Ringing in the Noon Year

We had our annual "New Year's Eve @ Noon" party today with friends.  It was so much fun!

The kids all had a blast.  With a new puppy in the house, the craft that I normally do was hit-or-miss. Playing with a new puppy is just more fun, I think!

Just before Noon, we all made plates of food to have lunch.  I think the kids were all finished before Noon as they were huddled in front of the count-down timer set up on on the TV.  It was so fun to watch their excitement as they jumped up and down counting down the seconds until Noon!

This was the best we could do as a group shot of all the kids.  I think the only one missing is the baby, Lucas.  He spent the majority of the party napping peacefully in Jamison's room.  It worked out great for him!

At Noon, all the kids popped their crackers and got a celebratory crown, trinket, and joke.  Here are our boys posing for a picture after all the guests had left.  It was nap time!  We wish all of you a wonderful start to 2015.  Here's hoping you make great memories and share fun times with all your family and friends.  Cheers!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is HERE!

I was telling Derek that I felt like the Grinch with his thoughts of Christmas begin about all the

"Noise, Noise, Noise!!"

Yes, it was mighty loud with all the squeals of excitement and yelling, "Look at this!" on Christmas morning.  I might have said more than a few times to stop yelling....we are inside!  You would make a fortune if you could bottle that excitement.  Maverick got two tigers (his one Santa request).

Jamison was very excited with his new Santa "little people" train and his corn-popper.

After a breakfast of donuts and homemade applesauce, the grandparents all arrived and more presents were dolled out.  We try to limit gifts to no more than 3.  It works out very well that way.  I didn't feel too overwhelmed with the amount of "stuff" entering my home.  The boys even got gift certificates for things to do too.  Experiences are much more memorable than "stuff" anyways!

One of the favorite gifts was a new racetrack.  Let's just say...some assembly was required!  

Forty-Four Steps to say the least.  Grandaddy Bob was the trooper and got to work while the boys waited patiently.  

When it was finally complete, all the boys had fun racing cars down the multiple tracks.  Soon it was time for lunch and naps!  The grandparents all went home and the little ones napped while I cleaned up a bit and made our dessert for later.

This has become one of my favorite desserts, a Kiwi-Lime Strawberry Cloud.  Layers of angel food cake, with kiwi slices and a lime juice/rind flavored yogurt filling.  Yum, yum!  We went over to my parents for dinner and Grandma and Nanny also re-joined the fun.  

Our new puppy, Lexi, had a fun Christmas too.  It was hard keeping her away from the tree and the presents though!  I hope your family had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Christmas is Almost here!

The week leading up to Christmas was spent in giddy anticipation!  The boys were so excited for Christmas to finally arrive.  At our house, the current living arrangement is that Brighton & Maverick share a room (bunk beds) and Chandler has a smaller room to himself.  Jamison is still sleeping in our closet (ha!)  The plan is to move Jamison's crib to the smaller bedroom, and originally I thought I'd keep Chandler in there.  Ideally, I'd have the smaller two in separate bedrooms, so we don't have to keep playing the musical beds game for nap time....but in the end, I decided to have Maverick & Chandler switch rooms, so the older two will be together, and the younger two will be as well.  

We decided to un-bunk the beds, and did some general rearranging of furniture.  I'm still not finished with all I need to move, but so far it's going well.  Not sure when Jamison's crib will get moved in.  That's the last step....

Our church did something different this year for Christmas, and I really enjoyed it.  We had a Moravian Love Feast.  A brass quintet played a concert and then we enjoyed some carols and the passing of the sweet rolls and cider.  Maverick was so excited to open up his napkin until he discovered bread inside (I guess he was hoping for a cookie) but he did enjoy the apple cider.  

The Sunday before Christmas, this one lost not one, but both of his two front teeth.....

"All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!"

On Christmas Eve, we let the kids open up one present (always PJs) and we did it in the morning to lessen the chaos that would happen that afternoon.  

