Christmas at the Aquarium with Poppy

We went to Salter Path/ the Outer Banks for Christmas, to be with Nate's family.  There's a great little aquarium not far from Nate's dad's house, and during our winter visits, it's a must-do.  It just so happened that Santa Claus was there feeding the fish in the big tank that day.

Petting the sting rays is Cooper's favorite part of the aquarium.

Poppy helped our wiggly Hudson get in on the action too.

Hudson enjoyed the fish...but enjoyed running away from mommy even more.

Rawwwwwwrrrrrr!

These three hoodlums had a good time at the aquarium.  I'm so glad Poppy got to come with us.  The boys sure loved having him along.

December Fun

These are a few random pictures from December.

One day all the neighbor kids were outside playing, and one of the neighbor moms took this picture.  Funny thing is, the two boys and girl on the far right are the kids who used to live in our house.  They had come by for a visit.  The other girls are our neighbor kids (Maddie, Amanda, and Carter), whom our boys adore, and love playing with,  They're much older, but both boys really enjoy playing with them.  Coop was excited to make some new boy buddies, but was sad to find out they didn't live in our neighborhood, at least not any more.  Ha!

One day I came home from running errands, and found Hudson fast asleep in his car seat.  He must have been exhausted from all the computer work he'd been doing on his laptop while I drove.

Let Christmas 2014 Begin!

A few days before Christmas we visited Jim and Denise at their house for our early Christmas together, since we would all be out of town for the actual day.  We love spreading out the festivities!

Denise and the boys made sugar cookies.

Hudson often wanted to play with my broom when I cleaned, so Jim and Denise gave Hudson his own broom and dust pan.  He set straight to work with it.

They spoiled Cooper with a "big boy" Razor scooter (no more training wheels!).

Denise gave Jim a beautiful multi-media player, complete with all the latest like MP3, but also included CD, and a record player.  

With a Beatles album, we were all set with dancing music for the night.  I'll spare Denise and keep the home video of the boys dancing with her to ourselves. :)

Hudson would not leave the ornaments on the Christmas tree alone--just like at home.

One of Cooper's favorite things to do when we visit Aunt Denise in the winter months is to put out the candles in the fireplace with the candle snuffer.  Then, of course, we have to light them again, so he can put them out more than once.

The boys and Aunt Denise read some Christmas stories.

We always have a great time celebrating and visiting with the Frosts!

Backyard Wrestling with Brody

These pictures are from one random afternoon in December when the boys were playing in the backyard with the dog.  Sweet boys and our dog, Brody.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The day after Thanksgiving we picked out and brought home our Christmas tree.  I remember the selection of the Christmas tree being a long, drawn out process as a child (ok maybe a tween/teen), where we all had opinions that never seemed to match.  With our family though, selecting and bringing home the Christmas tree takes about 20 minutes from leaving house to back at house.  With a couple of great growers/lots near our home, and the fact that we all pretty much choose the same tree within a few minutes, it's pretty drama-free. It's also usually sunny and not freezing, which I LOVE.

The decorating of the Christmas tree is NOTHING BUT DRAMA.  Cooper always wants to help with the lights and the ribbon and things that he really needs not to help with (like memorable, breakable ornaments); Nate "helps," but is done within about 20 minutes, especially with the kid drama going on; and Hudson is a little "helper," pulling things out of boxes, hanging about 20 ornaments on a single branch, nearly knocking the tree over about every 5 seconds....yeah.  You get the picture: chaos, and a lot of of it.  Not at all the peaceful, family bonding you see in movies.  I usually let the boys have their fill, and then work on the tree after they all go to bed, while listening to Christmas music, and taking my time reminiscing over the meaningful ornaments full of memories.

All those meaningful, fragile ornaments had to be out of reach of our toddler, so the top third of our tree was heavy-laden with decorations, while the bottom seemed a bit bare.  It was a bit top heavy!

On 11/29/14 I posted on Facebook: Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how many times will you be redecorated by the children?  I have to remind myself that Christmas is for children.  But I sure did get tired of the battle of tree vs. toddler (and often 5 year old too) before the month was through.  I sure do love decorating the Christmas tree though, and decorating the rest of the house too.

The Saturday following Thanksgiving, while most other people were out shopping, we took the boys to sit on Santa's lap, avoiding the long lines later.  Naturally we headed to Bass Pro Shops where it's free to visit Santa.  Cooper was excited to put in his Christmas requests.  Hudson wasn't exactly thrilled to be sat on the knee of a strangely dressed stranger, but I didn't expect any different.

Hudson loved the train.  The boy loves trains.

 Mommy helped Hudson write his letter to Santa:

Dear Santa,  I am such a good boy for mommy and daddy.  I would like a vacuum and some blocks.  Love, Hudson Smith, 18 months old 

 Daddy helped Cooper write his letter to Santa, but Coop dictated what to write:

Dear Santa: Helicopter, Nerf gun, tool box.  Please send me these.  Sincerely, Cooper Smith 

This kid sure doesn't sugar coat it--ha!

 After our visit to Santa, we ate lunch and the boys enjoyed a ride on the merry-go-round.  This was Hudson's first riding one where he knew what was going on, and he loved it.  He loved it so much that it was all tears and fits when it was time to get off.

