Christmas 2009

What a fun Christmas we had. Here are just a few of the highlights...

...lots of hot-chocolate-smiles...


...some treat-snitching while making a gingerbread house...




...that actually never stayed up...



...but we still had fun trying and eating the treats from it...






...a little brotherly love and wrestling...




...lots of snuggling by the fire place...



...some more snuggling and Christmas stories...

And of course Chritmas Eve and Christmas Day. Sadly, on Christmas Eve we were all sick with the flu. Everyone was sick and tired. We spent the day eating crackers, drinking gatorade, and trying to relax between throwing up. Benson fell asleep before the kids even got to open up their new Christmas sweat pants. We watched the Nativity movie made by the church, read the Christmas story, sang Away in a Manger and went to bed. Santa woke David and I up around 3:00am. He needed a little help getting some presents put out (they were just to heavy for him all by himself). I wanted to wake up the kids after he left (around 5:ooam) but we decided that since everyone was sick we would let them (and us) sleep a little longer. Gracie came and woke us up around 7:00. She came running into my room saying she had gone to peek and Santa came and can we please get up now. I sent her in to wake up her brothers and we all made our way down the hall to see what surprises Santa left.

Gracie got a "big pink craft box" (a pink tote with art supplies in it) and a big easel, and a Straberry Shortcake Doll which she proclaimed was "just what she wanted!" I have a video of them all coming out on Christmas morning, but I am having a hard time posting it... I just can't remember how and everything I have tried isn't working. :(

Here is David and me looking a little bit like death warmed over, which is pretty much how we felt.

Here are Sammy and Benson playing with their new train table. Sammy has barely left it alone for a minute since Christmas. I think we have replaced the battery in Thomas 4 times since Christmas he has been so well loved!

We got a lot of other great presents, but the greatest gift we got was being able to feel the Spirit of Christmas in our home. We had a truly beautiful Christmas despite the sickness, and the busyness. Gracie goes to a Christian preschool and to have her come home singing songs about the Savior's birth all month has been wonderful! We have so much to be grateful for!

An Example on Life in the Keith Home

I love Baby Blues -- oh, and this is David, Julie doesn't know I"m posting this -- I saw this one, and another one I can't find at the moment, and since their little girl is a red head, and she acts like Gracie, it's perfect. I love this!! This is our house!! sometimes

The Statue of "Liderty"

I know, it has been a while since I have blogged, but that is because I have been pretty busy, but for those of you who have been bugging me to put up pictures (you know who you are), here are some from our recent trip to the Statue of Liberty. No matter how many times we tried to teach Gracie how to say Liberty it kept coming out "LiDerty."

It was a really beautiful fall day. There were leaves everywhere and the weather was just perfect!

I am truly not choking my daughter in the above picture. I did have to physically hold on to her to get her to stand still for the picture though. The kids had a great time chasing the seagulls.

There was an amazing feeling of history there on the island. It was fun to teach Gracie about what the Statue of Liberty meant. The kids loved riding the boat and watching the water and talking about the sharks that they were pretty sure were in the water! Ha ha ha. It was such a fun day!

Look what climbed out of our pumpkin after we cut the top off!

One year older and wiser too!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Last year on October 23rd I was given the best birthday present (two days before my birthday counts as a birthday present doesn't it?) ever! That was the day Benson came to join our family. Since then he has filled our days with laughter and fun. What a sweet little boy he is! He says mama and dada. He can clap his hands, click his tounge, give slobbery kisses, spit, walk and climb stairs. He wants to be included in everything his brother and sister are doing and loves to wrestle with them. It is so fun to see him discover new things. We love you Benson. Happy 1st Birthday! Thanks for coming to our family!

Dear So and So

Dear Fort Wayne,

Why did you have to be so perfect? When we came to visit you this last weekend so David could interview for your residency program we already knew we liked you, but we didn't know that we would love your darling neighborhoods, friendly small town feel, comfortable ward, and impressive residency program. Gracie met the man of her dreams. She announced her intentions of marrying Conner (one of the many friendly resident's children) after whispering back and forth to each other during lunch our first day there. And Sammy even ASKED to go to nursery at church on Sunday. That has NEVER EVER happened! He has actually refused to go for the past few months. A cute Grandpa stopped by our table while we were eating dinner one evening and pulled no less than $1.50 in quarters out of our children's ears. He was dubbed "the magic Grandpa" after that. We loved you Fort Wayne, and that is terrible!!! Now we have to choose between you and another residency that we love! Don't tell anyone yet, but I think I might love you the best!

