21 strands of light, 3,150 bulbs, and 12 extension cords later, this girl's childhood wish of a house with Christmas lights has finally come true.
{Welcome Christmas, bring your light...}
Eek, December starts tomorrow!
Monson Fonsons
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Lazy Saturday
We seldom have a Saturday morning doesn't start off on a hectic note, but this Saturday happened to be one of those rare gems where nothing was on the schedule for several hours It was a great real Saturday end to a week's worth of fake Saturdays.
I will admit, initially I went into the living room for a quiet place to eat my breakfast and escape the noise of Netflix blaring in the other room. The children soon followed, though, as they are wont to do, and after crabbing about it quietly to myself for a couple minutes, I realized that I was glad that they had. It is truly rare that we are all in the same room this way, playing and chatting together with the television OFF. There may or may not have been electronics involved during our family time, but hey, we're still human.
The peace and calm didn't last forever, of course, because we had some things going on later in the day (stringing Christmas lights for Craig and Beauty and the Beast with Grandma Linda for Lex and me...and, incidentally, lots and lots of Phineus and Ferb for J and Van) but it was a wonderful, lazy morning etched into a life that is getting increasingly more busy with each passing year.
{well, these guys are still human, anyway.}
{best Christmas toy ever}
{best Lexa ever}
{Lexa love}
{ I can always tell that Craig is concocting some sort
of plan when he gets this dreamy look in his eyes.}
{snuggled up in front of the tree...until Lexa stole her blanket back from me}
{here Lex is emphatically telling Spencer to leave the ornaments on the tree}
{her new favorite phrase: "Seriously, Mommy? Seriously?"}
Friday, November 28, 2014
Season of the Sick
I spy, with my little eye...
5 medicine cups and a syringe.
Spencer got a pre-Thanksgiving ear infection, which turns him into a grouchy little bear any time he doesn't have some ibuprofen in his system. The girls and Craig all have coughs and colds. It's time to get the humidifiers back out of their boxes.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Thanksgiving Scenes
Thanksgiving 2014.
It came. We ate. It conquered.
Ours was a lovely {BUSY} holiday. (If you haven't tried to decorate your Christmas tree on the same day that you are hosting Thanksgiving, then you haven't lived, my friend.)
I don't believe that there is any such thing as a stress-free Thanksgiving, especially when you are hosting and you have four beautiful children that don't enjoy the house being clean. But it can sure be wonderful when you have the perfect combination of loving family and friends (and delicious food, of course) at your table.
Lucky for us, all of the above was in order, and it was a perfect, exhausting day. Our hearts and tummies are full, and we are truly feeling incredibly blessed.
Happy Thanksgiving. Hope yours was a day of love and comfort, too!
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
On My Thankful List
It's true.
The things that I am most thankful for are the same every year: my husband and my children.
That is not to say that I am not also thankful for myriad other things, including (but absolutely not limited to!) a healthy body and mind, caring parents and awesome siblings, hard things, easy things, agency, faith, the Gospel, Pero, fireplaces, elastic-waisted pajama pants, contact lenses, freckles, the Internet, fake winter, grandparents, photographs, notepads, nail polish, gum, books, apples, Target, cream cheese, a minivan, somersaults, drive-thru pharmacies, dental floss, asphalt, mashed potatoes, Christmas trees, family history, pillows, singing, cell phones, dishwashers, Little People toys, deodorant, pens, etc., etc., etc. (Seriously, I could do this all day.)
The things that I am most conscious of absolutely loving and being most thankful for, though, are those incredibly wonderful (and occasionally infuriating) people in my life that happen to make up my little family: Craig, Julia, Savanna, Alexa, and Spencer.
And here's why.
Craig:
He mows the lawn and takes out the trash and does a million other invisible things so that I don't have to. He's the best hugger, a wonderful listener, and an excellent source of sympathy and support. He loves me, he gets me, he makes a laugh a hundred times a day, and he appreciates and adores me exactly as I am.
