I Can Help

I was just walking down the stairs to get a video for the kids to watch while I attempt to get a shower. A followed me down saying, "I can help you if you can't reach it." I assured him I should be able to get it, so he said, "Well, if you were a baby and I was...say...16, then maybe I could reach it for you." Not sure how to argue with that logic :)

Merry Christmas!!

O Come All Ye Faithful
JOYFUL and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us ADORE Him,
Christ the Lord!!

You know you have boys when...

We were playing with the boys' nativity set. I was telling them the story of Christmas and we were acting it out with the little figures. Then somehow the story ended with the angels playing tackle football!

Holiday Projects

We have started the tradition of making "Gingerbread" Houses with Gramma and Aunt L. This is a kid's version... we just use Half and Half containers, icing for glue and graham crackers for the gingerbread. The boys loved it and actually ended up with more candy on their houses than in their mouths! That in itself was a success. C is my candy monster. He often looks up on top of the fridge where the finished projects are on display and says "See it. See candy house," or "oh-dee" which means "hold it". It was also fun to see how much A has grown up over the year. His house this year sported a chimney, two doors and a snowman with a Hershey kiss hat. It was fun to see him being purposeful and creative with his house. Next year, we'll have three houses! Can't wait to meet our new Baby Girl Cousin!!!

Our next holiday project was Cinnamon Ornaments (we used recipe #1) to give as gifts to A's classmates and teachers. They were so easy, so fun, and SO MESSY! Not a project for a neat freak, but a perfect project for a 1 and 3 year old. So fun! Kept them occupied for about an hour on a cold, snowy day! And they turned out pretty cute. After they dried, we tied a red ribbon on them and wrote A's name and 2010 on the back.

Cleveland Christmas

Our yearly trek to Cleveland for the holidays was so much fun. The boys are at a much easier age, so I didn't feel frazzled chasing them around all evening and was actual able to have a little bit of adult conversation! The boys had the time of their lives. They love everyone up there and are always so sad when our time with that family is over.

The infamous MG and the amazing fort she built for them. This thing ended up taking up half of Gramma's front room. It also occupied them for nearly 4 hours! Oh, how they love their sweet cousin.

Conservatory Train Display

Nine years ago today, it was 65 degrees and sunny out. The skies were blue, and 150 of our closest friends and family were standing behind us as we promised to love each other through good and bad, rich and poor, sickness and health. The last nine years have brought all of these things, and our promise is even more real today than ever.

Happy Anniversary, P. We've come a long way. Sometimes the road is bumpy, sometimes it is smooth. There have been sections of the road that have been easy, and other parts were so incredibly steep. And sometimes it's so foggy we can barely see the path we are standing on, much less the road ahead. I love you, and there's no one else I'd rather walk through life with.

Happy Birthday, C

I am still just so much in awe that C is two already! And at the same time, I'm so in awe that it's only been two years. C, we love you so much. You are a boy of extremes. There is no middle ground for you. You are one of the happiest kids I know. Always have a smile on your face. Every grocery store worker or person passing on the street comments on how happy you are. Your joy is contagious. Your new passion is singing, which you do with every ounce of your being. Whether it's Jingle Bells or Take Me Out to the Ball Game, you sing loud and full of joy. Even as I'm typing this, you are sitting on my lap singing "Our God is greater... Our God is stronger... God you are higher than any other!" Your face is staring at me upside down and you are giggling and giving me hugs. Makes it hard to type, but it's a momma's dream come true.

I love you, sweet boy. Don't grow up too quickly!

I can't believe I never posted this story! Usually, I stick to stories about the boys because they tend to be the funniest, but this still makes me laugh just thinking about it.

A few weeks ago, P went to a business meeting to meet a man someone else had recommended he talk to for networking purposes. He was honest about his position in life right now. He talked about how he isn't motivated by money and would rather do something he is passionate about. He communicated how he doesn't love sales, but would do it if it was for the right company/product. After about 5 min of conversations like this, the man just stared at P with a confused look and said, "Well, I don't think this job is the right match for you." P was now equally confused. He mentioned their connection and why he was there, and the man said, "Oh, I am sorry. I am interviewing three people today for a sales job!" I still wonder what that many must have been thinking for the first 5 min!

Andrew Peterson - Dancing in the Minefields (Official Video)

This is the song he opened his concert with. Enjoy!

What a Weekend!

Friday Night: We walked over to the Old Town Square to enjoy the lighting of the HUGE Christmas tree. We missed the "Big Moment" where the lit the tree, but our kids didn't know the difference. The whole scene was very much out of a movie. So beautiful and nostalgic.

Saturday Morning: Up early (always!) and out the door. A quick stop at the market (can't go a week without Dennis's apples!) and then off to the train display downtown. This is the 65th anniversary of this event. It's a free Christmas train display, and they even hand out free cookies :) The boys love it, and it will be a part of our family's Christmas traditions.

