My Little Elf

My last few posts have been wordy, so I thought I'd put in a short and sweet one tonight.  This is a picture of Carson when he was "helping" me put the Christmas tree back in the box.  I told him that I was going to put him in the attic with the tree if he didn't get out of the box.  Hence the expression!  :)  This little man is always cracking me up!

Two Peas in a Pod



Today Victoria was out of school for Martin Luther King's Day, so she invited a friend over to play.  Macy was Victoria's very first best friend and I am amazed at how strong their friendship is.  Before Tori started preschool we would pray that God would send her someone that she could be good friends with.  It only took a few days and these girls were hooked.  Their teacher said that she thought they were joined at the hip.  She also said that even though they were such good friends they didn't exclude people and got along with everybody.  I think it's rare to find two girls that just click as good as these two do.  Anyway, so they were best buddies that whole year, but then they went to different schools for kindergarten.  Being so young, you might think that they would not keep their relationship going, but you'd be wrong.  The first day of kindergarten, Tori wanted to call and check on Macy.  Macy had asked her mom the same thing.  Periodically, Tori would say that she missed Macy and wanted to have her over.  Macy would do the same.  So, Macy's mom and I would periodically get them together, but not a lot, just because we were busy.  Their friendship never changed.  Tori got a new best friend in kindergarten, but Macy was still her close friend.  Even now, they are both in first grade, still at different schools, and they still ask to see each other.  They love being together and they never fight with each other.  I've noticed in a lot of children's relationships that there is usually a boss and a follower.  And with one friend a particular kid might be the boss, but then that same kid might be the follower in another relationship.  Well, they don't have a boss or a follower.  They are equal and I think that's one of the reasons why they love each other so much.  I really enjoyed watching these two play together today and sure thank God for the blessings that He puts in my children's lives.

Tori and Macy in preschool



Tori and Macy today (with our dog, Lilly)



The Santa Debate

Yesterday I commented on having an issue with Santa, so I thought I better go ahead and explain myself.  I don't want anybody to think that I hate the big jolly man in the red suit.  I really have no hatred toward Santa, I just don't like that he gets a lot of the credit for the excitement and magic that happens at Christmastime.  I try to put all my energy into purposefully putting Jesus center stage instead of Santa.  Santa is great and all, but Jesus.  The story of Jesus and what He did for the world has a lot more excitment and magic than Santa can provide.  AND the great part is that it is true!  The original purpose of Christmas was to celebrate Jesus' birth and I believe that that can be just as fun as celebrating Santa (at least I'm going to die trying).  Don't misunderstand me here, I don't really think that the Santa vs. no Santa debate is dependent on the depth of a person's relationship with Jesus.  What I mean by that is that just because a family chooses to participate in the Santa experience doesn't mean they are less spiritual.  I say this because I know of parents who I believe have a closer walk than mine who don't seem to have a problem with Santa.  So, there must be a way to balance the two in one home.  I haven't figured that out yet.  So, instead of decorating with Santas, I decided to decorate with a Candyland theme.  It's still very child friendly and magical, but doesn't really have to do with Santa.  Another thing to mention is that I don't know that my kids even realize that none of our decorations are Santas.  The omission of Santa is something that I am doing purposefully, but not obnoxiously.  I hope that makes sense.  I love old Saint Nick as long as he understands that he is just a side act around here, not the main attraction.  Like I said before, the Santa experience is not bad, it's just something that I've chosen not to emphasize inside our home, because it is emphasized so much everywhere else my kids go.  Now that you think I'm off my rocker, I will leave you with one thought.  My boss had a Chrismtas party at her house and Santa dropped in to visit the kids (the picture is in my last post).  My kids loved talking to him and he was a great Santa (he's actually a very sweet man that goes to my church).  So, he was listening to them very intendly with a loving smile on his face.  Both of my kids just snuggled up in his lap and sat with him for awhile.  What I hate is that Santa could look them straight in the eye and tell them that he loves them and they can touch and see him.  When actually, their Savior loves them more than we can ever imagine and holds them in His arms every day, it's just that they can't see it.  I wished that it could be Jesus sitting their, so that my children would understand how much He loves them.  "Jesus, you know you blow Santa out of the water.  Please make yourself as real to my children as they believe Santa is and help them to realize how much you love them."  Maybe I should be scared to ask, but if anybody has any thoughts on all this, I'd love to hear.

Updated Post Editor

Yeah, I think I'm starting to figure out how to use the updated post editor on my blog.  I knew there had to be an easier way than how I was doing things.  I am so excited!  Watch out blog world....here I come!

