Happy Valentines Day!

In my true form, I am over a month late posting these pics from our Valentine's Day. And someone please tell me why I don't have a photo of my sweetheart and me? Instead, I will grace you with these pictures of our beautiful boys- and their sheer delight at their "Seek & Find" books and their Playmobil knights (aka "Big Guys"). I don't have a good photo of the beautiful roses that Jason brought home to me, but there they are on the dining room table. They were gorgeous and lasted a long time- which makes me very happy. Since we are a one-vehicle family, my sweetie sometimes takes the bus to and from work. On Valentines, he rode the bus from work to the store to buy me flowers, and then walked home- all so he could surprise me. Thanks, hon- it meant alot to me that you went the extra mile (literally) to make me feel special. I love you!
Love the heart sticker on Jonah's face! He was thrilled with his Pooh book.
Noah's favorite part was the "big guys"- he has claimed ownership of his brother's, too. They are so fun to treat!

I wish I had a better picture of our Valentines placemats- I got them at Target and they were so cute! They had an alligator on them with a heart in his mouth and said love underneath. They were perfect for a mom with boys!

30 is the new 20? No thanks!

Since I recently turned 30, I've heard several times, "Don't worry, 30 is the new 20." What? Why would I want to go through my 20s again? Don't get me wrong- I had some wonderful times in my twenties- I met the love of my life, got married, and had my two sweet babies. However, my twenties also had their fair share of insecurities and worries since I tend to be a "people-pleaser."

There are several "wounds" that I carried around from earlier in life and let dictate my responses. One simple example is the manicurist that told me I had "man hands" when I went to get my nails done- of course, he reassured me that I'd leave his shop with "woman hands." Silly, I know. But since that time, I've been a little self-conscious about my hands- not anymore! In this decade, my thirties, I'm letting go of the baggage and the petty worries. So, yes, I've painted my nails four times this past week- including a bright red, and a horrible hot pink. It's an experiment. An experiment with freedom- to unabashedly draw attention to my hands- the perfectly proportioned hands that God gave me.

My mom told me that I'm going to love my thirties. I'm planning on it!

Hurry! Before January Ends- Post About Christmas Day

Christmas morning we woke up and headed downstairs to see what Santa had left for the boys. Noah was immediately excited about the toys and stockings- and Jonah was immediately excited about eating the cookie crumbs Santa left behind! He cleaned the entire plate before he ever paid any attention to the gifts! It was so fun to see the kiddos open their gifts- so much energy and enthusiasm! Both boys really enjoy Toy Story and wanted a Woody- they loved them!Noah got his first remote-controlled car. He ran around the house chasing it for a good part of the day. Jonah loved his Winnie the Pooh movie from Mima & Papa. He wanted to watch it right away. "It's Pooh, Nom- it's a mooobie- I wanna watch it now. Pease, Nommie."
Noah got LEGOS from Mima and Papa- he was thrilled! He loves building with them- or rather, having us build with them! Brent & Amanda indulged our addiction to Settlers of Catan by getting us the Seafarers of Catan and expansion set! Love it! Trucks from Uncle Wiley & Aunt Amy... they race these huge trucks down our stairway!

Lego sets from Granny & Pa!
Cars racing set from Mima & Papa- Jonah thinks its great!

Christmas Classics movie collection from Uncle Brent & Aunt Amanda- we watched all the movies over and over again. They're classics- you have to! Memory game from Mima & Papa. I think we've played this game every day since Christmas. The boys love it- and are getting pretty good at it!
Ohhhh! A pirate ship! This is from Grandma and Grandpa- the boys carry it around the house- up the stairs and down the stairs every day. They are crazy about the pirates and the "bad guys" included- and love shooting the cannon balls directly at Mom's face!
We took a few pictures of me and Jason with gifts- just as proof that we were there- it seems like we're rarely in my scrapbooks since we've had kids!

Toy Story 2 from Grandma & Grandpa- the boys stand on the fireplace and sing "You've Got A Friend in Me" regularly. Red, the fire engine from Grandma and Grandpa- another toy that shoots something- always aimed at Mom!After all the gifts, the boys just played and played. Then we enjoyed a late lunch- ham, dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole. It was delicious, if I do say so myself! God is so good! What a fun day together as a family. Of course we missed being with our extended family, but it was good, quality time together. The boys were so tired they fell asleep around 6:30. Jason and I stayed up watching the video we made of the day! Merry Christmas!