At preschool Cooper's class made and decorated a gingerbread house together as a class. Cooper was proud of it, and wanted his picture taken with it. 

We acquired a few more Christmas decorations, and the house started to look a little like Christmas.

Christmas cards were mailed.

And in keeping with the winter season, we had lots of sickness.  Those bright red, flushed cheeks were present a lot during the winter months as the boys battled cold virus after cold virus.  So many ear infections between the two of them!  Ah, good ol' winter.

 One day the boys were playing together with the Santa hats.  What a cute pair of Santa's little helpers.

 12/1/14: In the car today the song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" comes on the radio. Coop listens and says, "Mommy, I know why that lady is singing that. Because it IS the most wonderful time of the year!"
"You're right, Bug. Why do you think that?"
"Because it's so fun to buy presents and get toys, and everyone is so happy...[pause, and then in a softer voice]...but, Mommy, the real reason it's so wonderful is because we get to think about Jesus every day, and how He was a teeny tiny baby, and how He was born. That is the most wonderful part of all."
And my heart nearly burst with joy.

First Thanksgiving in Our New Home

Being our first Thanksgiving in our new home, I looked forward to getting to host dinner at home.  As I started the food preparations the day before, I started to get a little homesick, thinking of days gone by when the day before Thanksgiving was spent in the kitchen with my mom, working side by side all day.  I'd like to say my sisters were there too, but let's be honest.  When I was a teenager, they were too little to appreciate (or want to do) such things.  So it was me and Mom.  Boy do I miss that.  Every single year I miss it.  Sigh.

But I posted this on Facebook later that same day:

Was feeling quite homesick this morning. Then realized I had the wrong attitude/ perspective. First, I have a FAMILY, who loves me, and I love them, and our close relationships make us miss each other when we're not together. 2nd, I have a nice, warm house to clean. 3rd, I have food to prepare for my family, not just sufficient for our needs, but an ABUNDANCE. Those are just the 3 things I needed a perspective change on. Too many other blessings to list. I am blessed!!!!!!!

I surely AM blessed!  Too many blessings to list.  One great blessing is that Cooper likes to help me cook.  Most days if he's not out playing with friends when dinner time rolls around, he's there by my side, pulling his step stool out of the pantry, wanting to help me cook.  I love it, and call him my sous chef.  When he complains that he never gets to do any of the "fun" stuff, like cut with sharp knives, I remind him that the sous chef helps prep the food, and takes orders from the head chef without complaining. Ha!  No, but really, he is quite the little helper, and helped me make a couple of things for our Thanksgiving feast.

 I really enjoy cooking, especially when there's more than just Nate and the boys to cook for.  As I looked over our Thanksgiving feast, I felt so blessed to have so much.  I roasted a 20 lb turkey, made stuffing from scratch (my FAVORITE), mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, corn,cranberry sauce, and we had rolls (which I did not make this time due to too many things for one oven to handle).  

 We stuffed ourselves and enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving feast.

 Hudson enjoyed everything too.

 Aunt Denise, Uncle Jim, and Allison (visiting from Massachusetts) joined us for the day.

 Hudson was a little tired by the afternoon.

 It was such a great day; a wonderful time with family.  So thankful to have Denise and Jim close by to enjoy holidays like this with them.

Dance in a Flash Mob...Check!

Last October during breast cancer awareness month, I had the opportunity to support one of the amazing women/families I'm blessed to know here in Charlotte.  Kristi Kramer has been battling Stage IV triple negative metastatic breast cancer for years now.  There is no cure for this kind of breast cancer.  Her treatments will continue until she is called home to the Lord.  She is an inspiration of faith, long suffering, and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Kristi's husband, Scott, and son, Colton, were our home teachers while in the Monroe ward, so their family has a special place in our hearts.  Last fall Kristi asked on Facebook about how to go about participating in a flash mob, one of the things on her bucket list.  As the months progressed, her treatments rendered her unable to participate.  Some amazing women rallied around her, and put together a surprise flash mob in her honor.

We danced to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" in the parking lot near the place where participants of Avon's two-day breast cancer awareness walk/run in uptown Charlotte were stopping to eat lunch.

We danced the original dance steps from the music video.  I practiced and practiced late at night after the kids went to bed, and we even held some group practices the week of the event, where we all brought kids to play at a dear friend's home, while many of us practiced.

I invited my friend, Krista Carpenter, a former co-worker from my PBS&J/Atkins days, to join us.  Unbeknownst to me, my friends April Moore and Natalie Gleaves from the Monroe ward were participating also.

 It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

 Not only did I do it for Kristi, I also did it for the many women in my life who have battled breast cancer.  I've not been able to be there to support them as I'd have liked to, due to distance, and so this was one way I felt I could honor their battles.

 To this day Kristi remains a fighter.  For several months I was blessed with the opportunity to clean her bathroom in her home once a week.  Then my boys kept getting sick repeatedly, and I had to stop going so as not to expose her to any other illnesses.  Now this sweet lady and her family are moving to Columbia, SC for a new job for Scott.  We sure are going to miss them.  I'm thankful for social media that allows us to keep in touch.