Moreland Family Christmas

Christmas was a marathon event for our family this year, and the kids loved it. We celebrated Moreland family Christmas on the second weekend of January. Gran, Grandad, Matt, Sara, Hollyn, Noah and Hannah all arrived on Friday evening. We had breakfast together on Saturday morning, and then the gift opening began. I'm really not sure who had more fun: the kids or Gran.

This has to be my favorite picture from the weekend. Noah IS a pirate. And a cute one at that. ARGH, maties!

Andy takes his role as helper to the little boys very seriously, as I'm usually behind the camera.

I tried to photograph Hannah all weekend, and this is the only decent picture I got. That girl moves FAST. Love those pigtails.

Gran gave Syd a sewing machine, and immediately began lessons. Sydney produced a skirt and headband for her AG doll by the end of the morning.

Hollyn and Sydney both got aprons and Paula Deen cookbooks. Such sweeties. And that cookbook has already come in handy a number of times.

Blake and Noah each got these obnoxious Hulk hands, courtesy of Aunt Carla and Uncle Den. They make noise when you make contact. One thing it says, in a Hulk-sounding voice, is "You won't like me when I'm angry." This has become a common saying in our home. I'm really not sure I should have told you that...

So there was a lot of this that day:

The little kids all liked each other's toys. Max played with the rocket ship that Brady got. He still plays with it every day. It keeps him busy at least long enough to unload the dishwasher.

Brady loved the MP3 player that Hannah got.

Grandad loves to sit in a big chair, draped in babies and read a book.

The biggest surprise was the "big" gift from Gran and Grandad. Both families received Wiis. Everyone was thrilled. And Blake ran in circles like an overexcited puppy for about an hour. It has provided hours of family fun already. Here's Matt and Sara, opening said Wii, looking like they stepped out of a magazine. (As a side note, if you ever need fashion advice, I'm sure Sara could serve as Stacy from What Not to Wear, in a pinch. She has impeccable taste, and I've never seen her look vaguely maw-maw. Although, I don't think she'd give you an Amex card loaded with $5,000.)

The biggest change for us this year was the absence of the holiday food marathon. We opted, instead, for lunch out at Longhorn (a burger joint loud enough to drown out the noise of our crew), and had a very simple dinner at the house. We were honored to have some of Matt and Sara's friends come over to reconnect with them on Saturday evening (in honor of Matt's birthday). The house was hopping with kids, and we managed a fun evening with no injuries.:)

Switching gears, I've been meaning to tell you about the sweetest gift Sydney made for Brady. He's been asking for a field journal for EVER, and I've tried different strategies to pacify him. Finally, Sydney (being the brilliant, creative child that she is) printed out some pics of animals, stapled them all together and BAM, field journal. Brady was thrilled.

Of course, it is now missing...

Saturday morning in the park

Okay, so I had every intention of taking the kids to Brackenridge Park on Saturday morning. Andy's out of town, and I was looking for a way to pass the time. I wanted an activity we would all enjoy.

So we skipped the park and went to Houston instead. Yes, I know I'm crazy. We drove to Spring on Saturday morning, arriving at Gran and Grandad's around noon. We played for the afternoon and evening, and then got up early on Sunday and drove down to our old church (New Beginnings).

Gran and Grandad are always glad to see us, and they were so sweet to let us crash at their place last minute. Fortunately, Gran had already begun a pot of gumbo (yum). Grandad's new TV is awesome, and I think he's probably at least as proud of that thing as he is of his grandchildren. And I'm not sure I'd fault him for that. It IS pretty cool.

We enjoyed a much needed warm welcome from our friends at New Beginnings. We are learning to love our new church home, but miss the small, intimate feel of our old church. I particularly miss the women of that church. In the two short years we lived in Houston, God gifted me with some of the best friends and mentors in the world, and we miss them so much.

I was afraid I might regret this trip. But I don't. Not even a little bit. All four kids are wonderful travelers. They were all so energized by our little adventure, and they were very sweet to each other all weekend. I truly enjoyed my children this weekend. And I think our little road trip was so much more fun that a trip to the park.

