Yeah, I *know* it's February...

...but I'm posting Christmas pictures anyway! That's just the kind of rebel I am!

This past Christmas was particularly enjoyable for me. I think that was because my older boys are old enough to be truly thoughtful in their gift giving as well as in their wish lists, my younger boy is old enough to understand the gift unwrapping concept and really be joyful about the gift contents, I got my Christmas shopping done very early this year, I wrapped the presents gradually and not all in one night, and I knew we were leaving the next day for my family reunion - I time we all enjoy thoroughly and look forward to in the two years between each one. As I downloaded my pictures from Christmas morning today (yes, just today...) I was sad to discover that many of them are blurry or grainy. One of these days I am going to have to learn to take better pictures.

Here are some of my favorites from this Christmas morning:

I got a kindle from my parents on Christmas Eve, and was very excited to get this cover (with a light!) from Jerry on Christmas morning.

Jerry and his new shop-vac.  Andrew spent quite a bit of time in the box this came in...

Ethan got me some new kitchen tongs.  As it turns out, he should have gotten them for Andrew! He spent 20 minutes using these tongs to put fake strawberries in a play bowl.

Ethan showing off his favorite present - a real Bible! I am one happy mama that this was his *favorite* present of the morning.

Drew is fascinated with the presents.

But I want to open another one!

I think the older boys were just as excited about Andrew's presents as he was!

After getting an official Texas Rangers World Series T-shirt and jersey, he could not wait to finish opening presents before putting them on.

Mini Post Monday

The boys made chocolate and crushed candycane covered marshmallows, which were a big hit! 

Andrew - I love how he has finally learned to smile for the camera!

Well, a few Monday's have come and gone without one of these posts, but I do have to say that I have valid reasons for my absence.  We left the day after Christmas to go to Colorado for a week.  Of course I took my camera, but took absolutely no pictures of our time there... Just picutre a sprawling 4 split-level resort with gorgeous sitting rooms, cozy sleeping rooms, and views from every window; nestled in a wooded, hilly plot of land with a perfect view of Pike's Peak through the trees.  Fill that sprawling house with all of my wonderful extended family who are there to visit, play, and pray together for a week.  It was lovely beyond words.

Our 2010 Christmas family picture.  I wish Andrew wasn't blurry, but overall I really like this shot!

When I returned, I scrambled to get laundry done, Christmas decorations down, and a weeks worth of meals cooked and put up in the freezer because I had major surgery January 4.  The days since then have been a blur of drug induced stupor, but I am finally emerging from it, weak but ready to move on with my life.

Aaron asked if he could read a Christmas book to us before we opened gifts.

Do you make New Year's resolutions? I don't, because I am so rebellious, that I will rebel even from my own desires if I set them in writing! However, I have a few things that are very important to me that have been in the forefront of my mind for a while that I want to establish as habits.  I want to come up with a consistent time to spend reading my Bible each day.  I do okay with reading and doing Bible study when I remember, but often the day gets away from me and it is over before I remember. I want to make the time of day I spend with God consistent so that it won't slip from my mind. I also have been focusing on wasting less time.  I get quite easily caught up in time wasters such as mindless games and worthless TV shows. Of course, while recovering from this surgery these have been somewhat useful, but for the most part, these have no real place in my day.  It's time to remove much of this from my day!

Ethan with his Ohio State jersey!

 Andrew REALLY got into opening presents this year.

Aaron was so excited to get a model airplane, just like he wanted!

Aaron lost another tooth.  He is scared to death to have his loose teeth pulled, though! His tooth was so ready to come out that he could push it completely perpendicular to his gums with his tongue, but he would not let me pull it.  So I did what any good mom would do - I bribed him! One night we had a Texas sheet cake for dessert, and Aaron asked me if he could have more.  I'm not sure why he asked, because my answer is always no to more of dessert! But this time I said, "Sure! If you let me pull your tooth." Bwahahaha, I'm evil! However, even with this incentive, it took him almost an hour to be willing to let me pull it.  But when I did, he got seconds on dessert!

My mom and dad came over on Christmas Eve to have our traditional pizza dinner, candlelight church service, and opening of extended family gifts.

