Why Not?!

Why not ride your snowmobile around your house??  That is surrounded by neighbors.

Last weekend Cameron was getting over a stomach bug so we could not enjoy the long awaited snow. We had the snowmobile here while Torrey was working on it so of course it made sense to try it out to see how it ran on Friday night!  

He only made it a few times around the house before he needed his face mask.  It was SO cold!

Seriously there are moments I wonder what are neighbors are thinking.  At least it's not loud and he stayed around our house so hopefully they got a little laugh and some entertainment ;)

This little man and I stayed inside where it was warm and played.

He is holding "Free" which stands for Three.  No idea where he came up with that name and when he decided this little puppy was his close friend, but he sure does look for him in his bed and likes to carry him around and play.  It actually was a toy given to Cameron when he was born and Cam never really took to it.  Haiden is much more into imaginary play pretending he is a puppy or kitty than Cameron.  I have played kitty A LOT lately and there are times when Haiden insists I refer to him as kitty.  Ha!  Wierd, but fun ;)

A Morning with My Boys

Phew.  We made it.

The weekend got off to an early start on Friday with a snow day.  I was able to get a jump on the laundry, get groceries, hang with just Haiden, get Cameron from the bus and actually make a yummy supper.  

Yesterday morning out of the blue Cameron woke up with a nasty stomach bug.  Ugh.  It was miserable watching him all morning and well into the afternoon run to the bathroom or hang over a bucket, sometimes both at the same moment!   He was a trooper.  So, all 4 of us basically hung out around the house.  He woke up this morning completely symptom free, ready to eat and full of energy.  Torrey went off to church as he had to teach his Sunday School class and we had planned for Haiden to go with, but he is not so quick to leave me behind lately(which I of course do not shy away from!) so it ended up being a fabulous Sunday morning at home with my boys.  

We started the morning with some super hero action.

Can you not just laugh out loud at this?!  Bed head, jammies and his best blankie as his cape(with a chip clip to keep it in place-ha!).  Not to mention the cheesiest and most adorable smile ever!  Oh how I love this babe!

My 2 super heroes sporting their muscles.  We were in no hurry to get dressed this morning ;)

Then we had some target practice with a barricade in front of us for cover of course.

This kid does have some aiming skills!

After a nice mid-morning bath, snacks, movie time, lunch and more playtime(we were trying to make up for yesterday--if we could have only gotten sledding in! In the midst of him getting sick he still asked if he could go sledding;), this big guy needed a bit more sleep to recoup from yesterday.  And even though yesterday was icky, this morning home with my boys was the best way to end a weekend ;)

Pure sweetness!  Isn't is amazing how you can spend so long just staring at your sleeping child.  There is just something about it--almost like you want time to stand still and at the same time your  mind is reeling as to how my child can be this big?  Looking at and studying all the features and how some have changed yet there still remains that baby face I will never forget and will always see every time I look at him.

Picture Recap

For some reason I can't quite let myself NOT post more of our Christmas together.  So, just for the fun of it here are some pics to relive the excitement, joy and love that we experienced over break(and WHY does it seem like the break was SO long ago already?!)

Our little family Christmas ;)

 Cameron already knew a few of his presents by getting his hands on them after I put them out.  This mommy needs to get a little more creative next year with wrapping!

 This sweet boy was so excited with everything, took his time to get all the paper off and actually look at the present before moving on to the next(I think I need to tone down in the present department next year.  We are blessed to be able to provide for our boys but at the same time, and maybe it's just this age, I want to stay away from the "gimmies", especially at Christmas.)

 So serious about the opening!

 YEAH!  A racetrack!

Christmas Day at Grandpa and Grandma Vruggink's

 Our new favorite board game, SORRY!

And my new favorite family picture.  LOVE my boys!!

Never Too Late

It's never too late to do a Christmas post, right?!  I am not sure where this last week has gone but blogging obviously did not find it's way in!  I do want to record our Christmas happenings so I will try to catch up over the next few days about our adventures(as getting back in to school mode gives me any more time...ha!)  Anyway...we'll start with the Roby Family Christmas the Friday before Christmas day.

Here are the boys anxiously awaiting the arrival of the rest of the family to get the party started!  We had pizza(although I don't think the kids actually tasted it they ate it so fast) before heading downstairs for presents!

All of the boys...with one more added to the bunch in a few weeks! I love all boys!

Haiden was SO fun to watch open gifts this year.  He was so happy with everything, wanted to get all the paper off the box before really looking at it and was so much easier to control than last year--ahh the joys of the boys getting older!

A Cars umbrella from cousin Grayson! One more thing he can have of his own and not fight his brother for!

He also was a big(wink wink) helper to others opening their presents.  He could only get away with this with the adults though ;)  Mommy getting some K Cups and a new crock pot!

He was right by grandpa's side most of the night--and grandpa is moving back home at the end of the month--YEAH!!! He has been living in Ithaca for the past few years and coming home on weekends and the boys are so excited that grandpa will be home when we go to visit(which is kind of a lot, Dad so stock up on that jerky!)

 

Trying out a cool racing toy.  Cars seemed to be the theme this year.  As the boys get older it is so nice to get things that we all can play together and share(well, I use the term "sharing" loosely.  Many of you know what it is like to have siblings share!  We have had some good life lessons on sharing these past few weeks!)

