Christmas Scenes

Legos. Trains. Cute Stockings From Nate's Aunt Diane. Animal Crackers. Air Compressors. Juicers. Teething Biscuits. Hunger Games. Tonka Trucks. Christmas Lights. Excitement. Pajamas. Diapers. Polenta Pizza (Yuck!). Family Time. Lego Train Ramps. Love.

Happy Christmas

"Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us,
that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance.
It may weave a spell of nostalgia.
Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer,
but always it will be a day of remembrance -
a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved."
-Augusta E. Rundel

As our family prepares for Christmas, our hearts have been filled with gratitude and love. Gratitude towards our Savior and His life. Gratitude for answered prayers. Gratitude for the atonement.

With our most recent decision to sell our chiropractic business and pursue PhD school, we are filled with love and gratitude for our many family members and friends who have supported our dream. The year 2010 allowed us to recognize and acknowledge our dream to own and maintain a successful business, and we will forever be grateful for the blessings the business has brought into our lives.

Looking ahead, we are not quite sure where 2011 will take us... but regardless of where that path may be we are grateful for each of you. As we celebrate Christmas this year, we will think of our blessings and the things we love in our lives. We love you and wish you a very Happy Christmas!

Some of the best presents fit in the back of a dump truck...

What do an Altoids box and sock have in common?

Growing up, Nate was known as the boy with all the jokes... I mean all the jokes. Everyone would gather around as he told tales of frogs in blenders and elephants in refrigerators. He could go on for hours, and I am pretty sure he did.

Desperately wanting to impress this brown-eyed hottie, I started my own joke collection. I purchased multiple packages of the sticky Laffy Taffy candy to only discard the sweets and keep the jokes. Pretty soon, I had my own joke collection that won the heart of my curly haired jokester.


Caleb has this thing for toys. We can not leave the house without a favorite toy (or two) in hand. All too often, Caleb becomes frustrated with his two small hands and their inability to carry fifty toys at once. The world might as well end in these hours of complete desperation.


In honor of my Laffy Taffy history- What do an Altoids box and sock have in common?




They both carry toys!




Caleb has solved his inability to transport all his toys at once with socks and Altoids boxes.

How many cars can fit in a mommy sock? Six or Seven.



How many marker lids fit in an Altoids box? Five to Six.




Problem Solved. Joke told. The End. This princess is living happily ever after with her joke telling prince, three adorable boys, and an array of marker lids.





Thank you Laffy Taffy. I owe you... so much.

The book I never thought I'd see at my house...

In October, we were blessed to receive counsel from Dieter F. Uchtodrf, a leader of our church. In his counsel, he encouraged us to slow down and focus on the things that matter most. His counsel had a profound impact on us due to the many hats Nate simultaneously wears.



Our family has spent many quiet hours in prayer and life evaluation. Questions, values, and interests have been deeply examined. Goals and our life climb have been redefined.



I have hinted towards a change in our lives. I am so excited to share.



This week Nate has spent a lot of time with a book I never imagined would reside in my home. The GRE study manual.

Tomorrow morning Nate will take his GRE exam. Applications to various graduate programs will finally be complete and we will begin that long college application wait.



Our school of choice is the University of Utah.

The program of choice is a Ph.D. in neuroscience.





You may be wondering how this simplifies our life.



It simplifies our life like this: we are selling our Chiropractic business. We love chiropractic. We love our business. But ultimately when all the cards are on the table, Nate loves teaching so much more than he loves Chiropractic.



So, we have a favor to ask all of you.



Please. Please keep us in mind if you happen to know of anyone looking for a Chiropractic business to buy. We have been blessed with an amazing clientele and beautiful location. We will miss both. But it is time for us to move on.



We are so grateful for the opportunities and amazing individuals this business has brought into our lives. Thank you to all of you for helping our dreams come true.

If You Drink Your Spinach, I'll Let You Take Your Fish Oils...

Caleb sporting his green spinach drink mustache.

I make my kids drink spinach on a regular basis.

Cruel. I know.



Unusual punishment? Sure. Some may think so.



Packed with spinach, kefir, soy milk, orange juice, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, nutritional yeast, spirulina, calcium lactate, and agave nectar - our spinach drinks contain essential nutrients vital to health and vitality. So, my boys drink it.



Some mornings they like it.



Some mornings they do not.





A couple weeks ago, we were going through a rough patch. It did not matter how I flavored the smoothie - no one wanted to drink it. Not even chocolate flavored smoothies.



