Merry Christmas! part 2

Here we are Christmas part 2! We all had a great time and enjoyed our gifts to each other. Except Will because apparently we (I) left his gift at home. At least I hope it is at home because if it's not, I have no clue where it is! And that would not be good.
Anyway.....We had a grand ol' fun time tonight. Bear got the movie Ratitoulle and so we watched that all together as one big happy family tonight. That was special! ;)
The other big hit tonight for the kids was Bear's Shopping cart. They were pushing it all around and putting everything in it. Too funny... here's a couple other snap shots for you to enjoy. I got another Cricut font!!!! I'm so excited! :) Now that is 3 new fonts and I can't wait to scrapbook with them! Yay for me! ;) TJ got more Itunes money.... so now we will have even more cd's! :) Just what we needed. ha ha ha ha ha ha


I love the look of ice on the trees.


TJ's Itunes gift card. :)


My cricut font and a Christmas decoration...


Monkey got this shirt and tie from Will and Melissa and he was so happy! Mom, now I can wear this to church....it's just what I wanted! :) He's so cute! ;)


Bear's famous shopping cart! They were having a good ol time, putting everything from the house in the cart. Ha

Christmas Vacation

We are having a lovely Christmas Vacation! We got to start early since the weather is wet, snowing, icy, and everything else! We decided to leave last night so we wouldn't have to worry about driving in all the mess today. And we are sooooo glad we did. Tomorrow we are making ourselves, (or maybe I should just talk about myself) and we're babysitting Addy, and another baby for a friend of mine who's day care is not open on Christmas Eve Day. So that works out that we can be here and help someone out. :)
We've had fun so far! I got to go to the best scrapbooking store in the world, and then to top it off we had lunch at Panchero's! The best restaurant in the world.... maybe not the best ever, but I really like it really alot really! :)
Tomorrow we will have Christmas Eve supper at Mom & Dad Wright's house and then Christmas Morning here at Will & Melissa's. Other than that we will fill our time with games, talking, eating and facebook! :) not kidding. We like to sit around and chat with each other on facebook instead of talking to each other's faces. ha ha ha ha
Fun times!
Well, can't wait to fill you in on the Christmas part 2! Tune in after Friday sometime and I'll have a few pics posted.

Merry Christmas! part 1

We Celebrated our first Christmas together! The boys were so excited.

Here's a couple snap shots!

They were so excited to open their stockings....They were sitting on the bench waiting for TJ to get home from work. As soon as he opened the door they just started yelling and talking at the same time. It was funny. :)


Posing by the tree. :)


Bear loves WordWorld, so we got him this DVD....he saw the back first and said, it looks like the pie from word world... then turned it over... ROCKET TO THE MOON! YAY!


Monkey was so cute when he opened this... Wow, this is exactly what I wanted, and you got it for me!!!

God is Good!

Today I find myself in the midst of difficulties...yet I'm smiling and saying Praise GOD!

This is not the usual for me. I will admit I've had a real hard time with the whole praising God even in the hard times thing, but lately things have been different. I see God in a whole new way. Everytime I "teach" my child something discipline wise... I think of myself compared to God and realize how sad I must make him when I make those silly choices, just like it saddens me when my children make silly choices. Even as simple as not trusting, or not obeying right away. Like I said, I see everything in a new way now between me and God. It has been amazing! I'm so glad for all the things He has provided for us, including our wonderful children. I do not know what I would do without God, or my family. :) God has been so good to provide for us and bring encouragement to us through our friends. If it were not so I would be digging a hole and going crazy. So even if you are strapped for money and you don't get your next check until the end of the month, and you just got your car back from the shop with a very hefty price tag..... Don't sweat it. God is bigger than all, and somehow He will pull you through.

I love the lyrics from this song..... Bring the Rain-Mercy Me...

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

Home Bound

It's been 12 days since our car broke down. And we got that big snow storm in the mix of that. I was just thinking today how weird it is that I've been home so much that last 2 weeks. I haven't really been out in the snow much. We've played in it a couple times, but I haven't had to worry much about going places since I don't have a car, and when I do have a car it's mainly because TJ is home so then he does the driving. We've been able to get out a couples times and we've had friends willing to pick us up and bring us places if necessary so God has been providing nicely! I was noticing some peoples status' and how they were going stir-crazy because they were stuck in the house for 1 or 2 days with the snow storm. I remarkably am not going crazy by the grace of God! And that's pretty good for me since I'm a goer/mover/gottabesomewhere kinda girl! :) Maybe this is the nice break we needed before the next few busy weeks come up. We will be gone this Friday through Sunday...Home, celebrate Christmas just us four....leave Wednesday through Sunday for Christmas with the Wright family side...Home Leave again Monday night til Tuesday afternoon for the adoption! Who-Hoo!...Home... and Wednesday celebrate Christmas with the Wolf family side... then it's New Years weekend.... and the following there is potential planning of an adoption party. This is still in the works. But I need to move fast because we don't want the party to be too far away from the adoption finalization date.

