More Reflections

"It is when the holiday is over that we begin to enjoy it."

Maybe that's why I like pictures so much.  I can go back and revisit some of my favorite moments.

The Table Comes First

My own post-Christmas reflections.  The truth is:

And this was one of the favorite parts of our Christmas holiday:

Simply brilliant.  In every way.

In His Will...

...is our peace.

Merry Christmas!

Take As a Gift

"Take as a gift whatever the day brings forth."

A few unplanned "gifts" my day brought forth:

A couple of Grinch lovers on their way to Panera Bread for breakfast.
  They belly laugh every time they hear "The Grinch" song.

A little window art.  The boys evidently were inspired.

A last minute gift for Grandma M.  Gavyn wrote and
illustrated a book for her.

Momma ate at least half of this cookie.  No joke.  It tasted good with milk.

This was our Christmas Eve tradition I almost forgot this year.
I love my "boys" reading together.

Love Without Giving? Impossible.

"We may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving."

And my boys teachers?  They give 1000%.  That's a whole lot of love.  How did we ever get so lucky?

Mrs. B with Gavyn - Kindergarten

Kekoa with Mrs. H - 1st Grade

Also?  I spent four hours at the school for the boys Christmas parties yesterday and I was exhausted. And all I did was take pictures. How do they do it?

Scenes around the school like these really make me envy my children's days:

When do we lose our love for fun and all things creative?  One of my plans for new years resolutions this year?  To nurture it.

The Elf on Our Shelf

Our elf... he's a silly ole thing.  He comes with more of a story than I'm going to tell here, but I thought you might like to get a peek at some of our elf's antics.

He's been known to swing from light fixtures...
Or hide in the letter box with a stolen marshmallow:

Or make himself at home on the roof of our gingerbread house:

Or get into the sugar and make snow angels:

The boys LOVE it.  And this Momma kinda likes his little antics, too.

The Best Gifts

"The best gifts are tied with heartstrings."

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

Kekoa's borderline on to the whole Santa gig.  But he still wants to believe in the magic of it.  Which I find pretty endearing.  Gavyn?  He's my realist.  He's going to "out" Santa before Kekoa does, I'm thinking.  They were frantic to get Santa their letters in early December, so we made our annual trek one night.  They insisted on wearing their red union suit pajamas.  I suppose they'll hate me for that someday.  Kekoa wore a skeleton glove and had a snake sticking out of his hat.  We kind of mix our holidays all together sometime.  Just to see if anyone notices.

Then Santa asked them if their rooms were cleaned.

Oh the guilt!  Gavyn's plan was to go straight home and clean his room.  He talked about it for a solid three days.  It has yet to be done.

Gavyn outgrew his other red pajamas.  They mysteriously disappeared over the summer.  I thought he'd never notice.  He noticed.  I bought them matching union suit pajamas a few days later.  They wore them every night for two weeks straight.  First thing they put on when they came home from school.

That's my boys.  Their personalities in a nut shell.  Now we just wait and see what Santa can fit in his bag.  For sure we know Santa doesn't do electronics or puppies.

Four Furry Legs on Fluffy Fluffy Fluff

Gavyn had his pet show on Friday afternoon at school.  He took the stuffed wolf he bought last year with his own money at the western store.  The one I thought was a complete and utter waste of his money.  The one that ended up being his favorite stuffed animal that he sleeps with and cuddles with and plays with and drags around everywhere.  Go figure.

His pet?  A wolf.
His pet's name?  Fluffy Fluffy Fluff
What does his pet eat?  Meat.
Where does his pet sleep?  Alone.  Away from the pack and contrary to common belief, not usually in a den.
When does his pet sleep?  Whenever it wants, usually two hours at a time.  Just like a dog.

Other facts about his pet:

All dogs descended from wolves.

He was pretty proud of ole Fluffy Fluffy Fluff.  And he even won a trophy.

Comments from spectators included:

- I love Fluffy Fluffy Fluff's name and Christmas tree! (this may or may not have been a Mommy comment)

- Cool name.  :)

- What a nice wolf.

- Love the name.

- Great job on Fluffy's forest house!  Super cool!

- I love this name.

- I like your pet's name.

- I love your cage.

- cool animal

- like the color

- What food is his for it!

- I love your name!

- I like his cage.

- cool cage

- Fluffy has a great place to sleep. (this may or may not have been a Daddy comment)

- What is the lid for?

- I love your Fluffy Fluff Fluff's Christmas tree.  :)

- I love your cage.

- I like the cage.

- creative name

- like the color

- cool name

- LOVE THE NAME

First Post Saved for First Tooth

Kekoa lost his first tooth tonight at 9 p.m.  And so it begins.  Should I cry now or later?  Try not to notice his dirty finger nails.

Before Movember Sneaks Out...

So you remember the phenomenon that was/is "No Shave November"? More commonly referred now to as "Movember"? Well apparently the mirror in our downstairs bathroom decided to grow a mustache of it's own in November...

Sneaking up on it...

EaSY...

*thinking* If I don't look at it, it'll never guess what I'm up to.

Just a few more inches...

BINGO! There it is.  My MO.

Happy end of November, everyone.  And yes, I realize this little exercise reveals a little bit of my "crazy".  I'm easily entertained.  What can I say.

Thanksgiving 2011

In case I hadn't shared before, I might just mention again that Thanksgiving is now even more firmly established as my favorite holiday.  What could be better than remembering to be thankful for what you should be thankful for, time with family, and good food.  Ours included:

My traditional Turkey Trot wearing my Hot Chocolate 15k windbreaker.

Burying Uncle Ryan on the couch.

Momma's requirement of an annual Thanksgiving photo with her boys.

A little zen action to mentally prepare for the "feast".

About as normal as our family gets.

Momma's Autumn Quinoa, Butternut Squash, and Cranberry Stuffing

Spinach salad with pine nuts, feta cheese, apples, and a basil pesto/lemon/olive oil/honey dressing.

Turkey and ham.

Cranberries?  No pomegranates.  A new Thanksgiving tradition.

An Indian sat at our table this year.

Sweet potatoes made right.  With olive oil, rosemary, sea salt, and pepper.

The "feast" as Kekoa likes to call it.

Pumpkin pie.

Gavyn's favorite?  Pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Momma's favorite?  Warm homemade chocolate pudding with homemade whipped cream.  Three bowls full.

My Thanksgiving half apron.  Newest addition to my collection.  Thanks, Shannon.

I regret I have no more Thanksgiving festivities to bring you, but we were sick majority of the four day Thanksgiving Break.  Happy Thanksgiving to us.  And to Mom & Dad.  I sure hope they don't get it!