A Visit With Santa Claus

We took the kids to see Santa this past weekend at "Holly Hall" (also known as Town Hall the rest of the year). To give you an idea of how seriously Carter is taking Christmas this year, we walked in and there was a nice lady offering cookies to the kids. She asked Carter to take a cookie and his response was, "No thanks, I need to talk to Santa.". I love it....a man on a mission not even tempted with cookies. He went first, asking Santa to bring him a dragon and boots.

Then, it was Leah's turn. She must have noticed Carter being given a candy cane after he was done. When Santa asked her to come up and see him, she walked quickly, snatched the candy cane and turned around and walked off. I think she was a little scared. We talked her into sitting with him. She told him she wanted a princess, a pink one.

We had the kids shop at Santa's store, where all gifts are under 7 dollars. They bought eachother a little gift and then we enjoyed some cookies and hot cocoa.
Elliot was pretty into it too!



We then crossed the street to mail the letters written to Santa. He leaves a special North Pole mailbox in the park.


Oh, Leah, you can't reach??? Let me help you with that. Santa's watching right? This counts for being nice to my sister!!!We can't wait till Christmas morning. The anticipation as a parent is almost as good as being 4 again. Seeing their faces and watching their reaction will be wonderful!

Elliot's 1st Haircut

Welcome to Jen's Barbershop. Sadly, Jeremy and I decided to cut Elliot's hair, just the sides. He has some sweet curls, but they were getting too long around the ears.

Here's the before...looks like Daddy could use a shave too (the face, that is)

Here's the after

And here's Elliot after his bath. Looks like Daddy even cleaned up a bit.While we're at it, let's give Leah a trim too!

As you can tell, she was not thrilled and it took some bribery to get her to sit still.

Noone even tipped me afterwards! Oh well.. Don't worry Mom, I saved some of the curly locks for his baby book.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Thanksgiving was a two day event this year. We really enjoyed it because we got to spend an entire quality fun-filled day with each family, rather than run around like crazy. Thursday, we spent the day with the Williams side. My brother's family was up from SC which meant 14 grandkids running around my parent's house. The kids spent a lot of time outside sledding.

Here's Tom hanging out with Carter. He has a dinosaur stamp on his forehead.

During the week of Thanksgiving, my parents came over with David and Matt one night. Here's Grandpa with the kids. Leah's in her underwear...all part of potty training!
Here's Kel with Jacob. The twins are getting so big!!Tommy with Elliot. He's really good with the kids and they adore him.
Leah, getting swung around on the sled
The adults even got in on the sledding. Here's David.

Uncle Matt with Leah
Carter and Julia
The next day was Thanksgiving with the Kler family! More fun in the snow. Here are Oliver and Elliot with Pop-pop, watching the big kids sled outside.

Jeremy and Steve went in the hot-tub with Jeremy's parents. For a thrill, they decided to climb the snowman in their bathing suits.
And go sledding......before jumping back in the hot-tub
So, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We have so much to be thankful for, our family, our friends and our health just to name three.

Elliot Turns 5 Months

I wanted to show a few closeup shots, showing Elliot's hair. To my mothers' dismay, we've decided to give him a haircut. The curls are adorable, but just getting too long.

Elliot is now eating cereal and starting on different baby foods. Time flies! So far, his favorites are carrots and sweet potatoes. He loves the exersaucer!

Frosty

We got hit with tons of snow last week and Jeremy and the kids built a gigantic snowman one night after work. They had to use a board to roll the top two sections into position. Carter's shown here, smaller than the bottom section.

Browns Game

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, Jeremy and I tailgated before the Browns game. We had a really great time, even though it meant getting up at 4:30 in the morning in order to get downtown and get started. My brothers' friends are serious fans and maximize every minute of tailgating. Mike's buddy Chad has a trailer with a bathroom, meaning we don't have to use the portapotties !! Some family and many of Mike's friends were there. We had a few fires lit, which made the 10 degree weather bearable. The title of this post is a bit misleading because we didn't actually go to the game like most of the people we were with. Jeremy got lost in the stadium last year and I said "never again!". A few too many beers during tailgating.

Mikey, my oldest nephew with Kel and David

Matt, Jeremy and Kel

Mike, David, Matt, Tommy, Mike, Me, Jer, Kel and Joe

My brothers and I

Check out that spiral

Jeremy and Tommy

Jeremy messing with Kel. He kept throwing snowballs over the trailer.

Mike with his friends and Tommy

Leah's Nest

Leah cracks us up!!!! Last night, Jer and I were watching tv ("Monk", if you're curious), when around 9:30 we heard this thud, thud, thud down the stairs. Next thing we know, Leah comes trotting down the hall pushing her baby stroller. She does this lately....plays in her room after we put her to bed and then comes down stairs smiling wanting to hang out. So, we put her back to bed. She insisted on keeping her stroller in the bedroom with her. Jer and I went to bed maybe a half an hour later and checked on the kids before hand. This is what we found....

She had packed all her stuffed animals in around herself. Then, somehow managed to get the stroller up on her back before falling asleep.

An Inspirational Message

In light of the recent gush of media over a government that controls our lives and our futures, I thought this message was rather inspirational. I heard it on the Dave Ramsey show. I fear the governments' commitment to reward failure, something our nation was not built upon. My hope for my children is that they'll grow up with the same opportunities and freedoms that Jeremy and I have had. I dream that they will be ambitious leaders that work hard with integrity and share their gifts with others by their own choosing. Through their failures, I want them to get up and try again if it means changing, not look to the government as a source of security and wealth. And I of course pray that God blesses and protects us. We need to keep Him in mind in all we do.

The American Creed (written in the early 1900's)

Be accountable. Don't have an ordinary life. Hear An American Creed.

Dave reads an awesome writing about being accountable and doing the best you can, and rising up to the challenges of life. It's called An American Creed by Dean Alfange.

I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon-if I can. I seek opportunity not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, "This I have done."

Halloween

Carter was a dinosaur and Leah was a fairy princess this year for Halloween. We carved pumpkins with the kids, although they really just watched. The inside was too "yucky" and they couldn't use the knives to carve. So, they told us what they wanted the pumpkins to look like and Jeremy and I carved away. Carter wanted a truck pumpkin, but settled for a simple face (I'm limited on my art/carving skills!).

Steve is really into Halloween and had all the supplies to make some pretty fancy pumpkins. His turned out really cool - wish I had a picture!




Here they are at the end of the night, overdosed on chocolate! Even by the end, we never quite got the pattern down. Knock on the door, say trick or treat when they answer, then ONE piece of candy, thank you very much and off you go. Instead, they would knock and just stare at the person waiting to see what the treat was. No "trick or treat", No "thank you" (until prompted by Jer or I). Just stare in amazement that someone would just hand out candy. Hopefully, by next year we'll get the routine down!!!