post christmas lethargy

I think it is safe to say we had a great Christmas.  Not because of the things we got, or even the things we gave, but because we were able to spend it with family.  My father in law, brother in law and his girlfriend were able to spend Christmas with us this year....it was so nice to see the kids playing with their uncle, and grandpa, and Alaina fit right in and colored with athena, helped harass the boys....

We have so much to be thankful for as we finish out this year: we still have each other, we have a new place, we both have jobs.....Its sad that it took the horrible tragedy in CT to wake me up and appreciate all that I do have.

Today it snowed. and snowed, and snowed and snowed.....we have at least a foot of snow out there, and its great!  Im hoping tomorrow will be a little warmer so that the snow will be sticky and we can make snowmen in our yard.....poor caleb had trouble walking in the yard this afternoon, the snow was up to his waist!!

Today, if I didnt have kiddos, I would have spent the day on the couch reading, and sipping hot chocolate, thats just the kind of day it was.  Instead we played outside, did some chores, put together some of our new puzzles, played outside, made hot chocolate, watched a movie, and read some books before bed. not a bad day.
Here are a few pictures of our day today in the snow...notice how caleb is falling, or laying on the ground in most of them....he is an odd little man  :)

Surprise!

Now I can finally  say something.....for over 2 weeks I have been planning and scheming and athena has been keeping this secret......Joshs dad, brother , his girlfriend are here! they got in (super late) last night and will leave right after christmas.
Josh had no idea.  I think this is first time ever that I have been able to surprise him  with....anything! and it was awesome!!!!
We went to church today, relaxed, did a little shopping, made pizzas, played, chatted...its been fun.  Tomorrow Dad Ralph will make his breakfast (eggs,bacon,sausage, toast...)  for everyone...it looks like the kids will get to play in the snow with all of us, we are going to try a tour at the teddy bear factory since alaina has never been to vt and wants to see a vt teddy bear.  Then lunch/dinner at my parents, and later my parents will come over to do cmas eve presents (jammies for the kids) and my dad reads them the night before christmas...then bedtime for santa to come....
so, since I have been planning, and cleaning and baking...Im kind of tired. I am going to make some tea, eat some GF crustless pumpkin pie, and head to bed early.

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!!

wordless wednesday

I have a couple of blogger friends who do this, and I decided to do one this week.....

I had to explain this: athena wrote and illustrated the words to the song Oh be careful (little feet,hands etc...)

my wake up moment

Lately I have been frustrated with my kids....frustrated that they fight, frustrated that they get up at the crack of dawn, frustrated that they seem to ignore me sometimes, just frustrated with seemingly everything.....
Then Fridays horrific tragedy happened.  It was like a slap in the face for me that night watching the news....What if that happened here....what if the last thing I said to my children was said out of frustration? God forbid, what if something like that happened to my children? or my friends children?  I have had a rough weekend struggling with so much sadness for those families, guilt that I have not been the mommy I want to be, and honestly just felt stuck in a dark hole of sadness....
I cried through most of church yesterday.  My kiddos performed in church and as proud as I was, all I could think was if this had happened here no one would be singing right now....Our pastor was great and had a message that was helpful, but still I felt so sad....I was upset last night when athena was not listening to me when I asked her to do something, and had to walk away becuase all I could think was -if my beautiful daughter cant listen to me now, how can I know that if there is some emergency that she will listen then?-  I know, kind of crazy/obsessive, but I think that part of my struggle with the shooting, is that in my mind I need to know my kids will follow instructions...instructions that literally mean life or death, and that scares me.
I ended up talking to athena a little bit about why I was sad.  I told her with as few details as possible, and I told her that the person who did those horrible things was dead and could not hurt anyone else, and we talked about the chidlren who are in heaven, and she said that they got a great christmas present, they are in heaven.....How awesome is my daughter!
Anyway, all of the above to say that I still feel sad, I can not even try to fathom what these families are going through.  How proud I am of those teachers , and how proud their families must be, yes sad and heartbroken, but they are heroes. They put themselves in the way and saved many childrens lives.

I want to watch the news, and the updates, but I just cant do it.  It breaks my heart and hits too close to home...I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old....and now I need to go check on them and kiss them, becuase I still can.

Thanks for "listening"

sadness

I am not even sure what to write.....I am so emotional about (another horrific) shooting that happened today. ....I gave my kids ginormous hugs when I picked them up tonight, and we snuggled watching polar express, but in the back of my mind all I could think was, this could have been such a different night for us....the what ifs are overwhelming me, and the first thing Josh said when he got home was "today made me seriously consider having the kids homeschooled"....I know that in the grand scheme of things we only can control so much that happens, but dear Lord, I can not even begin to fathom what these people are going through....parents who sent their children...kindergardeners-4th grade this morning, and will never see them again on this earth, children who survived, but will now have to live with the visions of what they witnessed, children who lost parents....a friend of mines sister in law teaches at that school, and as of late this afternoon, neither her nor her daughter (who is a student there) have been located......I believe in God, and I know that he has a plan, and we might not always understand it, but tonight its very hard to understand the why.
I have some questions...not religous, just questions and frustrations....these are not meant to cause debate or anything, just questions that I have had over the years....
Why is it seemingly so easy for someone to obtain a weapon?  Can we make laws, or rules or something that  people need to pass some sort of mental health exam prior to obtaining a gun....
How can people still get into school so easily? After the various school shootings I thought most schools had more security....
And more of a statement, but I pray these people that are suffering tonight, whether physically or mentally, I pray that the community has counselling, and help set up for them.....

I just put my babies to bed. safe and sound in our home....yes they were grumpy and tired, but they are alive. I can hug them tomorrow morning, and play with them, they are here with me....there are parents tonight looking at empty beds, in a room that will be empty, and my heart breaks for them.....Tears are running down my face as I think about the pain that they are going through, and while I can not say I know how they feel, I can only imagine, and I selfishly pray that these monsters that caused this are punished one way or another....whether in this life or the next.

Our new friend Peppermint

We started the elf on a shelf with the kids...this is the first year trying it out, and so far they think its great!!  Its a little creepy sometimes, but their behavior has been great, and they like waking up and looking for Peppermint every morning....the hard part is remembering to move him....So, I thought Id share with you where he has been this week...and feel free to give me ideas on other things he can do etc...

Our elf Peppermint, arrived by tractor last sunday

The next morning we found him......on our shelf

Apparently Peppermint likes to fly....he got stuck in the helmet hanging in the corner....sill y elf

Just waiting for the kids to wake up......

just hanging out....with a granola bar......

Peppermint seems to have made a friend...one of Athenas groovy girls.....



Where we will he go next?