Merry Christmas to Me!

When we were done unwrapping the gifts under the tree Mike gave me my annual Christmas letter. It's a beautiful love-note and I get one every year ..... it's the highlight of my holiday! This year he ended it by saying "I want you to love your smile as much as I do, for Christmas you can go get your teeth fixed." I started to cry.

I've never liked my smile. It's hard to even find a high school picture of me smiling when my teeth are showing (case in point.....profile picture on the right). I've always had a gap and my front teeth are bigger than the rest. It's like I had a pair of rabbit incisors in the middle of my face.

I've had people tell me they don't think it's that bad, but for some reason I've always had a complex about it. I always thought I needed braces to fix the problem. Well, with as much as braces cost that's just not been an option. My dentist happens to also specialize in cosmetic procedures and at my last check-up he happened to mention that my front teeth could easily be fixed in under an hour. The price was fantastic when compared to braces, but it was still out of our budget at the time. Now, thanks to my wonderful and understanding husband this is my new smile......

A Christmas to Remember......Unfortunately.

I've just had the worst Christmas of my life. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Our Christmas involved a little of this.... that.....and LOTS of this.....
A dear friend did a blog post a while back that keeps running through my mind, I hope she doesn't mind me copying....it so adequately describes my state of mind right now.

If I dont' get this.....
or this....

or this.....

soon, I'm going to crack.

Guber

I've been feeling a lot of mommy guilt because I haven't wrote anything about this little guy in quite a while. Despite that, he's such a huge fixture in our everyday lives. He's such a cuddly bundle of sweetness! I think he's the most mellow baby I've ever had. I often find myself burying my face in his chubby soft neck and just squeezing his fat babyness as close to me as I can. We're still waiting for him to take the inititive to crawl, right now he seems content just sitting up and being entertained by his brothers. We're also anxiously awaiting his first tooth to break through, he's been fussing, drooling, and gumming everything in sight, so it should make an appearance here soon. Here's what some of his current likes/dislikes are:

Likes:

Fuzzy blankets

his Baby friends

Binky
TV (he's fanscinated, it's funny to watch!)

Going for a jog (or ride) in the stroller

Bathtime

Yogurt

Christmas lights

Kitties

Tickle time

playing with my phone

graham crackers

his older brothers

jewelry & watches

Dislikes:

Carseat

Green beans

Loud noises

the cold

I know. I know. I post WAY too many pictures. I can't help it. I just start scrolling through my photo albums and I just come across picture after picture that is just so darn cute! One last one.....my favorite!

Santa: Fact or Fiction?

All of my boys still believe in Santa Claus. For the first time though we've had to do some explaining to Caeden. He's had a few questions that have almost tripped us up! His Papa plays Santa at Christmas time for ward parties, family, and neighbors. He hasn't came and visited the boys as Santa the last couple of years because we've been worried that they would recognize him and it would ruin the early childhood belief in Santa and the "magical" part of Christmas. Fast forward to our ward Christmas Party this year. I happen to be on the Activities Committe that is in charge of organizing and planning the festivities. We happened to desperately need a Santa. I happened to know one. What to do about Caeden and Tanner though? We had a Family Home Evening where we took great lengths to weave a story about how Santa needs helpers at Christmas time and he selects very special individuals who love children to fulfill a Secret Mission for Santa Claus and find out what boys and girls want for Christmas. Once they've gone out in disguise and fulfilled their duties they report to him. We told the boys that it was a HUGE and special secret that their Papa was picked as one of Santas Secret Service Agents and they weren't supposed to tell ANYBODY about it. Caeden was really getting into all of this.....he finally declared "I'll keep it the best secret EVER. I'll tell all of my friends......(dramatic pause)..... I don't even have a grandpa AT ALL." Um.......not quite what we were looking for. But everything seemed to go over pretty well. Tanner seems a little confused by it all, he really couldn't make up his mind if he was sitting on his Papa's lap or Santa Claus's lap.
Then yesterday SURPRISE! Caeden, Tanner, and Weston all got letters from Santa Claus with a postage stamp from the North Pole. They were so excited! We read them out loud at the end of our Family Home Evening. That night before bed Caeden asked me a question about Santa "Does Santa Claus really know everything that we do?" I told him that he did. He then asked "Does he always know if we've been good or naughty?" Once again I answered in the affirmative. Then he said "In my letter Santa Claus said he was proud of me for being a good boy at school, but I'm not good at school. I call all the girls names every day. So why did Santa say I was being good when I wasn't?" Well!!! Ha ha ha. I just stammered out something along the lines of Santa knew he was trying and hoped that he'd do better.
Whew! Only 2 more weeks to go and then all these Santa doubts can be stored away and dealt with next year!

