We Wii

For Christmas, Brent got a Wii. It was a huge surprise to him, and we have all enjoyed his gift. Papack and Roger helped him get it set up on Christmas afternoon, and someone has played it everyday since. As much as Brent enjoys it, I'm sure it is no surprise that Andrew enjoys it even more. He asks each night after supper if he can play the Wii before his bath.

So far, we've played bowling, baseball, golf, tennis, and some winter sports. Here are some pics of the boys playing with their new toy.


Coleman tried to do the bowling, but it's still a little abstract for him. He did a good job waving the remote around just like he's seen Andrew do. While Andrew does the Wii with one parent, the other one does something special with Coleman. I have no doubt he will get the hang of it before much longer.



Here are Brent and Andrew on Christmas figuring it out. Uncle Roger and Aunt MerMer were great helps in getting us started with it. They've had one for a couple of years and were our instructors.


One night I was putting Andrew and Coleman to bed and came back to find this going on.

Andrew has earned himself Pro status as a bowler on the Wii. He has a hilarious bowling move in which he jerks his knee up to his chin as he releases the ball. We don't laugh too hard though because he has beaten both of us several times. He's thrown the most strikes in the house.

He also loves the golf game. He really gets into it, and thinks he has won the game when he can get the ball to go in the water. One night, he was swinging so hard his feet went right out from under him. We both had a good laugh when he got up and was laughing at himself.

His tennis skills are impressive too. He has figured out how to "smoke" the other players when he serves. Again, it's something to do with a crazy leg kick as he swings the remote. Brent has yet to figure out exactly how he does it.

Here he is boxing. This is his newest game, and he really liked it. He smiled huge the whole time he was playing.

Sisters

My favorite Christmas movie is Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". I especially love the two sisters that are characters in the movie, Judy and Betty. The song they sing, "Sisters" is hilarious to me because I identify so well with the lyrics. Here's a link to the song if you don't know it www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYZbgG4D2oA .

Lots of you know my sister, Meredith. Some of you have known us since we were the ages of Andrew and Coleman. Many of you comment on how much we look alike. I take that as one of the best compliments I receive, by the way! We also like a lot of the same things. Like cooking.

When we were little girls, we both loved to help Momma in the kitchen. However, it was more often than not, Meredith who got to do the majority of the actual cooking help. I was usually the one to set the table. It became a family joke that when the holidays rolled around, Meredith and Momma would have to do the cooking because all I was learning to do was set a pretty table. (I did learn to cook, and think I can hold my own pretty well. In almost 14 years, Brent hasn't starved.)

So anyway, Meredith has been in the kitchen all her life. Recently, she started on a journey that will help her fulfill a dream. She's started a blog to document the trip, and I've added it to my bloglist. You can find it at meredithbakes.blogspot.com or you can click on the link to Pastry Chef in the Making.

Way to go Mer Mer! We're so proud of you! And we really can't wait until you and Roger move closer so we can sample your work! (Hint! Hint!)

Snow!

We have been having some unbelievably cold weather around here lately. Fortunately, we did get some snow out of it. As many of you know, Brent is an avid snow fan. So any chance we may get some of the white stuff has him constantly checking the weather and updating the rest of us. This time we just got a dusting, but Brent is fairly certain we'll get a big snow before warm weather arrives. Here are some pics from our fun.

This was taken from our keeping room while it was coming down. A little hard to see.

All dressed and ready to go out and play. I was so excited to have real snow pants for them both to wear. Our snow boots should be here very soon. Maybe we'll get another chance to use them.

I made these Thursday afternoon when Brent got home and we took the boys outside. There wasn't enough to cover the grass yet. Friday morning I took them back outside to play some more and they had enough to make snow angels. But I didn't try to take the camera out with both of them and only me to manage everything.

Friday morning after we came inside, we had hot chocolate. Then the boys got to play in our tub. This was their first time to do that. They loved the warm water and bubbles!

Wrapping Up

So this is the last Christmas post for this year. I have assembled a bunch of random Christmas pictures that didn't really fit with any other post. They are not in chronological order.

The boys love these foam art kits. We made a haunted house at Halloween, and Coleman still asks to make another " 'pooky house". Here they are making a Christmas train. We also made a Christmas tree that I didn't get pictures of.

Like every other family on the planet, we did the gingerbread house kit too.



These are group pictures from Christmas with my family.

Meredith, Roger and Major

the Archers

the whole gang

Gigi and Papack

Sir Andrew

the Archers by the front door

Andrew got Cootie from Santa. Here is our first playing of it during family game night.

enjoying their "camping bags" from Aunt MerMer and Uncle Roger

Andrew with a cute banner he made at school.

Coleman waiting on some Christmas cookies to bake.

Movie Day

Here are a few videos from Christmas. Perhaps I'll finish Christmas postings before Valentine's Day. And perhaps not.

This is from Christmas Eve. The boys were watching "The Polar Express" and doing their dance to the hot chocolate song. We were amazed at how well Andrew can shake a tailfeather. He gets that from his daddy.

This is from Christmas morning. It was a really good year to not have dining room furniture.

This one is from Christmas afternoon. Andrew is riding around on the driveway.

Last year Andrew learned "Jingle Bells" and this year Coleman picked it up. Their favorite song though, was "Go Tell It On The Mountain." Andrew heard it in a cantata from Gigi and Papack's choir and immediately started singing it. It was also on one of our kids' Christmas CDs in the car. Be sure to listen fot the pronunciation of "everywhere" that Andrew uses.

One Month Old

Here is Jonathan's one month picture. He's sitting with his FAO Schwartz bear from Uncle Roger and Aunt Mer Mer. After his bath, he weighed nine pounds eight ounces! I guess he's growing well! And you can see, his hair has not fallen out yet.

This has been a great first month. We got to celebrate Christmas with a newborn, which made us see Jesus in a whole different way. We had lots of time with family and friends. Andrew and Coleman both love Jonathan so much. They have been great helpers to us. Andrew often calls him by his full name, Jonathan Jackson, and introduces him to everyone he meets. Coleman is very protective of Jonathan. If he can't find Jonathan, he'll ask, "Where Jon-fen?" It's been fun to see Coleman as a big brother. We can't wait to see what month number two brings!

Something Different

I'll be back to Christmas postings tomorrow, but for today, something different. I got an email from a med school friend about some folks we used to know. Their names are Jeffrey and Noelle, and they could use our prayers.

Jeffrey began med school the year after Brent, but was unable to finish due to a brain tumor. I can't remember all the details of their story, but it seems he was diagnosed in childhood. The side effects of the tumor and its treatments are pretty debilitating, to say the least. For a while, the tumor had stopped growing. They had two little boys, and moved to Nashville for Jeffrey to enroll in PA school at Vanderbilt. He is scheduled to finish his training this year, but they have recently discovered his tumor is growing again.

They are posting updates and prayer needs on a blog, and I have linked to it. You can click on Jeffrey and Noelle on my blog list and read all about them. I am sure they covet our prayers as they face this year of uncertainty.