Then we learned about Barleans Liquid Omega Swirl from Grammie. One small taste and we instantaneously transcended to a higher plane of oral sensory bliss. The boys begged and begged for more.



Naturally, I started to bribe my kids (and husband) with Omega Swirls.



Beds were made.

Faces clean.

Toys were shared.



Aside from the boisterous smoothie protest - life was wonderful. Almost perfect. Then brilliance struck. Surely the all powerful omega swirl could motivate my kids to drink their smoothies.



And it did.



A one cup consumption of spinach drink yielded one teaspoon of omega swirl - a.k.a. "liquid treat." When told they could have more "liquid treat" in exchange for another cup of smoothie, they got to work. They surprised me by drinking three cups of spinach.



Never. I repeat never underestimate the power of liquid treats. What would you do for a serving of Omega Swirl?

Our Very Simple Christmas Advent Calendar

The boys and I finally finished making our Christmas advent calendar.



Made with construction paper, glue, and stickers - our calendar is very basic and simple. On each slip of paper there is a number and an assigned activity for the day. When the day is over and the activities are complete, the piece of paper is removed and thrown away.




When there is only one piece of paper left, it is Christmas day! I am so excited about some of our daily activities. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house :)

• 1st - Buy candy canes and Santa hats
• 2nd - Decorate the Christmas tree
• 3rd - Make hand ornaments
• 4th - Decorate presents for family members and mail them
• 5th - Make a snow globe
• 6th - Discover the smell of Christmas spices while blindfolded
• 7th - Buy a treat for the cashier at the grocery store
• 8th - Make hot chocolate and drink it by the Christmas tree
• 9th - Deliver gifts to the people working at the post office
• 10th - Deliver gifts to the librarians
• 11th - Christmas movie marathon party
• 12th - Deliver Christmas goodies for friends
• 13th - Make gingerbread cookies and eat them for dinner
• 14th - Play with snow inside the house - save some snowballs in the freezer for a summertime snowball fight
• 15th - Make a shaving cream snow scene
• 16th - Sing jingle bells to people at a assisted living home
• 17th - Give gifts to bell jinglers outside grocery stores
• 18th - Take a special drive to look at Christmas lights
• 19th - Act out nativity
• 20th - Make Reindeer food
• 21st - Deliver a secret Santa gift
• 22nd - Leave Christmas notes for people to find at the mall.
• 23rd - Make cookies for Santa
• 24th - Deliver gifts to the firemen on duty
• 25th - Write down one thing we will do as a gift to Christ next year

The Superhero Car

I told you about Caleb's Superhero Friends.

These friends are great... that is until you try to survive the grocery store with ten friends holding onto your fingers. We lost three friends.

Yesterday when I announced to the boys that it was time to go to the store, Caleb instantly ran for his friends. When I told him that his Superhero friends needed to stay and protect our house, Caleb was more than upset.

Out of sure desperation, the ingenious Caleb invented the superhero car.



No wheel drive. Bright green. One door entry. Cardboard interior. Seats six.



The Superhero car accompanied us to the grocery store. With pride, Caleb walked around the store holding tightly to his best friends in their bright green box. I would give anything for a picture of that moment.

It is all about the pumpkin...

Colton is a big boy. Very big. We are talking 20+ pounds big. He is always hungry.

Desperately, solids have been introduced...slowly, and one and a time. Anytime a new flavor or texture meets his tongue he spits it out in absolute disgust with an audible "blah" or "blegh."

That is until he tried pumpkin last night, and he loved it!



Colton is definitely daddy's boy. Anyone who knows Nate knows that he would do just about anything for pumpkin. Pumpkin and cinnamon.

Let's just say that Nate is one proud daddy. Not only does he have one pumpkin lovin' baby, he has another boy who has magically discovered how to makes his hands and feet spontaneously emerge from a box!

I should have been making dinner...

Instead I spent some time with my glue gun.




Caleb has this new found fascination with marker lids. He loves to adorn his fingers with purple, pink, yellow, green, and orange marker lids.





He walks around the house with his marker lids on his fingers pretending they are his superhero friends.






Tonight we decided to get a little creative. Dad held the teething baby while we dressed up our marker friends with googly eyes. We made marker friends. Lots of them.





We made a house for our marker friends with a cardboard box, magazine cut outs, and paint.





Even marker friends need a place to sleep.





oatmeal + marker friends = two happy boys.




Now I just need to discover how to preserve my markers while my boys are playing with the lids... man I love my boys.

Hey Dad, we got you a wii remote for your birthday!!!

Nate's birthday is coming up in a week.

