When it rains, it hails

Last Wednesday, Major and I were just minding our business waiting for Daddy to get home from work when it started pouring rain.  Daddy made it home fine, and then 10 minutes later it started hailing.  It started with small hail, and then gradually got bigger....until it was the size of a baseball!!  I'm not exaggerating...see the pictures!

It started like this...


And then became this...

Our front yard...

Our backyard...

I ran in to get the camera (we were hanging out in the garage looking out at it) while my brave, stupid (who knows?) husband was running out to retrieve the stones (he DID have a board over his head and back to protect him) so I could take pictures of them.  The hail lasted for about 20 minutes, I guess.  It sounded like bombs were landing on our roof.  When they hit the cement, they made the scariest sound and bounced toward us.  I kept pushing Major further into the garage to keep him safe. 

The boys were enjoying the show, thinking it was pretty cool...but I was almost in tears.  All I saw were $$ signs. 

My mom was out shopping right then, so Dad called her and told her not to come home. She drove over to our church and took cover under the awning there until it ended.  Dad had to scramble to clear a spot in their garage for his truck - he's been working on the garage, so all their tools and stuff were piled up in the middle.  We hurried and moved the lawnmower and trash cans so Mom could park in our 3rd bay when she finally made it home. 

It was pretty scary...my Kansas born and bred husband had never in his life seen hail like this.  We still have 3 stones in our freezer - between tennis ball and baseball size.

The insurance adjustors are SWAMPED, and so here we are a week later, and our adjustor was supposed to come today.  But, this morning it was scary windy, so he called and postponed until this weekend. 

So, you kow what's happening right now???

It's POURING outside and has been for the last 3 hours, at least.  Great.  Baseball size hail holes in my roof and it's pouring.  And once the insurance and roofer agree on what needs to be done and price, then we can FINALLY schedule a new roof to be installed (all of our neighbors have already been told their roofs are totaled)...but who knows when they will be able to get to us.  And in the meantime, a new baby will be entering our lives in 6 weeks.  6 WEEKS!!  Please God, let this all be settled by then!

My Big Boy

In two weeks, lil Major will be 2 1/2...30 months...I can't believe it. In some ways it feels like he's been part of our lives forever, but it's really only been 2 1/2 years. Of course, I can NOT imagine my life without him now.

He is so much fun and so frustrating...sometimes at the same time. He is smart and happy and loving and anything else a proud mama can say.

He amazes me every day with all that he knows and all that he remembers. We were driving by Lowe's the other day, and he points and says, "that's where the big green bug is up high and they have tractors like Daddy's and lawn mowers." Seriously, how does he remember all that??? He remembers people and names and who they belong to and what they have at their house.

He definitely knows right from wrong and how to push Mommy's buttons. He knows that if I mention "the spoon" that I'm really serious. He knows that Mommy has a baby in her belly, but if you ask him if he wants a little brother or sister, he usually says "no." =)

He says please and thank you. He loves baseball, basketball, golf and football, but nothing beats swinging in the backyard or at the park. He never tires of driving cars with Daddy or reading books or watching Cars.

He loves his bedtime/naptime routine, and he is a champ when it's time to go to sleep. He still loves to rock and sing with his Mommy, and he reminds me to pray if I forget. Before I walk out of the room, he always says, "see you when I wake up." Sometimes he tells us, "don't let the bed bugs bite."

He knows the ABC song, and he can recognize some of the numbers. He can count to 14 (on most days), and his favorite songs are: This is the Day the Lord has Made, the Patient song, and Jesus Loves the Little Children.

As we drive along, he calls out all the vehicles he sees: Hummer, cement truck, trash truck, mail truck, fire truck, Jeep, Motorcycle, police car, ambulance. He also knows where we get ice cream (Freddy's), tater tots (Sonic), french fries (McD's), Bob the Buffalo (Ted's Montana Grill), treats (Quik Trip) and gas (Dillons)...and he calls all those out as we go by. At least once a day, he asks to go to one of the "treats" places. It's so hard to say NO to the little guy.

He's wearing size 9 shoes, but he's well on his way to size 10. He's in 3T shirts and 2T pants, and he still has the most beautiful big blue eyes and super long lashes that melt me into a puddle when he looks at me. I can't help but smother him in hugs and kisses many many times each day.

