The Difference a Year Makes

We got together with my family last week at my parent's house... my brother and his family came over from Japan and we spent the week doing fun things with the kids, hanging out, talking, laughing and just enjoying our time!  The kids have all changed so much since we were together this time last year and looking back at last year's pictures you could really see that!!

 McKenzie (Matt's oldest) ... she is the oldest of the group and was

such an amazing helper for all of us!

Maddie (Matt's second little girl) ... one thing that hasn't changed is her love for her Goombie :)

Micah (Matt's youngest)... he has changed so much!  

He went from being a baby to being a little boy since we saw them last!

Eli (my younger brother's little boy)  He also has changed and

grown up so much in a year's time!

There are a few other things that even though the kids have grown up a little bit the things they love haven't!  For example, looking back at last year's pictures I had a lot of Maddie holding the baby of the family, Eli.  This year, she was head over heels in love with the newest baby of the family, Luke, and wanted to hold him every chance she got!  

 Maddie in Jan. 2010 holding Eli, the baby of the family

This year there was a new baby of the family, Luke, who had just turned 5 months old!  Maddie took such good care of him!!

The kids loved making trains out of the toys last year and this year

there were enough kids old enough to participate so they opted for a human train! :)

One other thing that has not changed even though the kids have gotten older is Chase's infatuation with McKenzie and Maddie.  Last year he just adored them and this year it was no different.  My oldest is a very affectionate child and all week he went around hugging them and telling them "I love you!".  Thankfully the girls were both very tolerant of my very in-touch-with-his-feelings child and showed him just as much love and he showed them!!

So great to see another baby added to this picture of Nana & Pop-Pop with their grandkids and GG & Goomba with their great-grands.  So sad that Noah and Colin weren't present to be in it also but next time we're all together will be that much more special.

This family has been blessed above and beyond and we are so thankful that the Lord has blessed us with so many healthy children!  Pictures from the rest of our week will be coming soon but this is a post I've been working on and thinking about for a few days so I wanted to go ahead and put the finishing touches on it!  What a fun week we had!!!!

Snow Days

Snow in South Carolina... not very predictable and not likely to happen much.  This winter, we've already had two really good snows for S.C.  The day after Christmas we got a good 4+ inches of the fun white stuff.  We took full advantage the day after Christmas because we thought for sure that would be it for this winter.  Little did we know we were in for even more just a few weeks later!!  We woke up early Monday morning (3:00 early -- not because of the snow but because Jacob wasn't feeling well) and the ground was already completely covered.  Just a few short hours later we had several inches.  We packed up and headed over to my in-laws house because we knew if we lost power we'd have to have a way to stay warm and they have a gas fireplace.  The boys were so excited to be having a sleepover at Grandma's house and it really was super fun sitting around the fireplace all day looking at the beautiful snow outside. 

The boys got out in the snow that morning and loved every second.  This being the second opportunity this winter they both kind of knew what to do and what not to do and Jacob definitely enjoyed it much more the second time around!

Chase made snow angels and Jacob enjoyed walking around the cars, brushing the snow off of them!!

Sam even thoroughly enjoyed running around in the snow and the boys loved throwing snowballs for her to catch!!

The cousins even came over to play and they had a blast!!

Chase loves spending time with his cousin, Emma.  These two are going to grow up to be best buds!

Luke enjoyed lots of warm snuggles and stayed inside while the big boys went out to play!

The rest of the day the boys made forts using Grandma's pillows...

 and played games with Jupe!

We spent the night at Grandma & Jupe's house in fear that the ice accumulation would cause the power to go out.  The big boys slept in Aunt Anna's bed together and did amazing!  They shared a room with Tweety Bird and made sure they were super quiet until the sun was up so that Tweety Bird could get all her rest! :)  The next morning all of the pretty snow was covered in a very slick layer of ice so it wasn't as easy for the boys to play in but they got out there anyways and had a ball!!  They had their first sled ride...

