Light Sabers GALORE

Santa brought Luke two more light sabers for Christmas – a purple one and a green one.  Add that to the blue and red one he already had...and we are up to four!

My Dad and his fiancée (yes, you read that right!) gave Josh a pink one (yes, you ALSO read that right!).

So, there are lots of light saber fights going on all around me.

Every time I turn around, a fight is going on.

However, I have come to notice that Josh is never using the pink one that is his.

He is always using one of Luke’s.

Why?

I mean, my Dad and his fiancée spent good money on that awesome Christmas present….like $2 and change!  He should use it.

I bet if he used the pink one, aka the fairy stick, he would not get his leg cut off.

Um, or maybe he still would......

Merry Christmas!

This picture was on our Christmas cards this year.  We look so happy and as if all is okay in the world.

I REALLY wish that I had not deleted all the reject pictures that were taken about 30 minutes before that one was captured.

That was the first time I had ever used the timer on my camera.  I could not even figure out how to make it work.  And I was not about to go and find the manual....that would make too much sense.  Joshua finally figured it out.  Thank you, dear.

Luke wanted to set the timer, so those pictures were real funny.  Josh and I both had our mouths open as we were telling him how to set the timer (Well, really more Josh was telling him.  I was just talking).  And then of course Luke was not doing it right.

Josh wanted to have Hank in the picture but I had explained that I thought that was a terrible idea because how would we ever get the dog to look at the camera.

At one point, Josh randomly picked up the dog right before the picture was snapped.  I looked at him and said, "Well, I bet that one was the perfect picture except for what I am sure is a blurry dog."

I was right.

For a second I thought about cropping the blurry little dog and Josh out of the perfect picture.  But then I thought people would start to wonder if they received a card that said "Love, Amanda and Luke".  That just screams, "Problems at our house!!"  And people would not realize it was just a problem with pictures, not in our actual family.

Anyway, I was finally tired of the entire thing and settled on this picture.  Not the best, but good enough.

Thank you all for reading!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Howl-i-day Treats!

Luke wanted to make Hank a Christmas present and we found this cute little kit at Target.

Last night we decided to go ahead and make them, wrap them up, and put under the tree.

It was my job to keep Hank out of the kitchen so he could not see what Luke was doing.  (Yes, Luke was very serious about this!)

 

I think Luke did a great job and these turned out super cute.

We decided that we might just start making him home made treats all the time!  I found a Martha Stewart dog treat recipe.......who knew!  We will be trying it out soon.

Mystery Gift

The morning that Luke wakes up to find that there are wrapped presents under the tree he stops in his tracks and takes inventory.

He will first make sure that everyone has a gift.  More times than not, someone will not yet have a present under the tree and he lets us know.  I remind him that not all presents are wrapped and not to worry, all will have presents on Christmas.

Then he proceeds to count up gifts.  He will let me me know how many everyone else has and then tells me how many he has under the tree.

This year there was a kink in his way of doing things.  There is a mystery present not labeled under the tree.

And as you can imagine, this present is causing problems.

At first, Luke really wanted that present to be his.  You see, all the other presents are wrapped in coordinating paper and bags, but this one stands out in a class all by itself.

I was not really sure Luke even cared what was in the bag, he just wanted the bag!

Then he started firing out questions left and right.  With each question I responded with an "I don't really know." or "I'm not sure."

A few days later, after looking almost every day under the tree at the presents Luke came up and asked why some presents have a candy cane on them and some do not.  I explained that each child in our family would receive one candy cane.  

When I answered his question, I was answering honestly and did not realize I was causing more problems about the mystery gift.  

Luke returned to the tree and located the presents for all his cousins and noted that each of them had a candy cane.  He then went through his presents and found one of his that had a candy cane.

"Well, I guess that Grinch present is not mine because I already have a candy cane.  So can you pllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaase just tell me who it is for?!?!?!"

It was at that moment I realized he really did not care who it belonged to, he just wanted to know! 

"No, I just can't."

Parents can be so mean sometimes.

I am getting far more enjoyment out of this mystery gift than I imagined. 

I wonder who that package could belong to....

Holiday in the Park

We decided that this year our family fun Christmas outing would be a trip to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags since Luke was tall enough to ride more than just the kiddy rides.

My son is an adrenaline junky.  He loves to yell at the top of his lungs while riding a roller coaster.  And the moment it is over he says, "LET'S RIDE THAT AGAAAAAAIN!!!"  

He was disappointed that he is still not tall enough to ride some rides, but he is waiting for the day he grows one more inch and we return.  He cannot wait to get on that Superman ride and be blasted up a million stories high in the air.  His Mom could probably stand to wait a few more months, or years.

He gets his thrill seeking from the man below in the red shirt.

