<3 my new house shoes

Funnies

Halle was going to take a nap in my bed while we were in TN.  I was laying with her and nursing Levi.  I told her to lay down and go to sleep because she needed to take a nap in order for us to attend a party that night.  She said, "mom, I'll go to sleep with Levi gets off the boob".

She also wanted to me to do something with her but Levi was crying.  She said, "Levi wants the boob? You should just go upstairs and pump Mimi a bottle and come back down."  She is starting to out smart us all!

To address Halle's horrible attitude for not obeying with a positive attitude we told her she would have to pick a toy to give away if she responded to a request with a poor attitude.  She pitched a fit on our way home tonight, so we get home and ask her to pick out a toy.  She was devastated.  She is very stingy  clingy with her toys so she does not willingly part with anything, not even a rock!  I tried it with Luke as well.  He on the other hand could not care less about loosing his toys.  I took a car.  He put his head down, while looking at his red jacket he was wearing, and said, "that car is for a boy in a red jacket."  HAM!  He is hilarious.

Dear Santa....

Most of you know David and I have been purging like crazy since we bought a house with NO storage.  We have been getting rid of clothes we don't wear, and toys the kids don't play with.  We are trying to only have toys that were around before/during the 50's.  Cars, trucks, dolls, balls, etc.  So, Christmas time rolls around and we are faced with what to do for gifts without going overboard.  I always think back to Little House on the Prairie when they got a single truck, a pair of socks and an orange.  Period.  These days, they receive gifts from aunts and uncles and great aunts and great uncles and cousins, and so forth.  We are so blessed to have such an enormous family which whom we see and spend time with over the holidays.  We are thankful for their generosity and thoughtfulness.  They receive a lot of their clothes from our family for Christmas.

So, we decided to cut back.  It was nice to keep it simple, not spend TONS of money while running around like crazy.  We exchanged our gifts within our family on Sunday before we left for TN.  All David wanted was a Lowe's gift card.  I decided to get creative.... I redeemed credit card points for Lowe's gift cards so I could also buy him a gift.  I used a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon(saved $30) to get him a Keurig coffee pot.  He LOVES it.  At least that's what he is saying:)  The kids got Disney t-shirts, Halle a barbie, Luke Toy Story figurines, and we got them an easel from Ikea with Melissa and Doug trimmings (paint brushes, chalk, no-spill cups, etc.)  He gave me Acorn house shoes, earring from On A Whim that Halle picked out, a Table Topics cube, and gift cards in my stocking to Starbucks and Amazon.  From Santa, Halle got a mini van for her doll house, undershirts, a toothbrush, a pillow case, a book, pin wheels and a horn for her bike.  Luke got a scooter, white "wife beaters", socks, and a toothbrush.  They received much, much more from my mom, Katie & Danny, Sandy, Kathryn & Stephen, cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents.

Halle told David Santa did not leave her enough toys.  She also went crawling, literally, under the tree looking for more gifts Santa was suppose to leave under the tree.  Needless to say we are working on her attitude!  Pray for us!

TN Snow!

Yesterday it started snowing and it hasn't really stopped.  I never thought it would snow while we were home for Christmas.  I bought the kids bibs last week so that I would have them if it snowed this winter like it did last winter.  FAIL on my part because bibs in VA do us NO good for snow in TN!  

My father-in-law HATES warm weather in the winter, especially during the holidays.  If it is warm he complains about the "balmy weather" the ENTIRE time!  This year, we have been surrounded by Christmas cheer!  

White Christmas!

Our Big Boy

All smiles and pure JOY!