Happy Valentines Day!

On Sunday afternoon Joey asked Isaac who is Valentine was.  He said, "Mommy".  To which I replied, Yay for me!  Joey responded with a splendid idea.  "How bout Georgie be my Valentine and I'll be hers and we'll all make Valentines for eachother." (I didn't get jealous because Joey and I had celebrated the night before while the kids slept over at there Altus Grandmother, Ruth's house;)  The fact that Joey came up with this idea made my heart melt.  That alone was the perfect Valentines day gift for me!  I was so excited!  He and Isaac went into the front room, armed with paper, stamps, markers and a computer and went to work.  Georgie and I scrounged up our own supplies and began mapping out our own Valentine ideas for our handsome men.  After about 20 minutes of creating and several warnings from Isaac to "not peek" or "don't come in yet" we joined up together to swap Valentines.  Joey gave Georgie a kitty kat card that said "Be Mine" and you can see fairly clearly the one she made for Joey, complete with the spelling of "ValentiMes" since that is how she pronounces it.  Inside she wrote 5 things she loves about daddy and sealed it with a lipstick kiss.  Her 5 things were:

1. I love him

2.  He hugs me

3.  He kisses me

4.  He plays guitar for me

5.  He reads me stories

Isaac colored a picture of a dragon for my card.  It was breathing out yellow fire that said, "Be My Valentine."  He chose a fantastic color scheme and he was so proud of it!  I folded him a paper airplane and decorated it with some stamps and equations like, Isaac + Mom = Love etc.  I tell you that only because he got such a kick out of it.  It was such a fun little activity and it only took about half an hour.  I think we'll be making it a Valentine tradition until someone becomes too cool for it;)  HOpefully that NEVER happens!  I love doing fun family things like this ESPECIALLY when someone else comes up with the idea.  It seems to go over so much better when I'm not the one pushing it.  I don't know if it's because the pressure is not there for me or if things run better when they're done on a whim or what but I do love it!   Happy Valentines Day everyone!

XOXOXO

The Merbacks

p.s.  If you're wondering why my face is so chubby in that picture (and I'm sure you are because you are so completely aware of my pound gainage;)  and you don't already know why...I'll tell you...drum roll please...We're having baby #3 at the end of July!  Yippee!!  Woo Hoo!  And yes, we are very excited! 

The Mother of All Storms

We just survived the Mother of All Ice Storms.  (I stress the word "ICE" so as not to invoke supreme amounts of anger in Katrina and other Massive hurricane survivors...but we were without power for 8 days!  That's pretty huge!) And some Altus folks are STILL without power!  The scenery was truly surreal here.  There were fallen power lines and branches EVERYWHERE!

Don't you want to lay back and take a siesta in this summery hammock.

Our poor little frozen Christmas tree!

Here Isaac is loving the crunch of ice encrusted branches beneath his feet.  Please note Georgie's tutu, tights and pink boots even in this weather.  She never misses a beat!  And I swear to you, I do not dress this child!  This is ALL of her own doing!

Needless to say, we did a lot of lounging in sweats for eight days.  We sat around the fire, colored, played games, snuggled, had friends over, went to friends houses, stayed up late etc.  So much of it was FUN!  There was a tinge of sadness when the power began to come back.  It meant our life of friends, Joey home from work and leisure were over.  Of course this is easy for me to say because we had a generator, a gas fireplace and a gas stove.  We weren't exactly suffering. 

Something I will always remember about this experience was how people came together.  Everyone was calling to check up on everyone else, offering a warm place to sleep, hot food, babysitting, a visit, the sacrament and the list goes on.  The community really came together here.  It was a great experience of serving and being served.    

Seven days without power will always be a great story to tell!  

It was really nice just being together (except for that one day when all we did was fight with each other;) And now its back to life as normal....bring it on...along with a little sunshine, please!

Christmas in Park City

Our REALLY white Christmas in Park City!

 Two ski buddies, Isaac and cousin Max.  These two guys tore it up on that mountain and LOVED every minute of it.  Isaac has become pretty much independent out there, which is great but I'm most excited about the fact that he really LOVES it!  When they got home the second day after being gone from open until close I told him how impressed I was that he stayed all day.  "That's because I LOVE it Mom, I really LOVE it!"  Ooooh that is music to my ears!

Some sledding going on on our hill...Isaac and Reese.

And this picture just makes me want to get Georgie a puppy!  She is such an animal lover and I am just mean for not helping her develop that!  Look at her little face just LOVING and connecting with that dog.

I like this one;)

And I really like this picture because there we are...that's all of us!  The whole family.  We dont' get many of these.  And the best part about this picture is what was going on while we were taking them.  My Dad started out the session by yelling out funny things for us to say to keep the kids attentive and smiling for the camera.  He would say...Chuck E Cheese or snow Skiing or something silly.  These comments sort of snow balled into random words that had caused tention between us throughout the week and before long I was yelling "Communism", Adam..."Socialized Medicine", "Obama", "Religion", "Mini-vans", "Google Scam" and we were all just cracking up.  It was good for my politically polar and opinionated family to laugh at ourselves.  The perfect way to wrap up the week!  Merry Christmas to all!  And more importantly, now, A Happy New Year...2010!

