L.O.V.E.

 I just love this cute guy!  We make such a great team!  Thankfully, our weaknesses are very different, yet our hearts are in the same place!  They say that there are at least 20 different people you could marry - there's not just a one and only...I don't think that's true for us!  We knew almost immediately that we were supposed to be together.  Not that life is a breeze - definitely NOT - but we just get to start over each day!  Thanks for all the highs (and some of the lows :)!!!

 We may cause fireworks at times...but I'm often reminded, "We're on the same team!" 

Love you Andrew Maas!!! 

Happy Early Valentine's Day (since you will be in class until late that night...)

Moments

It's the little moments that make life worth it.  Like when you go to check on the kids and find a little bum sticking up in the air...or watching your daughter skipping across the gym with her friend.  Or your 6 year old patiently sitting for over an hour while you do her hair for the Daddy/Daughter Dance.  Or seeing the enthusiasm and excitement of your 8 year old in his first basketball game - and the terror of when he actually gets the ball!

A friend asked me to come and talk to her 16-17 year old class in church about finding joy in different stages of life - while their age, as a college student, as a new bride, a new mother, and the middle mothering years.  So fun to think about and reflect on!  Each stage has soooooo many challenges yet so many rewards too!  I'd like to think that I would do everything the same way again, but I know I've made a lot of mistakes!  However, if I did it differently, I wouldn't have learned the same lessons!

This is one of my favorite quotes:
“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.” ― Gordon B. Hinckley

My kitchen gets completely trashed in the winter - that is how we come into the house and the floor just cannot stay clean!  It's a constant source of frustration.  The kids take their snow boots off in the garage, but there isn't space for a basket for regular shoes.  It's just not the most pleasing site when you walk into the house.  However, then I see the kitchen table - THIS is also a place of pleasure and pain each day.  Sadly I can't ever predict which one it will be from moment to moment.  I LOVE doing homework with Ben and Annie.  I LOVE to explain little details.  I LOVE giving Ben words to practice writing or helping Annie with her sentences.  I don't love when frustration or irritation burst their way in!  It all depends on the kids' attitudes...  Ah, the small moments...when the planets align...and the piano practice goes well...and the chores are completed...and dinner is on the table at 5:15!  Days like that make it worth the 85% when pieces are missing.  I LOVE my job - even when the moments aren't perfect!  More important - I love my partner who hears a lot more about the 85% of imperfection and helps me to recognize the 15%!!!

Post Christmas Celebration

 We came home and opened gifts from our extended family and sibling gifts.  Emily completely sets the cheerfulness tone in our family right now.  She loves each and every gift and gives hugs to say thank you.  Ben and Annie followed her example and even hugged each other!

 Andy was so THRILLED with his box full of dress shirts!!!  (thank you JCPenney for having our favorite Stafford no-wrikle shirts for $7-$9 each with free shipping!)  And one lonely pair of socks...

 Ben had so much fun with his board (until he took a spill and scarred his hip) and can't wait for nicer weather to use it again!  We all love our new aprons from Sis. Dayton!!!

 Emily had one more present, but it wouldn't fit under the tree.  She waited so patiently for Grandma and Grandpa's gift...

 Here comes Dad, bringing it down the stairs...

 A vanity - just like the little girls across the street!!!  So exciting! 

 The best part about this gift is that everyone can play with it together.  Emily is by far the best sharer in this house because she wants everyone to play!  Ben has a blast when I let him paint the girls nails.  They will just sit and do each other's hair.  Even Mitchell will sit on the little stool for a bit and pretend to play.  Or, he will pick up the stool and carry it around to climb on to reach naughty stuff.... 

After putting the vanity together, we spent the rest of the day playing with new toys and playing new games!  Quirkle is great fun - kind of a sudoku/crossword mix - but with shapes and colors!  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas Morning/Afternoon

 Oh, it is so hard to not just post cute pictures of Mitchell!  The other kids are pretty cute too, but he is at such a FUN age; we all love to watch him and make commentary for his actions!  Christmas morning we did stockings, a quick breakfast and then got ready for church.  We hurried home, had some snacks and waited for Aunt Jamie to come over.  Grandma stayed home because she hurt her back a few days before we came and was mostly confined to her chair with lots of drugs.  Grandpa was finally getting over being sick (bad enough that he actually came home early from work!) and was able to resume his annual duties as present-passer-outer

 Andy and I were assigned to the couch, Jamie had the chair, and the kids were scattered throughout the room!  So much fun to be spoiled at Christmas...especially with my favorite perfume!  Now I can wear it each day instead of making it last by only squirting on Sundays!

 One of our 'fun' gifts to Jamie was these yummy things.  She introduced them to me a few years ago; although I wish she hadn't!  She was nice enough to share - half the package was gone by the time we were finished with presents!  Those white ones are just delightful!!!

 Mitchell hadn't completely caught on to opening, at least in Ben's eyes!  He and Annie had to be special helpers!