I'm Stephanie Wright, reporting from Owatonna, MN, for the Wright Family Blog.

Good People

There are still good people around, and thank God for them!

We have been out one car for over a week. But for the first few days Mike and Kristine let us use their car. They were gracious enough to give up one of their vehicles for 6 days to let us use it, and so I could have a way to get around while TJ was at work.
Plus they came to our rescue while we were stuck on the side of the interstate! What would we have done without you guys?! Thanks for your giving spirit. We are blessed to have you as friends.

Today we were invited to a Play Date with some of the MOPS mom's. I said I couldn't make it because I didn't have a vehicle, but someone came all across town to pick us up so we could go to the play date. We had a good time, and I feel truly blessed by their giving spirit. She's also coming to pick us up tomorrow for MOPS otherwise we wouldn't be able to go to that! So again, and in advance, thanks for getting ready a little bit earlier to stop over this way and pick up the boys and I.

May God Bless you all for your kindness to us!

Holiday Train

The Holiday Train stopped in our town tonight, and Waseca. We actually went to Waseca to see it since it was there at 7pm....that way we saw it in the dark instead of at 4 when it wasn't quite so dark yet. It was pretty neat. We actually saw the train from a distance on it's way to Waseca when we were driving there.
Here's a couple snap shots of the train, us in the cold and Santa. :)

Here the kids are, waiting, jumping around, trying to stay warm. It was pretty chilly out there.


Here she is pulling in! There were tons of lights on every car. It was very neat.


They opened the doors and there was a band and Santa inside. Santa started things out with a little holiday rap. It was pretty funny.... When I say Santa, you say Clause... Santa ---- Clause ---- Santa ---- Clause!!!


Towards the end Santa came around and handed out candy canes to all the kids. That was exciting. :)


This is the Holiday Train Band. They did a pretty good job. We got there at 6:30 to wait, the train pulled in at 7....opened the doors at 7:15, and we left a little before 8. It was so neat though. I was glad we waited to see it in Waseca in the dark instead of in town here in the afternoon. :) Plus TJ was able to go with us, instead of just me and the boys.

Monster Jam

Saturday night we surprised the boys with Monster Jam at the Metrodome. They did not know where we were going. We just said we'd take a car ride and see where we end up. :)
Here are a few pics and highlights from the evening.

This is Maximum Destruction. It is supposed to be one of the best ones. But he did not have a good night. Right away when they were just introducing them he rode over one of the jumps and broke off one of the front wheels. So he didn't get to be in the first racing part. But he came out at the end for the freestyle. As soon as he came out I said, this can't last long. They fixed the whole tire in 2 hours.... this was his first jump and then the axle broke and he couldn't finish his 90 seconds. Like I said not a good night for him.


They brought out a camper and Grinder drove right through it breaking it apart. This was the second time he hit it, but this time didn't work out so well, right after this his he flipped over.


This is yet another truck that tipped over. He said something about, nothing like tipping over and breaking his $150,000 truck.


El Toro Loco....looks like he tipped over but it was just a close call. He regained control and kept going. :)


This is us, right before we left the Metrodome. It was about 10:30pm. We all had a great time though. We'll have to do it again when the boys get bigger or some other time later!

Interstate Breakdown

First I'm going to say some positive things. Atleast we didn't get in an accident. Atleast we have a friend who was willing to come help us immediately and give us a ride home. Atleast we are safe. Atleast I didn't break down on my way to or from the funeral today in the middle of nowhereville. Atleast TJ's fingers didn't get frost bite. Atleast we didn't get kidnapped and tortured by communists. Atleast our car didn't start on fire. Atleast we have another car. Atleast the chicken was on sale today. Atleast we have clothes. Atleast we didn't waste our money on a ChiaObama.

Now with the story.

Today I went over to Jeffers to a Funeral. Shortly after getting home I got our stuff ready and we headed over the church to decorate for the Senior Brunch tomorrow (Saturday) morning. On the way there, we took the exit for Faribault and when we went to turn the first corner to the church the car died. TJ restarted it and slowly headed up the hill, and then the Coolant Temp Light came on and beeped at flashed at us. So we were trying hard to make it up the hill and into the church parking lot. TJ thought it just needed more coolant so we borrowed Cathy's car and went to the store to get some. He put it in, and the car sat and cooled down while we were in the church. When it was time to go, we started down the road and had just pulled onto the Interstate when the light starts flashing again. So we pull over. We shut the car off and waited a few minutes, started it again and then headed for home. We barely got up to 60 mph and the light started blinking. So TJ went out to look under the hood trying to see if there was a leak in the coolant. It wasn't empty so if there is a leak it's not that prevalent. Finally we called Mike to see if he knew of a quick fix so we could make it another 9 miles down the road to town or our house. But not so... Mike decided to come take a look. In the meanwhile we are sitting in the car, freezing... :) And a police man pulls over and comes to check on us. Making sure we have help on the way, or if we needed some help.... and what not. Then while we are waiting the boys are just constantly talking.... Why was the police man here? Is he going to give you a ticket? Why did he leave already? Is there another police man coming? Are we going to call TowMater to come get us? This is not fun. I don't like sitting here. I'm cold. I'm tired. How are we going to get home...... You get the drift. :) Finally Mike comes, checks things out.... thinks we might be able to drive it and he follows. Start down the road and smoke is coming out like crazy so we pull back over. We called Triple A and got "TowMater" to come and get the vehicle and bring it to town, and we rode home with Mike. Thank the Lord for great friends who are willing to come help at the drop of a hat! :) God Bless you Mike!

