I love little babies in cloth diapers.  Their butts are so cute and fluffy.  Samuel had just a onesie on yesterday afternoon (he hates getting changed and I was tired of fighting him) and I got to see that cute fluffy butt without pants on; something that doesn't happen much in winter.  Here he is in a fitted w/ fleece cover....standing on the coffee table of course, one of his favorite places these days.

The 4th day was a little rough.  I woke up with a terrible sore throat that was resembling my mom's step throat from a couple weeks ago, so after deciding at first to tough it out, I decided to head into the doctors just to be safe.  The boys went to my parents and had a wonderful time while I went to the doctors only to find out it was only viral.  Wasted time and money, but at least it wasn't anything serious.  We had fun hanging out for awhile and watching the snow fall before heading home for what I hoped would be a quiet afternoon.

The snow was just beautiful.  Not much of it stuck, but it was pretty coming down.  I always love this time of year; it always looks so pretty, almost like a picture you'd find on a puzzle.

The afternoon was quiet.  Brad came home to find me laying on the couch with the kids playing in the livingroom. I informed him that he was completely in charge of dinner and the boys for the evening.  I was definitely not feeling well.

I'm a little behind; my computer still isn't working.  We've had a great time over the past few days.  So on the 2nd day of Christmas.....

We had a very relaxing morning. 

Grant relaxing in his new pj's

I up and made a wonderful coffee cake/danish type breakfast treat that everyone loved.  I found the recipe on Catholic Cuisine.

The kids opened a gift each.  The hit gift of the day was Augustin's Little Tykes car.  Everyone loved it.

Opening the car

Getting in for the first time

Going for a drive

Of course Samuel loves it too.

And my favorite picture from the day....one child crying and one smiling...

I guess Samuel wasn't ready to get out just yet, but Augustin wanted a turn.

Merry Christmas!!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve.  The morning was pretty relaxing, I got a few things done to prepare for Christmas dinner, ironed shirts and then spent time downloading photos to cd's since I somehow managed to get a virus of some kind on the computer....while the virus scan was running.  I knew those things were pointless.    Brad got home around 1:30pm, just in time for me to finish getting myself, Parker and Matthias ready to head to church to save seats for Mass.  Parker was in the pageant and had to be there early anyway.  This meant I got to spend some quiet time at church before Mass which was very enjoyable.

Parker dressed up ready to head to church
 

The sanctuary decorated for Christmas

Parker before Mass started

After the pageant

The 5 boys after Mass.  This was a hard one to take; no one wanted to stand still or look at the camera

After Mass, Grant and Parker headed to their fathers and we headed to the Linder's for dinner and gift opening.  It was a great time.  Lots of food, laughter, singing and fun.

Matthias after dinner

Samuel opening a gift.  He didn't really get it, but liked the toys once they were opened.

Augustin, sporting the santa hat and thoroughly enjoying the night

Matthias after opening the BatCave he wanted.  He saw this in the Target ad that come in the mail.  It was something he "really" wanted.  So I suggested it as a gift.  Matthias was so excited when he opened it.  "Just what I wanted for Christmas!!!!  How did you know?"

One very tired baby who was ready for bed.

We got home around 9pm and the kids went right bed, excited to see what Christmas Day brought.

We love our Jesse Tree and the kids look forward to adding an ornament to it every day as we wait for Christmas.  With four kids able to add ornaments I have had to schedule the days and actually write down who gets to add the ornament on which day.  Otherwise it's just a big mess since no one wants to miss their day.  So this year while looking for Advent activities to do, I came across a Jesse Tree tea that looked like great fun.  A huge thanks to Alice and Jessica for their wonderfully creative ideas.

I picked the last Sunday of Advent as the day for our "tea" hoping it would be a wonderful way to start our last week of Advent and wrap up what we've been talking about throughout the season.  At first I thought about doing a "snacky" type tea, but then thought it would make a wonderful Sunday afternoon meal for us.  It turned out to be a wonderful afternoon.  I planned on eating after the boys all got up from their afternoon naps which gave me all afternoon to get things ready so they would be perfect.  And perfect they were.  I made the boys stay out of the dining room so as not to spoil any of the surprises and it was worth it.  When they walked in this is what they found:

A table of goodies waiting for them.  Everyones plate had special treats on it and the table was filled with colorful food to eat.  You can see our Jesse Tree behind Matthias in the picture above.

