Helicopter

Rex entertained himself by becoming a helicopter. I kept waiting for him to bean himself in the head. Bob said he would only do it once. Rex never did. I guess I should put more confidence in him....

Christmas 2016

We are blessed.

Christmas Eve

Getting ready for Christmas. That's Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus while Daddy reads Luke 2.

Lazy Day

There are a lot of things I should have been doing today. But I didn't do them.

Bob fixed the leak in our roof. So that's good.

We finished a puzzle. But it appears that Madeline has absconded with one of the pieces. Dang it.

Tomorrow is clean the house day. Good times.

Gingerbread

It was a little chaotic, a lot of sugar, a bunch of mess, and a lot of fun. One of our favorite holiday traditions.

Helper

When you are determined to help your big brother put your toys away but he wants to do it himself.

Another Reader

Sam read me this whole book tonight!! He's coming along quite nicely. 😍📚

Baby Steps

I was supposed to post this last night. But I was tired and went to sleep instead. On Friday night, Lizzi needed to use the suburban. But it was out of gas. So we told her to fill it up. People, she drives an electric car. So between her and her two friends they had grand total experience of three fill ups. Three. They took pictures to commemorate the event. Especially that they were sooooooo cold. 🙄

Party On

So we let the littles--Sam and Sariah--have a Christmas party tonight since they are homeschooled and don't get to do that with friends very often. The guest list kept multiplying this week.

Let me preface this by pointing out that I've had a very long and stressful week. It started on Monday when I cried at the YMCA, and then there was Tuesday when I got really frustrated about my dumb thyroid, and then there was today. I was so stressed out by two hours pre-party, that when a collections lady called about my adult daughter's hospital bills (which we've been arguing about for MONTHS), she listened to me recite my daughter's identifying information, and then said, "You know, I'm not sure now is a good time to talk to you. Would you like me to call you back next week?" Yeah, the collections lady. Guess I sounded slightly hysterical. And when the lady calls back (again) next week, I will have to apologize. Get in line, lady. It's been one of those weeks....

Anyway, the party was pretty fun. As crazy as it sometimes makes me feel to have small people following me around 24/7, I still enjoy children and like to be with them. Once I got past being humbled because I was unable to get my house clean to my satisfaction (even though Bob made a very valiant effort while I was completely melting down AND he was being assisted by the Toddler Tornado), I really enjoyed being with these little ones and being a part of their joy.

And by the way, I'm super thankful for Caleb and Lizzi and their three friends for essentially running the entertainment of the party. I owe them...something. I hope it doesn't cost money.

I didn't get any pictures of the party itself. But I did get pictures of the aftermath.

One of the moms said, "They've destroyed your house!"

I hear you all laughing, you know.

What? You don't think this is any different than my regular housekeeping? I know. It's an improvement.

Dang, I hate it when you're right. ;)

Also...Madeline thinks the blanket Grammy sent Sam should have been hers. She kept trying to pull it from Sam while she screamed at him tonight. We hunted down the one Grammy made for her, and then she was somewhat mollified.

A Little of This and That

Sam got a box from Grammy today. He was so excited! He's been waiting for this one!

Sariah has been teaching herself to make balloon animals. She took this on all by herself. She hopes to have one made for every guest at her and Sam's Christmas party tomorrow evening. How this little girl thinks she isn't smart is completely beyond me.

Madeline at the library. She was so happy to sit like Mommy and read a book at the table. When Mommy went to help Sariah find a book, Madeline about came unglued and dragged Mommy back by her pant legs, lol.

Because how else would you eat refried beans and queso? With a crayon. Obviously.

Brave

This is the face of a girl who conquered something she was afraid to do. The activity day girls were asked to speak at their recognition night about things they did over the last year. Sariah swore up and down that she wouldn't do it...and then she did. Way cool!

It Was a Day...

Here is Madeline sleeping at my awesome toddler whisperer's house. I had a doctor's appointment today way up in Atlanta, and so I needed help with the littles.

I'm not sure my friend knows exactly how grateful I am for her service to us today. It's not just that I could go to an appointment. It's that I know she loves my little ones, even when they are CRAZY, and that she could give me this time to myself. My car ride was sooooo quiet, and that's sooooo cool. Thanks, friend!

The appointment was up by Bob's work so I went to visit him for lunch. Fun! I only got myself lost and turned around in north Atlanta a coupla times....

My doctor appointment is giving me fits. It was to get a second opinion about my thyroid issues and the pesky nodule in my thyroid. She told me she sees surgery in my future, just like the first endocrinologist did. That's a bummer.

Ward Party

Last night was our ward (congregation) Christmas party. We spent a lot of time keeping track of Miss Madeline. She figured out how to open Hershey kisses, which were part of the table centerpieces. When all of the kisses on our table "disappeared," she began visiting other tables, because hey, she's so cute, nobody would tell her no.

Biggest Fan

Here's a better picture of Bob with his #1 fan. Can you tell how much she loves him?!

Reindeer Games

Lizzi has too much fun with Snapchat. But she thought this was a good Christmassy kind of a post. So here we are. I hope her father forgives her sometime.

Toothless

The hole in this little man's mouth keeps getting bigger and bigger. Pretty soon he won't have any teeth at all, lol.

Be Still, My Heart

Today at the library, Sariah told the librarian, "I am a reader." This is amazing progress for my girl, and of course, made this particular mama smile, too. 😍 📚

Allergies

Surprise! My children have allergies.

Ok. It's not really surprising. I have seasonal allergies, and Bob's allergic to everything.

Caleb got a(nother) bad case of hives back in September, and they referred him out to an allergist, because they were afraid he might be allergic to peanuts. He's probably not, or so we learned today. But he's massively allergic to grass. Again, not really a big surprise.

But here he is being thrilled with me that they scratched him 50 times and poked him with a needle 10 times and he must give them his blood tomorrow. Aren't I a fun mom?

Also, Sam wanted everyone to see his awesome tower!

Weaknesses Become Strengths

For #LIGHTtheWORLD today, I shared another of my favorite scriptures on Facebook. Ether 12:27.

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

I know I've seen this in my life repeatedly. My weaknesses are opportunities to learn (when I can remember to think of them that way, lol). And usually what I learn takes me places I never imagined I could go. My depression teaches me compassion and endurance. My struggles to be consistent teach me the value in persistence. My chronic health issues teach me to accept help sometimes ... and they teach me to offer help to others as well. I guess my weaknesses tend to give me a heart to help others. That's not a bad thing. :)

'Tis the Season

We had a lot to deal with today. It wouldn't have been nearly so stressful if I hadn't forgotten tonight was the cookie exchange for Girl Scouts. So here's what our day was about, lol. I suppose it's not the worst thing that could have happened to us....