Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Illinois! We are enjoying every minute visiting with family and friends. And are so very thankful to be spending time together this holiday as a family unit again. We have been keeping busy spending time with everyone we can!

Today we spend a wonderful Christmas Eve with my immediate family which ends up being somewhat of a circus with 7 boys and 1 girl ranging in ages from 22 months - 17 years old! Plus all us rowdy adults. We had a fabulous time laughing and enjoying each others company.

Last night Benjamin was already upset about the idea of leaving his grandparents and cousins here... but we will just make a short jaunt to central Illinios to visit with Don's side of family with whom most he hasn't seen in about two years. We are so looking forward to enjoying Christmas with them.

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas day.

Weekend Away

This past weekend I went to Breckenridge, Colorado, to visit with some of my best girl friends from high school. We planned this girls' trip before Don was even back from Iraq and I have been looking forward to it for a long time!

We went skiing, snowshoeing, had a Hawaiian themed party, and got massages. Overall, it was a great trip even though we eventually nicknamed the trip "Breckenridge Bootcamp" due to the fact that Lea Ann, who lives there had some pretty intense activities planned for us. I loved seeing my long-time friends and catching up with them. On several occasions I laughed until I cried. We made some memories that will last a lifetime and we enjoyed chatting about anything and everything (without any kids interruptions!).

All was good at home until Sunday afternoon. Don called and they all had the stomach flu. Don was miserable and he and Benjamin stayed up much of that night with their heads in buckets. Part of me didn't want to return! But the other part of me couldn't wait to get home and help, nurture and love my family!

I returned late Monday and everyone was in bed for the night. Things were better by then and we all took it easy Tuesday and caught up on some household chores. The best part was when the boys woke up Tuesday morning and realized I was home. They were ecstatic. I loved it! I wished I could pack some of that excitement away and keep it for a rainy day. But I just enjoyed the moment and love being back home with my boys-- who I'm happy to report are all feeling better.

Our Anniversary Trip

On November 20, we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. We took a family trip to Williamsburg to the Great Wolf Lodge there. It is hotel with an indoor waterpark that we've visited a few times now (and actually have spent 3 anniversaries there!). I think Benjamin enjoyed the fact that he got to sleep in bunk beds there almost as much as he enjoyed the water slides! And Samuel had his first experience sleeping in a big bed and did great.

Our trip was off to a bit of a rough start when Benjamin got sick in the car en route to Williamsburg then he cracked his lip open on the bunk bed later five minutes after we checked in. We weren't sure what would come our way next but the trip continued without any further hiccups and we all had a fabulous time.

Samuel even went solo down some of the larger water slides.

In addition to the water park feature of the hotel, it has so many great family friendly activities. They have a story time every night where guests can come together in their pajamas and enjoy an interactive show with characters in their lobby, then a hotel employee reads a couple of books. One night during our stay they also had a magician and the boys enjoyed that as well. They also have an arcade that compares to Chucky Cheese (minus the pizza) which we all had fun in.

Benjamin also enjoyed walking throughout the hotel and activating things with a magic wand... it is called "Magic Quest" and kids are all over the hotel making things light up, talk, etc. This was something new to him and he and Daddy really enjoyed it. A great activity for them to do while Mommy and Samuel enjoyed naptime!

Overall, we all had a great time and Benjamin actually began to cry a bit on the way home saying he didn't want to leave Great Wolf Lodge.

Our Helpful Boys

A couple of weeks ago we were getting ready to go out of town. Don casually said "We need to wipe down the stove top."

Then we went on with our chores and busyness of getting ready to go. I went downstairs for a minute to grab something and I could hear Samuel in the kitchen dragging the kitchen chair across the wood floor (a sound that is oh so familiar to me these days).

When I came upstairs there was Samuel at the stove top with dish rag in hand wiping down the stove top just as Daddy had said we needed to do. Somehow he put it all together and decided he was going to help! It was so cute. Then, when Benjamin saw me taking pictures of Samuel and praising him for being a good helper, he too jumped in and started wiping off the stove top too. Who knew this chore could be so much fun! (Although, I think you can tell by the photos, one brother was taking this job a lot more seriously than the other).

I hope they continue to enjoy helping out as they grow up but somehow I know this is probably too good to last and that I better appreciate their eagerness to help now while they're young!

Decking Our Halls

We have been working on putting up our Christmas decorations for the past couple of days. Don turned the outside of our house in to a truly bright and festive display. The boys delight in it and Don takes pride in it... fun for all. Don used to be somewhat of a Christmas scrooge but has really gotten into the spirit the past 5 years or so. And he has been more excited about putting up the decorations than I this year.

Last night, Don rearranged the furniture so he could squeeze a Christmas tree into our home. And today we decorated it. We put up a lot of ornaments during Samuel's morning nap but saved some for him to put on the tree as well. At one point, I stood him up on a child's chair so he could hang an ornament a little higher and that's when I snapped this video and a few photos too. He was fascinated with all the ornaments especially the ball shaped ones (he's a bit obsessive over balls or anything circular for that matter). So, I had told him to not touch and he threw a little fit which I happened to catch on video complete with Benjamin saying he will "punch him"... not sure exactly what that was about except that he and Daddy have been playing boxing on our new Wii game system. hmm.

