Dear Santa

Troy asked Santa for a vacuum, cars, and toys this year. Brock on the other hand shared his loud siren scream with Santa. But it's o.k. Santa knows that he, too, has been a good boy this year!

This (costume) was my project when Troy was one. He was a darn cute elf!

Brock is our cute elf #2

Wishing you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lieutenant Johnson

Jeremy commissioned as a Lieutenant on Dec. 18. His commissioning ceremony was pretty special and it meant a lot for Jeremy to finally have this opportunity! We're proud of him for his honest love for our country and proud service he feels he "owes".

*check out his brace-less smile!!! He still needs more dental work, veneers and implants, but his teeth are so much better than they were!

I was able to pin his bars on during the ceremony

The Lieutenant and his wife!

(I made this dress the night before out of my 'black-backdrop material' that I used for pictures. I bought it a few years ago for $1 a yard. SO, this dress only cost me about $2!)

LTC Dewalt presented Jeremy with a framed document and bayonet, along with delivering the Officer's Oath.

Our wiggly family

This is SGM Tonks, he presented Jeremy with his first salute. Jeremy asked him because he was Jeremy's 1SG while he was in Iraq. Jeremy has always looked up to him and appreciates his leadership qualities.

(And, these two ran together for quite a bit of the marathon!)

Hugs and congratulations from family

ROTC guys

Lots of support! We're ALL so proud of you Jer!

For JEREMY'S graduation and commissioning gift, my boys and I gave him (and me!) tickets to go SKYDIVING!!!

Gingerbread House

Last years gingerbread houses were.very.difficult. We used the store bought kit and since the frosting wasn't thick enough it made the whole house building experience difficult! I found an easy recipe and made our own houses and frosting this year and they were.so.much.easier!!! Plus the house smelled very festive :)

The assembly. Hooray! The walls aren't falling in this year!!!

Jeremy is planning out how he wanted to decorate his gingerbread man, Brock is enjoying a candy cane, and Troy is debating what to eat, I mean decorate next!

A quick glance at the camera

The finished product! "Now can I eat it, Mom!?!"

Riding the G'pa horse since everyone is on a sugar-high

And just to note:

It's always a race to sit on Grandma's lap when she gets home from work! My brother, Tyler, is finishing up basic training so his dog (Pierre) is also living here. Yes, he is one of the boys and fights for a spot too! Pierre's birthday is tomorrow and he'll be one!

When the kids eat a snack they have to eat it in the kitchen. This kid-sized bench in pretty popular cause they're still in the kitchen but on the living room side. Brock has picked up on his own that when he's given a snack or his sippy he goes straight to the bench, just like the big kids! I love his proud face!!!

Troy Boy's Turn

I took this handsome little guy out yesterday for his 3-yr-old pictures and love how they turned out! I tried to do them a few weeks ago when I took Brock's but didn't get a single decent shot of Troy! He wasn't in the mood and I was ornery so Troy was ornery, and we left with large scowls on our faces! So we took a deep breath today, I kept my patients with this busy boy, and we left with smiles on our faces...and a yummy sucker as bribery!


Look out girls!