Clueless Mom Award

Goes to....me!! Grayson usually prays for everyone in the room and Matt and I a few times and his sister, Ava....but now he throws in, "and Grayson-that's me!"



Well.....clueless mom.....that's me!


Today began at 4:30 am for me--little girl couldn't let it go and fall back asleep after waking up to eat. I am not sure if it's a curse, but everytime my husband is gone, my children's sleep falls apart!! Thankfully, my parents are saviors and are here to help. But let me tell you, the grandparents aren't built for 4:30 kind of material....who is??


So this is the third night my little one has been up all night/woke up at an unreasonable hour, and I finally decide to take her to the doctor. In my defense, she's not had any symptoms...no fever, no cough, no runny nose, nothing but irritability and a scratchy throat....and did I mention the 4 teeth?? This entire time I've assumed it was her teeth giving her trouble, but to my dismay, she's got a double ear infection! Poor baby! I'm feeling slightly more than stupid at this point....points in the kid column...

Something for the mom's...

We were blessed with such wonderful gifts for the kids this year and so many things are wonderful tools for raising up our kids in Christ.  Thank you to everyone!

To read more about my a few of my favorites, click here.

Tot School-Christmas Gifts!

Christmas was absolutely wonderful and the only "school" that took place was some serious playtime with family and new toys. Too many, of course. Grayson did grasp (more than I thought he might) that not everyone gets such wonderful things and he was thankful for all of his many presents. (I hope all of our family agrees with me!)

He got lots of pretend play and great developmental toys this year....thank you to everyone!!

Playing with his new Lego's with his cousin, Ethan. So sweet!


My brother gave him a Melissa and Doug Pirate floor puzzle...I love this too, by the way! We put it together again last night...just the two of us and I'm telling you, Grayson loves it. Good pick, Lance!

Santa brought Grayson a castle with knights and a barn with animals and these do continue to be a hit around here (this morning he's been telling the black knight he can't wear his white shoes because they don't match( I'm not sure where he gets this :)

Little Ava enjoying her new play mat...

This was a treat....a Jeep gator from my mom and dad...he's becoming quite the driver. I haven't had the camera out when he has been using it, but Matt's mom and dad got him a toddler trampoline, and he LOVES it. I love being able to tell him to go bounce it out....good job, grandparents!

Hope you all had such a blessed Christmas this year!

HO! HO! HO!!! 2009

We had a WONDERFULLY BLESSED Christmas this year! Grayson is old enough now to truly grasp the magic of the Season and of course, is in love with Santa!

We believe in teaching our children the celebration of Christ's birth. We choose to celebrate it during Christmas and I pray our Christmas time is always focused there above and beyond any earthly traditions. However, we also believe in allowing our children to share in the joy of make believe and I know they will treasure the memories made during Christmas their entire lives. It is a time for family, for giving, and let's be honest, for getting those fun toys. This year was magical for me. It was actually the first time in my life I didn't care about getting anything...My excitement was all wrapped up in giving to my children. It was simply SO much fun!

We spent most of Christmas Eve at mom and dad's house...

Papa escorted Grayson outside to get his present from them....

A Jeep Gator....as you can see, he loved it, but we're still working on his driving skills!

Back at home before bedtime, we put out reindeer food (oats filled with glitter) so the reindeer could find our yard and have a snack while Santa stopped by, and placed our milk and cookies out for Santa.

After the kids went to bed, we got to work on assembling Grayson's gifts. He asked Santa for a barn and a castle, so of course, Santa (aka Matt) went over the top and they are both basically dollhouses for boys. I had originally begun on the barn, but Lance got impatient with me and took over.

Christmas Morning began a little rough. Gray woke up crying at 4:30....forgot to mention he had gotten sick earlier in the week with a sinus infection and pink eye. Lance got the pleasure of sleeping with him that night and I'm sure he is still doubting ever having kids after that 4:30 experience. He then woke up crying at 6 to come out to see Santa....needless to say, we had to wait for him to calm down before we let him come up the hall. When he walked out, it wasn't too difficult to distract him from his crankiness....

