Elf on the Shelf

Yes, we are one of those families.  So, if you just can't take the cuteness of Elf of the Shelf, you might want to turn back while you can!  

My kids received "Elfie" from a dear friend of mine several years ago.  The kids have enjoyed searching for Elfie each morning and finding out what he has been up to overnight.  

Here are some of the shenanigans (I love that word!) that I captured last year.

Elfie must have been feeling under the weather!  He made a real mess!

Is that Elfie of Taylor Swift?

How sweet of Elfie to make a sweet for my sweets!! 

Elfie has been contained, soldiers!

Elfie got his yellow belt, just like Alex did!

I was in charge of making costumes for a school
program, Elfie must have thought he
needed one to!

Elfie left the kids "magic oats" and instructions
how to plant them.

The next night, they grew into candy canes!

Looks like everyone enjoys a slinky!

Someone stole the Liv Dolls scooter!

Hey Elfie, this ain't the tropics!  You can't set up a hammock just anywhere!

Someone got into the crafts and made a self portrait!

The kids like to never found him hiding amongst the balls!

Giddy up Rudoloph!

The kids got these foam friends that get bigger in the
water and Elfie wanted to join in!

The whole group!

Elfie got in on the Minecraft fun!

There is no telling where Elfie shows up!  If you have little ones, I highly suggest getting an Elf on the Shelf.  They really do enjoy him and look forward to locating him each morning.

Meet Rufus!

As some of you already know, my oldest son Ethan was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the young age of 2.  His "anniversary" is coming up in a few weeks. It is a day that we actually celebrate, because it's the day we got our sweet boy back.  He was days away from having a different story than what he has today! So thankful that we picked up on the fact that he wasn't himself.  I'll post more about that dreadful day later this month.  His decade anniversary is this year...WOW!!

Rufus the Diabetes Bear

Ethan was given many gifts from his hospital stay.  But there is one that he has loved since he was diagnosed.  Say hello to Rufus the Diabetes Bear!  All newly diagnosed T1D kids at Brenner's are given this bear.  It has patches on the areas that can/will be used to test their blood sugar levels & insulin injection sites.  He even came with a medical alert bracelet on his right wrist.  When Ethan first got Rufus, he was the fluffiest, softest bear.  As you can see, he has been well loved on!  Rufus is a constant companion.  He has been on vacations, multiple summer camps and sleepovers.  Ethan does not like leaving Rufus at home.  I would have never thought that a stuffed bear would be so meaningful to Ethan.  This past year, Ethan was able to attend several summer camps and guess who tagged along?  That's right, Rufus!  You would think that a 12 year old boy would be too embarrassed to take a stuffed animal along with him, but that is typical Ethan.  He is not concerned with what others think of him!!  I love that about him.

So, thank you Rufus for giving comfort to Ethan the last 10 years!  I often tell him that Rufus will be going off to college with him one day and he always responds with "Oh yeah!"!!

11 Times 2 does NOT equal 22!!

This is a little late (I know, shocked face!!) but I wanted to share with you one of my favorite sets of twins.  

**Family history time**

My Mom is a twin and my Maternal Grandmother was a twin.  When my boys were born, my Uncle John called me from Pennsylvania to congratulate me.  He informed me that my boys were the 9th set of twins in the family and that there were also 3 sets of triplets that they were aware of!  Thank you Lord for not giving me twins.  I'm pretty sure my belly would have exploded!!

So, these 2 handsome fellas turn 11 years old on me!  When I was a kid, my Mom would often tell me "Time sure flies" and I would look at her and just think that she had lost her mind.  Well, I know exactly what she was talking about!  How in the world are my 2 babies turning 11?  This is their last year in elementary school, they have developed into 2 fine young men and I couldn't be more proud to say they are mine.  

Here they are in the school drop off line..can't you just tell that Alex was SUPER excited about having his picture made?

