Someday...

Cameron will go to his Sunday school class on his own. Someday he won't even need me near him. But for now, I will enjoy every second of watching him play Don't Eat Pete in CTR4. Love this boy of mine.

Something New

Tonight we went to an ice hockey game with some friends. It was so fun doing something different on our date night. I had never been to a hockey game before. Boy, was it a blast! Callie reserved some amazing seats right behind the glass so our view was of hockey players' faces getting smashed into the wall. It's shocking that it was so entertaining to see their aggressive behavior.

Cousin of Honor

Annie came over today for a sleepover. These kids were so happy. We went out to the peanut place for dinner (Texas Roadhouse). Cameron sat by me so he could get some help pounding on the peanut shells. They were a fun and goofy bunch.

Peeking Through

I can see them. These darling front teeth are heading out. I just love my sweet cuddly boy.

It's hard watching him grow and change so fast. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time.

But, just like these new adult teeth, there's no way of going back.

P.S. I took this photo with my real camera. It's a lot better.

Sledding Buddies

Matthew had surgery yesterday, this time to remove the plates that were put in at the time of the hip surgeries. We've been praying hard for this brave little boy who has faced so much in his young life. Nicole drew this picture of the two of them sledding together. I sure wish we lived closer.

Overscheduling

I think parents are always worrying and wondering if they are overscheduling their kids. Mary tried out for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory play today after school. She did such a great job reading for Violet that I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up with a speaking part. I've been working on getting the violin situation squared away, deciding we needed to purchase a better violin so she won't struggle so much learning to play it. Her weekly violin lessons along with piano lessons will keep her plenty busy. She will be starting basketball soon and with her normal school work I am hoping I haven't let her pile on too much.

We signed up for battle of the books earlier this year, and I am going to be a coach for four third graders. We're a little behind on her reading so we've come up with a reading plan to get caught up. We're spending a lot of our afternoons reading. I don't mind that very much, but it means I'm not super balanced in the attention I'm giving the other kids and housework.

I watched the Linthorst's baby today and he was just so easy and fun. Of course, these sweet babies make you wonder if you should have more, babies are so simple and naturally slow down life a bit. But then you have a crazy busy afternoon and realize, that handing me a baby while I am already drowning may not be the best idea.

 I'm hoping the dust will settle and I'll get it all figured out.

Resolution #1

Today I packed away nearly all of the Christmas stuff. It was a big project and it feels good to be almost done. After trying to attend to all of the items on my back-to-reality-to-do list I realized that I didn't take any pictures worth while from the day. I did have a decent one of Nicole eating her Family Home Evening Treat. That's when it dawned on me. One of my resolutions is to take better photos, and I think that will require that I stop using my phone for all my photos and start using our camera. It's a good goal. I think I'll try and use my camera at least once a week (that seems a little more realistic). The rest may be the blurry orangeish photos I've grown accustomed to.

So, let's call this photo a before shot...