We are finishing out our attic and one of our rooms will be Matt's home theater. We vowed not to overdo this year, so his gifts from me were some vintage movie posters and some popcorn tubs. Fun!

Lance's hair and facial expressions always crack me up!

Loving his castle and saving the good knight out of the tower he was locked in by the bad knight....

Playing with his floor pirate puzzle his Uncle Lance gave him...

Our two kiddos watching Ava's PraiseBaby DVD she got in her stocking from Santa.

Santa also brought her a new playmat that changes as she gets older...

Christmas lunch was at Aunt Vonda's this year...I think my favorite part of the whole day might have been dressing Ava in her outfit from mom and dad. Cute red tights and white fur vest...who could go wrong?

Me and my little man getting ready to open presents at Vonda's...

Grayson and Lola had a great time

Uncle Ken picked Grayson out some pistols with a holster...he wore them around the rest of the afternoon.

He also got a truck and horse trailer, and lots of other fun things...I'm actually remembering that I didn't include our Christmas party pictures...maybe another post on that then.

Just one of the guys....Charlie, Lance, Jason, Matt and Ethan.

Ava got some serious cuddling from her aunts and cousins:

Thought I uploaded the one with Lance in it, but I guess not...sorry, little brother!
Merry Christmas to all!!

Tot School-Christmas 09!

Again, last week was simply about celebrating the Season and spending time with the kids doing those things that make up Christmas memories and traditions. My mom was so good about doing fun things with us and for us at Christmas time, and I fully believe it's the reason the Season is still so magical to me. I promise, I'm just as excited the whole month of December as the 6 year olds awaiting for Santa to arrive. I love the decorations, the silly jewelry, the Spirit that seems to come from someplace higher, the music (I have a playlist that Grayson now is sick of... "We always listen to that music."), the time with family, the food, the giving to those who you love and those who need it most....get my drift? I love Christmas!

So, last week was about continuing one of those traditions we had in our house at Christmas time. We baked (and baked and baked) homemade cookies to decorate for the kids...well, for me and Grayson, really! I remember every Christmas my mom making these exact cookies and the anticipation for them being completed and ready to eat. I remember her taking them to school for my class's Christmas parties and being so proud that my mom brought those incredible creations. So, needless to say, I had built them up on a pedestal and couldn't wait to tackle it this year for Grayson.

The first batch came out of the oven, I smelled them, and I thought, "Mom."

Well, as a child, all you see is the finished product, the end result....the beautifully scrumptious cookie that exemplifies the essence of Christmas. You don't notice that you don't see your sweet mom for days, or that she's rubbing her hands because they're all cramped up from frosting 4 dozen cookies. Let me tell you something....I now I have a new found DEEP admiration for my mother for all the years of decorating she spent! It took one afternoon to make the dough, one day to roll it out and cut out all the cookies, and one 10 hour day of decorating. Whew!

But even though it was a LOT of work, it was such a joy to complete the task and do something for my children that my mom did for me once upon a time.

And who knows, maybe one day my children will open an oven door and think of me...


The rest of our week...
Grayson used a sticker set to make a nativity scene.

Grayson's Mother's Day out teachers gave him the most thoughtful gifts....some reindeer food, edible play dough, a gift certificate for us a night out, and some great puzzles. I'd been wanting to buy him a foam alphabet puzzle, but they found one (I think at the dollar store) first! He opened them Friday morning and played with them all morning.

Again, most of our time this week was spent doing normal things together, but I'm beginning to see that, even without a lot of super organized planning, we are finding ways to spend our time productively and having a lot of fun in the meantime.

Hope everyone had the Merriest CHRISTmas!!

