Christmas Morning 2008

We had the best Christmas this year. Kyler was really into the whole present thing and it made it so fun to watch him opening his presents this year. Kobe hadn't been very excited until Christmas morning. He woke up before 6am and snuck into the living room and saw that Santa had brought a lot of presents. He came into our room and I told him it was too early and to go back to bed for awhile. I knew he wouldn't because he was so excited, so I got into bed with him and we spent the next hour whispering about what he thought Santa had brought him. He saw a really big box and he was excited about that (it was the video rocker from Pat and I). Around 7am we got up and woke up Dad, Kyler and Uncle Aaron and we spent over and hour opening and playing with all the goodies. It was a great morning! Pat and Aaron fixed a big breakfast and then Mike, Angie and Mya came over and spent the rest of the day with us.

Visiting Santa at Bass Pro Shop

We went to Bass Pro Shop on December 23rd to see Santa. They had a great setup there with games, craft areas and neat train sets. Both boys had a great time. They both sat on Santa's lap and Kobe had a lot to tell him. He wouldn't tell us what he told him (we couldn't hear) because he wanted to see if he got what he told Santa he wanted (uh-oh). I still don't know what he told Santa but he was thrilled with everything he received...so Santa did good.

Kobe posing!

Kobe and Kyler at the shooting range.

Kyler loved the trains and kept running back over to watch them.

Kyler also loved the "pretties mis-mas tees"

The Holiday Open House at Kobe's School...

On Friday, December 12, 2008 we all attended the Holiday Open House at Kobe's school. The 2nd graders sang 3 songs: "A Nice, Nice Christmas", "Red, White and Blue Christmas" and "Blitzen's Boogie". They did a great job! Kobe was nervous about singing "Blitzen's Boogie" because of the embarassing parts. I don't think it was embarassing at all...it was really cute and I have a short, little clip of it here. Kobe is in front of the girl with the antlers.

Kyler did really well during the program. He sat through most of it and clapped at the end of the songs. He knew the songs because Kobe has been singing them at home for quite some time. Kyler and Kobe both still walk around singing "A Nice, Nice Christmas".


"Blitzen's Boogie"





"A Nice, Nice Christmas"

Yes, I'm on the being busy thing again...

Because we don't know what is really important to us, everything seems important. Because everything seems important, we have to do everything. Other people, unfortunately, see us as doing everything, so they expect us to do everything. Doing everything keeps us so busy, we don't have time to think about what is really important to us.

-anonymous

Fantasy Friday...

This is my first post on Fantasy Friday. What is Fantasy Friday you ask? Just come back every Friday and you'll see. Today's fantasy is this beautiful laundry room. I would probably do my neighbors laundry if I had a room like this....




or this...

20 Things I Love About Christmas...

Those of you who know me well, know that I love to make lists and write things in my planner and in my journal. So why not do it here too, right? I'm going to be making some lists of things on this blog and my first one is 20 things I love about Christmas. I encourage you to do the same thing about whatever topic is in your heart.

1. Picking out the special gift for someone I love.
2. Seeing all the Christmas lights in the neighborhoods.
3. Thinking about the trip Mary and Joseph had to take and what she must have been thinking.
4. The kids faces when they see all the gifts under the tree first thing on Christmas morning.
5. When it snows on Christmas.
6. Making Christmas cookies with Kobe....and now with Kyler.
7. Hanging out on Christmas Day with all the family.
8. Christmas Eve services...especially candlelight services.
9. Christmas songs from the 30's and 40's.
10. Decorating the Christmas tree
11. Turning out all the lights and being in the living room with only the Christmas tree lit.
12. Driving by the Shelter Insurance Christmas Tree and hearing Kyler say, "look mommy, pretty mis-mas tree".
13. Going to Kobe's Christmas program and Christmas party at school.
14. Getting Christmas card photos from family and friends.
15. How Kobe doesn't want to open any of his presents on Christmas morning until everyone else has opened one and that he wants to hand them out.
    
16. The boy's excitement about everything related to the holiday...decorations, songs, etc..
17. All the Christmas movies on Lifetime and Hallmark Channel.
18. Celebrating the real meaning of Christmas and teaching the boys that it's not all about the gifts
19. Trying to get a picture of the boys in front of the tree...yeah, I really do like that!
20. The Christmas gifts that Kobe makes me at school and how excited he is to give it to me.
    

