Happy New Year!

We had a nice relaxing new year.  On New Years Eve I took the boys sledding at a nearby park.  It has a huge hill—nothing like we have around here.  My sister and her kids met us there.  It was lots of fun.  A little cold (I think the temp was 15 and dropping).  We went in the later afternoon and stayed until dark.   Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera and so did my sister.  Errrr…….next time I guess.  Logan was a little unsure so he only went down from the middle of the hill, which was quite a ride that way.  I went with him a couple times.  I also had Camden out there in his little sled and was pulling him.  I never did make it up to the top of the hill.  I have a slight fear of sledding due to a childhood sledding accident.  It’s the nearby trees that I fear as I went sledding into one as a kid and broke  my hand.   My sister says next time she’ll get me to the top….we’ll see.  I may have my feet dragging the whole way.  :) 

Anyways, the older boys had a blast.  Even as we sat in the car trying to warm up (Camden got cold and screamed “Enough!”), the boys continued to sled until it got dark.  We hope the temps warm up soon so we can go back. 

We spent New Years Eve eating good food, playing games and enjoying each other.  There was no other place I would have liked to be.  The little ones went to bed early, but Isaac and Eli stayed up to ring in the New Year with us. 

On New Years Day we went for breakfast at Aunt M & Uncle D’s and then came home to lounge around.  The day was spent playing more games and watching football.  I ended up taking the Christmas tree down in the evening.  I went to water it and came out covered in needles.  I couldn’t take it anymore.  Not only that, but when I started taking the ornaments off, I noticed the tree was covered in cobwebs.  Yuck!  How did I not notice that before?!?!?!  It definitely needed to come down.  Josh did his usual cutting up of the tree and tossing it out the window.  Logan was  a big help to him this year though.

I was happy to have it gone, but sad because it meant the end of the holiday season.  The rest of the Christmas decorations came down the next day.  *sigh*  It’s all over.  I cherish every memory of it though.

Logan didn’t start the New Year off so great.  He cut his head on the edge of the counter as he was running by. 

Blood was gushing out and I was praying so hard that he wouldn’t need stitches.  God answered my prayers by stopping the bleeding.  It sure hurts though.  Poor Logan!

So overall, we had a nice holiday season.  We enjoyed much family time and made new  memories.  I look forward to the new year.  As I look back at 2009, I see how fast time goes.  That is one thing I have learned.  My goal for 2010 is to enjoy every moment.  I will treasure the time I have with my kids because they grow so fast.  I hope to grow closer with God and learn even more how to lean on Him for my every need.  I hope to parent my boys’ hearts instead of  just correcting their behavior.  I hope to continue to instill respect into them.  And most importantly, I want them to know God personally.  I look forward to another year with  my husband.  I continually pray for our marriage as it is always under attack.  We’ve come so far in our years together.  We’ve been so blessed.  I recognize that we cannot survive without God at the center of our marriage.  In  1 Cor. 7:28 it says, “those who marry will face many troubles in this life…”  Marriage isn’t a free ride to everything wonderful.  It’s WORK.  If Josh and I would have given up in our first TRYING and  TOUGH years of marriage, we would never have the blessings we have today.  We’ve made a commitment to each other in front of God and I will not let the enemy destroy our marriage!  My goal for 2010 is to pray DAILY for my marriage, that we can be strong under the attacks. 

I pray you all have a happy new year!!!  May God bless you.  Seek Him first in everything you do and He will reward you. 

Love you all.  Happy New Year!!!!

Easter

Happy Easter!!! We had a good Easter. The Easter bunny visited us and left each of the boys goodies. None of the boys had trouble finding their baskets so next year the Easter bunny will have to be more clever. :)
We had an Easter brunch at our house with my family. Everyone contributed a dish or two. We did an egg hunt with almost 100 eggs! Next year we'll have three more kiddos doing the hunt so we'll have to add even more eggs. And possibly break it into young and older kid hunts. Aw, all the "rules" of egg hunts!
The weather was decent. The sun was shining and there was no snow on the ground so that beats previous years. The wind picked up though and made the 50-degree day feel colder.
Everyone stayed until late afternoon and then we popped in a movie, Bedtime Stories, and watched that. Camden was sick for his first Easter. He cried most of the time in church and then slept all afternoon at home. I was thankful we were at home so he could sleep and get better. The night before he was up every 45 minutes so we were quite tired. Isaac started with the same cold Easter evening. He's been home from school yesterday and today with cold, chest hurting, sore throat and headache. I think he'll be going back tomorrow but it's kind of nice to have him home these extra days. I was sad about them going back to school as I really enjoyed the time with them over break. At least with Isaac being sick, I got two extra days with him! :)

Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. Our biggest surprise for the boys was a trip to the Dells during Christmas break for three days. They literally were shocked. I took a picture of it but they're in their "unders" so I'm not going to post it. :) Our other family gift was a Wii Fit. It is so much fun! Isaac received speakers for his mp3 player, KungFu Pand DVD, a Jennings jersey, Wii sports pack, Packer hat, Playstation 2 game, wireless controllers for PS2, wooden tip up for ice fishing with Dad and new underwear. Eli received a camoflage jacket, camoflage shoes, a Driver jersey, Wii hunting game, Disney Scene It DVD game, wireless controllers for PS2, wooden tip up for ice fishing with Dad, and new underwear.
Logan received his very own 4-wheeler to which he immediately said, "I can see cows," a painting book, a tool bench, his very own instrumental band, and new socks. Camden received little toys for his crib, car seat and bed. He was so thrilled he slept right through it!
Josh purchased some of his own Christmas presents earlier which included Mickey Mouse boots, wool gloves and mittens and wool socks. I bought him a CD player for his truck and new cologne/aftershave and camoflage comfy slippers. Josh bought me a new printer (hooray!!!!) and a new toaster oven (kind of a funny joke) and the most comfortable PJs ever.
Both Isaac and Eli went shopping at school and bought and wrapped presents for each member of the family. Isaac bought Dad a Brett Favre plaque; Mom, a beautiful necklace; Eli, a new Spiderman watch; Logan, a stuffed frog; Camden, a little stuffed bunny. Eli bought Dad camoflage gloves; Mom, a Christmas dish towel; Isaac, a balancing pen; Logan, a stuffed puppy dog; Camden, a Brett Favre plaque. They were so excited to give us these gifts. They also each handmade an ornament in school. Isaac made a snowman figure for me which is the most adorable handmade gift I have ever seen. He stores candy in his glass head! It's sooo cute! Thank you, Isaac and Eli.
They received lots of other gifts from family including more Wii controllers and games, mp3 player, clothes, books, NBAnopoly game, I Spy game, Dr. Suess game, Nerf Dart Tag (which I think is one of the favorites), etc. Logan received lots of cows including fence to help keep them in and a barn. He also got a cow flashlight that says "MOOOO" when you push the button to turn it in. He loves it!
I know there's more but I just can't remember it all. It was a very good Christmas and we are very blessed.
Merry Christmas from the Harts.