2nd Annual Gingerbread House party!

Well, it was "just not the same this year," since Grandma Mary was snowed in at her house. Mary was like my second mom growing up, and as a 1st grade teacher, she has all the supplies for making gingerbread houses! Last year we were invited to Michelle's (her daughter's) house to make gingerbread houses. . .here we are at our 1st annual party. . .

For our 2nd annual party, Mary graciously dropped off all the supplies at Michelle's house this morning, and then went home due to the blizzard conditions! We missed getting to see her light up gingerbread man sweater. . .maybe next year! And maybe next year I'll remember the aprons again :) But here we are, having fun anyway. . .

CANDY AND FROSTING GALORE!!!!!! Porter: "I'm not hiding anything. . ." And the finished products!!Ainsley was planning, before we even got there, how she wanted to put gumdrops on her gingerbread house! All the little girls made their houses similar to each other. Porter, well, he just went all out with the blue frosting and candy :)

Thank you Michelle and Grandma Mary! We were so glad to have somewhere fun to go on this blustery day!!

Michelle and I have known each other since 1st grade, and I'm so glad our men hit it off too! They have many things in common, including being excellent daddies and husbands! They really do work hard. . .and occasionally need some time to rest :) . . .
Before we went to the party this morning, we made gingerbread men. I love shouting, "Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man," as I open the oven door. Porter was sure he saw their arms moving in the oven :)5 days til Christmas and my true love gives to me. . .once again. . .a few minutes of peace so I can blog!

Not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse. . .

and so I have a few minutes to blog.

The kids are all nestled in bed the couch, with visions of sugarplums
Berenstain Bears dancing in their heads.

Ainsley had her preschool Christmas program this morning, and said her line, "Mary brought her son, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Of course she had it memorized long before I did :) As in, on the ride home from preschool the day she got the line. Kids amaze me!

She was excited that Grammy came with Taetum and Bridger to watch her today, and daddy got to come too! She was actually excited to go to preschool today. . .knowing we'd be there soon to watch her!We celebrated by going to the "fishy McDonalds" for lunch. And, apparently, pants are optional at nap today. . .

Last night I got to enjoy some adult conversation at our MOPS Christmas party. Thanks girls!

-12 degrees

I did NOT just give my children a game to play that I had planned on giving them for Christmas! And even if I had, it wouldn't have been because I needed something new to play on this freezing cold day in which we have to stay inside! NOT ME!

I did NOT find my youngest sons shoe in my tampon box. I would never let him play with tampons, and even if he had, he wouldn't have left his shoe in the box. I was not completely and totally overjoyed that I found the shoe, that the real reason I was looking in that box didn't seem so bad. NOT ME!

I did NOT hear a loud thud from the kids room. When I went in there to check, I did not see my middle child ready to jump from the top bunk AGAIN. He then did NOT proceed to show me how he can jump from the top step of the bunkbed ladder to the floor, "JUST LIKE A ROCKETSHIP!" NOT PORTER!

New Computer = Old Pictures

Dude, we got a (new) DELL! It was our Cyber Monday deal!

I now have access to old pictures of the kids, and I thought it would be fun to every once in awhile compare what Ainsley and Porter looked like at around the same age as Trey!

Ainsley Brielle: what a doll!

Porter William: what a smile!

Thank you sweet babes for napping today! And speaking of napping. . .

I present to you Trey Coleman: champion sleeper?!
Was this child rocked to sleep? No
Was this child put on my shoulder? No (I tried :) )
Did this child reach for his crib? Yes
Did this child fuss for about 1 minute and then fall alseep on his own? Yes
Did I used to rock this baby to sleep? Yes
Is this MY CHILD? Yes
Did my sister ask, "Do babies really do that?" Yes, this one does

Would I be surprised if this changes? No

If I have learned one thing in my 5 years as a parent, it is to never judge the way another mom is parenting her child!!! What works for my specific child, and for our family, may not be the same thing that works for someone elses specific child and their family.

When Ainsley was a baby, I thought she should cry for a few minutes and then fall asleep on her own. This was working for some of my other mom friends, which was great for them, but since this is my blog :) let me just say, that after AN. ENTIRE. NIGHT. OF. CRYING. from a baby who hardly ever cried, I didn't want to try this again. Maybe it would've worked, but we did not feel it was right for us at that time. And, she turned out to be a great sleeper! As a 4 yr old she still took 3 hr naps, and as a 5 yr old she always rests and sometimes still falls asleep. And no, I wasn't still helping her fall asleep. . .she eventually learned to fall asleep on her own. Thankfully, I have a VERY helpful husband. We recently had a speaker at MOPS who said, and I quote, "We just try." I loved it. As parents, we just try. We look to God, to other parents, and ultimately, we try what we feel is best for OUR FAMILY. I take delight today, in knowing that I know my children best, and that God designed them (and me) not to be perfect, but to be perfect for each other. Oh, and when I mess up, I'm glad God designed them to forgive easily when I ask for forgiveness! May I always remember to encourage other moms, and not judge them!

11 days 'til Christmas. . .

and my true love gives to me. . .a live nativity. . .and a few minutes of peace so I can blog. . .Sing it again!

