A Belated Merry Christmas

( And yes, Dallas was wishing she was anywhere but Braden's lap!)

Christmas Morning

Still not loading in order! (I'm sure your tired of reading this statement. Sorry.)

Here is Braden sorting thru his presents looking for a name. -- I got smart a few years ago and quit visibly labeling most gifts. --

Braden, complete with old man pj's and boxers hanging out, pulling presents out from under the tree.

The couch when I came downstairs on Christmas morning.

Opening Gifts

These are in reverse order. (I think I'm starting to figure out Blogger's issues. Though I haven't been posting enough pictures lately to be sure.) ...............So you may want to go to the end of the post, if order is important to you :)

Here is Braden with the opened big gift from Grandpa Dave. An electric guitar kit! Yes, we now have a guitar, an amp, soft case, picks, tuner, DVD. Now we just need some lessons. He did learn how to tune his guitar yesterday. He was a bit overwhelmed by the actually "playing" but still likes to pretend to be a rock star!

Here is the big present that, until late Christmas Eve, had been labeled "To: Jon, From: Dave" Braden was so absorbed on Christmas morning that he didn't even notice the gift tag had been changed. Even when he brought the present over to Jon! (Most people would not call Braden observant!)

Braden, with his new scooter in the background, opening his new Florida hoodie and t-shirt. And a book on WWII.

My mom got Braden a PSP for Christmas. He was just a little excited.

A gift for the family. This game is really nice and I purchased it off Amazon for a GREAT price!

My batteries promptly died after I took the guitar picture. So this is all there is! Sorry! More details later. Time for breakfast!

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas with your loved ones. Our thoughts were with those we were missing this week!

-2

that's the current temperature!

I'm headed to bed but just wanted to let everyone know that we are back in our own beds tonight. Our power was restored at approximately 4:00 this evening. After losing power at 6:42 a.m. on Friday, this was SO EXCITING for us!!!!

Thanks so much Brooke and Mitch for opening your home to us on Saturday night and Sunday. You guys are wonderful!

Baby It's COLD Outside

20 degrees according to the weather on my computer. (Wind making it feel like 12 degrees!)
And as far as we know, because we are still nice and warm in the hotel, we do not have power at home. -- Someone just called Jon and said our house looked like it was still dark. But most of the houses in our area are starting to get power back. Hope we do soon! The AEP guys are staying in our hotel and it sounds like they are hoping to have all power restored today and plan checking out this evening. I hope so!!!

Greetings from the Holiday Inn

Just thought I'd say hello and let anyone who may be concerned know that we are safe and warm. An ice storm came through in the wee hours of the morning. At approximately 6:40 this morning our power went out............ and is still out!
By 10-11:00 this morning, Braden and I were starting to get pretty cold. (Jon made it into work) There were 4-6,000 people without power. We spent our afternoon at Layce's house. She and her husband were at work, but we hung out with her kiddos and mother-in-law.
Power is supposed to be returned to everyone by midnight Saturday. But we needed some warmth and showers before then.
So we're enjoying the evening at a hotel. I have the laptop. The boys brought the PS2. We have Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. And Jon is going to go get Dallas and smuggle her in at bedtime!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Monday Randomness

I have no pictures to post, but thought I'd say hello! I've had lots of random thoughts that I've thought about blogging, but now that I'm in front of the computer, my thoughts have left me. (Happens all the time!)

It's almost Christmas which seems crazy to me! Maybe because we didn't do much shopping this year. As Braden gets older, the things he wants are costing more. So he isn't getting a ton this year, and what he is getting, I bought online. (The last boxes should be arriving this week. 1 is arriving today - that's from my dad.) Also, we decided to gift money to my fave charity this year instead of buying for family or for each other.
And I haven't bought stocking stuffers yet! Maybe after that it'll really feel like Christmas.

Braden had his last preseason regular season game on Saturday. They lost. I'm just happy that after the tourney this Saturday we'll have a few weeks off. I'm not a fan of getting up early on Saturdays to head to the Y.
He is fun to watch though -- sometimes! Every game, when they are in the huddle, Braden yawns. And not a little yawn. He has a HUGE yawn like he's ready to go home and go back to bed. And last Saturday, there was a time when he was guarding someone and temporarily had this crazed look in his eyes. (Little scary!)