Julia:
Oh, this crazy redhead number 2. Julia can do anything she sets her mind to. She is incredibly ambitious and self-motivating. She often displays an impressive level of wisdom and understanding. She loves lengthy hypothetical questions, is brilliant, fun, and hilarious. She totally has my sense of humor. She is like her dad in every way, which is probably why I love her so much without understanding her at all.
Savanna:
This girl. She's a helper extraordinaire, a hugger extraordinaire, and has such compassion and depth of love and feeling for others. She's an incredibly smart, fun-loving, and all around excellent little person. She encourages and supports, rallying around others every chance she gets. She is grateful and appreciative, makes friends easily, and loves everyone.
Alexa:
Alexa is my fun little buddy. She is a wonderful partner to shop with, cook with, and clean with. She is so delightful and fun to be around. She has an incredible memory, a knack for rhythm and rhyming that surpasses that of her older sisters, and an adult-like personality that is both wonderful and startling coming from her little 4-year-old self. Plus she's kind of a Mommy's girl, which is pretty irresistible since she's the only one who is.
Spencer:
Where do I begin with Spencer, whose hands I just extricated from the toilet not three minutes ago? This kiddo is so darn cute, energetic, and curious. At a mere 19 months, he is already interested in how things work. He loves all buttons, dials, knobs, and wheels. He is freakinshly strong and sneaky, smiles easily, jabbers constantly, and loves to be with his people. He's is such an exhausting little joyful, this boy.
Well, there it is. The same peeps who drive me crazy and test my patience and energy to my very core are also the ones that love me, help me, encourage and sustain me. I am so grateful for the privilege of knowing and loving them all.
The things that I am most thankful for are the same every year: my husband and my children.
That is not to say that I am not also thankful for myriad other things, including (but absolutely not limited to!) a healthy body and mind, caring parents and awesome siblings, hard things, easy things, agency, faith, the Gospel, Pero, fireplaces, elastic-waisted pajama pants, contact lenses, freckles, the Internet, fake winter, grandparents, photographs, notepads, nail polish, gum, books, apples, Target, cream cheese, a minivan, somersaults, drive-thru pharmacies, dental floss, asphalt, mashed potatoes, Christmas trees, family history, pillows, singing, cell phones, dishwashers, Little People toys, deodorant, pens, etc., etc., etc. (Seriously, I could do this all day.)
The things that I am most conscious of absolutely loving and being most thankful for, though, are those incredibly wonderful (and occasionally infuriating) people in my life that happen to make up my little family: Craig, Julia, Savanna, Alexa, and Spencer.
And here's why.
Craig:
He mows the lawn and takes out the trash and does a million other invisible things so that I don't have to. He's the best hugger, a wonderful listener, and an excellent source of sympathy and support. He loves me, he gets me, he makes a laugh a hundred times a day, and he appreciates and adores me exactly as I am.
Julia:
Oh, this crazy redhead number 2. Julia can do anything she sets her mind to. She is incredibly ambitious and self-motivating. She often displays an impressive level of wisdom and understanding. She loves lengthy hypothetical questions, is brilliant, fun, and hilarious. She totally has my sense of humor. She is like her dad in every way, which is probably why I love her so much without understanding her at all.
Savanna:
This girl. She's a helper extraordinaire, a hugger extraordinaire, and has such compassion and depth of love and feeling for others. She's an incredibly smart, fun-loving, and all around excellent little person. She encourages and supports, rallying around others every chance she gets. She is grateful and appreciative, makes friends easily, and loves everyone.
Alexa:
Spencer:
Where do I begin with Spencer, whose hands I just extricated from the toilet not three minutes ago? This kiddo is so darn cute, energetic, and curious. At a mere 19 months, he is already interested in how things work. He loves all buttons, dials, knobs, and wheels. He is freakinshly strong and sneaky, smiles easily, jabbers constantly, and loves to be with his people. He's is such an exhausting little joyful, this boy.
Well, there it is. The same peeps who drive me crazy and test my patience and energy to my very core are also the ones that love me, help me, encourage and sustain me. I am so grateful for the privilege of knowing and loving them all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)