When I asked the boys what present they wanted to give dad for his birthday it was unanimous. A wii remote. We only have two wii remotes and no one likes to share - not even dad.

So, the boys (with my help) bought a wii remote for daddy. It came in the mail today. Before I had a chance to hide it, Conner raced off towards dad to tell him the good news.

I tried to intervene. I tried to convince Conner to wait. Dad's birthday is not until next week. We only open presents on our birthdays.

Words could not stop him.

We wrapped the wii remote. Conner decorated the construction paper and taped it all up. I hoped that once it was wrapped, we would be okay with waiting. One of those out of sight out of mind things..



Who am I kidding??

The boys could not contain themselves. They had to give dad his present TONIGHT.




So, we ate a little frozen yogurt and had a little birthday celebration for Dad. It looks like Dad's birthday festivities just might last all week long!

Dear Christmas Decorations

Yesterday I hypothesized about your powers to make me believe I am pregnant. Instead of boxing up all of your red and green goodness, I made the trip to Wal-Mart. I bought a pregnancy test.


And you know what?


I am not pregnant this time.

Thank you for making me believe I was pregnant for a couple hours. It was fun. Thank you for reminding me how much I want to hug and hold my babies. I love being a mother.

Thank you for reminding me how magical babies are. You do after all represent the miracle of a baby that was born in a stable many years ago. The baby who grew into a man and saved all mankind.

Thank you for reminding me of the miracle we call Christmas.

Love,

Angie

Christmas decorations make me believe that I am pregnant...

I love Christmas time. I love the decorations. I love the Christmas Tree. I love the lights. I love the magic of the season.

But... Christmas decorations make me nauseous.

Out of the last five Christmas seasons, I have spent three sick. Not the common flu sick. Pregnant sick. Christmas lights, trees, and pumpkin pie all remind me of morning sickness.

Kind of sad. I know.

When we started pulling out the Christmas decorations last week, I wasn't too surprised when I started to feel a bit nauseous. I wasn't too surprised when I started breaking out, when my abdomen started to feel a bit rounder, when I started to enjoy a heightened sense of smell, and when I started to feel forgetful.

Maybe I am just fighting the flu bug, putting on weight, and exhausted.

Maybe I have developed supernatural olfactory powers that allow me to smell everything on this planet. Seriously.

Did I mention that I am hungry? I am hungry. all. of. the. time.


The thought of having another baby is exciting and overwhelming. My brain is racing. Colton is only five months old. I can't stop thinking about the possibility. Maybe I am pregnant. Maybe my Christmas decorations have the power to make me believe I am pregnant... when I am not - which is far more probable.

So the question of the day is this:

Do I take three kids (ages 4, 2, and 5 months) to Wal-mart buy a pregnancy test... or do I take down all of the Christmas decorations?

If you chance to meet a frown...

do not let it stay

quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away

I will never ever

ever ever get to kiss these cheeks enough.

More Pancakes Please...

Yesterday I told my boys to eat.

I told them to have fun and eat all day long.

I even broke my two year vegetarian habit and cooked a turkey.







Turkey.

Stuffing.

Sweet Potatoes.

Vegan Mashed Potatoes.

Vegan Gravy.

Biscuits with Honey Butter.

Gingered Carrots.

Salad.

Apple Crisp.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie.





Should be every little boy's dream... right?



Food galore.



I was wrong.



A couple weeks ago, Nate and I decided that our family needed to celebrate Thanksgiving on our own this year. While we were both incredibly thankful for the many invitations we received, we both needed some quiet family time.



Wednesday night was spent in the kitchen cooking a feast for my boys.

I imagined my boys jumping for joy when they saw just how much food I was preparing.



To be completely honest, I wanted to be a Turkey BaHumBug this year.

I wanted to defy the traditional turkey dinner with pancakes... lots of pancakes.



I was all ready to create pancake masterpieces when our life climb took a change in direction.

Unsure of how this new direction will alter our lifestyle, I wanted to make Thanksgiving extra special for my family.



I cooked a turkey. I mashed potatoes. I sugared up sweet potatoes.



One glance from Conner told me this feast was not up to his standards.

On hands and knees, he begged for the left-0ver pancakes in the refrigerator.



So, while Nate and I stuffed ourselves silly with yummy food...

our boys basked in the simplicity of pancakes served with agave nectar.



When Nate and I went back for seconds, the boys asked for more pancakes.







After all the left-over pancakes were consumed, we feasted upon our kids.



We gobbled up their creativity,

broke a couple of house rules,







played hard,







and requested additional servings of their love.





