Hunting For Christmas Lights!

It has been cold and rainy here for DAYS! It has been hard to get the kids out, with runny noses and coughs, the rain is not very appealing! But, I have 5 little people who go a bit stir crazy if they spend too much time in the house! Tonight, we thought it would be a great idea to go out and find an adventure. We ate an early dinner, got baths out of the way and climbed in cuddly pajamas. Then we all piled into the car(including our dog, Harley). We went through the Starbucks drive-thru for some coffee(for me, not the kids!) and cookies(for all of us!). After that, we drove aimlessly to find Christmas lights. It is SO much fun to see the world through my children's eyes. The whole season is very magical for them, which makes it magical for me. Sam kept asking if I had been on the roads we were going on. He was worried because we turned the GPS off and he was afraid we'd get lost and not be able to find our way home. One of the roads we turned on turned into dirt about 20 yards or so off the main road and was REALLY muddy. It looked to be too big of an adventure to me, being stuck on some dirt road miles from our house with 5 kids in only feety pajamas! As that picture ran in my head, I made the decision to backtrack. The road was only one lane, so we had to back out. The kids were freaking out. Backing 20 yards on a one lane dirt road in the dark and rain with 5 kids screaming. FUN! We did hit the Christmas light jackpot just after that, so it was totally worth it!!! Every time we passed a Santa, Abby and Sarah would start repeating, "Santa, Ho Ho Ho!". It was so fun. We saw several manger scenes on our adventure as well. The girls would say, "AWE, baby Jesus is sleeping. Night night, baby Jesus!". After about an hour, we headed back in the direction of home. Sam finally chilled out once he started recognizing our surroundings. I'm not sure what his problem was, it is not like I get lost all the time. One time, almost a year ago, Marvin pretended he was lost on an alternate route home. I guess it must have made a big impact on him, poor kid thinks his parents are clueless without the GPS and are on the verge of being lost forever at any moment. We made it home without mishap, so maybe, just maybe he won't be so nervous next time! This Christmas has been a fun one as all of the kids are old enough now to get what it is all about on some level. It is SO fun to watch them experience the magic that is Christmas! I feel like a kid again, only it is SO much more fun from this side of the magic!!!!!

Christmas Pictures

I was SO excited to get pictures done this year because I was so excited about their Christmas outfits! I was on the ball this year and had the outfits before Halloween! That is a record! I hung them up and put them all in our closet, sure I was gonna have pictures done and cards out the week of Thanksgiving. Oh well. I finally got motivated last week and got them all dressed up for pictures with high hopes. First Sarah would not leave her barrette in, then she was mad because I told her where to sit(the nerve!). Needless to say, we got interesting pictures! My hopes were quickly dashed, but they are cute anyway! My photo editing software allows me to take different group shots and put the best of all of them together. I sat down to do just that so that I'd have 1 of 500 pictures of everyone looking at me and smiling, but I didn't have the heart to do it. I love what our life is right now and it definitely does not include 5 angelic faces smiling at me in full cooperation! I could not edit out the chaos, it is too big a prat of our family...even at Christmas! Hopefully these pictures will help us to remember this crazy, wonderful time in our life!

Getting ready to start, the boys are trying not to laugh that Sarah is throwing a fit at their feet just outside the shot

While Sarah was in time out, I tried to get one of the boys...optimum word here is TRY!

Sarah thought a picture might be better than time out after all!

Finally got them to smile and Harley needed to get in the spotlight!

Peek

BOO!

Sarah trying to beatbox, Abby trying to figure out how she is doing it.

After the glorified spitting was out of her system, I told them to put their hands down...

trouble, much?

I threatened them with time out if they did not put their hands down

(I know, but I was just tired!)

Group shot

 

Is someone missing?

 

 By this one, my hopes were crashing to the earth. I was having to admit defeat!

 

 NICE

 

 I decided to work with the ones that can be bribed!

Notice the chaos never ends!

 Even Sam has his limits!

 

 Abby discovered that she could see herself in the ornament!

 

 She is excitedly telling me, "It's MEEEEEEEEE!"

