The Great Christmas Update "Bog"

I recently got an email from one of my faithful readers that he enjoyed reading my "bog." I don't know if that was just a typo or a subtle statement about how he gets "stuck" in the middle of my entries, with no way to get out. If it was the latter, then he will really enjoy this one.

I haven't taken much time to write this week, so here goes with the update, starting with Uncle Jim's 90th Birthday party!

Below are pictures from the party. We had a great many people from the family there. Most exciting for us was that Geoffrey and Callie were able to attend. Geoffrey's wife, Jill, is expecting twins in January and we waited until the last minute to see if he could come. The doctor let them know that it was OK on Thursday and we all piled into our minivan on Friday for the 7 hour drive. If you haven't ever made a trip with a 2-, 3-, and 4-year old, you are missing out on something fun!

Here is a picture of all in attendance:

And one of the birthday boy. Doesn't he look young!

One bonus of the trip was that we were super close to the beach. We snuck away on Saturday evening for a few minutes in the sand. It was chilly, with the sea breeze. See the surfer in the background? Just looking at them made me really cold. We had a great time playing, until Scooter got a little too close to the surf and ended up soaking wet. It abruptly ended our play time!

We came home on Sunday and had some time to recover and get ready for Christmas. One bummer of the holiday, was that Roo had a fever and both boys shared a cold. Scooter, Derrick and I went to the 4:00 service at church, while Nana & Pop stayed at home with Roo. After dinner, the boys opened one gift -- their Christmas Jammies! Here they are sporting their new bedtime duds.

I just realized that we didn't get many good pictures on Christmas morning. Roo was so sick that he never actually opened many gifts. It was wonderful and relaxing to be in our own home. We've enjoyed catching up on sleep this week, watching movies, and doing some "spring" cleaning. The boys are both back at 100% now.

Merry Christmas!

I was supposed to post this blog on Christmas Eve, and now is the first time that I've taken to sit down at the computer. We have had such a blessed Christmas. It has been relaxing and delightful to have Daddy at home all day!

For the past several years, my favorite Christmas song has been "Mary Did you Know?" The song asks Mary if she knew that the sleeping child before her was the great I Am? It wonders if she knew His destiny when he was such a little baby.

As I listen to that song during the Christmas season, I pause and wonder what great plans God has for my children. I don't think that Mary knew any better than I do the plans that the Lord had in store for her little baby. But, as I go through the daily trials of raising my kids, I cling to the promises that God has given me - he knew Scooter and Roo before they were even born (Psalm 139) and he has plans and purposes for them to give them a hope and a future (Jer. 29:11). I wonder if Mary clung to these same promises as she was raising Jesus and her other children.

Last night, I was reading a book that a friend gave me for Christmas, and I love this quote: "When God entrusted a child to us, in an instant that baby became so intimately a part of us that we couldn't picture life without him - ever. I couldn't imagine what my chubby child would be when he grew up. But what I yearned for had little to do with his adult career. I longed that he be part of us forever - that he be God's forever."

As this Christmas season comes to a close and we go back to our normal life, I pray for my family and yours that we will yearn to become closer to the great I Am and seek the plan that He has for our lives.

Twas the week before Christmas...

...and all through the house,
not a creature was sleeping
(well, we don't have a mouse.)

The stockings are hung
Mommy put them up there,
The presents are under the tree
The boys...they don't seem to care.

In fact, they haven't even noticed
That the gifts are in place
Running up and down the halls
All they seem to do is race.

For their bodies are filled
with sugar delights
From curly head to tiny toe
They ask from mornings to nights.

The candy monsters understand
that sugar is only given
After good days and long naps
And when all outbursts are forgiven

But they seem to forget
When the day is so new
Asking for cookies and candy
Even little Roo.

So imagine my delight
When Daddy walks in today
Carrying loads of goodies
Like Santa's big sleigh.

His students bless him
With things in wraps and jars
My favorite so far
Are the caramel bars.


...OK, I'm out of rhymes tonight. We are looking forward to seeing family and friends during the holiday. We leave tomorrow to celebrate my Great Uncle Jim's 90th birthday on Saturday! It will be fun to see aunts, uncles and cousins while there.

