What a wonderful Christmas!

Each year we take pleasure in each of our family Christmas traditions. We take a tour of lights for Family Home Evening, we put up the tree and decorate it together, and we hide the pickle ornament and whoever finds it gets an extra present. We take our time and carefully set up each of the nativities we've collected over the years. And on Christmas Eve we go out for chinese food and giggle like maniacs over all the fortunes in our fortune cookies. It's so much fun and I always find it touching how these little things bring us together.
My favorite tradition is a simple one. On Christmas Eve we all gather in the living room and read in Luke 2 about Christ's birth, which we always enjoy. It's amazing to me how at first the kids grumble and fuss about reading, but as we read a gentle spirit falls over the room and then they don't want to stop. We also added a quick scripture chase to our reading this year. Each person looked through the Book of Mormon and found where Christ's coming and ministry were foretold. Then we took turns reading our selections. How sweet it is to be able to open our scriptures at any time and be able to read the testimonies of prophets who help us to know Christ better, who remind of us His kindness and tenderness towards us, and above all teach us of the atonement. It was a really neat way to start our Christmas celebration.
After that, it feels kind of anticlimactic to open presents, but the children insist. I'll put some photos in the next post.

They never get old

Tonight we ventured out in the FREEZING cold for our annual tradition of checking out the Christmas lights. Every year we all pile in the van with coats or blankets, Christmas music, and sometimes hot cocoa, and head out. William patiently drives through neighborhoods at a snail's pace, enduring 4 backseat drivers who all want to go down different streets.
This year we spotted some very interesting houses, some novel ideas and some really pretty traditional decorations. Here's a picture of one of the kids favorite houses:


(can you see Lexie's little head peeking out the window too?)
I think the biggest new crowd pleaser tonight was at the Bruderer's house, over on Harvest Run. I won't spoil it by posting a pic, but you really should go check it out. We think it's cool that he can do that kind of stuff.
Now everyone is snuggled up and we're watching a movie. I just looked over and Jake and Aaron are both holding their tongues and wincing. Can you guess which movie? Yes, it's "A Christmas Story." Those boys crack me up!
I hope you are enjoying some great traditions of your own, and that you'll have a blessed Christmas!

Once there was a snowman...a PSA

So we saw this cute little snowman night light at Kohl's. The kids wanted to give it to Grandma for Christmas, and it was normally $19.99, on sale for $5.00, so we went for it. It's a cute little guy, as you can see:

She'll love it, right?
Last night Sam and I were showing William what'd we'd bought, and I thought it'd be a good idea to plug it in and make sure it works before we give it to her. So Sam takes it out and tries to plug it in. "Mom, I can't plug it in." So I look and see that she's trying to plug it in with the fat prong on the right. Oops, look again at the snowman:
Now look at the plug in:
See the problem? The only way to use this nightlight is if you plug it in upside down. And no, there's no way to rotate it or change it. No wonder they were such a bargain! I wonder how many they've had returned. So, if you go to Kohl's, you don't want a snowman nightlight. And- sorry Mom, it looked great in the store.

The game is afoot!

My wits are tested every year at Christmas time by a game that requires keen powers of observation, extreme diligence, ingenuity and above all, patience. It pits William and I against three relentless and painfully clever rivals- our children. Aaron especially is a master at the game, earning him the family title of "the Finder." Laugh if you will, but he is like a bloodhound on a scent, and almost always finds the object of his search. And that object now is...The Christmas Presents.

In the past, I've been able to fool the kids by stuffing them into empty cereal boxes, behind dressers and bookcases, in empty ice chests, and especially up high in the closet. I've even hidden them under the bed at Grandma's house. (They found those.) As they've grown, the high spots don't seem to work anymore, and they're pretty cagey, and good at guessing my oddball hiding places. I wonder how they manage to look in so many places in such a short time. And I worry about forgetting where I hid them in the first place. (At least they can be birthday presents if I find them on time.)

