Zeke's First Tooth Money!

Zeke lost his first tooth on Friday, December 7th at the Women's Christmas Dinner at church. 

As I've said in past posts we don't do the Tooth Fairy at our house. We have the kids put their tooth in a glass of water and the tooth "grows" money on the windowsill in the kitchen for a week. It's what Michael grew up doing and it's been great for our kids. They know the tooth doesn't actually "grow" money. They know that it's Mama & Daddy putting it in there, but it doesn't make it any less special. 

Dumping out the water! 

Can you see his cute little tiny tooth? 

Spreading out the change so we can dry it off and count it. 

Counting up his change! 

Zeke's first tooth "grew" $7.85! 

Christmas Villages!

Life has gotten in the way again! So here it is the end of January and I'm finally finishing up our Christmas posts. 

In 2017 my Aunt Donna contacted me and asked if I wanted to have a few of my Grandma's Christmas Village houses. I remember being at my Grandma's house (my Dad's mom...she's still living, but she has Alzheimer's) and looking over every single detail of the houses. I loved them and of course was super grateful that she offered. So Aunt Donna packed up 5 houses and sent them to me. 

When I got the box I was so excited to open it. I didn't know exactly which houses she chose to give me as she split them between me and my cousins. Sadly only 2 of the house made it during shipping without any damage. I was just sick! I hated to text my Aunt and let her know so I didn't say anything. A few weeks later she asked and I told her what happened. She felt so bad about it. 

At this time I couldn't throw out the houses, but I also didn't have the time to put them back together. It was honestly a daunting task! So many pieces!!! So I just put the box out in the garage and sort of forgot about it. 

Then Christmas 2018 came around and Michael brought in the box so I could get the houses out that weren't broke. I still wasn't up for putting the broken ones together, but the kids were so insistent! I tackled one house while Michael worked on the other 2. We were able to fixed them better than I thought we would be able to, but of course they aren't perfect. 

It's been so nice having the TV mounted on the wall since it now opens up this whole area for use as my Christmas Village. At first I just set them up there since I didn't have any accessories yet. These are the 5 houses that my Aunt gave me plus one that I found at Value Village for $2.99!!!

Shortly after setting them up I went to Wal-Mart to see if they had the things I needed. I was able to get a roll of snow, a bundle of trees, a gazebo, four light up lamp posts and some people. I also ended up moving one of my Grandma's houses into the kitchen since it was just too crowded for 6 houses and everything else. 

The house on the left is the Craft shop. The house on the right is a Victorian house that was one of the broken ones. The only thing you can really notice is the crack on the left side of the roof. The kids say it just looks like a string of white Christmas lights. 

The house on the left is the Canine Pet shop and then the cute gazebo and the light up lamp post. I love the lamps, but they are battery operated and they go through batteries like crazy. So for the most part I left them turned off unless we had company. I'm really hoping to find some that can be plugged into a USB plug. Also love the kids that are having a snowball fight!!! 

The house on the left is just a regular house. I did let the kids put down some of that sparkly snow, but I didn't let them get too carried away. 

Here is the house I got at Value Village. I was so excited because it's called Black Bear Lodge. The kids love Black Bear Diner so they thought that was cool! 

Sprinkling snow! 

Side story: 

On January 5th I took Kim out to Queen Mary's Tea Room for her birthday. She got to wear a tiara! 

The food was yummy! Here is our sorbet....and a tea cookie. My favorite thing I think was the carrot ginger soup.....YUMMY!!! 

Such a beautiful day to celebrate my beautiful friend! 

During our time together we got to talking about everything that had been going on since the last time we got together. Kim mentioned that her Dad had just recently purchased a new battery for their Honda Odyssey and that reminded me to tell Kim all about our crazy battery situation. 

I have to back up a bit to tell this part though! A few months ago the button that turns the radio on and off had stopped working. It wouldn't push in far enough. It was super frustrating, but we had been dealing with it. Thankfully the volume would still go up and down. 

Right before Thanksgiving I had the oil changed in our van and found out that our battery needed to be replaced. Michael honestly doesn't trust the dealership so he wanted to go to the Auto Parts store to see for himself. Michael had taken a day off during the week so we had a date day together. We went out to lunch and then decided to stop and get the battery checked. Sure enough it was bad! So Michael got a new one right then and there. They even installed it for us. Once it was all done Michael got back in the van and started it up. The radio didn't turn on because the battery had been disconnected. For Honda's there is a safety feature where you have to turn the radio on and then input this special code to get the radio to actually work. Super....the button to turn the radio on wasn't working! 

Off to Car Toys we went to see if they could help us figured it out. The guy was super nice and he said there wasn't much they could do. Mainly they are taking out old radios and putting in new so they don't have to be gentle...he said they pretty much break the old radios getting them out. His suggestion was to take it to the dealership. 

While we were driving home I called the Dealership and made an appointment to take the van in, but I also wanted to find out how much the part was going to cost. If it was something outrageous it might end up being cheaper to get a new radio. The guy in the parts department said the button that wasn't working would cost $40. Not bad. 

