Magic Moments

The house is FULL of excitement today. We went and paid a visit to Santa and the boys pooled their ideas and decided together to ask Santa for a puppy. For. REAL! Sage went right up to Santa and said, "Santa, I want a dog." To which Santa replied, "You do? Do you want a big dog or a little puppy?" And Sage said, " I want a DOG because a dog is a puppy." Duh, Santa. ;) Aiden, as you can see in the picture below, was a little shy at first but then made his very specific request. His exact words were, "Santa, I want a puppy Golden Retriever boy." Sage would settle for whatever kind of dog, but Aiden has his heart set on a male dog, specifically a Golden Retriever. So...they can hardly wait to see if Santa comes through. Aiden began the day with hesitated excitement but the suspense (and it's only been 1 day) is killing him. They both keep asking how long they have to wait to find out what Santa will bring. Tradition in our family ho...

We're about to start the 25 days of Christmas at our house, which means a fun Christmas activity/outing/etc everyday until Christmas. Technically we began our festivities a little early since we've already gotten our tree and on Wednesday we went to the Minneapolis Children's Theatre Company to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was a fabulous production with great costumes, singing, dancing, and merriment. :) Aiden had seen it before but this was Sage's first time and it was so fun to see him completely mesmerized by the show and hear him laugh out loud. No pictures are allowed during the production, but trust me, if you get a chance to go, you should.

Oh my sweet, sweet Sage! Where has time gone? I remember your birth like it was yesterday and here you are already three years old! Words cannot describe how you bless our family. Your sweet personality touches all of us everyday. I've tried to capture you at this season of your life in just a couple paragraphs and it's been difficult. There are so many things I want to remember about you at this age. A conversation I had with you a couple weeks ago seems to describe you perfectly... Sage: "Mama, what does Jorgen mean?" Mama: "Jorgen is your middle name. Jorgen was your Great Grandfather's middle name and he isn't alive. He is in heaven." Sage: "You mean he's dead?" Mama: "Yes." Sage: "Don't worry, Mama. If you die I will fix you." Mama: "How are you going to do that?" Sage: "I will fix you with my tools!" This simple conversation describes Sage well. He is a lover and shows concer...

We've been studying American History this year in school and we have worked our way through the American Revolution, so I feel like we've all gained a greater understanding of the sacrifices the Pilgrims made on our behalf. 100 brave people traveled on the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth. By the time the first long winter was over half of those people had died. Our goal is not to worship the Pilgrims and what they did, but to give thanks to God for sustaining those early settlers, and giving the Pilgrims desire to want to worship Him and the vision to have a life of freedom in a new land. I've been trying to impress these concepts on my children. We have freedom to worship and we need to cling to and fight for that freedom. We give thanks because God provided and sustained those who sacrificed to make freedom possible. And maybe most importantly, the Pilgrims gave thanks in all things. They lost half their population in one winter, yet they gave thanks. This thought mak...

The author of this picture project is due with a baby anyday (!!!) so this week is "Freebie" week. :) Yesterday we went to get our Christmas Tree. Usually we pick one from the lot, but this year we decided we should cut our own tree. The boys were old enough this year to make cutting a tree seem manageable. Plus, it wasn't that cold. :) Anyway, Tom has wonderful memories of getting a tree. In my mind I visualize his family enjoying a beautiful sleigh ride through clean, white snow probably singing a carol. They find the perfect tree, bring it home, put it up effortlessly, and everyone stares at it in aw while they enjoy sipping hot cocoa. Getting a tree never happens like that for us. In the past, we've usually been in a rush as we've arrived as they are about to close. Or I have memories of standing in a tree lot with a tiny baby just having given birth and had a blood transfusion 3 days prior. HAH! So, this year I had high hopes. I put dinner in the crock po...

Sage turns 3 this coming Friday and so today we celebrated with our family. We can't describe how blessed we feel to have family that loves us and comes to celebrate our children with us. It means so. so. much! Sage decided on a John Deere Party so that's exactly what we had. Since we had just moved when Sage turned one, and since last year his birthday was on Thanksgiving, this was his first really official birthday party. He didn't quite know what to expect but when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" you could tell that Sage felt very special. Now it's late, I'm partied out, and headed to bed. This week I'll be soaking in every last drop of my 2 year old while I can. In just a few short days he turns 3 and I can't believe that's possible. I remember his birth like it happened yesterday and I desperately want to freeze time. Cupcakes in a wagon. :) Waiting for the party to begin. John Deere Lollipops. It had been WAY too long si...

The new routine around here each evening is take a bath, turn the lights down low, turn the Classical Christmas music up, and RELAX and read in the living room. Aiden reads until bedtime and Sage snuggles me in the rocking chair while we read 4 books plus just 1 more, and then I rock him to sleep. Aiden makes his way to bed after I've asked him 18 times to please put his book mark in and go. to. BED! :) So, here's Aiden in the middle of our nightly relaxing routine, and here's Sage doing some form of relaxing in the middle of the day.