Finally, Joanna and I always have at least a few games of Lexulous going on Facebook (this is not one of those time wasting games...) and I had such an awesome, this-will-never-happen-again-as-long-as-I-live plays that I had to take a picture of it with my cell phone!! So pardon the quality of the shot, but take note of the word "detoxify" that was played in the lower right hand corner!  Woo-Hoo! That's right - it covers two triple word score squares and the "X" is on a double letter score square to boot! I am not sure I will ever have another 337 point word, but at least now this one is captured in the blogosphere for all time!  You know, Joanna is such a good friend that she was happy for me when I played this word.   She didn't bemoan her impending horrible loss at all... :)

This is one for the history books...

Mini Post Monday

• I cannot believe that there's only 19 days until Christmas.  Time flies.

• This week, my parents celebrate their birthday.  Both born on December 8!  How cool is that?  I won't tell you how old they are, though...after all, occasionally my mom reads this blog! 

Dad, playing a game with Aaron and Jerry.

Mom, helping me with the dishes after our big November birthday celebration!
• I restarted the 100 push-up and 200 sit-up programs I tried to start a while back.  Um...I'm weak.  And sore.  Enough said.
• Jerry started tiling the shower in our bathroom remodel! It looks amazing.  I married an amazing man.

I love the offset design with the glass tiles!

Detail shot.
• I've been getting a lot of headaches lately.  I woke up with a headache yesterday, and it was all I could do to get up to serve my turn in nursery duty.  Needless to say, we came home as soon as our duty was over, and I spent the rest of the day in bed.  The headache went away around 9:00 pm, but this morning it is back.  ::sigh::
• School the next two weeks is all about Christmas!  We are making Christmas crafts, reading books about how people celebrate Christmas around the world, and making Christmas treats in the kitchen.  Man, I love homeschool!

• Ethan has already outgrown all the pants I bought him for this winter.  Good thing he has a little brother, because I would hate getting rid of pants that have only been worn a few times.  He now weighs 5 pounds more than his big brother, who is almost 2 years older than him.  I told the boys that pretty soon Ethan would be passing his clothes down to Aaron...I think Aaron is not liking that idea very much!

Two closer brothers are hard to find. I am truly blessed!

Silly shot.  This is actually a lot more normal for our house than the last one...
• I'm enjoying the fact that it is soup and stew weather again!  I've missed soup.  I don't know how people who live in climates that never really get cold ever enjoy soup. 
• I did the majority of my Christmas shopping online this year, taking advantage of Cyber Monday deals. It is so wonderful to get a package of stuff delivered to my door each day!  It is also nice that I don't have to find a time to go out without the boys so I can keep their gifts a secret. Plus, it is driving the boys NUTS to know gifts are in those big brown boxes at the door and then not be able to open them up right away! :) Amazon.com, I think I love you.

• I want one of these for Christmas: Eureka Enviro Steam Mop. I think that officially makes me a dorky grown up.

Mini Post Monday

• One of the things I really like about homeschooling is that I can tailor our curriculum to our needs - even if I need to change courses mid-year.  Last year I used Peace Hill Press for our language arts.  Although I LOVE their reading curriculum, their beginning grammar was just not for us.  Aaron hated doing it, I wasn't thrilled with what he was learning, and we began avoiding it.  So a couple months ago, I ordered the Rod and Staff 2nd grade English program and it is great!  Aaron likes doing it, I like that it gets him writing more, and I like the way the information is organized and presented. I also love the way biblical material is woven into every lesson. It's great to not have to suffer through a year with a mismatched program just because it is what the school uses!
• Did you make any amazing Thanksgiving recipes?  I made the Bobby Flay Pumpkin Bread Pudding from his Throwdown with Pioneer Woman, and Oh. My. Goodness.  That is one good (though super involved) recipe.  I think I gained 3 pounds just from making it though...
• I saw the most humorous sight in the parking garage at our library the other day.  It was so funny to me that I had to whip out my cell phone and take some pictures.  I appologize for the quality of these, but phone pictures taken in a dark parking garage are not the best.  Anyway...I understand the value of good stewardship and taking care of what you have, which is why a lot of people get a steering wheel lock for their car. 

          However, I usually see these types of locks on nice, expensive cars that someone

          might want to steal. Can you imagine anyone wanting to steal this car?

I personally think the owner of this truck could leave it unlocked with the windows down and still return to find it undisturbed!
• I have requested a Kindle for Christmas.  I have struggled with whether or not I wanted one because I love the actual, physical page, but I gave in.  What's on your list?
• The Christmas decorations are up and the house feels quite festive! We got some new ornaments this year too, because I was tired of having the rag-tag decorations collected since the beginning of time.  I love my new ornaments!

