January

It has been a COLD, SNOWY, January...in fact the snowiest (not sure if that is a word) January I can remember in many years. Of course for kiddos, this is fun times, for Mommies and Daddies, this means lots of creative planning for indoor activities. We have gotten out and enjoyed the snow a few times thanks to some wonderful sleds, provided by my in-laws, but on other snowy days, we've stayed inside watched movies, built lots and lots of tents, dressed up like firemen and baked way too many cookies. I've tried to do art projects with the boys on really long days, but I've found that at this age, it's way too much to manage because Asher is usually trying to eat the glue or swallow the pom poms and that usually results in some mini-tantrum as I'm trying to wrestle glue sticks out of my 16 month old's hand. Not fun! Plus, if you know Braden, you know he would rather read or use his imagination any day over sitting and coloring. Oh well...here is to being creative one day.

What else...we have tried to be a little more productive this month at breakfast time (one of my new years resolutions) and I have been helping Braden to memorize Scripture. Growing up, I had to memorize Scripture in High School and to this day, those verses still come to my mind in my moments of need. I hope I can help my boys "hide His word in their hearts" as the Psalms call us to. So far, Braden seems very interested in memorizing Scripture and it's quite rewarding when I see him randomly do something nice for Asher...if I ask him why he did that, he will say, "because that's what our Bible says...'be ye kind, one to another.'" Hooray...finally something is sinking in!

What else...we celebrated Austin's 32nd birthday a few weeks ago with a date night to Virago (our favorite sushi place). I love, love, love that after 8 years of marriage and 6 years of dating, that I still find myself giddy to spend time with this man. He truly is such an amazing husband and father and I am so thankful for him. Besides that, we ended the month with a round of runny noses, ear infections, deep coughs and high fevers. Here is to good health, warm weather and good times with family in the coming months. With that, I'm leaving you with some pictures of our January -

Braden, making a snow angel in the freshly fallen snow -
Asher, all cuddled up in his new sled. He seriously fell asleep in here at one point b/c he was so warm and tired from all the playing in the snow -
This was taken at Austin's parents house -
And on those crazy cold days when it was way too cold to be outside and school was cancelled for the nth time this month, we snuggled on the couch in our jammies and watched movies -
Celebrating Austin's birthday at home -
Braden, really, really excited when he found out that his birthday is the next birthday in our home -
Asher, post-ice cream cake. The kid LOVES ice cream!
My little firemen -
Sweet smile from my boy. If you ask Braden what he wants to be when he grows up, he undoubtedly says "a fireman." -
And little Asher dressed in his fire costume, playing with the fire house. Asher would wear this costume all day if I would let him. If he sees it in the closet, he stands at the door pointing and whining until I put it on him. It cracks me up!