Advent Part 2

Here are some of the fun activities we've done this last week...  This has been the funnest project!  I wish I had the time, energy, and creativity to do this every month!!!

Today are activity was to purchase a nativity set.  (Since I don't have one, always have wanted one, and I thought it would be a great teaching tool for Cruz!)  He chose this pretty set of Mary & Joseph holding baby Jesus!  Maybe next year we can add another piece to our collection!

 Today's activity was to make chocolate covered pretzels!  Yummy!  Originally they were going to be for his teachers at school but (oops!) we ate them all!  Have to make another batch!!!

Today we wrote a letter to Santa telling him all of the things Cruz wants for Christmas!  The list is super long!  He loved getting to cut it out and stuff the envelope.  He even taped on the address label!

Today was Cruz & Jett's Christmas Program at CKLC.  Cruz was so excited!  He's been practicing his songs and dance moves at home for the last couple weeks.  I was interested to see if he would actually do them on stage!  He was adorable!  He knew all the words to every song and did all the moves just like Ms. Carrie had taught him!  Momma was so proud!!!

 Then we went to meet the Blackburns at the Fire Station for the annual Christmas lunch and meet and greet with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

What an awesome week!!!

Sad Mommy

Today is a sad day for mommy's!  Or maybe I'm the only one that has had a hard time with this.  My baby is sleeping in his own crib all by himself and so I took the bassinet down and out of our room.  It wasn't as hard with Cruz because I knew that I would be able to have the experience again with our second baby but this time has been really hard.  Knowing that I won't bring a brand new baby home again.  I won't sit up staring at sweet chunky cheeks all night anymore.  I won't jump to my feet every single time I hear him move.  I can't believe that its already been almost 8 months since he blessed our lives.  Although I'm really excited about the new milestones that Jett is currently encountering, its just hard to imagine that the "brand new baby" part of my life is already over!  

Advent 2010

So I decided to start a new tradition with the boys this year.   Advent...

I've never done advent before and you can tell because after we started, I read that advent is actually supposed to include the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas which means it should have started on November 28th!  Oops!  We are learning as we go!  Anyhow, our advent, here in the Campbell Casa started December 1st and includes the 25 days leading up to Christmas day!  I read a ton of cute blog posts which showed all different kinds of ways to celebrate each day and compiled my favorites into our own "version."

Cruz has had a ball opening each surprise every day.  He wakes up every morning asking to get his "prize!"  Its been so fun!

Here are some pics of our first 5 days of advent.

 Cruz decorated this Christmas wreath and taped each shape on all by himself.

 We took the boys to Forrest Hill Christian Church's "Journey to Bethlehem."  It was awesome!  They put you into groups and assign each of you a character out of the bible then walk you through with your "family."  You are on a journey to Bethlehem for the census which is talked about in the bible and is where Mary and Joseph are with Baby Jesus.  All the characters are real people with real animals and the entire journey is in search of the Messiah!  They get the kids involved and feed you hot chocolate and snacks at the end.  I was totally impressed and would definitely like to do this every year (if the weather permits).  It would NOT be fun if its cold or snowy outside!

 We were given our "papers" which is like your ID when traveling.  You have to keep them with you because the Roman soldiers stop you and asked for them many times.

 We went to the lake with the Beatys and Kents and Cruz's "prize" was to get to bake and decorate cookies with all the boys.  

 Today we made handprint Christmas ornaments.  Each boy made a mold of their handprint.  I found these at Walgreens and thought they were so precious that I bought a ton of them for friends with kiddos!  I know that I'm gonna love pulling these out when the boys are older!

Stuffed!

I hope everyone ate as much as we did during Thanksgiving weekend!  I feel like thats all we did!

Anyhow, we had a ton of fun with family and friends!

We spent Thursday with the Campbell's...

This is what happens when you stuff your face and run around like a crazy man for hours and hours!!!

Then we spent Friday with the Blackburns!  Thanks for taking some pics Aunt Amy!!!

The big kids helped Nana make a spice cake in her NEW 9 minute rice cooker!

While the babies just got passed around and loved on!

My life...

I used to be completely obsessive compulsive about the cleanliness of my house.  I wanted everything in its "place."  All the shelves dusted and picture frames in their perfect spot.  Dishes went straight into the dishwasher and never sat in the sink.  Carpets spotless and cooktop sparkling.  I used to fold clothes in neat little stacks and put them away as soon as they were clean.  I wanted my house to smell like the Pioneer Women's kitchen (I've never been there but I'm sure its lovely)!  I wanted beds made first thing in the morning and fresh sheets put on once a week.

Ok, you get the point and yes the OCD in me would still love those things, however...

I have had a Come To Jesus meeting recently and since the blessing of my two little punkins, some things have changed!

I wake up to little "treasures" every morning and it just reminds be that I am the luckiest mother & wife around!  It means that I am surrounded by people that love me.  It reminds me that my house is a home and its comfortable for my kids to play and grow here.  It reminds me that I have a roof over my head and dirty floors that others would love to have.  It reminds me that life is too short to stress over laundry and sometimes its better to have Iron Man and Hulk gum in your vegetable tray than squash and carrots!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We're so thankful!

Besides the dark evenings, November brings on the beginning of my favorite times of the year!  The leaves begin to change and snuggly sweaters come out of storage.  Thanksgiving and Christmas bring our friends and family together for celebrations.  We get to celebrate Jesus birthday with new and old family traditions.  Our homes are filled with beautiful holiday decorations and smell of yummy scents like pumpkin pie and cinnamon.  Its a perfect time to reflect on how blessed and Thankful I am for my amazing family and friends and the opportunities that God keeps presenting to us everyday.

Cruz and I were having our regular morning conversation today full of intellectual facts and nonsense!  I love this time of day because he is totally chatty and usually has something very very important to say.

This morning as I explained why we celebrate Thanksgiving, I asked him what he was thankful for today.  I'm looking at him in my rear view mirror.  Cute little face just concentrating and thinking so hard.  After a few seconds he looks at me completely serious and says, "Mommy, I'm really thankful for 11 and 12!"  After a little chuckle I said, "Well its a good thing!  I bet 13 is really thankful for 11 and 12 too!"  What a hoot!  These are the kind of stories that I never want to forget!  I love how the 3 year old mind is so simple and straight forward!"  We should all take a moment to be especially thankful for our little ones and how much joy they bring into our lives everyday!!!

TG Farms

So we decided to change things up this year and go to TG Farms.  We met the Blackburn's for an evening of fun!  The kids got to feed the farm animals, climb and slide on hay bails, walk through a corn maze, watch pig races, take a hay ride, and pick out pumpkins to take home.  It was so much fun!