A LOT OF CATCHING UP TO DO!

WARNING: THIS POST HAS POTENTIAL TO BE QUITE LENGTHY!

So much has gone on since I last posted I don't know where to begin. I think I'll use bullets. I love bullets and maybe they'll help me in keeping to the point since I seem to ramble a bit. ;) In no particular order, this is what we've been up to:

• JASPER - Jasper is the name of the elf who has taken residence at our home. He is here to watch over the boys during the day then report back to Santa at the North Pole every evening as to whether the boys have been naughty or nice. He makes his appearance in a new spot every morning, so the boys have to look around and see where he is. They have had so much fun with Jasper. If you've never heard of Elf on the Shelf, go here to see what it's all about. We're having fun with it!

Meeting Jasper:

Talking to Jasper about what they want for Christmas so he can report to Santa:

Jasper got in the marshmallows in the pantry - naughty little elf!

Taking it all in from Sissy's stocking:

• DECORATING -I mentioned in my last post we made time to decorate over the Thanksgiving Holidays. It's the first year the boys have really been interested in helping. I thoroughly enjoyed letting them do their own thing in putting the ornaments on. I was in charge of untangling the hooks and handing them out one-by-one. I think they had a good time with it, and I think they did a spectacular job!

Aren't these little reindeer so cute! I got them from Cracker Barrel. I'm still not sure how I want to display them. And do you see their cute little rosy cheeks? Well, Mac took one look at them and said, "Do you see their red cheeks, Mama?" Yes, Mac, I do. "Well that's because they got shot - it's blood." Maybe we're a little too into deer hunting.

• THE BLIND SIDE - Chris' brother, Kevin, and his three children, Anna Louise, Sophie, and Jackson came to our house Friday night to visit and spend the night before they headed back home on Saturday. All the guys were hanging out at the shop (a/k/a Chris' Man Cave) watching the Iron Bowl, so we girls decided we would go see a movie. It didn't take long to agree on The Blind Side, and boy am I glad we did. It was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. If you're looking for a good quality movie without strong language and inappropriate content, this is the movie. You leave there feeling good. It lifts your spirits! Go see it!

• A NEW HUNTER IS BORN - Hunting is a way of life for us. We love it. Chris has been taking Grant since before he was 2 years old. Mac was not a big fan of it until this year but has really taken a liking to it. That made Reid want to see what all the hype was about so Chris took him on his first hunting trip the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. They didn't bring home anything but got to watch some in the green field. I think we can safely say all 3 of our boys are going to enjoy it!

And who hunts without their own shotgun (it's a rifle to him) and pizza in a ziploc?

• CATERPILLARS - There aren't many times I would like to see this in my mailbox:

But this was an exception. We were at Costco not too long ago with the boys and saw where you can have your own live butterfly garden, starting from the caterpillar stage. The kit comes with its own little butterfly habitat and a voucher for live caterpillars. Just send in the voucher and they send your caterpillars in the mail. We had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of these suckers!

You watch them in the cup they arrived in miraculously grow bigger and bigger with each passing day until they form chrysalids. Once they do that, you remove them from the cup and place them in their habitat. Within about 7-10 days, beautiful Painted Lady butterflies emerge. Ours are still in the caterpillar stage but have grown so big compared to when they arrived. They should be forming their chrysalids very soon.

Babies:

Getting bigger:

They're even bigger today than in the picture above. Can't wait to post pictures of the chrysalis stage then of the butterflies!

• MARTHA'S BIRTHDAY - Last but certainly not least, the Friday after Thanksgiving was my sister Rachel's birthday. I cannot even begin to tell you what she means to me. It's hard to put into words. Trust me. I tried. I started listing things about her I love, and the list just kept going and going and going and going. I would still be working on that list so I decided to "borrow" a few words from Hallmark. I know, not very original but the words fit us so perfectly:

We are Sisters.

Our memories filled with the same images of Halloween costumes, Holiday gatherings, and long car trips.

Sisters...

with our own world of negotiations, truces, pacts and secrets,

and looks of shared understanding,

united by a million everyday moments that became a lifetime of sharing.

We are Sisters...

and we need never ask ourselves who we are,

for in each other we can see the girls we were,

the women we've become,

how far we've traveled in our journey together.

And we know what only Sisters can know...

That a love that grows through stages and phases

is stronger for having been tested.

That sticking together works for almost anything life can throw at us.

That we belong to each other in a way that we can never belong to anyone else ~

in a way that is deep and lasting and real.

We are Sisters.

Everyone deserves a Martha. I don't know what I did to deserve you, Martha. But I'm sure thankful for you, and so sweetly blessed God chose you as mine. I love you and cannot imagine my life without you in it! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I know there are 1001 more pictures of us out there, but these are a few I came across:

Aren't we cute:

I love this one:

Playing beauty shop with Pop:

Look at that devilish grin! :)

Always there to help: ;)

At least mom didn't cut your hair:

I miss that fireplace - almost all our pictures are in front of it:

Remember this?

Mom tried to argue that this was my real hairstyle - guess that was a real outfit you wore to school too, huh? And that's Kenneth's letterman:

I'm sure by the look on mom's face we were telling her something she did NOT want to know:

Why didn't someone tell us to wax those eyebrows:

You having LOST the freshman 15 (or more) and me having found it ALL!

And Yes, I WANT TWO WAFFLES! hee hee!

You helping me just one of the many times I've needed you most.

Can't believe that was 14 years ago:

One of the boys' birthday parties. You're always there - always!

So proud of you and all you've accomplished! You're a beautiful person!