Schienbein's December

Thirty four years ago today, my handsome husband was born in Edmonton, Alberta. I will be forever grateful that the events of his life brought him into the United States, then eventually to the beautiful Evergreen State. He is so special to me. He makes me laugh, he makes me smile. He's smart, witty, loving, and considerate. I feel so very lucky to be married to such an amazing guy.

Earlier this month, we loaded up and headed down to a local nursery in town where they have real reindeer!! They are really neat to look at. AND, while we were all standing back, admiring their beauty, Tayler said "Mom! This sign here says you can pet them!" So, being delighted to hear this, I reached out and stroked the closest part of the reindeer I could reach. His antler. Then, Tayler continued reading to the portion that said "Please don't touch their antlers." Awesome. But other than that little snafu, it was a really neat place to visit. They have SO MUCH to look at in their store. We walked around for quite awhile admiring all of the beautiful decorations.

And, of course, there was Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with Brian's mom and her husband. This has been our tradition since Brian and I began dating. His mom either makes a meal, or puts out refreshments, and we exchange gifts, and visit. This year, Brian's mom picked Tayler up early so she could attend the Christmas Eve church service with her. Then we all met at her house. It was a great time.

Christmas morning was also very exciting. Elin had a bit of a late night Christmas Eve, so she opted to sleep in a bit on Christmas morning. But, Tayler and Carson were both up early, ready to get the day started. Gifts were opened, screams of excitement were heard, and toys were everywhere. Everyone was very happy. Brian made a BIG breakfast, and Elin decided to join us for the yummy spread.

That afternoon, my mom, my stepdad, and my sister joined us for a big dinner of prime rib, roasted brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, and rolls. So yummy. The day prior, I'd ATTEMPTED to tackle a dessert that I though would be simple, yet a big crowd pleaser. BOY oh BOY was I wrong. Simple, it was not. The idea was cake pops that I'd seen on a website earlier in the month. What was supposed to look like this:

Ended up looking like this instead:

Needless to say...not a complete success. But, they were yummy. Just not even one bit beautiful.

All in all, the holiday season has been fabulous for our family. We're happy, we're healthy, we're together. Really, what more is there?

Oh, Christmas Tree

Look out folks...this year we got a BEAUTY!

Elin's 1st Birthday Party

Today, we celebrated Elin's 1st Birthday. Her birthday isn't until tomorrow, actually. But, her party was today. And it was awesome. She napped right up until the time people were showing up, so she was in a GREAT mood when everyone was here. She got a bunch of really neat presents, and finally has a few "girl" toys to play with now! Carson's hand-me-down toys were fun, but now we're really having a good time!!!!

Thankful

Today, I'm feeling very thankful.

Besides the fact I LOVE this time of year, I have TONS to be thankful for.

So, I decided to get some of the things I'm thankful for down "on paper". Here goes.

My Family

Our Home

GOOD Health Insurance

HEALTHY CHILDREN

Pintrest :)

Good books

Cell phones

NICU Nurses

Nurses in general

Baby teeth poking through gums

"I love you, Mom" from my kids

Double strollers

Washers & Dryers

Bathtubs

Burts Bees Lip Balm

It's only a few. Nothing profound. Just things I am thankful I have.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

The annual Schienbein family trip to the Country Mercantile today was AWESOME!

That place has always been such fantastic part of our Autumn traditions.

When we were there last year, I was pregnant with Elin. We were also in the midst of a house selling and buying, so it was a very hectic. But this year, we had hours of time, and the weather was beautiful.

Even though Elin and I didn't climb up the hay pyramid, we watched Brian, Tayler, and Carson scale it, and still had a great time.

Then, Carson and Tayler gave the hay bale maze a shot. They did great. And kept going back for more. And when Carson finished, he ran up to me and said

"Mom! I run TOO FAST!!!"

Then, it was off to the patch! Carson was pretty stoked that we would be riding

a tractor out to the pumpkins! We searched.......

And quality checked......

And finally selected the perfect ones.

I hope we are able to go to the Mercantile every year. As we were riding the tractor back to the "barn", as my family sat around me, I looked at the beautiful rows, and rows, and rows of big orange pumpkins, then at my healthy, happy kids, and I could help but think about how lucky I am. Days like today remind me that

THESE are the best days of my life.

TEN

Sweet baby Elin just turned TEN months old, and I seriously have no idea where the time has gone. It seems like we just brought her home from the NICU, so thankful to have our precious girl on the path to health. She's grown, and thrived, and made our lives happier than we could have imagined. She is crawling, and exploring with such excitement. She LOVES her brother and sister so much. And the smile on her face when her Daddy enters a room seriously could melt snow. It is darling to see. And her frequent "Dad. Dad. Da Da Da Da's" positively has her Daddy in love.

She's recently been sitting with us up at the table on the rare occasion when we go out to eat (instead of in her car seat)....and to say she's thrilled with it really doesn't do it justice. She loves to eat, and grab, and shriek (much to her Daddy's embarrassment), and throw items to the floor. It's so sweet to see how much happiness it brings her.

9/11

This picture TEARS MY HEART OUT. I saw this today on MSNBC. This is Robert Peraza, who lost his son Robert David Peraza in the attacks at the World Trade Center. Here, he's kneeling today at his son's name at the North Pool of the 9/11 Memorial.

I know I probably can't. But, it feels like I can feel his pain in this picture. Just like everyone has, I've seen MILLIONS of pictures from the tragedies that happened ten years ago. And I've seen a lot of pictures of people paying tribute, of people remembering. But, for some reason, this one did it for me. UGH. My heart aches for this man.

Today, here in Kennewick, they dedicated a piece of the World Trade Center. It will be displayed just blocks from our house now. A memory every day of all of lives lost, all of the courage, and all of the hope. I think it's really special to have this here in our community.

Fall is almost here!!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I ADORE Fall! Autumn is my very favorite time of year! And, although it's only the beginning of September, I couldn't resist getting an Autumn decoration made and up. So, here it is. For a first attempt, I think it's pretty darn cute!

ALSO...today is Brian and my FOUR YEAR anniversary!

It's crazy to think that four years ago, we made that special promise to each other...and from that came......

THIS GUY:

THEN THIS:

And HER:

We've had some hard times, we've had some wonderful times, we've cried, we've laughed, and we've loved. It has been an amazing four years, and I can't wait for the years to come!