For the first time ever, we are spending Christmas Eve and Day in Athens. We hope Santa knows where to find us!

milestone

Well, we had a milestone this weekend for Scooter. He attended his first birthday party where he was the invited guest, not the whole family. In other words, this was the first birthday party where it was not family or one of our friends. The birthday child was a little girl from his Sunday School class.

Scooter chose Derrick to attend it with him. It was at a gymnastics school and he had a BLAST! He is already quite a monkey, and this had all kinds of equipment for him to climb on and play with. He can't wait to go back. I think that hosting birthday parties must be great publicity for this place. After all, each birthday party brings 15 or so kids that may have never been there and their parents. And the kids all clammor to go back.

My faithful husband took some pictures, so I could also "enjoy" the party.

Roo and I had a great morning together. It was a special treat for us to be able to spend time alone together. We went to the post office to mail some Christmas packages. While we stood in the long line, Roo entertained everyone (and they entertained him). It worked out well for everyone.

exploding vocabulary

Little Roo just recently turned 21 months and, boy, is his vocabulary expanding! He loves to get right in your face and say "hi mommy." I watched Nana's (my mom) heart melt last time we were in Atlanta when he said "Hi Nana".

Just yesterday, he said "howdy" to Derrick. For those of you who aren't familiar with Texas A&M traditions, that's what you say when you are on campus. "Howdy Ag" is the preferred way of greeting people. We have no idea where he learned to say "howdy", but it was so funny to hear it come out of his mouth. Now Derrick has taken it upon himself to teach him every Aggie phrase - "Howdy Ag", "Gig 'Em Ag", and occasionally he'll throw in a "go Tarheels" just to make me happy. I think Scooter has the right idea when he says "Howdy Dawgs." After all, that's all we'll be able to afford!

July in Christmas

Some people celebrate Christmas in July, but we are currently celebrating "July in Christmas". With the temperatures in the upper 70's this week, it certainly has felt like summer. I think we'll see winter come again tomorrow, so we spent all morning playing outside. We spent most of the time in the sandbox. I think I mentioned that they are laying new water pipes on our street. Well, we also laid pipes in the sandbox. We used sticks as pipes and had to dig up the "road" to get to the pipes. I hope the contractors do a better job than we did. Somehow, we kept having to dig up our pipes again and re-lay them.

As you can see from the picture, our sandbox looks like a Tonka commercial. We have a Tonka dumptruck, Tonka crane, Tonka front loader and a Tonka Jr. dumptruck. With all those, plus our shovels and hoes, there almost wasn't room for the boys. The real problem came when Scooter decided to bring a real pipe into the sandbox. It was quite funny to watch them manuver through all that stuff.

Of course, one advantage to it not being July is there is no humidity and there are no mosquitoes. Plus, when do you get to play in a big pile of leaves in July? That was the other big activity of the day around here. We threw all the leaves in the air and watched them fall again. Sorry Daddy -- you'll have to rake your piles again! :)

Just to prove that it really is December, here is a picture of the boys visiting with Santa Claus. Santa visits our local library each year. It is the best thing in the world because the crowds are small, and I can take as many pictures as I want with my own camera. Plus, "free" is much better than paying Mall prices. The boys are wearing their jammies because it is part of the library's monthly "pajamarama" evening storytime series.

Who is sick?

Have you ever had one of those doctor's visits where you felt like a really out-of-touch Mom? Well, that was me today. :)

Roo has been really cranky recently. I attributed it to the fact that he is trying to bring in his eye teeth and some molars and the fact that his second birthday is just around the corner... he knows what he wants and wants to get or do it by himself. Otherwise, there is a huge meltdown.

But, even with this, I thought it would be a good investment of $20 just to make sure that his ears weren't infected. So, I piled the kids in the car and headed over to the doctor's office. Scooter was really excited about going because they give lollipops at the checkout counter. On the way, he mentioned something about his ear hurting also. It was the first he had mentioned of it, and I thought it was just jealous brother wanting some attention.