Now, if I do chance to get them wrapped, that's another story. I almost never label them with a name, leaving the children to shake, rattle, and roll every package. We often hear strange shaking noises and whispers as they huddle around the tree discussing all the possibilities for present distribution. I have to be pretty inventive to mark each present so that I know who they're for, without cluing in the kids. One year I totally messed up and ended up having to open half the wrappings to redistribute them to their rightful owners.
I started shopping this weekend. Yes, I know it's a little late. They saw me come in with bags. And now the game is afoot.

Darn, it's almost over!

We have had the nicest time being off for Thanksgiving Break! William was able to be off from Wednesday on, and we have just been relaxing and goofing around. It is so nice!

Tuesday I took the kids to see Madagascar 2. Sam and I were not impressed, and the boys were lukewarm about it, but it was fun to go together and we've had some fun joking around with some of the lines. Mostly I've enjoyed watching Aaron dance around to the "We like to move it" song. He's a nut!

Thanksgiving was wonderful and traditional. The boys got up and headed for the Turkey Bowl, and Sam and I got busy in the kitchen. She is learning how to fix all the stuff I grew up having for Thanksgiving. I love this time and being able to pass those things along to her. We had a nice dinner with Grandma Charlotte on Thursday, right down to the post dinner stupor and football watching. It's funny how I can get tired of cooking every day food, but just love cooking big traditional meals. We will be living off the leftovers for the next week or so, except for pies, which they devoured right away.

William reminded me on Friday why I think he's the most wonderful husband in the world. Not only did he not complain when my phone alarm went off at 3:15am to go shopping, he did the leftover dishes, and a huge pile of laundry while Sam, Aaron, Mom and I went on our Black Friday adventure. All while nursing sore muscles from the Turkey Bowl. And he managed to get Christmas lights up and the Christmas tree up and ready for us to decorate today. And he was sweet and listened to all our silly "had to be there" type stories about the nuts we saw in the stores. And he let us all take a nice long nap when we got home and didn't complain at all about me not cooking a regular lunch or dinner. And he took us all out bowling after we got up again, and beat us all soundly. And then he complimented my biscuit and gravy dinner when the kids complained that it wasn't chocolate gravy. Then he snuggled up on the couch with me to watch a stupid movie and enjoy more time with the kids til quite late. It was such an awesome day, all made possible by my amazing husband. Thanks Will! I just adore you!

Here are some pictures of the kids decorating the tree today:



Now we are making cookies and smokies, Will is making his awesome queso, and we are waiting for the OU game to start. Can't wait!

I'm a man, I'm a big strong man!

When Aaron was about 2, he went around saying "I'm a man, I'm a man, I'm a big strong man!" He'd picked it up on a cartoon we'd watched. Today we found out it's still true.
I was subbing in a second grade class at another school today, when I got the dreaded phone call. It was his school nurse, telling me he'd fallen off the jungle gym and "sliced his chin open." "It looks pretty bad, he needs to go get it stitched up, how soon can you get here?" So I got the class covered, thanks to a wonderful and understanding staff at Chandler, and hustled out the door.
I was happily surprised when I arrived to a calm, but slightly greyish Aaron in the clinic. He was so laid back, that I wouldn't have known anything was wrong if it wasn't for the gauze pad he was holding. We have such an awesome nurse- I just love Mrs. Roberts!


Here's what I saw when we went out the door- it's hard to really see because it's underneath his chin. And no, I wasn't mean and delaying his treatment, he wanted to see what it looked like, so he asked me to take a picture with my phone. Isn't he clever?


Aaron was a little nervous about getting stitches. But I reassured him they would numb his chin before they did anything. Luckily, we were able to be seen by our family doctor right away, rather than wait in the ER. Aaron was one tough cookie! He sat up without even flinching while they cleaned it out. He just squeezed my hand and grunted a couple of times when they gave him the numbing shot. (It stings quite a bit.) Then was just asking if he had to go back to school or if he could go home and play on the Wii while the doctor was putting in his stitches. Here's the finished product:
He was proud of getting his first set of stitches. To top it all off, he even went and performed in his Fourth Grade musical tonight.


