Snow

Woke up to snow today!

They kept watch while they ate their breakfast and then had to wait until it was an acceptable hour to go make noise outside.

Checking it out and probably thinking, "What IS that stuff?"

He did not appreciate being turned into a puffy little man but quickly figured out the white "stuff" was pretty fun and worth the puffiness.

"I've fallen and I can't get up!" He stayed there, stunned by the bright white sky, until we helped him up.

"I got my mittens off, Mom. Do you see me?" We brought him in a few minutes later.

First taste of snow

The kids have no school for the next two days, and they're hoping for a lot more snow. We'll see if they get their wish.

Do label makers and organizers float your boat?

While we were quarantined over Christmas break, we worked on getting the garage in order. It's been on the to-do list since we moved in 6 months ago and have been working on it bit by bit, but we finally got motivated to do the big stuff. We wanted some beefy shelving to store our Rubbermaid's and other stuff. Greg did some research, made a materials list, and built these shelves himself. They turned out so great!

He used some Christmas money to get his work bench organized and his peg board the way he wanted it. Who knew a pegboard and some hooks could make a guy so happy? We used part of the pegboard to organize the sports equipment and bike helmets. Maybe we're weird, but this sort of thing makes both of us positively giddy! (side note of clarification: garage organization makes Greg giddy, ANY kind of organization has that effect on me.)It's so satisfying to have a place for everything and everything in its place. We still have some work to do (would like to put in a big cabinet next to Greg's work bench), but the majority of it is done, and we can easily fit both cars in the garage. Ahhhh, so nice!

Celebrity Mom

You know you've been a stay-at-home mom of young children for a while when your kids see you in a nice shirt (ie, non-knit) and nice black pants and say, "Whoa, Mom!" and your almost 6-year-old son says, "Mom, you look too famous!"

It might be time to update my wardrobe. I'm done having babies and, hopefully, mostly done changing sizes for a while, so maybe I should invest in some non-mom attire. Then again, maybe I shouldn't.  There is still a strong likelihood that I will wear out the knees of all my jeans and find dried snot on my shoulders, Desitin on my pants, and mystery grease spots on my shirts. It doesn't make much sense to spend money on clothes just to see them ruined, but a few changes/additions to the closet may be necessary. I'll go slow, though. I wouldn't want to look "too famous" too often.

A memorable 1st Christmas in our new house

I wasn't sure where to start with my blog catch-up, so I decided to start with today. This sleeping beauty was up the majority of last night with a painful ear infection. It was a rough night and awful for a couple reasons--awful to see/hear her in so much pain and awful to be kept awake while desperately needing/wanting sleep. I got her into the doctor early this morning and have already started antibiotics, so she should be better in a day or two (really hoping tonight is better!).

I've been waiting to blog until I was certain the stomach flu was finished at our house. (We went from stomach flu to colds, hence the ear infection. It's just that time of year, I guess!) It's been 8 days since anyone puked, so I *think* we're in the clear. I was the only one who escaped the nasty bug. Not sure how that happened, but I'm thankful. I felt sick for 10 days and worried every night that I'd wake up sick, but I woke up every morning feeling fine! It started the Wednesday before Christmas with Aubrey, then moved to Grant two days later, then Greg 12 hours after Grant (Christmas Eve), and then Joel a day later (Christmas Day). As you can imagine, this flu put quite a damper on our Christmas. I tried to not let it ruin everything and tried to have a joyful attitude in the midst of unfortunate circumstances (the wonderful story of Jesus coming to earth as a baby to save us from our sins didn't change or become less wonderful just because our family was sick...), but I'm not sure how much I succeeded in being joyful. I counted my blessings and reminded myself that this was all temporary, but I was still sad on Christmas Eve when Greg was in bed literally all day and night, and I realized this was going to affect our plans. My parents and Blake were very gracious and told us to come anyway Christmas Eve since the rest of us were well, so the kids and I went over to the my parents' for dinner. We did Jesus' birthday cake, and Kari read the Christmas story aloud for us.

That night Joel got sick. Grant was up for hours that night, too. Thankfully, Greg was feeling better by then (it was a violent but fairly quick bug), and he was able to help. By morning, Joel was doing better, but we'd gotten very little sleep and the mood was not exactly celebratory. We tried, for the kids' sake, to put on a happy face and opened stockings together.