He loves to give bear hugs (complete w/ a growl), kiss his Mama, "pound it," salute like Papa, and wave and blow kisses. When we leave Mema and Papa's house, we have to stand in the yard and do our goodbye routine for several minutes...as we run through all the ways to say goodbye.

As the time ticks by until baby #2 arrives, I'm finding myself feeling a little sad. I'm so excited to meet the new baby joining our family, and I'm SO ready to not be pregnant anymore, but I'm SOOOOO sad that my one-on-one time w/ Major is coming to an end. No matter what, I want Major to feel just as important and loved after the baby as he does right now. And I don't know how to do that, because there's no way I can give him as much attention post-baby as I do now.

I'm trying to remember all that as these days go by. I'm trying to close the laptop more and get down on the floor and drive cars or build blocks (as physically difficult as that is now) more often. I'm trying to completely absorb him right now. Our lives changed dramatically when he came into our family, and they're about to change again. I'm so excited and scared and nervous and sad....all at the same time.

Major - I love you so much more than you can know. You are my first born, my sweet sweet Major, and I will always remember how special these first few years with you have been. I'm so excited to see you become a big brother, and I know that you will do an awesome job! I love you, baby boy!

quick post

Well, I really thought I would have posted about my big 27 month old by now, but I've been busy w/ other stuff.



The Colonel and I escaped for our very first trip away w/o the boy this weekend. We've both been on trips ourselves, but this is the first time we BOTH left him at the same time. Everyone involved did great!! Mema and Papa had a blast playing w/ him, he loved all the attention, and Mommy and Daddy had a very relaxing time in Oklahoma City.


I got a great deal on Groupon for our hotel (LOVE that site!), we saw a movie (although it was the WORST movie I've seen in a long time - don't waste your time on The American!), and ate lots of good food. Oh, and took naps, read, watched TV and we were able to carry all of our stuff into the hotel in one trip. Ha!


SO, an update of my boy is still coming. In the meantime, here's a pic of the happy couple (complete w/ 31 week belly).



UPDATE: Oh, and apparently, I've been out of the workforce for too long, because my engineer mind can't even add anymore. My boy is 29 MONTHS old, not 27. Oi.

coming soon...

How did months and months go by w/o me even looking at my blog??? Well, my kiddo turned 27 months old this week, and it's high time I update about him. Unfortunately, I'm sitting in Panera with my new laptop (whee!), and I've got to get going to get to a doctor's appointment and then a haircut, so updating will have to wait. But, here's my promise. It will come SOON...and now that I've put it out there, I'll have to follow through, right?? Also coming is a belly shot....I can't believe I'm almost 31 weeks!! My ticker says 65 days....aahh!! It's really 59 days since I'll be having a scheduled c-section. Woah, better get busy!!

See ya soon!

Remembering the Good 'Ol Days

Jody's super fun giveaway gave me a chance to remember my favorite vacation (so far). 4 years ago, before we moved to KS, before we even thought about Lil Major, before I started this blog, The Colonel and I took an amazing vacation to Ireland.

We spent a full week sightseeing, celebrating my BFF's wedding, and acting like locals in Ireland. It was the best vacation we've ever had. The Colonel golfed on the links, I sipped mimosas and ate fruit and cheese. We had tea in the afternoons. We slept in a castle. We drove on the "wrong" side of the road. And I'm so ready to go back!

Here's a picture of us at the Rock of Cashel. This was the first day that the sun came out...I think it was on day 3 or 4.



It's not my favorite picture of us on our trip, but it's a picture from my favorite trip. My camera broke right when we got to Ireland (figures!), so I had to rely on photos from others, and somehow I never kept digital copies of all of them. I DO have an amazing scrapbook from our trip that I will treasure always.

Can you give up your coffee for one day??

I've posted about our friends who are working to adopt two little boys from Eastern Europe. These two sweet boys both have Down's Syndrome, and they're in danger of being transferred to a mental institution for the rest of their short lives if my friend doesn't get there first to bring them home.

At this point in their journey, they've submitted all their paperwork, and they're just waiting for the immigration services to tell them to travel and start the process in the boys' country. Of course, there are TONS of expenses associated w/ traveling so far away... and they may have to stay for as long as a month. Not to mention that they have 9 other children who will need cared for while they're gone.