He really is a big strong young man!

Wonderful Webelo

Jacob has been working really hard in Cub Scouts and has earned his Webelo award, as well as two compass points. He got his award Tuesday night at Pack Meeting. We are so proud of him for taking the initiative to set goals and get his badges earned! And thanks to Aaron, our photojournalist for the event.
He chose to get his face painted.
Woohoo! Mom gets her pin.

Is this a happy Cubmaster or what?
(no, I'm not upset, I'm trying to figure out what Aaron is doing with the camera.)

CSN: Week 5

The baseball season is in its final few weeks, so the games are getting better and better.
Aaron and the Mudcats won last weekend 9-7. It was an exciting game. Aaron rocked as usual on second base. He also made some great decisions in the outfield that held runners on base.
Jake had a double header. They won one, lost one. He played well in both games. Here's a pic or 2 of him at bat.

Halloween

We had fun doing our usual jack o'lantern carving. The kids cleaned out and did ALL of their own carving this year.

Here are the results:

Both boys decided to be ninjas this year, and went prowling the neighborhood in search of candy Halloween night. I just love that we have a friendly neighborhood for the kids to go out in!

Powerful Answers

Here's the answer to my question about power, at least according to the Time Out speaker. I agree, and even more shocking, I was one of the few raising her hand. The strongest form of power that was listed was referent power. I figured that one out by asking myself who is the most powerful person, and how do you get that power? I came up with Jesus Christ being the most powerful and that you get that power by getting to know Him and acting like him. The speaker told some stories about use of influence by friends to change situations, and explained that referent power is a function of trust. If a person trusts you, you have your own power, and the power of that other person extended in your behalf. Think how many jobs are given because of who you know, not what you can do. Well for me, that provided some interesting fodder for thought. Hope you have some too. FYI, he said the second strongest was reward, and the weakest is position, coming in right behind coercion. Just in case you were curious.

I was sent to Time Out, again

Those of you who've known me for a long time probably aren't very surprised. But at least it was fun this time, and not spent with my nose in the corner. William took over the Mom Taxi duties this past Thursday so I could go with Mom to Time Out for Women, held in San Antonio. Can you think of any more fun place to have it?
We enjoyed dinner Thursday night on the Riverwalk. The weather was so perfect, it could have been in an advertisement. It was nice to get away for some kid free time.

Friday morning we enjoyed some waffles at the hotel before we went to the seminar. I know Texans are proud to be Texan, but are Texas shaped waffles a little over the top? They were fun anyway. And tasty.
The Time Out Life Seminar was a new format we hadn't been to before, and it was really enjoyable. The speakers were Sheri Dew, Virginia Hinckley Pearce, Wendy Watson Nelson, and Wayne Boss. They spoke on a variety of topics, and as you'd expect, I learned from each one of them. My head is still swimming with ideas that the speakers shook loose in this tiny little brain.
Here's a bit of information from Wayne Boss. He spoke about power, and different types of power, and how we can gain and use it in positive ways in our lives. He listed 7 kinds of power and then asked us which we think is more the most powerful. See if you can figure it out. Here they are:
1. position (being the president, boss, etc.)
2. reward (giving favors)
3. information
4. coercive
5. expertise (skills)
6. charisma
7. referent (who you know)
I was surprised that he surveyed the room, having about 100-200 women raise their hands, and only about 6 people chose the correct answer. Which form of power do you think is greatest?

Tag- I'm it.

Teryl photo tagged me, and it said to take the 6th picture in my "My Pictures" file. So here goes:

Oops, it needs to be rotated. Sorry, we didn't really hang him upside down. Though that might explain a lot.
Can you guess which baby this is?


It's Aaron, being held by Joyce Bulger at a baby shower when he was all of about a week old. Can you believe he was ever that still, or that chubby?

Ok, I tag Chris, Sara B., Tamara, and Becky.

A Shocking Confession!

I heard the most shocking confession today! I gasped,I gaped,I giggled.



Are you ready?............