So the boys got their first vehicle break down experience. TJ got his first breakdown on the interstate with his entire family in tow experience. And I don't think any of them liked it much.

Mike thinks its going to be the head gasket... Yipee!!! Just what we needed, another bill we can't afford... oh wait, I mean, atleast we have a car so we don't have to walk everywhere. :)


.... fun times.

Almost There

Today is a relatively big day. We have been waiting for what seems like FOREVER for the state of MN to finish our paperwork. Well we finally got it in the mail today! Yay. That means that we can send in our other paperwork that we've been holding on to in to the court for them to pick the court date for us to sign papers and put our names on their birth certificates as their legal parents! Now the biggest prayer request we need from you guys is that you pray really hard about getting the court date before the end of the year. We would really like to have it done before Christmas, not to mention the end of the year, as far as filling out our tax paperwork for next year! We are so ready to get this stage behind us, so please, please pray with us!
Thanks! We'll keep you posted for that most important adoption finalization date!
Yay!
-Stephanie

BLACK FRIDAY

We finally made it back from black friday shopping. We got some really good deals. There were still a lot of people around but it didn't seem quite so crazy this year. Either they had better checkout line formats, or there really weren't as many people, or we just got lucky. Kohl's is where we went first because their line is usually really long and takes forever to get through. However, this year we didn't have to wait at all. We weren't there right when they opened, so it could be one or the other, or a little of all 3... not as many people, more checkout lanes, getting there a little bit later. We'll never know. We thought we were going to have to wait in a long line at Shopko, but we went to the Jewelry section instead and they rang us up right away instead of waiting in the long line.

Both TJ and I went shopping which means the boys went too! They were actually SUPER good, didn't complain or whine or anything. They thought it was fun! :)

We are almost done with our Christmas shopping. So that is a plus! I think I only have to get Dana's gift, and one more thing for Monkey.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Project

We made these Thanksgiving crafts today. Check them closely and read what the boys said they were thankful for. Some are funny. :)

Sweet Potatos and Garbage Disposal don't mix

We've been getting the newspaper for the last couple weeks and TJ saw this sweet potato recipe that he wanted to try. I'm not really a fan of sweet potatoes, so he took it upon himself to try it. Well he told my mom that he wanted to bring it to Thanksgiving so he made a batch today to make sure it really is good. It actually turned out pretty good. I mean, I tried it and it's ok. Which is an AWESOME review from me anyway since I'm not a fan originally. It really almost tasted like pumpkin pie. I think I would eat more of it. Anyway, TJ used real sweet potatoes so he peeled them and put the peelings down the garbage disposal. Don't do that by the way. He clogged it pretty good and a bunch of water backed up in the sink. His first response was we'll have to call a plumber in the morning. I said, yeah right. So I got down there and started pulling the piping apart to figure out where the clog was. I finally found it and pulled all the peeling junk out and now it works like new.
I said to him, I thought it was funny that his first response is call a plumber and my first response is get down there and figure it out. Oh well, I guess that's just how we roll here.

If you thought the Snuggie was bag...here's something worse

So call me crazy but I was being lazy one afternoon while the boys were napping so I was watched TV. There was nothing on, so I ended up watching iCarly. They played this infomercial making fun of the snuggie and I thought it was hilarious! You have to check it out. ;)
-Stephanie

New Furniture

I'm finally posting the picture of the new furniture. The other furniture is down stairs.

When we got new furniture I said I for sure wanted something that was a funky pattern. And this just stuck out and matched the couches we liked. It's not as funky as some of the others. More like a subtle funky. :)

This is a Chair and a half. it is great. TJ and I can both sit in it comfortably. Or the boys and I can sit in it comfortably and read a book. This is the favorite. Most sat it so far. :)

The couch is just as comfy, and awesome because it is so long. TJ sat up with his legs on the couch and there was still room for me to sit down without his legs on top of me. :)

Last night Bear was watching a movie. He had a pillow on him instead of a blanket to warm him up. I put the blanket on top of him too. He's a big blob with a little head.

Chia Obama

I saw this on TV and I thought it was a joke. I watched the whole thing and realized it was all to serious.

From Bear

The other day Bear was doing something and he was proud of himself.
He said, "I want to show this to God. Mom can you drive me to God's house so I can show him this?!"