 

Marvin's Lolo(his Grandfather) died earlier this week. I spent 2 days getting information to him(he was at work and was supposed to be there until Christmas eve) and finding tickets to get him home once his emergency leave was approved. He grew up with his grandparents living with him for many years, so this was hard for him. I am so glad he was able to go back and be with his family during this time. I wish we were able to be there with him, but we just don't have the money for 7 plane tickets right now. Marvin's grandparent's were the first of Marvin's family I was able to meet. It is hard to think that he is gone, but I know he is much relieved to be restored to health. He has been very sick for a long time and as sad as it is to think he is not here anymore, we are assured that he is dancing it up in heaven right now!

Here is Marvin in a 4 generation picture just after Michael was born.

Santa

Marvin has got exactly 2 evenings home before Christmas and we are trying to get as many Christmas traditions as we can in that time and still make them fun. On the top of our lists was our annual visit to Santa Claus. Other than one year when Michael would not get even close to Santa, we have done it every year. It is fun to see the progression of our family. Adding babies and watching them grow. This year, is no different! Our picture captures each child exactly as they are! We did get a pretty good family picture after what many would call a disaster. However, the one we chose to get printed this year is like freezing reality in time!

When we were looking through the pictures to choose, we laughed out loud at how true it was. You see, Sarah was so excited to see Santa. She got right out of her stroller, took her coat off quickly so she could show Santa her pretty dress and stood there in line pointing out all the cool things around Santa. She even walked on her own to within feet of the man himself. We got the boys settled around Santa and she watched with great interest. The moment Marvin placed her on Santa's knee, she screamed bloody murder! Abby was okay for about 5 seconds, but when she saw Sarah screaming in obvious fear, she started crying in sympathy! Michael was laughing at our attempts to calm and coax smiles. Sam was covering his ears. Josh was completely clueless and stood just where we told him to stand. After 20 seconds or so, we picked the girls up so that we wouldn't cause lifetime trauma. Santa had the idea to put ourselves in the picture and try to get a happy family picture. I thought it turned out really well considering that I was not at all prepared to be on that side of the camera. At least their were no tears!

O Christmas Tree!

I'm trying to catch my breath here! Marvin has been working like crazy and is not scheduled to have a day off until Christmas. I've been told that Christmas is not a guarantee, but I'm praying that it happens. It would be so sad for him to miss it while his ship is in port! He did get a respite over Thanksgiving. He had the whole weekend off! It was pure bliss! After church and nap time on Sunday, we headed to the Christmas tree farm just down the road! How fun that was. We walked all over until we all agreed on the perfect tree.

 The kids thought EVERY tree was the best tree, so it was really that Marvin and I agreed on the perfect tree!

Marvin cut it down. He could not have done it if not for Michael and Sam who help to push the tree down and Josh and the girls who yelled "TIMBER!".

Marvin, carried that big old tree all the way back to the van by himself. He's my hero!

 

Marvin hoisted it up and tied it down(thankfully, it wasn't far to get home!)

Last year, Marvin gave each of the kids a twine that he had tied to the roof rack and told them it was their job to hold the tree onto the roof. We hadn't talked about it since that day, but on the way, the boys asked if they were gonna hold it up on top again. We told them that it was their job. It was so funny as they were explaining to the girls how important it was to hold tight and not let go. We narrowly avoided disaster when Sarah threw a fit and let go of her twine. Thankfully, it was a quick one and apparently realized how important a job it was as her brothers yelled from the back!

Shoes

I just got a request from my Dad and I thought I'd make a need known. It is not for him, but for the people of the Afghan village near his base. The people there are the poorest of poor and have next to nothing as far as material things go. My dad has noticed that the folks that do have shoes only have sandals and that there are very few socks. It is getting cold there in the mountains and he has requested shoes and socks to pass out to those in the village. Now, he is not looking for brand new shoes or socks(although those would be appreciated as well). These people are not materialistic people, but they do have cold feet. If you have shoes lying around or are willing to spend a few dollars at Walmart or even Goodwill, please let me know and I'll get you my dad's address there in Bostick. The biggest need is mens sizes 7-10. Any size will be used without a doubt. The medical team there has taken care of a number of the villagers there and desire to bless these who live such hard and dangerous lives. I know I look all over for things to do in order to teach my children how to bless others, more so during this season. We will be taking this opportunity to do just that. Also, if you are looking for soldiers to bless this season, there are a whole lot of them on Bostick that would love to know that they are not forgotten during the holidays. I'd love to pass on that address if you feel led to do that. Thanks everyone for praying for my dad's safety in a very dangerous place during very dangerous times. 