A Christmas to remember

I know I'm STILL behind on my Christmas blogging. I'm determined to get it all in before the end of January, so I'd better get hopping. If I could just get Picasa to interface more seamlessly with Blogger, I'd be done by now. But alas, Picasa is giving me fits. If anyone knows how to send more than four pics at a time directly from Picasa to Blogger, please fill me in.

Last year, we adopted my sister's three gift approach to Christmas. I figure Jesus only got three gifts, so why should my kids get any more. In reality, they got a lot more than that because their father has a desperate need for Christmas to have the WOW factor. But I did reign him in a bit, and they got something to read, something to wear and something to play with each. Plus a stocking full of other stuff. Their big gifts were their "something to play with".

Blake got a set of golf clubs. He played his first round of real golf with Dad and Grandad the day after Christmas, and he managed to hit the ball onto the green on the very first shot. Andy called it beginner's luck. I think he's just bitter.

Sydney got Nellie (Samantha's best friend, for all of you not up on your American Girl lingo.)

Brady got a "Diego" horse. Actually, this is the Radio Flyer spring horse, but Andy had this brilliant idea to lay a Diego blanket over the saddle, thereby officially making it a Diego horse, and a gift worthy of Brady's two year old Diego tastes. Don't ever try to tell me that my man isn't creative.

Max got a police-themed bubble car. He LOVES cars, and I think he sat in it most of Christmas day.

We had gorgeous weather that day, so we decided to eat outside on the patio. Mom and Dad, in their zest to clean out the house and get ready for a big move, have allowed us the privilege of storing (using) their patio set for the next couple of years. It's HUGE, and we love it. They might not get it back. Ever.

Dale and Larry showed up in time for lunch and Grandma and Grandpa came in from Kerrville. Mom, Dad and Jas (or should I call him James?) were already here. It was so much fun to have everyone here, and we really enjoyed having a crowd for Christmas. Below are pics of all in attendance. The crazy hats were thanks to some Christmas poppers Sydney insisted I buy at Home Goods. They contained little bitty trains, some strange trivia questions, and these hats. I have to say that I was skeptical, but they were a big hit, and will probably become a Moreland Family tradition from this point on.

My daughter, the fashion photographer

I had my hair done today for the first time in over five months. I know, pathetic. Sydney immediately declared it "not so good", yet insisted on taking pictures for my blog. These are the pics that my darling daugher came up with.

Dinner on the patio

Tonight, the weather was a gorgeous 75 degrees. We actually ate on the patio, most of us barefoot. Andy commented, "Who would live in the North when you could have this?" I agree.

I will, however, enjoy dinner on the patio immensely more when it does not include temper tantrums and food throwing. But then, I guess I can't have it all...

Not so much

I don't know about your house, but there is almost always some kind of drama at dinner time at our house. Usually, it revolves around the fact that someone doesn't like what we're having. In my defense, two of my children really don't like anything but mac n cheese, hot dogs, pizza and PB&J. I just think that's a pathetic diet, so I force things like chicken and vegetables on them during the evening meal. The rule is that you must take one bite of everything on your plate in order to be excused. Dessert privileges are directly related to how much dinner you eat. For example, one bite of each thing on your plate earns you one bite of dessert. I've never subscribed to the "clean your plate" theory, but asking a child to try everything seems reasonable to me.

Last night, we were eating parmesan chicken, spaghetti and salad. Blake and Brady ate all of their spaghetti and asked for more. I replied that they must eat a bite of chicken first. Brady fell to pieces, screaming and whining and eventually being sent to his room to calm himself down. Blake proceeded to choke down the chicken (making constant vomiting noises), after making this comment: "Sydney and Max eat everything. Me and Brady, not so much." Such truth. He cracks me up.

Better than a day off

Today, I had an appointment with Dr. Jeff (our pediatrician) to see Brady because he was behind on some shots, or so I thought. So I took Brady out of school at 11:15 and headed on over to the office. As it turns out, it's Max that's behind on shots, and Brady didn't even need to be seen at all. I should really start writing this stuff down.

