Christmas Morning

Bwahaha. I figured I'd better post this AT LEAST before January ends. This is what our Christmas morning looked like. Santa found his way to our house and left the boys a whole Harry Potter themed Christmas over which they were thrilled. They got wands, glasses, and brooms. And Santa dubbed The Pipster our own Drummer Boy with his little gift. I loved our Christmas tree which the boys had decorated themselves. And I loved how bulging that pile of gifts under the tree was (because I take after my mom and wrap every. single. tiny. little. thing. so that less seems like more). Also, a bit of the bulge might be attributed to the fact that The Chief allowed me to combine homeschool with Christmas and we got a bunch of educational games and movies, etc. It was a great Christmas at home with just our own little family. We definitely missed our extended families, but it was nice to not be traveling. One of the best parts of the day was unwrapping presents with Uncle Daniel over Skype. It was awesome.







I love this picture. This is Harry Potter taking a memory out of his brain for the pensieve.

Those funny things they say . . . .

Just trying to remember those funny things my kids say. By the by, this list is a compilation of quotes dating back many months, so don't be surprised if you've already heard one or more of these.

1)

Buddha: "Mom, will the name of our [home]school always be --------?"
Me: "Not necessarily. We could change it next year. Why?"
Buddha: "Oh good! Let's name it Hogwarts!"


2)

Whenever Bugga says food prayers, he always asks Heavenly Father to bless the food to gestize (digest).


3)

Bugga said the prayer at bedtime the other night: "Please bless Daddy on his airplane trip; that he will not go upside down . . . or sideways . . . or the other ways . . . like left." :D

4)

The boys' Uncle Josh had an accident at home that landed him in the hospital ICU with his whole family praying for him. During one such prayer, Bugga prayed "We thank Thee for Josh and that he will not be bloody at the hospital for a little bit." Another time, after we found out Josh was in stable condition and was going to be okay, Bugga's prayer took a really random turn that left us wondering if he'd been listening to any of our descriptions of what had taken place, "We thank Thee for Josh that he will drive safe." Whatever the occasion, Bugga's prayers never cease to entertain.

5)

The boys watched The Land Before Time while I talked to my brother before his next trip. When the movie was over, I asked them, "Wasn't it so sad when the little dinosaur's mommy died? Wouldn't you guys be sad if your mommy died?" Buddha had the decency to respond, "Actually, when that happened, I really thought that it would be sad if our mom died." Bugga, on the other hand, just looked at me and said flatly, "No." And then he had the gall to add, "I would just be sad if my dad died." Say what?!

6)

Buddha's version of this classic Christmas carol: ♪ ♫ "Oh, ho, the mistletoe, hung where you can see. Somebody waits for you, gizzards wait for me." ♫ ♪

7)

Another Bugga prayer: "We thank Thee that Dad will grow up into a grandpa and that Mom will grow into a grandma."

8)

The boys and I went to a park a while back and kicked a ball around for a while, ate some snacks, then rolled ourselves up together in our picnic blanket because it got a bit chilly. We lay there and just talked and talked. Somehow we ended up on the subject of the Big Bang Theory and we discussed what a theory means. Then we talked about faith and the knowledge we have that God created the universe. In the middle of our discussion, Bugga popped up out of the blanket onto his knees and folded his arms, declaring that he was going to pray about the Big Bang Theory. And he did. Right there. He folded his arms, bowed his head and said, "Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this day. We thank Thee . . . who did the Big Bang Theory? In the name of Jesus Christ, amen." And then we all just sat there, Buddha with a silly grin on his face and me with my heart bursting with love for my little guy. And then he put the cherry on top by holding up his finger and whispering, "I heard (pronounced hear-ed) a voice. It said, 'It was the bad guys.'" :D Oh how I love my boys!

9)

Bugga said a prayer on the food the other day and it went like this: "Please bless this food to digest us."

10)

Another funny Bugga moment . . . . I told the boys that from now on we were only going to be watching movies on Saturdays. Bugga replied, "'Cause Saturdays are when Jesus and God are asleep?"

Temple Lights

Before Christmas, we went to see the San Diego Temple lights. Though few, they were, nevertheless, beautiful. I realize that this post (and probably more that are coming) are WAY behind, but c'est la vie. Bear with me.

Siblings

I've been sitting on this post for months because I just keep taking the most darling, touching pictures of these guys together and I keep thinking I need to tack all those pictures onto the end of this post. But now, I give up. I'm realizing that these types of photo opportunities will be never-ending. I believe these three (and any more who come along) will be great life-long friends and it warms my little mother-heart to say that. Looking at these pictures makes me feel as though perhaps we're doing something right as parents. Looking at these pictures also fills my heart with gratitude for my own siblings. I love them. Aside from my husband, they are the people I most long to turn to when I need to celebrate, mourn, complain, praise, brag (yes, I'm that annoying sister), rant and rave, etc. They are patient with me and quick to forgive and even overlook my many faults. They are also quick to defend me and support me despite those same faults. They are the very definition of loyal. Oh how I shudder to imagine the world without my brothers and sister. It is when I contemplate the intimate and eternal nature of family that I realize the wisdom of our Heavenly Father's plan in which the immediate family unit enjoys a divine placement at the very center. Now, before I really wax eloquent (translate: verbose), enjoy the following quotes and photos.

"To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time." ~Clara Ortega

"I, who have no sisters or brothers, look with some degree of innocent envy on those who may be said to be born to friends." ~James Boswell

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." ~Marc Brown

"Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk." ~Susan Scarf Merrell

"Sibling relationships - and 80 percent of Americans have at least one - outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust." ~Erica E. Goode

"A brother is a friend God gave you;
A friend is a brother your heart chose."
-Proverb

"A sibling may be the keeper of one's identity, the only person with the keys to one's unfettered, more fundamental self." ~Marian Sandmaier

"As I have discovered by examining my past, I started out as a child. Coincidentally, so did my brother. My mother did not put all her eggs in one basket, so to speak: she gave me a younger brother named Russell, who taught me what was meant by 'survival of the fittest.'" ~Bill Cosby

"We know one another's faults, virtues, catastrophes, mortifications, triumphs, rivalries, desires, and how long we can each hang by our hands to a bar. We have been banded together under pack codes and tribal laws." -Rose Macaulay

And just because I'm feeling sentimental, I'll throw in a trip down memory lane for anybody who cares (i.e. my siblings . . . who all have these same pictures on their own hard drives . . . soooooo . . . maybe no one really). :P

 

Santa Baby

Dear Santa Baby,

You had a wonderful year, Santa Baby, full of the usual newborn ups and downs and side-to-sides. But I just gotta tell you, Sir, that you really, REALLY need to lay off the cookies. Your solid, 6-month, 20lb., rolly polly self is breaking your mother's back.

"Who, me?"

"Naaaaaaah. You couldn't be talking about me, dear mother. Just look at this fine form with my chiseled chin and shapely jowls."

"I'm too cute to be too chubby."

Well, Santa Baby, shall we look at the photo evidence?

Did you catch that? No? How about this?

Have I made my case yet, Santa Baby?

I think I have. But then, I think you're right. You are too cute to be considered TOO chubby. So, I'll take the broken back and you keep your rolls. I just have one request: Could you please just take Mommy's fat instead of generating your own? I've got plenty to share.

Oh, and one more thing. Just one teeny, tiny little thing. It's nothing really. Just that . . . well . . . you really need to get over this unprecedented fear of reindeer. It's seriously crimping your style, Santa Baby.