It's a Bird, It's a plane. No, It's.......

Oh wait, that's wrong! If Sam was awake right now I would know for certain just how Spider-man is proceeded. I assume he has a special something to announce his entrance, all the good Super Heroes do. Am I right? I'll have to ask our resident hero expert in the morning. The day after Halloween, we went to Target and hit the costume jackpot on Clearance. The kids have had a blast with all the dress up stuff. We got doctors, GI Joe, The Incredibles, Cowgirl, Abby Cadabby.... You get the point. Sam, however, claimed the Spider-man costume as his own and literally has not taken it off except to take a bath and get clean underwear. He even sleeps in it! I do make him change in to actual clothes when we are leaving the house.

But I kid you not, it is on him not 30 seconds after we walk in the door! He is OBSESSED! I laugh out loud as I tuck in Spider-man every night! Spider-man eats at our table(minus the mask of course, as it was getting pretty messy!). I even get to teach Spider-man on a daily basis! We have gotten rather used to having a mini version of Spider-man in our house, and that thought makes me giggle a little bit! Oh how this special boy brings such joy to this Mama's heart! Who knew that I could ever love Spider-man so very much!

It does not end with Spider-man for our little man, however. He is way more cultured than that! He goes all out for the WHOLE Superhero Squad( a whole squad). The wonderful world of boys growing up has introduced me to a whole world that I had NO idea was out there!!!! Did you know that there is an Iron Man, Falcon,  Hulk, Thing, Screaming Mimi. Oh good grief, it just does not end. I love Sam SO much and as proof, I have spent HOURS making up stuff about superheroes. He asks me questions ALL day long. "What is ______'s power?"  "How does______ save someone that is falling off a huge building?"  "Can ______ fly or do they just jump really high?"  And he will not accept I don't know. So, I make things up. I'm in trouble when Abba is home and he asks the same questions. Apparently, my husband knows this world very well and has all the right answers. So, now he asks me the questions and I make up some thorough answer. And then he gives me his big smile and says he'll just ask Abba when he gets home. It started out as my trying to really give answers that might be true. Now that he has figured out that I am NOT the hero expert, I try to get goofy with it. I LOVE being a mom to my boys. The more they grow, the more they become SO different from anything I could have expected(in the greatest possible way!!!!) and I am loving this great new world! I better go tuck Spider-man back under his covers on my way to bed!

The YELLOW Bus!!!!

I have got to admit that I was so nervous and torn about sending Josh to Preschool. I took him in on his first day so that he would not feel totally and completely abandoned. I saw within an hour that I was not helping. So, I gave him a big hug and told him I'd be back very soon. I tried to get out of the door before I started crying. I slowly made my way to the office to drop off some paperwork, making sure that my eyes were dry before I walked in. After that was done, I peaked in to make sure that Josh was not too upset. He was not looking thrilled to be there, but he was not crying and his teachers were being very attentive. I knew he was in good hands and so I came home. I was at the school 10 minutes early to get him and watched him playing at the playground. He was taking his turn, but he was not looking overly excited about being there. The following day he was scheduled to ride the bus. That changed everything. Josh has loved anything on wheels for a long time and buses top the list! He was SO excited to ride the bus. The fact that it happens to be yellow, which has been his favorite color since he could say the word, just makes it that much better! He gets dressed and eats breakfast asking over and over if it is a bus day. He puts his coat, shoes, and backpack on and stands watch at the front window until the bus comes. He ABSOLUTELY loves riding the bus. He is making a lot of progress with school as well. Not so much AT school, but at home. He has picked up a LOT of language from the speech therapist, although from what I last heard, he has yet to speak a word to the therapist herself. He is obviously listening because the words she is teaching him are being used correctly here at times! He hasn't spoken to any of his classmates as of yet, but he has started playing alongside them and even with them in some instances! That is big progress! I am so glad that he is happy there and that he is making so much progress. Thank goodness for that school buses are yellow!!!!!

Waiting for the school bus to come with great anticipation!!!

Getting buckled in to his seat

The girls really miss their partner in crime.

They start looking for the bus to come home 30 minutes before it actually gets here!