Then off to Grandad's house for a delicious brunch. Homemade pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs... yum! It never ceases to amaze me how much my kids can eat when they enjoy something. I guarantee both C and A ate more than I did! They had a blast with Grandad, too. Building towers, crawling in "bear caves" and wrestling. So fun!

After naps, the boys got to play in the snow! It was so fun to see them full of pure joy. Especially C who was so young last year that he doesn't really remember the snow. Nothing quite like seeing someone experience their first snow!

Sunday: Cookie Making Marathon! One of my favorite holiday traditions. I posted pics below. It was great time with my family. Then we got a phone call in the afternoon offering us free tickets to Andrew Peterson's Christmas Concert. We LOVE his music! He's relatively undiscovered, but we've loved listening to him since he opened for Caedmon's Call at Miami University in the fall of my freshman year... within the first few months of dating. Now that is more than 13 years ago! Anyway, the concert was AWESOME! A special thanks to my parents for taking on the last minute babysitting role so we could head out to the concert. What a great, great weekend.

Ready to Run

C loves to run (don't all boys!?!). When he's getting ready to take off, instead of "On your marks, get set, go!", he is CONVINCED that it is "Uncle Mark... set... go!" It makes me laugh every time!

Super Girl Button

The other morning, A told me when he grew up he wanted to be a girl like me. I explained that he would always be a boy because that's how God created him. He thought about it for a minute and then said, "But if I can find the Super Girl Button then I can push it and I can become a girl". Haha! Where does he come up with these things?!

Picture Update!

Christmas Cookie Making Marathon! One of my favorite Christmas traditions! This year, the A and my nephew were able to help a little, which was really fun. C tried to help but got super sad when he realized he couldn't eat all of the cookies. Maybe next year!

Decorating the Christmas tree with Nonno.

C thought this was so fun! He loved that the star went on top. Later, he was carrying around a Christmas Troll dressed in a Santa suit. He was telling the troll all about the tree and how he and his brother got to help Nonno put the star on the top.

"Star big. Up. Nonno, A, C."

Enjoying our first snow of the season! They had so much fun! A was so excited when he woke up and saw it snowing that he wanted to call everyone he could think of to tell them about the snow. I had to convince him to wait a little because most people were still asleep at 6:30 am!

He is just about the cutest kid in the world! He loved the snow! It was so fun to see him really experience it for the first time.

What a goof ball! He is such an funny boy. I don't know many one-year-olds that tell jokes and ham it up in front of anyone who will watch.

A Thanksgiving craft from school. Written on the leaves are the things A is thankful for. In this order: 1 - Joey Votto 2- MG (P's cousin!) 3- E (his friend!) 4- C 5- Daddy. I had to convince him that maybe Mommy should make it on there somewhere, too.

One more thing...

I'm taking the boys to a gymnastics class this afternoon. A wants to know why he can't wear his bathing suit because when he saw girls doing gymnastics they were in their bathing suits. I tried to explain that it's a leotard and only girls wear them. Then he tried to convince me that I need to wear my bathing suit because I'm a girl and I'm going with them to their class!

It has been so long since I posted that I can't even remember half of what's been going on. Here's a brief update.

-Christmas season is here. I am almost done Christmas shopping already! Kind of nice to have things checked off my list, but also makes for a long December. I feel like Christmas should be here, but it's still three weeks away.

-A had a Christmas Store after school today. He was able to pick out a few gifts on his own: one for C and one for each of his Grandmas. It was pretty cute, and he actually did a great job. I did have to convince him to put back the penguin keychain and pick something different for C, but other than that, he picked out pretty decent job of selecting gifts. Be excited, Grandmas!

-A has a Christmas Program coming up at school. I can't wait! I'm sure it will be very entertaining! He has a "part" that he has to memorize. It's two lines long, and he says it in a group, but he's excited about it. He's also been teaching C some of the carols they are going to sing. It's so cute to hear C singing Jingle Bells.

-C is almost 2! I can't believe it. He got his first big-boy hair cut... kind of. I basically just cut around his ears, cut the mullet off the back and trimmed his bangs out of his eyes. It took a pack of Smarties to bribe him to sit still for the few brief minutes that I had, but it turned out pretty cute. I'll post a picture soon...I hope.

-P and I got to spend a weekend with out the kids! It was great! We stayed downtown, ate some delicious meals, did some window shopping and just enjoyed uninterrupted conversation. It was great! Long overdue. Thanks Grandma and Nonno for watching the kids for us!!!

-Some great Holiday events coming up. Look forward to posts about: The Annual Cookie Making Marathon, Gingerbread Houses, Trains Downtown, trip to Cleveland, and possibly A's first Ice Skating Attempt.