Christmas Sunday Pictures

A Little Decorator

 

My boys love rocks.

Erik had a rock collection when he was little.

I had a rock collection when I was little.

It was inevitable.

 

What I find throughout the house are rocks "artfully" displayed.  In threes, in glass containers, on window sills.  I don't know which one is doing it.  But, it is pretty fun to find!

 

 

Chills and Thrills

The boys are doing well.  They worked really hard on our "pennies of time" this week.

Our family service project is in FULL swing.  I mean, we have many, many, many things to pass along to Captain Hope's Kids.  Deadline is this week and the truck comes on Friday.  Evy and I will be toy sorting at Captain Hope's Kids on Saturday.  And, we are caroling at a nursing home this week. 

Erik is doing great in supporting all of us while he balances his job.

I am awesome.  Okay, I needed that.  Merritt is supposed to be sleeping and he keeps screaming the ABC song in an effort to get attention and the attention that I want to give him is to scream "GO TO BED AND BE QUIET BECAUSE I AM TIRED!"  So, instead I self-compliment by saying:  I am awesome.  It works.

Erik and I went to a work Christmas party last night.  Here are some pictures of us just before we left.

And, just because we haven't put out much recently on this blog, here are some pictures of the boys.

Chills and Thrills

Evy is reading and reading and reading.  He is writing and writing and writing.  He loves school but does talk about prefering to stay home with us sometimes.  (He knows we are fun!)  He is doing very well on the bike that he got for his birthday.  What a difference from a year ago when he was terrified of trying to ride a bike!  Being seizure free has been such a blessing for him in gaining confidence!

Merritt is talking and talking and talking.  He does have some problems expressing himself sometimes, but he has developed so many communication skills compared to a year ago.

Merritt loves his preschool class at the science museum. He loves that they go on hikes and have animal visitors. If we aren't going to that preschool, he would either like to go to Chick-fil-a or church. What a change from a year ago when he really would not have anything to do with sitting for hours at church!

We are very busy each day.  We fill our time with riding bikes, playing ball, cooking, books, art projects, pennies of time, and chores.  The boys really only sit down to do anything media related about once a week.  Naps are of the quickly forgotten past.  And, thus, I don't have much time to get on the blog to update.  When I get on the computer, I quickly update the "Pennies of Time" blog with service acts we are doing and then it is time to get up and do something else.

The boys are very much into caring about people these days.  It is directly due to our "pennies of time" that we do every day.  They still squabble and fight over toys or when they wrestle too much.  But, they are the first to speak up for another member of the family if something isn't going well.

Each evening, Merritt says,"Service Project!" and eagerly anticipates going to another neighbor to tell them about Captain Hope's Kids (the service project we are doing as a family this Christmas).  You can go check it out at Pennies of Time.

I have another calling, counselor in Relief Society.  I am busy getting the music squared away for the Sacrament Christmas program.  And, I have several projects going on along the side of that.  My time is fully engaged.  I am going to be better about the family blog. The kids just grow so quickly that if I don't write it down soon after the moment, I miss capturing the silliness or milestone.

Erik is doing well supporting all of us.  He still travels and helps people with employment related stuff.  He is the type of dad that usually does read "one more story, PLEASE!"  He loves pumpkin pie.