I baked 30 large and 25 small Christmas tree cookies yesterday. Braden has to bring cookies to their party on Friday. I stuck them all in the freezer so that all I have to do on Thursday is frost them. (I don't plan ahead as much these days, so I'm pretty excited about this!) The small cookies I'll take to my girls at church on Wed night. And some of the large cookies are for Jon's boys on Wed night too.

BTW, Christmas parties were one of my random bloggings. Braden's class wasn't going to have a class party! One of his classmates is a Jehovah's Witness. Instead of a "party" his teacher told me they would just have to have a movie day or something. I know it's a public school, but still..........it's Christmas and I was pretty upset. This is his last year in elementary school. It might be his last class Christmas party.
But a letter came home last week that there would be a Christmas party. Maybe the boy's parents, knowing that the day before Christmas break is a party/fun day, decided to keep him home. Whatever the reason, I'm glad the kids will get to party. And I'm glad we get to bake and decorate cookies for the occasion :)

Also, our dryer is up and running again! (It was just a blown breaker.) And our dining room light works again! (It was just a broken light switch.) MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

It's Snowing!

It's snowing outside and super cold today. I am so greatful for a roof over my head and a nice warm heater.
Feeling a little guilty that Braden has to walk home from school though, but it's only a few blocks. And he's bundle up today. And he's a big boy :)

On a related note, I thought I'd share what an amazing and honest "young man" he's growing into. A week or so ago, we were at the store and he picked out what we thought was a bottle of Fruit 2 O. Turns out it was a caffeinated version. But I didn't notice and Braden didn't notice until after I had paid for it. (Braden isn't allowed to have caffeine and he knows that is an issue that is not up for discussion. Jon and I rarely drink cokes and neither of us drink coffee.) Anyway, I told him Daddy could have it and never thought about it again.
Last week, I was gone one night and Jon was fixing Braden dinner. He pulled out the drink I had forgotten about and set it at the table.
And Braden told him that he was not allowed to drink it because it had caffeine! We were both so proud of him. He could have easily kept his mouth shut and no one would have been the wiser. But he stepped up and did the right thing!

Way to go Bray!

Answers to "Name that Carole"

Here are you answers, should anyone be desperate to find out how they did, followed by a few random thoughts. Enjoy :)

1. White Christmas
2. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
3. O Holy Night
4. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
5. O Come All Ye Faithful!
6. Away in a Manger
7. Deck the Halls
8. Little Drummer Boy
9. We Three Kings
10. Silent Night
11. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
12. Go Tell It on the Mountain
13. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
14. What Child Is This?
15. Joy to the World
16. Hark the Herald Angels Sing

So how did you do? The twins and I got 10-11 of them which we thought was pretty good. But then we saw how good some of the other groups did. (Jon did as well as me, so that made me feel better!)
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I still have no dryer. My husband doesn't think its something he needs to rush to investigate because he never does the laundry. The good news is that the snow melted. It's easier to haul around laundry when the driveway isn't covered in snow/ice.
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And on a related note (regarding being patient), I read this on Tuesday and thought I'd pass it on. Both comments were made by Rev. Billy Graham.

"No matter where we are, God is as close as a prayer."

"We don't often consider that sometimes Jesus is our strength simply to sit still." (this comes from Ps. 46:10)

I am far from a patient person. Especially regarding the last of a shipment for Braden for Christmas. According to the tracking, it was shipped on Dec. 1st. It shipped 3 day select via UPS and was supposed to be here by Dec. 9th at the latest. TODAY IS DEC. 11th!!! What the heck? I have gotten 3 other packages delivered by UPS since then. Two of them shipped after the missing one.
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And finally, Braden dropped his cereal bowl on the way to the kitchen sink this morning. He still had milk left in the bowl and it went EVERYWHERE! I didn't get upset. We used a towel to mop it up. And then I clean the floor after taking him to school.
Not my idea of a great start to the day. But I was very proud of myself for not reacting negatively.
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Enjoy your Thursday!