The first ornament to go on the tree this year!

• The kids were actually a help with decorating this year.  They remembered where a lot of the decorations were last year and got them out of boxes and put them in the right places.  It was really nice.  They also decorated their room with two 1 foot trees and a lighted garland.

Aaron putting ornaments (ones I banned from our main tree this year) on the garland we put in their room!

Christmas Spirit?

I am a Christmas purist.  I think the focus should be more on the birth of Jesus and less on presents.  I think decorations should go up after Thanksgiving and stay up until Epiphany.  I know not everyone agrees with me on these things, but even if you don't agree with those things, can you agree that these trees we saw last weekend are just wrong in every way possible?

These ones aren't quite as bad - at least they are a natural color of green.  But still... 

If you live somewhere that these trees grow naturally, maybe they are more appealing.  Jo, care to weigh in on that one?

Somehow I just don't think that people who live among real, beautiful evergreens like these ones wouldn't even think of putting one of those other monstrosities in their homes!

On a completely unrelated note, isn't the new blog design great?  Thanks, Joanna, for keeping our blog pretty!

Mini Post Monday

I figured I better be prompt with this week's Mini-Post Monday so that I don't get chastised again! :) (Sorry, Jo! I had to put that in there!)

• I am eating one of my left-over salted chocolate truffles I gave to my friends for Christmas while I type this.  Man, are they good.
• My family takes "hide-and-go-seek" very seriously.  No, really.  Check it out.

Jerry climbed in an empty cabinet and the first one to find him was actually Andrew.  The funny thing was that Andrew thought it was so great that Daddy was in the cabinet, Daddy had to stay there for quite a while while Andrew closed the doors, opened them up, and laughed!

This hiding spot of Ethan's doesn't look too impressive until you see the large picture...

Ethan climbed up in this cubby hole intended for a TV in this exercise/game room!
• We had a white Christmas this year!!!  Now, for those of you who live in places that get snow often, you might not think this worthy of posting.  However, for the DFW area, it was the first white Christmas in 83 years.  It is amazing to me that very few people living in our area were alive to remember the last time it happened. Our kids were thrilled, to say the least.

Our yard, covered in snow.  For Texas, this is a full blanket of snow!

Isn't it impressive??  Too bad we didn't have enough snow in TX for this one.  Jerry and the boys made it in Ohio the week before our white Christmas!
• Not every part of a white Christmas is good.  A dear family in my church had a car accident on Christmas Eve when their car hit a patch of black ice and went into oncoming traffic.  The husband and the wife's mother were killed on impact, and the dear wife, Pat, died later in surgery.  Pat made my wedding cake.  Pat has also been my Bible Study leader since June.  Every Sunday, I have gone to her house for a few hours and studied God's Word with her and a few others.  God used Pat to show me some great freedom that he had waiting for me, but I hadn't yet found.  I will miss Pat greatly. 
• Have you ever heard of the Manhattan Declaration?  My pastor brought this to our attention in church yesterday.  He said that in the last conversation he had with Pat's husband, he was told of this declaration, and thought it was important enough to share with the entire congregation.  I have been thinking for a while that I am not involved enough in politics.  I know that I don't agree with much of what is going on in Washington, and I vote every time I have an opportunity, but I need to be more informed and involved.  I think that I am going to start by signing this document after Jerry reads it and we have a chance to talk about it.
• Ever wonder what the boys thought of their dad getting his Master's degree last week?  Just look at how excited they were for him.

Aaron was practically bursting at the seams!

Ethan could hardly contain his enthusiasm!
• Andrew, on the other hand was happy as a lark as long as he could put water on his rubber ducky.  Needless to say, we left a bit of a wet spot on the table when we left!

In addition to the large water spot, I'm pretty sure there was an entire meal's worth of crumbs...
• Look, Mom!  I'm a Texas Longhorn!  (Should someone tell him that when you are wearing an Ohio State jumpsuit, you shouldn't pretend to be a Texas Longhorn?)

Who needs Christmas presents when you have a plastic hanger?
• Finally, for those of you who watch commercials regularly, perhaps you've seen this commercial from the last Superbowl.  I don't watch live TV, preferring to record the shows I like on my DVR and forward through the commercials instead, so I just saw this commercial yesterday.  I laughed so hard I had to look it up on YouTube right away to see it again.  Enjoy!
  