Christmas in OK

Christmas in Oklahoma

This year we got to enjoy two Christmas', one here in Oklahoma and the second at the cabin in Park City.   Here are a few blips of our first Christmas week right here at home.

Christmas Eve could not have been better.  It began with a virtual blizzard and 6-8 inches of snow.  Our Elf on The Shelf, Sparkle, had to head back to the North Pole to help Santa Prepare for his big night.  But before his departure he dropped off a note for the kids and a huge book filled with stories and pictures by our favorite author, Jan Brett.  We began our snowy morning by reading the entire thing, in our pajamas, covered with blankets!  I think that's my idea of a perfect morning...staying in bed for an extra two hours.  Gee, I'm such a go getter!

We spent the rest of the day cooking, watching movies, rescuing a neighbor from being stuck in the snow and then, finally, after much begging, building a snowman.  Georgie managed to sneak out the door in only tights and a dress...and she never once complained about being cold.  She should have been born into one of Jan Bretts stories about reindeer, mittens and snow loving trolls!  That evening the kids acted out the scripture story of Christs birth for all the adults.  They even sang us some Christmas songs. This was my first Christmas doing this (the manger scene) and I am hooked!

Kennedy and baby Easton

Isaac with his fellow shepherds, eager to herald in the baby Jesus!

According to the online tracker, Santa was already in Brazil when we left the Bahr's house.  We had some serious  sleep to get into if we wanted him make it down our chimney!  And I guess we made it because we awoke to this the next morning!

Joey put the bug in the kids ear that they were not to awake us (unbeknownst to me....I would have let them get up at 5 am probably!)  And they were so obedient.  We woke up to the sound of the playing pleasantly in their rooms.  After a good teeth brushing and some quick breakfast prep, we knocked on their door.  Which led to this:

Woo HOo!

Here Isaac is holding the snow globe that G made him.  It was a homemade Christmas.  Copying my blog idle, designmom, I decided to start her tradition in our own family...kids making each other Christmas presents.  It was a big hit.  The kids really got into it.  Especially Isaac.

Nice hair, right!

Isaacs gift to G was two little bags meant to hold her dance shoes that he decorated with fabric marker and stencils.  

Riding her pony, recently named Vanilla Lightning, with her pink guitar.  What a cowgirl!

Another tradition we began last year was that they each get a game.  Isaac was pretty excited about battleship!  G walked away with Operation.  After a glorious morning of unwrapping we settled down for some Apple Souffle and then played graciously with toys for the rest of the afternoon.  

It was an epic Christmas of utter spoiling.  Yea, we spoiled them this year...and it was so fun!

I know that smile...

Santa?

Last night I lay in bed with Isaac and G for a while.   Isaac and I had some priceless conversation that included a little talk about Santa Claus.

"Mom, is Santa Claus for real or do you just sneak outside and bring in some presents?"

I smiled really big, tried to process how do go about this without lying to him and came up with this:

"Well I don't sneak outside and bring in presents," the huge grin still on my face.  Real convincing Mom!

To this, Isaac replied with his own huge smile, "Are you telling the truth Mom....I know that smile;)"  I just laughed and responded with the part I feel guilty about...a lie;(  "Well, I've never seen Santa and I don't sneak outside and bring in presents and I do know that there always presents under the tree that I didn't know about (lie)."  I proceeded to kind of sort of change the subject and tell him about a real man named Nicholas who was deemed a saint because he selflessly gave to others and how I thought that Santa Clause was a symbol of Heavenly Father, who gives to us and knows each of us personally.  It seemed to suffice, evidenced by the rest of our conversation that I won't expound upon but I felt troubled for deceiving my son.  The whole Santa Claus thing has always kind of bothered me as a Mother.  But on the other hand, how sad not to have that belief as a child and miss out on all the fun that goes with it.  In the past I've made a point never to tell Isaac or G a lie about it...to evade questions or giving solid answers but this year has been a little trickier.  I can see Isaacs mind at work ALL the time this Christmas season because all the sudden, we're asking him to buy into all this magic ONLY at this time of year.  He's definitely skeptical.  I'm not quite sure how long this whole belief thing is going to last and I will feel horrible if his heart breaks and he thinks that I'm a liar!  Any thoughts on this, Moms?

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

It all started with:

Isaacs classroom party.

 It was fun to see him in his 5-day a week, school environment!

Mrs. Madl's Kindergarten class.

We really love his teacher.

Then we waited, not so patiently, for Gaga and Papa's arrival.

Awww, like a breath of fresh air they entered our lives!  I am so grateful for Grandparents.  I can't imagine Isaac and Georgie's world without them!

