THE MOVE

We are here in Colorado and settling in. It is so lovely to be reunited with Todd. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder and I'm pretty much head over heels in love with my husband. I'm missing Norfolk somthin' turrible but, in the same breath, it is sooo nice to be finished with the packing up and the unpacking. Although I must say I did have an immense amount of help with the packing. For example, this guy pretty much single handedly packed up my books:


Todd flew to Norfolk and we drove across the country Memorial Day weekend. Some dear friends made the boys a goody bag for the trip and it was seriously a lifesaver. We got them to behave for a full six hour stretch just on the promise of a blue ring pop at the end:

Here are our little troopers taking a 30 minute leg stretch at a rest area in Kansas:

The highlight of our last day of driving? Getting a whole dollar to buy anything they wanted from the vending machine. Oh, the AGONY of choosing!


All three older boys were instrumental in keeping Baby Jude happy through the long hours, but this boy here was the absolute champion at it:

Baseball Boys

I am terrible about taking pictures. My excuse used to be that my camera was too big and bulky. But now that I also have a sleek little point and shoot camera, I'm not sure what my excuse is. I have just one, ONE, photo of Jonah to document his baseball season this year (and it's not even that great of a picture, poor Jonah):

Reuben was a tad bit luckier. My camera happened to be in my diaper bag and my diaper bag happened to be at his last game of the season so I have a few more of Big Reubs to document his debut in t-ball:



Notice Reuben with his "Beth Batheball Buddy Bankths Bonney":)

And we musn't forget the die hard fan who went to every practice and game to cheer his brothers on:

Go Choppers GOOOO!

If you give a boy a camera....

this little boy to be specific:

You may get a bird's eye view into his little 7 year old mind:

Paper Flowers

Paper flowers make my heart glad! Pier One Imports is clearancing all of their fake foilage.

3 paper flowers are busy giving my coffee table a whole new look:



And look how those sprays of orange blossoms brighten up my mantle!


Yes, indeed--that was $7 well spent :)

Christmas Eve Merriment!

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We had a wonderful Christmas Eve! We invited our pretend grandparents, otherwise known as Ms. Bea and Mr. Marvin, along with a little neighborhood friend to participate in the festivities. After a delicious lunch/dinner (linner?) at Outback Steakhouse, we made a quick stop at the dollar store so the kids could pick out presents for each other and then bee-lined it home to get ready for the big night. Todd helped the kids wrap each other's presents, while I started on the cinnamon buns. When the buns were safely baking in the oven afloat in all of their caramely goodness, we began my favorite night of the year by opening the first gifts of Christams and putting them on:


Then it was time to act out the Christmas Nativity. Faithful Todd read Luke 2 while our budding actors performed their parts of standing perfectly still. Being the only girl in the fam, I usually have to play Mary, so it was very refreshing to have our neighborhood friend fill in for me. Although Jude would not let me wrap him in swaddling clothes, he was very professional in his part as baby Jesus, beaming munificently up into Mary's face.



Next, we heartily sang our favorite Christmas carols and then off to the kitchen to enjoy ooey-gooey, oh so yummy cinnamon buns and hot chocolate in our new snowflake mugs.


Of course, we musn't forget Santa. He needs all the energy and comfort food he can get on his long, arduous journey across the globe:


The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there!



To bed, my little childlings and may your dreams be filled with sugar plums and all good things this Merry Christmas Eve!

Bad Habit

I have this bad habit of wasting my time perusing the anthropologie website and salivating over almost every single item they have in their home section. I confess, I load up my "shopping cart" without a hint of discretion. Sometimes there are over 30 items in my cart at a time. BUT here is where you should be very, extremely proud of my perfect self-control: I never proceed to checkout. Never, ever, EVER. Really, that is admirable, yes?

On a side note--just in case you were planning on getting me a Christmas gift this year--I will give you a peek at the rug that is my heart's desire:



And, bonus, it only cost $1000. I repeat--it only costs ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS! Very affordable, darling :).

How to Behave and Why

My kids are having a fabulous Chrismas full of wonderful and delightful surprises. However, if I wasn't a little bit of afraid of my children, I would cancel all their presents and give each of them their own copy of this helpful instructional book: