Our Year In Review...

(This post is a few days old, but I decided to share it anyway.  Better late than never, right?!)

As a new year approaches, I always like to look back and reflect on all of the events that took place.  It's been an eventful year to say the least, and I wanted to share the highlights of our last year with you.  It was very hard to choose which moments to include, especially since I was pregnant for the first half of the year.  In case you didn't know, I'm one of those crazy, dramatic, forget everything kind of pregnant people. If only I was blogging back then...could you even imagine?! =)

Without further ado, here's the BEST of 2011...

January

I realized I didn't take many pictures. Ummm...morning sickness!  Anyway, Matt & Merisa were in full farmer mode.  Bring on the rabbits and chickens and...

February

We got snowed in and realized that this is a little more problematic when living in the country.  Can you say SNOW DRIFTS?!

March

It came to our attention that Logan might be the busiest little boy ever.  Good thing he's just so darn CUTE!

April

Somehow we acquired more and more animals!  How is this possible?!

May

"Chantilly lace and a pretty face"...Merisa's 4th dance recital!  She LOVES the stage!

June

Miss Merisa turned EIGHT!  Where did the time go? 

(Posing for the camera that day wasn't something she really wanted to do...can you tell?!)

July

We welcomed the birth of our third child two weeks early.  Mr. Levi was our second largest baby weighing in at 8lbs. 3oz.

August

Mr. Logan crept up on us all and turned TWO!  Being pregnant with a toddler is quite the adventure!  I give y'all kudos if you've done this...it's crazy HARD!

September

Logan gave us yet another scare resulting in a HUGE gash in his nose!  After much panic (mostly by me!), he has healed although the scar is still there.

October

A pretty witch, scarecrow, and giraffe gallivanted around town in order to share their tricks for a little treat.

(Yes, that's Matt's hand holding on Logan's hat!)

November

This month started our first holiday adventures as a family of five! On Thanksgiving Day, Merisa ran in her 3rd race...the Turkey Trot!  She ran ONE MILE and has done this almost every year since she was 4!

(Nope, that isn't her time.  The clock was set for the 5k runners who started earlier.  She was so fast that I almost missed her crossing the line!)

December

Many blessings too numerous to count!  Thank you all for everything you've done to help us out along the way! 

Happy New Year!  May God bless you in 2012!

Our 12 Days Of Christmas...

Here's a brief look inside our house during the holidays.  I'll post more later when I have a little more free time!  Okay, so that may never happen, but I'll still try to blog amidst the chaos.  When everyone's home, it tends to become a little hectic around here...ya know, I can never find the end of those "mommy to-do lists"!

(Please read the following all the while humming the "12 Days of Christmas".  Question is...can you remember the entire song?  Of course, I'm referring to the original version and not Jeff Foxworthy's!) So here's our crazy life during the past week or two...

12 Nights of Hoping

11 "Brown" Trucks Delivering

10 Loads-a-Washing

9 Ornaments Crashing

8 Stockings Hangin'

7 Christmas Gatherings

6 Dishes Baking

5 Exhausted Humans

4 Home Alone Movies

3 Screaming Kids

2 Lonely Puppies

And a Jump 'N Slide Bounce House

Hope y'all had a VERY Merry Christmas!  I know we had a blast, and we were more than blessed!  Thanks for everything!  Now I just need to find that maid! =)

A Very Special Time Of Year...

Just wanted to pop in and wish you all a Merry Christmas!  I hope you all make special memories during this holiday season (for I'm sure I'll have PLENTY to blog about come the new year!). 

And I wanted to share briefly about the picture above...if you look at the lower left picture (ya know, the one with the kids screaming and Merisa laughing), you might ask what's happening.  Well, see...I got the kids all dressed nicely, hauled them to a special picture taking place, laid down a blanket, placed everyone in the "special" spot, and then what happens?  Like they were completely in tune with one another, the boys immediately pucker up and start screaming!  It was HILARIOUS, and I couldn't help but to share that moment with you all!  Maybe you had to be there, but let's just say that the "special" spot has an even better memory than I would have thought!  That's when I realized I should never wake sleeping children in order to take the perfect Christmas picture! =)

Side note, I can't get that Red Solo Cup song out of my head!  I'm all...