Aaron misses his brother! "He's the most fun to hang out with." Jake left for Sky Ranch this morning, and by 4:30p.m., Aaron was already telling us that he misses him. Bwa ha ha ha ha. I knew it! For all their quarrels, mischief and knock down drag out brawls, they are best of friends. And I am recording it here, so next time they are ready to kill each other I have proof. It happened. Sam even heard it.

CSN:Week 4 Woohoo!

Wow! There was lots of excitement at the fields yesterday! Both boys won 10-8, isn't it funny that they had the same score? The games were exciting too!
Jake's team scored 8 runs in the first inning,batting all the way around the line up. They were holding the other team pretty well right up until the last inning, when the Vipers tried to rally. They scored 6 runs, bringing the score to 8-10. The boys were getting nervous, but kept their heads and made a great defensive play for a put out at home plate, ending the game. Go Rangers! Jake had 2 hits, 2 RbI's, 1 run, and of course stole 2 bases. Talk about wheels! He was really happy because the Vipers had creamed his spring team.
Aaron's team was adding points slowly through the whole game, building a nice big lead. Then guess what happened in the last inning? You got it. A rally by the other team. But once again, calmer heads prevailed and they won the game too. Aaron was frustrated in the batter's box, mainly because the ref couldn't seem to see his strike zone.(he had head height balls called strikes) but he held on and played well. He made good plays in right field. The he also made a great tag out on second, and coach was bragging on him after the game because they had just practiced this week on being aware of the other teams' players so you'd know where to send the ball. Go Aaron! Go Mudcats!

CSN: Baseball Week 3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Whew, it was quite the emotional rollercoaster ride at the ballparks this weekend. Both boys' teams lost Saturday, so that was a bummer. But Aaron made 2 great plays at second base, so that was cool. He also faced a pitcher that was one mean hombre, really packing the heat, so striking out was a bummer. But Grandma Janet got to come to his game, so that was cool. Jacob missed a fly ball in the outfield, so that was a stinker. But he hit and got on base twice, so that was awesome!!! His team was down 14-4 and managed to come back, but still lost 19-18, so that was a stinker. But Grandpa Sam got to come to his game, so that was awesome.

The pencil is mightier than the sub

I know, it's another weird thing to rant about, but this week I hate fancy pencils. Why?
Have you ever tried to teach someone math while they swirl a pretty, sparkly green pencil with fuzzy feathers and frogs on it? How about the poor little, very ADD, child in the next desk that keeps trying to listen but just can't tear himself away from it? And the battles between the little girls over which pencil belongs to whom- because they all got very pretty fuzzy ones at Susie's birthday party Saturday, and they are all identical?

How about waiting for what seems like a lifetime for a boy to finish his test, while he disassembles and reassembles his mechanical pencil no less than seven times? Then how about explaining to the same boy why he has to stay in at recess to finish his test? Hmph!
Now let's move on to the worst ones- the super sparkly really, really cool glitter pencil with the really, really soft lead that breaks every .02 seconds, requiring its owner to sharpen it constantly.(Even while the teacher is explaining the writing assignment that this child will yell about not understanding 5 seconds later.) But it gets better... these pencils have this crummy plastic coating that dulls the pencil sharpener, sticks up in it, and makes it virtually impossible to sharpen any other pencils for the rest of the day, or until the teacher performs pencil sharpener surgery with 22 pairs of eager eyes over her shoulder and 22 eager voices telling her how to do it successfully.
Really now, I know kids love cutesie things, and pencils make great little rewards and favors, but can't they use the fun ones at home? Please? Pretty Please?
Ok, rant over. Glad to get that off my chest. Really, I am thankful that I've had such amazing kids to spend time with as their sub. They are so smart, and really a lot of fun.
Now, if you need me, I'll be sneaking into my kids' pencil bags to replace all those offensive type pencils with dear, wonderful, amazing plain ole yellow No. 2 pencils with pink erasers!

When did I get old?