What I love about you- 39 and 5 months

I love these posts I came across by Rebecca at Growing Up Our Style. It's so easy to focus on the negative, to be critical, to find motherhood a burden. What I want my children to see (with an occasional nervous breakdown) is my love for Christ, my love for my husband, and my love for them above all else. So, here's to celebrating the positive:

Matt:

-how you light up when Grayson runs to hug you and Ava looks up at you and grins

-how you FINALLY learned it just takes me a while to process things....if you'll just let me talk it out, I get over it a lot sooner

-how you were the one to lay down the law when it came to Christmas spending for the kids and that last night you pouted like a baby when you couldn't get the HUGE castle you picked out for Gray at the last minute

-how you are more smitten with our little girl every day

-how you are brave enough to speak Truth in our Sunday school class

-how goofy you still are....maybe more than when I met you

-how after meeting them over and over, you still can't remember who Lance's roommates are

That's all for now....I've got to save some for later!

Grayson:

-how right now your answer for everything is "Sure, think so."

-the way you light up when your daddy gets home

-the way you line everything up (even the butter packets at a restaurant)

-how over you are of seeing Santa...."I already did that..."

-how sometimes i'll look up and you've been quietly putting a puzzle together for 30 minutes (Thank you, Lord)

-how I went on and on about how we wouldn't get any pictures this year, and when the photographer showed up, you showed out!

-how every now and then I'll catch you patting Ava and telling her, "Shhh, it's okay, girl."

-how you ask if you can give me three more kisses at bedtime, then look at me, wave your hand, and say, "That's enough...no more kisses, Mommy."

-how tonight you were not only intuitive enough to notice I was upset, but also tried to cheer me up. "Mommy, I don't want you to be frustrated. I want you to be happy."

Ava:

-how you surprise me every time you giggle out loud

-how sneaky you are about your rolling over....stop waiting until I walk to the kitchen!

-your sweet smile

-how you light up when your daddy or big brother pay you attention

-how you light up when I pay you attention

-how you can already slide on your belly across the floor...my little serpent

-how much fun it is to dress you

-the way it's hard for you to eat sometimes because you're smiling at me so much

Love you guys!

Ramblings of a three year old...

Had to record this....

Walking through the kitchen this morning, I heard Grayson (playing with our Nativity set) in a stern voice....

"That was not a nice boy, Jesus. I guess you'll just have to stay in the stable."

Cracked me up!

Family Rules Canvas

In my attempt to be more creative and save money, I decided to try my hand at making some Christmas gifts this year. Actually, I was going to give these to several people, but, like always, my project brain has way more room(and time) than my project hands! I had seen something similar and wanted to try my hand at it. It's very similar to the canvas I created for Ava , but I wanted to make it even better. I wish I had taken a picture of it straight on before I gave it to my sweet friend, Jenny, but alas, one more thing I forgot. Here's how it came out:





I love the idea of having rules hanging in the living area or somewhere the whole family will see them; I need them as much as the kids will. I also love the idea of making something by hand instead of just buying it....makes it a little more special to think that mom made this for our home (I think...right? Please agree since I took the time) :)



Ideally, I would put these on a 24 x36 canvas, because I had about 17 great rules I wanted to include. I was afraid to gift one that size in case it wouldn't fit in Jenny's house. I think I'll make a large one for our living area; post on that to come. In case you can't see the rules in order:



Thank God for this family, for this day, for this home
Use kind words-obey your parents-always tell the truth
Encourage your siblings-share in their joy
Give your guest your best
there is no mine in this house-it's all God's
husband, love your wife-wife, always be on his side
be creative at all times
act responsibly, be respectful, choose wisely
you can never do wrong by doing right
say what you are sorry for-forgiveness is mandatory
Love the Lord your God

The time I made Ava's canvas, I used the paper I hand cut in different widths with different edging tools to apply directly to the canvas. Matt convinced me if I wanted to do this again, I needed to find a much faster way to accomplish this. (He also wants me to take orders and sell them! :) He helped me scan the papers above into a design program and that way I was able to use different fonts to give a little visual interest. I was able to print it in two sheets and I mod podged them to the canvas and built up a finish....you can't really see this part from the pictures.

I really am pleased with the way it turned out, so I'm thinking of the possibility of something bigger...especially if Matt will help!

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!