Christmas in Fort Wayne

On Christmas Day we drove to Fort Wayne to celebrate with Joel's side of the family. We had such a wonderful time as always! Here are some of our favorite photos:

Everyone got involved in the Apples to Apples Jr. game. It was so much fun to play with the kids! (And, no, Grandma Sheets is not cheating by looking at Quinn's cards. They were on the same team! By the way, for those of you who were thinking that--shame on you!) Ha! :)

Riley's new handbells were a hit!

Grandma Sheets and Grandma Worthington (Reese and Ryan's great-grandmas)
Marsha had four helpers read a story about Jesus' birth, then we sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus" before opening presents.
My boys! :)

My big girl! :)
Owen, Quinn, and Ryan checking out Ryan's new racing game.

At some point during the day, we received an invitation to attend a show after presents. What a treat! We went to the basement where the kids entertained us with a variety show. :)

Riley played the handbells while Reese sang "Jingle Bells."
The next major feat was a marble race. :)
There was some hula hooping and sit 'n' spinning...it just kept getting better and better! :)

Finally they concluded with the song, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." It was too cute!!!

Christmas Morning

Santa made a stop at our house on Christmas Eve. I was shocked that the kids slept in until 8 a.m. that morning. Joel and I agreed this will probably be the latest they will sleep on Christmas from here on out! I didn't get a lot of great pictures because I was trying to enjoy the moment, but here are some to share!

"Cars!"These are the twin dolls Reese has wanted since her birthday.
Ryan was jamming on the drums.

Reese loves her new Littlest Pet Shop toy. However, I wish Santa had realized how many teeny tiny accessories come with it. I had to be careful when I was vacuuming today--I came close to getting a few pieces!

Ryan was SO excited about this football!

Santa also brought a toolbench for Ryan.
Reese opened a present from her teachers. I was impressed she waited until Christmas morning considering they had given it to her a week before.
Joel was not expecting to get the watch that he's been stalking for the past couple of months. It was fun to surprise him! And now whenever I want to know the barometric pressure or the altitude, all I have to do is ask! (And sometimes if I don't ask, he just gives me an update.) I think someone is happy with his new toy!

Reese is a good little mommy to her twins!

We saved our presents for the kids until the end. Reese got a kid-tough digital camera, and Ryan got his wish...

"I got a cwapster!"

Yes, he was very excited to get his Leapster (a.k.a. cwapster or weapster). Thank goodness we saved it until the end or he might not have opened anything else.

Things quieted down and wrapping paper stopped flying when these two sat down to play on their Leapsters. They also came in very handy when we traveled to Fort Wayne a few hours later to celebrate with Joel's side of the family. That's when I got my Christmas wish: peace and quiet! :)

Christmas Eve 2008

Unfortunately I forgot my memory card on Christmas Eve, so I was unable to take pictures of our Christmas celebration with my side of the family. However, I "borrowed" a few from Kelly's blog. Thanks, Kelly!

The little boy had to stand, for there was no room for him in the chair.
Family picture time!
Reese's present from Kelly--her very own apron!
Ryan's first baseball mitt! Spring training will be here before we know it, and now Ryan will be ready!

We had a wonderful time with the Schenher family and appreciate all of the wonderful gifts our family received. The dinner my mom made was excellent and we left stuffed as always. Can't wait to do it again next year! :)

The Leapster

Tonight Reese received a Leapster from Grandma Linda and Grandpa Stan. It was killing Ryan that he didn't have one, so he snagged it while she went downstairs to play basketball. He mentioned something about going to play where Reese couldn't find him, and took it into the office and shut the door. Smart kid!

Later when it was back in Reese's possession, he asked everyone, "Where's the crapster?"

At first I had no idea what he was talking about until he added, "Where is Weese's crapster?"

"You mean the Leapster?" I asked.

"Yeah, the Weapster," he replied. Crapster, Weapster, Leapster--whatever!

Later when I was tucking him into bed, we were talking about what Santa was going to bring him. He said, "I want the crap." He then paused, knowing that wasn't right. Then he added, "What's that thing Weesie got?"

"A LEAPster, Ryan," I said.

"Yeah, a Weapster. I want that for Christmas," he said.

It's a good thing, too, as that's one of the gifts Joel and I are giving him in the morning. And even if he can't get the name right, it will probably be the only year he gets excited about getting crap for Christmas. :)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Frosty Ambitions and Other Short Stories

I am surprised I haven't blogged much this December. Things have been pretty busy the past few weeks, trying to wrap up things at school on top of Christmas shopping and finally getting the Christmas cards done. And none of that has really been "blog worthy." :) I'm really looking forward to having the next two weeks off with my family!

Here are some short blurbs to share from the past few weeks:

*One night after dinner, Reese started talking about how she wants to be a nurse or a doctor when she grows up.

I decided to ask Ryan, "What would you like to be when you grow up?"

He immediately responded, "I want to be a SNOWman!"

Joel and I couldn't control our laughter--he was just so excited about his future job! He later changed it wanting to be a pirate. With that Reese announced matter-of-factly, "No, Ryan, pirates don't live in our village."

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Upon waking up and seeing snow out the window, Reese exclaimed, "What in the holy cows of the world?!?!"

Apparently she's merged two favorite phrases of mine: "What in the world?" and "Holy cow!" :)

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Ryan has found a new favorite spot in the house. He normally gets to watch one 1/2 hour show a day, and just recently started climbing up onto the armchair of the couch whenever we turn on the TV. At first I had him get down, but he looks so comfy and cute perched up there!

