Fun December Month

We had a blast this December and Christmas, from Parties, to Decororating Ginger-bread houses to having the twins for Christmas, it was just NON STOP FUN! Here are some pics (a lot of pics) to show the fun! ENJOY!

Benson having some fun making his Ginger Bread house...

Britton showing his ginger bread skills!

The boys at our Ward Christmas party (getting ready to see Santa for the one millionth time)

Benson getting his face painted at Dan's work Christmas Party

Britton's face painting turned out GREAT!

Benson helping me make apple pies, he is such a good chef!

Christmas morning at our house!

Miss Ava opening up a new doll set, she had so mch fun

Benson was so excited he could not even look at the camera for even two seconds

Britton AS ALWAYS loves his playmobiles from Grandma Connie!

HA HA HA, Taylor was still sleepy but excited at the same time, so this is his sleepy-excited smile

Can you tell the twins LOVED their new trike helmets?

All the kids got new bikes from Santa so we went on a Christmas Bike Ride

Ava and Daddy relaxing at Aunt Louie's

Taylor was plain tuckered out at the end of all the FUN!

Center of Attention

For the first time in my adult life I was asked to sing in church.... So Dan and I sang Silent Night yesterday for our church program! We did not get a lot of practice, but Dan truly has such an amazing voice that I knew we would be OK.
Well I am sure you all have someone in your church (man or woman) that has to comment about everything and be the center of attention at all times... and of course, we have a girl like this in our ward.
WELL....
Yesterday before Sacrament meeting started and everyone was getting ready to participate in the Christmas program this woman came up to Dan and I (keep in mind she was not asked to be in the program) and asked if we minded if while we sang Silent Night she could stand to the side and sign it. We said yes and did not think to much of it.
When it was our turn to get up in sing we decided not to stand at the pulpit, but by the piano (we are loud enough with out the microphone). As we stood up this girl gets up as well and goes right in front of the pulpit and THEN... she stands on top of the wooden step meant for little children that can not see over the pulpit. So not only is she the CENTER OF ATTENTION she is also 10 feet in the air (exaggeration but you get the picture).
The pianist looks at me and I whisper that she is going to "sign" for the deaf. The pianist starts to laugh and says, "No one is deaf here!"
Well it ended up helping me out because instead of everyone looking at Dan and I they were watching her sign. So it was nice to "assist" the solo signer, with our vocal cords... AND ONCE AGAIN, she was the center of attention. It worked out for everyone!

The Best Gift Of The YEAR!

This is just a fun picture I found of the boys that goes perfectly with this post! They are wearing Daddy's shoes!


Here is a fun one of Ava... she is always cracking me up!


And of course my little side kick Taylor... I love that whenever we are together he never leaves my side!

As many of you know, this is the first time since the boys were born that I have had the opportunity to FINALLY be a "Stay at Home Mommy!" I can not believe how much I love it and how I finally feel like I am actually where I need to be!
Even though the boys have always been my babies, I feel like I know them so much better now. Being a single mom, working every day and then coming home and being tired, I still tried to be the best mom I could, but I know I was missing out on so much. Britton took his first steps at School and I can not even begin to explain the painful feeling that I felt when that hap pend. I missed out on one of the biggest parts of my child's life.
Now that I am home with them I feel like I don't miss out on anything. I have had the chance to do preschool with Benson this year (this is the only year I will have with him home before he goes to school) and I love that I am the one that gets to teach him. That he is really learning and he loves that I am his teacher. I love that I get to read to Britton as much as I want (he is our little reader) and some days if he lets me we sit there for hours and read and read and read.
I have always known that Benson's mind goes a mile a minuet, but I get the chance to see Benson use his amazing mind to the fullest. He builds so many things, can do so many puzzles that are made for adults (super hard thinker) AND I GET TO SEE THIS EVERY DAY! I get to see it with my own eyes instead of hearing about it from his teachers.
Now I also get to see the fighting and tantrums and all the other "FUN" things that goes on with children, but I have even come to appreciate that it gives me even more of a chance to become the best parent that I can possibly be. I have felt like I have grown leaps and bounds as a mother and as a friend to my children. My discipline is constant, their consequences are constant, something that is hard to do when your children are not with you all of the time.
Now keep in mind I LOVED the boys school in Arizona and would recommend it to ANYONE that has to work outside of the home, BUT I love that I have them with me and that it truly is a gift from God to be a mother.
I am so thankful for Dan and that he supports me being at home with the boys and that when we have Taylor and Ava in our home (for week visits) I will be able to be at home with them too (even though at that time I am sure Dan will be taking leave to stay home with us all)!
This has just been the most amazing gift of the year, and as Christmas is in five days I just wanted everyone to know that the greatest gift I have received this year is to be able to stay at home with my children.
I hope you all have had an amazing gift this year as well, not something that is wrapped under the tree, but something that will be planted in your heart ALWAYS, as mine has been.

