A New Thanksgiving

     This year, we decided to do Thanksgiving in our own home, and it was completely different than any other holiday we've ever had, but it was so very nice and I loved every minute of it.  I missed seeing my family, but we were able to have a great afternoon with Mimi, Papa, Gigi, and Poppi. 

     In true type-A fashion, I was able to not stress at all, because I had already made a document with all my recipes I would use in the order I would use them, a to-do list with times, and a schedule of when everything had to be cooked.  I know that may seem a little crazy to some people, but it makes my life so much easier!  So, on Wednesday, we made pumpkin pie (which I forgot to take a picture of, but I can assure you was scrumptious nonetheless)....

and cranberry sauce....

    and sweet potatoes.....

And then on Thanksgiving, while we half-heartedly watched the Macy's parade,

We made stuffing...

 and green bean casserole...

             and creamy corn...

and rolls, and I heated up the turkey.  I didn't have to fully cook it since  I decided that I didn't want to chance my first Thanskgiving as host being a disaster with a failed attempt at turkey.  So, I let Honey Baked Ham do the job, and it was delicious!

      Since Brennon has learned how to write so well already, he wanted to write placecards or "nametags" for everyone.  Although I helped him spell, he wrote them completely on his own.  He also asked me to help him figure out how to spell a message on the fridge with magnets.  My sweet boy!  I pray he keeps his tender heart and always wants to do special things for the people he loves.

                             

         After stuffing ourselves silly and then going back for seconds, we talked and talked, Brennon tried to teach Pop to play Wii Lego Batman, and enjoyed relaxing in our own home with family, coffee, and entertainment courtesy of two very rambunctious little fellas. 

          I was so thankful for a perfect Thanksgiving and for being able to host my in-laws and grandparent in-laws.  A lot has changed in the last few years for our family.  We've gone through a lot, sometimes more than it seems we could handle.  Maybe because of all this, it was even more special to be together on this day where we remember all the blessings that God has brought into our lives.  It was a new kind of Thanksgiving, a new kind of normal, but it made me even more thankful that we are able create new traditions and enjoy them just as much as anything else we've done in the past.  It gives me hope for more than just this day, but for every day in our new normal world.

My Child As a Friend

There comes a time in the life of every mom when you see your child as a friend for the first time.  I'm not talking about him being a friend to me, although I'm sure that time will come as well, but as a friend to his friends.  Sure I've seen him be a great friend to his brother or play with his cousins, but it's different when he has a friend who he has chosen to be friends with. 

When Brennon started pre-k, I was so excited to find out that he was in the same class as a little girl we knew named Serenity.  I want Brennon to make decisions on his own, so while I gently nudged him towards her on the first day, I let him figure out on his own if she was somebody that he would want to be friends with.  And he did!  I would love to hear him recount his fun times at school, and he always made sure to include Serenity in his list of people he played with...sometimes she would make up the whole list.  So it really shouldn't have surprised me when he came home one day and told me that he had a girlfriend.  Oh my!  I was so not ready for that!!!  I just have to laugh it off and say that I'm glad she's a girl and she's your friend.  :-)  Kind of like when I was in college and Ryan and I were dating, it took my mom almost a year to not introduce him as my "friend".  In fact, by the time she finally started calling him my boyfriend, we were practically engaged.  Ok, so that was nothing like when I was in college, but it made me think of that.  Maybe someday when he really does have a girlfriend, I will be able to accept it at that time.  Hope so...as long as it doesn't happen until he's 30.

In the meantime, I love it.  We went to Bartlesville on Sunday with Serenity and her mom, Jenifer (who I love and I'm so happy we've become friends!)  It was so cute to see the way that they talked to each other in the car, played together, gave each other attention and cared for each other.  I loved seeing how kind he was and how much he so enjoyed being with his friend all day long.  He couldn't stop talking about his day with Serenity that night at bedtime, and I am so proud of the way that he has become a friend.  He's off to a good start!

The Biggest Decision....

It started like any ordinary day.  I didn't know as I woke up and made some "egg-in-the-holes" and cinnamon rolls that my heart would soon melt into a lump of goo in only a way that one of my sons could do.  Our conversation started because I was looking at my cousin, Kristi's. new pictures on facebook.  These were pictures that any mom would be proud of, as they were showing her son and daughter being baptized yesterday.  Brennon wanted to know what they were doing, because from his point of view, it looked like they were just swimming.  So, we started talking about why his cousins, Liv and Ty, chose to be baptized.  The conversation was so simple, and I felt like truly it was God giving me the words to speak to him, as it really is hard to put all your own beliefs combined with a college level theological "worldview" into four-year-old terms.  In the midst of our tender conversation over quesadillas, I told my Brennon that he could ask Jesus to live in his heart.  Since our conversation had sparked out of an interest in baptism, he looked completely conflicted as he said with complete honesty, "Do I have to be dunked in water?"  He makes me laugh so much! 

