2013

Hey 2013.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out! 

~Looking forward to 2014. 

~Looking forward to digging deeper in my bible. 

~Looking forward to learning more at my job. 

~Looking forward to getting stronger with my body. 

~Looking forward to settling into a new church, rolling up my sleeves and helping with whatever I am asked to do. 

~Looking forward to being more intentional with my time.  My time with my husband. My kids. My friends. 

~looking forward to reading new books.

~Looking forward to change! 

Happy New Years! 

Treasured Cuddles

We are really realizing that this guy is getting really old.
He's shaky, and his hips seem to bother him.
He takes longer and longer to get up, and he is almost completely deaf.

And I'm pretty sure he might have doggy Alzheimer's.

But he's happy.
And he loves a good belly rub.
And we are gonna keep loving on him until he can't handle it anymore.

December

December just kind of snuck up on us this year.
I'm sitting here regretfully thinking about all the stuff I wanted to do, but never did.
In a way it simplified an already stressful month, but I am sad that I didn't get around to doing our Jesse Tree this year.
Or our Advent Calender.
Or the shoes by the door.
And the list goes on....

Here's what we DID do though.
We picked out a great tree...and Rich made the kids cut it down.
With a saw.
{everyone survived}

We decorated the tree.
And only broke a few ornaments.
{nobody cried}

Noll the Elf came back and managed to hide in a different place each night.

{barely}

We wrote letters to Santa of all our Christmas wishes...

I crafted a bunch of gifts while my kids each took turns throwing up with yet another stomach flu.
{yes this makes 5 bouts in 2013}

We drove around with the cousins and looked at lights.

We flexed our muscles while hanging lights on the house...and then pretended to fall off the ladder. 

{it's always funny to me}

We got the obligatory picture in Christmas outfits.

We got one good picture with Santa. 

We celebrated Christmas with family, over and over and over again.

We enjoyed the awesome weather, full bellies, warm beds, a cozy house, and the joyous celebration of Jesus' birth.

And I guess that's really all that matters!

{2013} Christmas Letter

The year in Numbers

8 – Basketball games that Cannon played in

12 – Months since I have had to creatively recap our year

1 – Night away for just Rich and me

47 – Tiny Lego pieces that I have stepped on *with bare feet*

10 – One-on-one dates with the kids

14 – Different types of vegetables we planted in our garden

6 – Number of veggies that actually survived

4 – Chicks we bought in spring

1 – Rooster that we had to return

2 – Gallons of milk that Nolan finishes *by himself* a week

365 – Days a year that I am living in the freedom of God’s amazing grace

168 – Hours of vacation spent in the mountains camping and enjoying solid family time

28 – Minutes that Cannon cried after Nolan killed his fish with hand sanitizer

4,380 – Days of marriage celebrated this year. ( I love that man!)

24 – Letters in the alphabet that Maeve has successfully mastered in Kindergarten so far

190 – Minutes of horseback riding lessons for Brynn

18,000 – Seconds a day that I am *alone* with Nolan while the others are at school

1,000,000 – Reasons that I am blessed                                   

Peace and Joy from our family to yours!

Merry Christmas!

            

Lego Architecture

Brynn loves to build buildings with her Legos.
And she absolutely amazes me with the details that she adds.

This is her latest.
Welcome to the "Animal Shelter".

The Reception Desk

 The Puppy Play Yard
 

 

The Bunny Room, Bird Room and Butterfly Habitat

Seriously.
She's amazing!!

Breakfast

Yes, I do think that coconut bark and coffee is a balanced and nutritious breakfast.....

Thanksgiving 2013

I had lofty expectations of trying to culture "intentional gratitude" this month.
Trying to find all the little things in each day that I am thankful for, and write them down.
I thought if I did this, it would help me really truly embrace this thankfulness "season".

The good news is that I stuck to my goal of jotting things down...for a couple days.
The bad news is that I failed about 4 days into it.

Here's what I got:
I'm thankful for warm clothes from the dryer.
I'm thankful for finding Lego dudes, and not crayons in those warm clothes.
I'm thankful for hearing certain hymns, and being reminded of my grandparents.
I'm thankful for my children's giggles...even when they are not supposed to be laughing.

And that's where I kinda petered out....

But I did ask the kids what they were thankful for this morning.
Their lists were as interesting as ever....

{Brynn}
pets
family
friends
everything in the world
God

{Cannon}
our house
America
Family
God
Friends
Cousins
Mom & Dad
Sisters & Brother
nice world
pets

{Maeve}
God
America
Daddy & Mommy
Brynn, Cannon & Nolan
Treks & Buttercup
Felix (that is dead)
Dash (that is dead)
Family
whole entire world

{Nolan}
going to Papa and Bamas
going to cousins house
milk
orange blankey
going to the park
going to school
going to church


After all that, we had thanksgiving dinner with the family and friends.
We ate, and ate, and ate.
And laughed, and then ate more. 
And the littlest little fell asleep on the floor, and I got to hold him for awhile while he slept.


 
 And the guys busted out their guitars and sang, danced and played for hours. 
 
And it was wonderful.
And reminded me that I am so blessed once again...even if I do forget to be grateful. 

3 a Day

After what seems like {way} too long, we are getting 3 eggs a day.
They are purty...but expensive...

Not sure I'm cut out for this chicken raising thing....

Crashed Out

Maeve and Nolan have a knack for falling asleep wherever they happen to be, if they are tired enough.

It's always funny to me to see them totally crashed out! 

{during story time}

{family movie night}

{family movie night}

{different family movie night}

{just a random afternoon nap} 

{our bed is apparently VERY desirable} 

{aaaand another family movie night} 

Funny Kids

Some house rules:

Art from Cannons writing journal at school

Hi Neighbor!

It was all about Daniel Tiger today for Nolan's birthday.
Stripes, neighborhood scavenger, cheesy songs, and friends.
It doesn't get much better then that if you are 3!

I made a sad copy of the Nutella PanCake that Rich made me for my bday. 
Nolan didn't seem to mind.
I don't think he ate much, considering he had to keep opening gifts....(tough life right?)



 

We had all the family over for his party for lunch, and then just had a fun day as a family.

 I felt a *smidge* bad that we didn't have any friends over to share the day with him, but then I realized that his whole life revolves around his cousins, and family, and that is all he wanted for his birthday, so I let it go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Happy 3rd Birthday to this little guy whose name means "famous".
~He's famous for making me grit my teeth and giggle at the same time.
~He's famous for being the one that every one else is mad at.
~He's famous for shedding his clothing at the worst possible times.
~But he's also famous for unexpected knee jolting hugs, uncontainable joyous energy, and a laugh that is absolutely contagious.
~And I'm lucky enough to be his mom.