season of being thankful on Saturday, when we were all extremely thankful that everyone was healthy enough to go trick or treating. I was really worried Sam wouldn't make it, but after one more day of laying low, he was up for the job of being adorable in his Clifford costume. He didn't really make it too far around the neighborhood before he got tired, but it was far enough for there to be way too much candy at our house.



Charlie was a very spooky spider (even though he only had six legs-oops!)



Sammy as Clifford the Big Red Dog-don't you love his floppy ears?



And Evan as the spooky goon. As soon as Evan put his costume on, Sammy refused to call him Evan and instead said things like, "Mom! The Goon won't hold my hand!" and "Hey Goon! Wait for me!" It was hilarious how seriously he took the whole costume thing.



This was taken roughly 30 seconds after we got back in the door. Sammy made a bee line for the couch to pick out all of his packages of "starwars" (aka Starbursts) from his bucket, and eat them as fast as he could unwrap them. Apparently this is his new favorite candy.

SO glad we had a succesful and happy Halloween!! Hope you did too, and that you had lots of candy to enjoy!