I tried to make this fun and interactive even for the little boys, so I would read a name of a Jesse Tree figure and ask them to find the food on the table that went with it.  They had so much fun and did quite well.  Parker is amazing at his bible history, especially Old Testament, so this was perfect for him.  We did this before eating so they could just enjoy the meal.  Next year I think I'll add the readings in as we go along, but I knew the little ones couldn't wait to start eating. 

I think the best compliment I could have gotten came from Grant when he asked me, "Can we do this every year?"  And of course I said, "Yes".  There was so much food and it was fun to watch the boys try everything.  I tried to just enjoy the afternoon with them and savor the moment since everyone had so much fun.

~ Adam's Apple ~ (apples)

I put together a basket of apples and put gummy worms in amongst them.  Apples to symbolize Adam and Eve and the worms symbolized the serpent.  Everyone also drank warm apple cider (I had tea to go w/ the "tea" theme for the meal).

"And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who did eat."  Gen. 3:6

~ Noah's Ark ~ (animal crackers/deviled eggs)

Everyone sat down to find the animals going two-by-two on their plates.  Parker guessed this one immediately, before even sitting down.  Not everyone likes deviled eggs in the house so the animal crackers were a great addition.

"And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I give between me and you, and to every living soul that is with you, for perpetual generations.  I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between me, and between the earth.  And when I shall cover the sky with clouds, my bow shall appear in the clouds: And I will remember my covenant with you, and with every living soul that beareth flesh: and there shall no more be waters of a flood to destroy all flesh.  And the bow shall be in the clouds, and I shall see it and shall remember the everlasting covenant, that was made between God and every living soul of all flesh which is upon the earth.  And God said to Noe: This shall be the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh upon the earth."  Gen. 9: 12-17

~ Abraham's Stars ~ (cookies)

The boys frosted sugar cookies for me while I made some of the other food.

"The Lord appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the enterance of his tent, while the day was growing hot."  Gen. 18:1

~Isaac's Bundle of Sticks ~ (pretzels)

I bundled the pretzels up in small bunches with pieces of yarn.

"And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword."  Gen. 22:6

~Jacob's Ladder ~ (pretzels)

The boys used the pretzels from Isaac's bundles to make their ladders.

"And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven; the angels also of God ascending and descending by it."  Gen. 28:12

~ Joseph's Coat of Many Colors ~ (sandwiches)

This was fun and easy to do, plus probably the thing the little guys were most excited to eat; especially Matthias;  he saw the sprinkles and instantly wanted to eat.  I took bread and spread peanut butter on it.  Then sprinkled it w/ multicolored sprinkles.  A huge hit and very yummy.

"Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age; and he made him a coat of diverse colors.  And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him"  Gen. 37:3-4

~ The Burning Bush ~ (broccoli)

We were going to wait until Thursday night to get the tree, but decided to get it tonight to free up some time in the busy week.  None of the kids knew of our change of plans which made the night even more fun.  Matthias was being really sad and grumpy around dinner time so I told him the "secret" to cheer him up and it worked.  He was so excited and alluded to it at dinner, but never let on what was going on.

After dinner, Brad ran an errand and I put Samuel to bed. I then got the kids ready to go...still no idea where they were going; well not really.  Grant and Parker figured it out and Matthias already knew, so I guess it was only Augustin who had no idea.  They were all so cute...hats, mittens, coats and Augustin..red fleece pajamas.  He'd unfortunately had an accident right before leaving and rather than put him in an entire new outfit I got him ready for bed and then dressed him in his coat and hat.  He looked adorable; only when you are 2.5 years old is it appropriate to go to get a Christmas tree in your pajamas, fleece jacket, hat and sneakers.

The night had a fun and unexpected twist that no one planned for.  As they were getting into the van Grant suggested they go see the Christmas lights in one the neighborhoods close by.  This place really does it up too. Every house has lights everywhere (minus the one house that simply puts up an inflatable Grinch and nothing else...really funny to see, makes me laugh every time) and at the end of the dead end road there is a little shed where Santa and Mrs. Clause are out for an hour each night to see the kids and give them candy canes.  Of course the boys thought this was great and Brad let them out to walk around.  We've never been there to see them out so it was fun.