 Fun fun day!  As Latter-day Saints, we don't usually go to church services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, unless it is a Sunday.  It was kind of special this year to hear talks and sing songs in a more formal matter before going home to do gifts...we did a Nativity earlier in the week too - but those pictures are on Mom's camera and I am waiting to get them....  Sidenote - Mitchell also LOVED the bell ornaments from the tree.  I was okay with him carrying these around because I always had a general direction of where he was!  Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Prep

 While we lived in Texas, I loved taking the kids to Santa's Village each year.  He arrives on a firetruck to a line waiting to see him!  There are over a dozen little houses (with entrances just the right size for little bodies) and Elves galore to help man the houses.  Everything is free (thank you taxes), except the refreshments, which would be very reasonably-priced if the line wasn't so long.  We were able to visit Santa the very last night he was in his Village - yes, I dragged my sisters and nieces along too!  Don't you love Aunt Nancy's and Cosette's fake smiles!?!

 Cutie cousins who escaped the long Santa line...Below - we finally made it into Santa's workshop!

 Oh, the number of pictures I have with this Santa-helper.  He is the BEST!!!

 Mitchell hasn't yet learned the joy of Santa.  I think his eyes are telling me that we're on the naughty list for making Mitchell be there!

 After Santa, the big girls took off for home while Andy and I stayed with the 5 younger kiddos.  I love Rudolph's House.  The kids sit on saddles to have their noses painted red.  (Mitchell absolutely LOVED the saddle and didn't want to get off!)  As you leave, they give you a bag of reindeer food to spread out on the yard for Christmas Eve...the reindeer were fed very well this year!

We were so lucky to see our friends, the Bulls for a Christmas Eve brunch! We sure miss Miss Monica and her two boys. Ben and Alex have been little buddies since August of 2005.  They learned how to interact and share and makeup after fights.  Ben and Annie learned about 'allergies' and what food is okay to share.  Such cute little boys.  I learned about a friend who can help me through ANYTHING and who loves to cook yummy foods and how to be a better mom.  They moved further north just before we moved to Ohio, but we love to visit them each chance we can get!

 This was such a fun time for Andy and Brian to actually visit too.  The kids love to play with the Nerf Arsenal - especially when it is Dads against Kids!!!  Monica taught Mitchell to say 'hoho' while pointing to Santa on the tree.  This past summer, their cute dog, McGee (who realllly wanted to come home with us!) taught Mitchell how to move his little tongue in and out to give kisses.  It was the CUTEST thing!  He has seen many dogs since then, but he's never repeated the action, except for the one afternoon with McGee!

Oh, if one I had pictures to capture each moment.  I am so grateful for my memory and the jogging path that comes when I see pictures!  I just love the Holidays!  And teaching my kids about Baby Jesus...and grown up Jesus...and the Savior, Jesus...

Under the Shadow of T-Rex

 Above, I guess Ben didn't want to sleep alone.  Mitchell didn't seem to mind the company...  Below: Ben bought these three plants from our neighbor's garage sale for my birthday.  They needed to be replanted, but as that is NOT my forte, Andy did them for me after finals were over!  Sadly, he left them on the table when he went to work.  Mitchell LOVES to be on the table and pulled most of the dirt out of all three pots not just once, but twice...joy!  Then, mom's brain finally clicked and they were moved to the counter until they could be hung up!

 On December 14th, we pulled the kids out of school early and headed to Dallas for the holidays.  It was a long drive, but thankfully VERY uneventful!  The kids did fantastic, as usual.  We weren't sure about Mitchell, but he was surprisingly happy for the 21 hours in the car!  He claimed this rocking chair in Grandma's Christmas Wonderland as soon as we got there.  (By the time we left, her tree was surprisingly top-heavy...any guesses why?!)

 We found a cute little Peanuts nativity two days before we left and had to get it for Grandpa.  He loves Peanuts.  My mom is a little bit Christmas-happy.  She has tubs and tubs of decorations that take Grandpa an entire day to get out of the attic.  We decided that Grandpa needed a decoration of his own!  (And one that is safe for little Mitchell-hands!)

 After running our 15K on Saturday morning, we hung out at home, showered, got ready, then headed downtown to the Dallas Museum of Science in Fair Park.  We met Uncle Roy in the parking lot!

 Finally the ceremony begins!  Andy and Uncle Rusty were groomsmen.  My nieces Addy and Cosette were bridesmaids.  Annie and Emily were flower girls, and Ben was the ring-bearer.  And I tell you - that boy is a STUD in a tux!  (The wedding had a steam punk theme, so Andy and Ben got matching pocket watches for their tuxes.)

 Yes, Uncle Roy and Tia Christina got married under the watchful eye of T-Rex.  They both love science and decided to exchange their vows in a place they love!  It was beautiful!!!

 These sweet girls!!!  They had on heels for the first time, although I was going for efficiency and bought the Velcro straps instead of the buckle straps.  DUMB move!  However, the one and only time the girls have worn the shoes and the straps haven't come undone, was as they walked down two flights of stairs with a room full of people looking on.  :)  The girls came and sat with my sisters and I on the front row during the ceremony (and were entertained with a plethora of electronics!), but Emily was pretty stressed about something.  We finally figured it out - she had ONE black silk flower left in her basket!

