Christmas #1

This year we hosted the annual Lawler Family Christmas Eve celebration. It was a really fun time with family, although we really missed the Stewarts who were unable to attend because they are awaiting the arrival of the new Stewart baby boy (affectionately referred to as Stewie Stewart by his loving auntie). Check out a few pics from our day.

To prepare for our celebration we made a never-ending supply of frosted Christmas cookies.

The girls. They played so sweetly together.

The boys. They had great fun too.

Great Grandpa Lawler who reads the Christmas story from the Bible every year. It is one of the very best parts of Christmas Eve.

Visiting Santa...

Some people were really happy to see Santa and put in their requests and other people were not that happy...

O Christmas Tree!

We had a lovely Christmas tree this year. It was the perfect height and shape and had just the right amount of spacing between its' branches! It did come with some visitors (tiny spiders) that we are glad to be rid of now, but it was a spectacular tree. It should be noted however, that we do not have a fancy tree. WE have a story tree because each and every ornament has a story - when it was received, what it meant, who made it or gave it and whose favorite it is. Our tree is a mish mash of old and new, tacky and treasured and I love it. Here are some pics...

My new ornament. I am mildly obsessed with Jonathan Adler and this ornament is part of his menagerie collection. LOVE IT!

Alex's new ornament this year. GO DUCKS!

Isaac's new ornament. Like father, like son.

Jackson's. I love a good sock monkey!

Reiley picked her own this year and this ornament is all Reiley!

Here is one of my faves from Christmases past. This was Isaac's ornament when he was one. He has been played with and has a missing ear, but he is so sweet.

This is George Washington who always graces the back of our tree. Who knows why, but Alex LOVES him. I think he is holding a little holly in his hand, so I guess that makes him Christmasy.

Lest you think all the tacky ornaments belong to Alex, here is one from my childhood. What does a clown with really bad hair have to do with Christmas you ask? I HAVE NO IDEA, but every year there he is on the back of the tree.

The Crazy Days of Christmas!

These have been some crazy days at our house. I got an early jump on the Christmas shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving. Then I got all proud of myself about how far ahead of the game I was so I didn't do anything else for A LONG TIME and then I was totally behind... And then Isaac got walking pneumonia and I got the cold that won't go away and the baby cut his eye teeth! All I can say is thank goodness for online shopping, rush shipping (although it is painful to pay for it) and the housekeepers that come and really deep clean my house twice a month.

Even though it has been crazy, we have had some really good times this holiday season. Alex and I went to a few Christmas parties with friends and co-workers and we celebrated the one year anniversary of his company, WBI. We also enjoyed Reiley's Winter Dance Showcase! Those little girls are so darned cute. Check out the pics below. A few nights ago, we all got into comfy clothes and Christmas jammies, picked up a warm drink at Starbucks and drove around for over an hour looking at Christmas lights. This is one of our kids' favorite things to do. It was funny this year, because we had a couple of little light critics in the backseat. "Those are beautiful." "This house did a really good job." and "What no lights, don't you love Jesus? Aren't you going to celebrate Christmas?" and other random comments from my daughter who never fails to have an opinion and always makes her opinion known! I am so glad she associates EVERYTHING at Christmas with the birth of Jesus, but questioning people's love for Jesus based on their light display is a little off-base. We may have some fine tuning to do.

But, despite all the chaos and the busy-ness, we are having a fantastic Christmas season remembering that Jesus is the reason, loving our kids, loving our life and rolling with the punches.

Winter showcase- Reiley's ballet class

Isaac's classroom party!

This is how Jackson feels about Christmas shopping with mommy...

Reiley's classroom party!

Kicking and Screaming

So this is the way the conversation with Reiley went...

Reiley: Mom, does dad ever carry you up the stairs at night, like when you're really tired?

Me: (Laughing at the mental picture of that) Nope, I just walk up.

Alex: I only carried her like that after our wedding.

Reiley: Was she screaming?

Me: Yep... kicking and screaming...

We laughed till we almost cried. That kid is funny even when she isn't trying!

Thankful

Thankful doesn't even begin to cover it....

Some weeks are better than others...

And this week was not one of the better ones.... In an effort to document reality, here is what our week looked like:

Jackson loudly and with much drool and dissatisfaction welcomed a new tooth into his tiny mouth.

