Random Thoughts

Sarah is proving to Tommy that big sisters are the very best.



We picked up this Power Wheels on the side of the road. No battery? No Problem. It runs on good ol' sister power!

I still can't believe that this child gave me problems about eating table food. Here he is, in all his post-yogurt glory, demanding another bowl full of the good stuff.

Joseph received his VERY FIRST "Good Listener Stamp" at school! It is a thumbs-up sign! Matt and I are thrilled and we had a small celebration for our big guy...He is trying so very hard.

Ummmmm, ok. This boy is so trouble.

I don't know where the time goes.

The Three Amigos: Lucky Day, Dusty Bottoms and Ned Nederlander.
Lucky Day: Wherever there is injustice, you will find us.
Ned Nederlander: Wherever there is suffering, we'll be there.
Dusty Bottoms: Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find...
Lucky Day, Ned Nederlander, Dusty Bottoms: The Three Amigos!

(*the snowfrog on the side is Sarah's and would prefer to have no association with the other "people" in this picture.*)

Lego Land

Joseph's Legos from Christmas brought Matt back to the good ol' days.

A couple of days after Christmas, he dug through the crawl space in the basement and pulled up this cardboard box.

Some of Matt's old models and sets from when he was a child.



Can't see Matt's face in this picture, but just look at Joseph. They have the same expression.
 Complete awe.

Sharing. Sharing. Sharing.

It looks like our kids spend a great deal of time on top of the table.
Actually, they do. Just looking at this picture made me yell, aloud, "Please get down!"

Amazing that these tiny little blocks can make these guys hold so still for so long.
Matt said he never imagined that someday he would be sharing these with his own children. He loves to watch them build cars, houses and cities. There is something really incredible watching our children enjoy something that we enjoyed, dream the way we dreamed, and invent things that we never would have thought of.

And All the Rest

Starting with the stockings

Joseph's first set of Legos. Really exciting for Matt and me. Joseph has incredible amounts of patience for things like this, sitting for hours at a time to accomplish a model.



Everyone had oranges in their stockings. Nathan walked around, got each one and threw them...at people, at the tree.
You name it.

Sarah gave Matt his first set of slippers since he was a child. She picked them out herself and was so eager to give them to Matt that I thought she might explode!

Nathan's favorite gift of all was this spatula.
Matt quickly Christened it the "Ginger-Whack".
He spent most of the morning torturing poor Matt.

Joseph's present from Santa was a tractor that he has been asking for since the summer.

Thomas floated around from gift to gift...mostly everyone else's.

Here he is, opening his gift from Santa: The ORANGE tractor that he asked for. Santa must have some serious connections. Orange tractors are hard to find.

Sarah was so excited that Santa came in the first place.

The dollhouse kitchen set was exactly what she had been hoping for. So much joy!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

The Christmas Season- Part Three

Christmas Morning, in pictures

The Christmas Season- Part Two

Christmas Eve, at home, was eventful. Sarah took the time to draw pictures for Santa. She laid out the cookies strategically and poured the milk carefully.

Then the boys came.
In their most sincere desire to drive Sarah nuts please their sister, the plate of cookies was over-turned.

Nathan, surveying the damage

"Uh-Oh, Mama!"

The boys, trying to soothe Sarah by picking up the remains of the cookies.

Reading The Night Before Christmas.
All Is Well.

The Christmas Season- Part One

As the last of my out-of-town siblings are traveling back home today, and as Matt returns to work this morning, I am able to take a breath and re-live the precious moments we had over Christmas Vacation.

Matt's brother, Mike, started off the gift-giving. He stopped by one day on his way to work. He gave the children a book about the true meaning of Christmas...and even stayed to read it to them!

 Nathan was excited about the book also, but probably would have tried to eat it. We kept him in his booster and he appreciated the gift from a distance.

We went to the Pernot's house for the Christmas Eve activities. This includes, but is not limited to, gingerbread house making, the Feast of the Seven Fish, gift-giving, a Christmas Concert/Sing Along, and watching Christmas Specials.

Our gift to Matt's parents

Teaching Sarah the intricacies of holding together a gingerbread house

Joseph, my little engineer

Nathan, enjoying his favorite gift:
Tissue paper.

Just a glimpse of the gifts given to the babies.

The Pernot's house is on a street that is documented in the newspaper most years as the place to take a drive during the holiday season. Crazy! The girl across the street sells popcorn and hot cocoa for motorists each weekend. There is so much traffic during Christmas, that we have to triple the time it takes to get to the Pernot's house for a party.