My parents do the BEST stockings.  We all look forward to these as really they are not a simple stocking, but a HUGE gift bag filled with all kinds of cool gadgets,  things used around the house, treats, lotions, candles, socks, soap, you name it!  This year I got this little gadget that is supposed to make your plain coffee with cream into a latte!  I'm still figuring it out but it's fun!  The boys enjoy the cool things in stockings....like POP!

They were SO excited to get their very own pop!  So simple, but so them.  Oh, and a shoe horn.  Weird I know, but Cameron loves to use the shoe horn and grandpa and grandma's!

One of Cameron's favorite gifts this year were roller blades!  We have had them on every day and he has gotten so much better already!  Thank goodness for all the pads that came with them, though, otherwise we would have gone through many pairs of pants and band-aides for the palms of his hands from breaking his falls!

We have a long shaped basement so he has been able to get some good practice in!  Can you see the smile on his face?

And a little tidbit into my life...here are my 2 older brothers.  Not sure what prompted me to take their picture but thought I would share!

Chip(Christopher) is on the left(he is the oldest) and Brandon is on the right.  Even though they still pick on me and call me names, I am proud to call them my big brothers. And Dad, don't go telling them I said that!!

From Our Home to Yours

May you all feel the love of God this Christmas day and throughout the New Year!

Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Now THAT is good news!!

Merry Christmas!

Our Day

We have had the best week.  I do have to say that even though working full time does bring with it a lot of hustle and bustle and rough patches here and there, these breaks are so refreshing to simply enjoy the little things.  Getting to walk Cameron into school, being there at the bus stop, not rushing bed time and enjoying simply waking up and staying home has been so relaxing and fun.  We have done a little bit of everything...daycare(yes, mommy takes a day for herself to get things done--one of the perks of having an established daycare!), baking, playing, organizing, shopping, wrapping and family time just to name a few! Here is a snapshot of a day in the life of Christmas break.....

The first fun part of my day was waking up with these 2 handsome and oh so big boys!

(NOW they decide to sit nice to one another and both smile AFTER the Christmas cards have been mailed!)

We were going to go decorate cookies later in the day so I thought it would be fun to make some cookies and memories with the boys and make some to bring along!  Oh dear.  By the time we were done flour was all over them(and I only made them from a bag!), Haiden had way too many nibbles of dough and Cameron wanted to play with the dough.  Sweating mother?  Yes!

Yes, I know what you may be thinking!!  No, I do not have any cookie cutters so I had to improvise.  And after this escapade,  I will hold off putting them on my Christmas list!  Cameron did really well with cutting them out as long as Haiden did not bug him ;)

Showing me his taste test and being the ham he is!

Cameron at work while little man tries to sneak another little piece of the dough..can you see his little finger?!

Then we made a fun fort....over and over again ;)

We ran a few last minute errands and then went to meet Daddy for lunch at Logan's!

Going out to eat is finally starting to become more enjoyable and to the point where Tor and I can actually carry on a conversation(while still trying to hide the salt, pepper and knives from Haiden!)

Then it was off to our annual cookie decorating with the Vruggink cousins.

Concentrating very hard on his creation!  Not sure where the cookie is on his plate?  I think it might be the big white blob?!  I was too occupied with this one.....

Notice the trend in our cooking today?  More tasting then doing!  Oh this child keeps me busy!! 

We watched a Christmas movie before bed(where I actually sat down with them to watch instead of unpacking and packing bags or making lunches) and then I got to tackling wrapping!

Somehow the husband was with me but was doing this...

(I quick snapped this and he asked if I was going to put it on here..ha!) And please pay no attention to my messy house in the background...more on that to come!)

And 3 and a half hours later(while watching my own non-animated Christmas movie)....

And with 3 days to spare ;)

Oldies but Goodies

Life shall we say has been a little busy lately.  This time of year does add a sense of "extra busyness" and lately I have been trying to tell myself to slow down.  I have not enjoyed just being with my boys nor have I taken the time to meditate more on what the true meaning this season brings.  I live in THE blessing because of the miracle of Jesus and the sacrifice of a God who loves me beyond measure.  I have life in abundance, to the full, till it overflows.  It's this I have been trying to remind myself of instead of the to-do lists that never seems to end.

So, in this busyness that has tried to push out the enjoyment of everyday life, I have not taken many pictures of things!  But here are some oldies but goodies of life with my boys.

I took this picture of the finished masterpiece the day we put it up.  Cameron was very into putting ALL the ornaments in the tub up(which means some that should have been donated or disposed of a long time ago!)  He did a great job placing them all in one spot--ha!  I did manage to get a few up higher ;)   I love it.

This is a nightly adventure in our house--wrestling.  Have I posted this picture before?!  The boys LOVE to wrestle.  And yes, usually someone gets hurt and there are usually some tears but not for long.  Cameron tries to get me to wrestle and he says he'll go soft on me!  Wonder where he heard that from?!

The other weekend we went to Chucky Cheese for the first time.  The boys LOVED it!  I did not get many pictures.  I was working up a sweat trying to keep with with Haiden and stopping him from sticking the coins in the wrong slots.

Second attempt on a Christmas card photo.  This session actually went better and we did get a pretty good shot.  This one came in a close second but that obviously is not Cameron's natural smile ;)

  I hope you all are able to take more than one moment to just give presence this season and enjoy the abundance of blessings all around you everyday--are you looking for them?  I am trying to!