Christmas Party

Last night was the high school Christmas party at church. We had a progressive dinner. Appetizers at the church while kids were arriving. Salads at the Willimans' house. Dinner at the Chutes'. And dessert at the Giffins.
At each stop, the kids also got to play a little game. At the salad stop, the game was "Name that Christmas Carole." I thought it would be a fun post. You have to use each clue to guess the name of the song described. Good luck! (And no looking up the words in a dictionary!)

1. Bleached Yule
2. Castaneous-colored Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration
3. Righteous Darkness
4. Arrival at 24:00hrs - Weather: Cloudless
5. Loyal Followers Advance!
6. Far Off in a Feeder
7. Array the Corridor
8. Bantam Male Percussionist
9. Us Monarchical Triad
10. Nocturnal Noiselessness
11. Red Man en Route to Borough
12. Proceed to Enlighten the Pinnacle
13. Quadruped with the Vermilion Proboscis
14. Query Regarding Identity of Descendant
15. Delight for this Planet
16. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings

Check back later for the answers!

Flashback

Saturday, after Braden's basketball game, I spent the next several hours washing clothes then hauling them next door to dry them, fold them, and bring them back for another load. Four in all! --- Did I mention it snowed 2 inches during this fun time?
While I was doing laundry, Jon had dug out his old baseball, football, and basketball cards to show Braden. (Braden had been asking to see them) Here are a few pics of the fun time Braden was having looking at cards.

And yes, I know Jon needs a haircut. He just hasn't moved it to the top of his to-do list.

Fingers Crossed

.......that nothing else goes wrong.

The dining room light won't turn on. And no, it's not the light bulb. So until Jon has time to investigate, I moved the floor lamp from the front room in to illuminate our meals.

Then I went to fluff the clothes in the dryer only to discover that the dryer won't turn on. And the load that had been drying was still damp. Jon's going to investigate this on Saturday. Hopefully there is just a simple clog in the vent or something. I can dry the clothes at my grandparents. But I really don't want to have to pay a repairman. And honestly, I don't want to be hauling wet clothes around in the FREEZING COLD.

(Last year around this time we were calling the plumber about a huge clump of roots clogging the pipe and preventing us from using the toilet.)

And then I find that Dallas decided to try out the tree skirt as a hiding place for her bone. She opted for the bean bag instead, but not before completely yanking the tree skirt out from under the tree. I think she did this on purpose, knowing I put the skirt on the first to save myself the trouble of crawling underneath all of the branches!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

** Can't wait to see how much bigger Braden is beside you in a few weeks!**

It's Thursday....

and Braden is officially done dancing. (Yes, when I get an idea in my head, I run with it. Quickly!) Logically, the decision had to be made ASAP. He would have had class tonight. And being the first of the month, I would have been paying tuition. And a costume deposit.

So after the holidays, we will begin planning for either guitar or piano lessons. (And yes, that is already being planned in my head!) My biggest flaw is my inability to take the time to take my decisions to God. Do I get any bonus points for at least being self-aware? But how cool would it be if he ended up in the praise band in later years? ......... I know! I'm getting a little ahead of myself. It's what I do!

Also, I just found out that I do not have to bring desserts for the h.s. Christmas party on Saturday. Super excited not to be spending my Friday night and Saturday in the kitchen! They decided to just purchase the food instead.

And super excited about my new tooth brush! The Colgate 360 is my absolute fave, but it needs to be the medium bristles. Last time I bought a pack, they only had the soft :( But I finished those off and am so happy to be back to the mediums again!

Yes, it's the little things in life that bring me the most joy!

Jon's always said I was a cheap date! I'd go to Bueno over a fancy restaurant any day of the week.

Before I Say Good Night.........

CONGRATULATIONS to one of my four favorite sis-in-laws, Amanda!

Not only is she about to graduate with her master's,

but she's been offered a job in Boston!

Way to go!

We love you and are so excited for this new chapter in your life!

