2013... Back From Hiatus!

We're back!  It's 2013.  A brand new year.  My one and only resolution was to get back to blogging regularly.  I'm not going to tie myself down with saying I will do it every __________. I'm just going to be more consistent and, not let two months pass without blogging.  I have to credit my Aunt Tawnya for this resolution.  She sent me a note saying she was in Hanoi, Vietnam.  Sitting in a hotel room, wondering about Duc's story of how he got to the US.  When I went to track down the old blog post I had written about it I fell in love all over again with blogging.  I also have a love for writing.  Maybe I can't write books (besides the fact that heaven knows my punctuation leaves much to be desired!) or maybe I would never be a writer on a TV show but that's ok.  I hope my creative writing will be something my kids will find enjoyable to read in the future because, there is A LOT of writing about them :0) they are my life.  My joy.  The whip cream to my pumpkin pie.  The caramel to my apple. The peas to my pod.  So here we are.  Another year full of ups and downs ahead of us.  All of which I have much desire to record of and for my children.

2012 went out with a bang and blended seamlessly into 2013...  snow, snow, snow and more SNOW!  It's beautiful to watch the glittery flakes fall silently to the ground out the window of your nice cozy house but, not fun to drive in.  I took this picture right after Thanksgiving... it still looks the same.  Well, minus the lovely fall leaves on the banister.

 Because we spent a lot of time indoors and because the boys winter break was TWO weeks long (AWESOME) we got to do lot's of fun things together.  One of those things was making banana bread.  Lot's and lot's of banana bread.

 One of my little darlings favorite things to do is help Me in the kitchen.  Especially this little lady.  If she is ever in a bad mood I can always cheer her up by letting her help me with any chore :0) guess I should take advantage of that while it lasts huh?  But really, who doesn't like smashing bananas?

 This is the first year that Duc hasn't complained about the snow.  He is usually whining as soon as it drops below 50 or so.  This year he finally got that new snow blower he's been talking about.  That sure changed his tune.  He was dying for there to be enough snow to pull out his new toy.  He sure likes it, and the neighbor's do too as he usually does a couple extra driveways cause he's having so much fun.

 We also played lot's of games, video, board, and make believe.

 There was lot's of fun to be had out in the snow.  Leave it to my sweet Ollie to find a way to incorporate his mighty machines into it.  That's my boy!  My boy who will be FIVE in March.  Where does the time go?

 Kahner was just concerned about figuring out how to make a snow man... it didn't really pan out but he sure had fun anyway!

 After I took this picture, they asked to take their gloves off since they were covered in snow.  I warned them not to then, told them I was going to run up and turn on the water for their jet bath (as promised) and would be right back to help them un-suit... it is quite a task.  I ran up, was up for maybe 3 minutes getting the water and towels ready when I heard crying. All of them were crying at the door... with their gloves off.  Sigh.  One day they will realize their mother isn't as irrational as they think.

It's so cold Mommy!  Poor little hands.  Nothing a warm bath won't fix.

 We did lot's of fun things like, make gingerbread houses and decorate for Christmas.  Most of which I was too busy to take pics of (silly me!) But we also spent a lot of time just hanging around the house doing normal every day stuff.  One of Ava's favorite new pass times in coloring.  She can color for hours.  Singing and coloring, singing and coloring.  It's my favorite sound on my life soundtrack right now.

 The kids loved that we weren't so rushed to be here or there and they got to help a lot.  Ava and Ollie love it when I ask them to smash stuff...

 We played super hero's...

 Some days we just kicked it in our PJ's all day.

 Or not.

 Sometimes we spent all morning building Lego's.

 And one day I tried to take Christmas pictures...

 Most of which turned out something like this.  Ava with a silly giggle, Ollie trying not to smile and Kahner looking worn out from trying to smile too long while we waited to catch Ollie and Ava smiling.  Sigh, how I love these monkey's of mine!

 I did however, with the help of my sister in law, get a few decent ones...

 And for some reason I love this serious one of Ollie.  Love love love this boy.

 This one of Kahner is so GQ, I love it.

 And my silly Ava.  I love the age she is at... THREE in one month from tomorrow.  THREE. My baby looks so grown up all of a sudden.

 Silly girl...

And perfection.

 Not gonna smile.  You can't make me.

 Our poor tree.  We bought this when Kahner was a baby.  When we had a house with 12 foot ceilings.  It has served us well.  Until this year.  We put it up and found that about half the lights have blown out.  I decorated it anyway and we left it up all season.  But I don't think I can give it up.  Not yet.  We'll see what next year brings but I love my gargantuan tree that is too tall for our ceilings.  It's 9' of glorious, glowing, Christmas.  When I found another tree for a great deal, a nice 7 footer, I was so excited.  But when I set it up... it didn't hold a flame to this baby.  On the other hand, I can set it up and take it down without any assistance.  We'll see...