... or at least attempted to sled :)

Jacob's turn we tried it on the trash can lid... both were a little unsuccessful until Charles found a patch of snow/ice that hadn't been walked on yet and that worked much better! :)

Jacob found icicles hanging from Grandma's roof (his hat was covering all but a tiny part of one of his eyes so seeing things was a bit of a challenge!).

And both boys had so much fun having snow ball fights with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma & Jupe!  Jupe may have won the ice war but one day, when he's least expecting it, we'll get him back! :)  Luke took great naps and slept so well at Grandma's house... he really didn't mind staying inside.  He is not a fan of cold air, even if it's just on his tiny face!

He did, however, love looking at the pretty white stuff from inside! 

We were all so happy to have Charles home with us the majority of this week... he went to work on Friday and it nice that now it's the weekend.  I could definitely do more of these one day work weeks! :)  It's amazing just how much I can get done with Daddy home!!  :)

First Taste of Rice Cereal

Luke started rice cereal this week.  I was going to wait until closer to 6 months but I felt like he was starting to need a little more other than what he was getting.  So Sunday I opened the box of rice cereal and we gave it a try.  I was very surprised with how well he did... he was a mess, but he knew to open his mouth either when he saw the spoon coming or when the spoon touched his lips.  Then the second time I made it I made it not as runny and on the thicker side and he did just as good.  I think he's going to be a good eater just like my other two were and that makes me happy! :)

Twenty Eleven

2011.... where did 2010 go?  Not to mention 2009 and 2008?  As a kid, time didn't seem to go by all that quickly.  High school was a busy time, lots of fun but still didn't seem to fly by.  College went faster than I would have liked... didn't help that I took enough credits each semester to graduate early.  Getting married and adjusting to married life,that went by pretty fast!!  Had Chase the end of 2006... time started moving a lot faster! Then had Jacob the beginning of 2008... now time was really flying by!  Fast forward a few more years and I can't believe we are in 2011.  I feel like it was just yesterday we had our second baby and were living in Greenville... now we've moved, been in this house for 2 years already and added another boy to the mix.  Time, slow down!!!!! PLEASE!  I know this year is going to be a whirlwind as well... first new years resolution: appreciate each and every moment, the good, the bad, the frustrating, the hard, the sweet... appreciate them all because they don't last forever and before I know it my time with the boys at home will be over and they'll be big boys going to school!

 

What sweet moments we have with these boys and even when I'm exhausted, short on patience, not feeling well these boys are tremendous blessings given to us by our Lord.  We have such a huge responsibility to be an example to them, show them God's love, and point them towards their Savior.  I'm not perfect, I fail daily... but I'm thankful I have a loving Father who has endless patience with me and loves me for who I am and I desire to have that kind of patience and love for my boys!!

This little one is growing way too fast!  He is learning new things all the time and has discovered that he has a voice and can be as loud as he wants!!  He wakes up from naps and unfortunately at night time too to practice his "talking", his rolling over and his ability to get Mommy to respond to his every demand!  He has been a great sleeper since he was born but lately he has had too many things to learn and explore to sleep... waking up at night a few times each night has been rough for me but I do try to remind myself every night that going in to his room to give him his paci, as annoying as it might be and as much as it may cause me to be tired the next day, seeing him look up at me and smile makes it all worth it.  I won't be visiting his room in the middle of the night forever so I'm enjoying this stage, knowing it will pass before I know it!  He definitely brings us all so much joy!!!

This Daddy sure is enjoying his boys!!!  He had 2 weeks off from school and he loved being home every day.  He was such an amazing help for me and even let me sleep in a few mornings over the break.  I honestly couldn't ask for a better father for my boys and a better husband for me.  He thinks of me before anything else, puts my needs at the top of his priority list and loves me unconditionally.  He is always working towards becoming a better dad and he works so hard to show his boys how much he loves them!

