Christmas Program: 4 Year Olds

Last night was Lucas' Christmas Program at the church. He has been practicing his songs for weeks now and last night he was a Star!

Unfortunately, our camera battery light came on when we arrived. However, we did get a couple photos and a video to document the special night.

Handsome boy!Waiting and waiting...
Then, everyone was lined up and ready. I love seeing everyone in their Christmas outfits...too cute!
Axel loved watching all the exciting people, especially the adorable little girls behind us.
He had no problem spotting his Mommy. That's my boy...my Mama's Boy!
Lucas started out in a row with other children...
But quickly gravitated to his own row where he could have plenty of room to perform. He has absolutely no fear in front of crowds and actually shines like a star in the spotlight.
All the songs came with cute hand motions. It was adorable to watch the entire group sing their little hearts out.
Be sure to CLICK HERE to see his live performance. :)

As I tucked Lucas into bed last night, I told him how proud of him we were for being so brave in front of all those people. He gave me a big hug and said, "Mommy, I loooovvvveeed it up there!" It's true, he really truly loves performing in front of big crowds. He must of got that from Grandpa J...not from me, that's for sure.

Great job Lucas. We are sooo proud of you!

Update on Grandpa J

Just so everyone knows, Grandpa J is doing great! He was the first patient yesterday morning and the surgery only took 1 1/2 hours. He even called a few hours later to talk. He's doing great and enjoying a few days being babied by the nurses. :)

We love you.
Love, JMLA

Grandpa J - We Love You

Today, my Dad (aka...Grandpa J) goes in for hip replacement surgery. Yep, he's all checked out and today is the day. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Dad, these photos are for you. Here are your grandsons playing with the package you sent. As you can see, the packaging is one of the coolest parts. However, be sure to tell Grandma that the new PJ's were a big hit too! :)

Kids being kids.

Axel got very serious about this package opening stuff...he's getting ready for Christmas.
Lucas decided he wanted to box so, he deployed some distraction techniques.
Even a moment of kindness and...what?! Tenderness? I LOVE IT!
Then I saw these hanging out and I couldn't resist them...still can't! :)
Victory! Lucas was pretty proud of himself.
Axel seemed happy with the trade toy too. The doctors kit toys are his recent favorites.
Lucas had a ball in the box...
until it broke! I just love how cute this sad face is. I get to see it quite often...Mr. Drama! Aren't all four year olds? "Mooommmmy, now I can NEEEEVVVVEEER play with a box EVVVEEER again!"
Don't worry. Everything was better the next day when we got to decorate gingerbread cookies at our friends house...
And play with the MIXER. Axel is following in his brothers footsteps. He bypasses all the baby toys and goes straight for the appliances. In the bath, both kids fight over the sippy cup! Why do they make baby/bath toys??
Hope you love the photos Grandpa. We love you so much! Good luck today and with your recovery. (Good Luck to you too Grandma)
BIG SQUEEZYS and LOTS OF LOVE!
Love, Janelle Mike Lucas & Axel

Good Deeds

This year, Lucas and I made a "Good Deeds" advent calendar. Don't worry, the chocolate ones are still hung proudly in our home as well. :)

I had very glamorous visions for this calender and even spent too much time on the computer looking for a totally cute and doable one. Believe me, there are a ton out there. However, when one little boy has an idea set in his mind and it's for him, I had to give in and let him lead the way.

He wanted it to look like Christmas tree and it had to have 24 doors. We took an old pizza cardboard box and cut out little doors to open. He colored (with makers) the tree green and I added a few presents at the bottom. Then, we glued the entire thing to the other piece of card board. I quickly learned that I should not have used the pizza box...they coat it with wax; wax and markers are not friends. I should have stopped and started over at this point. However, he was in love with it so we proceeded.

I wrote down 24 good deeds like "helping mommy with breakfast" or "putting your shoes and socks on without complaining"...and things like that. We folded up the little good deeds and put them behind the doors. Problem number 2?! How to keep the door closed? I wanted to use stickers so they would also look like ornaments on the tree but they too, did not like the wax cardboard. We finally found some heavy duty stickers that worked...kind of...I had to use about 3 per little door so it's one decorated little tree.

So, in the end...Lucas loves it and really did have fun making it. I think it looks ridiculous mostly because of my grand visions which didn't play out so well in reality. Next year, it's on!!!

Funny Good Deed Story
On Dec 2nd, Lucas opened up door #2 and said,"Mommy, what's my good deed?"
Mommy: "Oh, you may not like this one." (I know, I should have been more positive at this point)
Lucas: "Why, what does it say?"
Mommy: "It says...donate 3 toys to a little boy that has none."
Lucas: "Oh..."
Mommy: "What do you think about that?"
Lucas: "I don't like that one....it's okay Mommy, we can just throw that one away!"
I had to bite my tongue and not laugh out loud, it was pretty funny to hear his solution.

He was pretty certain I would march him into his room and have him decide which of his toys he wanted to give up. To his relief, we went into his room and talked about Toys for Tots. He gave me four quarters out of his piggy bank to go by a toy and I told him I would contribute some quarters too and we could work together as a team.

He was happy with that but not so happy with today's good deed: You must eat all your dinner

Lucas: "Mommy, that's a hard one."

