Thursday, December 30, 2010

A Joy-filled Year

Tomorrow is the last day of 2010...wow...it's so surreal to think that this time last year I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my baby boy...and now he is almost one!
This time every year I love to recount all the joys that I experienced during the year...and since I'm blogging now I can write them all down!

Giving birth to my precious baby boy
The experience was so joyful!  We actually got to deliver him in the same room that we delivered Lilly!  Tim read scripture out loud, and peaceful praise songs filled the air.  It was so calm and peaceful.  He came into the world with no complications and even made me think...I could do this again!
Welcoming my first two nephews into the world
My sister gave birth to twin boys on May 13.  Thankfully there were no complications and the boys were healthy.  I never knew I could love two little boys that much that were not my own.  I am so happy to be an Aunt...and I have a fun aunt name...Aunt B!
Doing Preschool at home
With the turn of the economy we had to cut several fun activities from our budget.  One of those being preschool.  I was so nervous to do this, but God blessed me with the ability and curriculum to do preschool at home!  We started in the summer doing school-time while Graham would nap.  Lilly took to it very well.  Even though we have backed off of it considerably (do to the fact that Graham doesn't nap as much) Lilly has learned just as much from me as she would have at school.  Plus, it was precious time with her that I will never get back.  We are going to keep it up and then in August 2011 she will go back to preschool.
Turning Four
Lilly turned four this year.  We had a birthday bash for her at our home...and it rained like crazy!  Thankfully we were still able to do all the slip-n-slides in the rain.  She said afterwards, "I didn't mind the rain at all...it made it more fun!"  I love my positive little lady.
Welcoming my first niece into the world
God blessed us again in September with little Gracelynn Rose.  She was born to Tim's brother Stephen and his wife Melissa.  She was so tiny, but has grown considerably in her first little 4 months of life.  I love that little girl so much.
A White Christmas
One of the biggest blessings of all was getting to celebrate Christmas.  It was Graham's first Christmas and God blessed us with snow!  The first time in 128 years!  It wasn't much, but it was still beautiful.  And even more proof that God loves us and cares about the little things.  (I can't tell you how many times I have prayed for a White Christmas!)

These are just a few of the great milestones from this year.  I am so thankful to have this blog as an outlet to record all of Gods blessings.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

I am now a conspiracy theorist

Maybe it's because we didn't leave our home for 94 hours (yes I kept track).  Or maybe they were just bored, but I swear my children have been conspiring against me for the past few days.
Here's how it all went down:

We have been cooped up all week because some magical force transported my entire state to the frozen tundra.  After two days...cabin fever set in.
As I was vacuuming my room Graham was happily playing with the cord...sounds a bit dangerous I know...but I was watching him closely.  Plus..HELLO!!!...I was actually getting to vacuum!!!
Suddenly I realized I wasn't tripping over him anymore.  I dropped the vacuum (still running) and darted into the bathroom...only to see him grinning at me with both hands splashing in the potty. 
I quickly scooped him up and proceeded to wash his hands thoroughly...all the while gagging.  (Let me make note here that the toilet was clean...it's just still gross to me)
When out of the corner of my eye what do I see?  Why it's my innocent darling girl jumping on my bed with a dirty broom. 
"Ewwwwwww!  Get that thing off my bed Lilly!"  I screamed. 
As I was shooing her off the bed, and the dirt and dust bunnies the broom left behind, I set Graham down. 
When out of the corner of my other eye I notice him sucking on the snot jerker!  (Booger snatcher, aspirator, turkey baster...call it what you may...it's disgusting!)
"GROSS!!!!!  Get that thing out of your mouth Graham!"  I hollered.
All the while the vacuum cleaner is still running.

Thank goodness I don't have more than two eyes.  I can only handle catching them doing gross and disgusting things so much.  

Monday, December 13, 2010

Oh the innocence...

Lilly is such a smart little four year old.
This was worth more than just a little Lillyism quote...
Our nightly routine includes reading one or two books to the kids...well usually just Lilly because Graham is not interested.  We always read the title and the author to her, but tonight Tim also read who the book was dedicated to.  This is how the conversation went:
Tim:  "For Nancy Boyd"
Lilly:  "Who is that?"
Tim:  "Oh, just someone the author dedicated the book to."
Lilly:  "Who's the author?"
Tim:  "Marilyn Janovitz"
Lilly:  "Who?"
Tim:  "That's the name of the lady who wrote the book."
Lilly:  "Oh...and she wrote it for Nancy Boyd?"
Tim:  "That's right."
Lilly:  "Well did she accidentally send it to me on accident?"

This just made me smile and giggle.  I love her innocence.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Have Yourself a Multicultural Christmas

Today was an exciting day. 
Lilly was counting down the hours until she got to go see Santa. 
She couldn't wait to put on her pretty Christmas dress and new lace tights.  And she couldn't wait to introduce her little brother to Santa.
Needless to say I was excited too!  I couldn't wait to put both kids on Santa's lap!
As we were strolling through the mall we approached the Santa castle where a different kind of Santa sat waiting for us. 
We didn't know what to do. 
We were taken off guard.
So we kept walking.  All the while Lilly was shouting "WAIT...WE PASSED SANTA!  WAIT!!!  WAIT!!!" 
Then she said, "Wait a minute...that wasn't Santa." 
Then I was really stumped. 
Do I turn this into a learning time? 
But this was just supposed to be a fun Christmas outing!
Should we leave?  Go find a different Santa that looks like the one Lilly has in her mind? 
We decided to stay and sit on Santa's lap.
We told Lilly that he was one of Santa's Elves and would report to Santa.
That made her even more excited! 
But wait!  She couldn't tell him she knew he wasn't the real Santa! 
We had to tell her to "act" like he was the real Santa so she wouldn't hurt his feelings.  Lilly was more than willing to play along...and that got us out of an uncomfortable social situation.
So we turned back around and went back to Santa-land.
As we stood in line all eyes were on us. 
It was almost like people were wondering if we were trying to teach our kids some sort of multicultural lesson. 
In the end it turned out just fine.
We got a picture we will remember forever...Lilly sitting on a Santa-elf lap with her screaming little brother beside her.