Private

Over the years I have learned to not ignore my dreams or my middle of the night awakenings.  I have been feeling for a while that it is time to make our family blog private and that feeling was confirmed by a story I heard at my schools orientation by the campus police.  So if there are any readers still out there, we are going private.  If you would like to still read our family blog (and you are not a creep :), leave me a comment with your e-mail address and I would be happy to send you  an invite.

I know it has been a while since I have regularly updated this blog.  My Mom keeps telling me that people are starting to wonder if I am OK.  I am great!  I think I have been hesitant to post because of the feelings I have been having about the blog.  I plan on getting back into the habit of posting on a regular basis and sharing all of the random things my kids come up with.

Whoops!

A few weeks ago, I went to pick up Gracie from the nursery after church.  All of the nursery leaders were cracking up when I went in and told me I had to look under Gracie's dress.  I was a little worried about what I would find because she has been shoving some pretty strange things down her onsie and into her diaper.  When I went to check, this is what I found:

Apparently, when a certain fellow got her dressed that morning he could not find the bloomers that went with the dress.  Probably because they were still attached!  Oh well, it didn't bother her or me.  I am just grateful that he is willing to dress her!

Isn't she adorable!

Birthday Boy!

About a month ago, we celebrated Grant's 4th birthday!

We let him decide on his the dinner menu for his birthday celebration.  Grant requested:

- Mummy Dogs

- Fruit Salad

- Green Beans

- Super Shakes (a new family favorite)

- BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!

*************

We finished the evening by eating this yummy dinosaur cake that Aaron decorated while I was at  a preschool field trip.

****************

It is hard to believe that another year has gone by.  I love the boy that Grant is turning into.  He is sweet, funny, and friendly.  He tries so hard to be obedient, and that is all a mother can ask for! We are so grateful to have him in our family.

FHE

We tried to have Family Home Evening last night. Aaron prepared a lesson on Jonah from the Bible and was all ready to share it. He got about 2 minutes into it when we realized that it was just not going to work, the kids were wired. We decided to put the kids to bed and try again tonight.

The lesson was fun, and for our game we let the kids take turns lying down inside our "whale". As we swung them back and forth we sang and they giggled.



We had to chuckle at Gracie's hair-do after all of the excitement.



I promise I keep her clean and do her hair! She is constantly pulling at herself so it is hard to get pictures of her all put together. Whether it is her hair, pants, shirt, or diaper something has to be undone so I can redo it. At least she is happy!

Here is a better side view.



Can you say static electricity?

Our Afternoon

This is Gracie.



She likes to stand on the table, even when I have told her not to over and over and OVER!


This is Grant.



He likes to encourage Gracie to do things that he knows are against the rules. I catch him a couple of times a day quietly telling her to do something that will drive me bonkers....like standing on the table!! He watches for my reaction to see if it is "safe" before he does it. It cracks me up because that is what my brother Craig would do to me growing up!

I love these two and love to watch their relationship develop.

Guatemalan Nativity

I have to admit....I am just now taking down my Christmas decorations. Don't judge!

About 9 years ago my husband came home from a church mission in Guatemala. Before he came home he bought a hand made clay nativity set. As he was flying home the set fell apart. He was very disappointed so my sweet Mother in Law super glued it back together.

The first Christmas we were married, Aaron set the nativity up. The next couple of years I was able to help but I was always supervised. We have now celebrated Christmas as a married couple for six years. It is only in the last 2 years that I have been able to set up the nativity unsupervised.

This year as I set up the nativity I carefully unrolled each figure from their bubble wrap, set them up like we always do and took a second to admire this awesome souvenir of my husbands. Unfortunately, the nativity was only up for about 8 minutes before a certain little girl under the age of 2 quietly pushed a chair over to the high counter so she could get a better look. It wasn't long before disaster struck. Legs were severed from bodies and ears were missing.

As you can probably guess Aaron and I were pretty upset but we love our kids more than we love our things. It took me a while to be able to laugh about it, and finding time to fix the wounded Guatemalans was hard to do. So they stayed that way all month.



As I would carry Gracie by it she would point to them and say they were sleeping.

So tonight I fixed them and they are drying as I type. I have the super glue stains on my fingers to prove it.



Any of you that were worried about the unibrow Baby Jesus, don't be. He made through the accident unharmed, unibrow and all.

Question?

"Boo-yah!"


(Grant mocking my angry Mommy face)


I have to admit, I say it often. My Mom has asked me what it means, and I don't really know. To me it means "Awesome" or I use it kind of like a victory dance. For example, when I beat my family in a board game...a good old "Boo-yah" is needed. Another way I use it is when I do something better than I thought I would, like a good run or a difficult class at the gym. Lastly, when I prove my point in a discussion with those I love most "Boo-yah" makes the moment so much more enjoyable. So now that I think about it, it is my way of or giving myself a pat on the back.

Well, like all children Grant listens to everything that his Mom says. So now of course he says "Boo-yah". Not just around the house, but everywhere we go. Today we were playing in the "block room" (a room with a bunch of padded blocks of all shapes and sizes) at the gym after my workout. Grant was showing me how he can "skateboard" down one of the padded slides. It was a difficult task for him. As he made his way to the bottom successfully he yelled "Boo-yah" while he jumped up and down. Another mother in the room shot me a look. I couldn't tell if it was a look of disapproval or a look of shock. Either way, all I could do was laugh. So that brings me to my question: Should I be embarrassed that my 3 year old son uses "Boo-yah" in his everyday vocabulary? I mean, it could be worse, right?

Now that I think about it, I think I am glad that he is proud of himself. So, "Boo-yah" friends!