Such A Fun DECEMBER WEEKEND!

We had a blast this last weekend starting with Thursday! Dan did not have to work on Thursday so we took the boys to see Santa.... FIRST THINGS FIRST!

Can you tell Britton was THRILLED?!?!?!?


Then the boys FINALLY got to swim again, but it was not what I thought it was going to be. After being out of the pool for a couple of months the boys had some serious issues with getting back in. FINALLY we got them in, but not with out the assistance of a water noodle. So I guess I need to get them back into swimming lessons ASAP!

Friday night we went to Dan's Marine Christmas Party, and the boys had a blast! They got to see Santa again, do tons of crafts, be with their new buddies Brison and Ethan and run around for hours!

Then Saturday we went to our Church Christmas Party, where they saw another Santa Clause. Benson told me after they saw him that Santa thinks they are REALLY good boys because he keeps coming to visit them! HA HA!

It was just a FUN weekend, PLUS we decorated! FINALLY! So now we are in the mood and all set for Christmas! Now we are trying to make sure the boys know the TRUE meaning of Christmas!

Bringing some AZ to NC

The boys and I are so use to being able to swim (almost) year round and ever since we have been here we have not been able to swim. The boys have been seriously down about this, so I promised them we would find someplace to swim. LUCKILY Dan is a Marine, because we found out that the only INDOOR swimming pool (that is not connected to a gym) is on the Marine Base. So starting tomorrow we will be swimming every week again, indoors! Then of course when summer comes we will be using our own pool. I am REALLY excited though because the boys took swimming lessons this summer and just became fish, and I don't want them loosing their "fish like" abilities!
In fact here are some pics of them during their swim lessons this past summer (June):

Benson learning to Dive


Britton and his instructor Shelley, learning to kick those feet HARD


Benson was a pro by the end of the first day!


Britton's favorite thing in the pool is the Diving Board! He jumps in, gets out and does it all over again. This keeps him entertained for at least an hour!


The boys with Shelley! They loved her, she was so good with them and taught them SO MUCH!


I can not wait to see the smiles on these two guppy fishes face tomorrow when they see the pool! Dan does not have to work tomorrow so it will be a Fun Family Event!

Thanksgiving and our FIRST attempt at Black Friday

We did not take a lot of pics at Thanksgiving to show you all the fun, but we had a blast!
This was my first year away from my family (so of course that was hard), but Dan's sister, Jennifer, and her five boys came and spent Thanksgiving with us and we had so much fun: cooking, playing games, laughing, and so much more. They are from Georgia so I am thankful they took the time and made the drive.
It was so fun getting to know my new nephews and for the boys to play with their new cousins. They were here for three days but I wished it could have been longer. I really like Jennifer and she is so easy to talk to and get along with.
Dan was so excited to have our first Thanksgiving in our house and it went perfectly. We did an old fashion Thanksgiving feast where everyone sat at the same table (it was a LONG table), with a beautiful table cloth, all the food SOMEHOW fit on the table (and might I add I made the best Yams EVER - Thank you Buffy) and so did we! We also had some friends from the Marine Corps come!
We have been teaching Benson and Britton that at the table we never say "Ewww" or "I don't want that." At Thanksgiving it paid off and if they were handed something they did not want they simply said, "Mommy (or Daddy) may I please not eat that?" HA HA It was great!
May I also add that just like any normal American I gained a good 5 pounds from it all!!!! That is how you know it was good, you measure it by the pounds gained. At least that is how I do it.
THEN~
Dan and I decided we were going to do the BLACK FRIDAY shopping the day after Thanksgiving. We had the alarm clock set for 4:30, but that plan soon went out the window when we kept hitting snooze and did not wake up until about 7!!!! We still were out the door by 7:30 and got some GREAT deals! We even got Kung Fu Panda for $6.99. YEAH FOR US!!!! We got all of our Christmas shopping done in one day, it was pretty amazing. I might just end up being one of those crazy "AFTER THANKSGIVING SHOPPERS" every year. We missed all the fighting since we got to the stores later, but I am glad we did. I was so sad to hear some of the stories that happened around America due to these sales. It was also nice to just spend some one on one time with Dan (Jennifer watched the boys for us), I don't think we have had any for a while. FUN TIMES!
We are really looking forward to Christmas now. It looks like we will be having Taylor and Ava with us, we have all of our decor and presents, so now we just need to set up and wrap them all!!! I can not wait!