New years resolution #2: show my appreciation for my husband way more than I do!  Charles comes home from a long day at work ready to help take on some of the responsibilities... silly things like taking the boys to the bathroom and pulling up pants when they're done, cleaning them up after dinner, to helping with the bigger things.  Putting the boys in their pajamas, brushing their teeth and putting them to bed on nights that I'm either putting Luke to bed or really tired from a busy day.  From the little things to the big things, I appreciate Charles more than he knows and my goal for this year is to remind him daily of how much I love him, how proud I am of him and how much I appreciate every thing he does!!

2011 will be a year of many more goals that I will make for myself but these are two things that I want to be consciously aware of every day and work on doing on a daily basis!  Praying for a great year with my family, a healthy & safe year, a year of sharing God's love with all those around me and a year of being the best Mommy I could ever be! Because these boys.... 

.... they deserve the best!

Sunday School Lesson

Chase is now four and for about a year now we have really stressed to Chase the importance of listening in Sunday School and learning the Bible stories and lessons that he hears his teachers talk about each week.  It took him a while to really figure out how to focus with so many other things going on around him and some weeks his recap of that week's lesson had more holes in it than we would have liked.  We encourage him (and Jacob) every week as we are getting close to church to really listen and pay attention that day and that we wanted to hear about their lessons as soon as we got back in the car.  This week Charles and I were busy talking about something as we left church and as we turned onto the highway we heard Chase talking to Jacob about his Sunday School lesson.... he went through it one time, not realizing that we were listening and then when he was finished we asked him to tell us and that is when I got the following video:

**The way Chase tells the story makes me laugh every time!  And at the end of the video when I am telling Chase good job you can hear Jacob in the background telling me "God is truthful.  God is truthful."  That was one of Chase's Cubbies verses from the fall and any time we are talking about learning something related to the Bible that is what comes out of his mouth!!  That kid really cracks me up!**

We have two main Children Bibles that we use with the boys.  Each night before the boys say their prayers and go to sleep Charles reads a story and Chase has gotten really good about sitting still, listening and digesting/learning what he is hearing.  And now we know he is starting to do the same in Sunday School!  This little boy loves reading God's word and learning all the Bible stories.... makes our hearts so happy!!  We do, however, have a lot of work to do with Jacob!!  Totally different personality and interest level than Chase had at that age! :)

Christmas - Part Two

Christmas morning.... my parents, grandparents and Charles' parents were all going to be here by 7:00.  I was half way expecting the boys to wake up super early in which case we'd have to hold them off until at least 7 but they slept until they heard the happy noises of all their grandparents and a set of great grandparents!  The excitement on their faces was what everyone was so excited to see and they definitely got what they came for! :)  I shot a video of them running out that morning to see what Santa had brought but it turned out a little dark (I'll work on it and see what I can do in order for it to be posted).  Chase didn't know where to go first... he was so overwhelmed by everyone being here and he couldn't decide if he wanted to get some loves first or go straight to the toys brought by Santa.  He chose to give some loves first (which did my heart good) and then went over to enjoy the toys.  Santa brought the boys a kitchen and a workbench.... both huge hits!!  After enjoying their new toys for a few minutes we gave them their stockings and they loved going through those huge stockings and finding all those new things!!  Flashlights, new sunglasses, some M&Ms, a new hat for Jacob and some sticker/coloring books... they were in Heaven, and we hadn't even gotten to the rest of the presents!!

Once the stockings were opened we had a time of reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas and Pop-Pop prayed.  Then we enjoyed a yummy breakfast... breakfast casserole that my mother-in-law brought and coffee cake, juice and coffee.  We were all planning on having our big meal for lunch so we kept breakfast on the lighter side.  Luke slept through all the excitement so I decided to let him get his rest and he could have his Christmas when he woke up for the day.... it actually worked out great because I could really focus on the boys, on breakfast and on everything else that was happening. 

