Please Pray

for this sweet family:

This may very well be the hardest weekend of Seth's whole deployment. I'm praying that that's not so. I'm praying that God will fill Bethany to overflowing with joy and peace. I pray that this weekend is more sweet than sad. I pray that this Christmas can be a day to count our blessings and focus on all the good in our lives. I pray specifically that they'll get to Skype with Seth on Christmas day.


Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Get me outta here

My boys are as wild as they come. Climbing, jumping, tackling, destroying boys. I pretty much try not to ever spend any extended time in the house with them. I mean, would you keep chimpanzee's in your house?? Since they've been tiny babies, they've been so much happier out of the house. I just laugh every time we're at Jon's parents house and his grandma says, "Dawson is just the sweetest boy! I never hear him cry!" Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde would be an appropriate description of his mood at home, vs. when we're out. The constant screaming (he's never been much of a crier, always a yeller and screamer) is enough to make me cuss in my head. And yesterday it was so bad it was enough to make me cuss out loud. This has been a really tough few months with him. I blame it partially on teething but I know its just his makeup. He's been more intense than Bennett from the womb.

Two nights ago Jon had to work from 5 - 9 so I knew we needed somewhere to go. I called up Nana and Poppy and asked if we could come hang out and go look at Christmas lights after dinner. It was a lovely, relaxing, fun evening.

Dinner at Panera:

Poppy reading Bennett his favorite book, The Blue Bottom Monkey (I'm certain its his favorite because it says the words bottom and poop in it):

Yesterday we should have just dumped them both off at Nana and Poppy's again. I worked until 1 and came home to two completely grumpy boys. Jon went off hunting (I don't blame him) and Dawson pretty much screamed all afternoon. I decided we would go play in the basement where Dawson would be more entertained. Bennett was wining because I told him no more computer games. I told him to go up to his room or come in the basement. He was up by himself for about 5 minutes and then joined us downstairs. Little did I know in those 5 minutes he got revenge on me for not letting him play computer games. I guess if he couldn't use it, he didn't want me using it either. I came up to find this:

Here you can see his weapon of choice:

Thankfully the Lord's mercies are new every morning. I was determined that today would be a good day and prayed for an extra dose of patience today! So far so good...but I'll keep praying ;)

decorations schmecorations

Can I say I've decorated for Christmas in my house if I pulled out the Little People Nativity Set for the boys?? I feel a bit like a scrooge or a grinch when it comes to Christmas decorations. I didn't used to be that way. All of our pre-kid years, we had a gorgeous tree...all coordinating silver and white ornaments that I'd picked out one by one during after Christmas sales. I loved it. But it usually hung around until close to Valentine's Day. Its such a pain to put all that stuff away. (Very similar to the way my suitcases sit on my bedroom floor two months after we've returned from vacation)

Then we had boys. The Christmas Bennett was 18 months old, I thought, there's no way I want him ruining my gorgeous ornaments. I don't want to spend the month of December (and January...and February...) trying to keep him away from it. So I put up other decorations, like my nativity set that I love.

Well, that year Joseph tragically lost a hand and a sheep lost an ear. Last year when Bennett was 2 1/2, I remember telling him he was never to touch the nativity set. I'd come downstairs and all the animals would be lined up in a row watching the wise men playing ring around the rosy with the Holy family. "Bennett, were you playing with the nativity set again?" "No!" Hmmm...he hadn't quite figured out how to cover his tracks. It did make me feel guilty when we went to a storytime at the library around Christmas and the librarian asked all the kids if they had a Christmas tree up yet. Ummm, nope. I was nursing a 3 month old 6 times a day. Not gonna happen.

This year we're keeping it simple (or scroogey??). I thought Bennett was a tornado as a toddler. Dawson is like every natural disaster rolled into one. I don't think there would be enough super glue and patience to save the nativity set after he was through with it. The problem is there's just no keeping him from something he has his mind set to. You haven't seen him climb. (And yes, I totally believe in disciplining my 1 year old. I'm pretty sure a spank on the hand just adds fuel to his fire.)

So another year with no tree and I really don't feel too bad about it. We spend so much time at our parents houses (who have tons of gorgeous decorations for me to try to keep my human wrecking ball away from) so Bennett's not completely deprived. Hopefully he doesn't experience ridicule at preschool for being the only kid without a tree.

Plus, you'll all be jealous of me in January (or February if you're like me...) when you have to put all that stuff away!

boring baby update ; )

Since I know you're all dying to know, thought I'd let you know that Dawson finally took his first steps yesterday! He took two steps to me while I was getting adjusted at our chiropractor. He was standing in one spot for so long just staring at me and Dr. Hassel. He looked hilarious. I said, "He's stuck there. he won't go anywhere". And then he shocked me by walking right towards me! Then he took about 3 steps when we were in the waiting room later. Exciting moment for a parent. Boring blog for my readers. :)

Photo Update

Just a few recent photos of my growing boys. Dawson's 14 1/2 mos. old now. Still not walking but he can climb up onto the dining room table among other things. He's one intense little boy. He's usually growling or yelling when we're at home. He can say several words now: uh-oh, more, ball, pappy (paci), bye-bye and says, "woof woof!" whenever he sees a dog.