At this rate, he won't want to make a good deeds calendar next year. However, I think he's through the hardest ones already. :)

Okay, here is what it looks like:
Be nice.
Yes, it warped too. Luckily, in the eye's of a four year old, it's GRAND! :)

Meet Bikila

My dear, dear friend Darcy and her husband are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. Today, they found out that they cleared the courts and are officially the parents of this beautiful baby boy. They have been waiting for their case to be heard in Ethiopia for months and today it happened!!! They are one step closer to bringing him home and plan to do so in January after all the paper work is finalized.

I've learned that adoption is quite the process and that waiting is the hardest part but you have not been alone in this journey...we are along for the ride (as are so many others) and can't wait to meet your son.

Darcy & Dave - You guys are sooooo loved and are already wonderful parents!!!

Just look at this handsome fellow...Bikila John Hurlbert
You have to check out Bikila on Darcy's blog: Click Here
Congratulations!
We love you!

Thanksgiving in Tennessee

This Thanksgiving, Luke & Mel Laesar invited us to join them at their home in Chattanooga, TN. They have a 3 year old named, Layton, and a 6 month old named, Kestrel, so Mel is used to crazy kid-ness. She was also very brave because we had not met in person before this trip. :) Inviting an unknown family to your home for 4 days takes some guts. THANKS MEL! Luckily, we all really enjoyed each other and had a wonderful time! Lucas & Layton were buds and got along so well, it was fun to see.

Cookies were in order before starting the 6 hour trip! Molasses Cookies....mmmmm!
Before heading all the way to the Laesar's, we made a surprise stop to stay with Bentley & Jessica Brackett in Knoxville. They live close to The Great Smoky Mountain National Park and that was also on our itinerary.

Axel loved the puppy dishes.
Lucas was soooo surprised to see some of his favorite climbing friends. He was super wild and crazy and I'm sure convinced Bentley & Jessica to wait a few more years before having kids! Thank you for opening your home and feeding us, it was d-lish! (Lucas is secretly in love with Jessica but don't tell Bentley)The next morning, we were off to the Great Smoky Mts
Daddy loves any opportunity to get his camera out.
Needless-to-say, Mike has WAY better photos but I think they are still on the camera...blog can't wait. :)Lucas also wanted to take a photo...
Daddy was super happy to learn that we would be near Tennessee's High Point: Clingman's Dome at 6,643ft. So, we hiked the 1 mile round trip and it was FREEZING!!
Axel was cozy.
Mommy and the boys headed up the final ramp. The ramp was built so you could see all the beautiful views which are covered by trees down below.

Daddy & Lucas at the summit.
Mommy, Lucas & Axel on the summit.
Daddy & Lucas headed back to the car. This shot makes the Smoky Mts look really smoky!
After our grand hike to the top of Clingman's Dome, we headed to the west side of the park to see Cades Cove. This took lots of patience...it's a very windy road that turns into a one-way loop which is very slow going. It was worth the drive. We saw a bear and loved seeing the big mill in action.

You can see the watermill in the back ground which is connected to a huge mill. Lucas was sooo excited because it was just like his favorite pancake book.
Lucas is truly an engineer. Here he is telling me all about how the water turns the big mill to grind wheat and corn.
Here's the gears...
and the final product...ground corn & wheat.
Our newest hiker!!
Then it was off to Chattanooga! The first day took us to Little Rock City for some bouldering. This is a great spot for kids. It's located close to their home, is on a golf course, has little to no hike and has a bunch of fun climbs for all levels.

Luke & Layton showing us how to do it.
Lucas & Daddy bouldering together.
To the top, to the top! Way to go Lucas!!
Tippy-top!
Axel was happy to sit on the blanket and look for leaves and rocks to taste.Lucas really loved bouldering, probably because everything is fairly close to the ground and requires no harness or ropes or helmet or time putting all that stuff on. Bouldering is instant fun!
After Little Rock City, we headed home to help Mel prepare for the big feast. She took most of the photos but here are a few...
Daddy cooking sweet potatoes.
Luke & Andy enjoying the apps.
Lucas & Layton at the BIG Boy Table!
Everything was so tasty!! There were 12 adults and 5 kids and a full spread of traditional and non-traditional food. IT WAS WONDERFUL!!

The rest of the weekend was full things like: arts & crafts, climbing at Tennessee Wall, climbing at Rock Fort, playing at the indoor kiddo gym, ice cream, meals including awesome cinnamon rolls and other yummy breakfast creations....and more that I can't think of. It was an action packed trip and we just had such a wonderful time.
On Saturday night, neighbors hosted a bonfire evening so we packed up the kiddos and headed over for some fun. Axel & Kestrel got cozy.
Lucas' first time on a trampoline...SOOOOO fun!!
Then bonfire time but somehow I forgot to take a photo of the actual fire.
Mel, Layton &n Kestrel getting the marshmallows ready.
Nothing better than S'mores when you're at a bonfire. Look at boys watcing that chocolate to make sure Luke sends some their way.
This was seconds before Axel's eyes closed...he was a tired out boy.
What a wonderful trip! Thank you so much for opening your home and your fridge this Thanksgiving. Your hospitality is GREATLY appreciated. To all of our family, we miss you bunches and hope your Thanksgiving was a special as ours was. Love, JMLA

Axel was all ready to drive us home: