Monkeys & marshmallows

What do you do when big brother is out having fun in the snow and you have to stay inside?

Why, play with marshmallows of course! Who knew a marshmallow stuck to the forehead could be so much fun!

Thank goodness, best friend Mo is there to provide comfort as little boy watches big brother have fun.

Its official...he's growing up.

Lego's have landed at our house!

And he has loved every moment of it. (And so has Daddy!)

I love that concentration. Hopefully that will all come in handy in school!

And how could he not be excited...its a gas tanker!

A new view

Do you suppose someone should tell him that the basket doesn't add any height?

Merry Christmas

On a distant night not so long ago, a baby was born in an unexpected setting.

As a gift from God, that baby was born to rescue me, and you.

Merry Christmas to you.

The Langni

How the Langni decorate for Christmas

We love to get out all the ornaments and hang them up together. Okay, really...I put the hooks on the ornaments and Aaron supervises the hanging of the ornaments.

Breven really enjoyed being a part of it this year. He would walk over to me waiting for an ornament, say "tay too" (thank you) when I gave it to him, run over to Aaron, hand it up to him and say "tay too" and then run back to me again. It was one continuous loop:)

And the boys decided to get extra creative so the ornaments won't all be at knee height.

Can you tell how proud of himself, B is?

star pops

Guess what Mommy and Daddy gave us for dessert? After eating aaallll our dinner?

Yea...thats right. Star Pops!

And man, are they good!

I don't know how my hand got all blue, but I've got to find a way to get it off. Can't impress the ladies with a blue arm, you know.

You know, I don't think Noah cares so much about impressing the ladies.

but that's okay cause it just leaves more for me...How you doin'?

Breven's sleepsack

If you came to visit our house on a typical day, this is often how you would find B.

He LOVES his sleepsack and if we have to go anywhere, its a struggle to get it off of him. So, most days I let him lounge around the house in his sleep sack (who wouldn't love being surrounded by a warm blanket all the time?!?!)

Mr Studious

This is his favorite place to be after we go to the library. So glad he digs reading!

Birthday celebrations

My big 4 year old! We spent the evening at some friends house to get some stuff ready for his big party the next weekend. He has surprised me a lot recently...When asked what we should have for dessert for his actual birthday, he asked for pudding. I can't tell you the last time we had pudding!

Little man is so proud of himself. He's finally beat Daddy!

The biggest surprise N gave me recently was when I asked what kind of cake he wanted for his party. We had been talking about fire trucks and I just assumed it would be a firetruck cake, but no...only a TRASH TRUCK would do for this 4 year old.

How on earth do you throw a trash truck birthday party?!?!?

But in typical Emy fashion, I dove in head first and found that we actually had quite a lot of fun getting "Trashed" at his party:)

His trash truck cake.

I have to admit, I really had a hard time deciding what games to play. The problem: half of the people Noah wanted to invite to the party were adults. There weren't actually any other 4 year olds. The people he invited ranged from 1 to 30ish:) And trying to find games that would be fun for all ages (with a trash truck theme) was really hard!! Aaron and I didn't finally nailed down just what we would be doing and how the party would go until the night before. But once we came up with the games, my husband did a great job figuring it all out and making it fun and challenging for all.

We played

-"dig for the clothes pins and paper clips" in shredded paper (which I should mention was Breven's favorite area. He was pulling shredded paper out by the handful)

-shoot newspaper trashballs into a trashcan

-Put on a trash truck worker jumpsuit (spin around 5 times and try to get it on)

Wouldn't he make such a cute trashman? Okay, so its a little big, but there's plenty of room to grow. (and plenty of time too, if Mama has anything to say about it)

I gotta sneak in a snuggle

We also had fun with the food. We made

-Junkyard dogs (corn dogs)

-Chicken scraps (chicken fingers)

-Moldy cheese wheels (quesadillas)

-Veggie Debris and sludge (veggies and dip)

-Fruitfly friendly fruit

Overall, the night was a success! Noah loved it and you could tell he was in his element with all his favorite Indiana people around him.

Oh the places you'll go!

When I stare into the black eyes of my little boy, I can't help but think of where he will go...

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

by Dr. Seuss (and some Mommy paraphrases)

Congratulations!

Today's a great day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

If God's direction you choose

You've got nothing to lose.

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

What more can I say.

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

Happy 4th birthday, Lovebug! So hard to believe it has already been 4 years!! Can you please stop growing?! Maybe I'll borrow that brick my parents always threatened to use to stop me from growing.

Your Daddy and I are so excited to watch you grow into such a great big brother, friend to others and child of God. We pray daily that you will chose God's way above your own and that you would listen to these 2 crazy people God is using to raise you:)

We love you!!

Mommy and Daddy

(Editors note: While I am fully aware that this is well beyond his actual birthday, the meaning is still the same:))

Another tradition

A friend introduced me to a great new tradition that I'd like to share with the boys.

