Christmas morning snapshots

Let's wrap up Christmas posts, shall we?  (I'm so annoyed with myself for posting Christmas stuff in February--Where the heck did February come from anyway?)

Benjamin is wearing one of the beach robes I made for the boys and displaying his awesome new Cars 2 Legos.  (Rhett's robe is white with YELLOW trim.  I had to cut up one of our own towels to make his sleeves because I ran out of new towels.  Both hoods are lined with superhero/comic book type exclamations on flannel--Pow!  Wham!  You get the idea.)

 

Lucy may or may not have eaten the peel off of one or two of the oranges.

 

In case you didn't know, BYU apparel is always a hit with Paul.

 

 

 

 

Until next Christmas...

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

While the boys were in bed dreaming of sugarplums, Lucy was taking matters into her own hands (literally).  When I got to her she had an entire cordial cherry in her mouth and she did not appreciate the interruption.

 

But Santa didn't mind.

His letters to the kids were neatly tucked into their stockings.

And the jolly old elf left these little friends for us to enjoy.

We enjoyed a blessed, bountiful Christmas, full of joy and appreciation for what we have.

(Don't mind the lower portion of the tree, whose lights gave out days before Christmas; or the helter-skelter decorations, rearranged again, and again, and again by little hands; or the star leaning to one side; or the smudges on the mirror; or... I keep finding things to add.  Please just appreciate our imperfections.)

Remembering Christmas: The Treats

 

 Gingerbread cookies

 

 "Gingerbread" houses

Butter cookies

Peanut brittle (my first time--it might just be a new tradition)

And much (too much?) more!

Merry Christmas!

If you are reading our blog but didn't get this Christmas message in your mailbox (or inbox) it's because we don't have your address (or don't know that you care about what goes on with us--if you do, you can tell us)!

Dear Family and Friends,

This was an eventful year for our family.  Here are a few highlights:

In March we welcomed Lucy to our family.  She was born only 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital, weighing nearly 10 lbs.  Lucy has been a great joy to each of us including her brothers who adore her.

Paul has enjoyed many, many hours gardening and doing yard work.  His successful custom tomato-structure was his gardening highlight, as well as adding five fruit trees.  He has been blessed to stay very busy at work with Dawson Construction.  When he’s not at work or home, he is spending time with the young men of our church.

Vicky spends most of her time with the kids.  She still enjoys sewing when she can and has had fun making a few clothes for Lucy.  She makes dinner from scratch every night and is not afraid to try out new recipes on her family.  Vicky and Benjamin have been participating in a co-op preschool with a few other moms from church.

Benjamin, now 5, loves riding his bike, playing GeoTrax, spending time with cousins, operating our computer, and going to preschool.  He has been a great helper around the house and yard, and especially with Lucy.  Benjamin joined in Jimmermania with Paul.  He’s just beginning to learn to read.

Rhett, now 3, loves everything “three” and “yellow.”  He cried at Thanksgiving when he learned Vicky had not, despite his request, made a lemon pie.  He loves riding his bike and doing everything Benjamin does.  Rhett enjoys counting, especially numbers with threes: 3, 13, 300…  He is alternately very sweet and very sassy.

Lucy, now 9 months, has “blueberry eyes” (according to Rhett), is quick to smile, and is a real charmer anywhere she goes.  Paul has a huge soft spot for her.  Lucy’s speedy crawling skills have destroyed many a train track.  Her brothers dote on her.  She has been a peaceful child who continues to bring great joy into all of our lives.

We are grateful for the many blessings the Lord has given us this year and rejoice in celebrating His birth.  May you all feel His love this Christmas and in the coming year.

Love,

Paul, Vicky, Benjamin, Rhett, and Lucy Duersch

 

 

Counting Down to Christmas

Paper trees advent calendar on the mantel.  (Will not do again.  Doesn't hold up well to 3-and 5-year old boys.  Go figure.)

Licking the beater.

Ward Christmas party.

Our little wise man with his best buddies Payton and Caleb.

Decorating sugar cookies for our neighbors.

(There's a cookie under there...)

Lucy being cute.

Wrapping up 2011: Sad things first

Don't worry, it's not tragic sad.  But there has been a bit of a cloud over our house since mid-December.