Being Busy...

Grandpa West told me once I should be thankful for being busy. He's right! I should be thankful that I'm able to work...able to care for the kids...able to care for the house.

Somedays it just seems like it's too much though.

Get up at 5am...pour the coffee...turn on the computer...check email...work on CWP projects...read devotional/journal...throw in a load of laundry...pay a bill or two...THEN around 7:30am the kids wake up...get them ready for school and me ready for work...eat a breakfast bar on the way to school...Drop the kids off at school, run to the bank or grocery store in the 20 minutes I have before I have to be at work...work until Kobe gets out of school...run out of the office to pick up Kyler and then to pick up Kobe...make phone calls in the 10-15 minutes I have while waiting for Kobe at school...drop books off at the library...drop mail off at the post office...drive home...sort through the mail...pick up the mess Pat left from the day...start dinner...unload the dishwasher...look through Kobes backpack with him...help him with homework...eat dinner...clean up from dinner...swiffer the floor...load the dishwasher...start another load of laundry...start the baths...clean the bathroom while the boys are taking baths...get the PJ's on...try to get them to slow down to read a book or watch a show...rock...rock...put Kyler to bed...Kobe already fell asleep on the couch...It's 9:30pm already...walk him to bed...put laundry away..okay..truthfully...the clean laundry may sit in a basket at the foot of my bed until Saturday..then I have like 8 loads to put away..okay to continue...unload the dishwasher (again)...balance the checkbook.. then Thomas Cleaning bookwork...invoices or receipts or check entry...check email and facebook...read...fall asleep in the chair...go to bed...do it all over the next day...

I am thankful...just tired...

Somedays I just long to be a Stay at Home Mom again...to have the luxury of doing the housework during the day so that I can focus on the kids when they are at home. I get irritated when Stay-at-Home Moms talk about how busy they are. Now, I was one and I know how hard it is to get things done when you have kids at your feet all day and the isolation is almost unbearable sometimes. Sometimes those two things alone would keep me from getting anything done. However, now that I've done both, being a SAHM is so much easier!! You have so much free time if you make the most of it! Most of the time I really like working and I wouldn't really want to go back to staying home full-time...but there are those days...this working and being a Mom thing is just a delicate balance...sometimes I'm really great at it and I'm successful in my work life and my home life. Then there are times, like now, when I feel like I'm running full speed just to catch up.

I don't know what the answer is except that that I keep going and try to be positive and grateful that I have a job and two great kids and that I'm BUSY!

Kobe teaching us about economics...

A few times this week Kobe has told me about some of the things he has been learning about economics. First of all, I'm blown away that they are learning about this topic in 2nd grade and I'm pretty sure I never learned anything about economics or even knew what the word meant until Jr. High. Secondly, I'm loving that he is so excited about this topic!!

So tonight, I decided to interview him about what he has learned this week and I've posted the video here. Later, I'll have to have him tell you about sound leads, question leads, conflict and resolution and schemas. Okay, I'm just a little proud of my 2nd grader!!

Dear Santa, please bring me some Keen shoes...

Some of you know that I have been having problems with my feet since last summer. I have always worn inexpensive (okay...cheap) shoes because I could have a lot of cute pairs for not a lot of money.

Well, after not being able to walk without some fairly severe pain I started buying "comfortable" shoes. Unfortunately it seems that comfortable = ugly = BIG MONEY! I've resigned myself to the fact that I can't pop into Target or Payless and buy shoes anymore and I've been on a cute AND comfortable shoe hunt for about 4 months now. I don't dress in a way that I can wear athletic shoes everyday and I don't dress in a hippy sort of way - so Birkenstock's or similar shoes just don't cut it for me. What is a girl to do??? You know how we love our shoes!!

So, just today, I was peeking around at some of my favorite blogs and what would my wondering eyes see? You got it....some super cute AND comfortable-looking shoes. These shoes are totally ME!

I immediately went to the Keen Shoes website and there they were for just a mere $85 (LOL). I’m pretty sure that I have never spent $85 on a pair of shoes before. I think I will definitely be saving my pennies to buy a pair of these though. If you know anything about Keen shoes...let me know your thoughts.

Kyler brushing his teeth...

