I've been tagged

Ok Michelle, I am finally getting around to when you tagged me.

Answer the following 5 questions, and then tag 5 people.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago I was a newlywed, getting ready for finals in my last semester of classwork.

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list?
Today?
1. Shower. No, seriously.
2. Hit Target.
3. Clean my bathroom.
4. Finish vacuuming downstairs.
5. Get Tyler's haircut.

3. What are snacks you enjoy?
What snacks do I not enjoy. Right now I am especially into Peppermint Bark. Yummy!

4. What are the places you have lived?
I have lived in various cities in the following states: Utah, Texas, Arkansas

5. What are 5 things you would do if you became a billionaire?
1. Build my dream home (It's already a vision in my head)
2. Pay off mortgages of family
3. Save
4. Make sure the kids have schooling money and money for a down payment on a house
5. Go on a big shopping spree for me and my house with no guilt.

I hate choosing people to tag, so anyone can play along that wants to.

Christmas Traditions 2

We have started another one of our Christmas traditions--the Christmas books.

This started in 1994 when my mom gave each of the kids a Christmas book on Christmas Eve. I got The Littlest Angel. Every year since then, she has given each kid/family a new book. The year you get married you get The Gift of the Magi. Once children are in the mix, many of the books are geared to them. Last year, we finally got How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I had to tell her we didn't have it, because she thought everyone had received that one.

For the second year in a row now, I wrap all the books from my mom at the beginning of the month. I add in a few more that we have collected along the way to get to 24. Then I number the packages, line them up under the "small" tree (we have 2), and we read a Christmas book each night before bed.

I love it. Not only is it fun to have presents under the tree, but it is a fun way to countdown to Christmas.

mom and dad

This special post brought to you by Tyler.


mom and dad you are funny. I like you. I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH! I like the way you take care of the babies and me! I like when you play games with me. You are very kind to me and Brady and Carter. I want to hug you and kiss you.

Love,
Tyler

Twin Update

Carter (left) and Brady
sporting their Christmas outfits

It's been awhile since I did an update on the boys. We sailed right on past their 5 month mark, and now we are half way to 6 months. I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone. We also found out right before Thanksgiving that we are on the docket. We, actually the agency in our behalf, will appear before a judge on December 21 where our adoption will be final. We have been waiting for this day for a long time.

Carter is still the more laid back baby. He seems to be about 2-3 weeks behind Brady in hitting milestones. Lately, he has turned into the most smiley baby. For awhile now, both babies have loved sucking on their hands; just this week Carter has totally found his thumb. We will see if we have a thumb-sucker. He also has pretty good control of his head, he shuffles and scoots all around his crib, and he is in the first stages of learning to roll. He sleeps so well--up to 12 hours at night! Naps are still not as regular as I'd like them to be, but they are getting better.

Brady is still feisty. He still wants to be held a lot of the time. He "talks" to us by making this noise like a growl at the back of his throat. He can roll from his back to his stomach, almost. He gets stuck on his shoulder still, but it's only going to be a few more days before he can. He also eats. We tried to up his volume, but it led to more spit up. Our pediatrician recommended waiting on solids until 6 months, but I think Brady is ready. It's odd. They can go up to 12 hours overnight, but heaven forbid I make Brady wait more than 3 hours between feedings during the day.

All in all, they are doing great. We love them; we love watching them grow and develop; we love that they are part of our family.

Let it Snow!

To many people, there is nothing exciting about snow. However, when you live in Houston, and experience record breaking snow, it is a big deal.

What records were broken you ask?

It was the earliest snowfall ever recorded. And the first time ever Houston has experienced measurable snow for two years in a row. (Remember last year?) In fact, since 1895, it has only snowed in Houston 33 times, so snow is a big deal.

I got a call from Tyler's school yesterday, and they were letting the kids out early. So of course, he just came home and played in the snow.

Just home from school, when it was
still just a snowy rain, or would
that be rainy snow?


Back out for the second time,
after some snow had accumulated.

Ah, what better way to get into the Christmas spirit. But don't you worry; we're supposed to get back up to 70 by Tuesday.

Christmas Traditions 1

It's been a busy week at our house as we moved from one holiday to the next. Our Thanksgiving was nice, minus the 8 hours Tyler spent in the bathroom Friday morning (not sure where it came from; just glad it didn't last or spread). We spent our weekend eating, playing, and shopping. I am so thankful that I married into such a wonderful family.

December has come quickly, and I am so happy. I love December. I love Christmas. I love tradition. I thought it might be fun to share with you some of our Christmas traditions.

So I present, Christmas Tradition 1: Pajamas


Like many other families, we always get new Christmas pajamas. From the time I was about 6 we opened up a present on Christmas Eve, found pajamas, and had something cute to wear for pictures the next morning. We have always done it this way with Tyler, but this year we tweaked the tradition just a little.

Last Monday for Family Home Evening, we started our Christmas season. We talked about keeping our focus on Jesus. We decorated the tree. And we let the boys open their pj's. We didn't plan on doing it early, but when we found the so cute baby sleepers, I really wanted the twins to be able to wear them all month.

It was a great way to start the month. I don't know if we will open pajamas on Christmas Eve or at the beginning of the month next year, but we will definitely get pj's. After all, it is a tradition.

Dad with Brady (who looks so startled)


Mom and Carter


My boys!


Tyler and Brady



(notice how smiley Carter is lately? I love it!)


Scooby-Doo is big at our house right now.
I personally think Tyler is getting old for these
types of jammies, but he sure doesn't.


I could NOT resist the reindeer bums.
I LOVE them!

It must be Thanksgiving

I really do love this time of year. I love taking the time to count my blessings (which I know I should do better at all year). I love spending time with our families. I love tradition. Not to mention our beautiful weather here.

All month long, we have been preparing for the big day this week. Here is our photographic proof.

First, we had Tyler's Thanksgiving feast at school.

What a fun day to go see him in class as they did their program. It was even fun to eat with him in the cafeteria. I love seeing him in his element.


Also, this year we made Thanks and Giving trees.



I got this idea off a blog at the first of the month. Tyler helped me trace some tree shapes onto the posterboard. Then I cut out lots of leaves with my Cricut. Finally, every night (well almost every night) we write down something we are thankful for, and something we did for someone else that day. You can see that next year we are going to put a little more emphasis on the giving part. When we missed a day, it was easy to think of something else to be thankful for, but harder to go back and remember our good deeds. Some of my favorite things that Tyler added to our thanks tree: TV and spongebob. Yeah, having twins sometimes means Tyler watches a little bit of television.

Happy Thanksgiving!