Don't wait.

She screams when I lay her down for a nap now. Merry Christmas to me. She's getting wise in her old age of 2 1/2, and is one of my best manipulators yet. I will not be shaken (which I repeat three times while closing my eyes and clicking my heels...).

So let the blogging distraction commence. I'm a task-oriented kind of girl, and getting on task helps me to not be tempted to give in. So there. You'd think this would be easy by now.

There was a time when I thought that we'd get it figured out once and for all. Surely after our second (or third, or fourth) baby, we'd slide into parenting cruise control. You know, taking life in stride, not getting ruffled about things that make us uncomfortable and limit our adult lives.

Once upon a time I cared about things like cute matching outfits for events like trips to the Christmas tree farm. You know, for those Hallmark-looking photographs where children with sweet pink cheeks are behaving perfectly, and tilting their heads at all the right angles.

Somewhere along the way, in all of my parenting maturity (ha!), I realized that matching puffer vests do nothing to help an outing go smoothly. In years past, most likely someone peed in those matching pants, or threw up on their brand new coordinating sweater. Forget about the Hallmark picture. I just wanted a set of clothes that didn't stink the entire van up on the way home. But we trudged on. We kept trying. We learned to not take ourselves so seriously, and to add a lot of laughter a long the way.

We learned that memories are made in the moments, not in the outfits.

We let go of unrealistic expectations for our kids, and for ourselves.

We decided to keep traditions, even if they are a little bit of work, and they don't always go as planned. Because boys grow up and start to remember the best parts, and laugh about those little details that make us parents tired just thinking about it. Our trip to the farm this year? Pretty uneventful. Don't be surprised, ya'll. 'Tis the season of miracles. No one's outfits matched, and I didn't even get a picture with all six of us in it. I'm not even gonna lie... I couldn't find a pair of gloves for Tess, so I just grabbed an extra pair of her socks before heading out the door. Worked like a charm. And I almost didn't care what anyone thought. What a peaceful morning outdoors with the five loves of my life. I breathed in the fresh air, and it was almost as if God confirmed our craziness: "Don't wait until you think it will get easier. Just engage yourself in the moment that's called today. There's so much joy in the moment. If you think too hard, you just might miss it."

P.S. And... she's finally asleep. Sweet relief.

Trey is Eight!!

The December birthday boy always gets about three celebrations. Can anyone say overcompensation?! The first one is always a party early in the month, so he won't get missed around the holidays. The second one is on his actual birthday, when I send a birthday snack into school for his class, and we at least hit Chick-fil-A to recognize that we didn't forget his real birthday. And the third (or fourth or fifth...) happens during our Christmas get-togethers when we see our extended families. Geesh. You'd think he's special or something...

So a football party it was... and before the party started, he needed one special gift ahead of time so he could get in gear.

Jerseys all around, because when we say theme party, we mean it!!

The guests have arrived, and so have their game faces.

Make your own jersey. I'm sure every mom was so excited to see their boy's wet puffer painted shirt come home. Hey, if preschool can send home glittery, globby-glued messes, then so can I. :)

Showing off their newly molded mouthguards, thanks to Tyler's mad molding skills.

You know your boy is growing up when he gets an NFL grooming kit for a gift.

Very awesome, and very stinky.

Decorate-your-own football and helmet sugar cookies...

And Trey's one request... a game of football in the snow!

Happy Birthday to my sweet darlin', who lights up a room with his friendly personality, crooked smile, and sweet dimples. Every day is a little happier because Trey is in it.

Full house...

... full lives. Shoot, full hearts too. What a privilege it's been to open our home several times this month with the purpose of focusing our hearts on Jesus this Christmas, celebrating relationships, enjoying the magic of the season, and recognizing one December birthday boy who officially turns eight today!

