December

In Big DEAL's 8 year history, blogging has never been harder.   It seems that time is a commodity in short supply these days, yet blogging still remains incredibly important to me.  

So, it probably ain't right to put 74 pictures on one post, but you can just go ahead and watch me.  I make the rules around here.

This past December:

Finn continued on his path of cuteness,

and became much more daring with his fashion choices,

Truth be told, if it has any type of ball on it (though preferably football or basketball), he wants to wear it, even if it is his baby brother's.

Max had his Christmas preschool program. He let me know ahead of time that he is the loudest singer in his class.  He did not lie.

I guess he wasn't feeling too angelic this day,

We celebrated our 13th year as a family, with dinner out at Cheddar's.  We rarely eat with the kids at a sit down place, so this was a real treat for them.  And amazingly enough, nobody had any major freak-outs and that was a real treat for the diners around us.

Dan's been requesting for years that we get a Christmas countdown candle like the ones he grew up with. This year we finally made it happen and it was a hit.  We also started 25 Days of Christ, which had an ornament and video for each night.  So while the candle was burning down, we opened up that night's ornament and learned about the story of Christ that it represented.

Jack became quite fond of his hangy-toy thing. 

Dan and I went out sans kids to celebrate our anniversary.  My nice friend watched Jack at her house while a babysitter stayed home with the rest of the kids.  In Texas we usually celebrated at Perry's.  On a whim, Dan looked it up just to see if there were any other locations.  Lucky us, there are two outside of Texas--Chicago and Denver!  

The only freak-outs happening at this dinner were the ones inside my head while I more than enjoyed my food and thought I might slip into a food coma.

We made the Christmas fudge, which by law, must be mixed with your (freshly washed) hands.

Law also requires that those same hands can only be cleaned with your mouth and big glass of milk.

The Sunday before Christmas, before church, I was determined to get a picture of the kids looking nice.  Someone, who shall remain nameless, was being a toad and refused.

I was not giving up that easy though! After church I directed them all back to the staircase.  Not all were happy, but at least they were all in the frame.

I caught his smile later, though.

Christmas Eve brought new jammies.  We've never really done that tradition, but the kids were actually so desperate for new ones, this was the perfect occasion.

We put on our pajamas, packed into the van with hot chocolate, delivered our fudge with a Christmas carol to a few friends, and drove around to see the lights.

I've had this nagging desire to get pictures with all the kids in them.  Maybe because the Colton Kid Checkout line is closed and I have a subconscious desire to document the family now that it's complete?  I don't know.  I just know I keep trying to do it and it keeps being difficult.  

Here they are before bed.

Traditionally, we take a picture on the stairs Christmas morning, but due to the set up of our new house, standing on the stairs would have given them a perfect view into the living room and their new loot. We are all about building anticipation over here. 

So this year we settled for a picture from the landing.

From henceforth, the Christmas pictures are fuzzy.  That's what I get for using my phone and having excited, fast moving children. 

Stuffed animals, books, and a denim jacket are making her smile,

A new basketball shirt, 

The Horse Diaries!

The highly anticipated unveiling of the Millennium Falcon,

Jack was like, "What's all the fuss about?"

One of Finn's favorites was this Boogie Board, it's kind of like a magnetic drawing board that erases with the touch of a button.

And his slide, which will hopefully provide some indoor entertainment these next few freezing months.

A chinese yoyo,

And Legos and a ninja costume (pronounced with a silent "n") made Max's day,

Dan and I are really exciting people.  Hang on to your horses while I tell you what we got.

Drumroll, please!

A four slice toaster!

A set of ceramic knives!

And not pictured, a Dust Buster!

And then in this little unassuming envelope I found this:

In anticipation of homeschooling and the increased time commitment on my part and the probable desire I will have to run away, Dan arranged and surprised me with two weekend getaways to visit my parents. 

I cried.  First because it was just so thoughtful, and second because all I got Dan was a Dust Buster.

After a Christmas feast that night, we had Jesus' birthday cake,

Christmas afternoon, Luke sat down with 1,254 pieces of Legos.

 I thought  it would take him a good couple of days.  But by noon the next day, he had it finished.
I know I never would have had the focus or know-how at seven years old to do this. And he didn't get this talent from Dan, either.

The day after Christmas, we flew to Utah.


It was wonderful to spend time with Dan's family.

The girl cousins got along swimingly,

Jack and Finn got plenty of lovin'

And Max and Greta were as thick as thieves.

We went sledding at Soldier Hollow, and just like last year, it was so fun!

Max dodged the picture, not surprisingly.

Don't be fooled, they don't normally wait in lines like this. I totally made Luke put his arm around Max for the picture.

I loved the peaceful ride up the rope tow as snowflakes fell,

almost as much as the race down the hill,

We squeezed in a visit with an old friend, 

Tiffany just had her fourth boy the week before and it was great to catch up with her again and meet the sweet baby.

But my favorite part of the trip, hands down, was the blessing of my beautiful boy, Jack Aaron.

On Christmas Eve, Dan's cousin lost her little boy, just a month older than Jack, to SIDS.

I cannot know her pain, but having this little human, so constantly near my heart, literally and figuratively, makes it impossible not to imagine it. 

Our families are the most precious treasure we have.

And nothing gives me greater comfort than knowing that this little boy, and all of my family, are mine forever.