Sincerely,
The covet-er of your cute houses


Dear GPS,

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! You saved my life you know. Without you I would have sat in a puddle and cried in all the new towns we visited during our trip this last weekend. You make me so happy! I know Sammy didn't like the Halloween monster voice David down-loaded on you, but don't let that hurt your feelings. The rest of us loved it, and David and I got a kick out of having you give us directions in an Australian accent. It made me want to buy a boomerang and say things like "G'day Mate!" So thanks for the good times. I will never leave home without you again.

The one who gets lost in paper bags

Gracie and David will be signing autographs later.

Yep everyone, that is my husband and daughter on the cover of the DO medical magizine. They are pretty much famous!

Let them eat cake!

Sammy has been extremely emotional lately, breaking into temper tantrums every 5 minutes about the color of bowl that his cereal is in. It is driving me CRAZY! I just have to come look at this picture sometimes to remind me what a sweet little boy he is! He is pretty funny with some of the things he says too. When it is time for him to take a nap he tells me he doesn't want to go to his room, he wants to stay in the house. Anything circle is a moon (even the dots on my shirt). He loves everything green, and he has carried a little car he got in a happy meal around for three days now and has a tantrum when he can't find it. I think he might be OCD.

My little teenager

Gracie came to me yesterday and told me she wanted to go look for a boy for her to marry. She is totally obsessed with getting married and the 10 babies that she has in her tummy. She grabbed a boy in line at preschool on Wednesday and started hugging him and saying that she loved him. What am I going to do? I am going to have to start locking her up!!!

Preschool

Gracie started preschool this week, and what new preschool experience would be complete without the customary picture by the door on the first day of school. The first day (Wednesday) was on open house day. Gracie and I went and met her teachers and found where the bathrooms were and filled out mounds of paperwork. Gracie was destitute when she had to leave. She actually got real tears in her eyes. She asked me if she could sleep over.

Today was the first day that I left her there on her own, and can I say I think my heart is breaking. She just isn't big enough to go to school. I know she was just born yesterday.

This is Sammy's reaction to his sister going to school. He wanted to go with her SO much! He is going to miss "Sissie." I should have taken a picture of my face because it was probably pretty much the same as Sammy's.

Next year Sammy.

9/11

I remember on 9/11/2001 waking up thinking it was just an ordinary day. David and I had gotten married barely over a month before. We were living in a tiny apartment. I didn't even have a job yet. Oddly enough I had turned down a job working at an airport only a few days before because it didn't feel right. I know there were a lot of layoffs in airlines nationwide, and probably around the world after 9/11 and am pretty sure that if I had taken that job I probably would have been out of a job shortly after. I remember David liked to listen to the news on the radio in the morning (he still does). Soon after he turned it on he started hearing this horrific story about a plane that had crashed into one of the twin towers. He told me he thought it was some fictional story that they were reading on the radio because it just seemed to terrible to be true. But before long he knew the unthinkable was true. He came and told me what had happened. We didn't have a TV. We had been married for only weeks and David's tutoring job at the college just didn't pay enough for us to buy a TV so we stayed at home and sat in the one recliner that we owned (we didn't have a couch either) and held each other and listened to what they were calling "America Under Attack." I remember later that night David had to go to a church meeting and I sat at home and continued to listen to the news and think. I know it made me think about the things that were really important. Family, the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, and my testimony in Him. The same things that I am still most grateful for. Heavenly Father didn't make 9/11 happen, but I do remember the increased faith in Him that spread across the nation after the twin towers fell. My prayer is that that faith in Him may spread and grow again as we remember the anniversary of that terrible day.