 Chase was so cute this year... his reaction to every single gift he opened was priceless.  He would open a present and it was like it was the most amazing thing ever... then he'd move on to the next gift and his reaction would be the same!  Pure joy and excitement over it all and it was so much fun to watch him!

Jacob took his time opening his gifts... he would carefully rip the wrapping paper, peek at what it was, show tons of excitement and then open it the rest of the way.  He needed a little help with a few of the bigger gifts but that is what Ginga's are for! :)  The blankets were gifts from their GG & Goomba and they have been the biggest hit... after playing in the snow they had to get wrapped up in order to warm up, after bath time they both have to get wrapped up. They love their new blankets and I have to admit, they are so cozy and warm!  The thank you hugs followed and both boys loved going around and thanking everyone for their presents and for being here with them on such a special morning.  These boys are beyond blessed with two sets of grandparents who love the Lord and love them with all their hearts and how fun it was to have them all here on Christmas morning!

Once the boys were finished it was time for them to go play with their new things and let the adults have their Christmas!  I was so excited for my parents and my grandparents to open their gifts... it is exactly what we did for them last year but both gifts are things that are treasured all year long!  My grandparents get a calendar made by all of their grandchildren that includes many, many pictures of their great-grands from the previous year!!  

My parents get a photo book put together by all of us that goes month by month through the year, documenting how much their grandchildren grown and changed and all the fun things we did each month!  We did this for the first time last year and that book has been looked at, looked at some more, and looked at again.

 My mom realized what it was as soon as Dad took it out of the box and could hardly wait to start looking at it!  I love her expression in this picture, nothing better!!

 They could look at these books forever and it's so fun to be able to do something for them that brings them so much joy throughout the entire year!  About that time Luke started to stir so it was finally his time to enjoy his first Christmas! 

Luke wasn't quite sure what to think about all the commotion but he sure loved the attention he was getting!  He loves his new mirror and it has already gotten a ton of use!  He got lots of fun things that he will enjoy as he gets a little older and a little bit bigger! :) 

The rest of the morning was great... we enjoyed lots of time to relax!  Our Christmas meal consisted of ham, sweet potatoes, crock pot macaroni and cheese, green beans, Goomba's very own coleslaw, rolls, cranberry sauce, and of course, pie for dessert. Perfect!!

This Christmas we all got some amazing gifts from those who love us and we gave some amazing gifts to those we love.... but Christmas 2010 will not be remembered because of the gifts given or received.  But for me, Christmas 2010 will always be special because of all the time we had with our family.  If you had asked me 5 years ago if I thought I would spend Christmas in my own house, with my own children, my parents and my grandparents, I would have probably said no.  The Lord has been so good to allow my grandparents to stay in such good health over these last 10 years and I am so grateful for that!  They were always there for our Christmas mornings growing up and it was so amazing to have them here with me and my family for this Christmas!  Thank you Mom and Dad, GG & Goomba for being here with us and sharing Christmas with us!!  Thank you also to Ginga and Jupe for getting up early and driving over to be with us.  Just because we live in town now doesn't mean we don't want you over for fun moments, like Christmas morning and we were so thrilled to have you both here with us!!  We thought a lot about the family not able to be with us... family all the way in Japan and family spread out over the states... we missed them a lot this Christmas but look forward to the next time we'll all be together again!!

 Jacob played and played with his new kitchen.  He loves to pretend and also loves to open and close and put things away.  The kitchen is perfect for all of those things!! :)

Chase was wiped out after a super fun and busy Christmas... that night all he wanted to do was curl up in his new blanket and read his new Tiger book that Daddy gave him!!  Such a fun Christmas!!!