We had our Hungarian coffee cake breakfast together(those of us who could eat), and then Grant puked all over the carpet upstairs. It was totally curdled milk (TMI?), so I think his system just wasn't quite ready for his beloved milk after being sick the days before. We got him in the tub, and that's when I lost it. I put my head down on the edge of the tub and cried/sobbed from utter disappointment and pure exhaustion. Greg and the girls got ready to go to church (the kids were all supposed to be in the Christmas program), and I pulled myself together, got Grant cleaned up and dressed, and we went back downstairs to open presents. The kids all enjoyed their gifts, and it was fun watch their eyes light up as they opened them, but it just didn't feel very Christmasy.

Joel, Grant, and I stayed home while the others went to church. Mom and Dad M. took pictures and videoed for me, so I got to watch the program later. (Thank you for doing that! I enjoyed watching it later.) I spent the morning deep cleaning bathrooms (again) and disinfecting every surface (again)--never done that on Christmas day before!

My parents and Blake salvaged Christmas for us and told us to come over after church anyway. They'd already been exposed the day before when we didn't know Joel was going to be next. We had a really good time with them, and I was grateful we got to celebrate Christmas and Mom's birthday together, but it came at a price...for them. All three of them went down later in the week.

We thought we were in the clear Tuesday evening after we'd had over 48 hours of wellness and kept our plans to celebrate and exchange gifts with Brian, Emily, and Russell, and then we spent the day with Ryan and Michelle and Mom and Dad M. on Wednesday--went bowling and had dinner. It'd been three days with no one else sick. Unfortunately, we still weren't "in the clear." Kari got sick Wednesday night, and so did Emily and Russell. It just seemed never-ending! It did finally come to an end for us, though, 10 days after it started, but not before we got one more person sick--Lorelai was the last casualty, but she's well now and no one else is sick.

We celebrated Christmas with the Moffats on the 30th and had a good time with them all. It was fun to have all the cousins together again and good to catch up with everyone. The kids acted out a very loose interpretation of the Christmas story. I'm sure it will get more sophisticated as the years go by. :)

Grandma read a Christmas book to the kids. It was about children putting on a Christmas pageant and, as it turns out, a very appropriate story for this year's Christmas, as one of the kids in the story pukes all over. She bought the book a while ago, so it was not hand-picked for our situation, but it sure was ironic!

Working on painting projects

All ten cousins on the couch

While it was kind of a bummer of a Christmas for us, we did get to spend a lot of time together at home as a family. Greg had scheduled vacation days to be home with us between Christmas and New Year's, and even though we spent a lot of it being sick, we did have some good times while we were quarantined in the house. We played some games, watched some movies, and worked on some house projects (more on the garage re-org later). The kids really like their new card game, "There's a Moose in the House," and we played many rounds. On New Year's Eve morning, we went to Safari Sam's, an indoor play place we'd never been to before, and we had a blast! It's big enough for parents to go through the jungle gym area, too, and we all had a really good time together. We weren't ready yet when it came time for the kids to go back to school and Greg back to work, but life goes on. We'll have more vacations and holidays together, Lord-willing. :)

The Plague

My blog silence is due to the fact that the stomach flu hit our family last Wednesday and is still rearing its ugly head. I will post all the details of our sad Christmas when it's over with. We have had some good times between the rottenness (Christmas afternoon was good), but it's been a bummer of a Christmas break. I am the last one standing--for now. :)

Gingerbread

The kids did an excellent job on their houses this year, and I did a better job with my royal icing. The candies stayed put this time and didn't go sliding down the walls. We strategically worked on them while Grant napped. The kids were so proud of their work. I enjoyed doing it with them. It made all the prep work worth it to see them having so much fun. The kids loved wearing their snowman aprons from Great Grandma Arnold, too. We're carrying on your tradition from afar, Grandma!

Caution: LOTS of pink ahead

Kari Lynn turned 8 years old this last Saturday. Here she is with her first dozen roses (short-stemmed since she's still relatively short), a beautiful gift from Grandpa Arnold when he came to pick her up for her birthday breakfast.



She had been looking forward to her special breakfast date with Grandpa and thoroughly enjoyed herself. He said later, "She ate cocoa and 4 sausages. Chocolate chip pancakes didn't make the cut." And she still wanted to go to The Dollar Tree afterwards, evidence that she's still young. :)


















Kari actually started celebrating her birthday a week early. We hosted our first girls' slumber party... and survived it!