This is your little intro glimpse into our lives these last couple of weeks until I have time to share some fun photos properly. You see, it's 1am, and I just finished classroom snacks for Trey's birthday, teacher appreciation snacks for Christmas week, and some un-iced sugar cookies for Trey's class to decorate at their Christmas party on Wednesday.

Whose idea was it to have a baby the week of Christmas all those years ago anyway?

Oh yeah, we weren't exactly thinking on that one.

Anywho... more to come soon.

After this girl gets some sleep and can think of something halfway intelligent to write...

Shutterfly to the rescue...

(This is us in 2008, trying to get a decent Christmas card picture. Smile... 'tis the season!)

I'm behind already. If you're a busy momma like me, you're probably wishing about now that God would miraculously add a few extra hours onto the end of each day. Seriously. I don't think there's a free day on our calendar for the rest of the month. At least it feels that way.

I have to admit that I almost scrapped Christmas cards this year. I'm quickly running out of time, and hasn't almost everyone had enough of my kids' pictures on Facebook anyway (uh, don't answer that)? Technology has definitely made it easier to stay connected throughout the year. But then I remembered my sweet Aunt Esther, who doesn't have a Facebook account. She writes me a note every year telling me how much she enjoyed my cheesy little family picture and Christmas letter. If for no other reason, I can't let Aunt Esther down.

And let's not forget how fun it is to be on the receiving end (please tell me you are as obsessed as I am)! Getting a Christmas card in the mail is like God's little encouragement to me for putting up with junk mail, a bazillion credit card offers and bills all year long. For nearly one whole month, I get to open my mailbox and drool over how cute other people's kids are and how much they've grown from last Christmas. Let's do this, people!

Short on time and ideas like I am this season? Shutterfly to the rescue. I'm super impressed with their selection of photo Christmas cards this year. It makes me happy that I can just pick the style I want instead of trying to come up with a design on my own (who has time for that anyway... and, if you're as artistically challenged I am, this will make you happy too). There are all types of styles to choose from. We are sticking with the one photo style card this year. Not necessarily because we're humble, but because one good shot - where everyone is looking and no one is picking their nose - is all you get with four small children.

While you're at it, make it easy on yourself and order matching address labels for your envelopes. Remember, this is the one time of year when we moms can try to pull off like we actually have our act together. Heh. And since you took all that time to coordinate outfits and bribe your kids into taking a decent picture (or so I hear that's what people do...), you should seriously display it year-round. I'm a huge fan of the new Canvas Wall Art from Shutterfly. I get tons of compliments on our canvas print. It's character makes it a clear stand-out from the rest of our wall hangings, and the quality makes it well worth the money.

So get on board this Christmas! For me, and for all of the sweet Aunt Esthers out there.

I'll be checking my mailbox every day in anticipation... :)

You'll never guess...

This is me, with my big sunglasses and my big mouth (yikes) smiling really big. Why, you ask? Because the tree was up Thanksgiving weekend. If you know Mr. Practical, that's good. Real good. We're still suckers for live trees. Yes, we know about fire hazards, bugs, babies who eat pine needles and daddies who step on them, but we can't seem to pull ourselves away from the great outdoors and our little family tradition.

I'm actually surprised that we're still this committed, considering our track record. Maybe we should be committed for continuing on with our little annual stream of bad luck. You see, we've been known for our trips to the tree farm in the past. The Lord uses memorable family moments like these to keep me humble, I swear. I get laughs every year when the season comes around and I mention that we're planning to head out to the farm again.

Remember this year, and oh yes... who could forget this one? Yeah. So glad we can entertain you with our quickly-becoming-predictable mishap stories. So very funny to you. Not funny to me until much, much later. And don't you forget it.

But we're sentimental little suckers, who nowadays are tipping the balance a lot closer to forty than we are thirty. Approaching mid-life and officially beginning to get stuck in our ways. Strangely satisfying if you must know.

So the tree farm strikes again.

What stories will it hold this year? Stay tuned, my friends. Stay tuned...