Christmas - Part One

What an amazing Christmas we had this year.... amazing for many reasons!!!  Amazing because of the fun and special times we had with our three gifts that we call our boys.  Amazing because we had Nana & Pop-Pop here to share it with us.  Amazing because we had my grandparents, the boy's great grandparents, here to be a part of our family traditions.  Amazing because we had both sets of the boy's grandparents and one set of their great-grandparents here on Christmas morning.  We were surrounded by family, all here to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ with us and take part in the family traditions that Charles and I have started with our boys.  One word to describe this Christmas, amazing!!! 

My parents and grand-parents drove to Columbia early on Christmas Eve.  They were here before lunch time which gave us plenty of time to relax, eat lunch and take naps before getting ready for the Christmas Eve service at our church.

 Luke is never lacking in the area of getting attention, especially from family.  Right now he is the youngest grandchild and great-grandchild so he gets all the baby loves!!  GG couldn't wait to get her hands on him... she had not seen him in a few months and couldn't get over how much he had changed!!

Luke was dressed and ready for the Christmas Eve service at church so while I got the other boys ready Luke spent some good time with his Goomba.  Goomba was always such an amazing grandpa to me and my siblings growing up and now it's so special to watch him interact and love all of his great grandchildren.  What a blessing that he is still in such good health and able to be involved in our kid's lives!!

Here the whole gang is ready to head out the door for the Christmas Eve service.  Dinner was in the oven, the timer and delay start were programed and the table was set.  I don't get to use my fine china much so it was so much fun to pull all of it out for our special meals.  I wish I had taken a picture of the table set but I didn't... maybe next year.  It was actually sad when I put all the china away... can't wait to bring it out and use it again soon!! 

This was the first year that I "hosted" Christmas at my house.  We were in our house last year for Christmas and we had our special meals with just us, but this year, having company and cooking for everyone was so much fun!  I got so excited as I did my big grocery shop and had so much fun putting the meals together and making it special.  Christmas Eve we had Italian (something my mom did every year growing up so it only felt right to continue that tradition).  This was also my first time using the delay start on my oven... all through the service and on the way home I kept my fingers crossed that the oven would come on and the ziti would be hot when we got home.  Sure enough it did just as I had programed it to do and the house smelled amazing when we walked in the door.  I can remember years growing up that my mom would do the same type of thing and we would come home from our Christmas Eve service and the food would still be cold.  :)  After a very tasty meal we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and the boys were both able to blow out a candle on their cupcakes in Jesus' honor.

After the kitchen was cleaned up and everything was put away we let the boys open one present.... their Christmas pajamas.  They were both very excited and happy about their new pajamas and couldn't wait to get them on!!  Their excitement over pajamas was so funny but I guess at their age it's more the excitement of opening a present rather than what is actually in the box! :)

Luke needed some help opening his gift that night and was not as impressed as the big boys were.  He was wiped out from a very busy Christmas Eve and was ready to be in his bed!!  Once Luke was in bed the boys helped us pick out a few cookies for Santa and they both carried the plate over to the table by the Christmas Tree.  We couldn't forget a cup of milk (2%, not skim... our Santa wouldn't have it any other way!) and we also hung our jingle bells on the door so Santa could get in! :)

Finally, we did our Jesse Tree lesson for the night which tied in nicely to reading the stories in their Bible about Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, baby Jesus being born in a stable and sleeping in a manger, the shepherds, the star and the wise men.  That night we hung Mary on the Jesse Tree and the boys were excited to hang baby Jesus up there in the morning!

It is and always will be so important to us that our boys focus mostly on what God did for all of us so long ago in sending his son to this Earth as a baby, to have him live a life without sin so he could one day take all of our sins to Calvary.  Santa is fun, the presents are super fun.... but we want the boys to focus on the most important present they could ever, ever receive... the gift of everlasting life by asking Jesus to be their Savior and ask forgiveness for their sins.  God did an amazing thing for us so many years ago and we will always make that the most important priority every Christmas Eve!!    

We all had such a great Christmas Eve this year and loved every minute of spending it with Nana & Pop-Pop, GG & Goomba!