All the Rest

More storms and power outages, the last classes of Fall semester, good friends, flooding in the valleys, Christmas books and Christmas ornament making and Christmas program at church. The month of December has been full and good in every way possible.

These two... always these two...

When a Kid Turns 10

When a kid turns 10 and there will be microscopes and robots at school on his birthday, he will most likely still want to go, even when there's an option to skip. But when that kid gets home, he will expect there to be a few presents and the requested dinner of carnitas which his Mama spent the day slow-cooking in the oven, and maybe even a cherry pie with candles that look like the number 10.

And there will be games.

And then, a few days later, he will squeeze as many of his favorite people as possible into a laser tag arena for an hour of fun.

And if a few of them can convene for some ice cream cake from Dairy Queen decorated by possibly the most talented fast food cake decorator in the nation, then so be it (seriously, if you're in the area, contact Theresa at the Troutdale Road DQ- she's amazing!).

And if there just so happens to be an epic movie that just came out in theatres, then by all means, he'll add it to the already full and happy day so he can watch it and be amazed and also watch his Mama cry like a baby over fictional characters.

When a kid turns 10 and his celebration is life-changingly amazing, then presedence is surely set, and who knows what on earth could possibly follow it up the next year.

Ten

He went from 5 pounds 4 ounces to five feet tall in no time at all. Really.

People always talk about how time flies, but I think until one is a parent or has a special kiddo in their life, that phrase really doesn't become so glaringly obvious.

I feel like I just started this whole parenting journey two, maybe three years ago. And yet it has now officially been a decade (if you don't count the pregnancy, which really should count for at least two years, since it feels that way).

This kid of mine is truly a treasure. He grows and matures (10 going on 40, I swear), but somehow is still that same sweet, kind, caring boy that used to be no higher than my knees. I see him interacting with his world in such a gentle way, opening doors for anyone coming, but especially seems to have a soft spot for silver-haired ladies. I even caught him the other day helping someone's Grandma open her car door, her on the inside, he on the outside; she did look a little startled at first, but then looked at me and smiled. He is equally sweet and (mostly) careful with his little sister. They are truly each others' best friend which really makes this whole homeschooling thing a heck of a lot easier to manage.

He is 5.5 books into the 7 book Harry Potter series, which I waited to read until he was old enough. We get to geek out and have inside jokes together now which does my nerdy-girl heart a lot of good.

He spends most of his spare time either playing or imagining Minecraft and Little Big Planet worlds, or shooting things with his Nerf guns. He wants to be some kind of builder/designer/architect/engineer when he grows up. He loves sleeping under heavy piles of blankets even in the middle of the Summer. He chose to go to school on his birthday because there would be microscopes and robots. He thinks it's amazing that the new Star Wars movie is opening on midnight after his birthday, but is happy to wait to see it until the crowds thin out. He loves to cuddle and give giant squeezy hugs and will still sometimes hold my hand in public.

I can't imagine my world without this wonderful boy.

Happy Birthday Buddy, you make me proud to be Mama.

This is Why NW Oregon is Green

We get a lot of rain in this part of Oregon. You see my pictures and leave comments about how green everything looks. Well, when you average 5-6 inches a month through Fall and early Winter, that's what you get... lots of green.

December average rainfall is around 6 inches, depending on what source you check.

This year we've had over 14 inches so far, and it just keeps falling.

We're blessed to live up in the hills where our home is at more of a threat from volcanoes or forest fire than flooding, but take a walk down to our creek and you can see evidence of all the extra water trying to make its way to the ocean.

The beaver family hasn't been active for the past year, but their dams are still mostly intact, adding to the noise of rushing water many waterfalls over and around dams. If it wasn't so cold and wet, I'd want to park myself on the bridge and let the white noise wash away all the tension of life.

Christmas Tree Day

Our own personal little patch of Christmas trees has grown so much in the ten years since we planted that every one of our friends and family that comes are now getting beautiful, full-sized trees if they want, and some are even big enough that they have to be cut a foot or two off of the ground to get them to fit under a standard ceiling height.

We always go out and choose our tree sometime around Thanksgiving, marking it with a tag so no one else takes it, but we wait until the first weekend in December to actually cut it and bring it in.

I suppose it isn't as exciting for the kids when we just walk up past the front yard instead of going to a tree farm somewhere. We head out in our sweat pants, double check to make sure the tree we tagged is indeed "the one", and the Farmboy cuts it down in one quick swoop of his chainsaw.

At this point, the kids turned around with their noses wrinkled because "Daddy's chainsaw stinks!" and were just about to head back in for some Minecraft.

I said something along the lines of, "Hey! Be excited! Daddy just cut our CHRISTMAS TREE!"

Goofballs. I wonder where they get it from.

After a few hours of drying on the front porch, I set my hands to lighting the tree, then promptly forgot my camera while the fun of digging into the ornament collection happened.

Fortunately, I had a couple of models willing to pretend they were hanging ornaments...

In the past, our decorating has pretty much only extended into the living room and kitchen area of the house, but this year, we decided to add a second tree to the front room where the TV lives. Now when we watch Christms movies or play video games there's an extra bit of festiveness there as well.

Now to start wrapping presents...