blessed beyond measure

Year 2013 will go down in family history as a good one. Full of growth, abundant blessings, new kinds of fun, and nestling into survival mode. It will also go down in history as by far the worst year for the blog. For this I am sorry. My childishly poor attitude by the tail end of each day, combined with my desire to not exude negativity on the blog, has kept me from recording some funny, sweet, and teachable moments that will be forever lost in the recesses of my mind. It's a sad thing. So here is the classic year-end wrap up - where we are now, how I have fared on my one word and goals for 2013, and a re-introduction to the boys who, since my last true update back in the summer, are barely recognizeable. Where we are. This is not my favorite season. We are definitely blessed, well provided for, healthy and active. But the dynamic between the boys and me is practically dismal. The boys are so very different, each fiercely independent and rather short-tempered. Trey...

O holy night, starry sky We were dead until tonight Christmas changes everything Long lay the world inside our sin He has come here to forgive Christmas changes everything Now God has met us where we are A thrill of hope for hopeless hearts His perfect love will shatter every fear We're coming back to life again And it's all because of Bethlehem Rejoice, oh rejoice Hallelujah, love has found us Hope in a manger Our Savior is setting us free This is rescue Christ has come to make us new Christmas changes everything From our hearts to yours, Merry Christmas

An important part of our bursting-at-the-seams Christmas calendar was this past Saturday. For the first event, Poppop, the boys, and I made our way downtown to the transportation museum for their annual holiday train extravaganza. These days, when most of my interactions with the boys involve - uh - let's call it correction for the sake of publishing, how beautiful it was to tell them where we were going, hear their hurrahs, and see their handsome smiling faces. A sparkling jewel amid their recent verbal trends of, "Bad Mama!" (Aden) and "You're mean!" (Trey). 'Tis the season, I suppose. We did indeed have fun together. And with Poppop around, for those boys, all was right with the world. Then we moved on to a wonderful celebration, my Meemaw and Pawpaw's fiftieth wedding anniversary party. They practically glowed, having their friends and family around, and feeding each other overflowing mouthfuls of wedding cake. It was pricel...

And now, a desperate and extremely staged attempt by a shamefully poor videographer at making up for the lack of blog content. Shameful. It's a glimpse of Christmas from the boys. And as the staged scenes evolve into unstagedness, a glimpse of life with the boys. Trey and his I'm-in-charge, my-bodily-noises-rock, can-dish-it-out-but-can't-take-it self. Aden and his my-brother's-hilarious, nothing-wrong-with-jock-version, I'm-going-to-do-whatever-pops-into-my-mind-because-I-can self. Yep, good times. Have a holly, jolly Christmas.

Growing pains are part of life, yes? And I'm talking about more than just the boys' shins hurting at night. I say it's their bones telling them to go to sleep, since a person can only grow while they're sleeping. Seems to go over pretty well. No, I'm referring the kind of pain stemming from a "this is for your own good" experience. One that teaches you a lesson you aren't soon to forget. Trey. Oh, my Trey. Sweet as a Christmas cookie, sharp as a tack, scared of his own shadow. Any, any variance to routine or unpredictable situation, and he just loses it completely. Enter the first grade class musical performance of fall 2013. A living nightmare for Trey. Not only will his typical school day be interrupted for the purpose of rehearsing, but said rehearsals will happen on...a stage. Yep, a nightmare. He tried hard to skip school, though after a similar incident last year, we were actually prepared for this. Score a rare one for the parent...

Guess what day it is! Guess. What. Day. It. Is. No, I know it's not hump day. But it is the day after Halloween, a day I absolutely love. Why? Because I get to show you the overwhelming cuteness of my boys dressed in their rather underwhelming costumes. We went low key this year, and it was totally their decision to do so. And what Mom would argue with a child asking for low key?? Yes, they were both conductors. Because one just isn't enough. Man, the bigger these boys get, the harder it is to take a triple-selfie! Trunk or Treat was great as usual, with Trey taking over the work of handing out seven hundred plus pieces of candy. Kids everywhere, everybody happy happy happy. Especially the dozen or so folks we saw who dressed up as one of the Duck Dynasty crew. Nice. The other reason I love today is that, in the bubble that is my life, today officially kicks off all things holiday. Thanksgiving and Christmas kind of moosh together for me into a beautiful ...

We're nothing if not consistent. In a replay of last year's day o' fall Americana, the boys and I took a trip to the farm amusement park, and then Daddy, Mama, and two little punkins scooped out some gunk and carved lovely faces into two more punkins. Gotta love this season. Especially when stocking caps are involved. Why is it that when I ask my kids to smile, they give me this? Costume pics coming. Prepare to be underwhelmed.