Yummy Friday Morning Fun

I have been taking care of 2 sick boys this week and on Friday morning we all decided to stay in our pj's and relax and enjoy some down time together. Rhonald and Cole both seemed to be feeling a little better so I suggested that we make Christmas cookies! Cole was all about it! He has not been able to really help me make cookies before but this time he was a big help! He helped me stir the dough and cut out the cookies. Then, after I frosted them, he LOVED putting the sprinkles on them. Oh my - he would shout "sprinkle" every time he got to do it. And Cole's favorite part...eating the cookies of course. Every time he walks in to the kitchen he asks for a cookie for himself and one for Rhonald too! So sweet!

A Dear Tradition

The other day I heard someone ask a really great question about the holidays...will your children remember the gifts they received or the traditions you followed when they are grown? I thought about that a lot actually - it is so easy to get caught up in the material things of this season but what really matters is the time spent together and the things we take with us from that time. When I was a very little girl my Aunt Peggy started giving me an Advent calendar for Christmas. I loved them .... counting down the days until Christmas was so much fun. I have always remembered those calendars...in fact, I still have one in my baby book. This year she gave one to Cole with his Christmas gift and I was so excited. I know he does not understand what it is but I have had so much fun opening up the windows and watching him get excited about what he finds! It was so special to me to have her give that to him. It was awesome to see this tradition that I have loved continue.

Thanksgiving With The Stewarts

We recently returned from our annual trip to Chicago to see my side of the family for Thanksgiving. It was, as usual, a fast and fun trip! It was so nice to see family and catch up on what has been going on with everyone over the past year. My cousin, Katie, is expecting her first baby in March so it was really fun to talk about babies and look at sweet baby things. Dinner was amazing, of course! And the best part was that Cole passed out about 10 minutes before we sat down to eat so we all were able to eat together and he enjoyed a nice dinner once he woke up! Rhonald and I had a really great time watching Cole play with his cousins. As he gets older he is getting more and more interested in them and what they are doing. Luke was so good to help Cole do just about everything and Cole is still talking about all of them to this day. Rhonald and I were able to sneak off by ourselves, thanks to my mom, and do some shopping and enjoy lunch together. Cole and his cousins went swimming in the pool with Pops which Cole loved. Now every time he takes a bath he lays on his belly and says "pool" "pops." As you all have heard Cole is very into trains - he loves them. My Uncle Jim has the train set that my grandparents bought for my dad and his brothers over 60 years ago. He was so excited to set it up and show it to all of the kids and let me tell you...Cole loved it! And it was very neat to see my dad and my uncles playing with it once again too! One thing that was a huge blessing to us was that Cole was a great traveler on this trip. He never fussed in the car or through the night which made everything so much nicer for us. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I wish we could have stayed and visited longer...once a year just doesn't seem like enough.

Our Little Artist

Cole has really started to enjoy doing art projects lately. Every time I pick him up from Mother's Day Out there is a new project in his folder and he is always so proud of them. He carries them in the house to show Mason (or "Macie" as Cole now calls him) and then as soon as Rhonald walks in the door Cole grabs his hand and leads him to the fridge to show off the new masterpiece. I have started to think about projects that we can do at home since the weather is getting colder. Of course we had a fun time making the traditional turkey hands. Cole loved having his hands traced! He also liked putting the foam turkeys together. I kept saying "Happy Thanksgiving" to him when we were making them and later that evening when Rhonald asked Cole to tell him what a turkey says Cole said "Happy!" I guess we need to work on that a little more. Tonight was our most fun "project" to date. We stripped Cole down and told him to run to the bathroom because we had a surprise for him. He was so excited to see paints in the tub! As soon as he felt how cold and slimy they were he wanted something to help mix them so, since we did not have a paint brush, we did the next best thing and gave him a wooden spoon. It made him happy and he spent the next 40 mins "painting" with finger paints in the bath tub. He was so happy and kept saying "picture" and "painting" over and over. We had a blast watching him try this new form of art and the best part was that it washed right off!!!

A Hard Goodbye

We recently returned from a week long visit to Tennessee to be with my family. As many of you know my grandpa passed away on November 4th, his 94th birthday. My grandpa has not been himself for quite some time so I feel like, in many ways, I lost him a long time ago. It was still so hard to actually have that final good bye and know that he is no longer on this earth. The absolute hardest thing, however, was seeing my grandma without him. This December would have been their 71st wedding anniversary. They have been together for so long and I honestly cannot remember ever seeing one without the other. Rhonald had to come back earlier than Cole and I did due to work but we stayed several days with her and I am so thankful we had that time. I know she may not remember much about us being with her but I do and I am so happy to have been able to share meals with her and keep her company for a little while each day. It is funny - the hardest goodbye was actually the one that I said to her before I left. Her faith is so strong, as was my grandpa's, so I know she believes that she will be with him one day again, but to see her there without him broke my heart. After all this time and all of the days and months where he was not himself she longed to be with him...just sitting beside him in his presence. To her that is home and I hated to see her without that comfort. They have been such an amazing example to all of us in every way. They were such hard workers and raised 3 boys who are all very successful. And 71 years together...what an awesome example to us that we can survive anything in our marriage if we try our hardest. I know it was not always easy for them but they believed in their vows and in one another. I am so grateful to know them...to know their story and to be able to share that with my children one day.

Even though the reason we were together was sad we did have a nice visit with family. We were able to spend time with my brother and oldest nephew, Luke, as well as my 2 uncles. Cole was spoiled by his Grammy and Pops and loved every second he was with them. The weather was perfect and we spent as much time as we could outside. Cole loved the leaves and the wooded lot next to my parents' house. I think Cole suckered every person he met into reading to him and giving him a treat of some kind. My mom was having some work done on their home and Cole thought he had met the actual Bob the Builder. He loved that!!!! I am so thankful to be home but I am more than thankful for the time we were all able to spend together...telling stories and laughing about old memories. There is nothing better for the soul than that!

Happy 31st Birthday Rhonald

We had a great time celebrating Rhonald's 31st birthday this weekend as well. Friday night we met several friends at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Rogers for a fabulous dinner and adult conversation. It was so nice to catch up with everyone and enjoy some time with our friends. Saturday morning Rhonald's parents and grandma came up to visit and we enjoyed cake and presents. It was nice to be able to catch up with them as well. Although Rhonald is not excited about turning the big 3-1 I think he had a great time celebrating!

Happy Halloween!!!

We did not plan on taking Cole trick or treating this year...we thought he would not have a clue what was going on...and it was a good thing. Friday night he was a bit moody and then Saturday morning he woke up with a high fever and feeling crummy. Rhonald took him to the clinic and found out he had a double ear infection (but no flu - yeah!). So, we hung around inside. We carved pumpkins which Cole really enjoyed and we rested - which we all really enjoyed. That evening we let Cole help pass out candy and he LOVED that! He would run to the door and yell "Hi" to all of the kids and then he would yell "Bye" as they walked away. He loved seeing the costumes and all of the happy kids. I don't think he realized he missed out on the fun because he enjoyed this part so much!