Joy to the World!

Merry Christmas one and all! We had a great Christmas Eve and day here at home. Clearly, the boys enjoyed being wise men in our nativity Christmas Eve. We danced through the house singing in Swedish and Sam asked me what are we doing? Why are we doing this! I missed my family a little, but it was nice to have a quiet (relatively) night at home together. The kids went to bed at normal times and we went to bed early, exhausted with colds. We did stay up the night before that to watch "A Christmas Carol" and wrap presents. Somehow it's so hard to stop and make time for that. We had to put it on the calendar!

Anna had duel roles in our nativity. She was both an angel and baby Jesus. She has such a glow about her that she was a perfect fit for them both.
Christmas morning the boys went downstairs without us. They turned on all the lights and the Christmas tree, and got a stool to reach their stockings and take them down. We came down and they opened one present each from Santa and played with them for an hour before Michael said, "I think we have even more presents!" They were so sweet.
Sam's At-At falls apart just as easily as Josh's did when he was a little boy. I guess the tradition carries on. Michael loves this fire truck set that actually squirts water (in the garage only!) at the flaming building.
Anna got her first doll who she smiled at and held. It made me cry a little. Next year we're really going to get some girl toys around here! Mostly she played with the wrapping paper.

For posterity, here is a picture of all of the Christmas crafts the boys made at preschool. Carefully recorded in this picture, I can now throw them all away and clean up my fridge door!
Anna also got a toy cell phone that plays songs and lights up. She loves it!
I saw this costume set a while ago and picked it up for Sam and Michael. They were almost Buzz and Woody for Halloween but I didn't find them in time for that.
"You've got a friend in me!"
I'm enjoying getting back into a routine and using my time for organizing the house. I'm extra behind on things because I threw out my back the week before Christmas and spent a couple of days in bed while the house got messier and messier. Yesterday we went to buy some toy bins and cleaned out the toy closet. There is a bag of baby toys Anna may enjoy soon and a bag for the trash and one to give away. The boys understand where everything goes and that if it's not cleaned up before bed time, it gets a time out for two weeks. If that doesn't work, we'll have to threaten giving the left out toys away. Yikes! We're so mean!

We hope everyone had Merry Christmases.

A Royal Engagement

Knights and Ladies, Let it be known that Sir Michael and Sir Sam have hereby requested the honor of your presence at their Royal Birthday Party. Please arrive robed in your Royal attire. Crowns will be provided. Royal sandwiches and birthday cake will be served. Please RSVP to the Queen Mother.
Royalty has been in the news a lot lately and we have been having our own Royal Engagements at our house. Sam and Michael used their Halloween costumes again for a costume birthday party! Our invitations may not have been gold leafed, but they got the point across! The boys have been sick for their birthday two out of four times, so we feel very fortunate to have actually held this party!

We had seven knights and ladies arrive all dressed up and ready to go! We adapted Duck, Duck, Goose and played "Knight, Knight, King." Note Michael playing while holding Monkey! We played Hot Potato and let everyone have a turn winning.

We decorated crowns with jewels and ate castle-shaped grilled cheese sandwiches around the round, well rectangular, table. Moms had hamburger vegetable soup and peach muffins from the freezer.
Our friend made the shield cakes. Michael had yellow cake and cookie dough ice cream while Sam requested chocolate cake with peppermint ice cream.

Here are my birthday boys! I can't believe they're four years old.

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In other news, we have a darling baby girl in the house! She is crawling, waiving, and laughing when we make animal sounds. We're not above oinking for a laugh!

Here is our attempt at a Christmas card picture. It's the best one. Unfortunately, I deleted my revised Excel spreadsheet with everyone's addresses on it, so we'll probably be sending out a limited number this year and re-revising the spreadsheet for next year.

Santa came to our friend's house. No kidding. It was pretty amazing.

We're sharing the magic of Christmas with Anna. She loves to look at the Christmas tree and hasn't even tried to pull it down.

Josh took a trip last week and came back with pirate kits the hotel gives out to kids.
Do you recognize these tough guys?Now, A-rrr we ready for Christmas? Good thing there's another week to go!

Lucky Mommy

I am one lucky woman. Blessed, actually. Once I thought I might not be a mother and now Lucky Mommy is my blogging name. People who saw me in the grocery stores with twin babies would always tell me, "You're such a lucky mommy." Let me give you a few reasons why I feel I am so lucky.

Michael. Michael wants to marry me when he grows up. He is funny and lives to make me laugh. He is loving, considerate and wants to do the right thing. He has an amazing imagination and builds complicated lego creations daily. His eyes look just like his dad's and he holds me tight when we dance together in the kitchen. He loves the hymns and his family. When he wakes up in the morning he closes his bedroom door without a sound so Sam won't wake up and tiptoes downstairs to start playing toys. Michael is curious. He asks me "why" questions all day long about things I have never pondered. Why do brakes stop the car? Why does the wind blow? Why are teenagers the same size as their moms and dads? Why do we poop? He is impatient with childhood and wants to be a man. He wants to have a farm but live with us at home. He will grow blueberries and chocolate on his farm and I can come cook for him. He has my sweet tooth. He worries about a lot of things, is very conscientious and hates violence and making mistakes.

Sam. Sam can talk the entire time he is awake unless there is food in his mouth. He once spent twenty minutes talking to his grandma on the phone. When he wakes up in the morning he throws his bedroom door open and runs down the hall into our room where he jumps into the easy chair and says, " I need breakfast!" Sam loves ritual. He has me sing "Rockabye Baby" and "Rockabye Sammy" every night. He likes to sing along with me to "I Know that My Savior Loves Me." He says a girl at preschool is in love with him because she likes to play with him. Sam is great at taking charge and plans out elaborate play-schemes with a character for everyone to be and a fun plot to act out. Sam is logical. He wants to go to work with his dad when he grows up. He also wants a farm (because they can't have an idea without the other one wanting to weigh in on the idea). He is sensitive to others' feelings and doesn't like for any one to be sad. He runs his fingers through my hair and kisses me on the lips. When I leave his room at night he calls out, "Wait! Mom, I love you." Sam hates feeling like I'm not listening to him.