Naughty or Nice?

Caeden had a homework assignment last night that was so funny.......I just had to share.

The assignment: To write something nice about each of his classmates. His teacher is going to compile them into little booklets for the kids so they have nice things to read about themselves over Christmas break.

Here are some of the more hilarious responses Caeden wrote to a few of his classmates:

Girl #1: She's not naughty all of the time.
Girl #2: She's not as naughty as girl #1
Boy #1: I like him a lot, he' s nice. I think he needs to invite me to his house to play.
Boy #2: He's a bad guy (he means this as a compliment actually, he's refering to him playing the "bad guy" at recess, afterall, every superhero needs a nemisis!)
Boy#3: He's Boy #1's friend and I like Boy #1 a lot

and my all-time favorite:
Girl #3: Her eyes sparkle.

And yes, I did make him go back and change some of his "compliments" to something more appropriate!

10 Wonderful Years....

Warning: This post is full of girlie gushing and sickly sweet sentiments. You've been warned, proceed at your own risk....

Ten years ago today I knelt across the alter in the Salt Lake Temple and married the love of my life for time and all eternity. Since that wonderful day 10 years ago we've experienced three beautiful boys, lots of laughter, more than a few tears, plenty of chaos, a couple of road bumps and unmeasurable amounts of growth.


I didn't grow up surrounded by happy marriages. I'd seen several close family members experience miserable marriages full of fighting that inevitably ended in divorce. I was so scared to take the leap of faith required to pledge my life to another person. When Mike proposed to me I was thrilled, excited, and more than a little anxious. I remember feeling like I was on cloud nine the night he proposed......until I got home, then I cried my eyes out. What if we couldn't make it work? I had no disollutions about how hard marriage could be. What if we didn't have what it takes to stay together? We both came from broken homes and according to the statistics the odds weren't in our favor. I spent a lot of my engagment pouring my heart out to my Heavenly Father to help me feel calm and at peace. We decided to be married on December 4th, 1999 while Mike was on Christmas break from school. Like most brides, I can only remember parts of that special day. I remember sitting in the celestial room waiting to be escorted to the sealing room. Mike had his arm around me and I was overcome with feelings of so much love for him I thought I would burst. I remember kneeling across the alter and feeling both of our hands shaking as we listened to the temple sealer give us council (nope, don't remember any of the council). Afterwards we walked around the temple grounds and had our pictures taken......it was freezing! We had a wonderful reception at the ward house that my step-mother had put together. It was beautiful and tons of fun! I've heard of brides who don't have the greatest memories of their wedding day and I'm so grateful that our day was everything I could have hoped for.


We're two imperfect people and so our marriage isn't always perfect, but I can honestly say these last years have been the best of my life. Mike is still my best friend, my confidant, the person I turn to in all things, and the man I admire most. When I was twenty I would have never guessed that a marriage could be as happy as ours has been. Our fights are few and far between. The good times outnumber the bad. We still can't keep our hands off each other. There are times we still stay up late just talking. We tell each other "I love you" at least once everyday. We're partners in parenting, providing and caring for our little family and home, and in teaching and learning the Gospel.

Mike is a strong Priesthood holder, a gentle and caring father, a sensitive and protective husband and he helps make me a better person. I admire his willingness to not only serve me and the children, but also extended family and neighbors. He's such a hard worker and there are many times he works himself into exhaustion and falls asleep sitting on the couch. Most people who know him think he's quite and serious. I'm priveleged to see a wonderful side of him that not many others do. He has a goofy sense of humour and he loves to make the boys and I laugh. I couldn't have chosen to spend my life with a more wonderful person!

Happy Anniversary sweetheart! May the next 10 years be as wonderful as the first! Here are the beautiful roses that I found sitting on my kitchen counter this morning.....

Christmas decorations!

I love putting up my Christmas decorations! They have so many memories. Here are a few of my favorites.......

Mike and I were married in December. We did our wedding colors in burgandy and gold. My wonderful, amazingly talented step-mom put together most of the decorations for the reception. As a wedding gift she made us some ornaments that went along with our wedding colors to put on our first Christmas tree. We've added to them over the years and putting up our front room tree not only has wonderful Holiday memories, but we have the priviledge of wedding memories tied into it too. I wish I had the photographic skills that so many of my friends seem to posess. My little picture doesn't do it justice. It really is a beautiful tree.....glittery gold snowflakes, sparkly white lights, elegent balls and bow. I love it!