My thanksgiving feast will continue to last today, tomorrow, the day after, and the day after.

I never want to stop feasting upon the miracle and love of my children.

Grateful...

Five days after Nate and I were married, we moved from Utah to Texas. For three years we honeymooned in the Lone Star state while we both attended school and obtained our degrees. The plan had always been to move back to Utah once we had completed our schooling.

Four years ago to the day, we made the radical decision to not move back to Utah. In our hearts, we knew that Colorado was where we needed to be. Trusting in God and in our ability to receive guidance from Him, we decided to move to Colorado.

We started out by interviewing with various Chiropractors. We checked out a lot of apartments and drove all around Denver and Longmont... nothing seemed to fit.

Then one day we found an incredible town home for rent on Craigslist. I instantly loved it. I wanted to live in it. We made a special trip from Dallas to Denver just to check the place out. As we drove from Denver to Loveland we discussed how this little city was just too far from where we thought we wanted to live.

The moment we got off the freeway, it was love at first sight.

We fell in love with the city.

We fell in love with the people we met at the coffee shop - Loveland Coffee Shop has excellent diaper changing stations, just in case you ever need to know.

We fell utterly and completely in love with this little corner of the world.


Today as we celebrate Thanksgiving, I am filled with memories of a Thanksgiving spent in a cheap Lakewood motel with a frozen Mexican Turkey Hash as our feast. Four years ago while eating a semi-defrosted turkey dish, we took the leap of faith and committed to living in Loveland.

While I am grateful for the many blessings in my life, today I am filled with gratitude for a watchful Heavenly Father who constantly hears and answers my prayers.

This little town of Loveland is magical to our family. During the last four years, we have experienced miracle after miracle. I am deeply grateful for this little town that God led me and my family to. This place I call home has motivated me to grow in ways I never thought possible.

Today I am grateful for God, answered prayers, and the daily miracles manifested in my life.

Essential Words

Caleb is not a boy of many words.

He prefers to communicate his needs with his body.


When thirsty, the Caleb communication style requires the demonstration of thirst without the use of any words.

Words are for the weak.

Thirst requires defying towering kitchen counters that stand as obstacles. Thirst demands the defiance of gravity. Deliberately the counter must be conquered. Precision is the key. With strategic placement of feet upon corners of drawers and cupboards, the towering counters are overpowered. Once the counters have been subdued, Caleb takes a moment to triumphantly stand upon the counter and gaze down upon his grand accomplishment. Once Caleb's dignity is confirmed, he gingerly saunters towards the cupboard that hold his favorite blue cup hostage.

In a very meticulous fashion, Caleb liberates his prized possession and cautiously squats towards the sink to fill his cup with liquid H20 bliss.

After the demonstration of such fantastic talent, Caleb mounts his feet upon the counter and begins to holler.

He bellows.

He Shrills.

He Yaps.

He Yelps.

Our expert climber is not so savvy when it comes to descending.



In attempt to solve our daily dilemma, communication is honored and rewarded.

After a an entire reward bags of M&M minis, new words are beginning to flow from his mouth. While he constantly surprises us with new words, only a few select words have been esteemed favorites.

Words like:

Moo (milk)
WaWa (water)
MaMa (Mom)
DaDa (Dad)
Baa (ball)
Ba-na-na (banana)
Poo Poo (do I really need to tell you what this one means?)


These are the essential words according to Caleb.

All other words are not worth repeating... can you really blame him??

It started with a train...

It started with a simple train that HAD to be with us at all time and in all places.



It grew to a train in one hand and Mickey Mouse characters in the other.



It multiplied to a Fisher Price Airplane holding the train, characters, small tools, and puzzle pieces.



It propagated to dump trucks hauling our Fisher Price Airplane, train, characters, small tools, puzzle pieces, airplanes and their homes, Lego's, play food, matchbox cars, remote control cars, and the kitchen sink.



The dump truck follows me around the house - all day.

Click click click - thud.
A toy falls out.
Click click click - thud.
The toys do not all fit.
What's a boy to do?

Play-Doh builders of my heart

Lovingly - my children mix and mold the play-doh of my heart.



They mix the red, the yellow, and the green.
They flatten the bumps and smooth out all the flaws.




The parts of me that once were red are tangled up with purple and orange.

The parts of me that once were rough are smoothed flat with tiny eager hands.




Six loving hands unravel my flaws and insecurities.

Three generous hearts refine my ability to love - unconditionally.

And through it all they teach me the lesson of flexibility.



My little boys are the play-doh builders of my heart... and I love the person they are inspiring me to be.