And I can't remember if I posted this before or not, but it's along the same lines. We went out to eat for pizza. When we left the restaurant Bear asked what that place is called. I said, Godfather's Pizza. So quickly he responded, "Oh, is God there?"

too funny

Last night we were sitting at the dinner table.  Bear was staring off into space, so TJ decided to reach his hand forward towards him and say BOO, really loud.  Bear jumped of course, but the funny part is one second after that Monkey decided to copy TJ and reached his hand out and yelled BOO right in TJ's face, and TJ jumped!!! Maybe you had to be there, but it was hilarious. TJ was so focused on laughing at Bear jump that he didn't foresee Monkey copying him (even though he does it all the time) and Monkey actually scared him. ha ha ha.....

Then after that Monkey thought it was so funny, so he kept doing it over and over and over.... TJ said, stop it already. That made it funnier for me because TJ thinks he's so funny, but apparently HE doesn't think it's funny when someone else is doing the same thing. Interesting how the ball turned around on him.

Lazy Day

Today we had nothing on the Calendar. Amazing! There's usually something we have to run out for, or something to get accomplished at home. Well... there's always laundry(which I should go switch) and dishes, and cooking, etc. But nothing real major today. So we just chilled at home. It's been nice. But I can tell the boys are on to us/me and my want/need/desire to always be doing something, or hosting something. ;) Monkey has been asking to do things lately... like have friends over, or go to a friends house, and today Bear asked if we could go somewhere, like to a store or something. Gotta love it!!! They are more and more like us every day! ;)

I've been going through pictures today, and I was looking at the pictures from May and June when the boys first came here. Man that seems like such a long time ago. It just seems like we've done so much already, and as though they've grown so much already compared to the pictures from their first arrival! Crazy how the time flies.

Here's a little then and now for ya....

(THEN) First alone time with us.... May 2009



(NOW) Only 5 1/2 months later but seems so much longer.

Downgrade

As you go along in life don't you usually upgrade? Well we downgraded today. We had a nice big entertainment center and decided to downgrade to something much smaller. I really like it alot, and I have a whole nother corner to my house that I've not seen for 4 years! YAY! The only problem is that the big entertainment center held many more purposes than the TV.... like all our movies, gaither dvd's, the Wii, my willowtree nativity set and some other decorations. So now I have to figure out where to go with all those. Not sure what to do. I might have to but one of those deep shelves to put on the wall for the nativity... beings I leave that out all year! :)

Buckle Up! (if you can)

In our Taurus the seat belt for the driver has had issues for a while. Nothing major really just that the sensor wouldn't recognize that you were buckled so it would always give that reminder beeping to buckle up every 5 minutes as long as the car was on. I'm used to it, and forget about it until a new person rides in my car with me and asks what that is. Ha ha ha.
Well that seatbelt also had a little trick. It was hard to buckle, so you had to push the button before you could latch it together. While Dana was using it I guess she figured it out, but during that time Dana had to use Nicole's van to get Lyle home, so Nicole was then using it and she couldn't figure it out. :) She was over here the day that Dana and her switched van/car so when she was going to leave she sat out there forever, and I thought why is she still sitting in the driveway. Well a few minutes later she comes in and says... I can not get the seat belt to work. What is the trick. So I went in and told her the trick and showed her but something is wrong with it for good not. The button won't push in at all to do the little trick before buckling up. I said, well it worked before. :) I'm going to blame Dana for breaking it because she doesn't read my blog! Ha ha ha ha

So to be able to buckle up and be on the safe side of the law you have to buckle into the passenger side plug. Now the Taurus is no longer able to carry another person in the front seat. Great! I guess if someone wants to go with me, they have to drive!

Silly Pastor

Today at Church in light of "dressing up" Pastor wore these glasses around. At the end of the service he gave them to Bear. He thought that was awesome. He keeps picking them up and saying. These are silly. Pastor gave them to me.

He put them on the wrong way the first time and everyone laughed so that's how he likes to wear them now. :)

Harvest Fest

Today we went to the Harvest Fest at a church in town. It was pretty big. Lots of people there. Much more than I expected. I'll post a few pictures of the games and such for you to see all the fun we had. And we got some candy for playing the games. Then we went to Pizza Ranch for supper. The boys' favorite! :)


They got to decorate their own cookie. They had chocolate frosting, and sprinkles, and little marshmallows, gummy bears, m&m's and candy corn. They put it all on there. Yummmm.... to them. Yuck to me! :)


They had 3 chances to pick the grand prize winning duck. Neither of them picked right, but no matter what you got a piece of candy for playing.


Bowling. We will definitely have to do this for real this winter.


Ring Toss.  Monkey got 2 on there. And the prize was a 2 liter of pop. Yeah, just what a kid needs. It may have been more cost efficient and practical for them to give away a can of pop?!?!


Plinko! No way! Best game ever!!! I think I might figure out how to make this and make one for our house! That would be fun times!


And a bounce house! Great for getting out some energy.

It was pretty fun. I was amazed at the number of people there. What a great ministry and an awesome way to make people in the community aware of the church.