If you can spare some change or give up your coffee for one day or skip that ice cream cone....it would be so awesome if you could donate just a bit to the Nance's. All the info about giving and praying and what comes next can be found here.

I'm so excited and can't wait to meet these little boys!

Mama Bird

A Mama Bird showed up at my house today. I have no idea where she came from, but she sure got a lot done. Yep, it was me. For the first time in a REALLY long time I was productive...all...day...long.

I never had any nesting instincts when I was pregnant with Major. I wanted to be "ready" for his arrival, but I never had any sudden bursts of energy or major organizational urges. But, this time...wow...I feel the need to purge my house of all unnecessary CRAP (and there's a lot!) and clean things that have never been cleaned since we moved into this house.

So, either the nesting bug found me or my decision to get my booty out of bed at 6am and enjoy some ME time on the deck with the paper and my coffee and a gorgeous morning got me motivated for my day. I didn't even realize how much I got done until I started thinking about it. Here's what got accomplished today:

* coffee and paper on the deck
* two loads of laundry folded
* taught my class at the Y
* trip to the grocery store
* started organizing stuff for our garage sale
* went through all my scrapbooking stuff and pulled out a bunch to sell
* sorted through too small clothes in Major's room
* completely cleaned and dusted Major's room
* cooked dinner for my family
* vacuumed the main floor
* cleaned all the screens, windows and blinds in my family room (and if you've seen my house, you know it's ALL windows)
* worked an hour doing my internet job

Whew...that's a lot for this girl! So now I'm sitting on the couch enjoying some So You Think You Can Dance. Yeah baby.

My Sweet Boy

Although I don't know if he exactly understands what it means, Major knows that there is a baby in Mommy's tummy. If you ask him where the baby is, he points to my tummy. And on more than on occasion I've had to remind my wild 2 year old that he has to be careful and not jump on Mommy or he'll hurt the baby. So, he knows that baby is in there.

The other night we were rocking before bed, and I told him that I loved him. And then, my super sweet kiddo, totally unprovoked, said, "I love you, Baby," and leaned down and kissed my tummy. mush...that's what I turned into. And then I smothered my #1 baby in kisses.

And then this morning we were watching 3 Men and a Baby on TV (it's been AGES since I've seen that movie), and Major was totally enthralled. He couldn't get enough of seeing the baby on TV. A little while later he turned to me, pointed at my belly, and said, "Baby, out!" Oh sweet boy. I had to tell him that baby needed to stay inside Mommy for a while longer.

I hope he's still this excited and interested when the baby does arrive this fall! =)

The big celebration

Since I'm so late in posting about my son's second birthday, I will go ahead and honor my very first niece for turning 12 today, and I will post about Major's birthday on Miss Kaylee's birthday.

So, 15 days ago, Lil Major (who is not so little anymore), turned two. Because his birthday was the Monday after Easter, we partied ALL weekend long.

Saturday was a little cool, but spring had FINALLY arrived. We took full advantage.

It started w/ a small party w/ both sets of grandparents. We hunted for Easter eggs, ate yummy BBQ'd hamburgers, indulged in sugar cookies and cupcakes, and opened lots of presents. Poor Major had a terrible cold and wasn't feeling all that well, but we made the most of it. He got lots of snuggles from Mema and Grammy, so it was still a good day.


helping Papa put together his new bike...


My poor boy was too sick to go to church on Sunday, so Daddy and Major stayed home and rested while I went to church with Mema and Papa. But, he definitely wasn't too sick to open his Easter basket...



And after a good nap, we headed outside for some golf lessons with Daddy and to ride the new bike.


So, Monday was his actual birthday, and we were still partying! We met up with Aunt Jayme and the girls and with cousin Michele and her kiddos and her sister w/ her kiddos -- 4 moms, 9 kiddos, and 2 baking babies (more on that later) for some fun at the zoo. It was pretty windy, but we didn't let that stop us.



And it wouldn't be a birthday without a trip to Freddy's for burgers, fries and frozen custard. Yum yum!




My little bambino turned two! He's the most amazing kid, if I do say so myself. He learns something new every single minute, I swear! He is talking so much, making sentences and putting thoughts together. He loves to read and watch Cars and drive trucks and play trains. He told us "love you" for the first time recently, and he just melted my heart. He says thank you when you give him something, and if something is confusing or unexpected, he says, "oh dear." He waits excitedly for Daddy to come home each night, and he grabs your hand and says, "walk with me" when he wants to show you something.