Our family was asked to do the reading and light the Christ candle for the Christmas Eve Family Service.  I had been battling a cold this week and I knew Chandler would enjoy doing the reading, so he began practicing.  We worked on slowing down his words and annunciation.  About 20 seconds before our family was asked to come forward, the power went out.  The show must go on....so by the light of an I-phone, and no microphone, Chandler did the reading.  He did great!  As soon as he was finished....the power returned.  Praise the Lord!

After leaving church, we came home for a small dinner of something healthy (chef salad) before heading to an annual Christmas Eve party.  Some of my parent's friends have been hosting this since forever, and I've been attending since I was about 9 or 10.  They have four boys (just like us) and now have the joy of having seven grandchildren!  The grandchildren and our kids are all in the same range, so it's a lot of fun and food for all.  On the way to the party we rode through a neighborhood known for their light displays.  The kids really enjoyed that!

Christmas Eve wouldn't be complete without leaving milk and cookies out for Santa, and the youngest child then eating the cookies because they don't understand the cookies are off-limits.  Then the older children (mainly Brighton pouting in pic below) getting upset because why don't they get cookies too?  and then it's off to bed!

A little closer to Christmas!

Something new we tried this year was taking the boys to the Holiday light show at Hill Ridge Farms. This was a gift from the boys' Godparents.  We had a really good time.  The jumping pillow was fun until you decided your feet were freezing.  The boys enjoyed roasting marshmallows around the fire pits and having s'mores too.  As a treat, they even got to watch the movie Frozen (received as a gift from our Chicago friends) in the car on the way to/from the farm.

The three big boys all sing in the church choirs.  I was very proud of all of my boys, but especially Chandler for learning many lines as he played the part of one of the wise men.  He did really well and didn't mess up.  He had to remember to turn on and off his mic too, and that's a lot to ask of a seven year old (I think).  

Here's Maverick singing "Away in a Manger" with the other Cherubs.

Brighton was a shepherd and Chandler was a wise man.  

Date Night(s)

The Christmas Season brings about opportunities for Date Night(s).  We are very grateful for these and so excited to be having THREE of them this month.  Very un-like us to get out this much, so they are a real treat.  My office had it's holiday party at the Angus Barn.  That was definitely a real treat for us.  We always enjoy the stories that come out on that night.  Working with Private Investigators definitely has it's perks.  Good work stories are one of them.

Isn't my desert lovely?  It was so yummy....but I couldn't eat it all.  Too much good food.

Here's a group shot of the very long, large table that was in the wine cellar where we always have the party.  This month, we were able to go to a friend's holiday party and also saw

Ira David Wood III's A Christmas Carol at the DPAC.  Such great fun, and such good memories.

The Christmas Season

December is always a busy month!

There are holiday parties for the kids.....work parties for the adults....friend parties for families, and the list goes on.  It seems like the month just flies by.  I tried my best to slow down this month and be mindful of which activities we did.  There were moments just like this where I wish I could hit "pause" and just savor the moment.

Getting the Christmas books down from the attic couldn't wait.  Right after Thanksgiving (amidst the sickness still lingering) we got down the box and the kids had so much fun pouring over the books and reading their favorites.  Snuggling on the couch next to a roaring fire....yes, please!

We always enjoy lighting the advent every night at dinner time and reading our Advent book.  Of course, getting our Advent candy and breaking off the paper-link chain counting down to Christmas is also fun.  

We usually try to get our tree right after Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately, all the sickness delayed this a few more days.  We finally made it out one afternoon before it got dark.  

The boys could have spent several hours running around looking at all the trees, picking out the best one.  We also enjoyed going to the Holiday Express at Pullen Park again this year.  We met Jamison's best friend, Jett and his family there and had a great time!

We were # 2 in line for Santa.  Pays to be early!

Maverick enjoyed the carousel.  Jamison is not really a fan, but will tolerate riding it if he's on one of the benches.  Below is the best picture I could get of Jamison & Jett.  Jett wasn't in the mood for pictures that night.