Last night watching "America's Funniest Home Videos" with Dad.

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Reese really loves playing with her Fisher-Price Nativity set and will frequently act out the story of Jesus' birth. I walked into the room the other day and loved how she had everyone gather around to meet Baby Jesus. Precious!
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We recently started giving Ryan Starbursts as treats for using the potty. He quickly learned that he only liked pink and red. One day when I tried to give him a blue one he said, "No, I awergic bwue." Funny how anything he doesn't "like," he immediately becomes "allergic to."

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Reese asked me about the lyrics in a song, so I repeated them for her. She was still struggling with getting them just right, even after I repeated them a few times. She finally laughed and said, "You said it so fast that my tongue just went 'blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!'"

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Ryan hasn't quite picked up on his possessive pronouns quite yet. Everything is "we house" or "we car" instead of "our house" and "our car." Today he wanted to buy Grandpa Stan a hairbrush for Christmas. He then said, "Grandpa Stan and me, we brush we hairs...then we pway baseball...on Friday!" That's another thing--he's just been randomly adding days of the week to the ends of his sentences.

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The Best JK Christmas Pageant Ever!

Today was Reese's Christmas pageant at school. Joel, Grandpa Stan, Grandma Linda, Kelly, Grace, Clare and I were able to go watch her big performance. (It was during the school day, but luckily another teacher covered for me so I could go. Thanks, Rhonda!)

The kids have been practicing for a few weeks. They were able to choose their own parts, and Reese had decided to be an angel. The funny thing was that they were allowed to be whatever their little hearts desired...

...which is why there were two Josephs...

...and more than three wise men. But I love it! Mrs. Seaman (Reese's teacher) even said two kids changed their parts the morning of the program. Just as long as everyone is happy!

(Reese is in the center of the top row.) They sang several songs while the teachers, Mrs. Seaman and Mrs. Eberhart, told the story of Jesus' birth in-between. The students did a very nice job! I didn't get very great pictures considering we were in the school chapel and the lights were dimmed. Reese was quieter than I figured she would be, but she warmed up halfway through the show. She later told me she "was a little nervous at first and was looking down."

Afterwards, the students and their guests enjoyed TWO cookies (this made Reese's face light up) and punch. It was so nice of Joel to take a half-day from work and my parents, Kelly, and the girls brave the icy conditions to come and see Reese's Christmas show--her first of many for sure!

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days of Christmas

This is dedicated to my IU friends. Does this bring back some memories? :)

Great-Grandpa Worthington

Reese and Ryan's Great-Grandpa Worthington (Joel's grandfather) passed away last evening. While we are sad that we will no longer get to visit him, we are comforted by the fact that he is in Heaven watching over us. We were fortunate enough to see him over Thanksgiving weekend. Though I didn't take any pictures that day, here are some from a visit this summer.

The kids loved giving Grandpa fives--he'd always yelp and they would laugh!

He really lit up around all of the kids. :) He even read our blog as well as my sister-in-law's and Joel's cousin's blogs. (I'm so impressed with our grandparents!)

Four generations: Doug, Olin, Ryan, and Joel.

We will miss his great sense of humor and the way he made the kids laugh. Please say a prayer for Joel's grandma, who is currently in the hospital.

Joel's Trail Marathon

(Images courtesy of Flickr) (Joel is in there somewhere.)

This Saturday Joel ran his first (and last?) marathon. He first mentioned running a marathon about a year or so ago, and I thought at first he was all talk--especially when he said he was thinking about doing a trail marathon in December. I thought for sure he would change his mind or at least find a normal road marathon, but he stuck with--and achieved--his goal.

The Tecumseh Trail Marathon took place in southern Indiana near Bloomington/Brown County State Park. Here is a blurb I took off of the marathon's website:

"The trail surface varies from narrow forest trail to wide fire road, gravel, dirt, and paved roads. Several up and downhills of 200-300’ elevation are along the course, along with many smaller hills. The total ascent is approximately 3500’."

Did I mention he trained in our hometown where there are absolutely no hills??? :)
As if the trail wasn't difficult enough, the low for the day was 19 degrees and it snowed, making the roads (and trails) extremely icy. I was very nervous as I was driving around town as I saw many cars off of the road. I thought to myself, "And Joel is out in the middle of the woods running in this???"

Luckily he survived the harsh conditions and completed the course in about 5 hours, 50 minutes. They said to take the normal time you would run a marathon and add about an hour to that time. (Probably more than that since it was so icy!) I am very proud of him as I can think of many other ways I would like to spend 6 hours--and none of it involves being outside in the freezing cold and running 26.2 miles.

That's one thing I admire about Joel--when he sets his mind on something, he sticks with it. (Which is probably due to his parents not letting him quit band after the first day of band camp. See, Joel? If they would've let you quit, you would've given up after the first mile. Ha!)

And thank you to all of our friends and family who helped encourage him along the way. It really meant a lot to him.

Way to go, Joel!!!

Ryan's Toddler Bed

Since Ryan has now learned how to climb out of his crib, we decided to convert his crib into a toddler bed to hopefully avoid a trip to the ER. :) He was very interested in helping and proved to be a natural with the Allen wrench.

(Looks like someone needs a tool set for Christmas...)

He was so pleased when he realized he could climb right into his bed without having to scale the walls.I took this right at the moment when he asked, "Where did 'da other crib go?" He continued to go around and count the sides, "One, two, 'free,...where four?"Joel asked him how he could get out of bed, and we were both shocked to see him sit down and scoot off. I'm sure it won't be very long before he is practicing his long jump.

Good night, my big boy!