This child's going to need couseling...

If he were not my child, this would NOT be cute.

More Christmas...

Bekah opened this gift and quickly exclaimed, "We got a new kitchen floor!" What a crack-up!
I think Sam is going to be a little like his cousin Luke -- he really likes balls. I don't think we'll introduce him to golf clubs, however. (Wink, wink, Sandy.) :)

The girls were very excited about their Disney Princess vanity.

I don't get what all the fuss is about.

Christmas

The American Girl doll beds from the Pool family (and a little from us) were a big hit -- even with Sam. I hope they're sturdy because I have a feeling this won't be the last time he does this.

The only thing Emilie had asked Santa for was a digitial camera. The first present she opened Christmas morning was a clock that looked very much like it could've been a digital camera. This was the look on her face as she was realizing this wasn't "just what I'd asked Santa for!". P.S. She didn't get the digital camera, but I haven't heard her mention it since!

Christmas Eve started out for us at Grandma and Grandpa Brunton's (Jay's parents) house then moved on to Mom and Dad's church for their Christmas Eve service (the girls sang in the program) and ended up at Mom and Dad's for dinner (I'm only calling it that because we ate so late). (Wow. That's a lot of ( )( )( ).) Mom and Dad had invited their pastor's family over so the kids even had some stand-in cousins! :) Christmas morning we opened gifts at our house and then took some time to play with some of the new toys before heading over to Brad's parents' where we pretty much spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying family and our gifts.

Sledding!

Wow! I've actually posted a video!!! This was from the other day when I posted about building the sledding track. Not very good at all for lighting conditions and I think my voice sounds funny because it was so cold, but you can kind of get the idea of what was going on.

He took it so I'm posting it!

I love this guy!

Nathan got an Uncle Kenny!

One of Nathan's gifts from Brad's parents was a mini beefed-up (is that an oxymoron?) Uncle Kenny! I don't think they knew (or at least remembered) that one of Nathan's uncles is a police officer, but I thought it was pretty funny! The toy even walks around and holds a gun and a nightstick. He's had a lot of fun with it!

I'll be sure to post more later this weekend on our Christmas doings, but I thought I'd get this one up right away.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!

And yes, Nathan is wearing a Bears jersey. Much to my (and his) chagrin. However, Jay (Brad's step-dad, an avid Bears fan) is getting up there in years and I thought I should humor him in his old age. ;)

Bet you didn't know WI has mountains too!

But they melt. Eventually. (I just have to keep believing that every year!) :)

After getting our driveway plowed out yesterday afternoon, Brad decided to make a sledding track down our mountain of snow. We finished it last night and the kids had a blast!! Emilie woke up this morning very concerned that it might have melted. Fortunately, we're only supposed to add to that snow later today and tomorrow and the highs are nowhere near warm enough to melt snow anytime over the next week. We'll probably go out again later this afternoon and I'll try to get some live action shots and post them sometime over the weekend.

Santa

The YMCA had a "Storytime with Santa" a few weeks back and I took the older kids. Among other things, they were able to personally deliver their letters to Santa. Nathan wanted a cake, Bekah wanted candy and Emilie wanted a digital camera. I'm not sure which one will be more difficult for Santa to get on his sleigh -- the cake or the digital camera!

My Birthday

Brad took me out for my birthday dinner early Thursday evening to avoid the big snowstorm that was supposed to start at 5pm, but actually started at midnight (forecasting is such an exact science!). We went to Damon's and I think Derek will be happy to know that they've removed their "Petite Cut" from the menu and just stick with calling the smaller cuts of meat by their weight. :)

I also got to pick out my own present at the Scrapbook store (30% off one item on your birthday) and used some birthday money to get a Cuttlebug DieCut machine. I've used it a few times already and am anxious to pull out all my scrapbooking stuff, but need to wait till after Christmas at this point!

Blowing out the Candles

The Birthday Boy!

A big hit -- a truck with a working screwdriver that you can take completely apart and then put back together.

Nathan's birthday party was Saturday afternoon at Mom and Dad's house. He started out pretty shy, but once the mention of presents hit his ears, he was ready to party! He got lots of fun things and would've stayed up all night playing with them if we'd let him. He's really getting to be a little boy -- very lovable, but full of mischief.

The Real Stuff

Now this is snow! (I should know -- I shoveled quite a bit of it already this season!) The first big snow of the year was the wet stuff that just clings to the trees and looks so pretty. The kids have played in it a few times now and I've found that all the bundling up isn't as tedious as it was last year, probably because they're all one year older and a little more self-sufficient. We're supposed to get dumped on tonight into tomorrow. Last I heard, they were calling for 9-12 inches. Reminds me of the day Nathan was born -- three years ago today -- it snowed quite a bit that day also.

Trimming the Tree

Emilie doing the robotic.

We got our Christmas Tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was actually a pretty nice day compared to years past and we even enjoyed the horse-drawn wagon ride. The girls were eager to help decorate once we got the tree in the stand and proceeded to put the ornaments in a neat little row at their eye level. :) Ahhh...the art of decorating a Christmas tree!

The apple peeling poll

Alright. Who keeps changing their vote? Someone ashamed to be in the minority? 'Fess up. I know someone else peels apples away from themselves! (Yes, I revealed my method.)