Counting down the 25 days to Christmas by upwrapping a new book each night and reading together as a family.

I've been collecting books all year long and I went to pull them out and wrap them...and it turns out I only have 13. Sooo, maybe we'll do the 12 days before Christmas until we can add to it. (hello, after Christmas sales!!!)

I've been thinking alot about traditions this year and what I want to carry on to my children. (if you didn't already guess) I've been thinking about how I can make Christmas day more about Christ and less about "what I'm getting". I've come up with some great ideas, but I'd love to hear more...what traditions do you have to make it more Christ-centered? Any ideas or suggestions for me?

Betcha didn't know...

...that there was helicopter papparrazzi flying around the stable that night!

Going back in time

So I wanted to show you something we did while the family was here for Labor Day, but the pictures we had were lost when the camera disappeared. Thankfully, I was able to get photos from Micah and Chicku (thank you!!) so I can show you just how much fun this was...

We were able to ride the Little River Railroad train and had so much fun. It takes you 30 min., moves the engine from the front to the back and then returns you back to the start. There were several coach cars, some cattle cars with benches, a dining car and several cabooses.

The 3 cousins were in awe of the train

He was in 7th heaven. I think he would have just kept riding it if we'd let him.

The weather was great and we enjoyed watching everything go by.

It was so much fun watching these 2 all week. I don't think Esha's used to so much love from someone her size.

And it looks like she's already doing a great job of listening to Daddy...

"Now, Esha...don't hold hands with boys. Boys are bad. They only cause trouble..."

Turning 30

Soo...just turned the dreaded 3-0. Okay, so not really so dreaded and horrible, but it was hard to swallow and accept that my carefree 20's were all behind me. Thankfully I have some really great friends who reminded me of all I have to be thankful for...

-yummy delicious mexican food made just for me

-amazing desserts that just kept coming all weekend

-guacamole

-special plates and cups bought just for the occasion

-a friend who lets me be me

-comfortability

-going to extra effort to make it special while being so close to

welcoming her little boy

-boys who like to play together

-a friend so near

-flowers to brighten the room

-hugs that make anything better

-Someone so invested in my children

-food so good you can't help but wear it

-that goofy grin

-unconditional love

-stubornness (it WILL pay off some day!)

-the thoughtful and sweet gifts bestowed upon me throughout

the day (even when I really didn't wish for a trash truck:))

-the love of brothers

-the sponge for a mind -friends to share it all with

-answered prayers

-laughter

-silliness

-people willing to take time to celebrate with me

-a husband who loves me

-support and encouragement

-a willing participant in parenting

-a visual reminder of God's love

-Love Dares that challenge me to grow

-creating a day full of great memories

-health to make it to 30

-faraway family who make me feel special

-a God who has blessed me with it all

...and that's just the start:)

Cheesy smiles

To preface my story, I have to explain that instead of saying excuse me, Breven says Beep, beep. So last week we were in the triple B (Bed, Bath and Beyond) and as we were walking to the cash register, Breven came to 2 big guys standing in the aisle. He stopped and craned his neck back to look at them and then very quietly said "beep, beep".

If I'm not careful, this obsession for construction equipment could go to a whole new level. Who knows, I might wake up to find he's painted himself yellow:)

Their current mode of transportation

Traditions

I told Noah last week that on the first day it snowed (which I was definitely not looking forward to) we would pop some popcorn, make some hot chocolate and watch a movie together.

Our opportunity came at the end of last week when it started snowing in earnest. We had so much fun watch Up and having some great snacks.

And you know what...I think its going to become a new tradition:) I love traditions!

The Shedd

The boys took me to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago for my birthday and we had so much fun (thanks to the free corporate days through A's work!)

I loved being able to get away from everything here and just spend some time having fun together. They boys are both at such fun ages right now, they enjoyed all the fish and despite a lack of nap, stayed relatively content.

The only downfall to these pics is that because they don't allow flash photography, they are a little fuzzy, but I think you'll still get the idea:)

I love the relationship these 2 share. Its definitely a love/hate relationship, but its fun to watch them grow together and share in experiences together.

Sooo...we found a fish God designed just for Breven!!

For those that need the back story: he hits his head weekly and always has a knot on his head. Thankfully, a doctor friend reassured us that its just him learning how to walk and probably not a vision issue...Thank you, Lord!!!

Trying to get 2 wiggly boys to stand still long enough for a flashless picture is REALLY hard!

Our model is showing you the Carribean Reef exhibit.

Aaron's favorite part of the visit...the giant snapping turtle.

Row, row, row your boat...

NEMO! Of course, this was the boys favorite.

Getting ready to watch the dolphin show. I love my inquisitive little boy.

Apparently, Noah has had enough of the paparrazi for one day

Annnnnd, they're out!:) I think we sufficently wore them out.