I usually make them cupcakes of their choice for their school parties.  This year, they both requested a cookie cake.  Alex wanted a pumpkin shaped cookie and Aaron requested a baseball!  So, I delivered!  They enjoyed sharing with their classmates.  Since they are in different classes, I had to make enough to feed almost 60 kids...we cut it close.  But, I may have been giving big pieces to their really good friends!!  :)

Instead of eating lunch with them at school, I decided to take them out of school after their party and go wherever they wanted to eat.  (Emma and Ethan raced against each other for Cross Country, so I took the day off work!)  They decided on Mi Pueblo for lunch...I was thrilled because I knew the employees would sing to them..hehe!

Aaron's expression (orange shirt) in the video just sums him up!  Alex doesn't embarrass easy and Aaron can turn red in a second.

We opened presents at Grandma's house so she didn't have to get out.  Always happy with Twizzlers!

Aaron loves baseball cards.  So, I think he was pretty excited about receiving 1,000 for his birthday.  Sorry for the blurry pictures.

I sure love my boys!  I know you both were an unexpected gift, but I just couldn't imagine my life without you both in it!  I thank God for placing you both in my world!

And the customary hold your fingers up for your age shot!  Hard to think those 2 young men are actually twins, right?

This is something I have seen on other blogs and think its such a cute idea and would like to start.

11 things I love about you Alex:

1. Your incredible sense of humor
2. You are not afraid to speak to strangers and ask questions for yourself
3. The fact that you have worked really hard the last 2 years and became a black belt in tae kwon do!
4. You will still hold my hand in public
5. You can still crawl up in my lap and not squish me!
6. You are very complimentary
7. You tell me that you love me over and over during the day
8. You are so strong!  You have dealt with extreme eczema your whole life and often have open wounds, but you don't complain about it!
9. I love your silliness!  You are our little Jim Carey.
10. I love how close you are to Grandma!  I hope you realize how much you brighten her day!
11. You are concerned for the well being of those less fortunate!!

11 things I love about your Aaron:

1. You are not one to jump into anything.  You are cautious about everything you do.
2. You are my little protector.  Always look out for me and making sure I'm ok!
3. Your incredible laugh!  The one that when I hear it, I better come see what is going on!
4. Your love to all animals.  You have always been drawn to critters
5. The fact that you are left handed like your Daddy!
6. I love that you are concerned for others less fortunate!  
7. Your knowledge of baseball and football
8. The fact that I hear "Aaron is such a good kid" from all his teachers and other parents.
9. You are an amazing baseball player!  You could put yourself through college it you keep it up.
10. If I ask you to do something, you always do it!  I can always count on you to follow through and take direction from me.
11. I love that you are always singing!  Even has a toddler, you loved music and would dance and sing.  

I love you boys so much!  Always keep your heads held high, be leaders and not followers, set good examples for others and keep God in your lives and ya'll will be fine!!

My Cup Runneth Over

I can remember hearing my sweet Grandma say "My Cup Runneth Over" quite often.  As a kid, I didn't understand those words.  But, as an adult, I completely understand her sentiment.  I look at my children, listen to their laughter, feel their arms around my waist as they give me tight hugs, the squeezes of their hands when we say our blessing or nightly prayers and the silly duck face lips they give me when they give sugar.  I know exactly what Grandma meant. Because, my cup does run over with love!

I have so much in my life to be thankful for!  

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  And, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a little Adam Sandler - Thanksgiving Song!

My 60 lb Ninja!!

**Alert!  Alert!**  Bragging session will start in....
3,
2,
1!

My son is now a First Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do!!!!

Let me first start out in saying that Alex is the older twin (1 VERY important minute if you ask him!).  But, he has always been the smaller twin.  He was diagnosed with severe Eczema at birth and has been on steroids cream over time his entire life.  This has slowed his growth down considerably. His pediatrician assures us that he will catch up with his twin, we are hopeful!

The baseball player and the mummy are twins, big difference in size huh?

As you can see, he is very small.  He doesn't get picked on about his size, but I know it bothers him. Not as much lately, but he used to ask often when he would grow.  His self esteem wasn't great, he wasn't an organized sports kid...in fact, I have pictures of him hanging on the goal during a soccer game, that was the highlights of his soccer career!  So, he started watching a karate show on Disney and quickly picked up some of their kicks and chopping moves.  I contacted our local Tae Kwon Do center and they were offering 30 days free.  I talked with him about it and he was over the moon thinking about it.  