Our good friends, the Katschkes, took advantage of a new opportunity and relocated to Panaca, Nevada.  It's always hard to say goodbye to friends, and it was very hard to say goodbye to these ones.  Paul and Nate were in the Construction Management program together at BYU and our families moved to Bellingham at the same time.  They rented a house down the street from the one we rented for a while, and Nate helped Paul get a job with Dawson Construction after some miserable months with another company.  After we bought a house, Nate and Cassie bought one several months later in the same neighborhood.  For nearly a year we enjoyed close proximity to these great people.

Benjamin and Rhett are especially fond of their friends Jada and Payton.  Here they are a few days before the move.

(No picture of Shaylee, but I sure thought she and Lucy would become good friends.)

Let me tell you, I have (hopefully) learned my lesson about taking friends for granted.  As their departure became imminent, Cassie and I repeatedly said to each other, "Why didn't we have dinner more often?  Why didn't we hang out more often?  Why, why, why?"  I guess it wasn't till they were leaving that we really appreciated what their family was to ours.

We said several goodbyes in the hours leading up to their final departure.  The night before the big move I couldn't resist bringing the kids over one more time while Paul was already there with the scouts helping to finish loading the truck and clean up.  It was late at night, but the kids were all still excited to play with each other.

Here's Rhett getting in one last game of hide-and-seek.

The hugs goodbye.

And the late-at-night, not-so-flattering picture of our two families.  (Why didn't we take more pictures over the years??)

This post really doesn't do justice to all the feelings we have about the Katschkes and their move.  It would be insufficient to try.  While we wish them the best, we miss them daily and are looking forward to the summer when we will hopefully be able to get together in Utah.

December 12, 2011, Monday

Driving to preschool

At the mall

At Target

Picking up kids from preschool (Payton's last preschool day... sad!)

Leftover soup and roll for lunch

Lucy's lunch (and some banana peels, which are a common sight in our kitchen)

Reading a Christmas book to the boys: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Shines Again

Ready to open our Christmas count-down tree for the day (with jam on his face)

Benjamin's Nativity pyramid

Cookie decorating for Family Home Evening

Lucy loves her Dada

Christmas Art (to brighten the blog)

Our house is a whirlwind of Christmas preparations these days.  So much to do, and not enough time.  I'm trying to focus on what really counts and not do too much stuff.  This year is fun because Benjamin is more into Santa than before.  Last night after our ward Christmas party, he confidently affirmed that the real Santa had been there.  Rhett is getting into it, too, but not as much.  Benjamin keeps reminding Rhett that "Santa can hear you."

Something really fun (to me) about Benjamin recently is his artwork.  Up until now, he would never draw pictures, or even color in a coloring book much.  This past summer for Grandpa Duersch's birthday, Benjamin drew him a picture of some balloons and it was the first picture of his that was really recognizable as what he said it was.  Now he seems to be coloring up a storm.  It's so fun to see the things in his brain going onto paper.

For the ward Christmas party the primary kids were asked to color these ornament outlines which were then hung as decorations on the walls.  Maybe at some point I'll post pictures of our family at the party (we took pictures!) but with my track record this year I wouldn't count on it.  For now (or forever) this will have to do.

Rhett is really into yellow lately.  Really.  He loves anything yellow.  He cried at Thanksgiving when he learned that I had not, despite his request, made a lemon pie.  (I had in fact told him I would not be making a lemon pie, but his little 3-year-old heart was still counting on it.)  It really is so funny, his yellow obsession, until we can't find his yellow spoon/plate/cup at dinner and a tantrum ensues.  Rhett has been alternating between very sweet and very sassy.  Sometimes he'll respond to one of my instructions with a cheerful "Um, sure!" and others he responds with a surly "No, mommy-poopy!"  (The latter "endearment" has been going on for months in different variations.  He hasn't tired of it, but I have.)  I am amazed every day at how much he is growing up.  Sunbeams in 3 weeks!

Since this "short" post has now turned into an update post, I guess I have to mention Lucy.  She's pretty much the same as last time, though.  A third tooth has come through.  She's delightful as ever.  She'll be nine months old at the end of this week.  This has been the fastest (and most blurry) nine months of my life.

Back to the purpose of this post, I'll finish off with another piece from Benjamin.  He drew this in his primary class today.  This may be the last post we get till next year, so maybe I should have titled it "Merry Christmas!"  The subject of this picture is what it's all about, after all.

(If you can't tell, it's Baby Jesus in the manger.  And maybe that's a star up above?)