So my initial reaction was to think that I had totally messed up my day off by unnecessarily taking Brady out of school. Then I turned to ask him what he wanted for lunch, and he smiled that sparkly-eyed smile and said, "Go to lunch wif just Mommy?" That lunch was priceless. He chattered on and on about his brothers, Blake, Max and Diego (no, it never really lets up), as he ate his macaroni and cheese with mandarin oranges. He grinned ear to ear as he told the waitress that he wanted chocolate milk to drink. He was in heaven to be the only child, if only for a couple of hours. And I was in heaven to get to have him to myself.

I needed to feel wanted today. Funny how God knows just what we need and provides it in the craziest ways.

My New Year's Resolution

Each time we meet someone new, and they ask how many children we have, we answer "four". Nearly every time, they look at us like we're from Mars and make some remark about how difficult that must be, all the while pity registering on their faces.

But last week, I met a girl at church who made a comment that made me want to cry. When I told her we had four children, her face lit up and she said, "That's amazing. Children are such a blessing." God bless that woman.

Since then, each morning I get up determined to show my God that I will not squander the blessings He has given me. I've begun looking for ways to show my children that I'm blessed by them, and praying that they will feel blessed by me. I've spent far too long buying the lies Satan has fed me through popular culture. Satan wants me to believe that my kids are a hardship, that my job is too hard, too monotonous, and too thankless. But I now know the truth.

Children are a gift from the Lord; babies are a reward. Psalm 127:3

Praise God for that sweet girl whose single comment revolutionized the way that I parent. Praise God for all FOUR of my children. Praise God that He has afforded me the opportunity to be with them full-time. Praise God that He has given me a joy for motherhood.

So my new year's resolution is to remember to praise God for Sydney, Blake, Brady and Max each and every day.

I believe it was Maya Angelou who asked, "Do your eyes light up when your child enters the room?" (Yes, I saw that on Oprah.) I want my eyes to light up at the sight of my children, because I have come to believe that my Lord's eyes light up at the sight of me.

Daily dose of Diego

I could fill an entire blog with Brady, er, excuse me, Diego stories. Forgive me if you get sick of these stories, but they are a large part of our lives around here, and I need to preserve these memories.

Brady has taken to giving everyone in the family a Diego character name. He is ALWAYS Diego. Sydney is usually Alysia. Max is usually Baby Jaguar, and sometimes Rescue Pack. Blake is whichever Max isn't. I am usually "Mami". Andy is usually the Map, which I think might actually be a Dora character, but I digress.

Today, we were all laying around in our bedroom half-heartedly playing tackle while watching a football game, when Brady says, "Map!" He gets no response, so he says it a little louder. Eventually, he's two inches from Andy's face yelling "Map!" I look at Andy and say, "I think he's talking to you." By the way, today, I have been dubbed the Grumpy Old Troll who Lives Under the Bridge (a villain in a Dora episode, I believe). Maybe I need an attitude check.

I can think of at least three separate instances where someone asked Brady what his name was and he answered "Diego" without even skipping a beat.

A few minutes ago, Brady appeared in the kitchen, demanding an Animal Rescuer sandwich. For those of you new to the Diego phenomenon, he is an animal rescuer. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: What exactly is that? Would a PB&J do?
Brady: NO. I NEED an Animal Rescuer sandwich.
Me: Okay. How do I make one?
Brady: It has bread and peanut butter and jelly.

Hmm. Sounds like a PB&J to me, but I know better than to argue with Diego.

