Lane's Firsts

I don't remember when Lane first started to sleep through the night, his first tooth or when his first word was spoken, but in the past couple of weeks Lane has had other firsts' that have been monumental.

He played the half-time at the WVU Women's basketball game. 

The full court wore the kids out pretty good. 

He also made it on the jumbo-tron with his killer dance moves.

TWICE.

We had court side seats but Paige wanted to sit in the highest seats they would let us.

I think the guy a couple of rows in front of us was irritated at us because the kids were actually cheering, most obnoxiously, for the Lady Mountaineers.

He was also inducted into the "Little Man kill innocent cute Bambi League". 

To be accepted you had to have the blood wiped on your face and smell the deer poo (Thanks Scott for making it up as you go.)

Lane shot this deer all by himself and made a perfect shot through the vitals.

Rather impressive and he gives all the credit to Cabela's Outdoor Adventures on the Wii.

Maybe there is an endorsement out there for this little man.

And last but definitely not least. His father taught him how a boy wears nylons.

Admit it. Everyone of you boys have done this.

Times may change but boys never do.

It was a pretty exciting month for us and dinner has been good.

You pick a good one, Lane.

Resolve to be Imperfect

I'll admit to the whole blog-o-shere (3 people that read this) that I'm horrible at resolutions for the new year. But year after year I still make and break the high expectations for myself. I've concluded that I purposefully fail at these meager attempts of perfection because my family and friends prefer me imperfect. Can you imagine hanging out with someone who is ALWAYS perfect? It would get very boring and probably make you feel insecure and uncomfortable about your own self. So for you all, here is my excuse: I do it for you! Now that we got that out of the way, here is what I've resolved to do this year.

1. Be more patient with our house hunting (shhhh, don't tell my mom. She thinks were still moving out closer to them.) I've been in a really bad mood off & on for no good reasons. Except that we can't find the perfect house/yard for the perfect price/free.

2. For the first time in a really long time, I'm not going to set a "weight loss" goal. My son likes the way I smell so I'll focus on that and be the best-smelling-mom this side of the Mississippi.

3. Allow more time for being creative. (i.e. get off the couch, stop reading 8 books a month, and be creative)

4. #3 leads me to #4. Note to Blake: Avert your eyes while you don't read this next one. I'm serious Blake. Look there is a pink elephant over there. Clean out the office. So I can be creative and not dirty up the rest of the house.

I'll stop there. Space out my small imperfections so that I have something to work on next year.

Seriously, I also have more spiritual goals to work on. Life's not all about smelling good. Well, to my boy it may be. 

Deep Thoughts

Last night while I was lying awake not being able to sleep, I was thinking of my brother, Mike and SIL, Marci. We have their names for the Christmas gift rotation and I was thinking of what to possibly get someone that has most everything, or at least everything they really want. Anyways, one thought lead to another thought and then the next thing you know-I'm thinking deep thoughts and how crack up funny Jack Handey was from SNL. (Which really reminds me of Mike and Marci because I usually watched it at their house.)

As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way. 
Jack Handey

I'm trying to quietly enjoy this season of giving and to not let the honking and yelling distract me. We've simplified gift giving for our kids this year (hopefully it won't be a big disappointment if we guessed wrong on the gift). I heard one mom tell her children that Jesus only received three gifts on Christmas and if it's good enough for Jesus it's good enough for them. I laughed and loved the honesty of that. I feel more relaxed about Christmas this year because I'm not trying to chase down every good idea I have. I'm looking forward to just enjoying the simple, true meaning of Christmas. Here's to Jack Handey's deep thoughts and our own deep thoughts (that really aren't that deep, but they sure are funny). 

Beach towels are out...

we are now ready for winter. Over the course of the night and day it has been snowing. This has brought so much joy for my kids. It's a Saturday so school wasn't even cancelled. The first things that comes out are the snow boots and pants quickly followed by the beach towels. They are the only things big enough to contain the snowstorm brought into the house upon the kids return. Why is it that it takes so long to get them dressed to go out and they HAVE to have your help because they all of a sudden become incompetent of tying shoes. But as soon as they come in, it looks like a jack-in-the-box of clothes being thrown everywhere. And there is me, trying not to ruin the fun of the season, but secretly cringing inside from the mess I'll now have to clean up. Tis the season. It's worth it!