It really was fun and did seem to go very well. We just didn't get a whole lot of sleep. I think the house was finally quiet at 1am. Two of the girls came into our room at 12:45am saying they needed to call their parents because they couldn't sleep. Greg convinced them that was not necessary, and 15 minutes later, everyone was snoozing.

As you can see, the theme was "pink"--any and everything PINK. It was Kari's idea, and I took it and ran with it, with help from Pinterest. Kari invited four girls from school, and we kept them all busy doing crafts, decorating cupcakes, and watching a movie.

Greg was in awe of how much noise 5 little girls could make and just how silly and girly they were together. His puzzlement made a lot more sense when he reminded me the next morning that he grew up in a house full of boys with no sisters. This was his first girl slumber party, too! :) He said,"We're good til next year now, right?" We'll see...


The pink decor stayed up for the next week because we planned her family party for the night of her real birthday which wasn't until the next weekend. Kari requested shredded barbecue chicken on homemade buns, so that's what we had. I made three batches of buns...the things we do for our children. :) The kids played a pink version of Twister, and we all had a nice evening together. Kari was thrilled with all her presents. It was strange to not see a toy among them.  Now it's crafts, itunes, books, and clothes. She's growing up!

(You'll have to double-click on the collage to get a closer look at Grandpa M's shirt)

Crazy December

Every year, once Thanksgiving has come and gone, it feels like a race to get everything done for Kari's birthday and Christmas at the same time. (That's what we get for having a mid December baby.) We're in the middle of that race right now. One pink party down, one to go. I decided to take a break and post a couple recent photos.

Greg did an "Elf Yourself" music video (the kids' faces on elf bodies, singing and dancing) which made for some great after dinner entertainment one night last week. They all had so much fun watching themselves. Grant found it especially funny.














Here are some messy baby photos, since we haven't had any for a while. Grant has suddenly become a very picky eater, and we're struggling to find things that he will eat. He ate nutella and pretzels with his peanut butter sandwich for lunch on this particular day. Not the best, most nutritious meal, but at least I got some protein in him that wasn't just milk. This kid loves his milk! He does a happy dance when he sees it coming.

Grant's Dedication Letter

We've had the special privilege of dedicating each of our babies to God in front of our church body. Here is the letter we wrote and read to Grant two weeks ago for his dedication.

Dear Grant,
When you joined our family, you threw us into a state of chaos that lasted a lot longer than we expected. We were so happy to have you, and your siblings were so very excited to hold you, take care of you, and dote on you, but life was just crazy during your first year of life. You definitely made your presence known with your colicky fussiness and your refusal to sleep. Your sister beat you in the fussy department, though, so we knew we could outlast you on that one, but the sleep deprivation you brought us was a real challenge. While your siblings all slept through the night at least once by three months of age, you chose to wait until after a year and still don’t seem to enjoy sleep as much as we do. You have continually reminded us in these 15 months that you are your own unique little person, that no matter how many children we’ve had, we haven’t had you yet, and things are going to be different with you. We dedicate you to God today, knowing that He knows you better than we do and trusting that He will guide us and give us wisdom as we train and raise you.
You are a cheerful, fun-loving, and passionate little guy. You have a quick smile that lights up your whole face, and a quick temper, too, which we’re seeing more and more of these days as you enter toddlerhood. You are going to keep life exciting, for sure. Never a dull moment in the Moffat house!
We are so thankful for you and the excitement and joy you’ve brought our family. We pray that you will come to know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior at an early age, that you will use that passionate spirit and intensity to serve God wholeheartedly. We pray that you will keep your way pure, as it says in Psalm 119:9&10, by living according to God’s word, and that you will seek Him with all your heart and faithfully walk with Him all your life.
We love you, little Grant-man.


Mom and Dad

Tree Fetching '11

Went back to the same $10 tree farm we went to last year. We deliberated quite a while, trying to find just the right tree.
















Joel laughing and saying, "How 'bout this one?"

In front of our chosen tree
It's a BIG tree and pretty much fills the front room and window, which is exactly what I wanted. :) We don't have any furniture in there, so we have plenty of room!

Father/daughter bonding

Aubrey sat on Greg's lap, watching football and eating popcorn with him for a long time Sunday evening. She was watching very intently. It was too cute.