Magic Moments

This morning (instead of doing their chores) the boys were all playing together. Of course Aiden and Sage play all the time, but today Cade was honestly joining in and he thought he was one of the big boys. Each day I remind myself that things will get easier and while Cade still has to be watched ALL THE TIME, he can at least go up and down stairs by himself and that has made my life a lot easier. So, the boys were running around playing some sort of game that included walkie talkies and hiding. I took a few pictures and I used the wrong lens on my camera so they didn't turn out as great as I had hoped, but they're cute nonetheless. And maybe the real surprise here is that Tucker wasn't chasing them around as well. The rule of no running in the house with the dog exists and is enforced, but Tucker lay sleeping on the rug during all this chaos. I'm quite shocked. Tom thinks the dog is depressed because he misses Grandpa and Grandmommy, and that very well maybe true. It ...

Christmas was really wonderful. We thought Tom would have to work Christmas so we made plans for a quite Christmas at home by ourselves and we were all trying to be positive about the situation even though we were all sad about missing Christmas with our family. As it turned out Tom had 4 days off over Christmas and his family decided to celebrate in Indiana so we were able to join them. It really felt like a Christmas miracle. We kept it as a surprise for the boys until the day we left. The week before we told them we had a surprise and the day before we left their clue about the surprise was they needed to pack their suitcase. The boys quickly went from excited to annoyed because we wouldn't tell them and they had lots of guesses including the cabin, Pappy and Marme's, the beach, Auntie Jenny's in Washington D.C., and Grandmommy's. When we finally told them where we were going it took a few minutes for it to sink in that they would get to be with their cousins they mi...

It's almost Christmas and for the last week or so we've been healthy (yay!) and enjoying Advent while staying home. We had planned a quiet Christmas at home by ourselves assuming Tom would have to work. As it turns out he has several days off so we will be leaving tomorrow to celebrate Christmas in the best way. We haven't told the boys our plan yet. Until this morning when I told them to pack their suitcases they had assumed we'd be home. They have moved past being excited about our surprise trip to being down right annoyed that I won't tell them. Tom thinks the surprise will keep until we arrive at our destination. We shall see. Some Advent things we've done have included reading The Sweet Smell of Christmas , a scratch and sniff book that Sage LOVES, watching Mickey's Christmas Carol and Home Alone, making cookies with the cookie press, taking the boys shopping to buy gifts for each other at Toys R Us, walking through the city park's light display, ...

At a little church in a little town called Hometown, West Virginia there is this really great event called A Walk Through Bethlehem. I stumbled across it on Facebook and I've been looking forward to it for a month. The event is in it's 8th year and brings in 8,000 visitors a year! Cade caught Aiden's sickness so sadly Cade and I had to stay home, but Tom took Aiden and Sage. I haven't heard all about it yet...the boys are going to tell me everything in the morning, but they came home really excited about the whole experience. Tom said it was one of the best things we've been to in terms the Christmas story.  The church sets up an actual city of Bethlehem that people walk through. Tom said each little house or store was run by people who knew what they were talking about. The basket weaver was making baskets, the potter was spinning pots, the tanner was actually skinning a bear, the rug maker was making rugs, etc. I'm excited to hear what the boys have to say in ...

Advent activities stood still for a few days this week because Aiden got sick. I don't think everyone has been healthy at our house since before Myrtle Beach. I am hoping this is the last of it because we have paid our dues. This week Sage painted a Christmas house and thankfully Aiden was better today so we went to see The Elves and the Shoemaker Play. I'm praying no one else gets Aiden's sickness because tomorrow night I really want to go to The Bethlehem Walk.  In an effort to stay caught up on this blog here's the happenings of the week... Cade's dancing has moved past him just waving his arms and he now does this move we call his "funny arm dance." He kind of makes one arm into a chicken wing and sways back and forth. :) Untitled from Jenny on Vimeo . Sage reads to Cade and it's the sweetest thing. It makes my heart happy. This book in particular he isn't actually reading. He just has it memorized. Sage doesn't reali...

Sage turned 5 and I just can't believe it. Turning 5 seems so grown up and he was the cutest four year old so I just wanted to hold onto his silly ways a while longer. Sage's birth is the only one out of my 3 that went as I had hoped and planned so for that reason November 28th will always hold a special sweetness. Big things are happening for Sage. For starters, he is growing. His Radio Flyer bike got packed away for Cade and he upgraded to a 16 inch bike. He is pretty proud of himself when he rides it. He's also learning leaps and bounds and his reading is getting better each day. I'm always amazed at what he picks up just by listening to me talk to Aiden. Homeschooling is kind of cool that way. Sage is a very attentive older brother to Cade. While he does get impatient with Cade when he ruins the toys he has set up a certain way, Sage is always the first one to be concerned about Cade on the stairs or playing with something he shouldn't. Sage will sit and pla...