It's The Most Wonderful Time

Did I mention that I LOVE Christmas?!?! This year we were a little slow getting our tree up -- last year it was November 2nd! :) But at least it is up now and we are enjoying it. My love for Christmas appears to have rubbed off on Kevin as he was even more ready that I was to get started! We put on our FBC Rogers Christmas CD, turned up the music and got busy. Here are some highlights...

Kevin hanging up some ornaments

Studying an ornament before hanging it up

He got out the tape measure to help!

Not sure what he actually decided from all the measuring, but the tree turned out great, so I guess it helped!

A "normal" picture for mom

Now this is more like it - the real Kevin!

One last shot with both boys... just wish Sam had some pants on! :)

Kevin and I enjoyed our time together and it was bittersweet for me as he brought up the subject of "uncle Kevin" - he gets grandpa Kevin and uncle Troy confused as he never met either of them and knows that they both live in heaven with Jesus. Surprisingly, he did remember on his own which ornaments on our tree belonged to grandpa Kevin and also talked about him being a sheriff. As difficult as it is for me to recognize that he will never know the man that meant SO much to me in this life, I am thankful for Kevin's desire to talk about him and ask questions about him. I pray that someday he truly understands the deep meaning behind his name.

In addition to all this, I am one of those people that love Christmas ornaments & the stories behind them. You will not ever find two ornaments the same on our tree! :) Many of them are homemade or passed down to us & I love to look at them and remember where they came from or when a little proud boy handed them to me! :) It is like walking down memory lane as I go through them all and decided which ones to hang on the tree... and yes, we have too many for the tree! :) A few of this year's favorites are...

• My crotchet angel at the top of the tree that was passed to me by my mom
• The Herbie Husker ornament that was my dad's
• Baby Jesus in the manger - made with construction paper, "hay" and Popsicle sticks - a Kevin original from Christmas 2008
• A cross-stitched Santa that was given to Brian when he was younger
• A "parents-to-be" ornament from my mother in law given to us Christmas 2004 right before we had Kevin
• Many, many ornaments that I have given Brian & the kids over the years -- I must admit, the boys will have a wide variety of ornaments when they have their own trees someday! :)

Halloween - Star Wars Style

Since I am playing a bit of catch-up here, I thought I would post a few Halloween pictures - very necessary before I move on to Christmas! :) We went with a Star Wars theme this year, with Kevin as Obi Wan and Sam as Yoda. They both were adorable (if I do say so myself) and we had a GREAT time.

We dressed up and headed off to Rogers for some family fun. First we stopped at Legacy House to get our pictures taken with our cousins. Kinda crazy stuff when you try to get 5 boys to all look at the camera, let alone smile! :) Pictures are coming -- Aunt Bo will be getting them this week. Then we stopped by Ms. Bonnie's house. Ms. Bonnie is a lady in our church that we love. She loves my boys too and gets such a kick out of seeing them! Finally, we made it to the Trunk or Treat that our church was sponsoring. It was a great night and we even made it home for the second half of the Arkansas game which made daddy very happy! :)

Brush your teeth, you must

The Jedi are ready to head out

Trick or Treating at Ms. Bonnie's



Yoda riding in style at the Trunk or Treat

Change

Change is hard for all of us. Sometimes I think it is harder for me than my kids... they are pretty resilient and I am fairly set in my ways! :)

Today we said goodbye to the daycare that we have called home for the past 4 1/2 years. It was time and God made it abundantly clear that we were making the right choice. But as with many goodbyes, it was harder than I had anticipated - well for me anyway.

Kevin has a knowledge that we are moving to a new school and has been there to visit twice. It appears like he may adjust well and he is genuinely excited about all the new things... but in his 4 1/2 year old mind, he doesn't comprehend that the change is permanent and that he will not be going back to Ms. Linda's class. at his old school. He honestly thinks that he will get to go to both. We are hopeful that his new teacher, Ms. Michelle, will be exactly what he needed. Brian really likes what he has seen so far, which is good as I think sometimes he is the more difficult one to please! :) Also, the new curriculum is a step up from where he was at. They are already working on sight words which is AWESOME since Kevin has a huge desire to read! :) On top of all this, he will get the opportunity to participate in a karate class weekly, which has him on Cloud 9! :)

Sam didn't feel well today when I picked him up - he was running a fever & I woke him from his nap, so needless to say he was in a mood! He seemed to sense that something was going on even though it is all really beyond his comprehension. Moving him was hard for me as he had an amazing teacher - Ms. 'Teresa or Ms. Reesa as he called her. She has done amazing things with him and most recently started teaching him all his colors. His new teachers (Ms. Jessie & Ms. Shelby) seem really sweet, although he wanted nothing to do with them today when we visited. It will be interesting to see how Monday goes for all of us! :) One of the best things about his class is their class pet Elmo the guinea pig! Sam was reluctant to show any interest at first - in anything in the class including Elmo. But by the time we were ready to go, he was wanting up to see him. He called Elmo a "kitty" but we are now on track that he is a "pig" -- "guinea" is just too hard for him! :)

Please say an extra prayer for us in the days ahead! I know that God is guiding us and growing us, but transitions are hard and we need all the help we can get!

I wish...

How on earth is it that I have completely lost 4 months since I have been on this blog? I wish I had more time to record the fun & crazy goings on in our lives...

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get caught up in everything else and forget all about updating it! I have been inspired by my friend (and amazing hairstylist!) Brittney and decided it was time to get back after it.... so here goes...

The most eventful time lately has been trying to get our family pictures taken a few weeks ago. It is always some sort of huge ordeal to get us all coordinated, ready & out the door - let alone to get everyone to smile and look at the camera. It is truly an exhausting ordeal! :)

Last year, we used suckers... this year it was Obi Wan and smarties. Kevin insisted that his Obi Wan figurine had to be in the picture too... so the first 20+ pictures included Obi Wan out in the open. Brian eventually convinced him to put it in his pocket (thank goodness!). Sam on the other hand just wanted to run after the first 10 shots, so I tried desperately to keep him happy with Smarties. You can tell in some of the pictures as he has his hand to his mouth! :) All in all, it was a much more positive experience than last year & I look forward to when it becomes easier! :)

Here are some of the better ones...