I adore Christmas villages. I always wanted one growing up. I bought my first house the first year we were married and I've collected one for every year since. Now that I have 10 houses I'm starting to run out of room, but I can't help myself.....I still go out on Black Friday every year and spend an obscene amount of time picking out the next perfect addition.

A few years ago my sister bought us this Advent Calendar. Can you get any cuter? Love it! Every day you pick out an ornament from the little wooden boxes surrounding the base and hang it on the wood tree. The boys love it as well and I have to keep an eagle eye out to make sure non of the ornaments "walk off". And then there's Christmas Tanner style.....

I never thought to hang ornaments on a bassinet....

or our woodburning stove.....and I found this little cozy Christmas scene set up inside of his pop-up pup tent...and I think the big black trantula posed on the Christmas house ready to pounce on the carolers added a classic touch....

My Naughty Boy

Frustration!
Anger!
Irritation!
and occasionally......

A Laugh!

I see Blogs all the time where they have a weekly theme that they post on, such as things they are grateful for, or funny thing their kids said during the week. This morning during a moment of extreme annoyance a thought came to me......I could do a weekly post titled Naughty Things Tanner Did This Week. That little boy tries my patience! I think there's something to be said for the fact that I've discovered my first couple of gray hairs since he joined our family. There is no child-proofing preventative measures that he can't get past. I feel like I shouldn't even have to child-proof my house for a 4-year-old! I'd love to know what goes on in his head. Is it all just boredom? Curiosity? Here's just a sampling from the last 10 days......

1. Got into paint that one of Mike's co-workers left behind. Proceded to paint the trampoline and his and Caeden's new clothes.


2. Spilled Fun Dip on my fabric couch and instead of coming to get me to vaccum it off he tried to lick it up and made a huge blue stain.

3. Stood on the cat food bucket so he could reach the Bleach Pen up in my laundry room cabinet. Proceeded to ruin half of Caeden's school wardrobe.


4. Tried to feed Weston peanuts.

5. Crawled up on top of my dresser and snuck into my jewelry box. Took out my wedding ring and tried to run off with it hidden behind his back. To fully understand the seriousness of this crime I have to explain that this is wedding ring #2. Tanner ran off with my original ring and after it had been missing for 2 years Mike finally bought me a new one for Christmas last year.


6. Used the advantage point of the top bed of their new bunk bed to tie a bunch of toys to the ceiling fan and then turned it on. The ceiling fan now has one blade that hangs lower than the rest.

7. Ate a tube of toothpaste.


8. Kept playing with one of the lamps. Finally the lamp shade got close enough to the bulb that it started to melt.

9. Cut the sleeve off of one of his school shirts.


10. This infraction was a while ago, but we're just barely getting it resolved this week: threw a rock at a neighbors truck and chipped the paint. We finally found the name of an autobody shop that will do a patch job on the one chip and not want to just paint the whole entire panel (a painful $500s).

Today......

11. Started playing with his night-light (I just barely put in their bedroom to replace the destroyed lamp) and came downstairs screaming that he lit his room on fire. I ran up and the night-light as well as the plug socket are both charred black.

12. While I was trying to locate the fuse to shut off power in his bedroom until Mike can get home to fix the wiring he came downstairs to "play" with Weston. My blood pressure just about went through the roof when I walked down to see that he's wrapped the cords from his video games around Westons neck several times.


13. Put a washer on his finger and couldn't get it off......we discovered that butter really does work for that kind of thing.


....it's not even 10am yet.....!


And the occasional laugh....

14. Right now he's fixated with tape. Give him a roll of tape and it entertains him a full 30 min. (a very long time in Tanners world). I keep finding toys taped up all over the house. Hilarious!



I love this little stinker so much......and I need to remind myself of that daily!

Caeden

Yesterday was Caeden's 7th birthday. I can't believe how fast he's growing up. I feel like this last year he's really matured. He's such a big handsome boy. It seems like it's only been a blink of an eye since we brought our firstborn son home from the hospital. He was such a colic baby. Those first few months were so hard. Then he grew out of it and has evolved into the most mild mannered, mellow and sweet kid. He has such an amazing imagination. It's so funny to watch him out on the trampoline having imaginary battles. It's like he sees a whole world right in front of him that the rest of us have no access too....the simple backyard with trees and a swingset no longer exists. Instead he's a Pokemon trainer and he's locked in a fierce battle against Team Rocket.......or he's a Power Ranger morphing into an animal and fighting some huge and ferocious alien creature.......or he's the Transformer Optimus Prime and he's able to fold himself into a diesel truck and race away to save the day. Mike always says "Caeden's back in The Zone." because none of us can reach him there. We can call his name or shout at him, but it's almost impossible to get his attention once he's in The Zone. He LOVES LOVES LOVES anything to do with superheroes. You name it, he's into it: Spiderman, Bakugan, Transformers, Batman, Pokemon, Medabots, Thundercats, Star Wars.......I know more than I ever thought I would about all these boyish idols. He's very social and is always looking for friends everywhere we go. He likes everyone and will play with them regardless of age or gender. His best friend at school right now is a girl (I love that!). Despite that he also likes his quiet time. He enjoys reading and being read too more than almost any other activity. He loves building with legos, doing puzzles, and playing board or card games with anyone who's willing. He's the one child I have to pull away from the TV or he'll become so engrossed he'll watch it all day. He takes the role of Big Brother very seriously. He's always teaching Tanner his letters and how to count and he's so helpful to feed Baby Weston or make him laugh and keep him happy while I'm busy.