Pray for Dana and Lyle

Tuesday Lyle was in a car accident. The whole front of the car was sliced off, and the rest of it was pinning him in place. They got him out and sent him by ambulance to the hospital in town here. I went over with Dana for a little bit on Tuesday to see how he was. His left foot is completely broken, will need screws to put the bones back together, surgery for that should be sometime next week. After that he'll have to have a cast on it for 3 months. His right foot is not broken but severely sprained and will also need to be put in a cast to help it heal and not become a broken bone. He will probably only have that cast for a couple weeks or until it's healed enough for him to put pressure on it. For now he can't walk anyway also because of his back. They found some chips in his spine and are waiting for the specialist in Rochester to get back to them about what all needs to be done about that, or how long for healing. He will be bed ridden for quite a while, and even once he can sit up, he will still need to be in a wheel chair since both of his feet are out of commission. Good thing their bedroom is on the main floor of the house. :)

Then last night I called Dana to see if they found anything else out and she said she had just left the hospital. She stopped off to get gas on her way home and now her car won't start! Her Father-in-law was coming over to see if it was a quick fix, or to help jump it. That didn't work so she called back at 10:30pm, and asked if she could use my car. So we are without a car for today. We're praying that nothing major is wrong with her car and that it can get fixed soon. And of course for Lyle while he is bed ridden... he is going to go stir crazy! He is not a sit around kind of guy! And for the pain that he is in. It's going to be a long road to recovery.

Morning, Morning, go away....

Come again another day....wait, WHAT?!? That doesn't work.:)

Why is it that no matter what time I go to bed I don't want to get up in the morning? I rolled out of bed at 5:15am, but not with any actual desire, but out of pure necessity. I went to bed at 10pm... plenty of sleep. So what is the problem! I think I am a fairly motivated person, if I want to do something, I don't stop until it's done. So why can't I get up in the morning?

I always, and I mean ALWAYS have to hit the snooze atleast once, if not 6 times. :) I just can't get out of bed the first time, and sometimes I can think of every reason in the book to sleep in a little longer. If I'm really fast in the shower, or don't do this, or do this and this at the same time, or do that later in the day, or whatever it is, I could just enjoy the soft warm comfort of the bed for 10 more minutes. But 10 minutes turns into 15, and then 20 and every once in a while longer than that, if there's no where to be that is! Then I get up at the last minute and run around like a chicken with my head cut off!

Oh well, long gone are the days of getting up to be somewhere specifically, now I have to get up so I can be ready for the day before my children arise, and lately I've been prying myself from the bed in the morning so I can do my paperwork before the kids get up also...instead of doing it late at night.

I guess I will just have to dwell on the fact that I am making my husband happy by going to bed with him and getting up before he goes to work, instead of staying up late while he's in bed by 9:30pm. :) I wonder how long before that kicks into my brain to tell it it's a good thing to get up early. :P

New DO! all around.

I cut everyone's hair last night and I want to get my hair cut today.



Monkey wanted his head almost bald... so I cut it really short this time. He loves it!


I love Bears's pose here. :)

This one goes out to JOY!

I'd like to take this moment to Honor Joy Wright, top blog commenter.

It is because of your comments that I strive to find the time to blog something.
Thank you for your dedication to the blog. ;) If it weren't for your comments I would think I was writing these for no reason!

So Bravo-Bravo and Thank You-Thank You to Joy. Please insert applause here, and accept your trophy.



hee hee ha ha ho ho hum

Nap time

The other day, I went down to get Monkey up from nap time. I opened the door and turned on the light to find Monkey laying on the other bed in his room like this.


I thought he was just faking it, but I said something about getting up and he didn't move. So I thought, huh, He's really sleeping like that. And then I thought it was funny, so I ran upstairs quick to see if I could get the camera before he woke up. I made it in time.


I took a couple pictures and he didn't even wake up from the flash. That was a good nap, I guess.

Weekend with Daddy

Tonight I was scrapbooking with Nicole in Mankato. We are going back and doing it again tomorrow until 5-6pmish....
Before I left for the evening, I said to Monkey.... "I'm going to go scrapbook with Auntie Nicole. I'm coming home to sleep, but I'm going to be scrapbooking all day tomorrow too, so you guys are going to have a special day with just daddy. First he said, Dad doesn't have to work tomorrow?! Sweet. Then he said, "Mom, you better tell Dad the rules, because he's not here alot and he doesn't know them all."

Ha ha ha ha....too funny. TJ says that himself. I'm sure that's why he said it. Usually TJ will come home and I might forget to tell him a new rule, or a change to a rule because of something that happened during the day, and he'll say.. *Sigh*, I never know what's going on around here! :)

Well....careful of your actions and words. They rub off on the kids... :)

Atleast this wasn't really a bad action, but I don't want Monkey to take this as Dad is second rate because he's not home all day like Mom. We will have to talk that one through.

Pumpkins

We went to a pumpkin party last week. We all had a good time. Well, minus TJ because he was home sick. Here are some pics to enjoy.


Bear's pumpkin, but I drew it and carved it. :)


Monkey's pumpkin. After he saw the one I did, I told him he could draw the face however he wanted it and I would carve it out for him. I thought it was totally cute.


