What a tired boy looks like...

Apparently, the day was just too much for Eli. I walked into the kitchen during snack, and I found him swaying on his chair, falling asleep! I said a prayer that he wouldn't fall off of his chair and made a dash for the camera. I took a video (below) of him as he was falling asleep-I hope you enjoy! Here are two photos of him, the first asleep at the table, the 2nd one of him snuggled up on the couch where he slept until daddy got home.

Here's the video of our cutie:

Funny stuff

I have to post this stuff because I know I'll forget otherwise!  These are some funny things that the kids have said recently.

Elijah:  "I need a piece of water."  (he needs a drink of water)

Isaac:  "EARTH SHAKE!" (should be earthquake-he was playing with moonsand and was acting out "The Land Before Time" movies with some toy dinosaurs.  He was also having all of the dinosaurs die, since that's what happened to them.  nice.)

This was a conversation between Isaac and Sam on the way to swimming lessons:

Sam:  "Isaac, I bet you can swim all the way to the cone on your own."

Isaac:  "Daddy, Jesus told me it's okay if I don't swim all the way to the cone."

Sam:  "Well, you still need to try."  (as he's trying not to laugh!)

We are all doing well-I need to get some pictures from our trip posted!

Thoughts that run through Eli's mind....

This is what Eli said to Sam at bedtime tonight:

Eli:  "I miss Grandma Chris, and Grandma Kathy, and Grandpa Frank, and Grandpa Carlo.  Oh, daddy, don't forget Great Grandma.  I miss her, too."

Sam:  "What do you think she [Great Grandma] is doing?"

Eli: "She's awake, playing with Legos."

So that's what Eli thinks his 89 soon to be 90-year-old great grandma is up to!

What a blessing it is for the boys to have a relationship with her!

Did you ever make a big mess as a kid?

Isaac and Eli had a fun playdate this afternoon with Zeke and Eliza from next door.  They were playing in a little Tikes blow up soccer ball pit and pretending it was a boat.  While I was on the phone, they filled the "boat" to the brim-it was hilarious!  (about a 4x8x10" space!)  Art stuff, cars, books, pretty much anything you can imagine was in there.  I HAD to take a picture-they were so proud of themselves!  When I asked what they were doing, this is what they said:

Isaac:  "We were going to Iowa.  Pretend Iowa."

Zeke:  "We're pretending to be Americans."

AND, they did a SUPER job of cleaning up.  It's not easy to stay on task when your little with such a big clean-up job!  They did great!

***Here's a yummy recipe that we had for dinner:

Sweet Potato Fries

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" wedges

2 Tbs. olive oil or enough to coat the wedges

2 Tbs. rosemary, crushed with your fingers

Sea Salt to taste

Toss the sweet potato wedges in the olive oil, rosemary and sea salt.  Put on a baking sheet, or in a roasting pan and bake at 350 degrees for around 45 minutes, or until tender.  YUM!

Helping Daddy Shovel

Saturday was such a BEAUTIFUL day for the end of January!  The high was around 45!  Isaac and Eli went out to help Sam shovel Erin's path.  That had a great time!  (Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Kumpula for the super kids' snow shovels).

We've been busy!

We've been busy and clearly updating the blog has not been on my mind!  We enjoyed our Christmas and New Years, hosting more than we have in the past.  That was fun!  We hit the ground running in 2009 with Sam back to work at the college and at church, Isaac in school, and me back to classes.  We've been able to have dinner with friends on a couple of occasions which is always a blessing.

These pictures are my favorites from our annual pictures of the boys with Christmas lights.  I am a sucker for pictures of Eli when he is sucking his thumb and holding monkey!

The boys continue to make us laugh every day.  Eli can really be a ham and knows that we think he's funny.  Isaac's current favorite book is a children's atlas and he and Eli are often looking at it and talking about where Minnesota is.  Thanks to Isaac, Eli can find Minnesota in their mini-US atlas.  Silly kids.  My favorite time of day is in the morning when Isaac wakes Eli up and they play quietly.  They are so kind to each other and Isaac really encourages Eli.

I'll end with a conversation Isaac and I had on the way to school on Thursday.

Isaac:  Mom, Mrs. Nelson (his teacher) knows lots of stuff that grown-ups know, like "pick up your toys" and "don't spit."

me:  Why do you think that is?

Isaac:  (quiet for a minute) I don't know.

me:  Is Mrs. Nelson a grown-up or a kid.

Isaac:  A grown-up.  Do you think that's why she knows that stuff?

Apparently, Isaac sees Mrs. Nelson as more of a "peer" than an adult.  It was really cute-and when I told Mrs. Nelson about it, she thought it was funny, too!

A long overdue update!

I'm embarrassed to realize it has been so long since I updated the blog!  The time is flying by and I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is next week.  Isaac continues to love preschool and he survived his preschool program, despite many weeks of "stage fright" in anticipation of the event.  Elijah continues to be a delight and is successful in his job of being a 2-year-old and learning who he is-that's fine with us, most of the time!  Sam has been busy at the college and at church and we're adjusting to my working about 15 hours a week accumulating hours at my practicum.  Here are some highlights from the fall....Enjoy!

The boys marveling at the first snow of the season.  We had hot chocolate to celebrate!

Brothers together, laughing for daddy

Checking thing out at an apple orchard

Mr. tough guy

With Grandpa and the selected pumpkin

The boys and I with Sam's folks on our 4th annual visit to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch.  The boys look forward to this every fall!  So fun!

The first video is of Isaac and Zeke jumping into the leaves-so cute!  The second is Isaac and Elijah playing the piano at our house....I think it might be time for some lessons! :-)