Resistance is Futile

The clone warriors that have moved into our house are armed and dangerous. They have weird electronic voices that are hard to understand, and they make lots of crazy demands. Their choice of weaponry is puzzling. Why would clone warriors from the future equip themselves with Tommy 20s? Could it be because you can load it up with 20 darts and fire rapidly? All I know is that these clone drones got exactly what they wanted for Christmas, and it was fun for Santa to see those frowns turn upside down when they finally found them behind the tree! Cruel Santa...tsk, tsk.

Too much Christmas makes Lucy fall asleep on floor.

Introducing Jacob Forbes the Professional Engineer

That's right, he did it. He is legit. All that hard work and sacrifice really paid off. On December 23, he received an email from the Texas Board of Engineers stating that he had successfully completed the test. YEAH!!!! This was quite a hurtle for him and we are so happy and proud of Jacob the P.E. (not to be confused with Putz with Ears).

North Pole Flyer

Every year the Austin Steam Train Association has a Christmas train, and these train rides are so popular that they sell out in August. This year I was on the ball and got us tickets before they sold out. Now since these tickets sell out 6 months in advance, I had some pretty high expectations for this train ride...think "Polar Express". They advertised that there would be hot chocolate, cookies, a story, caroling and a visit from Santa. The first hint that this may not be exactly what I pictured was when we saw families carrying blankets. We are having a cold snap in Texas, and it was 35 F when we got to the train depot. So Mel cajoles me into asking why they have blankets...you know the answer don't you? Because coach does not have heating. What?? Great. Strike one. So we get the hot chocolate, and it becomes immediately apparent that a better name for this beverage would be "stone cold chocolate water". Strike two. The carols were fun, but you could not hear the story. Strike three came when Santa visited the car and handed out, you guessed it, train whistles to all the children. I guess not all parents have a rule regarding the outdoor use of whistles, because at one point I think Mel threatened to "start shoving some whistles down children's throats." All in all, the kids had fun and that is what really counted; however, I can check this off of my list of things to do and move on. I think my toes are just now beginning to de-thaw! Merry Christmas everyone!

Lucy's Party

We had a little gathering to celebrate Lucy's birthday, and it was a great time! We felt so fortunate to have our friends and family come and help us celebrate such a big day for us. We had some cake, and despite not being the best eater Lucy managed to eat some! She received some really nice gifts, and one of them happened to be a James Avery charm bracelet with 3 charms! Never too early for the bling. It was really important to me & Jake to create some happy memories on her birthday, and we definitely succeeded!

Lucy Eleanor Forbes

This past year has had a lot of firsts for us, and we are so very grateful to be on the other side...happy and healthy. So here is a movie to commemorate Lucy's first year in the world.

Caughtcha Joon

Rhys Gabriel Forbes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RED!

1st day

1st bday

2nd bday

3rd bday

4th bday

5th bday

Dang Cheerleaders

I tell you, it has been some week for conversation during our morning school commute. Pulling into the parking lot today, Rhys commented, "I hate when cheerleaders spray paint cars. It just makes people horrible drivers." He asked, "Isn't that vandalism, Mom?" I was stumped, until I saw a car that had the sale info painted on the windows. Then I remembered that our neighbor was on the football team and the cheerleaders would often write on his car!! :) He finished his thought by saying, "Those cheerleaders should find something better to do with their time." I wish that cheerleader vandalism was the cause of the bad driving that occurs in the parking lot, then we could do something about it. As it is, there is nothing to do but keep our heads down and smile when people cut us off. Aaahh...Winter Break!

NICU Nurses & Santa

So this morning we were driving to school and Ethan asks, "Santa did visit Lucy last year, right Mom?" At first I said, "No," but quickly changed my tune when I realized where this conversation was going. So I told him that Santa had brought Lucy a really warm blanket while she was in the NICU. The next thing I hear out of the backseat is, "Santa must have to time it perfectly to arrive when those nurses are not in the room." This stumped me for a minute, and then I explained to Ethan that the nurses can't leave the NICU babies alone because they are very sick and need constant care. You can guess the conclusion that he came to..."So, NICU nurses get to see Santa?" I thought about it, took a chance, and answered, "Yes, I think some of them do." Rhys, who was quiet up until this point quickly said, "So Lucy has seen Santa?" I assured him that Lucy was asleep most of the time in the NICU and did not see Santa. Ethan's final thought was, "Maybe I will be a NICU nurse, but I am glad that Lucy is home with us this year." Rhys quickly agreed. Driving home, I felt pretty lucky to have had such an awesome conversation with my kids. Out of nowhere, they can stop the world from spinning and pinpoint what is really important.

Brand New Roller Skates

So Big Red is going to be 6 on Wednesday. Aunt Lisa gave him his present early and Rhys is rocking the "old skool" roller skates! Here is a pic, and I am going to try and upload a movie.

Kid quote...

Today I told Ethan to take his jacket just to cover his bases. He then responded, "Just like a hitchhiker, we should always be prepared." Whaa?

"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" by Barbara Robinson

We read this book every year. It cracks me up, and lets face it I married into the Herdman clan. I love reading it to the boys, but more than that I love reading it for myself. The book describes the story of the birth of Jesus in a way that chokes me up every time I read it. It really drives home the meaning of Christmas. If you have not read this book, you need to go get it (cue "Reading Rainbow" music). It will change the way you and your family look at the Nativity. You will probably want to add ham.

Family Picture Gone Wrong

This is not the photo you will be receiving with your Christmas card...

The Nutcracker

I love "The Nutcracker". I am not joking. Once during a trip to Dallas, the radio stopped working so I hummed the ENTIRE musical program for Jacob. Needless to say, he was impressed with my skills, and my lips were numb for an hour. I have often blamed my parents for enrolling me in karate and blatantly ignoring my potential for ballet (except for that balance thing); I could have been a Claire, or at least a Bon Bon. I don't know when this obsession started, but it has always been my desire to attend this magical ballet with my children. We took them for the 1st time last year, and this year they were counting down the days until the show. I love sharing this with them, and I hope that it is not a tradition that they outgrow too fast. Aaahh, to be the Snow Queen. One can dream.

Christmas Tree Huntin'

I have a problem, well many to be honest, but the one that I am referring to has to do with finding the perfect Christmas tree (this also applies to pumpkins). I have made Jake hold up countless trees, visit numerous tree stands, and tromp over miles of tree farms searching for "the tree". In Oregon it got downright nasty...the weather was not always hospitable to our endeavor, but finding a tree on a farm and cutting it down holds so much appeal. I guess this is the first time that the boys paid attention to the process, because after 5 minutes they were pointing at any tree yelling, "Mom, I think this is the one." Jake, knowing better, followed me around and patiently waited until I found it. And I did. And it was fun!

Time is an amazing thing

Ethan had a class project about family history. One of the questions had the student reflect on what life was like for the oldest member of the family when they were 7. We did some math and figured out that Opa is the oldest member of our family, coming in at 62. Ethan's first thought was, "I wonder what color his covered wagon was?". He thought about it and then said, "I bet Opa learned to drive in one of those cars with the tire on the back...a Model T.". With thoughts like these, we immediately called Opa to get his take on the whole thing. He laughed and asked us if we had put Ethan up to it. Then Opa set the record straight on a few things. You bet we had to come home and look up Roy Rogers! In retrospect, it is so cool that Ethan thinks that humans could make so much progress in such a short period of time. Who didn't think we would be driving flying cars by now? Kid logic is AWESOME!!!

It's A Beaut, Clark

Jake really outdid himself this year!! Check it out...