Monkey posing, getting ready to clean out the pumpkin.


Bear posing getting ready to clean out the pumpkin.


Tricia was nice enough to grab the camera and take a picture of all three of us cleaning out the pumpkins at the same time. Much fun! ;)

Fun times today.... make that all week.

Monday we had our weekly meeting with Jennifer and baby Ariana. The boys love seeing her. So that was fun. Plus it was nice out so later that afternoon we got to play outside in the privacy of our fenced in backyard! That was great!

Tuesday we had MOPS in the morning and that was a good time. The boys learned about Baby Moses. I'm so glad that MOPS is a Christian organization and they teach the boys just like a Sunday school class and the ladies there talk about how God is working in their lives. Great stuff! Then last night I went to the Church Ladies meeting while daddy stayed home with the boys. It was a great encouraging time! There are lots of new young couples in our church so that is totally encouraging and fun to hang out with them.

Today we met some new friends!! Monkey and Bear had never met them before. An acquaintance of mine that I decided to spend more time with. Today was play date #1 of hopefully many! :) The kids played well together and us adults had good conversation as well. :) Her kids are a little bit smaller so that is nice for Monkey because he likes to feel like he's in charge so be the oldest among the kids he plays well. I think he feels like he has the power being the oldest child there. Tonight a friend is going to come over and learn how to scrapbook!! YAY YAY YAY YAY!! I really hope she likes it, because it would be great to have another friend who wants to scrapbook with me! Love it~

Tomorrow we are having another impromptu play date. 3 of us are singing in a Trio for Special music on Sunday, so the 3 of us and our children are going to storm the wonderful piano players house! And mix in the play date along with really just getting together to practice before Sunday! ;) Then we are having company over Thursday night, Lord willing no one gets sick! So we'll see, but I sure hope we can because we've been trying to get together with this couple forever and they are always not able to do it. :)

Friday we are getting our pictures taken! The boys are anyway! I can't wait. It is called antiquities. The MOPS group is putting it on. It's only $10 and you get a free 10x13 picture. Then if you want any others you have to buy them. I saw some examples and they are adorable. They have old time clothes the kids get to put on and the picture is sepia toned with a splash of color. I'm totally excited to see what the pics look like. I've needed to get the boys pictures done a little more professionally anyway, so this is perfect. Then in the evening Nicole and I are scrapbooking until the night is young!

TJ's haveing a weekend with the boys.... as Nicole and I will be scrapbooking all Saturday too! I'm getting further and further behind in my scrapbooking every day, as I take more and more pictures every day! Huh. The boys are dying to have their own scrapbooks to look at anyway. I did make them an ABC scrapbook with pictures of themselves... but I need to start their own books from when they came and everything that's happened since then!

YeeHA

helpful brother

I have kicked my toes on the bathroom stool way too many times. So I told Bear that if he doesn't put it back after washing his hands, I'm going to put it in my room for the day and he has to figure out another way to reach the sink. Well, I was hoping this would affect Monkey too because he forgets as well. Yesterday it worked because Monkey felt bad for Bear that he couldn't reach to sink so he would lift him up while he washed his hands or brushed his teeth.  Monkey said he was sick of lifting him up. So I said that he should also remember to put the stool back, and help his brother remember.

Well right away this morning they forgot to put the stool back so it's in my room again for the day. I guess we'll try again tomorrow.

Bear was going to the bathroom and I said, Bear how are you going to wash your hands.  Bear said, I'm going to put the stool back next time. I said, well that is a great idea, but how are you going to wash your hands right now? He reached and reached... and pouted. I can't reach the soap. Me: Oh isn't that sad. I sure hope you figure something out.

Monkey had such pity on his brother even though he really did not want to have to partake in this lifting up Bear every time he needs to wash his hands, he reluctantly went in there and said, *sigh, Bear I'll lift you up this time.

I guess we'll see how many more days before they start remembering to put the stool back after they use it. :)

Pressure washing

The fence is up, and since we bought it from someone where it had already been out in the weather without any treatment it looks a little rough. It really doesn't look bad when it's dry, it's when it's rains that it really darkens more than normal and you can see the wear and tear.

So, we borrowed a pressure washer from our good friends, the Kellar's. :) I started washing it today, and oh Boy! It is going to take a long time. First of all, I ran out of gas 2 times already and I've only done about 1/4 of it. Plus it's so dirty that I think I may have to do two sessions, once I get the whole thing done, do it again. However I am thinking about doing the first run now and seeing how that looks, and then maybe doing it again in the Spring.

Well, like I said I'm only 1/4 of the way done and my fingers hurt from having to hold the trigger down the whole time. :P Hopefully it's nice again tomorrow so I can do more. I'll have to do it during nap time though because it makes a muddy mess and I don't want the boys out there with me getting all muddy.