And here is a picture, just because I want to practice adding pictures, the new improved and so much easier way.  :)  This picture reminds me.  Does anybody else agonize over the Santa issue?  I'd love to hear other's opinions about this.  I promise a decision about this at some later date.  I know this Santa personally and he is such a sweet guy!

Day #3 of Snow!

We enjoyed another day at home. The wind was really cold today, so we did not stay out as long. Plus, Robert had to go back to work today, so that left me in charge of the fun. Face it, Dad is just more fun in the snow. :)

For dinner we made these smoking good hamburgers. Thought it was pretty enough for a picture!

The picture of me with our snowgal is documentation that I did go out and play...........for anybody who knows me well!

Full House

My kids stumbed upon a rerun of Full House on Nic at Nite a few weeks ago and now they are addicted. I remember anticipating TGIF every Friday night and looking forward to it all day at school. Anyway, this show must be timeless, because my kids think it is so funny. I will admit that I had forgotten that there was so much romance in the episodes. Nothing vulgar or inappropriate just a lot of talk about love, boyfriends, etc. and ALOT of kissing. Tonight Carson was being goofy (like always) and acting like he was going to kiss his sister. I reminded him that if he tried to kiss a girl at preschool he would be in big trouble. His reply was, "But Mom, what if she loves me?" Oh, my, most of the time I don't know whether to laugh or cry. :)

Our Snowman

Our snowman is actually a snowgirl! Robert and the kids did such a great job building her! We also starting building a fort, but whew, it's hard work. Maybe we'll finish it tomorrow, because the kids are out of school again!

We had a great morning at church and stayed for a children's production during lunch that our children's ministry has once a month. So, it was about 1:30 by the time we got home. The kids did not want to take a nap, but since it was not snowing yet, I won out! They had just gotten their comfy clothes on when it started to drizzle a little snow. By the time they woke up, it was a winter wonderland! Robert and the kids went out and played for awhile.

After they came in they were soooooo cold! Their faces, hands, and feet were all red! They asked for some snowman soup and their mom (who had stayed in the house the whole time and documented the fun through the window) quickly obliged.

After peeling off the wet clothes, they snuggled up on the couch in the zip-up pjs and enjoyed the hot cocoa. The forecast calls for more snow, school is already cancelled for tomorrow, and my kids have plans for a really big snowman. I don't think that I'm going to get lucky enough to stay warm again tomorrow. Guess I better be finding me some warm gloves. ;)

A Christmas Tradition

I think that traditions are a really cool part of the holiday season, so I have tried to create a few along the way. One fun tradition that we started last year is decorating a gingerbread house. Our Christmas decor is mostly "candyland" themed, so the gingerbread houses go great with our decorations.

We didn't actually get any pictures mid-decorating, because my hands were busy holding up walls while they dried! ;)

Ringing in the New Year--Welcome 2011!

My most recent attempt to blog more regularly has failed, but I will continue to try. I think that my problem is that the block of time that I have delegated for computer stuff (email, facebook, blog reading, etc.) is right after the kids have been tucked in their beds, while Robert is showering and getting ready for work the next day. This works well, because our computer is in our extra bedroom on the same side of the house as the kids, so I am near to them if they need me. Once the kids are asleep, then Robert and I are able to hang out and spend time together. Anyway, the problem with this plan is that by 8:00 at night any ounce of wittiness or creativity that I might possess is exhausted and gone. So, I usually just read other people's witty posts and snoop through people's pictures on facebook. :) And never write the things that I want to on my own blog. It's also probably due to the fact that I am a perfectionist; but a very bad perfectionist. It's seldom actually perfect. Ok, it's never really perfect, so it's easier to not try to write, then fear that it will be stupid or dumb. Maybe my new year's resolution should be to get up earlier and post in the mornings...........uhm, no, that's probably not going to happen.

2011--My new year's resolutions are the same as they have been the past three years. It will probably be these three things that rest of my life, because once I get these things down, life will be perfect. Drum roll, please. #1. Exercise more #2. Have my quiet time daily. #3. Go to bed earlier and get up earlier. There you have it. My big three. I know that I won't be successful everyday, but I figure that it's worth pursuing. Everyday that I do succeed will put me one day closer to being the person that I would like to be.

I'll end with some pics from 2010. I'm going through all my pics on our computer from 2010 and making Victoria a memory photo album of her from the year for her birthday in February. I used to scrapbook until I was introduced to the albums that you can make online through Wal-mart (think you can make them through Shutterfly also). They are so cool looking and so much cheaper and faster than scrapbooking! Don't tell my husband how much money is invested in all those scrapbook supplies in the closet! ;)