On Thanksgiving Day, Joey and Dad headed for the football field and Mom and I slaved away;)  Once again, it was so nice to have a buddy in the kitchen.  My talented and resourceful Mom took the kids out hunting for greenery for our centerpiece.  They loved every minute of it, carrying their baskets and collecting earthy treasures!

Voila!

(sort of...before my Mom refined the kids labors)

I didn't take a single picture of the guests at our Thanksgiving Day dinner but it included the Fischers...who made this delicious apple pie with their name inscribed in pastry on the top.  Clever dudes;)  We also had our dear friend Ruth Thomas with us.

We spent part of the weekend teaching Isaac how to ride a bike without training wheels.

He did great but I think we'll hold off our serious study until the spring.

It's been WAY to cold around here to keep it up!

Keeping with tradition we drove 2 hours for a Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving.  I'm thinking we might hold off on this tradition until we leave Oklahoma.  They just don't have good, accessible Christmas tree farms around here.

But then again they love it...what's a Mom to do.

I'll think about that tomorrow, not today!

Our masterpiece...after completion!

...the real masterpiece!

weird-ie-o

Our Boy

Isaac had a great night tonight.  We went to Emma, his first kiss':) birthday party at the skating rink from 4-6pm.  Isaac was VERY nervous about going because he didn't want to roller skate.  After scoping it out for a few minutes he decided to give it a whirl, put on some skates and eased himself into it.  He began by first hanging onto the railing, then holding hands with friends and finally, braving the great wide open all by himself.  It was a big confidence booster for him, realizing he was brave enough to try, fall and not cry, and good enough to be on his own.

When we got home he and G played for a bit and then I rounded them up into the tub.  Joey was at his volleyball game so I was doing the bedtime drill.  Isaac was in an adorably silly mood and I just kept laughing at him...okay, okay, I got a little annoyed too because he wasn't staying on task;) but I also appreciated his adorableness!  As I was getting Georgie dressed and greased up for the dry winter weather I overheard Isaac, now out of the tub, making CRAZY noises to himself.  I headed his way, ready to yell at him to dry off and "GET MOVIN'".  I paused for a second at the bathroom door when I saw him, naked in front of the mirror, watching himself do weird lip and face contortions while making growling noises and saying random words..."mommieeeeeeee, WOOOOW, rogher, etc".  I rolled my eyes in my head for an instant and prepared myself to get firm with him but a new thought struck me.  "Perhaps a few seconds of expressing himself in his own wierd way is more important than my power trip and him getting to bed that many seconds earlier." (A novel idea for me;)  Oh how glad I am that I followed through on that thought.  The show he put on in front of that mirror, my presence unbeknownst to him, was priceless hilarity.  And I held it together, in total silence, the whole time!  I'm so proud of myself!  But the best part of the whole performance was how he wrapped it all up and came back to himself.  Amidst all his craziness he stopped, oh so abruptly,  gazed at himself in the mirror and said, "Okay...I am weird-ie-o"

At this point, I could NOT stop myself from bursting out.  Silence was far too much to ask.  He was so right!  He was being soooo weird-ie-o and I LOVED it!  He turned rigidly, stunned to find me there, and began busting up right along with me.  It was so fun to laugh that hard together and it was sooo fun to see him laughing at himself!   After several seconds of deep, belly laughter we began to pull ourselves together.  He giggled out an "i'm a little embarrassed" as well as an "I'm sorry" too which I did my best to shut down THOSE thoughts...I'm not sure why he was sorry.  I asked him why but he just kept on laughing.

It was a great night!  I wish Joey and my mom, if not everyone that loves him,  could have been there for it, laughing with us!  It was priceless.  Isaac is sometimes trapped in his own world of personal constraints, emotions, worry about what others think of him, fear and made a victim of his own tenderheart that I just eat up these moments when he is completely and entirely himself, utterly at home in his own skin.  And these moments are getting more and more frequent as he enjoys seeing himself succeed, give, share, like and be liked, and love and be loved!  He's growing up!  And it's so fun to watch!

p.s.  The night before last Isaac discovered what a great reader he is becoming.  I have been a bad Mom and haven't spent much time at all pushing him to read for us.  He rarely chooses to try hard things on his own so sometimes I'd rather just avoid the battle than work with him.  We had some extra time at bedtime, Joey had another volleyball game and the mood was right so I challenged him to read his book to us.  (ya right;)  None of us could believe the words he was rattling off.   After 2 or 3 pages he turned to me and said, suprised, "I'm a good reader!"  I praised him after every sentence at first and then every page and then just sort-of randomly.  At that point he got even cuter.  Every once in a while, after a hard word or the end of a sentence or page he would look up at me with this little melt your heart, "mom, you're so proud of me", soft little grin from ear to ear face, hug me and bury his head into my chest and wait for the compliments to start coming.  It caught me off guard at first but then I knew the drill and told him how great he was doing, how proud I was and he would just light up.  And then turn to me again a few moments later!  It was so cute and vulnerable and I wanted to eat him up!  I love you and I AM proud of you, Isaac!