When he was an infant and so colic my dad used to stop by the house on his way home from work. More often than not both mamma and baby would be sitting on the couch crying. His Papa would pick him up bounce him and walk around with him. He would settle right down....no one else could get him to do that. I think they formed a special bond right from the start. Caeden idolizes his Papa more than any other person. He thinks the sun rises and sets with his grandpa. It is so special to watch them together. Every once in a while his Papa will take him to go get a Happy Meal, or let him spend the night at his house......he gets so excited, he'll talk about it for days and days. Luckily we only live about 10 min away so his grandpa is a huge fixture in Caeden's life.

One of the things that can be a little challenging about him is he is a TEASE! He constantly teases his little brothers and the only complaints I've ever had from his teachers at school is that he teases, teases, teases! Despite his tendancy to "bug" Caeden really is a good kid. He's always eager to please. I rarely have to fight with him to get him to do his chores or homework. He's just starting to understand some of the Gospel and develop his own testimony. It's so special to watch. He talks about being a missionary and doing what he's supposed to so he can "make Jesus happy". He loves reading the Childrens Book of Mormon Stories and watching The Living Scriptures. I think all the battles, heroes, and soldiers in the scriptures intrigue him. Caeden has a gentle heart and his feelings can get hurt quiet easily. He gets so upset if he has an arugment with one of his friends. If someone in our house is sad Caeden will be the first of the boys to pick up on it and he'll do everything he can to try and make it better. Part of me is so proud of the big boy he's becoming, but I also feel that little mommy ache for the little boy from his past. He's growing up too fast. Happy Birthday Caeden Bug!

Halloween Fun!

Warning: LOTS of pictures!

Halloween this year was crazy, busy, and fun fun fun! We had so much going on this year! Mike's family had their annual Halloween chili party. I didn't realize it until I downloaded our pics this morning, but we didn't get very good pictures of mine, Mike's, or Westons costumes. I went as a beehive, Mike went as a patch of lawn....we sprayed his hair bright green and put bugs in it and had ants crawling up his face, and Weston was a turtle.

Caeden was a scary Darth Vadar and Tanner was the cutest little cowboy.

I love this little lady bug, I would take her home and make her mine in a heartbeat! More family members in costume........

A week later we had our ward Halloween Party. We were babysitting my two nieces so I was going a little crazy keeping track of 5 kids. I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I had to drag my camera out for this.....

Caeden decided to celebrate his birthday a little early this year and have a Halloween Birthday Bash for his party. It was loads of fun. We had so many kids turn up. It was a mad-house! I was so busy I wouldn't have many pictures, but I had a wonderful friend who agreed to come out and be our photographer for the event. We played Pin the Bones on the Skeleton, Blood Running, and decorated pumpkins.

There were lot of creepy snacks.

Swamp cupcakes.....

Pretzel spiders.....

Slimey eyeballs, Goblin fangs and Monster Much popcorn......

Worms and witches fingers.......

The highlight of the evening was the Haunted House we put together in our garage and the empty addition above it that Mike is building onto the house. Once we added fog, creepy lights, Halloween music and people in scary costumes we had ourselves quite a good Spook Alley. It was such a hit we rounded up some volunteers to work it and kept it going on Halloween night for all the Trick-or-Treaters. It was so much fun we might just make it a yearly tradition! The cemetery where Mike and Uncle Jeff waited to scare anyone who dared to enter......

Grandma Jarvis as the Mad Scientist....

The Haunted Forest where Grandpa Robinson hid in the fog in his scary wolf mask (he was a little too scary, he made a little girl cry).......

A Black Light Room where Aunt Cherie wore all black and blended in with the black walls.

Draculas Castle where Dinah played the famous count......

We had so much help with everything. This last week really helped me to feel blessed. We are surrounded by the greatest group of family and friends!