December Daily: 4-6

December 4

Luke had his Christmas program at school tonight.  Several children had lines to say including Luke.  He did a great job with his--"The wisemen, after hearing the king, went on their way to find the child." The program consisted of the story of the birth of Jesus with carols in between the story telling.  The program didn't last very long, maybe 20 minutes but it was just perfect.  When I went to get Luke he told me that he had been nervous about saying his line but that he thought he had been one of the best at saying his line (sweet boy, I think he was proud of himself and so was I).  Grandma and Grandpa H along with Troy, Hannah and I enjoyed the show very much.

December 5

The first year ever that Troy has put up Christmas lights.  He finished the job this afternoon just in time for our yearly neighborhood horse-drawn carriage ride to see lights on our street.  Hopefully you can tell that the lights are supposed to be snow.  Troy was really excited to get it done and he wants to add more lights next year.

December 6

Troy took Luke to the free OCA snowtubing event at bricktown ballpark.  We went last year and Luke was super excited to go again this year plus he got to see several of his classmates.  Apparently, they did the short slide once and then went down the big slide at least 6 times because it was so much more fun.  LJ was beyond exhausted when they got home.

December Daily: 1-3 (plus a few extras)

I'm a little late at getting this started but better late than never.  I've attempted to participate in December Daily for the past couple of years and will make another attempt this year.  It's hard to believe that it is already December 7th!  The month is flying by and I know it will continue to do so.

November 29

Saturday after Hannah's nap we went to pick out our Christmas tree.  The weather was beautiful--sunny and 70 degrees (although a bit windy).  As predicted, we walked around the farm for a bit pretending we might cut down our own tree but then in the end we picked out a pre-cut tree.  I have to say that I love, love, love those red cowboy boots Hannah is sportin'.  She loves to wear them and gets several comments when she does.

November 30

Doby appeared a day early according to Luke.  I guessed it was because December 1 was a Monday and a school day and getting all that to work out well may have been tough.  He brought us quite the surprise.  Santa must have known that Troy and I had been discussing a new tradition for us because Doby delivered 3 "Christmas" Lego sets with directions stating that they can only be put together when all 4 of us can work on them.  Of course, we all promptly sat down after breakfast and worked together for an hour (didn't finish though).  

December 1

After dinner, we put on my favorite Christmas CD by Harry Connick, Jr.  and starting hanging up the ornaments.  I had put the lights on the day before.  This was Hannah's first year to help in the decorating.  She really had fun!  In the pic of both of us above we are hanging her princess ornament from last year--she kept saying how much she loved it!  And I have to say that the annual Luke on Dad's shoulders on a step ladder thing still totally freaks me out and makes me a nervous wreck but the angel always gets in position without a problem.

December 2

Tuesdays are normally school days for Hannah but she was really suffering from a nasty cold and didn't have too much energy so I kept her home.  We made a quick run to Hobby Lobby to get her a tree for her room and some ornaments to put on it.  She was rather worn out when we got home so I did most of the decorating before lunch and nap time but she did put a few of the ornaments on.

December 3

Luke and I put his tree up after he got home from school.  He was excited to have a few new ones to add this year along with a red star I bought him the day before.  He made sure that each branch had an ornament on it so they were nice and spread out.

Grateful

I just read a great post by Ali Edwards.  It really hit me.  Life can often be hard and messy.  We've been experiencing that around here a bit lately (who isn't).  BUT even in all that, there can and should be gratitude.  It compelled me to document my gratitude in the middle of our mess.

*Troy has been rather stressed at work lately.  Sometimes that stress comes home.  BUT we are grateful that he has a job that for the most part he truly enjoys and that fully supports our family.

*Hannah hasn't been herself for about a month.  She's had a cold and been whiny and cranky.  I took her to the doctor this morning which is the second time in a week.  BUT we are grateful that we have health insurance and a doctor I have complete confidence in.  AND we are grateful there are still moments in the day we can see our sweet little Hannah Bean shining through.

*Luke's schedule is going to be interrupted this week.  He is participating in a traveling children's theater at school and I have a feeling there may be some tiredness and crankiness because of the rehearsal schedule.  BUT I am grateful he gets to enjoy a new experience and also grateful that he wanted to try something new.  (There will be another post about the play--hopefully next week.)

*I have been struggling with being a stay at home mom and how different parts of society view that either positively or negatively.  BUT I am eternally grateful that I get to spend so much time with my children and be there for them as a stay at home mom.

