Sunday, December 25, 2011

Polar Express 2011

This year we spent Christmas at the North Pole.  Well not really, but we went on the Polar Express train ride in Williams, AZ.  Grandma and Papa M came too!  The drive up and back were meltdown free making for smooth traveling.  Roman was just getting over a stomach bug when we left on Saturday morning.  However, after a fun filled day of being able to eat again and splurging on a big cookie Roman woke us up at 3:45am Christmas morning not because he was soooo excited about presents, but rather because he had thrown up.  And poor Grandma was the recipient of some overspray.  Did I mention that Grandma was a really good sport about being puked on?!  Well, she was and she was quite the trooper to not throw up herself.  However, it is probably a good bet that she won't be eating corned beef hash in the near future given it's similar smell and taste to a certain someone's vomit.  Then in true Griswald family christmas style, Brooklyn woke up coughing right after Roman's incident.  Anyone reading this thinking of having children or more than one child...just count on something similar happening to you and it will soften the blow a bit when it actually happens to you :)  We giggle about it now, but I'm sure grandma is still a bit traumatized. :(  Serious props to her.  Oh and Papa saved the day with trains, trains, and more trains...and a "train wagon" aka station wagon car for Roman.  He was a happy camper driving his trains on the sheet on the floor of the hotel room.  Here are some pictures from our trip:























And yes, Roman learned to write his name in the snow tehehe...poor thing did a great job holding it for a long time, but he had to go!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Another page for Roman's quiet book

Check! Another page completed (cover page and memory page) for Roman's quiet book! So excite to take it on the drive to Williams for the Polar Express!

Santa pic 2011

So even though roman knows that Santa isn't real and that it's not the reason for the season, we got our free picture at Bass Pro. We got there at 2:15 expecting to have to wait in line for a few minutes, but to our shock the line was estimated to be 4hrs long! We were about to leave when a random man came up and handed us his 3pm pass. So we ended up waiting only 45mins, just enough time for Roman to walk around the store with daddy! Here's out photo. As expected Brooklyn screamed and Roman spider monkeyed on me. Hehehe! Making memories:-)

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Adventures in craftiness

I'm discovering my inner craftiness:-). I made a few pages for Roman's quiet book this week. A wonderful friend's mom made one for her grandson an it sparked my creative wild hair. So I bought material on Monday and by Thursday night this is what I had done

Sunday, December 18, 2011

my tiniest reindeer:  Brooklyn 9mo

My most serious reindeer: Roman 2.5yrs
Hoping to keep these reindeer ears for years to come.  Here's a pic from Roman during his first Christmas.

Roman 10 mo

No lights, no decorations

This is the first year in our 11 Christmases together that we haven't put up our tree (instead there is a mini tree on the counter with a strand of lights and a star on the top) or decorated our house with lights, or ran around to find gifts for nearly everyone, or sent out Christmas cards.  

And we are at peace.  
It's the first year we're not stressing.  
We are seeking wisdom instead of sales on material things.
We are content in what we have.
We are content in what we don't have.




Our hope is in the Lord

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth 
Psalm 121:2

This year has been a humbling year.  Being in the midst of this horrible economy and  being without a paycheck for 6 months has really made us focus on God's provisions.  We look back on all the things he HAS provided for us.


  • He has gifted me with another beautiful child, sweet Brooklyn.
  • He has gifted me with tubs and tubs of donated clothes and baby items for our kids from countless friends (Ambrye, Mandy, Alisa, TimaSue, Stefanie, Christine, Melissa, and countless more!)
  • He has gifted me with encouraging scripture to help discipline Roman.
  • He has gifted me with a "Barnabus" in my life, Mrs. Stefanie Jamison-Roman's music teacher, homeschooler extraordinaire, woman of God.
  • He has gifted me with friends who are non-judgmental and supportive (my amazing playgroup ladies: Summer, Tarsha, Leslee, Vanessa, Mandy, Krissy and great neighbors: Kelly and Christine).
  • He has gifted me with the burning to learn more about Him from Bible Study Fellowship.
  • He has gifted me with a church family and Pastor that tells me they miss us when we are gone.
  • He has gifted me with a husband who, despite a struggling and what feels like failing business, has grown closer to God than ever before...reading his Bible daily, and multiple times at that!
  • He has gifted me with family who brought food to our doorstep and restocked our freezers and pantry.
  • He has gifted me with time and energy to get up early to bake to earn extra money.
  • He has gifted me with a hubby who will come home early every Wednesday so I can teach gymnastics for 4 hours to earn some cash.
  • He has gifted me with generous bosses who have allowed us to continue to keep Brooklyn and Roman enrolled in life saving skill that is learning to swim, despite our financial situation.
  • He has gifted me with the ability to make bread, granola bars, pasta, etc. to feed our family nutritious and inexpensive meals.
  • He has gifted me with amazing friends (Stefanie & Robert, Scott & Whitney,  Nick & Sarah, Eric & Jena) to babysit for us so Chad and I could go on date.


For a year that didn't earn much money, we sure were blessed.  I have only touched the tip of the ice berg when it comes to blessings.

God did some amazing things this year and we feel blessed.


Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1


Wednesday, December 14, 2011

9 months

Brooklyn is 9 months now!  She is 15lbs 8oz and can clap, wave, give hi-5s, say mama & dada, and move backwards. She can even sign more (when she wants to).  Oh and her preferred mode of transportation is rolling, second of course to being carried! She loves her baths and will put up a big fuss if big brother is taking a bath without her.  She is a wonderful baby!  Love her!



Bible Verses

Roman has been struggling with mean words and anger.  I imagine it is very typical of a 2yr old who is trying to express his feelings and opinions.  So, in my attempt to raise him in a Godly way, I got this idea from a friend of mine, Mrs. Jamison, who is also Roman's music teacher.  We both go to BSF and one of the handout sheets included many verses that detail the desired behavior we want from our children such as Love, Kindness etc.  I loved the verses, but then I got to thinking about other issues that we are working on in our house such as Anger and Unwholesome Talk.  So, I searched my Bible and found some great verses that Roman could understand.  Then, for an added educational perk, I wrote the letters on the back of the card.  He knows all his capital letters and about 75% of his lower case letters.  So this should help reinforce his knowledge of the alphabet!  Then to make them durable, I laminated them.  So we can continue to use them for when Brooklyn enters this lovely stage of toddlerhood.

The idea is simple.  I picked out the verses with traits that we are emphasizing/working on.  Made the cards, then sat down with Roman and explained that I was reading the Bible and I found what God says about how we should live.  I only read him a couple of verses, then showed him the letters on then back.  After showing him the cards, he asked to play with a motorcycle that always makes him frustrated/angry and he often gets the toy taken away because he throws it or starts to throw a tantrum.  So instead of saying "no" to him I simply read the verse about controlling his temper and not getting angry.  I told him that God doesn't want him to have a temper when he's playing with the motorcycle.  Even though he's only 2.5yrs, he totally got it!  After a few minutes of playing with it, he was quiet.  Then he turned to me and he said that he listened to God and didn't get angry when the motorcycle didn't work.  Wow!  I'm very thankful for the best parenting book ever written...The Bible!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Movement Backwards


So today was Brooklyn's official day of deliberate movement backwards.  It's not crawling by any means, but it's deliberate.  She's pretty proud of her new found freedom, holding her smile for us   It's funny Roman was rocking on all fours at 6 months.  Funny how they are so different in their gross motor skills! Love these kids :)




Brooklyn at 9 months (above)


Roman at 7.5 months (above)

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving wishes for Nana and Papa H!



Happy Thanksgiving!