Well, you can see where this story is heading. Guess who had the ear infection and whose ears were perfectly clear? I was glad that I asked her to check Scooter's ears as an afterthought. Oh, when will I ever learn?

Updates & Photos

I've gotten behind this week, so I thought I would post some pictures and share stories to go along with them.

Below is the promised picture of me "fluffing" the artificial tree. I have enjoyed the lights and ambiance, but miss the yummy smell of frasier fur. Last Friday, we had a wonderful evening decorating the house and enjoying our first fire of the season. I tried to capture the fire in the photo, but the light wasn't quite right. Scooter had the honor of putting our (very small) angel on top (with Daddy's help, of course.)

Roo is in the stage of imitation. While Derrick and Scooter were setting up the "big" train around the base of the tree, Roo toddled over to his little, wooden train set and started putting it together and playing with it.

Also, we have construction on our street right now. They are laying new water pipes. This week, they have been working across the street, with a great view out of our big window. We set up our little picnic table in front of the window, so the boys can eat and watch construction at the same time. All was quiet yesterday as Scooter and I washed dishes...which always leads me to worry about what Roo is into. I walked around the corner and he was sitting at the table watching the bobcat level the dirt across the street. In his hand was a small, toy bulldozer that he was pushing across the table, "leveling" the tabletop. I didn't take pictures of this, but it was a cute moment.

This next picture is of our "cooking decorating" party that we had yesterday. Let me tell you...when you mix 5 kids, icing and sprinkles, you end up with a great big mess! And, kids who are wired on sugar. Playing outside was much needed! But, we made some beautiful (and yummy) cookies. I especially love the picture of the littlest guys -- after just one cookie, they both thought that eating was more fun than decorating. One of our friends arrived with her little apron, so Scooter announced that he needed to put on his apron -- it is a "workshop apron" that we got at Lowe's when we were attending one of their Saturday workshops.

Stories

When I began this blog, I never dreamed that I would have so many things to write. Maybe my life isn't quite as exciting (or funny) as I think it is, but I sure enjoy sharing the little pieces of the day with whoever reads this.

Roo got a new nickname yesterday. The whole family stopped by church in the evening. I had a meeting to attend and Derrick kept the kids on the playground. (we wanted to only take one car to the Downtown Athens Christmas Parade - so this was our compromise). When my meeting was over and I reunited with everyone, Derrick announced the new nickname -- Rooter (yes, it rhymes with Scooter). Evidently he "roots out" everything that he is not supposed to get into. That didn't surprise me in the least!!

Our other big news this week is that, after six years of discussion, Derrick finally convinced me to invest in an artificial Christmas tree. I think there is something exciting about selecting just the right tree, only to get it home and find out it has a hole in the middle and leans to the left a little. The smell fills the house (although needles are everywhere and I always forget to water).

We embarked on a shopping trip on Monday night and went to every store in town that sells artificial trees. I'm pretty pleased with what we got, although my stomach churned a bit when I pulled it out of the box and the artificial "limbs" unfolded. I felt like I was in one of those horror movies where the robots turn to life and terrorize everybody. Hopefully our tree won't do that. However, after "fluffing" the tree and turning on the lights, I have to say it looks pretty good. We'll head back to Lowes and get a real wreath or some cut branches to hang to get that good smell.

We are decorating tonight, so I'll post some pictures this weekend of our decorated house (and me "fluffing" the tree before all the limbs were in place.)

Brain Power

I think I went into this whole parenthood thing with the idea that it would be hard work, but it wouldn't really "work" my brain that much. After all, how stimulating can it be to converse with toddlers all day long? Well, now that my toddler is more of a preschooler, things are becoming quite a bit more complicated.

Today we were all in the car on the way to Sam's. I'm driving; Noah (our 4 year old friend that comes over twice a week) is behind me; Roo is next to him; and Scooter is way in the back. Out of the blue, Noah begins to talk about how God died on the Cross. I reminded him that it was Jesus that died for us. Then, from the back, came a request from Scooter to "tell me the story of Jesus dying on the cross." He is really into telling stories in the car. While we were heading to Texas, we stuck with the easy stories like "Three Little Pigs" and "Cinderella".