Cousins, cousins, cousins

Since moving to the San Antonio area, we have been so blessed to reconnect (or in some cases connect for the first time) with family. Technically, the people we have now come to rely on so heavily and love so dearly are my mother's cousins and aunt and uncle. When introduced at church, none of us have figured out how we're really related other than to call each other "cousin". The Hassmann clan are the most amazing family, and I am so proud to be even a small part of it. Kevin and Cindy let us practically move in with them for several days (sometimes when they weren't even in town) while we were house-hunting. Their children have taken to our kids, and we are so blessed to have Whitney, Delaney, Nathan and Jackson around as frequently as we can. Steve and Susan take every opportunity to introduce us to the nearest warm body (these two know no strangers), and their kids have made us chuckle. John Howard, Lucy and Harry are creative, fun kids whom we genuinely look forward to seeing every Sunday. Aunt Norma and Uncle Johnny (I think everyone now calls him John, but growing up, he was always Uncle Johnny) housed Mom and Dad (and our four adorable children) during our house hunt and made themselves available to help out whenever possible. What amazing parents they must be to have produced such incredible kids (who in turn, have produced incredible kids). We have yet to spend any time with Jeff and Jennifer, but look forward to seeing them and their sweet little Henry soon. This family truly personifies hospitality, and I'm so grateful for their example and their friendship.


So the Tuesday before Christmas, my mom and I got this wild idea to have the whole clan over to reconnect. So all the people listed above (minus Jeff and Jennifer), Grandma and Grandpa, and Brian and Carla all came for fun and chaos. We had a ball. There were kids EVERYWHERE, all of them playing and having a great time. The boys donned jackets and were outside playing well after dark. Every once in a while, one of them would surface, shove a bunch of cookies in his jacket to share with the others, and disappear again into the night. The girls, greatly outnumbered, spent a lot of the evening hanging out in Syd's room, just being girls. I thank God for sweet Whitney, who spent a lot of the evening catering to Harry and Brady, both of whom are in love with her.


My cousin, Teri, and her clan (from Coloorado) came for our little shindig. It was great to see them. The boys blended right in with the rest of the posse and Bonnie, Sydney and Delaney picked up right where they left off.




We had the privilege of having Bonnie for a night while her family was in town. Sydney and Bonnie are kindred spirits, and they had a ball talking late into the night, crocheting, making up plays, concocting matching outfits, and posing for a photo shoot. We would claim Bonnie as a Moreland in a heartbeat. She's pure gold, and Teri and Christopher have done a wonderful job raising a sweet little lady.

My kid has cuter hair than me

I am completely in love with this little girl, and with her love for the "cute" factor. She's been growing her hair out forever, in order to donate to Locks of Love, and today, she just couldn't take it anymore. I'm not sure we have a complete ten inches to donate, but I know that she is VERY happy with the "new" hair. It's sassy, isn't it? I caught her more than once this evening checking herself out in the mirror. There's a fine line between appreciation and vanity, and I'm pretty sure she spent the bulk of the evening on the vanity side of the fence. But I'm thrilled that she loves her cut and that not a single tear was shed on the first drastic haircut of her young life. And now that she has cuter hair than me, I'm thinking I might do the Locks of Love thing myself. Stay tuned for pics of that adventure.

I'd like to say that I'm great at keeping New Years' resolutions, but in truth, I've never made one that I actually kept (that I can recall). So I'm thinking that making them is kind of useless. However, the things that I would like to improve upon this year include blogging, photography, and the annual move toward overall fitness (physical, emotional and spiritual). That being said, I'm going to try to make this blogging thing happen at least twice a week. I'm shooting for Monday through Friday, so I'm thinking I might make a day or two each week. We'll see...

In random news, Brady is STILL obsessed with Diego. Will the madness never end? I am not kidding when I say that he breathes and dreams Diego. He LOVES him, and each and every conversation comes back to Diego eventually. For instance, as we're leaving the furniture store today, Blake and Sydney are asking to go to the mall. And Brady says, "Ooooo, can we go to the field journal store and get a Diego field journal with stickers about animals?" For the record, he asked for a field journal for Christmas, and Santa just couldn't find one anywhere. He thought about making one, but didn't have the time and energy to be that crafty. So you crafty people, if you want to make something for Brady's birthday that he will love for all eternity, figure out how to make him a darned field journal. Brady continues to be hilarious, yet maddening. Tonight, we were looking through his favorite animal book (which he is convinced is just like one Diego has), and he found a donkey. When asked what that donkey said, he replied, "KEE-honk, KEE-honk." Cute, right? Then Max reached over to turn the page and Brady screamed "NOOOOO MAX" and slammed the book on Max's fingers. Cute moment over. Screaming everywhere. Such is life with two toddlers.