 This is the first time ever I've had a mantle to hang stockings on... LOVE.  And you can see our Elf  "Buzz" hanging out in Ollie's sock.  He's a pretty mild fellow but sometimes he likes to cause a bit of trouble. 

My favorite decorations.  This one is Ollie's masterpiece from pre-school.

 Santa seems to have run away so we have a monkey that likes to keep track of the day for us.

 Another thing I love, is the kids ornaments.  We started the year Ava was born (so 2010)  letting them choose one new ornament, each, for the tree..  The first year Ollie chose this calico cat.  I tried to talk him out of it but he was dead set on the kitty with the bow.  This year he didn't believe me when I told him that's what he chose.  This year we have a new princess Tiana, C3PO and rocket ship to put on the tree.  The way I figure it, by the time the kids all go off to college I'll have a tree full of ornaments all hand chosen by my babies.  So each year when I put the tree up I'll be able to reminisce about each beloved one.  I mark it with their name so I won't forget.

 Ba Noi found this adorable batman jacket that the boys have been taking turns wearing... sort of a random pic... my kids have the best Grandma's ever!!!

 On Christmas Eve we went to Olive Garden for lunch then headed in from the nasty storm that was knocking on the door.  We got home and once the snow let up, we headed out with our new sleds from Grandma Jill.  **quick side note and pic before the sledding... Grandma Jill did the 12 days of Christmas for the kids this year and they loved it!  All the gifts were things intended to bring our family closer together.  New hat's with a note saying to go see the lights, a little people nativity, a puzzle with pictures of the family on it... so thoughtful, as usual. On this day there were some Elf hats for them to decorate with a note telling them to put their elf helper hats on and do random acts of kindness for each other...

 They were kind of bummed that the hill at the park wasn't really as good as they expected for sledding. But they ended up having fun anyway...

 Ava didn't really mind at all.  She just climbed the hill and rolled down.

 We made sure they had better gloves this time.  Ava's are a bit too big but they kept her warm!

 And on Christmas Eve we did the usual tradition of new jammies and a Christmas book to read.  We snuggled by the fire and read, Polar Express, then it was off to bed.

 Crazy bedheads tried to get up at 4 am.  Ollie was downstairs watching cartoons drinking his milk.  Funny kid!  I had to go tell them all to get back in bed and it was still the middle of the night.  I remember those days all too well.  After they finally all fell back asleep around, I'd say 5:30, they slept in until about 7:00.  After that there was no holding them back, they were ready to go!

 Once we got the chaos under control they all settled in playing with their new toys.  Ava was so funny, She didn't really show much emotion at all.  She loves her new princess castle but, when she opened it up she just looked at it for a second then pushed it aside... I think there was a bit too much chaos for her.  I seem to remember Ollie being the same way.  Ava was happy to share her castle with Ollie...

 And Kahner spent the morning saying "HULK SMASH!" and pounding his fists into the ground...

 After a while it was time to head over to Ba Noi and Ong Noi's house for round two.  Princess Ava all ready to go...

 Spoiled much?  Lucky kids.

  These kids love their Ong Noi so much.  And he loves them just as much.

 Kahner was almost in tears when he got a DS game.  But I don't even have a DS!  But I'm happy... I'm thankful Mom... I'm happy, I'll just save it. He said, all on the verge of tears... He flipped out when Ong Noi gave him the DS he's been begging for, for what seems like forever!

 Mr. Ollie, Ba Noi's goldenboy.  Need I say more?

In her favorite place...

 So much clutter and mess.  So much fun!  The boys loved seeing how many cars they could get to go at the same time...

 They loved having Daddy around...

 Ava spends most her day's like this now.  Trading off princess dresses and dancing around the house.

 And after that, the sickness set in.  The kids got a little sick and Mommy got a little more sick and Daddy got really sick.  He is still recovering, as a matter of fact.  And therefore no more pictures for the rest of break.

It was a wonderful year with many ups and downs.  We were very blessed to be able to get into our house and have loved being able to turn it into our home.  We look forward to 2013 and all the new things it will bring into our lives. Each new year brings new struggles and triumphs.  This year Ava will turn 3, Ollie will turn 5 and Kahner will turn 7... I'm bracing for the ride, it's sure to be an adventure, of that I am sure.  As sure as I am that no matter what the year brings, I have a loving Father in Heaven to guide me through.  And a wonderful supportive family that I feel blessed beyond words to be a part of.  So happy new year to you all my dear friends and family!  And may God Bless You and this country.