If you're reading this you're probably thinking, "Kyler brushing his teeth? Oh c'mon already!" I have so many things I want to blog about so I've been posting a lot lately. I want to capture as much of our life in pictures and videos because the kids grow up so fast. I would love to scrapbook a lot of these pictures but blogging is so much easier and I enjoy it so much more too. Plus I get to add little videos.

One thing that I NEVER have trouble getting Kyler to do is brushing his teeth. I took a little video of him brushing the other day. However, this day he is mostly interested in sticking the toothbrush down the drain and brushing the inside of the sink....ewwwww....but anyway, I wanted to capture him brushing because in a few years it won't be so easy as it is now I'm sure.

Following the Star...an Advent Devotional...

I found this really neat website that has a daily devotional each day through Advent. It has nice music, scripture and a devotional reading. Check it out.

http://www.followingthestar.org/

Just so you don't forget what Christmas is really about...

We get so caught up in decorating for the season, buying gifts and planning parties and dinners that unless you purposely take time to remember why we even have this holiday it's easy to forget. I'm still doing all that stuff, including checking out online Christmas gift orders when I should be feeding my kids breakfast! However, in my spiritual walk this year I have definitely grown closer to God and this season is really special to me because of that relationship.

Mary Did You Know is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I found this nicely done video on Youtube.
I'm not sure who is singing the song in this video but the images are nice and add meaning to the lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1oHJR2

Merry Christmas!

Talking to Kyler...

We had a really busy morning today. We woke up late and I made us even more late because I had to check email, check on Christmas gift orders that I've placed online, check face book, etc....you know...the really important stuff that has to be done in the morning, right?

Anyway, we rush to to the car and drop off Kobe at school and then it's just Kyler and I driving down Broadway to get to his school. This is usually a really quiet time in the car because Kyler is just looking out the car window. We're about halfway there and I realize Kyler and I have been chatting the whole way. He sees the big Christmas tree at Shelter insurance and says, "pretties mi-mas (Christmas) tree, mommy". We drive on a little further and he sees some lights on houses and he says, "pretties houses, mommy". We get downtown and the businesses are lit up and he continues to talk about all the "pretties houses". Wow, my little guy is starting to grow up! I LOVE talking to him and hearing how he says things. He is really starting to talk in sentences and it's so fun to hear what he has to say!

Kobe and Mya visit Santa...

Angie took Kobe and Mya to the Cherry Hill Christmas Festival last night. They got to see Santa Claus, do some crafts, ride the trolley and go eat pizza. Kobe had a great time. This is the first time he would sit on Santa's lap since he was 3 or 4. Angie got some cute pics!

Christmas Goodies...

I always do quite a bit baking during the holidays and I'm going to share a few of the new things I plan to make this year.

Espresso Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup malted milk powder
1/4 cup dark espresso coffee
1 cup superfine sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter, softened

For the frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons hot coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A dozen chocolate espresso beans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place paper baking cups in muffin pans. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Combine the milk powder and coffee in a small bowl. Beat the sugar, eggs, and butter in a medium bowl until light and creamy. Add the flour and coffee mixtures alternately to the egg mixture. Spoon the mixture into the cups. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool.

To make the frosting, beat the butter and confectioner’s sugar in a bowl until soft and creamy. Add the coffee granules to the hot coffee and stir. Beat into the butter and sugar mixture, and then stir in the vanilla. Spread the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a chocolate espresso bean.

Store unfrosted for up to 2 days in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months.

Kyler's Preschool Pictures 2008!

Moonshadow Studios took the school pictures at CDC this year. At first I was a little disappointed that she didn't get any "sweet" pictures of Kyler like the other kids had, but then I realized that she really captured his personality. He really is so very cute...if I say so myself! I can't wait to get the prints.

Random Fall 2008 Pictures...

I have been taking my camera with me everywhere and snapping pictures whenever the mood strikes. Here are a few I've chosen to share.

One day when we came home from school there was a TON of leaves that had fallen and we played in them for quite awhile and I got a lot of great pictures. I also took a picture looking down our street and the trees look really pretty.

We're really excited about the new "KOBE" Japanese restaurant opening soon. Kobe and I have been waiting for almost a year for it to be built and opened and it will be soon.

The picture of Kobe and I is from his Brown Bag lunch in his classroom. We bring lunch and they share the books that they have written. His teacher does this every few weeks.