Here's the thing, that may sound like an easy request, but how do you translate "Jesus died as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He was pierced for our transgressions and by his wounds we are healed" into language for a three year old to understand? Then, the questions came flooding: "what is a cross? how did Jesus get boo-boos on his feet? (this was not something I said - he must have remembered it from Sunday School) what does God have to do with this?"

Then, the funniest part, is as quickly as it started, it all ended. Attention shifts quickly and the Salvation Army Bell Ringer suddenly became a much more exciting topic of conversation. We put money in the red bucket and headed in for our shopping.

And, speaking of brain power, I'm amazed how much a little three-year old brain retains. As we got out of the car, I recited my list of four items for Scooter to remember. Several times in the store, I asked what else we needed and he remembered everything! We had fun counting and remembering our list.

rainy day

Praise God for the rainy day! If you have been following the local Georgia news, you'll know that our drought is so bad that they are saying we have less than a month of water left. So, we were thrilled today to wake to a gentle rain. Well, let's just say that I was thrilled. Scooter was so disappointed that he could not go to the park, as we had planned. We worked on inside projects instead.

Our big art project this week is to finish our Christmas cards. We are individually decorating each card, so I hope you enjoy! It may be the only year of this. Here are the boys working on their cards. Nana gave us the snowman table cloth and it looks so festive on the table! Scooter is painting at the end of the table. He insisted on wearing his "chemical gloves." Roo is coloring with crayons. I have to keep a close eye on him. He likes to eat the crayon, or even better, feed the crayon to Farley.

I realize it has been 12 days since my last post. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving visiting Derrick's family in Texas. The boys did so well with the long drive, including Farley. He loved meeting his "cousin dogs". Our Thanksgiving meal included 16 people and five dogs. Kevin & Elisabeth left their three dogs at home! I'll post some funny stories and pictures as the week progresses. Below are a few good pictures.

Roo is absent from this picture -- everyone knows not to wake a sleeping baby!!

Here are three of the dogs during the dinner. They weren't enjoying it as much as the humans, as they were forced to stay behind the gate for the meal. Farley was locked in his bed, because we didn't trust him not to bust through the gate. Molly is probably asleep on the couch, enjoying not having competition from humans. The dogs pictured above are: Tiger Lily (who thinks she is a cat - always has to have a lap to sit on), Pebbles and Sunshine.

Rudolph

Roo was the only casulty from yesterday's exciting events. He slid down our rock retaining wall and scraped his nose along the way. It happened before anyone arrived. He is now sporting a red "rudolph" nose. Needless to say, we canceled the family portraits that we were supposed to have today. I was willing to do them with one scrape, but not with a big red nose.

As you can see in this picture, he was quite a trooper and wanted to continue to play even after it happened. Not long after I took this photo, he poured sand in his eye and I had to flush it out by putting his head in under the running faucet. When he awoke from his nap, he was still crying out sand. What are we going to do with him?

Daycare at the Seusers!

Somehow today we ended up with seven kids and two adults at our house today for playtime. It was lots of fun, but definitely confirmed to me that I do not want to open an at-home daycare. There were two four year olds, two three year olds, one two year old, one 20 month old and a seven month old. The adults were 30+ -- no exact ages given! :)

Good thing we built the big sand box for Scooter's birthday. They all fit! Once we came inside, it seemed as if someone was always eating and someone else was always in the bathroom (or getting a diaper change). I guess that's how large families work.

Oh and, doesn't the house look so clean in the second picture. Don't worry, about 10 minutes earlier, I looked around and wondered when was the last time I saw every single one of our toys on the floor. You could hardly see the carpet! This picture was taken post-clean up. Roo was already napping.

Growing so Fast

I can see that this is going to be a title that I use often in this blog. It is just so true.

Last week, little Roo graduated to his own booster seat at the table. He loves that he can climb in and out by himself. It is a great height, not only to eat food, but also to color - one of his favorite activities. Today at lunch he was eating and "coloring" the table top. He loved his squash soup. Before I knew it, it was fingerpainting time! Good thing I have Farley to help clean up.

