Christmas Eve 2011

 Christmas Eve 2011

Noah (3), Jackson (1), Nicholas (4), and Matthew (7) with their Mommies.  Susie & I laughed our head's off when we saw what the other was wearing! Yes, we ARE related! NO, we did NOT talk about or plan what we were wearing before hand! But, as you can see, we BOTH wore red satin shirts with black skirts, and black boots! Hilarious!

The Runte Family



Christmas Eve 2011~
This was the 1st Christmas Eve since Noah has been born that we were all WELL! What a wonderful Christmas present! Since I was a little girl, our family tradition was going to Christmas Eve service and then opening one gift before drifting off to dreamland.  Funny thing about getting nostalgic for the past---we tend to forget that the way things WERE will not necessarily replicate into the way things WILL NOW BE! Denise ended up being sick Christmas Eve, so she was unable to come to Susie's house before service. Well, I thought. At least I'll get to be with Dad on Christmas Eve and the boys can be with their Grampa on this special occasion. Well, wrong again. Even though Dad had to preach Eve service, he was also not feeling well, and cancelled. Susie called me Christmas Eve day, and said, "It looks like it's just going to be you and me, kid!"  So much for my ideas about an old-fashioned Christmas Eve! It was all we could do to get to Susie's house on time before church.  I hadn't wrapped a SINGLE present but was determined to bring all our Christmas presents for the extended family to Susie's house on Christmas Eve (and the food we were bringing, etc) so that we wouldn't be scurrying on Christmas day.  One thing I love about Susie...she's like the most easy-going, low-maintenance person alive! I, on the other hand, am not.  I'm REALLY good at being able to just live in the present moment and take all the joy in...it's just GETTING to the JOY part that I need to work on. Little perfectionist in recovery, I guess I am.  Anyway, Susie was so laid back, it made for a nice time! She had some wonderful Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade waiting for me (which I never tried), but it was delicious! Maybe that's why she's so laid back (kidding!) I surprised her with the boys' handprints on a canvas, which she loved, so that was a high point. Church was another story.  The boys were tired and overstimulated, and it seemed like a rather long hour! I kept telling Noah about the best part of Christmas Eve service...lighting the candle and singing Silent Night by candlelight.  Well, it finally came. Silent Night. Ahhhhh. Noah held his candle and sang the first verse. Then he was over it. At one point, he started to tilt his candle forward...almost to the point of catching the acolyte's hair on fire...but it was an official near miss! Whew! Crisis averted! We did get to hug Grampa, so that was nice. Then Noah had a meltdown about chicken nuggets. Nuggets on Christmas Evening? After church? Well, thank you sweet baby Jesus that we arrived at McDonald's 10 minutes before they closed! Another crisis averted.  At that point, Jackson was melting down, and I literally had to r-e-a-c-h back into his carseat and feed him nugget bites, with a car-full of presents.  Not pretty. THEN, we finally get home, get the boys to bed by 9:30 and realize one small important oops----WE HAVEN'T WRAPPED PRESENTS FOR THE BOYS YET! So, I ended up staying up until 1:30 am wrapping the presents. Michael helped A LOT! In fact, he stayed up LATER than me. I think he rolled in at 3 am. He stayed up an extra 1 1/2 hours wrapping my presents. I told him I didn't care at all, and to save himself for rest, but he stayed up. Sweet man. 
SO, the moral of the story? Don't set your expectations so high for the way things "should" be.  I'm a therapist. I know that. Lesson learned.  Enjoy the ride. That's what it's all about.  And, even though it didn't turn out the way I had it envisioned in my mind, it was still a memorable night! Merry Christmas Eve!

Polar Express with my 3 loves

Getting ready to board the Polar Express! Love Daddy's jammies!

The 3 loves of my life!

Tonight our family went on a train ride on the Polar Express. It was MAGICAL! Noah was over the moon! He loves trains more than just about anything, and being able to ride a real train was just about as great as life gets for a 3 year-old boy! His eyes lit up and his grin spread from ear to ear! When the staff on the train sang songs, clapped, or danced, my Noah just jumped right in! He was in heaven. I must admit, I was in heaven, too! I thought to myself, "This would've been the perfect job for me as I was going through college! I'd love to be the fun elf on the train singing and dancing and just celebrating with the families on board!" And sweet Jackson...poor baby, didn't even get to nap more than 30 minutes...but was perfect. There was one moment when I sat him on our table and he pressed his little hands (and nose) against the glass windows. He just watched in wonderment at the passing forrest. It's so amazing to watch him discover each new day.  And Michael---well, he is the best. Noah wanted Daddy to wear pajamas on the train, so...much against his desire...Daddy wore pajamas and got in the true spirit! I told him that when he's looking back on his life...he'll be glad he was in the spirit and fully engaged with his children, rather than a dad that sat on the sidelines out of "ego." He agreed. (Although, we ran into one of his long-time friends that drove all the way from Houston to ride the train, & the 1st thing Todd mentioned was Michael's PJ's! Hilarious!) There was one moment when Jackson was pressed up against the window, and I glanced at Michael & Noah smiling at each other as they shared a cookie.  I got tears in my eyes, as I thought to  myself, "This is what life is all about. MOMENTS.  Moments Like this!"  Life is dessert!

