Life At The Circus

10.  watching the Steelers play in Heinz field 9.  the blizzard of 2010 8.  our annual Labor Day weekend reunion with friends 7.  watching my kids play sports ( soccer , baseball , gymnastics , wrestling) 6.  teaching my son to read 5.  Aunt Karen and Eli’s long winter visit 4.  hosting my entire family for Christmas 3.  Gana’s visit from California 2.  our Florida vacation 1.  the birth of our son It’s really been a fabulous year, filled with many special memories.  I am grateful for all the Lord has blessed us with this year and look forward to what is in store for 2011. 

Ever year it is the same… I beg and plead for just one small Christmas Eve miracle, a picture of my kids in front of the tree.  The last few years as they’ve gotten older, it has actually gotten easier, thanks to a slight guilt trip from Daddy (do this for Mommy please, as your Christmas gift to her).  I thought it might be fun after sharing this years picture to look back on Christmas’s Past. 2010 2009 2008 (we didn’t attempt a group kid shot that year, but instead opted for individual poses in front of the tree) 2007 2006 (it appears we didn’t try for a kids only shot and just opted for the family shot that year) 2005 (seems to be the most casual of our Christmas Eve shots) 2004- our first Christmas as parents

A few moments from this weekend which I wish to savor… 1.  My son presenting his gift to his extended family.  (One nap time he came up excited to share that he had drawn a picture from each scene in Luke 2.  On Christmas he gave one picture to each person.  He then laid them all out on the floor and recited the story from memory.) 2.  Prepping the Christmas Lasagnas with my daughter… it marked a milestone, in which she was truly helpful in the kitchen.  She made one lasagna and I made the other! 3.  Uncle Jim patiently spending time reading and playing with my kids. ( sooo good to have him here rather than skyping from Iraq like last year) 4.  Cousins playing together… 5.  Watching my brother play with my kids. 6.  Spending the day with my nephew. 7.  My sons first Christmas I am so thankful for the memories shared this past weekend.  They are worth far more to me than anything that could have bee...

Just a few of my favorite pictures of our fun on Christmas morning! Someone got a lil sleepy waiting up for Santa The grandparents eagerly waiting for the kids to wake up on Christmas morning. Does this capture the excitement of Christmas morning, or what? (I wish knew what had just been opened) This tender moment was brought to you by “Lego Star Wars for Wii” We were even blessed with a “White” Christmas!    Enjoying our presents… It was a fun filled and relaxing Christmas day at the circus!

The week has been full of shopping, cleaning, baking, laundry, card writing, visits with friends, and last minute preparations for the festivities at the end of the week.  But, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, I’ve had a few precious moments which I want to quickly record lest I forget them in days gone by. Monday evening I took my 4 year old daughter shopping for her sister’s Christmas present.  She has known for months what she wants to get her, it was simply a matter of carving out the time for the 2 of us to go and buy it.  As we drove off, just the two of us, she was excitedly chattering in the back seat. After parking the car, I grabbed her hand and we walked over the bridge from the parking garage and into the store.  As I held her hand, joy surged through me.  So often, I am grabbing hands for fear of them running away in the parking lot.  Most of the time it is a quick command and I stick my hand out there for someone to latch onto as...

When cutting down a tree, much like when shopping for a dress, there seems to be an unwritten rule of conduct. No matter how fabulous it looks, you simply can’t go with the first one you see. One simply can’t drive to the farm, march down the aisle, and stop at the first decent looking spruce you see. That would be far too easy.  Where would the fun be in that? And what if an even better tree lies waiting around the corner and you miss out because you settled for that first tree?  The easy tree.  The one you could have posed for pictures in front of, cut down, took more pictures with, and paid for all while your toes and fingers were still warm. No, the circus family is a lot of things… loud, crazy, traditional, …but easy is not in our vocabulary. We like to walk up and down every row.  We find a good tree… even snap a few pictures in front of it, but then we second guess ourselves and send scouts back to that first tree.  Is it better?  The...

It happened again…I sat curled up on the couch, reading page after page of Solomon’s Puzzle, until before I knew it, the clock struck midnight.  While I didn’t turn into a pumpkin, it did make waking up the next morning rather difficult… especially coupled with nursing a sick baby.  Yes, I hold Loris Nebbia, author of Solomon’s Puzzle , strictly responsible for the fact that my son was late for his tutorial twice last week.  My favorite kind of books, are the ones in which the characters are so vivid and real that you find yourself believing that they are in fact your real life friends.  From the first chapter of Solomon’s Puzzle , I was instantly captivated by the character of young Ben Hunter.  He is so likeable and  yet there is this cloud of mystery surrounding him, as you question how he could be so completely different from his harsh and unloving father. I love the way the author so beautifully portrays good and evil in this book.  The two ma...

I found my 3 yr old like this during nap time today… it seems baby doll has been displaced from her bed.  It reminded me of a picture I snapped a few weeks ago of both on my girls as we found them when we peeked in on them before going to bed. YES… they are both sleeping INSIDE of their drawers! And since I am sharing sleeping pics, why not share a few of my lil man snoozing as well? What is it about a sleeping baby that just makes your heart swoon?