I was talking about how much I'm looking forward to General Conference this weekend and the kids were groaning a bit. I said, "I like General Conference" and Aaron said, "Oh Mom, that's cause you're old." Ouch!!
I guess it's official- I'm old. Not only am I looking forward to General Conference, but I really enjoyed our Stake Conference a short while ago, and I was thrilled that we'd get another Conference when President Uchtdorf came to visit our stake. Aaron keeps going on about how he talked a whole hour, and I keep saying how cool it was that we had him speak to us for that much time. The cool part is that they do actually remember the talks that were given that day. What a privilege it is that in this day and age we can sit at the feet of living prophets and be instructed from the Lord! If feeling that way makes me old, well, I can live with that.

CSN: Baseball Week 2

The boys are both in high spirits again this week as both won their baseball games. Both games ended early because of the skunk rule and I lost track of the scores. Go Rangers! Go Mudcats!

Causey Sports Network: Baseball Updates

The Fall Baseball season officially started Saturday.
Jake's regular team, the Nationals, doesn't play in the Fall, so he's playing with the Rangers. It's a new team formed from a bunch of boys in the same boat as Jacob, so we weren't sure what to expect. We got a pleasant surprise, and they played pretty well. Especially when you consider they had exactly one practice and had never played together. They ended up tying 6-6. Jake stole his way all the way around to score.(Did you know the weird rule that says if a catcher misses on the third strike you can run?) Then he was walked and went around again. Once Jake gets on base he is virtually impossible to catch. The boy has great wheels!
Aaron is back with the Mudcats. They only had one new player and it showed. The boys were firing on all cylinders and looked great- also with only 1 practice. Aaron hit a great single down the third base line. Then he was disappointed as he tried to steal home and got caught. Everyone in the stands thought he was safe, but we bit our tongues in the name of sportsmanship.
Neither of the boys had much chance to play any defense, some days the ball just never seems to come your way. But anyway, it was a nice hot(yes, it's hot again) day and everyone was happy on the way home.

Yippee! Fall is in the Air! aka Football Fever

I love it! After our minor brush with Ike this past week, the temps have been so mild. I have relished in having the windows open and the air turned off. Who cares that we wake up sniffling with allergies and sound like possessed people in the morning? It's called fresh air people!
Current conditions as of 9:53 am CDT
Feels Like:64°
Barometer:30.21 in and steady
Humidity:84%
Visibility:9 mi
Dewpoint:59°
Wind:E 3 mph
64°High: 84° Low: 60
Is this cool or what? I know, most people don't think a high of 84* is exactly Fall weather, but after a hot Texas Summer, it feels heavenly. Of course the leaves won't change until it's almost officially winter. Oh well, you can't have it all. But around here, we call it Fall!


And Fall means FOOTBALL!

We've been watching my Sooners looking awesome, Will's Broncos winning in that bizarre twist this weekend, and lots of other good games. And of course we have our tickets to the big Allen vs Trinity game tomorrow night.

It's just such an exciting time of year. The way the men swagger when their teams win, the hype and enthusiasm, the civic pride, the way the parents beam when they're talking about their players -It's Football Fever, and it's highly contagious!

Spelling Practice Ideas

I was recently talking to Sharon, Will's mom, about her tutoring efforts, and I was sharing some ideas about fun ways to study spelling. I'll pass along a few here in case some of these ideas might be useful to someone else. Most of them involve using large muscle groups or manipulatives and some sound downright silly. But don't knock 'em til you've tried 'em. Some of them work when nothing else seems to, and besides they're more fun than the standard "you say them, they write them" method.
#1 Make a fun writing table. Fill a cookie sheet with sand,flour, shaving cream, or anything else you can use your finger to write in. The kids use their fingers to spell the words, then erase them and spell the next.
#2 Write it in the air. Point your finger out with arm fully extended and write the words in the air, then turn and write them in the other direction. Use the other arm, and try it with eyes closed.
#3 Sing it. Make up any song, to any tune, that uses the letters. BINGO is a great tune to use for 5 letter words. Or do the hokey pokey- put the "C" in, put the c out.... It takes a while, but it's fun and it works.
#4 Say it, whisper it, scream it. It's amazing what changing the volume accomplishes, and it's exciting for kids to have permission to yell inside, they're getting away with something.
#5 Spell with your whole body. This is usually better with 2-3 kids. Lay in the floor in the shapes of the letters, some letters need 2 -3 people to work well.
#6 Write the word in glue or pen, then let them lay beans or something over the top and cover it up. This can be time consuming.
#7 Use tiles, cards, magnetic letters, or other manipulatives. I don't like this one as much, but you can't always be big and exciting.
#8 Relax and think of ways to make it fun and not tedious. The world won't end if everyone isn't a perfect speller. Spelling makes it easier to communicate and get good grades, but it doesn't make you a wonderful caring person, so it isn't worth making any child feel small over.