Anna.
Anna smiles like this every time she sees us. It's straight out of the "How to Win Friends and Influence People" book. She is a cuddler and falls asleep without crying. She likes to feed herself sweet potato puffs and opens her mouth like a bird for her pureed vegetables and cereal. She prefers action figures and matchbox cars to baby toys which keeps us all on our toes but she enjoys her role of Princess Leia in our Star Wars games. (As the mother, I am naturally Padme. Sam is Anakin before turning to the dark side, and Michael is Luke Skywalker).

Anna lights up all of our lives. She can turn a stressful day into a party with one giggle.

Josh
Josh hates having pictures of him on my blog. I took this one in the apartment when he was home from a long business trip. His jacket on the back of a chair means all is well. He is home and we are all calmer and happier because he is there. Josh thinks of everyone's needs before his own. He practically ran this house while I was pregnant since bending over and lifting gave me contractions. Like Michael, he is very creative and conscientious. Like Sam, he is very observant of others' feelings. He plays dragon and horse and Star Wars (he's the Emperor) with the boys and smothers them in kisses. He teaches them about the way things work, why we should be reverent, and to say "This is the best food I've ever tasted!" to me at every meal. He is my best friend. The love of my life. Trite but true.
And he's handsome in his suit.
I had to throw that one in there.

As for me,
I don't look like I did in that picture anymore. Ha! But, nevertheless, I am one blessed woman.

Be Smart

This is Stanford University. Josh wanted to take me to see it this weekend. Now I know why.

It is the most beautiful, impressive campus. I lifted those two pictures above from Google.We drove to the Bay Area yesterday for a couple of touristy things. It was Josh's birthday this weekend and this is how he wanted to celebrate. We went to the computer museum and drove through the G*oogle and A*pple office campuses. Josh loved being around all of that creativity and said he learned a few things about trips with kids: make a list of all the things you'd like to do. Cut the list in half. Add two hours to your estimated time. Then cut two more things off of your list. He was a good sport!

We left Stanford wanting to be smarter. I would love to sit in a big chair and read all of the books I saw through the windows in neat little rows on bookcase after bookcase. Then I would need to discuss them with a professor, and then probably hire someone to explain what they just said to me. These people are smart.

Wouldn't you want to walk there on your way to class? It just inspires learning.

There was a wedding going on inside this chapel so I couldn't peek my head inside but its exterior is beautiful. There were two other brides having pictures taken around campus - it's that beautiful.

Maybe if I'd gone to school there I would have been smart enough to wait for that man to stand up before taking a picture of the church! Sorry who ever you are!
We asked Anna if she wants to go there someday and she seemed excited about it. Michael is set on the blue school - BYU, and Sam the red school - the University of Utah. I hear they're more affordable anyway.
It was fun to go out on an outing. It's been a few months. It was hard to stop and nurse Anna so often and she didn't get long enough naps, but she can recover tomorrow. We live so close to San Francisco and the Bay Area is so full of things to do. We'd like to get out and see more of it.

Tonight Josh is at a church meeting and I put the boys to bed. They do so many precious things every day and I forget them so fast. This morning while I was getting ready for church Michael heard Anna crying in her crib on the nursery monitor. He turned off the monitor and went in and played with her until I could go pick her up to feed her. Tonight he cleaned up all of the legos even though "Sam made the mess."

We had our monthly ward dinner group tonight at the home of a Mexican couple. They made chicken enchiladas, rice and beans with pork that would make your mouth water. After dinner Michael he said his tummy was "just the perfect coziness." I think that was the best compliment the chef could have received.

Ahh. Gearing up for another week. Goodnight friends and family.

Sir Michael and Sir Sam

We had such a fun Halloween! Michael and Sam designed these jack-o-lanterns and we carved them while Josh was at work. They were on the front porch when he came home, as a surprise. He said they are the happiest he'd ever seen. I agree! We gave them bottom teeth, like Anna's! The boys didn't want to help me scoop out the goo, very Josh-like of them. They like to stay clean!Almost ready for the trunk-or-treat.
Although they both look like knights, they would tell you that Michael was a Valiant Knight King
while Sam was a Warrior King. That's what the labels said. I went the easy route this year and just bought their costumes at Target one day. Michael's didn't come with a crown, though, so I had to make one. Not bad, eh? Cardboard covered with aluminum foil - shinny side up. I traded a dilapidated foam crown from the toy closet.

We borrowed this bee costume for Anna. She only wore it one night to the trunk-or-treat and was especially snugly in it.

The activity at church was so fun. It was more of a carnival. It was stake wide and each ward had five booths. Here's Michael eating a donut off the string.
And an action shot of the bean bag toss.

The boys' best friend was a knight in shining armor. After costume day at preschool we took them to this "dragon park" playground to let them fight the dragon in costume!
They discovered that it was a smiling dragon, so they decided not to fight it but to make it a pet.
Love this one!

Climbing the drawbridge into the castle!


Michael named his horse Chippy-paserad. Difficult name, loyal horse. Sam kept running back to the car to get some candy from his preschool loot. Very like me!

Anna snuggled up in a blanket the whole time and let the boys play.
This was taken after the trunk-or-treat. She has her second bottom tooth now but is still working on others. She's been biting me and I think I scared her by screaming so now she's afraid to nurse. Hopefully it won't last too long! She sure is a keeper!