Oh, he is such a joy, and we love him so much...and come this November 11, Veteran's Day, our 10th anniversary, he'll have a little brother or sister for us to love just as much!

Happy 2nd Birthday, big brother Major!

Helping Kids

In the last several weeks, there have been 3 deaths in Wichita that have just devastated me. They were all children - all under the age of 19 months.

The boyfriends of the mom in two of the cases (men who are NOT the childrens' father) are accused of MURDERING them...abusing them, hurting them, and ultimately killing them. Both moms are 20 and have multiple children by different men. They left their precious charges in the "care" of monsters. One of the kids (19 months) was abused so severely that the medical team said they'd never seen anything like it. His fingernails were pulled out, his leg was broken and was deformed, he had sores in his mouth from being stabbed with a fork, his collar bone was broken -- there was not an inch on his body that hadn't been severely injured.

To make all of this worse, in both of these cases, neighbors and/or family members had reported to the authorities suspicion of abuse. In both cases, the authorities decided that no further action was required and the report didn't suggest abuse. Now, both kids are dead. The third case is still under investigation - the child was a newborn.

On one hand, I'm almost glad the children are safe and secure in our Father's arms...they can't be hurt anymore. But, seriously, why did this have to happen???

I have a good friend here in Wichita who is working feverishly to adopt two children from Eastern Europe. These two boys (Alec and Zhenya) are about to be transferred to a mental institution, and if Stephanie can't raise the money and finish the paperwork by then, it will be too late. These precious boys will spend the rest of their (short) lives strapped to a bed, with no stimulation or opportunities for learning or physical contact.

They deserve so much better than that!! See, the reason they'll be transferred from the orphanage to the institution is because they have Down's Syndrome. Most of them have living parents, but these parents chose not to keep them because of their disability. Stephanie loves these children so much! Her youngest son has DS, and it's given her a love and a heart for these kids. I'm amazed daily at her passion and strength! These two boys in Eastern Europe need her and her family! Here's another tidbit about Steph. She has 9 children of her own...yet, she still is willing to open up her heart and her home to bring these boys HOME. Amazing!!

Steph has a blog where she writes about their adoption journey. One of my favorite posts is this one where she writes about another family's adoption journey and the impact it had on her. And I can't find the link right now, but she has a friend who just came home from starting the process in Europe to adopt some children, and her report of the conditions was horrific. The children (4 and younger probably) were inside a large playpen where they were TIED to the walls, so they couldn't move. These kids who are 3 or 4 weigh 20-25 pounds, they can not walk, they can not speak, some of them can not even sit up. They need our help and love and rescue!

As you can imagine, an endeavor like this is very very costly, and it's also time sensitive (the boys will be transferred this summer, at the latest). Steph is hosting a giveaway for a quilt that she made if you donate to their adoption fund. You can donate on her blog here.

If you can spare a few dollars, please consider helping her out. I love that I can be a part of the amazing thing that her family is doing by adopting these kids -- just by giving and praying and supporting her. I'm so excited to get to know these boys and watch them interact with their brothers and sisters and learn about our God. I don't know if adoption will ever be what God has in mind for our family, but I'm absolutely sure that God wants me to support Steph in her journey to adoption. Can you help, too??

This Morning...

This morning when I went in to get my TWO YEAR OLD (yes, he turned two while I've been absent from my blog...pics to come soon) up for the day, I saw the sweetest, cutest, melt-your-heart sight.

He was sitting up with his stuffed giraffe in his arms, and he was showering Giraffe with kisses. Then he picked up Bear and covered him in kisses. Then he told me, "blankie kisses," and he covered his favorite blankie (made by Marge) in kisses.

And mama swooned. My boy. So sweet. Adorable. And such a lover. Please, Major, stay like this forever.

March 1

Who knew that time goes in warp speed after you have kids?? My boy is going to be 23 months old this week, and then in a month, he'll be 2. Wow! Actually, he already seems like he's two to me (we've even seen a couple temper tantrums already), and I've called him 2 a couple times.

