Santa, Baby!

'Tis the time of year to start looking for the big man. Luke was the first to spot... or hear him arrive. The jingle of bells in undeniable! Santa arrived right on time at Grandma Mary's. There is still something about "Charlie" that brings a tear to my eye and a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart. The same Santa has been coming to see our family since I was a newborn! How lucky am I??? I'm so grateful that my children have been able to experience the same soft-spoken, tender, and loving Santa that I've known all my life! Here's to you Santa... Thanks for the 35 years of memories with you at Christmas.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mom celebrated her 61st birthday the day after Thanksgiving surrounded by all us kids and her grandkids.

Turkey and More...

I hope you all had a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving! Jeremiah and I were supposed to host the big turkey day but plans changed at the last minute...our family came down with the stomach flu so my wonderful mom hosted instead. We were still able to indulge a bit as we were all at the tail end of the illness. My prayer is that noone else in the family catches it! My older brother, Scott, and his family as well as my younger, not little, brother were able to join us from St. Paul, MN. We had a great time visiting!

Santa Sneak Peek...

We were able to get a sneak peek of Santa Claus this week! He rode into Council Bluffs in a horse drawn carriage to light up Bayliss Park. The boys were in awe! Although, I'm sad to say this out loud... I have a sneaking suspicion that Luke is starting to question all the magic of the big man! I will NEVER say I don't believe... Santa is REAL!!! Here is just a quick photo of our family in the park. I hope everyone has a marvelous Thanksgiving week and you're all surrounded by the ones you love! Happy Thanksgiving!

Where has the time gone????

Luke turns 8 tomorrow! I can't believe our firstborn is going to be 8! Seriously, I had no idea how quickly he'd go from a newborn to toddler to a school-age kid with a life outside of me. Luke when you read this, please know that I couldn't be more proud of the nice young man you have become. I pray you continue to grow in faith, education, and love for your family.

Okay, enough of the sappy mom stuff- Luke had 7 little buddies spend the night on Friday. I have said it many times, but I can't believe how much these kids could eat! 2 Large pizzas, 4 two liters of soda, 1 bag of donuts, 1 bag of doritos, 1 gallon of chocolate milk, 40 chocolate chip cookies, 1 dozen eggs, 1 loaf of bread, and a 1/2 gallon of ice cream. How long were they here, you ask... aproximately 15 hours!!! They had a blast! Happy Birthday, Luke- 8 is GREAT!

A Toast to Marland...

It's been 3 years since Jere's Grandpa Marland passed away. Jere celebrates his memory by wearing his Twins T-shirt, Marland's flannel work shirt, and has a little bit of Lord Calvert to top off the evening. We miss you, Marland!

BOO!

Pumpkin Carving

I'll be honest- I was dreading the pumpkin carving this year. It always starts out as a fun family activity and then after 10 minutes the boys tire of pulling out guts and start fighting over who gets to use the "cool" (AKA- child safety knife) tools to carve. Almost on auto-pilot I refrain from anyone touching any knife and banish them all from the kitchen and I'm stuck with several pumpkins in various stages of the pumpkin 'gutting and stuck with doing it myself. So as you can tell, this isn't my favorite activity... HOWEVER, this year was FABULOUS! I realized the boys really can do a lot on their own. They even went through their guts and cleaned off all the seeds for me to make them roasted treats. So, in 2009 we turned the corner in terms of pumkin carving independence.