Mini Post Monday

It has been a full week here at our house!  I could make this week's minis go on and on, but I tried to narrow it down to the best highlights, so here goes!

• Jerry took the boys to the TCU football game this Saturday.  We signed the boys up for "Bleacher Creatures" so they got a free TCU shirt and got to run the length of the field when the players first went onto the field.  They had so much fun! 

• Speaking of sports, are you excited about college basketball season starting soon?  My boys are!  We especially enjoy cheering for the Kansas Jayhawks.  We're starting Andrew off right!

• After running out of lights with the top of our tree still unlit, I was finally able to get to the store for more lights and get our tree decorated.  The kids had such fun decorating the tree this year, and you should all be proud of me - I've left the kids paper ornaments up in the prominent spots they gave them, and I haven't tried to spread out the clusters of ornaments where they clumped them all together!

• Speaking of ornaments, this is my very favorite one from my tree!  It is hand-painted glass.  Isn't it beautiful?

• In the spirit of "I like the packaging better than the toy" that most children have, it apparently only takes the bag the Christmas tree is stored in to keep three boys highly entertained for a full morning!

• Does anything look wrong in the picture below?  Jerry started the demo on one of our bathrooms. I've heard all these horror stories about how hard it is to remove old tile.  Well, it turns out that although it is messy, if you have a couple hours, a hammer, and some pent up rage, it is no problem at all!  Hopefully, in a few months we'll have a totally new bathroom!

I hope you have a great week!

A Bit Behind...

The beautiful (if not dangerous) ice storm yesterday made it feel Christmasy again around here. (We lost a tree limb but not the power.) It helps that I still have all our Christmas decorations up...but that's another story entirely! It reminded me that I hadn't posted anything about our Christmas. I know it is way past due, but I am going to offer up a few excuses here:

• we left Christmas day for Colorado and didn't get back until Jan. 2
• I just finished the laundry from being gone - I couldn't blog before laundry, could I? (Never mind the other times I've done just this...)
• I have a new (very cool) laptop, and hadn't figured out the different photo software on it to edit my pictures until last night
• Oh, yeah - I have a newborn (how long is this one valid?? I think I might be pushing it at this point...)

::Clears throat:: Now that we have established that it is perfectly reasonable for me to just now be blogging about Christmas, lets get started!! This Christmas was especially fun for us because our boys are older and really get it. They get the spiritual significance and look forward to the Bible stories as well as the gifts. They were also able to understand the joy of giving, not just getting. However, this realization cost us a bit more dough since they had to give Andrew a gift (each of them) and we had to give Andrew a gift, too! They are also way more animated when opening their gifts since they actually made lists and looked forward to seeing what they would get and analyzed each gift under the tree 30,000 times trying to decide exactly what it could be!

Since we were leaving Christmas day on our trip, we opened gifts on the 23rd, then they boys got their Christmas pj's on the 24th like always, and we opened stockings and had a fun breakfast on the 25th. It was like Christmas went on and on for them!

Here's the boys in their Christmas pj's on Christmas morning. Aren't they just adorable??

On Christmas morning we always have Lil' Smokies sausages and what goes with them varies. This year, I looked for a copy cat recipe for Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. I found this one. Mmmmm, they were really, really good. I highly recommend making them. The dough turned out perfect being done in the bread machine, too. I made mine the night before and left them in the fridge overnight. I let them sit out on the counter for a couple hours before baking them, and the rose just fine.

Jerry thoroughly spoiled me this year (considering I got a new laptop already...) and made it a red kitchen Christmas. I had put new pot holders, spatulas, and kitchen towels on a list for him (all in red) and he took the theme and ran with it. Check out the red kitchen loot:

That's right, he got me a new Kitchen Aid mixer!! (And somehow the red Kitchen Aid spatula and serving set got left out of the picture...) The motor in my other one burned out exactly 4 months after the warranty on it ran out and I have been mixing things with a hand held mixer for about a year now (I know - horror of all horrors!). I had mentioned wanting a new one in red and jokingly put it on a list knowing it was more than we were spending (or so I thought) and lo and behold! There it was on Christmas morning. I broke it in to make a cake earlier this week and smiled so big my face almost split in two!