$1

The boys earn tokens to be able to watch TV... well they can also turn 4 tokens in for a dollar. So Monkey decided to do that. They had TV taken away for a week, so He's just been dying to watch TV so we reminded him of the alternative, that he could still turn them in for $1, instead of using them to watch a movie.... so he decided to do that today. Then right away he says, "Let's go to Target". Apparently he's going to need a big lesson on how to handle money! He wants to spend it before he can even think about putting it in his piggy bank. So we went to the dollar store instead of target because there would be more choices there for what they can get for $1. We looked at everything before deciding what we wanted to get.  Bear got to come with to spend a dollar as well.  Monkey picked his prize but after seeing some of the other things he said, "Mom can we go home and get my other dollar and come back to the store."
Oh Boy! This could turn bad.

Lesson Learned (for today)

I had to put (for today) just incase, because tomorrow could be a different story.

Lately when the boys fight about something, which the fight is usually about toys... we tell them that the fighting is really hurting our ears and the have to take it to their bedroom and come out when they're done, and have it figured out. They don't get to have any toys, and they don't like sitting in there first because they're mad at each other over whatever toy it is, plus they are extra mad at each other because they have to sit in the room for a couple minutes. So after a few times of doing this I noticed some changes in Monkey... if Bear started crying over something that happened, Monkey was a little more "sympathetic" like.... Sorry Bear, Sorry, Sorry, Bear, I said Sorry! He's trying to get him to stop crying before we come over there and make them both sit in the room for a couple minutes. Then yesterday, they were digging through the toys, and "unexpectedly" wanted the same toy. That would be sarcastic because they always want the same toy!!! Anyway, Bear was starting to fuss about it and Monkey at first didn't want to give up the toy, but after Bear started getting louder he knew we would make them both sit in the room until they were able to deal with it the right way, so Monkey gave it to him and said, Here Bear just have it because I don't want to have to sit in the room.

Always nice to see a plan come together in the end. :)
We'll see how long that works.

"Uncle" Monkey

My cousin Jennifer and baby Ariana came over again today. The boys love holding her and seeing her. Monkey was holding Ariana and he was talking to her. "Hi, Ariana. Are you tired? Are you going to take a nap? After lunch time Uncle Monkey is going to take a nap. You can call me Uncle Monkey if you want."

I thought that was too cute. He thought of that all on his own. :)

What would he technically be? Jennifer's my cousin... so what relationship is my son to my cousins daughter?




*Obviously he used his real name not our code name of Monkey, in case that confused you in this scenario. :)

Merry Christmas!

TJ is putting the Christmas lights up on the house. We're not going to turn them on outside until November probably, but it's smart to get them up while it's still semi-warm out instead of waiting until right before Christmas when it's freezing outside!
We got pretty green lights for the house, a red ribbon lighted strand to put down the front porch post, and really, really big light bulbs to put down the sidewalk. Those one's we'll probably wait until a little later to put them out so they don't get ruined.

The boys are so excited to put the Christmas tree up and so am I!!!! We were thinking about putting the tree up next week. We'll see how the week goes though! :)
-Stephanie

Amazing

This was Four His Glory's vocal coach. He's amazing. We really learned a lot from him.

TJ

!!RETRACTION, RETRACTION!!

OK- so I think that I need to eat my words... After I was willing to share the wonderful comments about my boys, terror has struck this afternoon! I will never boast again! :)

I just sat on the floor with a screaming, crying, whinning, attitude ridden little boy....who wouldn't give in to the choice he made! We sat there for 50 minutes! Yes I said 50 minutes and boy does my butt hurt from him sitting on my lap the whole time, on the hard wood kitchen floor. He made the choice and I said he couldn't go back to nap time, or eat or drink or anything else until he followed through with the pre-stated consequence to his actions. (Actually he kept saying he wanted to go back to nap and I said, you sure can as soon as you finish.) So I said I was willing to hold him and sit on the floor until Daddy came home, or supper, or bed time or whenever he decided was the right time.... apparently 50 minutes later was the right time. He followed through with his chosen consequence and went back to nap. Oh Boy! I really thought I was going to have to sit there longer. Didn't know what I was going to do, or how I was going to get the other one up from nap if I had to sit there until Daddy came home.

Here's a snip-it of our conversation...
Monkey-I don't want to! (Cry Cry)
Mom- Isn't that Sad.
Monkey-I just don't want to and I'm not going to! (Cry, Whine, Cry, Sob)
Mom- Isn't that Sad.
Monkey-I want to go back to nap. (sniffle, cry, sob, sniffle)
Mom- You sure may, as soon as you are done.
Monkey-I'm not going to, never ever. (whine, cry)
Mom- Isn't that sad.
Monkey-I know what you're going to say, stop saying it. (whine) I just want to go back to nap. (cry, whine, cry, sniffle)
Mom- You sure may, as soon as you are done.
Monkey- I'm not going to. I don't like it, I don't want to.(cry, whine, cry, sniffle)
Mom- Isn't that sad.

and so on and so on.... it kinda gets funny after you say the same thing over and over.... but don't laugh... doesn't mix well with the bad attitude! :)

Anyway.... if you read this say a little prayer for me.

