christmas weekend - three

Grandma and Grandpa stopped by to drop off a Christmas surprise for the boys. Something special straight from Grandpa's workshop. (which won't be opened until Christmas)

We got to listen to grandma and grandpa talk about what Christmas was like when they were young. (for the record. my dad is the greatest story teller and can capture any child's attention with his stories)

We played and wore jammies most of the weekend.

We went to our neighbors across the street (who happen to have four adorable girls that are our boys' age). We also invited our sweet neighbors who are empty nesters. We played the guessing game (Christmas style), had tons of treats, played a card game, and laughed.

Our neighbor is in the army and has collected some pretty neat things over the years, he showed the boys his sword. They were mesmerized. 

We gave simple neighbor gifts with a saying that was not cheezy...at all.

And most importantly, we celebrated our eight year old Taylor.

And the excitement of Christmas was thick in the air.

a half birthday and a real birthday

With Taylor's birthday being so close to Christmas, I have tried really hard to make his day special. But almost every year there still seems to be too many other activities going on. We asked him earlier this year if he wanted to also celebrate on his half birthday and receive his main gift from mom and dad then. Any birthday party with friends could be on that day too. We didn't have a friend party, but we still had a good time celebrating. Here are scenes from that day in June.

 No laughing please, I tried.

Six months later Taylor's actual birthday was still pretty special. 

Highlights included: mom and Rudger bringing a Happy Meal to school for lunch, (two-days later was the actual day) breakfast in bed, candybar poster from brothers, his baby book...finally, a small gift from dad, corn dogs for lunch, lasgna for dinner, icecream cake for dessert with a homemade lego topper

Still can't believe that this Christmas baby of ours is eight.

8 reasons

Love those clear blue eyes.

Love your willingness to share so much of what you have with your brothers.

Love the way you read with so much expression.

Love the creative things you build with legos.

Love how well you do each week on your spelling tests.

Love how much you love looking at pictures of when you were a baby.

Love your tender heart.

Love your innocence. 

let it snow

The snow and cold will be here for a while, so we had better try to find the beauty in it and just enjoy.

helping out

Rudger is quite the observant little one. The boys each have a part of the dishwasher that they are suppose to empty everyday. Whoever gets to it first gets to choose which part they empty. Bottom shelf is the favorite, followed by the top one, and the least favorite is silverware. So more often than not, it gets left sitting there until I finally nag enough. Rudger notices it not getting done I guess and has taken the responsibility on himself. 

I love looking over and seeing him on his tippy toes, reaching as high as he can. And when I open the drawer it makes me happy (for the most part) to see a bunch of forks, spoons, and knives scattered every which way. Keep it up buddy...please.

How am I going to split up emptying the dishwasher with four boys...

Also...yes I am in the middle of painting the island (finally) but it's not going to get finished until next year...I only committed to doing three sides before Christmas.

caroling, caroling

I feel like I am growing up. I stepped out of my comfort zone and finally did something I have wanted to do for such a long time. It was cold with snow and fog all around, there were tons of kids, they were awesome and crazy, they were loud and full of excitement, and it was perfect. 

We went caroling.

I feel so much joy hearing Christmas songs, I love the cds my dad has given our family, but I think my favorite way to hear the carols is through children's voices. 

Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, Frosty, Rudolph, Away in a Manger, and Silent Night were being sung really loud and beautifully throughout our neighborhood.

It was pretty close to a perfect December night.

Afterwards, we had to warm up with hot chocolate, treats, playing, and laughing. 

christmas weekend - two

Our elf Jolly started the weekend just right...because to me Thursday is a good day to start the weekend. 

We had the yummiest appetizer with Justin's sister and her family. Mini roasted sweet peppers and jalapenos with cream cheese and a touch of smoked salt. Addicting. Plus we made the most adorable little ice-cream snowmen.

Ward Christmas breakfast. I love our ward and the awesome youth (both boys and girls) who are so willing to play with Rudger.

I married a very good man, one reason, he and the boys came with me to watch my adorable niece in her first ballet concert. It was so festive.

Christmas shopping.

The boys finally broke down and purchased the latest trend in grade school. 

Napping while the boys watched The Croods. I rarely take naps, so this felt amazing.

Beautiful Sabbath day. I taught a lesson that was more for me than the girls. But how I hope they did get something from it. So grateful for the spiritual gifts we are all given. 

Falling asleep to A Christmas carol. Which my voice is so grateful our church did this. Way more fun to listen to. 

 ^^ this scene is all too familiar ^^

 ^^ I know, we have a large amount of photos with the boys not wearing shirts ^^

Even though our weekends really aren't the most perfect, I sure love the. I'm trying to savor them. 

Which is not helping my procrastination on getting Christmas gifts made...