*The house hasn't been staying as clean as I would like it to lately because my back just won't allow me to do some of things I used to do.  BUT I am grateful that I can play with Luke and Hannah and that my pain is only occasional at this point.  

*This huge burst of cold weather really sucks.  BUT we are grateful for a warm home and new heavy winter coats.

*It is hard to deal with the kids fighting over toys and sometimes just being together for too long.  BUT I am very grateful they each have a sibling and will come to know that special bond only siblings can share.

There are SO many things to be grateful for in our lives (my list is rather short).  And whether life is full of mess or going along rather smoothly it's always good to recognize and acknowledge our gratitude.

Final Thoughts...

There are always a few things I like to add at the end of WITL--those that just don't fit in my daily posts, overall observations, and just some random thoughts on the project.  In no particular order…

* This year's WITL project was by far the hardest for me to keep up with.  I've tried to come up with a reason for that and I haven't found one.

* I have thought several times about doing this project more than once a year.  Maybe bi-annually with one time during the school year and once during the summer.

* Not once did I get a post done on the actual day it belonged to.  I know I've done that in the past.

* Computer and internet problems this week made this much harder and more frustrating than it needed to be.

* As a result of the two above statements I wasn't able to post my link on Ali's website early in the day and in turn didn't get as many visitors to read my posts.  This really bums me out because that's one of my favorite parts of this project--connecting with people from all over the world.

* I didn't document in my blog things that I overheard.  I did write down said things on my daily sheets.

* I wanted to incorporate videos for each day but with the computer problems I decided not to stress about adding that in.  I do want to remember that idea though.

* I'm glad that I'm totally done and not making a tangible album--I don't think it would ever be done.

* Ali stressed two points throughout the week (more really but two I really picked up on).

     * The words that go with a picture are important.  They help tell the story and make the picture more meaningful.

     * It's about remembering and documenting this time in your life and what that means.  Years from now any details will be interesting not just the big stories/events.

Good-bye 2014 WITL!  I know I'll look back on you fondly.

WITL--Sunday

The last day of this project.  I have to say as I seem to every year, I'm glad it's over but I'm also super glad that I did the project.

Because of the time change we were all up early.  We're not sure how early LJ was up.  Troy got up around 7 and he got H up about 7:45 and I got up about 8:15.  We all ate breakfast together and then Grammy and PawPaw got ready to head home.  The kids requested Curious George BooFest yet again; Troy did some work in the office and I started on Saturday's blog.  Troy took a short nap followed by a shower while the kids played upstairs and I continued to try to get the blog done.  The kids had a picnic lunch and the LJ got ready for his soccer game.  Troy took Luke to his game and I put Hannah down for her nap and ate some lunch myself.  I watched "Survivor" while I ate and also started work on LJ's turkey project.  When it was over I took a shower and as I started sorting laundry the guys got back from the game (they lost).  Troy left for work (he was quite stressed about his well getting drilled) and after getting the laundry going, LJ and I worked on his turkey.  As we finished up the turkey, HB started to wake up.  I changed the laundry and then got H up and we all went outside to ride bikes.  After about 1/2 hour of bikes we moved to the backyard and then Grandma and Grandpa H came over.  We headed inside to figure out what to get for dinner and the kids had fun building towers.  I went to get dinner solo (a nice break) and then we ate at home.  The kids picked up the family room and then Grandma and Grandpa went home and I put the kids to bed.  Troy got back home about 15 minutes after I had come down from getting the kids to bed during which I had changed the laundry and done the dishes.  He ate dinner and I finally finished my blog.  Then he watched some football and ironed while I messed around on Pinterest.  Because of the time change I was pretty tired so at 9:15 I changed the laundry one last time and fixed LJ's lunch before heading to bed.  We read in bed for a while before turning out the lights.

Observations/Gratitude:

*H seems to feel better although she's still congested.

*LJ needed some alone time today.

*The time change was hard--especially for the kids.

*I love lazy Sundays at home.

*Today is the last day of this project.

Favorite Moment:

Riding bikes with the kids

Pics Taken: 106

Sleeping

Slurping

Recording

Good-bying

Loving

Leaving

Working

Playing

Snoring

Eating

Watching

Helping

Building

Napping

Posing

Cleaning

Sorting

Creating

Enjoying

Finishing

Waking

Riding

Documenting

Welcoming

Changing

Chasing

Flying

Swinging

Goofing

Talking

Watching

Paying

Brushing

Reading

Washing

Kissing