Queenie's Christmas

Today, we celebrated Christmas with Andy's grandma Queenie.  It was a great day and everyone was able to make it.  This was not an easy thing to do since an ice storm was heading our way.  Thankfully, the ice held off until late afternoon, so everyone was able to come and enjoy lunch and a great day with family.  I was able to get a few pictures despite all of the chaos that comes with little kids and presents, ha ha!

 Kyran opening his very own Legos (Ben was very quick to point out that they're Duplos, not real Legos)!

 Ben, patiently waiting his turn to open his presents.

 Ellie and her new bag.

 The cutest little baker and veterinarian I have ever seen!

 Grandma Queenie getting a hug from "Bubble Puppy"...I'm sure all of you that watch Bubble Guppies will know who Bubble Puppy is.

 Kyran (a.k.a. Bubble Puppy) with his usual cheesy grin, ha ha!  This boy is SO serious when the camera is out but smiles like crazy when it's put away.

 Not only did we celebrate Christmas, be we also wished a happy birthday to all four January birthdays...Queenie, Ed, Nathan and Ellie.  One from each generation!

 Grandma Queenie with all eight of her great grandchildren!

This isn't the best picture, but the ice was too pretty to not photograph.  It's been sleeting since the afternoon, so there has been quite a bit of build up.  We've already gotten the call that there is a two-hour delay tomorrow, so the ice is even prettier when I know I won't have to drive on it early in the morning!

I can't believe I forgot this...

I can't believe that in all of the posts I've done over the past couple weeks, I completely forgot to post about my family's Christmas.  For some reason, I had thought I posted it when I posted about Tiffany's birthday, but I didn't.  So, better late than never!

Here are some pictures from Christmas 2014 with my family.  We always get together on Christmas Eve and whenever we're together, there is definitely good food, lots of laughs, loud conversations, and plenty of fun!

Grandpa Jim and Grandma Debbie with their favorite little people...so much love in this picture!!!

Grandma Great spent Christmas Eve with our family...here she is with all of the great grandkids!

My beautiful sister and her family!

My crazy family that I love SO much!

 I just love the look on Kyran's face in this picture

 Katie got her very first sewing machine from Grandma Debbie and she was SO excited!

 Ben with his blanket from Grandma Great

 My building machine, aka Ben, added to his K'Nex collection

 All of the kiddos on their blankets that Grandma Great made for them

 Remember that light that my Dad was working on for me?  Well, here is the finished product!  I love it and it looks great in my kitchen.

Grandma Debbie bought these dresses in Michigan and then she added lace and ribbon to them.  They turned out so pretty and the girls looked adorable!

Day date with Benners

Today was a very special day.  I got to spend the day with Ben and have a "day date".  Not very often do I get a whole day to spend with my oldest.  I love the time that I get to have with each of my boys one-on-one, and Ben is at that precious age where a day with him is as close to Heaven as I can imagine.  Ben is definitely my sensitive child, and while that sometimes has it's downfalls (tears, hurt feelings, etc), it has so many benefits.  He wears his feelings on his sleeves, gives hugs and kisses freely, is not shy with his "I love you, Mommy", and loves to have conversations about anything and everything.  Today was just a perfect day!

We started with dentist appointments...no cavities for Ben or Mommy, so that was a great start to our day.  After that, we met up with Callie, Ty and Ava for lunch.  We didn't know that they were in town, so that was a nice surprise.  Ben loves any time that he gets to spend with Ty, Blake, and Ava, so he was super excited!

After lunch, Ben and I headed to Hobby Lobby for a quick trip for picture frames (Ben was less than amused at this part of the day, but he was a trooper).  Then, we went to "All Fired Up" where Ben picked out a football helmet piggy bank to paint.  Ben had never been there before, so he was pretty excited to go through the process.  He wanted to paint it like the Boilermaker's helmets and in the middle of painting it, he turns to me and says "Mommy, I think we should give this to Daddy because he works at Purdue."  Oh my, this boy can just melt my heart.  I told him that Daddy would probably love that and he would probably let Ben put it anywhere he wanted in the house (thinking Ben would want to put it in his bedroom).  Ben turns to me and says "Daddy should put it in his room, by his bed, so that he can see it at night."  Again, sweet, sweet boy...