The demise of a marriage

A few years ago I remember enjoying a night of playing Scrabble with Blake. We had everything pack up ready to move and our only form of entertainment was a Scrabble game and each other. Blake usually won (having a degree in the medical field has really increases his vocabulary.) I remember how fun that was. Last night I realized how far we have come.  Picture it: There we were laying next to each other in bed... Him- with his iPhone and me with my iTouch. We were synced wirelessly, playing Mancala on our iDistractions together.  Texting being our only form of conversation. I laugh at this scenario but cringe just a little and hope that next time I'll just pull out our REAL Mancala board and actually talk out loud to the one person I like the most in the world.  This is a reminder to me to enjoy the unique personalities around me and to not iTune them out. iHave iA iVery iMerry iChristmas. (putting an "i" in front of everything just makes me feel more tech-savvy.)

I'm grateful for Slinky Sentences

A few weeks ago I had to teach a lesson in church about "gratitude". I struggled with taking a very common topic and making it unique. Lane was telling me about how in school his teacher is encouraging them to use "slinky sentences". I asked what he meant and he easily explained that it's when you take a simple sentence and  s t r e t c h  it out using more details. "Like a slinky, mom." So my lesson for church turned into how we can express our gratitude by using "slinky sentences". (It also included me making awesome slinky stairs that actually worked.) 

So in honor of Thanksgiving, I will use slinky sentences to show gratitude for my day.

I am grateful for friends, who have become family, that are willing to share their day with us. And are willing to stare at a vat of peanut oil together. It's kind of like watching water boil- It boils faster when you have a buddy watching it with you.

I am grateful for cardboard and the hidden properties it contains to protect a grown manly-man from hot oil. I'm glad my husband was man enough to not need cardboard for his protection.
I am grateful for the golden brown turkey picture on the turkey fryer box. It lets you know when you've done something totally wrong. I don't think it's supposed to look like this. The turkey was really juicy and good despite the way it looks. Next year we'll work on perfecting the technique. 
I am grateful for imaginary tree stands. This entertained the kids for hours while the moms sat in a quiet house hoping no one was catching on fire outside.
There is so much to be grateful for both far and near. We missed family and their gatherings but are acutely aware that we are making memories wherever we are. We are thankful for our healthy, energetic kids who go along with our antics. Hope you all had a wonderful day and had cardboard to save you from anything dangerous.

When I knew everything...

Nine years ago I knew everything about being a parent. (Of course, I wasn't a parent yet).  Nine years later, I realize that I know nothing. My oldest, Lane, just turned 9 last week and we celebrated with a fancy meal.  We'll call this "crazy table". We used mixing bowls, sippy cups, tablespoons and even baby doll dishes to complete these gorgeous place settings. Draw numbers and that's what you get. 

How do you make a 9 yr. old. happy? Invite 4 missionaries over for dinner and let them act like 9 year olds also. The missionaries have since asked me when Paige will have her b-day dinner. 

Notice MY place setting: "You are special" plate, wineglass and real silverware. I didn't plan it that way, I promise. I just got lucky. A missionary actually switched me because he wanted a sillier place setting.

How else do we celebrate our 9 year old? We initiate him into the Mohawk tribe.

This whole month he's been learning about Native Americans and doing projects and reports. They finished off the week with the Tribal Fair where the parents came to learn from our little Indians and see them dance. Lane wanted a mohawk for the special day. I was going to gel it because it looked a little "bed-heady" but he quickly reminded me that Indians didn't have gel to use. My reply, "They didn't have toothpaste either but that doesn't mean you're not going to brush your teeth". Needless to say, I let him slide on the gel.

He is such an awesome Indian. I have to mention that he did shave off the mohawk Saturday night because he told us it wouldn't be appropriate for church. I'm so proud of my little man. He is always so willing to help and he understands that I'm not perfect but he still thinks I'm pretty close.

For Lane's big day we also let him kill his first big buck with a super-duty-cool-rifle-thingy-majig. Of course it was supervised within the comforts of our own home and was a simulation using a Wii zapper. 

This was the one and only thing he wanted. I never thought that I'd have a boy who'd enjoy this outdoor stuff so much and wear camo doing it. Well, we've survived 9 years together lets hope I don't ruin him before he turns 10.  We love you, Lane.