Christmas in May

We DID actually celebrate Christmas last year, I swear.  Despite my lack of records, it was one of those perfect days!  I as usual woke up waaaay before the kids and got my cameras ready to simultaneously shoot video and take pictures since my sweet hubby has a rather shaky video hand, and gets bored of life through a lens faster than me.. love him as I do! ;)

Some of the highlights?  Each of the kids now have razor scooters that they terrorize the neighbors with..

 A stack of floor puzzles for my puzzle man!

Superhero hoodies & RC cars for the big boys

Chunky cars for the little guy :)

The only gift that really mattered to Princess P..

 

A new doll house for the girls' room

And one of the coolest games of all time!

..and don't forget the stockings!

But the gift we were most excited to give??  Our own version of a backyard park!  Granted this took about a week for my man to assemble with the help of his brother and a good friend, but it was oh SO worth the wait!! :)

Holiday Greetings?

We took some updated family photos back in December with the intent to send them out as usual with our Christmas poem last year.. that never happened as I never got around to writing that dear poem..  I figured, that in January you could still get away with sending them out, but again.. never happened.  By March I resigned myself to the fact that I just am not as awesome as my 16yr old self had hoped I would be!  After all, I had ALLL the answers for the things my own mother was doing wrong at the time, so my parenting years were bound to be a cinch right?? (HAH!)

Well, my new goal became to just get the darn thing done before Marshall was born.  We are scheduled to have an induction in 3 days now, so guess what I just finished?!  You guessed it!!  It's Christmas poem time!! :D  So this is kind of a success story right..? Sorry no fancy Christmas paper - the stores are fresh out!  Go figure.. ;P

Our sweet and crazy kiddos (poor Sir L was sick that morning..)

My handsome little men!

Does it get any cuter?!

Sweet Bella :)

The two that started all the madness!

And finally, the whole clan! :)

Happy uber-belated holidays folks! ;)  Now, I can go have my baby with my head held high!! ..well, higher.. it's still the end of April, let's not get carried away! ;P 

Thanks for Thanksgiving!

After such a successful "thankful advent" last year (see here http://minutesformama.blogspot.com/2012/12/giving-thanks.html), of course we HAD to do it again!  Here's a little glimpse into one of our new favorite family traditions, count down to Thanksgiving style!:

Day 1 - We are thankful for our TOYS!! *Organize the playroom and play together

Day 2 - We are thankful for PETS! *Welcome to the family Bella!  Isn't she adorable?!  

You want me to elaborate on that last one??  Don't mind if I do!  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words right??  I mean, who wouldn't want a second look at that sweet mug??

The biggest kid of them all was in his puppy-loving glory! :)

And rest assured, this little doll will be getting PLENTY of TLC and exercise! :)

Now THIS is what I call one fun loving crew!

Look out Bella, here comes trouble! :D

 

PS.. Have I mentioned that Princess P learned to ride a bike?  She now greats people with, "Yeah, I'm 3 and I ca ride a bike with no training wheels!  My brothers can't though, and they are 5 and 6!" ..such modesty! ;)

Our worry for the boys' pride was shortly lived as Handsome H wasn't about to sit back and watch his little sister claim all the glory!  Sir L on the other hand took the humble route and couldn't care less either way! ;)

Day 3 - We are thankful for Jesus!  *Read scripture stories and sing songs about him :)

Day 4 - We are thankful for the Earth! *clean up around the neighborhood

Day 5 - We are thankful for SNUGGLING!! *Snuggle up on the couch for a family movie night

Day 6 - We are thankful for our eyes! *Star gazing anyone??

Day 7 - We are thankful for our mouths!! *Make a yummy treat and share it together

Day 8 - We are thankful for nature! *Take a nature walk

Day 9 - We are thankful for ice cream!! *Go out for ice cream :)

Day 10 - We are thankful for grandparents! *Skype & Face time calls

Day 12 - We are thankful for daddy! *Make a special surprise for daddy 

Day 13 - We are thankful for the park!! *Head out for some family fun!

Day 14 - We are thankful for books! *Read thanksgiving books together

Day 15 - We are thankful for our friends!! *Play dates all around!  ..yes I know I'm missing a few kids but this is the best I could get amidst all the running and playing going on

 Day 16 - We are thankful for our neighbors! *Late-night brownies anyone??

Day 17 - We are thankful for service! *Help a family in need.. Post baby dinner is our specialty!

Day 18 - We are thankful for our teachers! *Heart shape muffins at your service!

Day 19 - We are thankful for our hands! *Do an art project using your hands

Day 20 - We are thankful for enough to share! *Help stock a local food bank :)  ..how I wish my phone hadn't died at the store when the kids were each pushing their carts of food.. It was both hilarious and adorable. Quite the spectacle!

Day 21 - We are thankful for turkeys! *Make a turkey craft :)

Day 22 - We are thankful for healthy bodies! *Go for a bike ride ..Yes I cheated and took a shot of the bikes rather than the kids on them.. Have you ever tried taking a picture of 4 crazy kids riding bikes faster than most cars drive?? Not. Easy.

Day 23 - We are thankful for the missionaries! *Have the missionaries over for dinner!

Day 24 - We are thankful for traditions! Yes, we decorated for Christmas prior to Thanksgiving.. Don't be a hater. You know you want to!

Day 25 - We are thankful for a nice warm house (particularly on this especially chilly day)! *Drink hot chocolate and tell stories by the fire :)

Day 26 - We are thankful for ambitions! *Paint the worlds largest picture (or at least the Hooley kids' largest picture)!!

Day 27 - We are thankful for our brothers and sisters! *Sibling switch up slumber parties! (Apparently Bailey is too old to snuggle too closely with a brother! lol)

Day 28 - We are thankful for food!  *Enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with family & friends!

We hope you all had as much to be thankful for this past year as we certainly did! :)