When I was talking to Kim she mentioned that her hubby Micah had just recently worked on his brother's Honda Odyssey radio so he might be willing to look at it for us. When we got back from tea I actually dropped Kim off and then drove away completely forgetting out it and then I circled back to ask if Micah would mind checking it out. He was all for it. 

Micah actually showed me how to get the panel off that gives you access to be able to remove the radio....it was super cool! 

We set the panel on the dash for safe keeping. 

Right in the middle of this picture is a screw that's way down there that has to be removed in order to take the radio out. 

Micah brought my radio into the house and he also had his brother's old radio as well since they ended up having to purchase one from a junkyard. Micah is always great at figuring things out. He was really wanting to get to the bottom of it. At first he was trying to access the button from the back, but then he figured out that wasn't working. He had an idea of how to get the button off, but instead of trying it on my radio he tried it on the other one first. He tugged really hard and the button came right off. So he did the same thing to my radio as well. He was looking around trying to see what might be the matter and that's when he said...."Wait a minute" and then he tipped the radio over and out fell this....

This teeny tiny piece of plastic. I have no idea how it broke off, but it got stuck under the on/off button and made it so the button wouldn't go all the way down. I was so crazy happy and grateful! Micah got the radio all put back together and put in the van and it was all fixed. Yay for not having to take the van to the dealership!!! 

What might this have to do with Christmas Villages though?? While Micah was working on the radio I was just chatting with Kim about Christmas decorating and I mentioned the Villages and she looked at me and said, "You have a Christmas Village? Let's go downstairs!"

Kim had 5 houses that she had been holding onto that were her Mom's, but she never would put them out. She ended up giving all 5 to me!!! Left to right - Schoolhouse, General Store & Train Station. 

Church and a Fire Station. 

So I had a super amazing time celebrating my best friends birthday, got my van radio fixed and doubled my Christmas Village all in one day. It was such an amazing day!!! 

It took me a few days to figure out how to set them up since the TV cabinet didn't have anymore room on it. Jackson ended up bringing in these two end tables we had in the garage and putting them right in front of the TV cabinet so we used those. 

I ended up going back to Wal-Mart to buy more snow and I found these brick walkways. I didn't putt out the train station since I didn't have a train. 

As well as the house there were other things in the boxes like a few people and trees. 

I loved this clock that was in one of the boxes. I bought the family decorating the tree. 

Owen or Jack I can't remember set it up so it looked like this tree had been chopped down by the woodsman. It was quite clever! 

The Black Bear Lodge got a horse drawn sled and rider. 

We moved a few things around from there original location. Like having the kids throw snowballs at the other kids that were trying to make a snowman. 

It was so much fun having a Christmas Village just like my Grandma and I can't wait to add to it every year. Michael is planning on building a table top to sit on top of our TV entertainment cabinet to give me more space. The next additions I hope to make is an Inn and a skating rink where the people actually skate. I love those!!! 

Owen Michael Is 12 Years Old!

This sweet tenderhearted boy that made me a Mama is now 12 years old!!! I almost have a teenager!!!! I'm not sure how I feel about that. 

I love the growing up Owen has done, but when I stop and think about the fact that he's only got 6 more years as a child/young man that makes me sad. He's 2/3's of the way through childhood. 

One of the things I'm super grateful for is the fact that Owen is a kid. I mean a real kid. He still enjoys things that he should. He's not overly concerned with knowing what's the "in" thing and I'm really happy about that. I want Owen to stay young as long as he can. Life is way too complicated so let's just keep it simple. 

Owen very much loves traditions and he likes things to happen in a certain way.

Owen has been trying harder to put other first and to think about their needs. He does good with this in regards to adults, but he still working on doing the same for other kids. 

Owen still loves having me around especially at school. I've went on 2 fields trips with him this school year and they were both great. 

Owen still amuses me when it comes to all my picture taking! :) 

Owen is quite the thrill seeker. He was the only one that was able to go on this Kamikaze at the fair. 

He is still all for dressing up for Halloween and pretending to punch Jack even if this picture was a total accident. 

 I would rather have teenagers coming to the door wanting candy than wondering what they were out doing. 

Also who doesn't enjoy getting their face painted! 

Owen's love for the Armed Services has diminished a bit, but only in the fact that he doesn't talk about it all the time anymore. He still enjoys all things Army like when we see a convoy on the freeway he freaks out or going on a tour with Pa to see the inside of a Destroyer.  

I would say the number one thing that Owen struggles with is school. Not grades...he does great at school work and he really enjoys learning and he loves his teacher. He has a hard time relating to other kids his age. Owen has always been more drawn to adults than kids and that hasn't bothered him in the past, but in the last year it's really started to bother him. He's getting to the age where he's concerned about what other people think of him and he wants them to like him, but since he's really not interested in what they are interested in that makes it hard. Plus he's a rule follower to a fault so when kids aren't following in the rules that really bugs him and as you can imagine there are a lot of kids in middle school that don't follow the rules. 

