Christmas Gift

Today Ben brought me home a Christmas present that he had made at school. It was wrapped in a paper bag that was decorated in his writing, with a gift tag signed "Ben". He came in and put it under the tree and said "Did Santa come today?". Then I got to look under the tree and open my gift, a beautiful magnet that will hang on our fridge forever.
What Ben doesn't know is how many gifts he has given to me, leading to the making of this one. The gift of him going to school without fighting or screaming, to make the magnet. The gift of his hands working so that he could hold the scissors to cut the paper. The gift of his being able to hold a crayon well enough to write his name. The smile on his face tells us that he is happy at school, even when they play the gates of town, and that is quite a gift, indeed. To know that you made the right choice, one that led to this beautiful magnet, is a gift that I cannot describe to you.
We have received so many gifts from this little boy, more than he will ever know.

8 months

Yup, it has been another month. Emma is 8 months old, and I need to capture it in a post. You do not even have to read it, as it is purely for my own memories. You can look at the pictures, if you would like. She is a cutie!
What has Emma been up to this month, you may ask. If you have actually decided to read this post, and again- no pressure. Well, she is playing pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo, waving bye-bye and showing how big she is when we ask, 300 times a day, "How big is Emma? Soooo big" in our super fun high pitched baby voices. No wonder she isn't quite as willing to play that game. She is a happy baby, with a slight temper starting to show through. "WHO TOOK MY TOY???? WWWAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" You know.

Emma loves toys, and she clearly has the best tasting toys in the world. She also loves books, and is tolerant of my super fun sounds and voices for all of the animals and characters. The unconditional love of a baby. Total ego boost!

We love you, Miss Emma Margaret. May you always be this sweet and loving. And may you always have such kissable cheeks. At least until you are three. And not at all when the boys start calling. Oh, dear.

All old and rusty

This was a conversation Ben and I had after he got off of the bus this morning:

Ben: "Mom, I need a whole new rear end."

Me: " Oh, dear. What is wrong with the one you have now?"

Ben: "It's all old and rusty!"

Me: "Well, that would be a good reason to need a new one."

Seriously, what else do you say about that?




Did you know that we were talking about one of Ben's many imaginary trucks? (or maybe he WAS the truck- I am still unsure!) It took me a minute, but smart lady that I am, I figured it out!

Somethin' about Sisters

Do you know how much my two girls adore each other? I know it, but sometimes it surprises even me. Ben and Grace had a sleepover at Grandma and Papa's on Sunday night, and did not get home until last night, when both girls were already sleeping. That means they had not seen each other in 42 hours. Please keep in mind that Grace had not seen me in that long, as well.
So this morning when Grace woke up and came down the stairs, who do you think she ran to and hugged and kissed? Me? You would think. Nope, she NEVER even looked at me- she ran up to Emma and snuggled and said "I missed you, Emma"over and over. Grace still did not look at me, as she was hugging Emma, and Emma was happily being loved. Please do not get me wrong, I love that they missed each other, and were happy to be together. It has made me smile all day, every time that I think of their happy reunion.

I know that it will not always be this way, that they will fight over toys, then clothes and makeup. I know this, and am glad that this post will always be my reminder of the bond between them.

It is my hope and my prayer that this bond will get my girls through some tough times, and that they will always remember that they have each other, when it feels like the rest of the world is against them.

It's Christmas Card Time Again!

We took our Christmas card pictures tonight. So much fun. This is one of those annual family traditions that I just do not look forward to (you know, like the tradition of arguing over where we are going for which hour of the two day holiday, but that is another post). To get three children to all look in the same direction, while smiling, is virtually impossible. Maybe a seasoned photographer may be able to do it, but not me. No, not me. Thank heavens they are cute.

I thought that you would like to see some of the pics that were cut. This way you can share in the joy of the task.

Did you know that babies could give such dirty looks? Or that brothers could be so wacky? (notice Grace's new haircut- love it!)
Please do not let this fool you- it was not all hugs and kisses:

Sisters sharing in the joys and beauty of the season:

And then it was over. Ben had the prize in sight (candy cane- again, not above bribing!), and was very well behaved. Grace was not interested in sitting still, and Emma kept staring at the flash and blinding herself.

The chosen picture! Grace had hair over her face, Emma had a hand in her mouth, and you see more carpet than tree. Whatever. The cards will be mailed, people will say "aren't they sweet" (because how could you not?), and that will be that. Yipee. I can mark one more thing off of my Christmas list. Now if I could just mark one more paper off of my end of the semester list. Oh, well.

Happy December!