Yes, I was one of the crazy ones

I left our house at about 4:30 yesterday morning for some power shopping with the crazy masses of people that think this sort of thing is fun. Every time I do this, I inevitably laugh at the sheer silliness of it all -- Otherwise normal people (for the most part) getting up super early just to save a few bucks. It was fun, though! The lines were pretty long, but I wasn't going for much and was able to get everything I had on my list (a definite plus).

Are we EVER going to eat?

Sam got plopped in his chair for Thanksgiving dinner a few minutes before the rest of us and wasn't exactly happy about it! This kid can give you some looks!

Static Cling!

This is how the girls' hair is all winter, but Nana and Papa's new couch was especially effective at creating static head.

Am I the only one?

So I made an apple pie for Thanksgiving. Follow my train of thought here...While thinking about whether or not making an apple pie for Thanksgiving breaks some code, I was wondering if there were other home-making type things Mom never taught me growing up that she just assumed I knew. Like how to peel an apple. When my sister was home in May, she and Mom were giving me quite a hard time because I don't do it the "right" way. So I thought I'd take a poll. Do you peel towards yourself or away from yourself? (In the interest of not influencing the vote (and in case no one does it my way), I'll (maybe) let you know later how I do it.) :)

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

This one's for you

Because I know how jealous my CA family really is (even though they won't admit it), here's a picture of some snow we woke up to the other morning. It was all gone by noon, but sure was a pretty sight to wake up to. The alarm clock in our bedroom is set to the local radio station and it turned on right when a little boy was calling in to see if school was cancelled for the day. Funny!

Bekah Turns 4!

Nathan's really become the class clown (great) and was up by Bekah making funny faces when Chuck E started moving and swatted Nathan with his hand, scaring him quite a bit. The rest of us were in stitches!

Bekah turned 4 this past Sunday (November 23rd) and spent the morning at McDonald's for Breakfast with Daddy and then got to open her present from the Waymeyer family. I took her roller skating in the afternoon and she did very well and especially enjoyed the Chicken Dance. Her long-standing request was that we make it to Chuck E. Cheese that day, so we ended there for supper, cake and presents. She's gotten to be quite the little lady and I love her to pieces! :)

I'm Thankful for Family!!

Inspired by my pastor's wife's blog on things she's thankful to God for (what a great idea!) and the fact that my kids are currently watching our Schut Family Vacation '06 video, I'd like to say that I'm very grateful to God for my family! While I miss my sisters and their families especially at this time of year, I am thankful that Brad's family and my parents are close. I'm looking forward to getting together with Brad's family tomorrow and will enjoy the day spent with family -- one of God's most precious gifts here on earth.

I wonder...

Is it wrong to only make an apple pie for Thanksgiving? I think there may be some unwritten (or written?) code that says if you're in charge of making dessert for Thanksgiving, at least one of said desserts must be a pumpkin pie. But...during my weekly grocery trip last Thursday I completely overlooked planning for Thanksgiving and would really like to avoid the grocery store today. So can I just make an apple pie instead? Whaddayathink?

Lipstick?

Last week, the girls had their first "Awana store" where they get to buy items with the money they've earned for reciting their Bible verses (among other things). One of the things Emilie bought was some finger nail polish. And yes, you're drawing the right conclusion. Nathan thought it was lip gloss and proceeded to covertly steal it away and hide behind the chair to apply some. Cute, eh?

Can You See It?

It's snowing here today...Can you tell? The kids are really excited, but don't really get the fact that it'll be awhile (thank goodness) before it sticks. Time to pull out scarves, hats and mittens...and boots...and ear muffs...and long underwear...and....

Stinker!

Sometimes I really struggle with disciplining Sam because he can be just so darn cute! This was one of those times. Like Nathan, this kid was climbling up ladders and onto countertops before walking and like Nathan, the primary purpose of this trick was (is) usually to get food. At least Sam picked an apple...Nathan used to go for cookies!

Nathan's New Bed

I think we've cured Nathan of climbing into Sam's crib with him at night. For the last few weeks, his new place to sleep is under Sam's crib. I might as well de-clutter their room and just put his bed in the basement! The only real problem with this arrangement is that the furnace is set to kick on at about 5:30 in the morning and the vent that's right under Sam's crib seems to be waking Nathan up. I've joked with Brad that we're going to have to put Nathan on the bottom bunk when we get the boys bunk beds!

Trick or Treating

Grandma helping Sam (Elmo) walk.

Checking the goods. She did this after every house. And I think she asked to eat a piece of candy after every house, too.

Halloween this year was one of our 70+ days and for once, the kids were warm enough in their lightweight costumes (which meant we didn't have to stuff them into their winter coats). It actually made trick-or-treating more pleasant for the adults, too.

We stopped at my Grandma Schut's house for some goodies (Sam was in one of his "I'm not too sure about this" moods) and then went trick-or-treating down my parent's street in Clinton. We ran into my mom by accident and she joined us for the second half of our journey. Afterwards, we got pizza and then headed over to Brad's parents' house for a little more trick-or-treating. Once we got home I told the kids they could stay up and eat candy while we watched a movie. A perfect case study in why young children need parents -- they would've eaten candy until they were sick if I hadn't intervened!