He's still such a joy. He learns so quickly, and it's so fun to watch his little personality emerge. He loves cars and trucks and trains and airplanes (I think I see a transportation themed bday party in my near future), and he also loves ALL sports...but mostly ba-ket-ball. He can spot a basketball hoop from a mile away. He also loves to pray, and it just melts my heart every time I see it. He bows his little head, mumbles his prayer, and then pumps his fist in the air and shouts A-MEN!! (the prayer is at the end of the video...first he has to play w/ daddy's elbow)

We've been spending several hours each week at the YMCA, where he LOVES to play in the Kid Zone. I kept him out of there for a long time, but it was due to my own fears, not his. Now we both love it! Actually, I think we both NEED it! =)

I'm done w/ my one of my part time jobs - the one that was most stressful. Now, I just have 3 part time jobs that I'm doing. Ha! I'm doing some internet research (from home, in my jammies!), I'm still teaching classes at the Y, and I'm subbing in the schools. I had my first assignment last week. It went fairly well, although the 7th graders just about did me in...and I sent one of them to the office. I have two days of high school girls PE this week - pray for me!

Here are some of the activities that happen when Daddy plays hooky from work (not really, he took a vacation day so I could work)...we LOVE it when Daddy is home!

So MUCH

Wow! Three posts in the same month (just barely!). When was the last time that happened??

So much is going on, so much has happened...I've had productive days and days that I just look at the pile on my dining room table and want to scream and pull my hair out. I've figured out that I'm one of those Type A personalities (that's not the surprise) who wants everything to be perfect, so I just keep putting things off b/c I don't have time to see them to completion RIGHT NOW. Thus, the mess on my dining room table, in my office, in my closet, in my bathroom cabinets. Grr. I hate this.

I AM determined to get organized, though. We are trying to do some rearranging in the basement, and this will require me to get rid of A LOT of stuff and organize A LOT of stuff. I started w/ a couple boxes of stuff that I've been toting around since elementary school and high school - no lie. I found notes I wrote in junior high, papers and cards I wrote to my grandma when I was a kid, pep rally Mums from high school, sheet music from marching band. Oh boy!



I went ahead and spent some time looking through all of it again, and decided it would be the LAST time I looked through it all b/c then I trashed it. There's just no reason to read AGAIN about who was mad at who in seventh grade.

I also organized all my scrapbooking stuff. I'm THIS close to selling all of it...but then...what if I want to pick it back up again? What if I want to start making cards? Well, at least it's organized for now.

My office if full of junk, and I want to turn it back into a storage room - it's intended purpose - and move the office out to the main room of the basement, where I'll be forced to keep it organized or be REALLY embarrassed.

So, with all of the reorganizing going on, I still have everything else. I've put in my notice at my super time-consuming, bothersome job, and I'm fully certified to sub teach in the schools. I was supposed to complete my first assignment on Friday, but we had a snow day. And I'm glad. I was exhausted.

Last week was made up of driving back and forth all over the state of Kansas (or so it seemed) taking my MIL to the hospital and back to visit my FIL (he's well and home now), and taking the boy to the babysitter, going to teach at the Y, driving across town for meetings, and trying to get all my errands done before the snow hit on Friday.

I also found time to take a meal to a friend who's on bed rest, make a thousand calls to my sister and mom to see how Sis was doing w/ some VERY early contractions, go to my Mom's group, attend a slumber party w/ our Mom's group leadership team, play in the snow w/ my son, and take our annual family outing to the train show. Whew. I'm glad it's all over.

Now it's time to start another week. Pray that I can be productive and not get sucked into FB and blogs and stinkin' bejeweled blitz. I need a week to get some other stuff done!!

And since you so patiently listened to my rant and complain, here are some pictures from around our house lately.

Mema's glasses...

Reading the paper w/ Daddy...

Heading out to play in the snow...

Mommy's helper...

His first snow angel, perhaps??


My sweet sweet sweet boy...

Not a Mama Post

Wow, I think that this might be one of the first posts since Lil Major was born that is NOT about being a Mama...but then again, it kinda is in a way.

After I had my little bundle of joy in my arms, I knew there was no way I'd be able to leave him and go back to work full time. So, I found a part time job. It was the best arrangement I could have asked for. I worked 24 hours a week, 3 days a week, and my mom watched my kiddo. Great, right?? Yeah, it was, until the economy tanked and I lost my job.

Ok, move on. So, I did. I found another part time job. At first, this seemed like an even better deal (aside from the 65% cut in pay). It was only 10 hours/week (or so I was TOLD), I could work whenever I wanted, and some of it I could do from home.

