Christmas 2010

Christmas this year was another wonderful season filled with many new memories. We went to visit Beth, Robert & Mya for lunch and they were wonderful hosts. Chicken nuggets, pasta with sauce, fancy cupcakes, and much more. We had a great time spending the afternoon with them and sharing in Mya's first Christmas. We went to Christmas Eve Mass and then traveled to Grandma Sally & Grandpa Dan's for evening festivities with the Robinsons. It was a wonderful time. Then, we nestled in our beds in hopes that St. Nick would make an appearance...he did. Christmas morning was fun at home. Leah slept in until almost 9am, so the boys were REALLY anxious to get to the presents. Then, when she did get up, I actually had a big breakfast ready to eat, so we convinced the kids to eat first (can you believe that?). So we ate breakfast, then enjoyed the festivities. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed spending the day together at home. We are so blessed and really felt the spirit of Christmas. The next day, we were even suprised by a trip from Grandma Donna & Grandpa Jerry as they came through on their way home from Texas. Always nice to see them, too!

Happy 5th Birthday, Jacob! (12/12)

Jacob had a wonderful birthday this year. As I always feel, it is so hard to believe he's five. He is a true sweetheart. He is such a content guy. He has grown up a lot and really mellowed. If we catch him when he's really tired or just can't get something worked out, he'll get a bit upset, but those times have become quite few and far between. He enjoys playing Star Wars with his brothers as well as on his own - very independent guy. He's also very sweet to his sisters. Still has a special place for Anne. He is calm and tenderhearted. I love that even Tom and Jerry can scare him sometimes if the episode has a big animal in it or something like that. He loves music, too, especially Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Chris Tomlin, and Lady Antebellum (Hmm, wonder where his influence comes from). You can often catch him in the offic with the music playing and he'll be playing his air guitar and singing along...as if he's studying the lyrics. He's a caring boy who really thinks - he'll think of a consequence a few steps down the thought process and just want everyone to be ok and happy. I'm pretty sure the additional Star Wars shirts he's received are saving me a lot of loads of laundry as he wears one every day. He's also not much behind his brothers on size; sometimes people actually ask if he & Leyton are the twins. Ha. I just love that little guy. He wants to stay home every day and just be home, play, and be happy. If only it could always be that way. Happy Birthday, dear Jacob. You are loved!

Travel Troubles?

Interesting thing I found today. I searched on Expedia.com to look at hotel options for us en route to Destin. We figured we'd spend one night there on the way, maybe around Birmingham. Anyway, I entered the following information: Birmingham, AL, the dates, 2 adults, 5 children (& entered their ages). And the search results: plenty, but each and every entry said "max children exceeded." Hmm. I hadn't anticipated that. So, I searched a bit more on "max hotel occupancy" and saw a few articles addressing this specific type of issue as compared to just a large number of people trying to stay in one room. And then, I came across a site that may actually be helpful for a family like us. Good find. I'm sure it'll lead us to where we'll stay; you can search by location and it lists options that sleep 5, 6, 7, or 8 people. Whew. I really was not liking the idea of figuring out how we'd be in a hotel for that one night. Who'd have known (maybe lots of people, but I hadn't considered that we technically couldn't stay in most rooms)?

Imagine His Feelings on that Night...

I heard this song for the first time today and was really moved. Don't want to ruin it with too many words, but I just thought about how he may have felt that night...

Joseph's Lullaby

(here's a second link that has lyrics)

Jacob's Quote of Affection

So, I really knew what Jacob was saying, but the way he said it was an interesting way to put it...we were comparing how much I loved him and how much he loved me. He said, "Mom, I love you more than a light bulb!"..."I don't even love a light bulb!"

Leah's Religion "Class"

Leah is SUCH a pretender these days and I absolutely love it. She is so cute with all of her talk. She talks A LOT about her "school." We get a lot of, "Well, at my school..." and whatever she has to say. Well yesterday, she wanted to have school at home, which we sometimes do. She said she wanted to read the Bible. So, we got it out, she found a page with a picture and wanted me to read it. It was a picture of the Torah and I started to read the caption. She said, "Oh wait, I don't want to read this. I want to read something else." She began reading, "And Jesus said, 'Not by the hair of my chinny-chin chin.'" We were also sitting at the kitchen table and we were coloring. I was using a colored pencil. She said, "Mom, is it 'Pencil-cost'?" With a grin, I told her that no, it wasn't Pentecost. But, at least she's thinking, right?!

Thank Goodness for Analogies...and Star Wars

Well, you know, analogies sure help things make sense better. Tonight I was reading with Leyton; he was reading a Batman book. The book mentioned Robin having a mentor. Leyton asked what mentor meant. I told him that it was kind of like a teacher, someone you could learn from and talk to if you needed help. And he replied, "Oh, like a Padawan. Like Anakin was for Ahsoka, and like Obi-Wan was for Anakin." Now of that I have not a clue, but it made it crystal clear for him.