Last night we went to a Live Nativity as a family, and just loved it! It was so age appropriate for the kids. . .they got to pet the sheep (so soft, and a little wild), the donkey, and the calf (it licked Porter and got close enough he could kiss it). They were in awe of the angels, wise men, shepards, Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus! The church it was at was so welcoming, and we even got to go inside for cookies, cocoa and cider! We loved it! Then we drove around and looked at Christmas lights!

And who says swingsets are only for summertime?! We had great fun on our snowy swingset. . .

Stay tuned for some church Christmas program pics. . .GooF has horrible memories from these programs/practices :)

Here they are:

Take note of the top right photo below. . .where is Porter you may ask? Before he went on stage (and before he goes anywhere without mom) he says, "Give me a kiss right here," and points at his cheek. He must have decided he needed one more snuggle, because he started to get tears in his eyes, came off stage for a quick hug after about the first song, and then went back up.

Ainsley did a great job with all of the actions to the songs! I loved how she smiled and waved when she picked GooF and I out of the crowd :) I am always so proud of you kids, no matter what! Take note of her striped tights. . .we looked all over the mall for ones with red and green stripes :)

Then we went for our weekly Sunday night dinner at my parents. Thanks mom and dad for cooking and playing. Sunday nights at your house are something I'm sure our kids will always remember.
I love traditions, and one thing I always look forward to at my parents for Christmas is our LOOOOOOONG STRETCHHHHHHY stockings! "Santa Claus" fills them with things we need like hair/make up products/socks, etc. I love reaching into them again and again :)

One tradition we just started last year is my parents stay home with the 5 grandkids for a game night, while my sisters and I and our husbands go out sometime over Christmas vacation. We do this instead of exchanging gifts among us girls. . .we still buy for the kids of course :)

Another family tradition is my dad making lefse, and since he sent 3 dozen home with me tonight, I think I better just go have some!

"17 days til Christmas. . .

and my true love gives to me. . .a few minutes alone so I can blog!!!" Sing it

The Christmas season is upon us and we have been busy, as we're looking forward to celebrating Baby Jesus' birthday! Every morning the kids wake up and open up a window on their advent calendar. Then, they eat the chocolate while I read the Bible Verse that's behind the window. Next, the kids change our "how many days til Christmas" wall hanging! The kids also really like our magnetic nativity on the fridge, and the nativity ("activity") set my parents add to every year for us. The lights on the house have been hung. . .thanks to daddy and help from our littlest elf, Trey.Ainsley had a dance recital (preview, as she calls it), and she was excited to wear her "cutie pie" costume! She does such a great job with her dance moves, and most importantly, she loves it. . .she runs into class confidently without even looking back!

Cousin Cutie Pies

Ainsley's preschool had a Thanksgiving feast, and I enjoyed helping with it!We also celebrated Thanksgiving at my parents and at Ryan's parents. . .I got up early the day after Thanksgiving to get the 50% toys at Kohls!The boys. . .
And speaking of boys, daddy and Porter had a great time riding over snow piles in the driveway. Their "snow dam" We've been baking goodies, bringing frosted sugar cookies to daddy's students (Ainsley's idea), and we hosted 4 college boys at our home for Spaghetti and atari. They appreciated the home cooked meal and said, "This is my dream home!" Not sure if that's because they're used to a small dorm room, or because our house comes complete with food :)

We attempted to get a Christmas picture of the cousins. . .What do YOU think it looks like Bridger is saying to Trey? . . . maybe "Hey, Get back here!" or "Just checking to see if you have a dirty diaper" We also have a new addition to our family. . .her name is Stellaca. . .what a good little mommy you are Ainsley! And, the kids in our Sunday School class made Christmas cards for those who otherwise may not get any. Ainsley girl made a Christmas tree on her card. . .someone will be so glad to get it!We've been making snow angels and snow piles! The first time I bundled Trey up in snowpants, boots, etc, he couldn't move (see pic of him laying on the floor). Poor thing toppled over, scraping his sweet little face. I love the picture of him looking out the window, in his feeties, at the bigger kids playing in the snow!Trey is continuing to live up to his title of "mobile mess":). . .And for some good clean pictures of Trey at 16 months. . .

love the teeth in that one :) Trey, he does the cutest thing everytime he gets mad or sad. . .he covers his mouth with his hands while voicing his opinion. And, he's turned into a champion at falling asleep. Let me just say that I love putting infant babies to sleep. . .mine and other peoples. . .feeding them, rocking them, singing lullabies to them. Yes, I know he is no longer an infant, but he still typically fell asleep on our shoulder. . .until recently. Every so often, he's been reaching out his arms to his crib, laying down, making a few peeps and falling asleep. Maybe he likes having a little space after being loved on/tackled all day by his siblings :)

There's been a cookie exchange, me attempting to learn guitar from my parents, Ainsley reading all 193 pages of Dick and Jane, Ainsley wanting to read everything in sight :), reading the first book in the Little House on the Prairie series (which we call "reading Laura and Mary"), swimming at the Wellness Center, decorating, baking, picking out toys we want from Santa Claus, and most of all talking about baby Jesus' birth!!! Random photos. . .

Love the one with Trey in between the dancers :)

Really?! We have our hands full?! . . .and to think, it used to be 3 kids 3 and under!