Dear So and So,

Dear Smiley Baby,

Can you please tell me why you have decided to stop eating real food and start nursing through the night again? You make me so tired. It is hard on a mama to wake up every two hours to feed you. You were sleeping through the night just a few weeks ago. You have even started turning down your favorite food, bananas, and instead of eating them think they are something fun just to mash onto your tray and in your hair and on your clothes. You are so adorably cute and I love you so much that can't deny you anything you want even when I know you are giving me your "fake cry" (when you are peeking at me through almost closed eyes to make sure I am paying attention to you while you whine at me), and especially not when it is your real "I want my mama" cry. You are the happiest baby. You rarely cry, except during the night when you want us to come get you so you can have your milk fix. Please please please just stay asleep during the night!!!

Love,
The tired one


Dear Pretty Girl,

I am so sorry I hardly noticed when you came into our room this morning. I do vaguely remember hearing you talk to daddy and him telling you to go back to bed, but I was so tired I didn't even realize that you brought your pillow and blanket in and made a bed on the hard, cold, wood floor just so you could be near us. I want to be near you too. I love your hugs and snuggles and the funny jokes you have started telling. Your latest goes something like this, "There were two monkeys in a car with some bananas and oranges." And then you laugh hysterically. I love you! I love your obsession with all things pink and becoming fancy just like Fancy Nancy. I am so happy that you are so excited for preschool, although I want you to just stay little forever. Don't grow up to fast babe. You keep telling me all about your plans for when you are a mom and living in your blue brick house and are married to your brother Sammy and have three little girls. Slow down. Stay my little girl a little bit longer.

Love,
The one who would keep you little forever.


Dear Train-Plane-Truck Boy,

I do love to have you climb in bed next to me in the early morning hours, and to feel you little arms wrap around my neck and to feel your contented sigh on my cheek as you settle in next to me to go back to sleep. What I don't like is when you don't go back to sleep. Instead you wiggle, you giggle, you hum, you play, you climb, you tickle, and you basically just refuse to go back to sleep, and refuse to let me go back to sleep too. Your daddy said it was around 5:00 when you came and climbed in our bed, but somehow it seems to me like it must have been much earlier. And once you climbed in, your sister felt like she needed to be in the bed and then Benson woke up and wanted to nurse and with 5 in the bed the daddy one said "I'm crowded" and went in and spent the remainder of the morning on the couch and slept while I got to wrestle with you. I think you and your siblings planned this to test your mommy to see if she could be happy after no sleep. She failed. Sorry about that, dear one. It doesn't mean I love you any less. I think you are so funny wanting a "potty train," but not wanting to go potty in the potty. You make me laugh when you come crawling up to me pretending to be a puppy or a baby. You ask me about 50 times a day to sing you the temple song or the church song or the song about water on your leg (which is a song that your grandpa used to sing to me when I was a little girl). I love to watch you do head stands against the couch or summersaults all over the house. You don't ride your bike, you run behind it and push it. Your grin lights up your whole face and I love it! You really are a delightful little boy and sometimes I just need you to remind me of that when I haven't slept. You are all boy and it is so fun to have you around.

Love,
The luckiest mom of 3 in the world.



Dear Dirty Laundry,

I have asked you not to come around my house any more. I don't like you and don't know how to get the message through to you that you are not welcome here. "I take no leave of you, dirty laundry. I send no compliments to your mother. You deserve no such attention. I am most seriously displeased."

Rags to Riches

Gracie and I decided to experiment with some homemade rag curlers yesterday.

When she woke up this morning those rags had turned her hair into riches of copper curls.

We put them in a pony tail and Wah-La!

What a beautiful girl.

I think I love rag curls!

Swingin'!

Benson had his first swing at the park. He was a little afraid at first. It only took him a minute though to change his mind.

Benson took his first steps last week just a couple of days before he turned 10 months. He loves to stick his hands in the toilet and follow his sister and brother around and cuddle with his mommy and daddy.

Feeding the Fish

We went to this beautiful lake a couple of weeks ago. There are so many fish there they call it "where the ducks walk on the fish." We saw a guy throw a whole loaf of bread into the lake at once and it was totally eaten in less than 5 seconds! I found the fish kind of cool and totally disgusting at the same time. It was a fun day.

Nature's Fire Works

We had the coolest lightening storm last night. David and went out in the yard at about 11:3o pm to watch it. It was completely dark other than the lightening, and it was flashing almost every other second. It was so beautiful!