Things to do in 2009

For Myself:
1. Spend time in the Bible everyday
2. Lose this last 25 lbs (I've lost 75 so far; 25 shouldn't be too difficult right?)
3. Learn to knit
4. Organize my house (I actually have a real plan for this one!!)
5. Start a garden

For My Family:
1. Teach Wyatt and possibly Seth to read
2. Potty train Reece
3. Find Seth's passion (Wyatt's is art, but I haven't found Seth's yet)
4. Go on a date once a month with my husband

I'm sure I'll be adding more, but this is what I've been thinking about. I'm going to post here on the 1st of every month to update everyone on how I'm doing with all my goals.

My Little Skater Dude

The ONLY thing Wyatt wanted for Christmas was a skateboard and he got his wish. He's actually better at it than I thought he would be. He had figured out how to pop the front of it up and spin it around in about 5 minutes. I got him the size 5 yrs+ helmet, but I probably should have gotten him the next size up (8+). We had to take all the extra padding out of the helmet and it's not going to fit for much longer. That boy has one huge noggin!!

Jesus' Birthday

Every year we make a birthday cake for Jesus at the end of the day on Christmas. I like that we do it at the end of the day because it just helps to refocus all of us. It's nothing fancy; the boys decorate it and we sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. This year I got candles that sparked and the boys thought that was pretty cool.

Christmas at My Parents' House

After opening presents and having breakfast at our house we headed to my parents' house for more presents and lunch. We ate lunch and then opened gifts. When the boys finished opening their gifts from Gram, Papa and Aunt Tamara they realized that there was a string tied to a drawer and that it went through the living room, under a door and into a bedroom. I didn't get a picture of their faces when the door was opened, but it was priceless. Wyatt said, "We've never opened a present like this before!!"

My dad's newest horse, Priscilla

Bella

Christmas Morning

Wyatt was the first down the stairs to see what Santa had left for him

They were all very excited about their new train set (this was a group gift that was an expansion to a set that they got last year from Uncle Joel, which they LOVE)

Seth was super excited about the Lightening McQueen stickers Santa left in his stocking

Oooo, more Transformers!!

Reece loved this book

Reece enjoyed riding Wyatt's skateboard

Merry Christmas!!

I hope your family had a wonderful Christmas. Our family had a wonderful day and I'll be posting more pictures later.

Zilker Trail of Lights

Last night we braved 30 degree weather for our annual trip to the Zilker Trail of Lights. The boys loved it. We went with my parents, my sister, our friends the Lamberts and the Hastings.

Tamara, Dad and Mom

Wyatt, Seth, Reece and Ty bundled up in the wagons. Robin bundled baby Ben up in the carrier.

Our family

New List Of Ministries We Believe In

I've been wanting to put this up for a while, but just keep putting it off. I have finally gotten around to it. On the right you'll find a list of ministries that my family believes in (meaning we support their values and believe in what they're doing). I'm sure I'll add to the list as time goes on, but I just wanted to get the list up and out there for people to see.

Our First Gingerbread House

We made our very first Gingerbread house from a kit. Reece bit the top of the head off snow man so we had to give him some "hair" to cover up the bite mark. It turned out pretty cute. We still have a kit for a Santa Sleigh and a Train that we need to make. Hopefully we'll get to it before Christmas or we may keep it until next year.

Facebook

I've discovered it and I'm in trouble....yes I know I'm way behind the times.

Making Ornaments

My friend, Kristal, mentioned that the week after Thanksgiving her boys make ornaments for their tree. I've decided that's a fantastic idea and so now we have a new tradition. We headed out to our local craft store and I let the boys pick out what ever ornament they wanted. Seth and Reece both chose wooden trains and Wyatt chose a wooden Gingerbreadman. Wyatt's isn't really an ornament, rather a stand alone little figurine, but it's what he wanted. They all loved painting them and I put their names on each one and dated them so that as we continue to make them through the years I'll know who they belong to.

New Blog Header

Just a simple reminder from the boys to let your focus be on Christ this season.

Rainy Day Fun

We had such a dry summer and were waiting FOREVER for it to rain so that we could do this little project. It was so easy, but the boys really loved it. All you do is put a few drops of food coloring on a paper plate and let them take it in the rain and see the shapes that the drops of rain will make on the plate. Just FYI, the food coloring will splatter on to their clothes, so you may want to make sure they're wearing something that you don't mind getting stained. However, I washed their shirts and it came right out.