Seriously?!?

Knitted Ferrari @ Yahoo! Video

To each his own.

Beasts in the Bacon, and Hooray! Families are Forever

Sunday after church, the horde was starving- stomachs growling ferociously, eyes red, teeth bared, dogs cowering nearby with ears laid back and tails tucked in fear- so we all got to work and made some pancakes and bacon. Sam flips a pretty mean pancake, by the way. As we're happily tucking away those flapjacks, somehow the conversation turns to creepy crawlies, like huge spiders. This is not unusual at our table, as Sam and I are outnumbered by the three hairy legged types. So I made the comment that why, just once, couldn't we talk about butterflies and cute fluffy bunnies, or something more pleasant. The boys just laughed and rolled their eyes, resuming their conversation.

So a few minutes later, Jake grabs a piece of curled up bacon and announces that it looks like a scorpion.
Then he flips it over and says it looks like a sea horse. Sam thinks it looks like a sting ray, and on and on we go. We found all kinds of beasts in our bacon, and were all giggling and being oh so silly.
I know normal families find shapes in clouds, and we do that too, but our family has taken finding shapes to a new level, we can do paint splotches, shadows on the walls, and...bacon. And it's fun, really fun, and I'm amazed at how clever and charming my three little angels can be.

Later we were reading the Book of Mormon together, and I laid in the floor to read. Pretty soon Aaron was next to me, tickling me and giving me butterfly kisses (don't tell anyone he does that- he's much to old and cool to admit it.) Jake was humming, I made a comment and the kids and I all got to giggling, much to Will's consternation. We managed to finish our chapter, and then pandemonium ensued, first there was some nice back rubbing, then tickling, then wrestling, a crazy mixture of flailing arms and legs, and giggling until our sides hurt. It was chaos! And it was wonderful!

Why would I blog about such moments? Because it feels to me like they are the most important to remember. They are the moments I treasure the most, when we are just hanging out and being ourselves, a family. When I get to enjoy Sam's sense of humor, the boys' rough and tumble silliness matched only by their sweetness as they snuggle next to me, William wrestling with all three at once, and winning. It's when we find joy, when things are simple and it's just about us. It's when I feel the most blessed, and when I want to shout Hooray! I love them! They are mine and I am theirs, and we are sealed together forever!

Off and Running!

Six a.m. came so early! After sleeping in all summer, the first day back to school started out looking a little like this:

















But after a little quality BOM reading and some blueberry muffins, we evolved to our lovable selves.

Does this look seem familiar to anyone? Where have I seen those peg rolled jeans before? hmmm.....














Check out the shiny new shoes. Jake's sporting his OU colors, but don't tell him- he thinks they're A&M colors.

"Can you see my horns?" Aaron's hair was literally on end with new school year excitement.

No Sam, tell us what you really think about going back to school. Don't hold anything back.












And they're off, and the house is quiet....crickets chirping.....

Dallas World Aquarium

William took off work, and we took an "in town" vacation in the West End. Going to the Dallas World Aquarium is like an exotic trip, with all the amazing flora and fauna. Every time we go, we see new animals we've never seen before. This time mine was an albino axolotl. Check them out in Mundo Maya next time you go. Here's a book I made with a few of the hundreds of pics we took:

Make a Smilebox photobook