He and Quinn reading books to each other:

Bennett's as wild as ever but still sweet and sensitive. We spend a few hours at the library every week (one of my favorite places to take him) and he's still loving preschool. He's really into making up words for everything right now and is really good at pestering playing with his brother. His current favorite game is to lock himself and brother in the front hall closet. Today when I opened the door, Bennett had climbed up to the top of the vaccuum (don't ask me).

I found Bennett and Piper laying at the bottom of the basement stairs the other day yelling out shapes they were seeing in the "clouds". It was so cute.

Nana, Bennett, Caleb and Kietlyn working on their turkey craft on Turkey Day:

The finished project with all the thankful feathers (Bennett's first item of thanks was for Piper :)

We had a great Thanksgiving. An amazing brunch that morning at my mom and dad's (breakfast meals are always my favorite since bacon is usually involved. There was plenty. I was in hog heaven--pun intended.) And then we all had dinner together at the Colyer's. The dynamic duo (my two moms) cooked a drool-worthy meal and we've been eating leftovers since. We also got to go to Kansas City on Friday and Saturday to hang out with some extended Colyer fam. It was fun (my highlight was eating all of their leftovers) and all the women got some shopping in sans kids (thanks to my hubby's sacrifice). Bennett got to swim at our hotel and sleep in a bed with Poppy! It was a nice little getaway.

Not sure if the video uploader is working, but here's a funny one of the boys dancing. Dawson loves dancing to music. Wish there was more of him on here:

Grateful

The Top 10 Reasons I Love my Husband:

1. He's my best friend. I never get sick of being around him. Is there anyone else I could live with for 8 years without wanting to pull my hair out every once in a while?? I think not. (Really...he never makes me want to pull my hair out :)


2. He's funny. We laugh together constantly. He practices silly faces in the mirror--I used to think it was a little goofy but those face contortions are quite a handy tool to use on a grumpy 3 year old. (Although, they work just as well on his mom. Okay, okay, they work on me too.)


3. He cleans! (Ladies...you may not want to read this one, or you may end up in a jealous rage.) He does all of our laundry, most of the dishes and picks up around the house way more than I do. We'd live in a dump if it weren't for him.


4. The family that came with him. I love my in-laws as much as my own parents. Its so wonderful living close by because they're a huge help with the kiddos. I can't imagine raising kids without Nana and Poppy! It's so awesome to feel completely comfortable over there even when Jon's not with me.


5. He's such a great daddy. I love seeing him and Bennett wrestle together and now Dawson's getting in on the action. Its just hilarious. On Bennett's little Thanksgiving artwork at preschool he had to fill in the blank: "I'm thankful for..." and he said, "my Daddy".


6. We're a great team. I'm pretty sure the wife is supposed to be the "helpmate" but I feel like he's my "helpmate". I love how we tag-team putting the boys to bed at night. And whenever Dawson's screaming when I change his diaper (yes, he's 14 months and still fights with all his might when I change him), Jon runs in to help me hold him down so the poop doesn't go flying.


7. His character. I don't know any other man with so many talents (and good looks ;) but still is so humble. He's a servant through and through. He'll do anything for anybody. I love when we pass a stalled car, and he jumps out to help the stranger and how my sister can rely on him for anything while her husband's deployed.


8. He pushes me to be a better person. He loves me for who I am, tons of faults and all. He thinks I'm the most beautiful girl in the world and he helps me to love myself more. I'm braver, bolder and more confident by his side. I would crumble to pieces without him.


9. He's so wise with money. He works so hard for our family to earn his potential but he's not money hungry. He's quick to save and quick to give. He's taught me to be more frugal and content with what we have and I feel so confident with our future in his hands.


10. He's so stinkin handy! That man can do anything he puts his mind to and he never ceases to amaze me. Not to mention, when he sets his mind to something, he gets it done so quickly. There's no stopping him. He's built so many things for our house (uh, hello, our entire basement, including a two level fort for the kids I dreamed up in my head!) and he's saved us thousands of dollars on car repairs by just researching and figuring out how to do it himself. He is the ultimate DIY-er and should probably have his own HGTV show.


11. He's hot! Woops....that's 11. I won't get carried away...although I certainly could.

I love you, baby. Thank you for loving me and giving me so much to be thankful for. I look forward to the rest of our lives together...especially when we're 50 and can move to Aruba :)

Needs work....

So Bennett's very first school photos didn't quite showcase his adorable-ness. I had to take a picture of his proofs to post because they were just hilarious. (I know, I know, this is probably illegal but I've never been much of a rule follower)

Take 1, not too bad:

Take 2, funnier:

Take 3, constipated??: