Christmas Break Down

We hope you had a great Christmas!  We certainly did.  Here is a play by play of our holiday.  On Wednesday night we gave Hayden his big gift from us.  We got him the train table below.  He LOVES it!!  Jason set it up that night and he played with it until had to be carried off to bed.  He then woke up on Thursday morning and went straight downstairs to play.  I was playing with it and he said, "Mom, I love choo-choos!"  That made me so happy to hear!  He has been playing with it non-stop!

 On Thursday afternoon we went to Marion and spent some time at the farm.  On Friday morning we all went outside and did some sledding.  It was a beautiful Winter day and Hayden loved it!  Lucy got to run and run and run in the snow!  She loves the snow! 

 We went to church in Marion and enjoyed the beautiful Candlelit service.  

Then we went to Jason's Grandma Piehl's for supper.  

 After we ate we went back to Grandma and Grandpa Enger's to open presents with Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Heather.  Hayden got so many fun presents and even got his own sled for at home. 

 On Christmas morning Hayden woke up to see what Santa brought him.  He brought him a SOCCER BALL!  Exactly what he has been asking Santa for for months!!  He was pretty excited!  We stopped over at Great-Grandma Piehls again to open up a few more presents and then we went home, repacked our cars and went to Forman to see Grandma and Grandpa Bishoff and the Boelke's

Santa came to visit and 3 out of 3 kids cried!  Good times! :)  

But once Santa gave them their gifts they settled down a bit. 

 

 We opened presents and ate and played and played with the new toys.  We stayed until Monday morning and came home in time for Hayden to nap.  He must have had too much fun during Christmas because he slept for 3.5 hours! 

Our house is now over taken with new toys, choo-choos, tools, a soccer ball, tonka trucks, a new Case combine set and so much more.  He is having so much fun playing with his new toys.  

We are planning on going to a friends for New Years Eve.  We are bringing Hayden so we don't know if we will actually ring in the new year there but we will have fun none-the-less.  As the long as the big Winter storm that is heading our way doesn't keep us from going!

Happy New Year and be safe!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you!  Hayden has been looking forward to this coming weekend for a long time.  I started wrapping presents last week and Hayden put them under the tree for me.  Since then he wakes up and asks about the presents almost every morning.  So then I have to explain how many days until we get to open presents.  Jason is taking Thursday and Friday off this week.  So we will be going to Marion tomorrow and then going to Forman on Saturday.  We are looking forward to seeing lots of family.  

On Sunday I will be attending my 10 year high school reunion.  Hard to believe it has been 10 years already.  I'm looking forward to seeing classmates that I haven't seen in a very long time.  

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and hope that you are surrounded by loving family and friends.  

And safe travels!

I don't recall sending an invite to....

the TERRIBLE TWOS!!!  Oh my!  We have had a rough few days.  I don't know what is going on with this little boy of mine but we have been butting heads lately.  We have had some struggles with listening and I have been trying to teach him that he is a big boy and that big boys don't wear diapers and aren't held all the time.  We have really been working on these things and one day he will say he is a big boy and the next he will say, "I not a big boy, I a baby!"  Each and every day we have a struggle specifically with these two things.  It's a fighting match to get him to change his diaper and if I suggest we go to the potty instead he has no interest in that.  He also wants to be held all the time.  Although it is very cute when he says, "Hold you" and as much as I want him to stay a baby forever, I also know that it is my job to be his mother and to teach him life lessons.  

So we will continue......

I hope this stage comes and goes quickly and I am hoping that maybe it's just the fact that it's a season change and he is use to going outside lots and going all the time and lately we have been sticking close to home.  

Who knows, right?!?!  

Last night, (or early this morning, rather) as I laid wide awake in bed, I kept going over the last couple days in my head and I just got discouraged.  I think as a mom we all want to be able to know exactly what it is our children want and be able to help them.  I am very lucky in that Jason is very supportive of me.  He knows that when it's been a rough day he lets me have a few minutes to myself, a night out with some girlfriends or like this coming weekend a weekend a away with the girls (he is also getting off the hook of helping Christmas shop!  It's a win-win! )

I guess it wouldn't be much fun or interesting if our lives just went the way we wanted all the time, right! :)

But if you have time, please say a little prayer for us all! :)

Thanksgiving Recap

I am quite aware that Thanksgiving was already a little while ago and I know I am a little far behind.  

I'm hoping to catch up here now.  

We went to my sister's house for Thanksgiving this year and ended up leaving Tuesday afternoon in order to beat the winter storm that was headed our direction.  So we packed 4 adults, one toddler and one dog into our car (along with a turkey, a roaster, a laptop, an air mattress and a few other things...you get the picture) and headed out on the 5 + hour trip.  We made it there without running into any bad weather 

and had a lot of fun while we were there.  

My parents got each of our families a Wii this year and so the boys (little and big) enjoyed playing each day, we made gingerbread houses, played outside, painted, played games and did a whole lot of eating!  

It wouldn't be a Thanksgiving if you didn't eat a lot, right?  

Here are few pictures from the weekend. 

All three on laptops! :)

Other updates -
* Jason and I went to Fargo the weekend before Thanksgiving to see Bill Engvale, Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy.  We had a blast and laughed so hard our cheeks hurt.  Hayden got to have a sleepover at my friend Jann's and he had a blast too.  I'm told they stayed up way too late and he didn't want to come home with us when we went to pick him up!  We are blessed with great friends!
* I have joined a Book Club.  It is through our library.  I try to take Hayden to the library at least every other week and they had signs up.  We had our first meeting last week and we read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  It was very good.  I am looking forward to our next meeting already. Now that I am at home full time I figured I better do something that would be social as well as stimulate my mind.  I love to read but don't really go outside my comfort zone when reading, so I think this will be a nice change. 
*Jason's cousin Tania passed away the Sunday after Thanksgiving after a long hard battle of fighting Huntington Disease.  She was a beautiful woman inside and out and will be missed by so many. 
*Hayden got to visit Santa this past weekend.  He didn't want to sit with him at first but came around and finally did.  He asked him for a soccer ball, which he has been wanting for a long time.  Glad he didn't ask for something that is impossible to find and really expensive! :) 
*This weekend I will be traveling to St. Cloud/Albertville to do finish up Christmas shopping.  Jason and Hayden will be going to the farm and celebrating Christmas with the Enger side.