Visiting Santa~2011

Visiting Santa 2011~Noah (3)

Jackson (1- AND NOT HAPPY!)

This Christmas, we ventured to the mall to take pictures with Santa. Last year, Jackson was only a month old, and we avoided the outside germs of the mall, and Daddy dressed up as Santa.  Note to self: Highly recommended.

Noah was quite excited to visit Santa, but Jackson was another story. Noah chatted it up with Santa and even gave him a kiss. Santa told him 2 or 3 times how much he loved his hat. My Noah is always styling!

Jackson has serious separation anxiety from Mommy right now. There are times that he even won't go to Daddy. He's just a Mama's Boy. Period.  So, imagine how great it would turn out when we took him out of Mommy's arms and placed him on the lap of Santa, a scary stranger to him. Now, imagine that we had to take him to see Santa near near his bedtime, because it's 2 days before Christmas and we can't go Christmas Eve. Now imagine that he only napped 30 minutes today instead of 1 1/2-2 hours. Now, picture in your mind how fun our adventure would be.

Yeah, that's about how bad it turned out! Poor little Jackson.  He started sobbing before he was even placed on Santa's lap! Noah didn't know WHAT to do!  So, I told Santa to scoot his big booty over and we all squeezed in for a picture.  Poor Jackson settled down...meaning, he stopped wailing, but, as you can see from his poor little pictures, he was not a happy camper.  I'm sorry, sweetie!

I hope next year is easier! Mommy loves you!

Saying YES!

Last week, I got so busy...I didn't get my saying yes post done.  I'm a busy mom trying to juggle it all, and between sick boys last week, pediatrician's visits, school parties, work, and hosting a family Christmas at our house (not to mention, doing all the shopping and wrapping, and baking for that Christmas) I didn't get it done. Good thing I'm working on progress, NOT perfection!

This week, I'm saying YES to...

• Baking Christmas cookies with the boys.
• Finishing last-minute Christmas shopping & wrapping presents.
• I'm saying yes to a lighter work load, and unfortunately due to the holidays...a heavier number on the scale (yikes!)
• Yes to turkey, homemade mashed potatoes, and the whole family gathered around the table.
• Yes to attending church on Christmas Eve...PLEASE, God...Please let this be the FIRST Christmas since Noah was born that we are ALL WELL!!
• I'm saying yes to working out during the early part of the week to lighten the poundage that will result from the late-week carb-fest!
• Yes to watching, and re-watching how adorable Noah was during last week's Christmas play. Priceless!
• I'm saying yes to stressing less, appreciating more.
• Yes to sending the Christmas cards out...LATE...and NOT worrying about it!
• Yes to Judge Clark's Christmas party, taking the boys on the Polar Express train ride, and a trip to the zoo.
• I'm saying yes to JOY RISING!
• Yes to Christmas music, and laughing outloud listening to Adam Sandler's Chanukah Song (As today is the 1st day of Hannukah).
• I'm saying yes to remembering with a happy heart...all the special Christmas' past I was blessed to have with my precious mother. 
• Yes to staying in the present moment, and focusing on the REAL reason for the season...
• YES to celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. 
• Yes to candle-light service on Christmas Eve.
• Yes to family traditions and opening one present on Christmas Eve.
• I'm saying yes to gratitude and finding joy in each day.
• Yes to lots of pictures capturing our memories.
• Yes to our 2nd Christmas as a family of four.
• Yes to watching the boys open their presents.
• Yes to smiles!
• Yes to the true spirit of the holiday season; Jesus, peace, love, giving, and JOY!

YES! YES! YES!

Judge Clark's Christmas Party

 Courtney (my hero!)

Tiffani (The ADA) & her daughter.  Tiffani is a class act. Love her.

My sweet friend, Karen...We are going to ride the bull at Southern Junction lol.

Judge Clark hosted a marvelous Christmas party at her beautiful home tonight, and it was such an honor to be there among so many incredible people.  Judge Clark has taught me so much, and she really cares deeply about the families we serve.  Her integrity is above board, and I'm just SO blessed to be a part of her team! It is absolutely the most favorite thing I've EVER done! My favorite people were at the party, too! These people mean so much to me. Truly. Amazing. Folks!  Life IS dessert!

Day at the zoo

Today, I took the boys to the zoo. It was chilly outside, but the boys needed to get out, so we made the trip! (I'm spontaneous that way!) This was the 1st time that I've really let Noah try to walk around on his own (as he has a history of darting off, which really can freak a mama out when she's behind a stroller!) But....wonderful news---he did PERFECT! Seriously...PERFECT! (That is, at the zoo. When it was time to nap...that's another story that I hope to forget). I regress.  We had a super time at the zoo and then had some McDonald's happy meals (well, the boys did). Great time!

Christmas Pictures taken by Veronica

Noah (3), Mommy, & Jackson (1)

Brotherly Blessings

My best friend's daughter, Veronica, is only a sophomore in high school...and she took these pictures of us, as she's interested in photography! I think she's off to a great start! $35 for 20 images...a lot cheaper than you can get anywhere else...plus you get the CD!

I can't figure out why  my sweet Jackson's pictures all downloaded crooked! They weren't like that, but my ridiculous blog won't let me turn it. So, if you really want to see sweet Jackson, TURN your head! lol. (He's worth a head turn. Trust me.)