Once we got our tree, it was few days before we could get the lights and ornaments on it.  That is always such a fun time.  It was Jamison's turn this year to help with the star.

Our church also had a breakfast with Santa that we did.  Jamison was not a fan of this Santa!

Our month is off to a good start!

The same line...

One important piece of information that was left out of the prior post regarding our newest addition to the family....

Lexi is actually related to our beloved Katie.  It was an emotional no-brainer!

Surprise!

I never saw this coming.

We have a new puppy, and her name is Lexi.

Lexi and her two sisters.  Lexi was "pick of the litter."

After Katie died, I contacted the breeder where we had gotten Katie almost 12 years ago.  I let her know that Katie was such a blessing to our family and will be dearly missed.  I told her we might be ready for a puppy come spring and we weren't sure if we'd want a boy or a girl.

Lexi makes the cut.

 Susan (the breeder) told me she'd certainly let me know about upcoming puppies, but if we were interested in fostering a female for her, she was trying to find one a home.  I was cautiously optimistic.  Perhaps this was all in God's timing.  

Susan & Lexi

Susan sent me an e-mail with information about being a foster for one of her dogs.  I made a list of about 40 more questions and Derek and I met secretly with her to meet the puppies and talk with Susan.  We didn't want to tell anybody in case it didn't work out.  Once we got our questions answered and talked to a few other families that foster Susan's goldens, we thought this arrangement could work for our family.

Granddaddy Bob holds Lexi for the ride home.

 We picked Lexi up yesterday.  She is eight weeks old and she is ADORABLE!!  Chandler was still not feeling the best and Jamison had thrown up earlier that morning (as had Maverick) so we decided Derek would stay at home with C & J, while I would take B & M along with my parents to go pick out Lexi.  

All the boys meet Lexi when she got home.

Now technically, Lexi is not "our" dog.  We don't have the papers on her and won't until she retires from the breeding program (around age 5-6).  We just get to love on her and make her part of our family and Susan covers all her vet bills.  We will miss Lexi when she is old enough to have puppies and lives with Susan during that time, but we can visit anytime and I know the boys will enjoy seeing Lexi as a mommy.  Since purebred dogs are very expensive and the vet bills are too, it was an offer we couldn't refuse.

Daddy meets Lexi

 Lexi is adjusting well to life in our crazy, busy, loud household.  She cried a little last night, but not too bad.  We are working on crate training/house training her.  She is such a sweetie.  

We are so blessed to have Lexi join our family.

1st Annual Turkey Trot

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our family decided to have our own "Turkey Trot" around Lake Lynn.  We invited several families to join us, but with our family passing around a stomach bug, we had no takers (and I don't blame them!)  We decided to make the best of it anyways and headed out in-between rain storms.  

We pushed our double stroller (2nd seat is underneath) and pulled a wagon.  Chandler was still recovering from the stomach bug and we didn't want him to overdo it.  Chandler walked part of the way, as did Jamison.  We think we walked about 3 miles with our journey to/from and around the lake.  It took us about 1 hour and 20 minutes, so not bad.

We stopped along the way wishing everybody a "Happy Thanksgiving!" and also to write in the journal at Lake Lynn.  Jamison also stopped along the big bridge to point out every duck, goose, and leaf he saw.  

A nice passerby offered to take a family picture.  What a fun day!

Christmas Card Outtakes!

Last Saturday, we dressed the boys up in their Christmas outfits to attempt to take photos for our Christmas card.  Just as we were leaving, Granddaddy Bob & Mimi pulled up in the Olds after attending a car show.  We decided to snap a few outside before heading to a local garden center for the rest of the pictures.

Jamison, by far, was the hardest to photograph this year.  He wouldn't sit still for anything!  I'm surprised that there aren't more pictures of his backside as he climbs down from whatever bench we put him on.  Then there was Maverick.  He kept making the most unusual faces.  Think angry lion.  It was challenging to say the least.

I like to get my cards in the mail on Black Friday.  Watch your mailbox for the final cut.