The cute picture of Kyler is one I took of him as we were walking out the door to go to school. I love him in that hat!

Having a conversation with God...

First, I have to say that I'm so enjoying my devotional called, The Message// Remix: Solo (The Uncommon Devotional) by Eugene Peterson. I've been doing daily devotions for years but this one encourages me to dig a little deeper inside myself than many of the others have. The devotional incorporates lectio divina, or "divine reading" into your daily time with God. This means that you pray, read a passage and then imagine yourself in the passage or scripture. It's really easy to identify with scripture when you do this. You then reflect on what you've read by doing different activities like journaling or reciting passages aloud.

Today's' reading was about having a conversation with God. What if He were sitting in the room with you and you were able to talk to him face-to-face? What would you say? I found that I had a LOT to say to Him. When I thought of Him sitting in a room with me, it was easy for me to imagine Him being a gentle, grandfatherly type person who had unconditional love for me and wisdom that I could learn from.

What would He look like to you? Is He that real to you?

My Psalm of Gratitude to God...

God You are in control of all we do and have.

You give us heat when we're cold
food when we're hungry
a place to sleep when we're tired.

You give us opportunities for knowledge when we're longing to learn more.

You listen when we cry and
You listen when we're full of joy.

You are here with us - full of unconditional love.

I am proud to be your daughter!

To those who don't know You-
You are there waiting for them to acknowledge You.
When they look up and see You, Your arms are open and ready to envelope them in your love and forgiveness.
You don't ask, "Why didn't you come sooner?"
You're just there waiting!

You are the Peacemaker.
Peace within my heart and soul.
Without You my soul is turbulent,
but with You my soul is calm.

Thank You God for being there when I need a steady hand to guide my way

Thank You for loving me when I'm unlovable.
Thank You for filling my heart with love for You.
In turn my heart is full of love for others as well.

Your love truly does envelope me and for that I am thankful!

-Jackie

Halloween 2008

Halloween was really fun this year! Mom was with us for the first time on Halloween and that was really special for the boys.

Mom and I attended Kobe's Halloween party at school and the kids were really excited about their day. The picture of the pumpkins is from his classroom.

We started the evening by going downtown to see Uncle Aaron. There was a lot of activity going on down there with the businesses participating in the festivities. Aaron works at Bleu and a lot of the employees were dressed up including Aaron and the other Bandidos!

It was the first time Kyler went trick-or-treating. We went to Cherry Hill where most of the people sat on their front porches to give out their candy.

Kyler had a great time but didn't quite get the concept of taking the candy and putting it in his bag. He would take a piece and then put it back in their bowl. Kobe had fun running around the neighborhood with his friends and didn't want the night to end!

Granny's House Goodies...

For the past couple of weeks, the boys and I have been making some treats and taking them over to Granny's House to share with the kids. If you don't know what Granny's House is...it is a program for the kids who live in the housing projects in Columbia. They go to Granny's House after school everyday and they get to eat dinner there, play with friends, get help with their homework and they also have great programs like a science club, the Mustang Girls (girls who train horses for a year to prepare them for adoption) and several other programs. It's a very happy and encouraging place for these kids to go. I'm hoping to get more involved, but for now we're taking treats each week to go with their dinner. We get to hang out for awhile and meet the kids and it's a lot of fun. These pictures were sent to me after they got their cupcakes one week and treat bags before Halloween.

The many changing moods of a 2 year old.

I took these pictures the other day when Kyler was reading a Toy-R-Us flyer. He was happily pointing at things in the flyer and talking while I was snapping pictures and I was asking him to smile for the camera. THEN he got tired of me taking pictures and you can see how it turned out....

Southwest Playschool Fall Festival - October 26, 2008

We had a great time yesterday at the SWPS Fall Festival! Kobe got to see some old friends from pre-school and I got to see some friends too. It was like coming home! It is such a great place and I really hope Kyler will get to go there too. We got to see Miss Garrett and she may "hold out" for one more year and I hope Kyler will get to be with her for at least one year. Okay...the coolest part of the day was that I won two raffle prizes. I won a huge "Bedtime" basket filled with 21 books, stuffed animals, a night-light and bedtime bath bubbles/lotion. You can see the picture of it here. I also won a box filled with coffees, teas, salsa, etc. It was a really fun day.

MU vs. Texas Party @ Mike and Angies House October 18, 2008