Love at Home

Just a bit about my kiddos.

Caleb playing with water. He didn't want his picture taken, thus the indignant look on his face.

Mackenzie being oh so cute in her Christmas get up.

And more Christmas get up. These holiday outfits were ones we had for Caleb...and he was 2 months younger than she is at this time.

They sure do love each other! It's been so fun lately to see them playing together. Caleb will get her toys and show her the toys he's playing with and explain things to her; she will grab his entire head and try to stuff it in her mouth; they'll lie on the floor together screaming and laughing and eating their hands; yes, I have fun children!

Tis the Holiday Season...

And I mean "holidays"....Thanksgiving and Christmas! Otherwise I would have said "Tis the Christmas season..."



Mackenzie was our little Turkey on Thanksgiving! We got to eat with a couple of friends in our complex, potluck style. It was so good and I was so glad to be able to get all the food without having to cook it ALL!
I never posted about gratitude either. There is so much that I am grateful for. One thing that I've been feeling lately is the power to be informed and to have an opinion and to make my own choices. The gift of agency is amazing. I am so grateful for the opportunity each day to try and be a better Mama, be a better wife, a better friend; each day is a new day. I'm grateful for my family. Most of all, I'm grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Teaching Caleb about Him always makes me emotional. If I start to feel distant, I just hone in on Him and His life and I feel His spirit reaffirm His divinity and His love for me. It's wonderful.

And that leads us directly to His birth: Christmas! I'm so excited about Christmas this year...Caleb is practicing his Santa visit conversation, we've got some fun gifts for our kiddos, we have a tree (seen being decorated)...it's magical!

Showing Caleb how to put the ornaments on.

Him giving it a shot.

Caleb and Justin with the finished project.

And here it is! We had an old mattress cover that was used when we moved and it hadn't made it's way to Goodwill yet....with a few cuts, a few folds, some maneuvering, and voila! A tree skirt!

I really love our tree. It's a real one. Cheap, so it's already dried out hard core, but the needles haven't dropped yet. It's just exciting! And Caleb loves the lights.

Merry Christmas!

Play Dough Fun!

Every now and then I get up the courage to do something artsy and messy and so wonderfully creative for Caleb. Every now and then.


Here, we are playing with some play dough I made. I loved making it, and it's kept so well so far (almost a month old!). For any of you other moms (or teachers) who are looking for creative learning, I've fallen in love with this blog. I bite my nails thinking about presenting Caleb with some of the very messy activities, but it's so much fun to watch him learn while playing.

I made a purple snowman. Caleb wanted to make one too (the blue one). And he very enthusiastically kept calling it a "snowman!"

Then he needed more noodles, and took my snowman apart.

So proud!

And my turkey. haha, this was before Thanksgiving, so I was trying to be festive. It made me feel so accomplished when Caleb saw it and said, "It's a turkey, Mama." yes, son, it is. Thank you. :)

Hard at Work

Caleb wants to be like Daddy. So, when Justin is studying Caleb likes to go get his "computer" and study right along side with him. Sometimes he'll even get colored pencils and "highlight" like Daddy. It's so cute! I love it.

And Mackenzie likes to work hard, too. She is investigating her feet, looking at something oh so interesting next to the chair, and then of course, smiling at the camera. She's 5 1/2 months here.

Happy 11 -11-11!! (a bit belated)

11-11

My personal holiday

I realize it's kind of a random day of the year to pick as my "holiday," but it is. It all started my Freshmen year of college. Actually, it probably all started my senior year of high school. I love 11-11. It's from a song I heard my senior year ("catch the clock it's 11:11")....and I happened to share it with my high school boyfriend. *cough* But that's not why it's important.
It just became something fun I do all the time. Try to do things at 11:11, or actually check the time at 11:11. And my Freshmen roomie (*awesome gal*) Allie decided that it needed to be a special little celebration for me. What a GREAT idea!
Thus, a tradition was born.

Now, let me clarify. I'm not trying to steal any attention from Veteran's Day. I very solemnly acknowledge the services, sacrifices, and commitments made by our troops both today and in past. I am so grateful for their willingness to serve our country...their families...in the end, me. So, rest assured, 11-11 did not become a personal holiday in an effort to mask the importance of Veterans.

It just happened to be the words to a song...

Now this year, it was 11-11-11. How could I pass that up?!? Being without money and much time, I didn't really plan anything. In the past, on 11-11 at 11:11 I would call 11 friends and wish them a happy 11-11; or eat 11 cinnabears (oh---that would be GREAT right now); or give 11 random hugs, etc. With my two kiddos in tow, I wanted to do something they could enjoy too. But I couldn't think of anything, and before I knew it, it was 11-11 and I hadn't planned a thing. It was so fun to have the creator of the special holiday (reminder: Allie, Freshman roomie) text me and wish me a happy day. Yay! a few friends on Facebook remembered my personal celebration, and that really helped make it feel special. But I still hadn't planned anything to DO.

Until Justin came home. He bought me $11.00 worth of flowers (which are still surviving, too). We decided to drive up to CiCi's Pizza. About a 40 minute drive. Unless you get stuck in one-lane traffic that moves about 1/2 a mile/hour. Yup. So, we were a little delayed getting there. But we made it. And, being CiCi's Pizza, I had to indulge myself in 11 different slices of pizza. "had to". Pft! It was so fun, so easy too I should say, and it was great being able to go somewhere with my family. Couldn't have planned anything better! Unfortunately, we didn't snag any pics of my "big towr pizza!" (Caleb loves big towers).


I just had to inform the general public of the special day of 11-11-11 and note the great celebration I enjoyed with my family. And the wonderful caring husband who wanted to make this arbitrary day of the year special for me because of tradition (and he says he doesn't like Fiddler on the Roof. riiiight).