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...