In all honesty I'm super glad that he's not into what the other kids are into. We have talks quite frequently about his feelings and how much it bothers him. I remember going through the same thing during my middle school years. Who actually has a good time during their middle school years? They just plain stink! He has talked with the school counselor a couple times and I really hope he talks to her more since he always feels better afterwards. 

The great glasses saga with Owen...I actually love Owen with glasses, but he's constantly taking them off and leaving them places. At one point he broke them and I got them fixed and then he misplaced them again. At this point we haven't seen them for weeks so who knows where they are!!! He says they make it so he can't see far away so I guess they aren't necessary. 

One thing Owen does not like is change. He gets used to things a certain way and then he wants it to stay that way. In this instance it was summer break...he didn't want to go back to school. Also he gets really sad when he grows out of clothes. The shirt he's wearing in this picture he shouldn't be wearing anymore, but he hates it when I move his clothes on down to Jack. The other day he actually got emotional about having to throw away a pair of pants because they had a whole in them and were too small. Sweet boy! 

Speaking of clothes...Owen got moved up from the IKEA kid hangers to using all adult hangers! He was as you can imagine...not happy about this change! :) 

I love that he's old enough to stay home, take care of his younger siblings for a short time and go off and do things like Magi Quest at Great Wolf Lodge. He's getting so much more responsible. 

Owen is quite good at games even if he's not always sure about the rules. If he doesn't know about the rules he might just go ahead and make up his own Owen rules. 

Owen LOVES Charlie and could talk about him to anyone at anytime! 

Owen is just like his Daddy...he's a homebody! It can be tough to get him to do things because he wants to stay home all the time, but I'm always encouraging him to do this or do that because once he gets there he's going to enjoy himself. For example he wasn't super excited about going out on Pastor Andy's boat, but oh my goodness he had the time of his life!!! 

One change Owen was happy about this year was not having to make Ella her sandwich for school anymore. My rule is that the older buddy has to make the younger buddy their sandwich until they entered the 2nd grade. Since Ella is now in the 2nd grade it's her responsibility. 

Owen is still not a huge eater...at all! I keep thinking that teenage eating is going to kick in and he's going to eat me out of house and home, but so far I don't see it happening anytime soon. 

I don't think I blogged about this at all. We had a church picnic and one of the guys from church is a BMX biker. He and his buddy put on a show for us and they jumped over a couple of kids and Owen was one of them. He loved every minute of it! 

Owen is like most boys and gets super stoked about things that explode! I think this year we are going to go to the reservation to pick up fireworks! 

Sometimes Owen has a hard time deciding if he should do things the other kids do like this craft for 4th of July. In the end he broke down and decided to participate. 

The silliest things can make him so happy. Like licking his ice cream cone down into the tiniest little cone. 

This sweet boy has the best smile!!! 

Owen loves to learn new things and last year he learned how to play the guitar. He played it at the schools music informance and did great! Even though we stopped doing piano lessons since I'm no longer working he still enjoys playing around on it. He also has a fun taste in music...his favorites right now are Immortals & Phoenix by Fallout Boys.

Owen's best friend is Jordan. Jordan lives in our neighborhood and is a grade younger than Owen. They both like Minecraft, jumping on a trampoline & playing Monopoly Ultimate Banking. This last year they've gotten together to hang out more and more. It's been great seeing their friendship develop...I just wish they were both in the same grade! 

Owen now has is own savings account. He's saving for a car! Michael says we are going to give Owen and each of the kids $2 for every $1 they save. Right now Owen has over $60 saved so he's really got over $180 saved. 

Owen is still my own personal love bug!!! 

Owen really LOVES Charlie! 

He's a giant goofball! 

Did I mention that Owen LOVES Charlie!!! 

Owen does love a good road trip even though I think most of that isn't because of where we are going or what we are doing it's more to do with the fact that he gets to watch a movie in the van. 

Owen is very leery about trying new things....even sweet and sour sauce from another restaurant. Since we were at Wendy's he opted for ketchup instead! 

Yep he loves the cat! 

He's good at saving when he has a goal in mind...like buying an AT-AT walker Lego set!

In fact he saved so much money I traded him for all his money so he could have a $100 bill!!! 

He loves his AT-AT Walker, but he doesn't really play with it all that much. At least he was happy with this purchase. 

 My sweet twelve year old boy....I love you! I love you for you. I love how God created you. He gave you such a sweet tenderness. He made you super persistent and I know that will serve you well in the years to come. He gave you such an amazing ability to remember all sorts of facts. You are a fun kid and I love hanging out with you. I love playing games with you. I love cuddling with you during a movie. I love laughing with you and being silly. I love that you bear your soul to me and I hope that doesn't change. 

You are amazing and I can't wait to see what God has in store for you this year. 

Happy Birthday Owen!!!