Enjoying the simple things...

This year as always I spend so much time trying to make sure the kids have a good Christmas while trying to not overdo it. This year I tried to get very simple basic toys. For the most part the kids got games, books, and a few action figures. Granny and Bud of course made sure the boys had big presents like an art set for Cade, a guitar for Davis, and a Superman bike for Easton. Easton was so excited for his bike, he couldn't wait for Jeremy to put it together. ( Christmas Eve can not be a "put together" night because the day is for Davi's birthday so we wrap all night!). While Jeremy was assembling the bike, Easton and Davis enjoyed the box almost more than anything else that day.

Ornament Echange

Every year we do an ornament exchange on Christmas Eve in the form of a talk show. Each family member gets an ornament based on something they did that year. This year, Cade got a boy with a missing tooth because he lost six teeth this summer. Davis got a boy going to school because he went to kindergarten. Easton got a boy jumping into a swimming pool because this summer he loved to jump off the side of the swimming pool yelling "cannonball!" He loved it so much, he still jumps off everything yelling that. He rarely walks down the stairs and climbs on anything he can, just to jump off and yell. Jeremy's ornament was a "Mr. Fix It", and Rebecca got an ornament wwith her Ham Radio call sign on it that Jeremy made for her. This is the boys favorite holiday tradition.

Special Birthday

People always tell Davis that having a Christmas Eve birthday must be hard, but he thinks it is great. One of the reasons why is the fact that he is only person he knows who gets two birthday cakes a year. He has a birthday party with his friends in November and has a family party with us and Nana and Papa on his actual birthday. He thinks it is the best to have a special birthday!

Merry Christmas?

Well for the past week, I have not emailed or posted. Not because I have been busily rushing about finishing up last minute Christmas items but because I have had a sick family. Cade got sick while we were opening presents. At first I thought he just wasn't enjoying any of his presents, but he quickly ran off and we figured it out! Poor guy! Some Christmas.

Christmas Letter

For all you who missed our letter.

Batteries Not Included

So I started out in the Christmas Spirit and all excited about the holidays and THEN... I wanted to buy Cade and Davis the game battleship because it was one of my favorites as a kid. The problem is that you can no longer find anywhere that sells the regular version. Today they only sell electronic battleship! After many weeks of searching I began to notice and get irritated with every traditional game being "computerized." Now they even have a fast pay monopoly. The only fun in that game was fighting over who was going to be the banker in the first place. Why? Why must they do this to all my favorite childhood games? In October I was searching for a jump rope (Easton really wanted one, don't ask why!) and could not find a child's jump rope anywhere. Finally I found one in a catalog but it was pink or purple which just won't do. Our country has a childhood obesity epidemic and you can't find a simple jump rope anymore, does anyone else see the connection? The final straw came this weekend when I went to get Cade a hula hoop. They learned to do it in PE and Cade is really good. He just stands there and the thing moves around him like magic, you have to see it. Jeremy's work had a family picnic and there was a contest where you had to walk around , hop on one foot, move forward and backwards, all while keeping the hoop going. Cade nearly won so I thought it would be fun for him to do at home. (Also, I am very competitive and want him to practice for next year to win the stinking contest!) Back to my chief complaint. Well now they have electronic hula hoops! That was it. I feel like boycotting Christmas, since that ain't happening, I am boycotting batteries. No toys with lights, or sounds or anything that requires batteries this year. When Cade was two, he had a little push truck and was rolling it on the ground and stopped and looked up at me and said, "mom this is broken, it needs batteries." I told him that he had to make his own noises and move it himself, he thought that was the coolest thing ever. I feel like sometimes we cheat our kids out of some of the most simplest yet fun experiences of childhood because we buy toys that read "BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED."

This is why I love him....

Our neighbors were both in the hospital last week, and when they came home one of them needed to be in a wheelchair. They were having trouble getting over the porch into the front door. I told Jeremy about the problem on Friday night and briefly mentioned that they could use a ramp. Early Saturday morning Jeremy was out in the garage and by mid afternoon.... the neighbors had a ramp. He didn't mind that all of his projects he had to do that day got pushed back (and still got done because he was up until midnight to finish them). Jeremy is such a giving person who spends his time doing things for other people. He is not a complainer and even though he has to sacrifice his free time (a lot), he feels it a blessing to be able to do things for others. He is truly one of the most Christlike persons I have ever met... and that is why I love him.