Then it was off the get the tree.  I guess Daddy and the boys picked out the biggest tree they could find.  Definitely not like Brad at all; he's softening up after a few years of picking out trees with the kids.  And honestly, I think he was just as into the entire thing tonight as they were; the lights and Santa didn't hurt.  And then it was home to share the tree and excitement with Mom.  I told Brad you'd have thought he'd taken the kids to see the Pope they were so excited.

Matthias came into the house almost yelling trying to share the excitement and their adventure with me as quickly (and loudly) as he could. I heard about the lights, Santa, Mrs. Clause and button you pushed to make the polar bear play the piano; the other Santa they saw in the car; the tree and the tree waker-uper (the machine that shakes the branches down so they all look nice sitting on the lot) and of course the candy cane Santa gave him.

And then came Augustin.  The first thing he said to me was, "We brought you home a tree!!!!!"  He was so excited. He's never been to get the tree before.  Up until this year he'd always stayed home with me and gone to bed; like poor Samuel this year.  So this was fun and exciting.  And then we brought the tree into the house and that made it even better. I don't think he could have had a better night.

Parker and Grant had a good time too. I think Grant's at the age where he's enjoying the responses from the little boys more than anything.  He was very proud of himself for suggesting the trip to see the lights.

Hugging the beautiful tree

Check out Augustin's pj's and the one sock; he must have lost the other one when he took off his shoes (so cute)

Finally...taking the "wrapping" off

Needless to say prayers were very long tonight with all the wonderfully fun things to be thankful for.  My children and happy, the house smells like a mix between pine and baking, the house is now quiet and I have time to think about the wonderful events of tonight.  I wish there was a way to capture nights like tonight to replay them over and over again.  This as one of those nights that I won't soon forget.  It has been a truly wonderful Advent this year as we prepare for the coming of the Lord.  Such a fun and holy time of year.

Today was one of those stay inside and relax kind of days.  It was only in the 20s for a high and the wind made it even colder.  It was the perfect day for just relaxing and having fun.  No school was done.  Pretty typical for a Friday, but no gym today, so we got to stay home.  I was busy.  I baked two batches of pumpkin bread, Grant helped me with two batches of fudge...

And Augustin helped me make the dough for the candy cane cookies

He loves to help me in the kitchen; the tastey goodies at the end don't hurt.

There was lots of playing too.  Parker and Matthias had a wonderful time with the Playmobile Nativity set and literally spent hours playing with it at the table.

Augustin tried to get in on the fun, but he's still a little young for all the small pieces.  He was happy with getting one or two pieces and watching the other boys.  We also did lots of reading and in the afternoon they all snuggled in on the couch to watch School House Rock.

These are the days I love.  Lots of activity in the house, but a peaceful and relaxing feel to it.  These are the days I store away that I always remember.  Children playing, baking and memories being made and lots of time together.  We are so blessed to home school as these days aren't normally too few and far between.  These are the days I hope the boys remember as they get older.

After 5 months the baby gates are officially down. The first to go was the one at the top of the upstairs stairs (did that make sense?) about a week ago.  So Samuel has had free reign of the carpeted stairs leading to the upstairs.  The office which leads to them is always gated off so he doesn't have complete access, but enough for us to feel comfortable with his ability to navigate the stairs, up and down, without supervision and a lot of worry on our parts.  Then today someone left the gate open to the basement and I found him crawling down...not once, but twice.  After watching him successfully naviage them several times I decided it was probably safer to just take the gate down.  We've had issues with kids falling down stairs because they (and a sibling normally) are playing at the top with the gate intended to keep them safe.  So down it came and he happily went up and down all afternoon and evening. I think it's a new found freedom for him.

I do want to know where my baby went.  Suddenly he's all grown-up.  No baby gates, walking all over the place, asking for food and trying to talk.  In the blink of an eye he's no longer baby Samuel, but well on his way to being little boy Samuel.  I was cooking dinner tonight and he comes walking into the kitchen carrying two golf balls.  He wanted more olive pieces and made his desires known and when I asked him to say, "More please" he said something that sounded very much like "more please".  He got his olive piece and walked away.  He came back in several times and we repeated the process.  He then looked up at me and jabbered about something.

At this point I looked at him and asked him when he got so darn big.  He said something I couldn't understand, but it was probably along the lines of...when you blinked two days ago.  He's only been walking for 2 weeks (tomorrow), he's now doing stairs successfully, asking for food and generally just getting big.