What I'm Doing Today

I'm pulling on long johns, knee socks and sweatshirts. I'm searching bedroom closets for scarves, gloves and toboggans.

I'm zipping up "Saturday jeans" and heavy coats and I'm tying shoelaces.

And then I'm getting pelted with snowballs! But I'm also getting snow ice cream, hot chocolate, popcorn and a movie while snuggling with 2 very handsome boys. I love snow days!

Celebrating the Epiphany

Happy Epiphany! Finally, it's the twelfth day of Christmas. The day when the Wise Men found Jesus in the manger. The day when Christ manifested Himself to the world. The day when we can finally take down our Christmas tree!

We celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany this past Sunday with a King's Cake. My youngest son--my sous chef--mixed food coloring with a basic vanilla cake batter to make the different colors of the cake; purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power. And in leiu of a plastic baby Jesus we settled on a plastic dinosaur to hide in the cake.

And all of his hard work paid off--his slice of cake had the baby Jesus/dinosaur in it and he was crowned King of the Day! He decided to declare an end to early bedtimes but it was overruled by the Queen--me:)

Wordless Wednesday: Dude, Where's My Floor?!

A Present From Rudolph?

We had a wonderful Christmas.

We had set out cookies and milk for Santa--and oats for his reindeer--the night before and then the boys headed for bed. I eventually followed but I wasn't there for long--Little Pup woke me up at 4 a.m. ready to open presents. AND his big brother was waiting on the couch. I managed to get them both back into bed and a few hours later they woke up for good, ready to open all the presents Santa had brought for them.

And then everything was a blur. Monster Jam trucks! WWE action figures! Zhu zhu pets! Hot Wheels! Scooby-Doo wrapping paper EVERYWHERE!

Finally, we checked outside to see if Santa's reindeer had eaten their oats and...



...ha!

(I think I've been hanging around boys too much!)

A Bloggy Look At '10

January Did you know that genealogists never die? Nope. They just lose their census! Ha! I took a look back at my great-great grandparents.

February I posted 8 times during the month of February and 6 of those posts referenced the weather. It was cold! But I did manage to take some cute pictures of my boys playing in the snow.

March My oldest son lost his first tooth and thankfully it was a completely painless experience for all of us. Whew!

April Finally, sno-cone season! A new flavor was added to the menu--Justin Bieber. I stuck with rummy peach.

May My youngest son lost his first tooth! For a few months there we were up to our necks in loose teeth.

June I just love taking end of school year pictures and comparing them to the beginning of the school year. It's always amazing to see how much the boys have grown.

July It's devastating to lose a family pet. I miss Howard the Husky but I'm so glad I have my other 2 dogs in my life.

August My wedding anniversary month. Who says 13 is unlucky?!

September Our first new car in 8 years! I'm still in love!

October Time for Halloween and I'm pretty sure I had the cutest haunted skeletons ever.

November I got a new wedding ring!

December I rescued my old Frog and Toad book from my mom's yard sale and even though it's falling apart I still love it.

Merry Christmas IV

Merry Christmas!!

Luke 2:1-14

Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the nation. Everyone was required to return to his ancestral home for this registration. And because Joseph was a member of the royal line, he had to go to Bethlehem, King David's ancient home--journeying there from the Galilean village of Nazareth. He took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was pregnant by this time. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born; and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly an angel appeared among them, and the landscape shone bright with the glory of the Lord. They were badly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you the most joyful news ever announced, and it is for everyone! The Saviour--a baby wrapped in a blanket, lying in a manger--has been born tonight in Bethlehem!"

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others--the armies of heaven--praising God: "Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth!"

I'm Still Working On That Will Power Thing

When I was growing up I remember loving the Frog and Toad books. The one where Toad had a dream that he was on stage doing all these amazing things and Frog was in the audience getting smaller and smaller...oooooh, that was a scary one. And the one where Toad baked the most awesome cookies ever and they had to learn about will power by not eating them...so funny. Even nowadays when my sister and I are eating cookies we will often say in our most convincing Toad voice, "We. Must. Stop. Eating. These. Cookies!"

Last year when my mom was having a yard sale I was rifling through some items and there it was--Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel. What was left of it, anyway. The pages were yellow and it was missing its cover--front and back--as well as the first few pages. A beloved part of my childhood going for 10 cents! Thankfully, my mom let me have it for free:)