Sitting Still

Ok so 4 compliments in a row....I hope this does not go to their heads! :)

Yesterday we went to Culver's and met with my friend Katie. Well if you know Katie and you know me... we like to talk. So the boys did pretty well sitting there. I know their little quarks so I may not think they are being as good as the passer-by does. But anyway. We ate lunch and then sat there for quite a while talking. Well apparently the manager at Culver's thought that they were perfect angels or something. She comes out and says, "you boys are sitting so nicely and patiently, I've been watching you" Then she asks me if she can give them some custard. She let them choose from vanilla or chocolate and even let them choose something to put on the top.  Monkey chose sprinkles and Bear chose M&M's. Wow was that ever nice! Plus when we were leaving Culver's another employee walks out behind us and says, "I just want to say that you have the nicest boys! They sat so nicely and quietly."

Well today, we went to an appointment. We were waiting in some chairs until it was our turn and the chairs we were sitting in were right by this ladies office and she could see us. We were sitting there for a few minutes and the lady looks out, and says "I can't believe how good you boys are sitting there for mom!"
Then when it was our turn we went in to the meeting and the boys played with toys while the adults talked. There was a kitchen set in there and they were actually playing together nicely. When it was time to leave the lady told them how nicely they played with each other.

I must say I'm feeling a little proud of these boys the more I write! :)
One more recent event.... we were on vacation and went out to eat at Perkins. There were 2 older couples sitting across the way from us and when it was time to go they came over to our table to tell us how they thought our children were the best behaved and quiet kids they've seen at a restaurant for a long time. :)

Well, thank you one and all. We definitely work hard on the manners and controlling your actions and words. It is a huge praise to receive these compliments. I am proud of them. Let's pray they keep it up!

Anyway, it is kinda funny how these random people feel the need to come up and tell us this, It's nice of them, But every time, Monkey says.... "Mom do you know that person?" Makes the whole stranger thing confusing! Oh well! :)

Early to Bed, Early to Rise on a Trial Basis

This week I've been doing an early to bed, early to rise trial.... Instead of staying up til 12 or 1.... I've been going to bed the same time as TJ between 9:30-10pm and getting up with him at 5am... Getting out of bed in the morning is not really my favorite thing, but I must say it's kinda nice seeing TJ before he goes to work. And completely being done getting ready before the boys even get up and all that jazz. So as of Wednesday (day 3), not the worst thing in the world. I guess I have 2 more days to go and then we'll see what I really think of it! :)


Funny randomness.... Last night at the dinner table we were talking about how there might be snow flurries.  Bear says, "Does God dump the snow into the clouds and then it comes down to us?" Pretty profound for a 3 year old. TJ says, who told you that Bear, he said "God".

Caramel Apples

Have you ever made your own caramel apple with the quote-un-quote kit? We were at the store last night and TJ saw premade caramel apples and thought it would be a fun treat for the boys. I said if we're going to get caramel apples we should get the "kits" and we can make them. I did that as a kid and thought it was fun/cool. TJ had no idea what I was talking about! I couldn't believe it. So I showed him and we bought it. The boys and I are going to have caramel apples for snack! healthy, apple, treat, caramel..... put them together and you have a pretty good snack!! :)
Good memories....good times
-Stephanie

Random Thoughts by Stephanie V2

Besides the obvious answer of our "sin nature" why do people want what others have? Like my kids for example... Why is it that they only want the toy if someone else is playing with it?! I mean, I can kinda understand when there is something new and you want to get your hands on it and see how it works... ok, but when there are 40 toys laying on the floor... all of which you have played with a hundred times, why do you only at that moment want to play with the one that is in your brother's hand? What makes that better than the others? You've played with them all, there is nothing new to explore or figure out. All I can say is this leads to a very frustrating day and lots of brotherly fighting! :)

Random Thoughts by Stephanie V1

While we were on vacation, we were swimming most of the day. Well even when your swimming you have to use the bathroom.... and first of all there is nothing more annoying then going to the bathroom when you are wearing a wet swimsuit.... but besides that point. After going to the bathroom, I proceeded to wash my hands with soap, and dry them off with a paper towel. Every time, I thought... "Seems kinda weird that I'm washing my hands just so I can go back to chlorine filled water". So, do you think it is really necessary, other than for our minds comfort, to wash your hands after going to the bathroom, (considering they are not "dirty") when you are just going to get back in a swimming pool?
Hmmm, something to ponder.

Hear This..... FRRRRRRT

So TJ started this thing..... before he passes gas he says "hear this".... frrrrrrrt.

and so now automatically the boys do it too. If he doesn't say it they do, and even when he does say it, right afterwards Bear says Hear this! and makes the noise with his mouth, to repeat what Dad just did. It's not a big deal at home, more so when you're at someone else's house.
So if my children are around, and you let a little one slip...... it won't be a secret.... they'll say "Hear That!" and point the attention to you. :)

Como Zoo with Boys

We went to the zoo today. Spur of the moment but we had a free afternoon and not sure when that will happen again before snow fall! :) With Daddy home that is....
Enjoy some pics. (if anyone is still out there.) :P