Red Solo Cup, I fill you up.  Let's have a party...let's have a party! 

They really need to start playing I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas...that used to be my favorite!  =)

(And my heart and prayers go out to a good friend of mine today.  May God bless you all during this difficult time.)

Merry Christmas!

Random Thoughts

So I tend to have these random thoughts on things I should blog, but then decide that there is no way it would be long enough. Ya know, the story would be short and seem pointless.  So I decided to compile a few thoughts together in one post in order to make it a little more blog worthy. Although, I hope I don't ramble too much for I would hate to write a long and boring story! =)  Oh, too bad...it's my blog, and I'll write if I want to...You would write, too, if it happened to you.  (I'm guessing this song is now stuck in your head.  Hope so, cause I'm pretty certain I'll be singing it all day only to hear my daughter say "please do us all a favor and find a new song!")

Sorry, back to my main point(s) appearing in no particular order...

1)  Merisa asked me if she could have some ice cream.  I said sure.  Then, she asked if she could just eat it out of the container.  I asked her why (I've got to stop doing that!).  With pure disgust, she pointed out the obvious by stating...

Since you're having troubles keeping on top of the dishes,
I'm sure there isn't any clean bowls! 

Of course, she just volunteered to be the new dish washer.  Wasn't that so nice of her?! =)

2)  As Christmas nears, the thought of decorating the house with thousands of lights flows through my head.  Every year I wait in anticipation.  I LOVE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!  Let's just say that it's my dream to give Clark Griswold a run for his money.  In case you've forgotten, I'm referring to Chevy Chase's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!  Oh, yes, one day I will put up enough lights that aliens in outer-space can see our house with ease.  Granted, it annoys my husband, but I enjoy the little bit of tackiness.  So what if you have to pull down the shades in order to sleep at night or start your day at 3:00 am because you think the sun is up...I. LOVE. CHRISTMAS. LIGHTS!  Did I mention that?  So the many boxes of Christmas decorations will be coming down from the attic.  Each strand will be tested to ensure there aren't any problems.  Numerous electrical cords will be stretched across the yard.  And I will spend hours climbing the ladder, attaching the lights, connecting cords...only to figure out that I ran everything in the wrong direction so nothing connects right, and it must be reversed.  Yep, it never fails.  I make things a lot harder than they should be!  Oh, well!  As we say around here, it looks like Christmas puked on our house!  Love it! =)

3)  Speaking of movies, I hope you all have had the privilege of watching A Christmas Story.  Ya know, the "you'll shoot your eye out" movie!  LOOOOOVE IT!  In the story, the little boy is double-dog dared to stick his tongue to the freezing pole.  No one can turn down a double-dog dare, right?  Anyway, a few years ago, kids were waiting for the bus outside of our house.  I didn't pay much attention until I saw a few kids scurrying around looking a bit panicked.  Next thing I knew there was an adult (or two?) running to the bus stop.  I'll spare the details, but let's just say a certain little boy (and no, he didn't belong to me although I'm sure one of mine WILL be testing this theory in the near future!) managed to stick his tongue to the pole only to get it stuck!  I think it shocked everyone...kids and adults, alike.  Maybe I should think twice before letting my dare-devil son watch this movie!  (And I hope it's okay that I shared this story seeing how I left out the names!)  =)

4)  Lastly, thanks for all of the wonderful comments about my blog.  I can't believe how many are actually reading this! I feel like the pressure's on now, but thanks so much for the compliments!

My Deepest Apologies...

As you may have noticed, the holidays are just around the corner!  This is a wonderful time of year...seeing family and friends, eating TONS of food that completely blows your diet, listening to Amy Grant's Christmas CD for the 13,965 time (Seriously! This is probably a low guess, too.  If you don't have this album, you must get it.  The best Christmas music...EVER!)  And, of course, putting up the Christmas tree...which, in my case, takes an entire day, if not two...only to have every ornament rolling across the floor seconds later due to a very active toddler!  I do recall a little someone who decided the pretty ornaments were the exact same balls that daddy had taught this said person to throw.  Wasn't it so nice for mommy to hang these beautiful toys ever so nicely and in perfect reach?  Of course, they were meant to be thrown in pure excitement all the while shouting ...BALL, which was the only word this little person was saying at the time.  It's a good thing he's cute!  =)

Everyone loves the holiday season.  The smell of fresh Christmas trees, cookies baking in the oven, beautiful music playing in every room, and children dreaming about what amazing presents Santa will bring. 