He was a little excited about his uniform and his belt

And here we are, 2 1/2 years later with him earning his black belt!!!  I just couldn't be more proud of his accomplishment!

The change in him has amazed me!  His confidence soars as high as some of his kicks!  He has tried out and made the demo team twice. This group travels to local venues and preforms for large groups. He does this with no hesitation!

I hope he continues with his training and achieves many more levels of black belt.  I'll leave with more pictures from his graduation.

Alex, I love you and hope that you know just how proud I am of you!  Keep up the good work and continuing being an example to others!

God's Eye

Often times, the world around me is moving so fast.  Having 4 kids keeps me very busy and I'm constantly running to school events, working on school projects, endless sports practices and games, homework, housework and all while having a full time job.  I forget to just look around me and see God's attention to detail in all things.  Sometimes it hits me that God has created such amazing things around me and I'm too busy to notice or be thankful for them.  I was going through my pictures on my cellphone and I have "noticed" his attention to details over time and wanted to share some of those things.

The sweet hands as well as the millions of shells we saw at Edisto Beach this summer, simply amazing!

While out fishing one evening, this sunset over the water was breathtaking.  

Not a big fan of spiders, but this one caught my eye one afternoon in my Mom's yard after a short rain shower.

This was stuck to my car window and look at all the veins and ridges, again His attention to detail in the small things

 Beautiful orchid that sits in our office.

This resting butterfly (or is it a moth)...I couldn't pass up a picture of it. Again, the details were all planned out by Him!

Amazing sunset while going into a school event last night.  This is the picture that made me realize I hadn't been thankful for all the beauty around me!

I couldn't believe I was able to catch the lightning bolt!  I was pretty proud of myself...I only took about 100 pictures to get this one, but well worth it! LOOK AT THAT!!!

And, God's promise to us!  
12. And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature with you, for everlasting generations: 13. I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth . . . and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. (Genesis 9:12, 15, HBFV)

I need to always remember to look around me and see the beauty in all things!!

Until we meet again...

Go Deacs!

I was lucky enough to win tickets to the Wake Forest University football game against Louisville. We had been given tickets to an earlier season game and surprisingly, the kids enjoyed it. I was worried that Emma wouldn't have fun, but she wants to go to college at WFU and that made it more exciting for her. The boys haven't watched too much football and were unsure of the rules of the game. So, it was funny to see them watch their Daddy's reaction to calls and just followed his lead! After that first game, they have been hooked. Even so far as watching football EVERY Sunday on TV...lucky us! 

Anyway, back to my original story (I'm easily distracted!!)... I entered a contest with the local newspaper and was chosen to be the fan of the game. I had a chance to win some hard cold cash with the opening drive of the 3rd quarter...I had to Google what that meant!! If the Deacs scored a touchdown, I could win $500; if they scored a field goal, I could win $250; and if they did neither, I would win $100. So, we were pretty excited to have won at least $100! That would surely help buy a Christmas present. We surprised the kids the day of the game. I knew I would have to go out onto the field for the check presentation. After breaking the news to the kids, I asked who wanted to go with me. Aaron decided he would really like to go. Alex said he would, but would let Aaron go since he was enjoying football. The closer we got to our seats and Aaron realized what he would have to do, he quickly backed out. NO ONE wanted to go with me!!! And, I'm sure a big chicken, I didn't want to go by myself!! Ethan finally said if no one else would go, he would go with me...Thank you Lord!! We didn't have to go down to the field until the end of the 3rd quarter, so we did get to enjoy quite a bit of the game.

I loved seeing all the WFU praying in the end zone before the game began!  

Ethan and I made our way down to the field...we wouldn't be "us" if we didn't take all the necessary selfies and us posing by the field.

When did my little boy get this big??

Wake Forest wasn't able to score a touchdown or a field goal, so we won $100!!

We had a great time and I am so thankful for winning the tickets and the money.  The kids were VERY upset that we didn't get to keep the big check...HA!

I think these smiles say just how much fun we had that evening!