Our Boys

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the boys. Most are from Christmas, but some are before/after.

We took a trip to the Omniplex earlier in the month with homeschool friends. Always a blast!


Brendan let Cameron use his Nerf machine gun; always a fun time for Cami!


Christmas morning shots...


Cami is opening a vintage style Star Wars lunchbox! Can you see his grin??

Bren got the new Nerf gun he wanted so we took a time out of opening presents to have a little Nerf war!

I made the boys matching cloaks for Christmas...they still need a little work, but they were complete enough to give!

Cameron just opened up Pete's Dragon DVD. Even though we have scoured the house, we cannot find our original copy! He was quite excited!

Cameron in his way-too-big Captain Rex helmet

Brendan playing in the snowfall a few days after Christmas

Cameron usually sleeps with mom & dad in Lawton but the day after Christmas he announced that he wanted to sleep in his old room. But the room was full of empty boxes, hoping to be packed for the Tinker's future move.

So, we moved boxes out and moved a couch in so Cami could sleep in his old room. This is the first room I've ever designed and it brought back fond memories of Cami as an infant. He happily slept in it the rest of our trip!

Here's Brendan playing with Cami (supposed to be reading!) :-)

And lastly, here's Cami and his new "gameboy" and headphones. Having such fun!!!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a very Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve Snow Storm!

The weather man has been talking about a white Christmas all week! We were prepared to wake up this morning with 6" of snow! But this is what we got:


By noon, however, the snow was coming down pretty good


Here's Brendan attacking a snow drift. ***Take note of how high the snow is compared to the grill for comparison later!


Of course Brendan had to get on the trampoline!

Oh so much fun!

Baby, it's cold outside!

Even Dad got out to play

This is about 4 p.m. Can you see the snow is up about 3-4" in the doorway!

And the snow drift is at least as high as the grill now!

We sure will have a White Christmas!

Mom's Cookie Exchange

Last Saturday was Mom's annual cookie exchange. She fixed brisket and rolls and the extended family came with an assortment of side dishes.

And of course, everyone brought cookies!!!

It is always good to see our family members, eat good food and lots of sweets!

Wedding Pictures

Here is just a small fraction of the wedding photos I took last month. It was a fun and nervous evening! I missed some shots but I think the bride was happy nonetheless. I will definitely have more of a clue if I do another one!!!

Cameronisms

First, let me preface this by saying that Brendan & I have always "lovingly" called each other names. It drives JC crazy, usually.

Today, we're driving down I-40 to the OK Science Museum and from the backseat, Brendan & I hear "Terp".

I start laughing and have to explain to Brendan why. Cameron is calling names that he can't even pronounce!!! He was trying to say twerp.

He also says "deeb" for dweeb.

I'm not sure why, but this really tickles my fancy!

Sabbath Blessings

Have you ever wondered why the 4th Commandment is the only Commandment that we kind of ignore? Well, we've been wondering and thinking, reading and studying about the Sabbath for a couple weeks now. We don't have any firm conclusions, but we have tried hard to not work on Sunday, to have a day for rest and worship, in honor of our Lord. It's been challenging, it's been fun; it's been a real learning lesson for our family.

Yesterday, I sat and marveled at God's creation of my children. I'm so blessed by these guys!!!

They sat for about 1 hour playing legos together


When Bren wanted to play a computer game, I suggested he do some sort of art.


Cameron followed suite (he's trying to trace his hand)


We ended the evening with a bowling game on our new Wii (Thanks, Grandpa & Grandma Polliard!)

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

~Hebrews 4:9-11

Home School Christmas Party

Monday morning was our Home School Co-op Group's Christmas Party. As the group's party coordinator, I was a bit stressed! We had 101 people sign up, though not quite that many showed up!!!

We did two crafts and three games and age lots of food! It really was a fun time...I think.

A sweet friend happened to get this shot of Cameron doing a craft.


Here are the cookies I made for the event - Sunday evening after Tulsa!

You might remember these from last year. I think the kids love them!

After this party, Cameron, Brendan, one of his friends and I took off for several days in Lawton. It was a great time of relaxation for this pregnant mama! Brendan loved having a boy to play with and Cami loved hanging out with Granny and Papa, especially playing Wii with Granny!

Early Christmas in Tulsa

Last Friday we went to Tulsa. We heard about this hotel from friends of ours (thanks, Jen). It happened to be right across from the La Quinta we usually stay in, about a mile from family!

The great thing about it is this mini-water park. It has 2 slides, a beach style entrance for the little ones and "lily pads" to cross.

When we got there late Friday evening and went to play, it must have been near full capacity! But we were blessed to be able to play in it Saturday and Sunday mornings with no more than 10 other kids, sometimes no other kids.

Here's Cameron by the "big" slide. He went down it a few times but mainly just loved being in the water!


Here's Bren on the "lily pads"


Friday we had eaten an early dinner so after swimming we ordered pizza via room service! What a fun treat!


We went to Aaron & Hilerey's for a Christmas party on Saturday evening and spent the afternoon with most of the family on Sunday.

It was a little early for a Christmas celebration, but it was fun. Our family enjoyed the mini-vacation!

45th Infantry Museum

After art class last Saturday, we stopped by the 45th Infantry Museum on the south side of Oklahoma City. A free museum that we have passed quite often but never stopped at. The had tons of static displays and the indoor part was rather large as well.

I have to admit, I wasn't feeling well and I rested in the car for most of the time. But the guys really enjoyed themselves.

Christmas Cookies Part 1

I'm getting a slow start on baking for Christmas this year. Partly because I'm exhausted and partly because sugar affects my pregnant body in terrible ways. I do plan to make enough for some gifts, though.

I started out with "Amazing Amanda's" fudge recipe. Super easy; I doubled it. It is delish! (Now safely in the freezer, forgotten, mostly!)

Zoo

The Sunday before Thanksgiving we spent a beautiful day at the zoo...followed by dinner at a Mexican restaurant (perfect for a preggo!).

We all enjoyed seeing the side of the zoo that we normally don't visit. Here are just some of the neat animals we saw:


The hyena didn't laugh for us...


Beautiful wolves


The Okapi - this has to be one of God's strangest creations, I love it!

The rhino was actually playing in the water, it was fun to watch!

Of course, there was this animal... :-)

The boys love climbing on, well, anything they can climb on!

He wouldn't show his feathers, but he was still beautiful!

I know God has a sense of humor, I see His humor and His creativity here very easily.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

~Genesis 1:25