 We all quite love Christina.  She's the best thing to happen to Roy in a very very long time!!!

 This handsome little guy doing his job!  Sadly most of my pictures didn't turn out so well, since I was also trying to videotape at the same time...alas...the photographer will have some too!

 This was my favorite part that went WAY too fast!  My three little munchkins with linked arms going back up the stairs...

 The beautiful wedding party!  After pictures - a BBQ dinner - then lots of dancing!  Sadly, my battery died and I missed the unposed shots, but we had a great time!  Thanks for letting us share in your special night!  Congrats to Roy and Christina!!!

One Goal Down...

 I have a neighbor that I have gotten to know much better this year as her daughter started kindergarten and rides the bus with Ben and Annie.  We chat each morning and each afternoon.  She like to run and was getting ready for a marathon last October.  Over the course of a several days, my confidence was boosted just enough for me to convince 2 of my siblings that they wanted to run a 15K with me while we were in Dallas.  :)  My neighbor said she'd help me get ready.  It was so great to have support each morning and afternoon!  Then I found a lady from church who loves to run.  She let me borrow a few books to read, as well as her old gps watch to train with.  And - I was off!!! 

 I had two major turning points during this training process.  First, an email from a very athletic cousin who basically told me I COULD run 3 miles without stopping and just go DO IT.  I did- and felt great!  Second, a friend came to town to visit her mom for Thanksgiving.  We did a 4-mile Fun Run on Thursday, then she did my 8 mile long run with me (at my pace instead of hers...quite a bit slower!).  We found that the lap I had been doing my training on were actually 1.1 miles - we ended up running 9 miles that day.  I knew I could do 9.3 in four weeks.  I just knew it!

 I had signed Andy up for the race.  He did great going to the gym through September, slowed down in October, and just hit a few times in November.  I didn't think he was still going to run with us since he hadn't gone more than 5 miles.  However, did I mention that my pace is pretty slow?!?  I followed Jeff Galloway's Run/Walk method...and highly recommend it!  The first mile we ran for a minute/walked for a minute.  2nd mile we ran for 2 minutes/walked for 1 minute.  By the 3rd mile we were up to pace with running 3 minutes/walking 1 minute...until Nancy's legs started having issues.  We had the most beautiful day in Dallas but a bunch of hills....  My brother Rusty was just there to keep us company.  He did break a sweat, but more because it was warm outside.  :)  We had fun just doing it together!  Bonus: we weren't too sore later on to dance the night away at Roy's wedding!

It was a fantastic experience and definitely one I want to repeat.  Guess what?  A friend told me about a 1/2 marathon in Akron...on a Saturday...that happens to be our 12th anniversary.  We have 3 months to get ready!!!

Dear Santa,

 The Primary children had a Christmas activity where Santa came to visit.  On the way to the church, Ben and I had a very interesting conversation.  He asked what religion Santa is.  Ben has been studying several different religions in school, so I could see where this question was coming from.  He came to the conclusion that this a very busy time of year, so Santa must just not go to church at all because he has to make so many toys for kids....hmmm. 

 I kind of turned the question back of him.  Well, why does Santa bring presents?  To celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of the world, which makes him Christian.  We've had several conversations about Christians, Mormons, Catholics, etc and how they are similar and different.  It's been a really fun holiday season.  I love to delve into these subjects with this 8 year old who has such a THIRST for knowledge!  Then, I bring in the spiritual aspect and ask him how he FEELS to know the truth.  We've also talked about Santa's helpers - like this helper that has the most beautiful blue eyes!

Happy Thanksgiving

 We had such a fun Thanksgiving!  Our friend, JJ, came to visit for 5 days and we kept him busy!  We haven't seen him since July 2009 when he left Texas for Canada to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaking Cantonese.  We loved having him here and seeing him again!  I so much enjoyed having an extra pair of hands to help in the kitchen.  JJ made Sloppy Joes, pumpkin pie, and apple pie - all with little helping hands included! 

 I think scriptures was his favorite time of night!  Andy and Ben took him to see the Church History Sites one day, he was a stay-at-home mom another day, and then did flag football (where he and Andy both got hurt...oops!), frisbee, food prep, Black Friday shopping, leaf-raking, and any other about-the-house chores we had to do!

 We love to play keep-away frisbee.  If the neighbor girl comes over, it's adults vs kids.  If not, the adults split up.  The kids love it and I love it to coax Andy away from studying (which, he did have the BEST grades yet this past semester).  I had fun running with a friend to do the 5K Turkey Trot and then my first-EVER 9mile morning run.  Jaime was here visiting her parents and was patient with me as we slowly ran those 9 miles.  :)   Then I came hope to help rake the yard, only to find the boys did most of it!

 Time to put up Christmas lights!  Ben is scared of heights.  He really wanted to be on the roof with the girls, but he just cried once he was up there.  I wouldn't let him come down until I had a picture.  hehehe...I know I'm such a nice mom!  Mitchell was enthralled with the whole 'light' process.  We were all happy to have such a mild Thanksgiving - very grateful for it!  Nights were filled with games and goodies and deep conversations about the joys of college-life!  Such a fun holiday!!!