Christmas

We had such a good Christmas this year!

The boys got so many good, thoughtful presents and all of our celebrations were spaced out so we got to really enjoy ourselves--that's always nice!

Their favorite present varies each time you ask them, but they have all been completely engrossed in Henry's new Fireman game for the Wii. Josh really loves the school bus that the elves carved for him and Lucas got a really neat air craft carrier with tons of planes.

There are lots of things that I love. Gigi gave them a nice big table for their art room. They also got lots of super cute clothes and socks--I probably the most excited about the socks! I also got a set of hangers which I love more than I can say!

This Christmas we also seemed to really settle into our little family traditions.

When the boys were little we would do things a bit different each year just trying to figure out exactly how we wanted to do things. Now, I think, we have finally decided how to handle Santa presents--wrapped or unwrapped, what type of presents and how many. Also our elf has had several names, but I think it is going to now stay Elmer Sam--I wanted Elmer, they wanted Sam, so we compromised! It's a nice feeling to have all those big details settled!

I'm also really excited about next year. I've got some big ideas!

*My boys love getting food for Christmas! Luke got a jar of peanut butter from Amy and Dave and I also heard him saying that he hoped Santa would bring him another one. Sadly, Santa didn't.

Family Pictures

Every fall Jennifer takes our family pictures.

She always does so good at capturing the personalities of the boys in her pictures. This year she also took some of the very best pictures I have ever seen of Ben!

She amazes me!

And Now He Takes Videos

Amy and Dave bought Lucas a new camera for Christmas.

It also takes videos.

Yesterday, the boys were suppose to be cleaning their rooms. Lucas documented what they did instead.



I could not stop laughing when I watched that little gem! (I can call it that since the room is now picked up!)

There is also another video of Henry on the top bunk getting ready to throw a fist full of paper. As soon as he heard Ben outside his door he quickly shoved it behind him, like nothing was going on. I think that happens a lot!

I think this new camera is going to bring a lot of insight into what the boys do when they are alone!

Bad News from Henry

The other day while I was driving, Henry had an announcement for me.

H--"Momma, I have some bad news to tell you."

I braced myself.

H--"Pretty soon 2009 is going to be over and it will never, EVER be here again!"

Then today while Henry was playing with his cars he held up one of his planes and asked if it was the one that looked like the president's plane. I told him it did.

H--"Well, the plane crashed. Where do you think the cemetery should be?"

M--"Did someone die?"

H--"The president did. Remember in the plane crash? See all of the cars and firetrucks lined up for the funeral? Where should the cemetery be?"

I'm guessing that the bad news about 2009 came from preschool, but I have no idea where the plane crash came from.

Sometimes I wonder!

Candy Village

Luke and Henry have been busy getting their bedroom ready for Christmas.

They decided on a candy village this year with houses and trees and of course Santa!

All of the houses have m&m's and candy canes and other sweet treats on them!

Lucas also made sure they all had chimneys--some were drawn on--because that is the most important part for Santa!

They are really proud of thier work!

Where Has The Month Gone?

I had high hopes for December.

I planned on having my list of things to do almost completely finished by the end of November so we could spend December just doing fun stuff.

I was close to getting everything done, but things came up, the month has flown by, and I have procrastinated.

Slowly I have gotten my list whittled down, but I still have a stack of gifts waiting to be wrapped--my least favorite thing to do, a couple of Christmas cards left to finish up, and a messy house to clean.

My new goal is to have EVERYTHING done by Friday, so that when the boys' winter break starts, we can do a months worth of fun in just two weeks.

I'm determined to not let the rest of this month go by so fast!

Hoarding Books

Josh Oliver is a hoarder--especially when he goes to bed.

Some nights I think that he just grabs anything and everything he can get his hands on to pile up in his bed.

It varies from night to night, but generally he has several animals, his drawing board, a blanket and many, many books.

I don't really care what he takes to bed because usually the more stuff he has in his bed the better he goes to bed. He can draw or study the pages in his books for a long time until he finally falls asleep.

The problem is really when he wakes up in the middle of the night.

No matter how sleepy he is, he insists on moving everything from his bed into our bed. That means at 3:00 in the morning I first get a pillow and a blanket thrown over me, then some books, then animals, then some more books before he's finally ready to climb into bed himself. Some nights it takes up to 6 or 7 trips before he's gotten it all in.

There's really no use trying to convince him that he doesn't actually need to bring everything in. It only prolongs the process!

Book Fair

Henry held a Book Fair in his bedroom today.

He cleared off the shelves above his dresser and put every book from his bedroom and Josh's bedroom on them.

He came and asked me if I would like to come and buy a book from him. All books were a penny. He even gave me a penny so I could make a purchase.

He also told me that if he was sitting on the basket his store was open for business. If he was on the floor, it was closed.

It was an interesting set up!