Can't wait to see how God is going to use you!

Second on my mind: we are thinking about pulling Braden out of dance. I ran the numbers in my head this afternoon and was blown away. (I've been in denial until now!)

6 more months of dance this school year = $180

Recital costume avg. = $55

Recital tickets for Jon and I for one of two performances = $20

Recital finale t-shirt (required) = $18

Pictures (I always order the memory mate) = $10

For a grand total of approximately $285

(When you add in the 3 mo. tuition already paid, we've exceeded $300!!!!)

For a child that isn't in other things, this maybe fine. But given my child plays football, basketball, baseball, sometimes soccer, has church 2 nights a week, AND wants to take either piano or guitar lessons.............. Dance seems like a waste of money right now. And given that we are officially in a recession, doesn't $18 for a finale t-shirt seems silly? And that's for the boys shirt. The shirt the girls have to wear costs $34.

I'd love to hear other opinions on this. It just kind of seems stupid to spend so much money on something that really isn't his passion.

He really does like to dance, but was also motivated by the trophy you get for dancing for 5 yrs.

And any thoughts on guitar vs. piano?

And finally, my high school girls and I had a great discussion tonight on creation v. evolution that branched off into a ton of other areas! It made me really appreciate being able to spend this time with them as we teach each other and hopefully grow in our walks :)

Have a great night!

Monday Night

Again out of order!

Braden and Jon assembled their annual gingerbread house on Monday. Here are a few pictures of the decorating process.

You'll notice that Braden's house looks nothing like the house on the box. Is it even possible to create a house that looks like that? Jon says it is........ if Braden isn't the one in charge. While I find this hard to believe (especially given my lack of patience!) I am tempted to buy 3 kits and have a friendly little competition next Christmas! (I buy the kits right after Christmas when they get marked down and then put them away until the next year!)

Anyone interested in joining our friendly contest please let me know :) If you live out of state, we can always compete via the Internet.

And my project on Monday night: Braden's right canine! You'll remember he told me it would fall out on Thanksgiving. Well, it didn't and I got tired of his whining that it hurt to bite/chew because it would push the tooth back into his gums. Blah! Blah! Blah!

Monday night I finally asked if he just wanted me to yank it out. He said yes and sat down on the couch. I gave it a few tugs/wiggles to get an idea of where it was still attached. The root was completely gone. It was hanging on by both sides, but the front, back, and middle were ready. So, one more strong tug and out it came!

He put it in his tooth fairy pillow (For those of you with small children who have yet to loose teeth, I would encourage you to buy a pillow. It makes finding the tooth so much easier. It fits easily under Braden's other pillows and has a nice pocket for the tooth, and later for the $1 to fit into.) and went to bed. Around 10:30 that night, as I was just relaxing and beginning to drift off to sleep, I REMEMBERED THE TOOTH!

Now usually, I never have cash. But I happened to have two $5's and a $10 bill in my wallet that night. But the tooth fairy only carries $1's!!!! (Usually Jon would be sent to the ATM and then to the store to buy a pack of gum or something.) Jon's asleep. What to do? Wait! Braden has four $1's in his wallet!

I run downstairs and grab $5. Run back upstairs and into Braden's room. Trade him his $1's for the $5. Dig under his pillow for the tooth pillow. Swap the tooth for the cash. Stick it back under his pillow. Go back into my room where I put the tooth in a Ziplock, labeled with the date, and hide it in my jewelry box with the other teeth he's lost. Put the extra dollars on the dresser. And finally climb into bed where I have to unwind all over again!

The funniest part of this story was the next morning when Braden woke up. He remembered his tooth right away. Found his pillow. Told me he got a dollar. Then, knowing his mom never has any money and now believing that there is no Santa Claus, says, "probably from my wallet!"

And that was it. He didn't check his wallet. He didn't even put the $1 in his wallet. I put it in his wallet today after looking at it sitting on the entertainment center for the last 2 days.

Strange little boy! Though not so little anymore! ...... btw, what do you do with all the baby teeth? It seems wrong to just throw them in the trash.