Christmas JOY

What a great Christmas we've had. Lots of photos at:

http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=543261230350268052/l=441453890/g=25280692/cobrandOid=1000131/COBRAND_NAME=comcast/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
Christmas Eve was lots of running around and fun with family. Christmas Day was a quiet day at home with just us. Mom came over for Christmas dinner. We played tons of games and did crafts. Almost every toy has been played with at least once already!

Santa Was Here Early

Here's my little pre-Christmas present:
Sad, I know, but I'm THRILLED. Suddenly in the middle of a pre-Christmas frenzy of cleaning, my vacuum just gave up. I called Tim, who was out shopping with Zachary. Next thing you know, this little beauty was sitting in my living room. It was probably time for a new one. The old vacuum had a shredded cord, wouldn't stand up, and I couldn't even empty it because it was bagless and I would have a sneezing fit every time I tried. (Why did I ever think a bagless vacuum would be a good idea?) Look closely at the photo - there is a "CLEAN" and "DIRTY" light. Truely entertaining for the WHOLE family. Don't believe me? Imagine the four of us following the thing around watching the light change from red dirty to green clean. A little cleaning victory complete with loud cheering every few seconds.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! We've had a full day of celebrations, enjoyed special stories and songs at church, put out the cookies, sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn, and tucked two little boys into bed. Zachary's bedtime prayer was, "God, thanks for being born so we can celebrate Christmas." Well, there you go. Have a Christmas day full of blessings, and don't forget to thank God for being born!

Angel Boys

Aren't they the best when they're sleeping? Lately, we've been getting the line, "I'm lonely. I can't sleep." (From both of them!) One night, we sent J into Z's room to sleep. I found him asleep on the floor with just the tiniest scraps of blankets under and over him. Tonight, they are happily sleeping on the fold out couch in front of the Christmas tree.

OKAY - They're kinda cute when they're awake, too!

Big Brother

Yesterday, Jeremy and Zachary had their 5 and 7 year checkups. As Dr. Ringel was asking Jeremy questions, Zachary sat on my lap. After a minute of question and answering, Zachary, in a very authoritative, big-brother sort of way, whispered to me, "Jeremy's doing excellent, Mom." Such a great kid!

Congratulations to my yellow belt boy!

YAY! Zachary tested for and earned his yellow belt in Karate this weekend. He had to speak in front of a large group of people and show his form and one steps. He did GREAT! Another mom (who we've only known from karate for a couple of months) stopped me in the hall at school today to tell me how she almost had tears in her eyes he did so well! Yay for Zachary. He is a HARD worker and a good boy. So much thanks goes to Mr. Patten and Mrs. Broyles for recognizing his potential and expecting him to live up to it.

Check out his photos at www.keepkicking.com (under photos/December 2008 testing/White belts).

First Snow and Birthday Party

Yesterday was our first real snow, and we woke up this morning with a decent covering of snow on the ground. The boys (all three!) went out to play after church:




We also celebrated Jeremy's birthday at Mom's house.




One of Jeremy's favorite gifts was the remote control R2D2 from Grandma and Grandpa:

Waiting for St. Nick

The stockings were hung...

Holiday Creativity

What a great day! For a few hours, Jeremy and his friend, Reece, played and played and played while their moms enjoyed some creative time. We had a blast creating some tags for Christmas and just hanging out. The boys had fun with most every toy in Jeremy's room and the playroom. Good for them! They are great (and cute!) kids. I'm thankful for good friends and sweet little boys. Plus, my new camera came today. No, it's not a Canon Digital Rebel XSi (Santa, are you listening?), but I can deal.