The Tree

Noah's side of the family all wanted to go Christmas Tree Hunting a couple of weekends ago. I already had a commitment, so it was decided that Noah and the boys would go with his parents and siblings on the Great Hunt and Berean and I would stay home.

I pulled Deacon and Roman close before they left. "Boys", I whispered, "do not let Daddy get a short, fat tree. If he shows you one say, 'no, Daddy, Mommy says we have to find a tall and skinny one!'"

I do not like short, fat trees. And Noah does. It has been a matter of debate for the last 9 years- basically ever since we lived in a house that allowed "was-living-before-we-cut-it-down trees".

And the skinny part? Well, our living room isn't exactly huge and I prefer to not have 1/4 of it occupied by a pokey, decorative object.

Remember the Winnie-the-Pooh story when Pooh gets stuck and so they use his legs to hang towels on while they wait for him to lose weight?

If something is just hanging out in your living room, it does seem prudent for it to be useful.

But I digress.

I don't even like Winnie-the-Pooh.

After a very long hunt they arrived home with a tree.

Well actually they didn't.

I asked Noah, "where is the tree?"

He said he wasn't sure but he imagined that Bro-in-law had either dumped it on our driveway or would be dumping it on our driveway at some point in the very near future.

And so he did.

Noah hauled it in.

It is a monster and actually a very beautiful tree.

I had the camera out while we were hanging ornaments. Unfortunately I can't post very many pictures of that because we had a naked baby in the house, and she managed to streak her way into most of the pictures.

After the ornaments were on, however, the boys commandeered the camera. I was looking through the pictures and found these.

I like them.

Roman's "R" from last Christmas. They love their own ornaments, especially the ones with letters from their names.

Deacon helping to hang. Yes, it is December and I am wearing 4 layers while my son runs around in boxers and my baby is naked. It is weird. I admit it.

Aunt Elise gave the boys these 2 animals last year for Christmas. They are seen here hanging with my childhood bear. The raccoon and chipmunk move around the tree, they are never seen in the same place twice.

Roman, who is obsessed with babies- especially baby animals, is in love with this puppy that he got when he was an infant. Above it you can see a little bit of one of my favorite childhood ornaments- a bird at a feeder.

Roman's marshmallow with nightshirt is labeled "R '06". My horse is next to it labeled "Julie 1983" Also in view is an ornament we got at a tree farm in IN. The woman's husband had suddenly died during the year and she was selling off the last of the ornaments that he had made.

One of Noah's many baseball ornaments, hanging next to my babysitter bear.

I told the boys that the little boy who gave this to me was an absolute terror.

The boys love the snoopy and Woodstock ornament that commemorates our Engagement Anniversary- and it sits next to a homemade internally painted glass ball.

Deacon's homemade star and the Abelskiver Days commemorative ornament.

Noah's family likes expensive, glitzy ornaments. They are on the top of the tree.

All of our ornaments have a story and I love bringing them out every year and telling the boys about what each one means to me and about the relatives and friends that gave them to me.

This is the first year that they were able to do some of that memory game stuff too- hopefully it will be a tradition that continues for years to come!

Today

Today I am going to be kidless for a couple of hours.

Today I am going to go through my front hall closet

and my office

and my basement.

Today I am going to have a pile of trash

and recycling

and give away

and "find a place to store".

Today I am wondering which pile will be the biggest.

Today I must go distract that little girl,

Or else I will spend most of Today rewrapping toilet paper.

Maybe Roman?

Do you know how much time the boys spend looking for their shoes? I don't know precisely either, but I do know that it is a lot. Roman got new shoes a couple of months ago, however, and he took it upon himself to come up with a solution so that he can always find them.

Yep, he keeps them in their box on the shoe bench.

I look at that box and I think that there is organizational hope
for us, and maybe a future of being able to find our shoes.

But than I look at this: the basement shoe store, where all the too small shoes/boots/sandals

go to wait for the next-in-line brother.

and my hope falters.

All In A Day's Work

Noah stayed home from work today.

Today was the big day.

The day of the Boy's Dental Visit.

After their last appointment I informed Noah that I was not doing that alone again.

So he stayed home.

No bribes were given or offered.

No punishments were suggested.

I laid down the cold, hard rules.

We don't kick or hit people.

This includes Dentists, hygienists and our parents.

We don't scream and yell.

Even if you don't like how the toothpaste tastes.

I was in charge of Roman.

I held his arms.

I heard him scream.

But he quit when he realized that it wasn't really that bad.

Noah was in charge of Lincoln.

It took a lot to keep all 40 pounds of 3 year old anger in that chair.

What about Deacon?

He is almost 7 and I really needed him to not freak out.

He is big.

And scared.

And still traumatized over his oral surgery visit from age 4.

He got into the chair (grudgingly)

And I was struck with an idea.

I told him he could hold Berean.

I sat next to him.

Berean sat on his lap and he held her hands.

He wanted to be a brave big brother.

And he was.

Not a fuss.

Not a yell.

He just held his baby sisters hands.

And she watched.

And once she tried to get the tooth brush.

And she helped him to be calm.

And maybe he gave her some career aspirations.

I love the support system that siblings can be.

----

We were listening to a radio program- Adventures in Odyssey- the other day. I hadn't heard the episode before, and so I was as surprised as the boys when through a series of events this little boy's mom miscarries his baby brother. The boy had been jealous and was afraid that he had caused the miscarriage by saying he didn't "want the baby".

I didn't really know what the boys were thinking.

The car stopped and the boys unbuckled.

Deacon leaned over Berean and in a quiet voice said, "Oh Berean, I am so glad you didn't die. I always wanted you."

Roman and Lincoln both quietly and quickly added affirmations of their love for their baby sister.

---

Berean had her 9 month check up today. She is 17 pounds, 7 ounces. Basically she is about the same size as my boys were at 4-6 months. But that is ok. She is almost exactly the same weight as I was at her age.

She is crawling up and down the stairs and trying fancy moves like only holding on to objects with one hand while standing. She is currently also very into clapping her hands.

She has 5 teeth, but doesn't like to eat food very much.

Let me rephrase that: she likes to feed herself and she is not very interested in being fed. She really likes pancakes, crackers and things that she can make a mess out of.

---

Soon to come: pictures of our gigantic tree and our fruitless quest for the perfect holiday photo!

Ding Ding Ding!

I love the guesses on the last post...but my dad, sister and Noah's-coworker-who-has-a-12-year-old-daughter were right...Justin Bieberesque was the style Noah was going for as he combed Roman's hair.

Hmmm...we'll see what Roman looks like in 10 years...

Remind You of Anyone?

Noah was combing Roman's hair the other day. What famous person does he resemble in this picture?

Cave Art

Noah brought this box home so the boys could pretend it was a cave and do a little "cave art".

After the artists had abandoned the project, a newcomer moved in.

I am sure she had all kind of questions about the nature of the man that had lived in the cave before her.

They must have been great warriors- the pictures show that they had swords

They must have traveled in boats a lot, because there was a picture of a boat

And what are all the letters on peoples bodies? They must have been some sort of custom or body art.

Poor Berean. She may never know.