Scooter's hair is finally growing out, after his September buzz cut. You probably can't see in this picture, but some of the hairs in the back are starting to curl again. I'm so glad because we have family portraits on Wednesday. If they turn out, we'll use them on our Christmas card. Now I just have to figure out what we are all going to wear. I'm disappointed because Derrick doesn't think that Farley will be able to come. He may have to be photoshopped into the picture. :)

Georgia Football

Today is the big Auburn game. The boys and I dropped Derrick off at the game to work at 12:30, with the intention that we would find a quick parking spot and join some friends for a few hours to tailgate. Well, "quick" and "close" are not words that would describe the spot we finally ended up with. But, "free" is always good. Before we found it, I was ready to head home and forget about the idea, but Scooter was about to pitch a fit that we weren't going to go. He is such a chip off of my block -- not wanting to miss a thing. He was a trooper as we walked for over a mile. Roo was carried, so he didn't mind a bit. I had a good time visiting with friends, while Scooter played with the kids. The best part about it was we got a ride back to the car.

So, here I am being a football mommy. I'm in the office with the game on the radio, while Roo is asleep and Scooter is watching Dora the Explorer. We've never watched her, but got a video from the library this week and he has absolutely fallen in love with it. When it is over, I'll go back in there and turn on the game on the big radio and find some more activities that we can do while I listen to the game. Now, where are my priorities? Both boys slept through the first half, so I only have one half to feel guilty. But, the game is just too close to turn it off.

crafts and bugs

Today has been one of those great days that makes you want to stay at home. Our bible focus this week has been on Joshua. As soon as the boys awoke, we built Jericho with our MegaBlocks, marched around it seven times and destroyed it. The best part about our little Jericho was that we could rebuild it several times. There is nothing more fun for the boys than marching, singing and destroying, especially while still wearing jammies.

I did learn today that looking for insects outside isn't the best lesson plan for studying the letter "I" when it is the second week in November and we had our first frost two nights ago. They just don't exist any more. Instead, we had a good time looking at sweetgums and acorns with our big magnifiying glass. Scooter still thinks the word "insect" starts with the letter N - makes sense to me. Boy, the English language is so hard to learn! Maybe we should focus on igloos.

In all our fun, we didn't take any pictures. I tried to get one of Roo while he was wearing his jacket with a hood. His little face is just so cute, but he wouldn't pose. I'll work on getting some tomorrow.

An Artistic Aside

Below is my new favorite painting. I've always loved Mary Cassett. This is a painting that we saw in a little gallery in the Memorial Student Center at TAMU when we went for a football game a few weeks ago. The game was really the most incredible football experience I've ever seen, but this painting just was the icing on the cake.

I love the image of the mother with the baby, looking out the window, perhaps longing to be outside, but knowing that nap time is near. Of course, the other side of me wonders how many times the baby peed on his mother while posing for the painting.

Big Hair

As my first official "story post", I thought I would try to also share pictures to go along with the story...

Derrick has alot of hair and it seems that the boys have inherited that from him. Here is big-hair "Roo" (as I will refer to him on this blog).

Below is "Scooter" sporting his new hair style. The buzz that Daddy gave him a few weeks ago is finally growing out and we can spike it again. He has alot of hair to spike! The funniest part of this picture is that it was taken in the morning when you are supposed to be wearing a clean shirt. Scooter insisted that this shirt was clean and he had to wear it again. Clearly, there are yogurt and other goodies stored on the front of it. Later in the day, he said that he had to wear dirty clothes because he was doing construction. That night, I hid the shirt in our laundry hamper.

A new "thing" for me

This is something new that I've decided to try as a way to keep friends and family up to date on our daily life and to remember all of the cute and unusual things that happen during the day with two little ones. I always have great goals of writing them down, but never seem to get around to it. Maybe this will help keep me accountable to remembering funny phrases from the boys or silly things that they do. After all, I have to have good stuff stored up for future graduation speeches and rehersal dinners!! It may not be too exciting to you, but staying at home has taught me to get excited about the little things.