Remembering One Month Ago...Christmas Eve!

This was the first Christmas that we did not travel. It was also the first Christmas season that we didn't spend with extended family, so we instituted some of our own traditions- many of them are traditions that we had already established but had to do earlier in the month during Christmases past.

After attending our church's Candlelight Christmas Eve service, we made Christmas cookies for Santa. Of course, the boys loved it- and loved eating them, too. Jason read the Christmas story and several other Chrismas books to the boys (The Night Before Christmas, Away in a Manger) while they enjoyed cups of eggnog. Jason's mom gave the boys Mary Englebreit's illustrated version of The Night Before Christmas last year and they love it. It's an annual tradition to read it Christmas Eve- and eggnog has always been a tradition with Jason's dad.The year that Jason and I were engaged, we decided not to exchange Christmas gifts (due to tight budgets), but to exchange Christmas ornaments for our tree. We decided that was a tradition we would continue through life- so that we always have a special treasure from each other each year. We've included the boys in on this tradition and on Christmas Eve, they opened their ornaments from us.This year, we gave Noah a Buzz Lightyear ornament. He loved it! It really didn't stay on the tree- he and Jonah played with all the time! We gave Jonah a Thomas the Train ornament this year. He slept with it the first night!
Jason didn't get me an ornament this year, but he got me a tree topper! We have never had one- in the past we used ribbons from our wedding, but those were looking pretty rough this year. I love this snowflake! It was beautiful on top of our tree!See, our "big" tree is decorated in silver, white, and crystal. So, our ornaments to one another always stay within that theme. The kids have their own tree to put the more fun ornaments on! This year, I got Jason this ornament from Starbucks. Silly, I know, but I started drinking coffee this year for the first time, so I thought it was appropriate to commemorate the year this way- and the ornament is white, so it fits the tree's theme!Growing up, there were several Christmases that we got new pajamas as kids. I love that! So last year, we began the tradition with our boys. On Christmas Eve, they open new jammies to wear that night. My boys in matching jammies- I know it won't last forever, but I love this! Aren't they the cutest?
I'll post Christmas day pics soon- just didn't want to overwhelm everyone at once! Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Despite the looks of it, our boys were very excited about Santa- and we had a wonderful Christmas! I'll post more pics soon. Hope you all enjoyed time with your family and celebrated Jesus' birthday in a memorable way!

Two Larry Boys

When my mom came for a visit in October, she brought N & J the Veggie Tales Larry Boy and the Bad Apple DVD. They love it. They watched it almost daily for several weeks- a couple of times a day the first week! They also have run around the house saying Larry Boy's key statement, "I AM THAT HERO!" They've argued in the car over which of them is Larry Boy. So, we've assured them that there can be two Larry Boys. Now Jonah walks around telling me, "Two Warree Boys." It's too funny. Since Noah started Cubbies (part of our church's Awanas program) in September, he's had a Bible verse to memorize each week and recite to his table leader. Several weeks ago the verse was from Psalm 139:14- "I am wonderfully made." We worked on learning this verse for a couple of days. Of course, he wouldn't say it correctly- it hasn't been uncommon for him to refuse to repeat the verses for me. I tried to prompt him, "I am..." And he happily yelled, "DAT HERO!" I just laughed. Then, every time that I tried to tell him his verse he'd say, "No, Mom, my berse is I AM DAT HERO!"

Evidently they accepted his form of the verse- or he said it correctly for them- because he came home with his page signed and a new patch for his vest!

Locked out- AGAIN! *Updated*

Remember this? Well, my boys are at it again. I'm locked out of my bedroom! I guess Noah locked the door when he got up this morning- before he came downstairs to join me and Jonah. When I went upstairs to get dressed, so that I could play in our freshly fallen snow with my boys, my door wouldn't budge- UGH! Of course, the hubby is gone- these things tend to happen when he's away. So, I've called in the troops- I have a friend's hubby coming to try to rescue me from a life living in pajamas for the next five days. I'll let you know if we're able to get in...

*UPDATE!* I owe JD a big "thank you"- he was able to unlock the door pretty easily (why is it that frantic moms can't seem to get locked doors open?)- and I didn't have to pay him the $40 a locksmith would have charged. So, I am watching my boys like a hawk to make sure that all rooms are accessible for the remainder of the time that daddy is away. Although frantic tears were shed, a complete meltdown was averted! Thanks again, JD, for your help!