Isaac ran a high mystery fever for several days. After missing several days of school, I hauled him to the pediatricians' office just in time for the fever to disappear entirely. He proclaimed to the doctor, "I feel fine, I was hot but I'm not anymore and I have no idea why my mom is so worried or why I'm here." Thanks buddy...

While helping Reiley shampoo her hair, I was horrified to see a ping-pong ball sized bulge on her groin. Reiley had no clue what I was talking about and in response to my "HOW LONG HAS THAT THING BEEN THERE???", said only "Oh, that... I don't know." After some panicking and googling on my part, I guessed that I was looking at a hernia. So, off to the pediatrician and guess what...My 6 year old daughter has a HERNIA. Now, I know this is not a medical oddity or an emergency, but it will have to be surgically repaired and I am not thrilled about general anesthesia or any type of surgery for my 6 year old. Reiley is also NOT thrilled about the prospect of surgery and in between her yelling "you can't make me" and the ever popular "IT'S NOT FAIR!" I tried to reassure her that the doctor would not, in fact, "CUT HER IN HALF." That girl is nothing if not dramatic. So, sometime in the not near future, when a surgeon finally has an appointment open up, Reiley will have to have surgery. In the meantime, we are managing the newest member of the hypochondriac club. I am a platinum, lifetime member but would prefer it if my daughter NOT join the ranks of this particular club.

And to top it all off, the cat has started pottying outside of his litter box AGAIN. Tucker, our wonderful kitty is 16 years old and is experiencing dementia... He had a several weeks-long episode about a month ago where he pottied all over the laundry room (thank goodness for hard surfaces and bleach) and forgot to eat or drink for a week. This kitty is reaching the end of his life and the decision to part ways with our long-time friend is proving to be harder that we ever could have imagined....

Good times this week. Bet you're glad you're not me!

Just an additional note... if you google "crazy mom cartoon" (to get the picture at the top of this post) you get a frightening number of pictures of the octomom... heeheehee.

Same time last year

Just reflecting on how much life has changed in one year.... last year we had a 3 month old baby, a five year old, a seven year old and we were spending a week in Disneyland with family. This year, we have two kiddos in full-time school, and a walking, babbling bundle of busy. I think this year is definitely more challenging than last.

I heart fall in Oregon... and this little guy.

Carving

In my recurring and life-long effort to make easy things infinitely more difficult, I decided to carve my pumpkin with a Dremel tool this year. I quickly figured out that this means a microscopic mist of pumpkin would shower me and everything within 6 feet of me. I geared up in a poncho, safety goggles and hat (see the lovely pic below). In hindsight, this might not have been the best use of my time (3 whole hours) on an already jam-packed halloween day, but hey live and learn, right?

My pumpkin...

Family of pumpkins (Jackson and I shared one this year).

Pumpkin carving...

I

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!

Harry Potter

Shark

Monarch Butterfly

Pumpkin Patch

We hit the pumpkin patch on a weekday afternoon and had the place all to ourselves! The kids loved the corn maze and Jackson couldn't believe his luck at being plopped down in a huge field full of "balls." Here are a couple of pics of our fun day.

Read to me...

I just love this picture. Jackson loves for me to read the first two pages of a book. He then grabs the book and throws it across the room... But what this little guy wants...he gets.

Flag Football!

Isaac played flag football this fall with a bunch of friends from Sherwood. It was awesome and he had a fantastic time.

Isaac and his buddies.

Run LaIsaac!

Recharging Our Batteries

Alex and I took a vacation with our friends Scott and Kim to Kaanapali Beach on the gorgeous west side of Maui. We stayed at a wonderful, quiet resort - The Royal Lahaina. It was peaceful and relaxing and fun and gave us a chance to reconnect and refocus on each other. The power of a grown-ups only vacation is underestimated. It was so awesome to wake up in the morning and focus on spending an entire day just the two of us! No diapers, no homework, no carpool... Don't get me wrong, my children are the air I breathe and I treasure every moment I have with them. But without Alex, there is no us, and a little reminder of this in the form of bright sunshine, gorgeous blue ocean, white sand and a few days of quiet time together makes all the difference in the world. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we are eternally grateful to our moms and dads for taking excellent care of our three kiddos and keeping up our hectic home schedule while we were gone. When we got back home, we jumped right back into our crazy days, but with a recharged battery and a reminder of the importance of our marriage right in the middle of this crazy life. Below are a couple of pictures of what we got to look at everyday for six wonderful days!