After we were done painting, we took a trek across the walking bridge.  We just walked and talked, walked and talked.  Here was one conversation we had:

Ben: Mommy, do you have boyfriend?
Me: Yep, I do.
Ben: I know who it is...it's Daddy.  Do you have any other boyfriends?
Me: Nope, not that I know of.
Ben: I have a girlfriend, but sometimes we cut up.
Me: You cut up?  You mean like laughing?
Ben: No.  Oh, I think I mean we sometimes break up.
***Insert lots of laughing by both of us!

We grabbed some Cold Stone Creamery after our walk and then headed to our friends' Ashley and Brian's house.  We wanted to visit with them and see their twins, and Ben was excited because Reece and Taylor were also at the house.  Ben played with Reece and Taylor while I got my baby fix (those babies are so stinking cute)!  Ben actually ended up staying the night with Taylor and Reece, and boy was that the icing on the cake.

While I was driving home, I was thinking about the day and I remembered a specific time while we were walking on the bridge, Ben came up and grabbed my hand, and without missing a beat, he said "I love you, Mommy"...yep, this was a pretty perfect day!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas has been over for more than a week, but of course, I'm just getting around to posting about it.  We had a fantastic day with the boys. Ben was so excited to see what Santa brought, and he was VERY happy with what he found!  Kyran really didn't understand what was happening, but boy did he like ripping open the boxes.  He also was very happy with what he found.  I can't believe this, but I didn't take a single picture of Christmas morning!  I was so excited to watch the boys open their presents that I just forgot all about the camera.

After presents from Santa, we loaded up and headed over to Grannie and Papaw's house.  Ben and Kyran had another great round of opening presents and playing with their toys.  Ben made out like a bandit with Lego's and Kyran was in heaven with all of the trucks and tractors!

 Max, Ben and Kyran all received matching shirts...Kyran wasn't interested in holding his up.

Christmas night, we found ourselves back at Grannie and Papaw's for the annual Christmas party with Denny and Kathy and their family.  It was a great night with friends and family, and the kids had so much fun playing together.

 Ben and Blake with their matching guns...they were SO excited!

All the kiddos with Kyran leading the charge!

Christmas was a blur, like always, but it was such a happy blur.  Each year we look so forward to watching the magic of Christmas through our boys' eyes.  But, more importantly, we look forward to the birth of our Savior.  There is no greater joy than the joy of knowing a little baby was born so that we may all enjoy eternal life.  What a magnificent gift that we are all given...we only need to accept it.  Merry Christmas to you all and may 2015 bring you peace, joy, happiness, health, and love!

Tiffany is 6...woohoo!!!

Christmas Break is in full swing and nothing starts a break like a birthday party!!!  Tiffany, my niece, turned 6 today and she has informed us that she is "all grown up".  Oh, to be 6 again, ha ha!  We had a great time tonight celebrating the birthday girl, and she had a great time tearing into her presents.

 I'd say the fingernail polish was a hit!

Must be something pretty interesting in the bag!!!

Here are some random photos from the night.  We had a great time as a family...played some Trivial Pursuit, ate some delicious food, and had lots and lots of laughs!

 Eric looks so deep in thought!

 When did little Taylor grow up?  I can't believe how fast time flies!

 Kyran on the move...I didn't get many pictures of Ben because he was on the go with all the cousins!  Kyran was confined to the garage with the adults!

Evan and Dad working on my Christmas present...I can't wait to see it all finished!  Don't worry, I'll definitely be posting pictures of it!

Little Dribblers

Ben signed up to be a part of the Little Dribblers basketball camp this winter.  They met each week for five weeks and worked on ball handling and basketball skills.  It was a great time and Ben really learned a lot.  At the end of the camp, all of the kids got to "perform" their basketball skills at half time of the varsity game.  Ben thought he was BIG stuff, let me tell ya!  He and his friends did a great job, and I have the pictures to prove it, ha ha!

 Getting some pointers from his "coach"

 Ben's friend, Lauren, working on her ball handling!

 Ava (front and center) is doing a great job...and she's only 3!

 Blake (head down in the center) was a pro at dribbling!

Ben even made it in the paper the next day!  His friends, Blake and Ava, did too! Ave is top, left.  Blake is middle picture, looking at camera, and Ben is bottom, left.

Judging by the smile on Ben's face after the game, I would say that the Little Dribblers camp was a success!  He's looking forward to it next year!