They are both pointing up to the road, showing me where the bus will be coming!

Yucky germs!

I know I said I'd keep up last time I wrote...and then Michael got the flu. They say it was H1N1, but then said they no longer are testing for it, just fitting the symptoms to the diagnosis. Call me crazy, but that does not sound very scientific to me!!!! The bug we all got last year was worse than this one and H1N1 was not the answer then. I've never been overly trusting of the medical community, the media, or the government anyway, but to be told that they aren't even testing for it anymore makes me wonder how an epidemic can be justified when they are lumping everything with a cough, sore throat and fever as H1N1. Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox now, sorry, I got carried away there ;)! Whatever it was that Michael had, we were in the ER and the doctor's office twice last week. The ER because his fever was spiraling out of control and at 104.6, I no longer felt comfortable treating it at home as it was not responding to Motrin or Tylenol. I'm wishing I had just waited another hour, or just taken him for a walk because by the time we got to the ER it was no longer going up. They double dosed him and within an hour, it was down to 102.8. We waited for 5 hours before we were seen. The doctor looked him over, told us to come back if he got worse or if his fever went away and then came back. So, we got home around 1:30am feeling rather silly for having wasted so much time for nothing. We just took it easy and forced a bunch of fluid. He was feeling much better and was fever free by Sunday. We took a deep breath in hopes that no one else got it now that Michael was done. Overnight Michael woke with a new high fever and a really nasty cough. I called to make him an appointment first thing Monday morning. The Dr looked him over really well and had his chest x-rayed which was clear. However, with the fever going away and coming back they always fear a secondary infection. Because Michael has been prone to Sinus infections, he was put on antibiotics. After 3 doses, Michael was good to go! No more fever, he is finally eating again, and he was acting much more like normal. I am so thankful that it was not spread within our home! I contribute that to prayer, lots of vitamins, and our juicer(in that order!). Who no how long it will be before the next illness tries to invade our home, but we are enjoying every healthy minute we have!

Halloween 2009

We have been ready for Halloween for months since I found little Ladybug costumes on sale at the Gymboree Outlet during the summer. They have been hanging up in my closet since then and Sarah has thrown many fits because I wouldn't let her wear it to Walmart or church. The boys were not so easy. Up to this year, I have picked their cute costumes and they all followed a theme. It was apparent that this year I was no longer in control and cute was not gonna happen! However, the boys received Army uniforms from Grandpop for Christmas this last year. They were very excited to get to dress up just like their favorite hero! At the last minute, I could not find Michael's shirt. He is the kid that loses EVERYTHING. We have a shoe hunt every time we leave the house. That is okay though, because Grandpop had also sent the squadron's tee shirt and he was more than happy to wear that instead. Unfortunately, Marvin was on duty(at work all night) and so I had 5 kids alone at the Harvest Festival. Not terrible, we've done a lot of things on our own. We got there pretty early so that we could beat the crowds. The kids were super cute and were so excited to play. Just inside the door to the game room was a clown making balloon shapes. Sarah looked at him and all fun was over for her. She has a MAJOR phobia of funny faces(if you recall the pumpkin face...). She started screaming like the clown might just stab her to death with the balloon sword he was making. She calmed down for a minute while I carried her away but the room was filled with people in face paint and masks. NOT fun, she was plastered to my shoulder. Abby was not scared but the reaction from Sarah made her pretty nervous too. Needless to say, we didn't stay long. They were really cute for the short time it lasted!

Sarah was SO excited about her costume that she ran through the house yelling, "Buzzzzzzzzzzzz, bee, Mama!"

confused but oh so cute!

Abby was much more ladybug like

getting ready to go into the church

 

 

The nursery director, Dawn( Sarah's favorite person ever!) took the girls for a few minutes so that I could play with the boys for a bit.

 

Sam's face painting

 

Josh was not sure exactly what they were doing...

 

...but he likes it!

 

Michael playing basketball

 

Josh man wanted a turn

 

I think he might just have a future here!

 

I thought a candy distraction might help...

a ladybug picnic

Josh riding a cool motorcycle.

Sarah went bazerk like it was gonna eat him. It was time to leave!

 

Sarah is MUCH happier at home...

 

Abby posing for me

 

Best buddies

 

Josh man!

 

Sweet Abbygirl