Benjamin has totally been enjoying all the Christmas spirit. He's been so thrilled with the lights, ornaments... everything actually. It's so great sharing Christmastime with children. While we were decorating the tree today he asked if he could hang the star. So, he was so excited when Daddy and he got to do just that. If you look at these photos and notice a conglomeration of ornaments in certain spots... that's a four year old's handy work but boy did I enjoy those extra helping hands!

Samuel's First Haircut!

Today we finally took Samuel, at 22 months, for his first haircut. When you look at the front of him you may think he didn't need one but now that summer is over and the humidity is gone so are his curls (for the most part). So, his hair was starting to look a bit like a helmet head in the back. It's amazing what a difference it makes and he looks like such a big boy now. No more "Baby Samuel!"

Overall, he did really well getting his haircut. He sat in Daddy's lap after he refused to sit in the booster seat but once that was settled the tears dried up and he was perfectly content while the lady cut away at what was left of his little locks.

The final photo was taken at home of our lil man with his new look. Isn't he so handsome!

Our Thanksgiving

Today was a beautiful day outside so after we ate our Thanksgiving meal we all headed outside... including the dogs. We took a nice walk then the boys helped Don gather leaves (again) and we all had fun playing together outside. Even the dogs had a blast jumping around in the leaves!

We only have one tree in our yard but it's amazing how many leaves from the common area end up in our yard! This is the second time we've gathered leaves this year and we filled three lawn bags again this time around. That's a lot for our lil townhouse size yard!

Samuel had such a ball picking up the leaves and being Daddy's lil helper. And Benjamin loved running through all the piles of leaves.

Then we all came inside and enjoyed some pumpkin pie which Benjamin had been asking about all day. He was not disappointed and enjoyed every last crumb of his pie!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Here is a photo of our lil Indian with all his wonderful Thanksgiving creations he made at preschool. On Tuesday his class had a big Thanksgiving Feast with one of the other classes.

We are enjoying our relaxing day at home today... looking at sale fliers, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, etc.

Benjamin and I enjoyed making pumpkin pies together yesterday and he is eager to enjoy them. Don is in charge of the turkey and I'm working on the rest of the fixins.

What a year it has been! We are so very thankful for all the blessings in our lives on Thanksgiving and always.

I see London, I see France...

This morning I told Benjamin to get some underwear out of his drawer and Samuel came out of Benjamin's room with his brother's underwear on his head. Our house erupted with laughter and when Benjamin saw how silly it was he joined in and put his underwear on his head too. They were quite the clowns. I managed to snap a few photos of this craziness.

Lately, Benjamin has been repeating some things that Samuel does then he says "Samuel taught me this!" It's usually silly things that one year olds tend to do and it usually ends up putting us all in a fit of laughter.

The other day in the bathtub Samuel started putting these little cups to his mouth and holding them with his mouth. Benjamin joined in and the two of them were quite entertaining. Unfortunately, by the time I got the camera only Benjamin was still playing with the cups in this fashion.

Some Fall Photos and Q&As

These are some photos I took of the boys playing outside last Monday. I think you can tell by the photos that they were having fun just wrestling around being the silly the boys they are.

In addition to posting these photos, I thought I'd answer some questions that have seemed to come up pretty frequently recently:

How are the boys taking to Don being home?

Absolutely great! Benjamin was excited to have him home from the moment he saw him while Samuel was a bit more reserved. But now Samuel adores his Daddy as much as his big brother does.

Is Don going to be home for awhile now?

Yes! Hopefully, he will not go back but time will tell. They are supposed to be given at least a year stability that they will not have to move after they get home.

Where is Don working now?

He is working about 45 minutes from home in Falls Church, Virginia with the Army Medical Corps Health Facility Planning Agency. He had been there a few years back and was actually working for them while deployed. Although, he has been working from home a few days a week to complete some coursework he needs to get done and seems to be making great progress on it. (That commute is awesome!)

When will you move and where?

Right now it is looking like we will be heading to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas in the Spring/Summer time frame. Of course, nothing is for sure in the Army until the orders are cut. (Anyone looking for a roomie three bedroom townhouse in Ashburn, Virginia?)

Does Don seem different? How is Don sleeping?

He is doing just fine! Great actually. He is more helpful than ever (or maybe it just seems like that after going solo for 16+ months). And besides his nightly dose of snoring, he is sleeping just fine.

Overall, I think we're getting back to normal everyday life and just appreciating so many little things. And we're all loving being together again.

Any other questions? Post em in the comments and I'll try to answer them.

Samuel's Lastest Photos

I finally took Samuel for his 18 month photos today. Yes, I realize he is almost 21 months old but he has had such a bout of face injuries lately that it's been difficult finding the opportunity to get him there when he didn't have a scab somewhere prominently displayed on his cute lil face.

It looks like it was worth the wait though. His adorable lil personality shines through in these photos. They turned out great (spoken like a proud Mama, of course). I trimmed his curls up a lil last night and he put on some of his best happy grins for the photographer today. It was hard to choose my favorites but I'll post some of them.

Out of the Mouth of Benjamin...

Benjamin made a comment the other day that makes me giggle every time I think of it so I thought that I needed to share it...

"My bottom just burped."

I think you all can figure out exactly what he was referring to. I have repeated this comment (in slightly different formats... as in, "Whose bottom just burped?") several times since Benjamin came up with it. I think it's rather genius actually. It is destined to be a classic phrase around our house.