Snow Days

Monday was another snow day for McCracken and Graves County.  We definitely did not have a lot of snow, but we had a lot of rain and it was extremely cold.  The high on Monday was 0 degrees, so what was on the roads froze.  

I was really hoping we would go back to school, but I also know that we are not in control of the weather.  I have decided not to get worked up about it anymore, because even if we have to make it up in late May or early June....a day with my family is a day with my family!  I will cherish my sweet quiet days now or later, so it doesn't matter to me!  

Matt and I have started watching the TV series Lost, so we watched several episodes.  Sam and Ben also enjoyed watching Despicable Me 2, Imaginex, and Curious George.  I made a pot of moms Stuffed Pepper Soup, which made the house smell wonderful and it was a delicious hot meal.   

My favorite game we played today was Sorry.  It was my favorite as a child and it is still one of my favorites!

Momma's Boy

Me:  Will you always be my baby?
Sam:  Of course, I will be your baby even when I am a teenager.  

Ok, now it is in writing, so he has to hold up to his promise!!

Christmas Day

The boys didn't wake up early on Christmas morning, in fact we had to wake them up around 8:00.  Once Sam was awake he quickly woke up Ben and they raced down the hallway together.  

I loved watching their faces when they opened their Santa bags.  Sam loved pulling out one toy at a time, showing it off, and then pulling out another one. Ben on the other hand opened up one gift and then didn't care about anything else in his Santa bag.  Eventually, Sam pulled out Ben's toys and laid them out for him to see.  

Sam loved the mini-Ipad Santa brought and Ben loved his Nintendo DS.  Sam also has a DS, so they enjoyed linking up and playing Super Mario 2 against each other.  

After playing for a little while we went to Gran Gran's house to eat breakfast and after eating we opened more gifts.  The picture below is the best picture we could get of everyone and I think we were all pictured out by the time Gram and Pap came to visit because I didn't capture any pictures of them.  

Later in the afternoon everyone came back to our house and Gram and Pap joined us for Christmas lunch.  It was wonderful having everyone over and we ate WAY to much!  

The rest of our Christmas break, we basically stayed at home--just the four of us and it was so nice.  We stayed in our pajamas, we read books, we watched movies, we played with the new toys, and we slept in and did whatever we wanted to do.  I love my sweet family.  I love spending time with my 3 favorite boys and I wish we had days on end doing absolutely nothing.  When people ask me what we did over break, I say nothing, but in reality, we did more in those 2 short weeks than we did the entire month of December as we rushed around with the Christmas madness.  

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is one of my favorite nights of the year,especially now that I have Sam and Ben.  I love the anticipation of Santa's arrival, listening to their questions and seeing the excitement in their eyes.  

  

We slept in on Christmas Eve morning and ate Sam's favorite breakfast....cinnamon rolls as we watched, "Its a Charlie Brown Christmas."  The boys liked it, but not as much as they loved watching the Polar Express.  We then baked sugar cookies and got everything ready for Santa's arrival.  

 We went to Paducah to Aunt Ann and Uncle Buddy's house.  It is a tradition to bring appetizers to snack on after going to church for family communion time and a prayer to help us stay focused on the real meaning of Christmas.  

After church, we ate and played cards while the boys opened their gifts and played with their new toys.  The hit of the night was an old fashioned metal slinky.  Sam and Ben spent a lot of time trying to get it to go down the basement steps.  They took breaks every once in a while to track Santa on the tv and to play with some of their other toys. 

 Every year, we take a family picture and with a 3 and 5 year old, I was very pleased with this picture!  Both boys actually looked at the camera and gave a cute smile. 

We stayed pretty late, but we raced home to get in bed before Santa came.  Ben and Sam noticed every red light blinking in the sky and asked if it was Rudolph's nose.  Oh, what I would give to be a child again! 

Lights, Santa, and Trees

The Christmas lights went up at the first of December and we visited them at least 3xs a week.  Our favorite lights were in Murray, although Paducah and Benton were good as well.  The two pictures below were the boys favorites at the Murray Park.  They would both laugh for 2-3 minutes when passing the snowman warming his rear end!  Then of course, the Seasons Eatings was also a hit.  I enjoyed going through over and over because each time we went was like the first time they had ever seen the lights.  I love hearing them tell what each light is and which one is their favorites!

 Every year, a dear friend of ours makes a personalized Christmas ornament for both of the boys.  The boys love it, but I think it is almost more special for me because I can look back and see what they were into and what their favorite toy was from year to year.   The ornament below is a Rescue Bot that is now on Sam's tree.

 Three days before Christmas, Santa sent an email to let Sam and Ben know they had made the nice list.  The picture describes more than words I can type!

 One night as we drove through the court square, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus were at his toy workshop, so we stopped for a short visit.  Ben would not get anywhere near Santa, but from 5 feet away told him what to bring him!

New Furniture

 When Matt and I started thinking about building a house, we never thought we would find someone with such amazing skill.  Unlike most people who build houses, Matt and I enjoyed the building process and always trusted Jordan Riley to do what was best for us and best for our dream home.  

After Sam started preschool, we realized we were missing a piece of furniture in the house.  Everyday, his backpack, lunchbox, and several jackets would build up on my kitchen table.  This of couse bugged me because I wanted our table clean and ready for meals.  I also seem to need everything in my house to have a "place" and these random things never had anywhere to go.  

I started looking at Pinterest and saw several pieces I thought I would like.  But then I started wondering and worrying that what I picked wouldn't look right in our house.  I fixed that problem by calling Jordan and showing him a picture of what I liked on Pinterest.

He had a few questions for me.  Do you want it to look just like this picture or can I do what I think would look best?  I of course told him he had never let me down and I completely trusted his judegment.  

When he brought the piece into my house, I about fell over.  It was nothing like the picture I showed him.  It was 100 x's better and was absolutely beautiful.  He personalized it for our family and made it better than I had ever dreamed.  

The boys now have a place for their jackets, backpacks, and shoes.  I love it because now my kitchen table is clean and ready to use whenever we want!

Power Rangers and Santa

He kept saying, "Watch out, I am tough!"

One of Ben's favorite things to do around the house is dress up like a Power Ranger.  Here he decided he wanted to be a Power Ranger Santa.  He ran around the house saying "ho, ho, ho" while karate chopping everything in his path!

I love these two boys so much! 

New Years Eve

We were big party animals this year!  We stayed at home and the Mohons came over.  We ate appetizers, played cards, and visited.  The boys had fun playing together.  We all stayed up to see the new year, even the little ones!  It was nice because they slept in the next morning!