Quack

You know how we feel about the DUCKS!

Jackson is really excited for the game today.

At the home opener with the big kids.

Reiley was so happy to hang with the cheerleaders

The kids at Fan Day

Meeting Chip

Bucket Update

So, according to Reiley's teacher it is a "happy bucket" not a "passion bucket". That makes a little more sense and her teacher got a good laugh out of Reiley's version. And, I am happy to report that Bob changed seats today, and Reiley couldn't be more thrilled.

My Bucket

Reiley came home from first grade yesterday quite exhausted and I will spare you the details of the tantrum that ensued. But, in the aftermath when we were talking about her day, she told me that a boy named "Bob", who sits next to her, is "emptying her passion bucket."

EXCUSE ME???? YOUR WHAT???? I think I just died! I fell on the floor and actually died... I was quickly informed that your "passion bucket" is actually your heart and things like hugs and kind words fill your bucket and mean words and actions empty your bucket. OKAY, can you hear me exhale? PHEW. And also - AWWWE that is so sweet.

So, how is Bob emptying your bucket? Well, apparently Bob hates school, is not happy with his mom and doesn't like the teacher. And, I am just guessing here, but probably the glue doesn't taste just right either. In fact, according to Bob, school SUCKS. That's right, SUCKS, this is a first grader with a ton of grievances and a creative vocabulary. And, to my school loving, mom loving, teacher loving, non-swearing first grader, Bob is a real downer... a bucket emptier. Reiley has had it with Bob. How can Bob not love school and his mom and the teacher? And to directly quote her, "what is wrong with Bob?" So, we talked about how to not let Bob, or anyone else for that matter, empty your bucket. Maybe Bob was just having a bad day... Be kind to Bob fill up his bucket, but let's not play with Bob at recess.

So, I gave her some love and a big hug and filled up her bucket! I am incredibly impressed at the creativity of her teacher in teaching lessons of kindness and helping these 6 year olds learn how to build up other people. And, as for Bob, let's hope that he has a better day today or that they change the seating arrangement soon. Watch out Bob, Reiley, who is incredibly positive and generally a 'miss merry sunshine' has it in for you.... you will LOVE everyone and everything by the time she is done with you.

And a lesson for this mommy - make sure those little buckets are full to overflowing every day.

Books

I LOVE children's books. Every year when the kids start school, I buy them a new children's book. When they are grown and have kids of their own, they will have a collection of books that are representative of things they liked at that time in their lives. Here is our collection so far...

We're Back!

Back to School and Back to Blogging

After a long hiatus, I am back in the blogging world. I know it has been awhile... Let's just say this, we've been busy and everything is great. We had a fantastic summer, everybody is happy and healthy and God is so very good to us!

Today was the first day of school for Isaac (3rd grade) and Reiley (1st grade). I thought Reiley might be nervous, as it is her first day at the "big school" and she doesn't know a single kid in her class. But, being a girl of surprises, she wasn't a bit nervous and after hanging her backpack, finding her seat and taking a picture with her teacher, she looked at me and said, "I'm good mom, you can go now." She is going to take this world by storm - starting with first grade! Isaac, now in the third grade, is a veteran of first days and was ready for us to hit the road about 30 seconds after arriving at his classroom.

I love looking into the excited faces of my kids on the first day of school and knowing that they are going to have so much fun and learn so many new things in the coming year. And, as I left the school this morning, I hope that I have helped to arm them with the good judgement, faith in God and self confidence to tackle this world with grace and good humor.

So, back to the busy fall days of packing lunches, laying out clothes, helping with homework, driving carpool, taking Reiley to dance classes, watching Isaac play flag football and getting to love on Jackson, my last little baby at home - all things that I love and am blessed to be able to call my full-time job!

Check out our first day pics...

Excited kids!

I love that they are holding hands...

Reiley and her teacher.

Isaac and his teacher!

And, here is what Jackson thinks of the first day of school...

Where did everybody go?