Checking out the World

If you didn't truly believe how much my children love the garbage cans, this picture tells it all. Today we looked out from our kitchen window, only to find the boys standing on top of them, peaking out on the world from the back side of our yard wall. When he realized we noticed him, Hayden immediately jumped down without trouble and Noah turned around and was sort of just balancing on top of the recycling can - I sort of stood frozen from inside, praying he wouldn't rock the can off balance and fall as Chris quickly went out to help him down. Without incident, he landed back on steady ground and I can only imagine what is in store for us as he, and his brother, get older and ultimately more adventurous.

Pictures - 2008

Awesome Christmas

Christmas morning brought out the giggles and excitement for two little boys of mine. Awaking around 5:00 am, Noah was bright-eyed and ready for the day to begin. Snuggling in bed with both boys (in a twin size bed I might add ... what a sight we made), while trying to coax Noah back to sleep for a bit longer, I was able to stretch our sleep until about 7:15. Popping up and ready to open presents, Hayden jumped out of bed and ran into the living room to peek at the tree with his little brother following close behind. As I chased after them, whispering to keep the noise down while we waited for Grandma, Aunt Katie, and Grandpa to wake up too, all that could be heard was the pittering of feet and the giggles and cries "this is so awesome" from Hayden and a repeated "ya, awesome" from Noah. Moments like these are enough to melt your heart, and make me realize it's the little things in life that we must hold on to and remember.
Once the house was awake, we descended on our stockings first to see what treats were held inside and then moved on to the presents under the tree. It was a wonderful morning spent together with my boys, my sister, and my parents and I only wish that Chris would've been with us to join in the fun of it all.
The day continued to be wonderful and memories were made to share for us all. Later in the afternoon, we drove out to my aunt's home in Modesto and joined my dad's side of the family for games on the Wii, yummy food, a gift exchange, and of course, more yummy food! I love Christmas and it's not because we get to open presents or because we get things but because of the time I get to share with my family. It's the quality of time that has become most important to me, spending time together, being thankful to God, and sharing in the blessing of Jesus' birth not just at Christmas time but throughout the year ahead. I am so very thankful I had this time to be with my family and though part of my heart was with Chris in Arizona, it was a holiday I will remember fondly and cherish.

Christmas Eve

Peeking inside the box

What could it be?
Hanging out with cousins on Christmas Eve

A happy mommy with two tired boys

For Christmas Eve, the boys and I drove out to my brother's house to spend the evening with his family. With my mom and sister both at work, my dad, younger brother and his girlfriend, and my grandparents joined together with my sister-in-law's family for a wonderful start of the holiday. Not going with any sort of traditional meal, we opted for a nacho bar, enjoying all the yummy and not-so-healthy toppings for our tortilla chips together with a Christmas Eve margarita. After a few rounds of chips n' cheese, and a heated bowling game on the Wii (which I might add I played a fabulous game and beat my brother big time!), we settled in front of the tree for round one of present opening. Hayden and Noah opened just one present from their cousins ... and then had a blast helping clean up all the wrapping paper and you guessed it, throwing it away in the garbage. If you're looking for a clean-up crew for your next gathering, I have two little boys who do a fine job of picking up .... if only that energy could transfer over to cleaning up at home.

So as to not wear them out before our Christmas celebration tomorrow, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's house to get ready for bed and to get cookies ready for Santa's visit. Tonight I really missed having Chris around to help and felt his absence, as I wished he could have been with us to not only join the family, but also to join with me in preparing for the morning with the boys. So after a very frazzled bath time and a near mommy meltdown, with lots of help from Grandma and Aunt Katie, the boys settled in to bed and I frantically wrapped a few presents and prepared stockings before heading off to church for a Christmas Eve service with my mom and sister.

