The Year In Pictures 2009

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2009

We had a lovely mellow Christmas at home. We invited Jared's parents over for breakfast. I made an egg casserole and Jared had decided a couple of weeks ago that he would be in charge of the sweet side of the meal, meaning on Christmas Eve he braved the local mall and got a 1/2 dozen Cinnabons. Yum, Yum! We sat and enjoyed conversation and laughed at the boys adoration for their cinnabons. Then it was time for the "big reveal" (borrowing a HGTV phrase). Nani and Papa had bought the boys a HUGE train set and Jared set it up the night before and covered it with blankets. We sat them on the couch and pulled back the covers. They jumped off before we could blink and played with it the. rest. of. the. day.

You may think that I am exaggerating but truly. They played the entire morning while we essentially begged them to open more gifts. They cried at our requests and said "No, play with trains". This went on for 2 hours and finally we started telling them what the presents were hoping that they would be interested. It went like this "Hey guys, we got you a little people airport, want to open it?" It was kind of funny but it didn't persuade them. We finally forced them into opening stockings and eventually opening a couple more gifts at which point I mentioned to Jared that we should put a couple away for their b-day because they obviously had enough toys to play with and he said lets just put the rest away. So, that is what we did. There are 4 Christmas wrapped gifts in the basement waiting for April.

They took a "train break" to eat lunch, nap and finally to turn in for the night but other than that they spent every waking moment playing trains. I would say it was a good investment since we found the set on Craigslist and we didn't actually make the investment! ;) So this year every picture is of them playing with trains pretty much. I also had a headache so even though I enjoyed the day more than I probably ever have you will find no family pic or picture of the boys by the tree or even opening gifts because by the time they finally did the gift opening point we were all kind of "over it". :) So that was our mellow Christmas here at our house. We feel very thankful for our little family and are enjoying all of the extra time with Jared who still has almost another week off. YAY!

Jared and I also turned into Scrooge the minute the boys went down for nap and drug the stinkin' tree out to the curb. We LOVE a real tree and are very into the lights, decor, etc. but this years tree was the driest tree we have ever seen. I have NEVER cleaned up so many pine needles in.my.life. We are thrilled to have our living room back and the boys barely noticed it was gone! Buh-bye tree you will not be missed!

Christmas Eve

We had a lovely Christmas Eve with Jared's family. Way to much food as usual and the boys left with way too many gift as usual! Fun was had by all and I enjoyed coffee with the ladies of the family as we sat at the table, laughed and cried. As Dolly would say (in "Steel Magnolias", of course) "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion!". I definitely got to experience it.

Special Delivery

I have no idea how to condense the holidays into a single post so rather than force myself into being the minimalist that I wish I were but, probably never will be,I decided multiple posts would be the way to go. On Christmas Eve we made our deliveries of cookies to neighbors and the NICU. Jared and the boys handled the neighbor part of it because, well, I wanted to stay in my robe and finish all of my cooking/baking for that evening. I did however manage to poke the camera out the front door and get a picture of my delivery guys. It was really precious to watch them pass out the cookies. It warms a mother's heart that is for sure. I commended them when they got back that it was very nice of them to share their cookies with others and gave them big hugs and kisses to which Alex responded "where's my cookie?" He was rewarded with a cookie, little stinker.

Then I got dressed and we went to the NICU. I read about a family that delivers cookies every Christmas Eve to those who have to work (ie policemen, fireman, hospital employees, etc. etc.). For me it was the NICU staff. We loved our NICU and we usually visit them at least yearly. I have to say that this visit was my absolute favorite and I am so glad that we went. We spent a long time talking to the nurses who were on their lunch and they were so excited to see how well the boys were doing. The boys even showed off and pointed out the triangles and squares in the floor tiles. They also carried on full conversations and didn't' play the shy game. It was amazing. Jared said they must have a special bond. :) One of the nurses actually said that it was very rewarding to see them. On a side note: I encourage anyone NICU parents to re-visit their child's first home. Even if you don't think that they will remember you it may just bless them on a day when they need it. It is a difficult job and they deserve to see those sweet smiles that you enjoy daily. Anyways, one of the most rewarding parts was when we ran into a couple who had a 26 wk old daughter who was born yesterday. They were curious about the boys and the fact that they were NICU graduates of course. We were able to encourage them a bit and felt like God had crossed our paths in order to give them a little strength.

While I am speaking of giving we have been BEYOND blessed by so many individuals this year. I truly cannot express the love that we receive from those around us who not only seek to meet physical needs but spiritual and emotional as well. We are ridiculously spoiled by those who love us and are so grateful for that. It inspires us to do for others like they have for us. It is a beautiful thing!

Merry Christmas to all!

We are looking forward to celebrating Jesus' Birthday with the boys!

He is THE GIFT!

Thankful!

So yesterday morning we woke up and realized someone had slashed two of our tires. In the spirit of giving they also did this to all of the other cars parked on our street. Generous, I know. You gotta love the Detroit area. I am sure it was kids out late that were bored. When I was talking to my sister we kind of laughed and said "what ever happened to playing video games when your bored? I mean come on just sit around and become obese like the rest of the nation." Anyways, it is definitely an inconvenience and we definitely aren't jumping for joy (i.e. we've had a few choice words for the parents we imagine let their kids out late to roam the streets) but it didn't put us into a funk either like it might have in the past. Both Jared and I found ourselves thanking God that we had the money to get new tires. I am sure there are some in this economy who could not. We are far from rolling in the dough but God faithfully provides for our needs, a lot of our wants AND mis-haps like this one.

I am actually thankful to live in this area during this economic mess. I find myself appreciating the little things. Jared and I find ourselves thanking God for the food on our table, a house with heat, cars to drive, etc., etc., etc., I just think it is a lesson that will never be forgotten when you see those that you are close to you laid off or struggling to live in this economic crisis or drive 20 minutes downtown and see homeless in this freezing weather. I know we all have are opinions about WHY they are homeless and we may be right but can you imagine being that hopeless? I cannot. Regardless, it whips you back to reality when you are bummed about what you "don't have". So that is what is on my mind this morning. I started writing this thinking I would get my thoughts down on "paper" but not post it. I changed my mind though and plan to hit "publish post". I'm livin' on the edge today, what can I say? :D

and of course it goes without saying that I am thankfu for this sunglasses obsessed boy AND

even Gramps here with his blanket over his shoulders.

I'd love to hear about the basic things that you are thankful for that you sometimes take for granted. Please share!

Because I couldn't resist!

It's Sunday morning and there are a million other things I could be doing but I couldn't resist posting this picture of Eli from last night and since I am posting I thought I'd add these other random pictures. Having a good wknd here and had a great day yesterday shopping and lunching with my MIL and SIL, Kim. Jared's Mama spoiled me with some great new clothes! Merry Christmas to me! Can I get an AMEN? :)

I went in to find him sleeping like this. On a side note: That is a Heffalump next to him named "Lumpy" but Eli affectionately refers to him as "lumFEE". Too cute!

This was one of the first days that Daddy could hold the boys in his lap due to his surgery. They were at peace! They have colds so this was the perfect set up with a movie on.

On this particular morning I was cooking french toast and the boys decided to join me to play in the kitchen. I had to take this pic because I was cooking on the griddle and standing in the 6 inches of space between Eli and the counter. Now you know what parents mean when they say "they're always under my feet" :)

The boys wanted me to cover them because they were playing "sleep" on the train table. I went back in after making my bed and found Alex "reading" to Eli.

Have a great rest of your weekend.

The Breakfast Table

Each morning the boys and I sit down to have breakfast together. Jared is off to work by the time the boys wake so it is just the 3 of us. I don't always sit with them but the majority of the time I do and on this particular morning I focused on our little ritual that is breakfast.

For starters there is almost ALWAYS a little whining coming out of this one. He is NOT a morning person. He also usually has his blanket either around his shoulders or in his lap. This is a must and I am bummed that I didn't get it into the photo.

There is always a small (sometimes large) toy involved and it's usually a motor vehicle of some sort.

Sometimes a great deal of concentration goes into the "using the spoon" process and sometimes they pick it up with their hands. Alex is famous for picking it up with his hand and then placing it on the spoon.

and last but not least they put a little too much cereal in their mouths causing a bit of milk to dribble. I mean what would breakfast be without a little milk on your chin?

From our breakfast table to yours!

It's that time of year!

A hodgepodge of the holiday! So here is a little bit of what the holidays look like at our house. I like to decorate pretty simply. We definitely don't go crazy but I add a little bit more each year and still have a few more ideas up my sleeve this year.

Above is the ornament wreath that is so popular around the blogoshpere. Along with snow candles. I saw this simple idea at the inspired room. It is epsom salt placed in the bottom of jars/candle holders to look like snow. I love the simplicity of this & have them all over the house.

In the bedroom I added a little Christmas bling to the candles by covering them in mod podge and rolling them in epsom salt.

And here is Alex and Eli's contribution to the decor. Definitely can't leave them out! They made this shape craft that I found at "No Time For Flashcards" (of course). This was a great craft b/c it focuses on shapes and it taught them "trapezoid" which was a new one for them. :)

We put these up in the kitchen window!

Don't Forget WFMW @ "We are ThAT Family".