White Christmas

 Christmas Eve I tracked Santa from Africa all the way to Canada before I fell asleep and still not a stitch of snow... Then, Christmas morning, BAM. Mother Nature pulled out all the stops. The snow is beautiful! And of course Woodland Hills got the best show of all.

We were spoiled rotten with love and gifts and yummy food. It was the perfect day. Then on Christmas night we started to feel a little "off." By December 26th all Christmas magic was gone and the demon-spawn-of-Satan sickness hit our family hard. We were decommissioned All. Weekend. Sniffles and the pukes and coughing and chills and body aches and fevers and every imaginable thing you never want to happen to you did. Ugh.

So that was fun. Thank goodness (read with mild sarcasm) there were 50 bajillion bowl games on. JR wouldn't even let me do any laundry. We just relaxed and didn't do a lick of anything responsible while every football game ever was watched for three full days. Thank goodness (read with absolutely no sarcasm) I got a new iPad for Christmas. I think Husband and I have finally come to the perfect understanding. He can watch all the football he wants and I'll even sit in the same room as long as I can have that iPad.

One of the best things about Christmas this year was all those babes. And matching babes are even better. Documenting all that cuteness was an all together different story...

Poor Ashlyn was so confused. She kept trying to build a nest.

Hey Porter, it's okay. Don't cry.

I can't. I mean...

Notice that Michael's socks came off and filled out the bottom of his pants. We got a kick out of that. His legs are a good four inches shorter than they look in this picture.

Michaelisms

Michael has found his toes, his voice and some limited mobility. Babies sucking on baby toes is probably one of my favorite things ever. It's adorable. Michael, not one to take toe-sucking lightly, usually sucks on both feet at the same time. JR has voiced some longing for even an ounce of that kind of flexibility. It's astounding. I mean...

Michael "talking" is something that makes me laugh every single time. There are some situations, like Sunday School or the High School Symphony concert we went to for one of my YW, that create talking-induced anxiety more than actual laughter. But there are still mama giggles, even if somewhat suppressed. He's been known to instigate raised voices just to carry on a conversation over his self talks. But my goodness, I wouldn't trade those sweet baby sounds for anything. I wonder what he's talking about?

Michael Blake is pretty skinny. We're trying to beef him up. I don't really know how one "beefs up" a baby. In the meantime his little chicken legs are pretty fantastic. 

Here are a few more of our favorite munchkin for your viewing pleasure...

Operation Beefing

Wiggled right out of his pants!

Being a mom rocks. This skinny little bundle of drool is so sweet and calm. He loves to play, he loves it when we sing and he really loves his bed. (Like the other night he had a minor meltdown. We rocked, we walked, we hugged, we fed, we tried everything! Put him in his bead, immediate calm. Okay, fine. I get it.) I love to kiss his perfect baby cheeks. Please, just let him be little fo'eva!

2014, Get Outta Here

This year has kicked my butt. Kicked it straight to the curb. The past 351 days have shattered any limits I thought I had. Typically this is where I start talking about how all the stretching has helped me grow and I'm a better person for all the experiences of 2014. For me? Nope. I just feel tested. And I think mostly I feel cracked and ready to crumble.

Michael has been playing with a children's nativity set that my parents sent us for Christmas this year. As I watch those tiny hands explore history from 2000 years ago, it suddenly jolts everything into perspective. I love the Christmas season. A celebration of a king who came as a baby in a manger. A Lord who came here for me. Who came to make everything right. Who, in spite of every earthly experience that was meant to make Him crack and crumble, was able to rise above so that He could fill my cracks and hold me when I feel like crumbling to pieces.

He makes all the difference. Merry Christmas!

We Had Turkey

I suppose a recap of Thanksgiving is long overdue. This about sums it up:

We had the most delicious turkey(s) of all time, ever, and had so much fun just being together with each other and all sorts of family.

JR had researched deep fried turkey for weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical because, fried food is not Thanksgiving, and monumental explosions tend to create homeless families around the holidays. I wasn't looking forward to adding our home sweet home to that list. However, JR took his responsibility very seriously.

All the research paid off, because pow! Aah-MAZ-ing turkey. Like, our foul kicked every other bird in the face, turkey. We ended up roasting a turkey, deep frying a turkey and freezing a turkey. Excessive bird purchase, maybe. We originally bought a bird for a Mexican family at work who has never had turkey for Thanksgiving. In the end they were like, "No thank you. We're celebrating with tamales." Um, that's not Thanksgiving, but yes. Good idea.

Thanksgiving day and very late night was also all about the second annual Black Friday extravaganza. Jeff and JR had been strategizing those few precious hours for months. Literally. There were maps. There were lists. There were energy drinks. JR was actually a bit disappointed once all was said and done. Said they were too prepared. They finished in just a few hours and started going back to stores two and three times. I guess there's less of an intimidation factor when you're over 6 feet tall and outweigh all the competition. They had to get their adrenaline rush completely from lack of sleep...?

Overall, it was the perfect weekend. Lots of yummy food, good company and so much to be grateful for. Also, I am triple glad we still have a house for Christmas.