It has been a long time since I've been to church on Christmas and I am so glad I went, even though it was near midnight. The service opened with the choir singing Christmas carols, and the joyous sound of the music really touched me and brought out the spirit of the holiday. Soon after is what really made this service worth staying up for .... my sister's church sponsors a group of orphaned children from Uganda, and they travel the country singing in different churches. The group, "Children of the World," is made up of a dozen or so children ranging in age from maybe six to twelve, who have all been brought to the Lord through different church ministries. One of the little boys came up to the stage, introduced himself as well as the rest of his group, and they all began to sing together. It was amazing to see these children, whom are orphaned and have no "traditional" family to speak of outside to the church families they stay with during their visits, singing in front of a crowded sanctuary of people with the purest joy in their voices. I sat their listening to them sing, tears streaming down my face as I sat their reflecting and thinking about my two little boys sleeping back at my mom's and my husband back in Arizona, and just grabbed on to my mom and sister's hands and felt so grateful to God for all the blessings I've been given in my life. If there was ever a moment to bring the Christmas spirit into my heart, this evening was it and is one that I will forever cherish and remember.

Raking Leaves

For the first time, the boys got to experience raking leaves with Grandma. Monday morning brought about a beautiful sunny sky, and though cool, the boys kept busy with my mom raking up her front yard. Hayden went to work with "his" rake, piling the leaves into his dump truck before putting them in the garbage can for yard waste. He worked hard, stayed to the task and truly was the one who cleaned up the yard. Noah, on the other hand, had a great time trying to undo the piles of leaves, and you guessed it, being in charge of dumping the leaves into the "bahtich" can. Watching them outside this morning brought back memories of days long past when my brothers, sister, and I would rake leaves, pile them high, jump in, and do it all over again. Though there wasn't much jumping in, Hayden loved helping my mom, relished in the compliments that he was doing a great job and well, Noah just had a blast being near the garbage cans and riding on his brother's bike.

Staying Warm

It's been a while since I've really felt winter ... an Arizona winter is slightly different than the winter of Central California. I love it, don't get me wrong, but Hayden and Noah don't experience this every day as all they usually need at home is a sweatshirt and they're good to go. After bundling up with layers of shirts and sweatshirts, hats and mittens too, they played out in the garage this morning, riding bikes and dumping trucks due to the rain we woke up to today. Thought I'd share these cute, bundled up little boys, trying to stay warm as they experience the cold of California.

Road Adventure

Thursday brought us an adventure on the road. The boys and I left home early in the morning, while still dark, to drive up to Stockton to spend the holidays with my family. The first part of our drive went as usual and we made it to our first stopping point in Indio, California making decent time. It was then that our trip took an unexpected turn ... my dad called and informed me that both mountain passes that I could use to get into the Central Valley, the "Grapevine" using I-5 and the Tehachapi Pass on Hwy. 58, were both closed due to an overnight snowstorm. Okay, I'm thinking, breathe and be flexible ...
So not wanting to waste any time, I got back on the road and stayed in constant contact with my dad who was able to keep track of the road closures for me and was able to guide me along an alternate route through downtown LA (not fun!) and up the coast using Hwy. 101. A beautiful drive it was (and according to Hayden, "how awesome mom"), however my main goal at this point was to drive, drive, drive until I got back onto a road I was familiar with! So three hours later and a few hundred extra miles, I finally get to I-5 and finish up our journey to my parent's arriving after only 14 1/2 hours! Though the nerves in my rear-end were numb from sitting for so long, I have to say my children were amazing little troopers (partly thanks to our portable DVD player which kept them occupied watching Christmas movies at a few different times during the day). Not once did they squabble with each other nor did they have any major meltdowns to speak of ... a whine here and there, but I was right there with them, and so we persevered and drove on! If there ever was a truer test of patience, I think I experienced it on this drive though would rather not have to again anytime soon! One of the most memorable moments of the drive was during our last two hour stretch towards "home" when Hayden said to me, "Mom, next time can we please just fly? You can borrow some of my money - really, I don't care." Out of the mouths of babes ... what a sweetie this 5-year boy of mine is!
A great deal of thanks goes to my dad who called me every few hours to make sure I was doing okay, and kept me going in the right direction toward home. In thinking about our road adventure as a whole, I am grateful we made it here safely to enjoy this time with my family, and enjoy it we will!