Okay...it's a little different in our house.  The smell of spruce is replaced with the fresh odor of baby poo.  The cookies are baking, but that's nothing new...I do make cookies a lot (and, as my husband has so graciously pointed out, I eat them ALL before anyone else ever gets so much as a nibble!)  The Christmas music will be playing, but who can hear it over the loud noise that echoes through our house on a daily basis.  And as for Santa's gifts...good thing we can rely on him!  For I tend to forget where I hid the presents that I bought the previous year all so I could save a little money.  And when it comes to wrapping gifts...oh, my!  I have to wrap them moments before opening them.  If I do wrap them ahead of time and sit them oh so beautifully under the tree, they will be DESTROYED by either the cat who loves to eat ribbon, or the dog that must get inside the box for he is certain there is a bone buried deep within the pretty package, or by the occasional child that cannot control him- (or her-) self.  It doesn't matter who the gift is for because it is Christmas...the season of giving!  These presents MUST be for whoever finds them, right?! 

So I'm writing this in order to give you my deepest apologies in advance... 

We WILL be late to every gathering (even the ones held at our house) despite all attempts to be ready two hours early! 

We WILL forget your gift despite buying it well in advance. 

We WILL be wrapping gifts moments before they are opened despite wrapping them earlier in the season. 

We WILL forget to bring our special dish despite buying the ingredients before the mad grocery store rush and staying up all night making it.

We WILL somehow not mail our Christmas cards in a timely manner despite ordering them before Halloween.

But you should know that it was all done with good intent and with all of our love!  As the Gosselin's once said, "It's a crazy life, but it's our life!"   I wouldn't change a thing! =)

I'll leave you with pictures of the first time the older two held the bebe...aren't they precious?!

Running Out Of Ideas...

Every year I try to make Merisa's (and now Logan's) Halloween costumes.  I typically do this to save money, but it's also fun!  I go the "non-sewing", buy parts from Goodwill route because I'm not a seamstress...that's my mom's thing (along with cooking, baking, etc.)  I'm NOT domestic by any means, but that's something for another post.

Anyway, last year Merisa was a "Pretty Kitty" and Logan was "Bam-Bam".  Merisa LOVES to dress-up and wear anything blingy.  So we went that route.  I added jewels and fur to a black shirt, made a crazy tutu complete with a kitty tail, found spotted tights and kitty ears, and no kitty would be official with out a collar...voila...Merisa became a Pretty Kitty!

And Mr. Logan...there was no question that he would be Bam-Bam!  That boy behaves just like the character so no acting was needed!  I painted a t-shirt, cut it up to look jagged, added brown pants, some-what "sewed" (I mean, it was made out of felt so I wouldn't really consider it sewing) a Bam-Bam hat, and found a "club" in the toy room, and instantly little Logan was transformed into Bam-Bam!  While we were out "Trick-Or-Treating", people were laughing hysterically at his costume.  Mind you, most didn't really know him so his wild personality must have been shining through it all! 

So here's a pic of their costumes last year.  It was almost impossible to get a picture so hopefully, you can see Logan's outfit.  Merisa always cooperates for pictures (since she was born, no kidding!), but Logan doesn't think it's necessary for us to document his life.  One day, he'll ask why we have so few pictures of him.  It's not because we didn't take them...more because he REFUSED to stay still for even one little second.  Silly boy!

Merisa, of course, is hissing like a cat so don't be worried!

 Somehow Matt caught this picture...otherwise, we'd have nothing!

Couldn't get them to both look at the camera at the same time!

(Oh, where are you Photoshop?!)

So my question is...what/who should they be this year?  Logan will probably get mad about wearing a costume so I'll have to be sneaky!  And anything blingy will be great for Merisa!