JOY

Calm before the storm...I was awake before 6 a.m. and was thinking about so much and was so excited I couldn't stay in bed any longer. What was I thinking about? That the boys would sneak about the stairs before we were even up (like they do most days) and see the tree and the presents and the stockings and we would miss it. So I got up and turned on the Christmas lights, lit some candles, and preheated the oven. I wanted the boys to have the experience. I am not talking about "stuff"...but the sensory experience. Seeing the living room all lit up in the darkness of the mroning and smelling cinnamon and spices and feeling warmth and magic.

And just a few moments after I was done...6:30-ish a.m. J appeared at the top of the stairs. He slept in!

I held his hand and walked him over to the tree so he could see if Santa came last night. And then we walked to the table to see if the cookies and milk were gone. Still calm and quiet. I lit the Christmas pyramid for J...and he just sat there and watched...waiting for it to start turning. And I think he was just taking everything in.

7:05 a.m. W appeared looking still half asleep and I am certain he is wondering what he missed since J was out of bed. J and W ran back to the tree to do a Santa check...and a remote control train check.

We managed to get sleepy Daddy out of bed in time for stockings!

An annual tradition...oranges in stockings. One year Geoff filled my stocking with fruit from our fridge (tsk tsk) and I gave him a hard time about it. But now, it just doesn't fill like Christmas if there isn't an orange (or mint M&Ms) in my stocking.

W admiring his mini M&M man from Aunt Amy

Katy and Bear were scratching at the door. We can't leave out the pups for Christmas. Standard for the dogs...I take about 20 pictures of them running around and manage to get one. They have too much energy my camera can't even keep up with them. Then they stop suddenly to get a Christmas treat.

and a stuffed toy and a fire hydrant (of course).

Breakfast break...we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had some yummy homemade cinnamon rolls from Heather and some not-so-homemade ones I had bought not knowing we would have the homemade ones before Christmas morning. We needed them both. J ate three cinnamon rolls himself and Geoff ate at least that. Thank you Heather, I know I never baked 70+ cinnamon rolls in my third trimester! We had decided to each make a "Pioneer Woman" recipe and swap...I think I got the better end of the bargain with the mocha brownies.

Do you see that most beautiful wreath in the background? It looks and smells AMAZING and is delivered straight from Maine! Thank you thank you Emily and John!

And after lots of singing and cinnamon-roll eating...time for presents.

J decided he had "found it"...referring to the box he believed was the remote control train. He told W to open the box and I didn't even realize what he was opening until he looked at me with this face. See the Starbucks symbol? He opened my present-my Tassimo!

My barista moment. Yes please. Cappuchino and lattes coming right up.

W beelined right for the next biggest box and looks pretty confident about it.

Found it. The trackmaster tracks. The only gift they TORE open. Then all gift opening stopped.

Opening their remote control trains...


We were able to skype Grandma, Papap and Uncle P.J., and then Grammy, Grandpa, and Uncle Matt so they could join us for some of the gift opening. We had to ask the boys to tear themselves away from the trains to open more presents-J actually said "there are too many presents."

So he appeased us by opening another gift.

Winter helmet with goggles:

My bargain gifts for the boys this year? I found several large and medium hardback Dr. Seuss books at a garage sale several months ago in almost new condition for about $8. Our lesson- learned with my pre-Christmas bargain gift shopping? We need to write down where we hide stuff! I realized the night after Christmas that we were missing the large wooden pirate ship I also found at a garage sale in the summer-$150 new...I bought for $10...I even hid the parts of the ship seperate from the ship...and we still haven't found those yet.

We loved our first homemade Christmas gifts from the boys...they had made them at school.

Back to trains. Setting up the train track was exhausting...Geoff is trying to nap.

Stop bothering us for pictures mom...we have some serious train-engineering to do.

J opened our annual calendar from the J family...love it!

Playing a fish game they received from their friends E and J.

And just before cleaning up all of the wrapping paper and "packaging" materials.

Geoff's big gift...he had already installed...new speakers.

Geoff playing J's new Leapster from Uncle Matt, Aunt Amy, C and L while J watches.

Getting ready for a Christmas dinner with the G family.

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone. It always makes me a little sad. But we have a lot to look forward to in 2011. We have a ski trip planned to Tahoe next year and a trip to Tennessee shortly after. Happy 2011 everyone!

Jesus in the Reason...

...for all of our many blessings. Happy Birthday Jesus!

I feel so abundantly blessed sometimes that I can't believe it.

We are healthy, we have wonderful families and friends, we have a beautiful house and have everything we need...and then some!

Last weekend we got to go on a short trip to Bend with some friends of ours. I didn't get many pics this time except for some of the boys at a Fun Center...but it was fun to enjoy some yummy restaurants and shop.

The boys bowling...

Hot tubbing...

bumper-car-ing...

Trader Joes-shopping...

snacking...

play watching...

recovering...from pink eye, strep and ear infections...

Except for a lingering cough...the boys and I are finally on the mend from our colds. Thank goodness. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy 2011.

Unexpected Christmas Gifts

On the fourth day of Christmas my doctor prescribed to me: Eye drops for four pink eyes home to me....

On the fifth day of Christmas my doctor prescribed to me: Breathing treatments for my boys a coughing....

On the sixth day of Christmas my doctor prescribed to me: A penicillin shot in J's tooshy (ow)

Not the healthiest week for us! The boys both started antibiotic eye drops for pink eye on Saturday. By Saturday evening they both had runny noses...then J's cough just took off so we started our breathing treatments. W seemed OK but I kept J from school...good thing because by Wednesday he was coughing non-stop and felt feverish so another trip to the pediatrician. He had a fever of 101+ and some white dots on the back of his throat. I asked the PA about strep since it had been going around town and she said "I don't think it is strep but we can swab it to see." Sure enough. Positive for strep. So then our friend Alicia (who is a nurse there) and I started looking at W--hmmm...does he have strep?

W. He was happy as a clam the whole appointment since he wasn't the "patient." He made sure he clarified that to Alicia several times during the visit.

"I am W."

"That is J."

"I don't need the doctor to see me."

"That is J over there."

But W also had a slight temperature and the same spots on his throat when they checked! Great! So we had to swab him but it was negative thank goodness.

I felt so bad for J though...he has been walking stiff since that shot and he screamed "IT STINGS!!!" when he got the shot. I can never get used to their pain when they get shots. What makes me tear up everytime? Just glancing at W while J is screaming....if you could see his face....fear, tears, pain, worry, empathy, TERROR...whoever gets the shot...the other might as well too based on their reaction to the others cry. I elected for the shot over the medicine because the shot lets them feel better faster...rather than 10 days of medicine. Hopefully we can all get over this stuff soon!

Holiday Express

On Saturday the Holiday Express was in our town providing a train ride with Santa for members of the military and their family.

We rode out for a half hour or so, ate snacks, had drinks and hot chocolate...

...then Santa arrived and passed out train ornaments and posed for pictures with anyone...

...I could only get the boys to go because I told them they could tell him what they wanted again just to make sure he knew...

"remote control train"

J wasn't feeling 100% and I know Geoff and I were WORE out from this past week. We all woke up to colds on Saturday and the boys both have pink eye. Yay.

Here is a pic from a serious Saturday session of pancake making.