Oobleck--Anti-Newtonian Matter

Oobleck is a fictional form of green precipitation invented by children's author Dr. Seuss in the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. In Bartholomew and the Oobleck, a king bored with ordinary rain, sunshine, fog, and snow causes green precipitation called Oobleck to fall from the sky. The Oobleck proves so sticky that it gums up the whole kingdom until the day is saved by Bartholomew Cubbins, the title character from Dr. Seuss' 1938 book The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.
Have ya'll ever made this stuff? I never had, but my husband had and he told me about how great it was. I didn't believe him, but decided to try it anyway. Oh my goodness!! It was soooo fun and the boys loved it. It is the wierdest, slimiest, messiest goop in the world, but it was worth it.

To make it you mix corn starch and water until you get just the right consistency (you'll know when you get there--it just starts getting smooth). We added food coloring to Wyatt and Seth's, but left Reece's white.
It's so strange, because if you press on it hard and fast enough it turns completely solid, but the second you let go it totally goes back to a liquid state. There are actually You Tube videos of people walking on this stuff.

I highly suggest making some and making a huge mess and just enjoying the time with your kids.

By the way, when it's time to clean it up off your table, chairs etc...don't try to wipe it off with a wet cloth because it will just harden and you can't get it. Get a dry paper towel and use that to soak up all the liquid that's in it. Then you can just dust the corn starch into a bowl and throw that away.

Scribble It GIVEAWAY!!!!

Check out this awesome giveaway!
Scribble It GIVEAWAY!!!!

I love the one that says "BOY noun: a noise with dirt on it" and "There's no Buddy like a brother"

Unplug Your Kids-Weather

The theme for this weeks Unplugged project was weather. It was a busy week with Thanksgiving, but we did get around to doing one "unplugged project" that had to do weather. I pulled out one of my favorite books from when I was a kid to read to them, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. I've read it to the boys before, but it was a long time ago and I don't think they remembered it. They thought it was great and kept pointing out little details in the pictures. Wyatt liked the boats built from huge pieces of stale bread and Seth like the pancake on the little boy's face.

Have You Seen This Giveaway?

Check out the giveaway over at Kiddio! They're giving away an awesome kids rocking chair for two with a built in bookshelf from Mason and Matisse. Seriously, head over and sign up. It's awesome.

Caught in the Act

Reece managed to pull his brother's chair from the dining room through the kitchen over to the counter where the cream cheese pumpkin bread that his Aunt Tamara had made was wrapped up. He unwrapped it and helped himself. He was shoveling handfuls in his mouth when I caught him.

The remaining bread
Full of bread, proud, and happy

Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We certainly did. We spent the evening with Jerad's mom, aunt and grandmother. It was the first time that we hosted Thanksgiving at our house. It was a little crowded, but I was glad that we got to have them over.
I discovered the BEST cranberry sauce recipe the day before Thanksgiving on the Food TV site. It's an Emeril Recipe so of course it's good. Seriously, I don't like Cranberry Sauce, but I think this stuff was AMAZING. I'll be eating it over ice cream very soon.

Cranberry Sauce
2 cups Cranberries
Juice and chopped zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup Port
1/2 cup sugar, or more if needed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
In a small saucepan combine cranberries, orange juice and zest, port, sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmering and cook until cranberries are tender, stirring occasionally. In a small cup make a slurry with cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Whisk cornstarch mixture into cranberry sauce and cook, whisking, until sauce thickens. Taste and add more sugar, if necessary.

Just FYI, I didn't have any Port and I didn't want to buy any. Several comments on the recipe said that they used 1/2 cup Orange Juice instead, so I that's what I did. It was fantastic!!

I made this Cinnamon Garland the day before Thanksgiving and it really made our Dining Room smell great. I got the idea from Skip to My Lou. You just mix together one bottle (4.25 oz) of cinnamon and about a cup of apple sauce. Then you roll it out between two sheets of plastic wrap. I used cookie cutters to cut the shapes and then baked it at 170 degrees (the lowest my oven will go) for an hour on each side. I hung the "Give Thanks" garland on the window by our dining table and the leaves and circles from our light about above our table.