What I DIDN'T know at the time was that I would NEVER work just 10 hours/week, my cell phone minutes (that I paid for, not the company) would shoot through the roof, and I would work 7 days/week. But, still, it was part time...averaging about 18 hours/week.

So, here's the rub. I didn't know how easy I had it working full time. I went to work for 40 hours each and every week. I played on the internet, I paid my bills, I made my doctor's appointments...all during my 40 hours. Which meant that when I got home in the evenings, I could do whatever I wanted to.

Working 3 days/week at my first part time job, I never once got on the internet, I paid no bills, I made no personal phone calls. I had work to do! Work that had to be done in just 24 hours/week! No biggie. I still had a couple other days of the week to myself.

At THIS job, I work harder than I've ever worked at any job. I get paid the least of any job I've ever had. I work more days/week than any other job I've ever worked. I do have a pretty decent boss who backs me up, but I also have a "dotted line" to corporate, which is not fun at all.

Let's sum it up: I make 65% less, I work 65% more, I have 65% more stress, and I get 0% of household stuff done while I work.

I get it though. I am paid by the hour, and I only have a few hours to be, physically, at my place of business, or on my computer at home, so I have to make the absolute most of the time I have. Which means no fooling around.

I don't have any idea why I thought I would work less by having a part time job. Aarrrgghhh!!

Don't worry -- plans are in motion for yet ANOTHER part time job which will require less headaches in some ways and WAY more in another way. I'm trying to substitute teach. No extended days. I can say YES or NO to an assignment. No taking work home with me. AND, I can make the same $$/month by working 6 days/month instead of every day/month!

I'll let you know how it goes.

21 months

I can't believe it's been a whole month since I last posted. I guess it was a pretty busy month, but still. Time goes by so fast these days.

My boy is 21 months old today! He is amazing, he's the smartest kid out there (we all say that about our kids, right??). =) Well, at least his Mama is proud of him.


His vocabulary has grown and grown this month - he's starting to repeat words when we say them (uh oh - better watch out now!), and every day I hear something new from him. I can't even remember all the words, but here are some of them: wa-wa (water), bounce, choo choo (complete w/ the arm motion for the horn), tra truck (trash truck), shoe, sock, elbow, knee, lap, and NO. I'm not so crazy about that last one, but I guess it had to show up sometime. I still haven't heard YES out of him.



He has some favorite activities and most of them have to do with Christmas gifts. He got a train table and a basketball hoop that are very popular around here. I'm trying to push the boy towards b-ball rather than football -- just call it a paranoid mama. He still loves to read books, but now he comes to you with a book and asks to sit in your lap to read it.


He loves to put on his Daddy's shoes and belts. It's hilarious to watch him try to walk around the house w/ a big belt wrapped around him twice, and humongous shoes on his feet. I should just keep my camera attached to my body at all times to capture all of this. Here's my best try.



When we rock together at the end of the day, he puts his head on my shoulder, and I ask him for a kiss. That little booger lifts his head, puckers up, leans in towards Mom, and then turns his head really quickly and says NO in the cutest little voice you've ever heard. Then he turns his head back and puckers up so I can kiss him. Oh, it's one of my very favorite things.



He is getting taller...he can reach to the next highest drawer and further onto the kitchen counter and table. I have to be extra careful that breakable and dangerous things are FAR out of his reach.

My kiddo has been sick for the last 3 weeks. It started out as a runny nose and a cough when he woke up. It was just annoying at first...but then, the symptoms continued, and then his runny nose started producing green nastiness and then his cough got worse, and then he got a fever. Finally, I called the doctor, and they had us come in. They said he was starting to get a double ear infection and his sinuses were all messed up, so we left w/ a script for antibiotics. And while we were there, they gave him his 2nd H1N1 vaccine, and wouldn't you know it, but my tough boy didn't even CRY when he got poked?? He's way tougher than his dad and mom!

I'm praying for healing, because we're getting tired of being stuck in the house. Well, I've still had to leave to work, but he hasn't been out much in the last week, especially. Not that we want to go anywhere, it's supposed to be a high of 9 for the rest of the week!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas, filled with lots of food and laughter and games and gifts and family, and a little bit of snow. It was so fun to see Major's face as he walked out and saw his gifts and the lights...what a blessing to have him in our lives!