I explained to him the difference in salvation and baptism, and after our lunch we sat together in the living room and I led him in a prayer that gave him a clear understanding of what it meant and knowing that it was an important decision.  I was so, so happy that I got to experience this with him, and that I was able to lead him in this way.  Brennon was so excited that he then called my mom and told her his "good news".  He was so happy to hear how excited Gramma was that he then asked to call his Poppie and Gigi and Mimi and Papa.  He told them, and he was a little more proud each time.  I thought that I had cried all I could by the time he told my mom the story, but each time he recounted it, I cried even more.  I am so happy that my tender-hearted little guy took this seriously and understood that this decision meant more than just repeating words.  I have to admit that I was proud of myself too.  Every mom has a list of things that they want to be in their child's eyes, and godly is at the top of mine.  I fall short of that more than I care to admit, but that is a whole new lesson that I get to teach my little boy, because God's grace is what will allow me to be a godly mom.  Even more so, this grace will allow me to experience more and more events such as this, the truly important ones, the ones that are completely life-shaping. 

Well, It's About Time....

Yes, I'm still alive!  I have several reasons that I haven't been blogging, first of which is that I hadn't realized how little free time I would have for blogging once school started back up.  I also very much am in need of a new computer, so it's hard to make myself type on something that frustrates me.  Last of all, the last few months have been less than easy, and I didn't create this blog to be one of those girls who just constantly vents for the sake of commiserating in misery.  However, despite the fact that craziness ensues, I also have had a lot of joys in the last few months.  My Brennon started preschool, and every single day I amazed at how much he has learned. 

I have always known that he was a smartie, but he is so inquisitive that I love our conversations about everything from the north star to title pages.  I LOVED the first time that I had to sit in the pick-up line at school waiting for my boy to come out.  I felt like I was growing up myself.  I also have to note that I don't know if I have ever smiled as much as I did watching Brennon at school when I got to observe and help out on party day.  It was so much fun!

We have also had some great family time, whether as far away as Branson and "Silba Dolla City" or just in our own area with day trips. 

We went to Silver Dollar City with Gramma, Auntie Shannie, Uncle Kyle, and cousin Zoe.  The boys LOVED it!  Of course, now with the Christmas commercials starting, they keep saying that we need to go back.  This was our first time to take our kiddos, and let me just say that I cannot believe how often I went there as a kid.  It is so much harder when you have kids of your own!  I loved it, and we will be going much more often as the kids get older, but I was E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D!  Actually, I can't even think of the right word for it, because exhausted doesn't even begin to cover it. 

To get out and about on the weekend, we spent one Saturday not too far from home, going to see Big Brutus.  Let me tell you, I have never felt so much like a mother of boys as on this day.  Big Brutus is basically a giant electric shovel out in the middle of nowhere that was left where it was used after they stopped using it in the 70s.  It was definitely cool, because it was gigantic, but you would have thought that we took the boys to the Taj Mahal the way that they were oohing and aahing at the thing.  In true form, I did end up with a giant bruise on my leg from crawling through one of the openings several stories up.  Who would expect any less? 

We also took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, which gets more and more fun every year.  That isn't because they add things like the giant corn bin for the boys to play in or that they were finally interested in doing the corn maze, but because of the pure joy and excitement that seems to grow every year.  Every year, I think that the boys could not have more fun at the pumpkin patch than they did the year before, but somehow they do.  We really had to work hard to pick up pumpkin this year, because it was the first time that everyone had an opinion.....I don't know if I'm ready for that stage yet!

Our last major event of the last few months was, of course, Halloween.  Brennon and Gavin were Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, and I must say that they were quite cute in their costumes!  I slaved away with my novice sewing skills to make Brennon's costume, but was able to throw Gavin's costume together pretty easily.  It may be due to my sewing, or maybe just because Gavin was so stinkin' cute in that Smee costume, but he was the one that ended up winning 3rd prize in our local downtown costume contest!  He won an art set, which he willingly shares with Brennon, since Brennon said, "Gavin couldn't have really won without me, since we are a pair".  They are so funny!  We had a lot of fun trick-or-treating and going to Neewollah.  We got way too much candy, and we are finally getting over the fact that Halloween won't come again for a whole "nother" year. 

My cute little pirate crew!

Mommy and her boys!

I love this picture of Poppo and the boys at Neewollah

Despite all these fun places and events, one of the best things of the past few months has been becoming a "soccer mom".  Soccer at age 4 is many things, but a true version of the sport, it is not.  It was so funny to see the kids act like magnets to that ball.  Brennon finally scored a goal on our last game of the season, and he did awesome!  He also created a new running style just for games called "the helicopter".  It's hilarious to watch, as he runs down the field swinging his arm in circular motions.  Well, I was always told I had a great imagination, so I guess he comes by it naturally.

That should about catch me up.  I apologize for the novel here, but now that I'm caught up, I can do better about blogging on a much more regular basis.  I feel like sometimes I have so much to write about that I can't decide what to say, then I just end up not writing at all.  Well, my Thanksgiving resolution is to be a better blogger.  I know that's not a real thing, but it is for me.  Well, now it is, anyway.  You'll see.  You can be thankful for my awesome words gracing your screen more often, or that maybe you'll see I'm just as scattered as anyone else, but I'm doing the best I can to be a mom.  Sometimes I feel victorious, sometimes I fall on my face, but by the grace of God, I can get up and start again.  I remember to learn along this journey as much as I can, because I will be a better teacher to my kids if I am learning along the way.  The thing I have learned most recently is that no matter where you go, sometimes you make the best memories by just being....no matter where you are.