His Mom rides along as to not be made fun of by her boys.

We really had a fun time together.

And all the fun wiped us out.

Toast, Egg, and Bacon Muffin Things

I saw these a long time ago in a magazine – 90% sure it was Martha Stewart—but I never made them.  Then a week or two ago, I saw them on a blog….can’t remember what blog it was.  (What can I saw, I am forgetful these days).

Last week I finally got around to making them and I made them twice.  I made them different both times, and I think the second way was best.  However, Luke likes eggs scrambled, so I will scramble for him the next time…..which will be sometime this week because we all loved these!

They are so cute, so easy, and so yummy! 

Spray your muffin pan with Baker's Joy.

Then I started out by making a circle with a slice of bread, then cutting the circle in half, putting down one half in each muffin.

Next up slice a piece of bread in half and then cup them around.

They end up looking like little hearts.  Soooo, this could be a cute little breakfast for your sweetie on Valentine's Day (just a thought!)

Cook up some bacon and try not to cook it too much like I did!  Then lay one slice in each muffin.

I personally do not mind the burnt bacon.  

Then sprinkle in a little cheese.  

Crack in your eggs and then salt and pepper.

I cooked these on 375 for about 20 minutes.

They were a hit at our house!

Something’s Missing

After exactly seven years and five weeks of life on Earth Luke finally lost his first tooth!

“YAY!!! I’m NOT the last kid in my class to lose a tooth!!!!”

Needless to say, it was a big deal. 

Luke had been trying to get that tooth out for a while.  My Dad even tried to help one day a few weeks back.

(I promise Luke is not in pain in the picture above.  That face was just in effort to keep his mouth open.  He was willing and ready to let his Grandpa get that tooth out.  But even Grandpa could not get it out that day.)

No, I did not cry when the tooth finally came out, even though I will never see the same smile again -- the one with all those perfect little white teeth. Now I see a perfect smile with a gap in it. Still cute….just in a different way.

I personally never wrote a letter to the tooth fairy, but Luke felt a letter was in order.

I guess he wanted to be sure she knew he had been good. After the Saturday night we had just had, I can understand how he wanted to set the record straight. :-) It’s all good.

At around 2 in the AM I was awoken by a VERRRRY excited Luke who was talking, but in my fog of being woke up I could not really determine what he was saying. I could tell by the money he was shoving in my face that the tooth fairy had come. I think I said something to him. I know I gave him a hug. Then I went back to sleep.

The following morning I asked what the tooth fairy had left and Luke seemed confused that I could not recall the conversation we had about four hours previously. He then explained (apparently for the second time) that he had received a whopping five dollars! 

Exciting stuff!

Nativity

Over the years I have started a small nativity collection.  I have a Willow Tree one that stays up all year round, but the others are put out only at Christmas.

I was not going to buy one this year, but Joshua surprised me and bought this cute little one.

I really like when a nativity is all children.  There is a sweetness about them.

The most charming thing about this one is this little wise man and his card.

 

It reminds me of Luke who loves to write notes and cards.

I just love the angel too with her pigtails and messy socks.

Do not get lost in the hustle and bustle of the worldly view of Christmas.  But be sure you remember what we are truly celebrating.  God's greatest gift of his son.

Our Tree

I started not to post any pictures of us putting up our tree because most of my pictures are horrible!  I do not know what my deal was, but I was off.  But, in the end I decided it did not really care.  The pictures of Josh and Luke are too funny.

In years past Luke has not really cared to be involved in the actual putting up of the tree.  He preferred to show up once the tree was up and put on the decorations.  But, this year, he was ALL about fluffing the branches and putting them on the stand.  He even followed in his Daddy’s footsteps of telling me I was not fluffing properly.

At first he was doing real good with no help from anyone.

But then one near topple into the tree, and Josh was there to keep him grounded.

Luke then asked for a ladder.

He got his Daddy instead.

Nothing is ordinary with these two.

Once the tree was up, it was time for the lights!

I usually help Josh with the lights, but Luke took over this year.  

For a funny story about Christmas lights, read this...things she said

Next up were the ornaments.  

This was the first one up on the tree this year.

How in the world did Luke's hand grow so fast??  

My Mother made Luke that apple.  She made apples for her students every year and she made Luke one for each of the Christmases she was here with him.  We have one and the other is at Daddy's house.

These bubble lights are one of my favorite things on our tree.  Love them!

Excellent picture taken by Joshua!!

And these stars are also a favorite of mine, given to me from one of my Aunts.

Luke has his own tree in his room, so not many homemade things are on this tree.  But this one has managed to stay on the big tree.

And now for one of the worst pictures.......

Oh well!  It is much prettier in person, I promise.  :)

Hope you were good this year........