Happy Birthday, Daddy and G'ma Colleen!

 Jen and Kevin hosted  the December Birthday Party for our family!  Jeff and I are now the same age for a couple of months, and Colleen is happy to be 57...again.  :)

 The evening was filled with sneaking Oden snuggles...

 ...drinking holiday deliciousness...

 ...visiting...

 ...playing with Janie and Henry's toys...

 ...devouring pumpkin cheesecake dessert (ask Jen how many boxes of pumpkin Jello she has stocked in her pantry next time you see her)...

 ...homemade cards from kids...

...and inspiring headware.  It does happen to be rolled over on itself in this picture.  It should say, "Pedal till you puke."  I prefer this version.  :)  Jeff LOVES this gift!

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!

Miss Hannah and Miss Christina did a GREAT job with our Sunday School kids again this year!  What a fun program!  The kids rehearsed two Saturday mornings to learn songs/motions.  After the first practice, where Gracie stood lifeless in the front row for two hours, I decided to pull out my greatest Mommy-tactic:  bribery.  The next week Gracie sang her heart out and earned a milkshake at Zips, her favorite restaurant.  :)

We listened to these songs for WEEKS in the car--between shopping, preschool trips, going to Dianne's...of course we know the songs as well as the kids do!

 Gracie got to wear the dress that Aunt Jen knit for her--so darling!

"Ohhh, Baby [Jesus], Baby, Baby, Ohhh...like Baby, Baby, Baby, Ohhh..."  Apparently these were sneaky Justin Bieber lyrics tossed into Away in a Manger--I had no idea.

Joshy wasn't sure he wanted to go up at first, but he did, and BOY did he ring his bell!

And he sang his little heart out.  Looks like a solo, but the other toddlers were being distracted...

Precious!  Big sister was showing him where to sit/go...

A very sweet performance.  There's just something about little kids singing to God that makes my eyes water...

The Lochhead MOVE

Early December, 2012 marked the move of Granny and Pappy to Fairwood and the move of Drew, Annie, and Oden, into Granny and Pappy's old house!  It was a busy, busy weekend.  So busy that I took TWO pictures.  (And these were a week after the move!)

Oh, this boy!  Wish I could've taken video--this kid does "Riverdance" in this jumperoo.  Feet switching from front to back, eyes twinkling, legs never stopping!  I keep whispering to him that when life gets hard, Auntie lives just 2 minutes down the road...

Puzzle-mania.  A new love for my kids.

Goodbye, Binky!

At 2 1/2, Joshy still loves his binky.  We tried to limit binky-time to bed-time and car-time, but he was definitely stretching those "rules"...  So one day in early December, I reminded Josh as we were heading down the road (having just dropped off Grace at preschool) that when he got bigger, he could trade his binky in for a stuffed animal.  

"Today, Mommy!"  he cried from his carseat.  Doubting his sincerity, I clarified that he'd have to give up all of his binkies--perhaps send them to Ollie, Auntie Julie's little dog who LOVES Joshy binkies--and he continued to ask to do it TODAY.  He kept saying it...so I went with it!  We went straight home...

 ...took one last picture of Joshy with his binky (notice it's upside down)...

...plopped three binkies into an envelope for Ollie (and a colored picture with a note to Auntie explaining that he was done with his binkies and that Ollie could have them)...

 ...and took them to the post office!

We then went to Target to find the perfect stuffed animal.  And of course, this is the ONE TIME that he can't find any that he likes!  :)  He finally ended up with more little Toy Story "Guys-es" to add to his collection.

It was a very exciting day.  The post-binky report was that he didn't sleep at all during his nap that day--his "guys-es" were talking and playing for 90 minutes--but that evening when I put him to bed, he kept saying in a sad, sad voice, "I just want my binky."  I found a rogue binky under his bed--I want to make it a tree ornament, but Jeff tells me it's too soon. :)  Maybe before I put the decor away, I'll make it to bring out next year!

And the second post-binky report is that Ollie has successfully demolished at least ONE of Joshy's binkies.  :)

Ornamented Bottle

Oh, this boy makes me smile.  The tree ornaments that he was in charge of putting on the tree only stayed there for a few minutes...then they were lined up on the coffee table, then they were danced around the room--conversing non-stop--and finally they ended up hanging perfectly on his bottle!

I remember this weekend was hard on our family--but the joy in our kids' faces as Christmas approaches is enough to heal any hurt!  My parents came up to visit--that always makes things better!--and we went to see "A Christmas with C.S. Lewis" downtown.

The Christmas Tree Hunt

This year we decided to try something a little more adventurous than picking out our tree at our neighborhood Fred Meyer.  The Van Sickles were picking out their tree at Dietz Tree Farm on Greenbluff, so we made it a group outing, thinking that our kids were a little bit older and could have fun with this venture...

The signs gave us direction...

...and the Lorax boys were ready with their blades...

...and we were off (like a herd of turtles)!  Row after row of trees we did hike, looking for the evergreen that would adorn the Lochhead living room for the next month.  Is it this one?  Nope.  Hole on one side.  This one?  Nope.  Too scraggly.  These were followed by trees too tall, too short, not smelly enough, wrong kind of branches, not enough room to hang ornaments, too fat...sigh.  Finally, the troops said...

...just PICK ONE, already!

This girl could not walk another step.

At this point, I began remembering the Fred Meyer garden center with fond memories.  What were we thinking?!?  At Freddy's we only had to decide between four or five trees and it STILL took us thirty minutes!  Unlimited choices...not such a good thing for us Lochheads.  We always think the better tree is just one more row down...

The kids and I--at halftime--taking a photo op with inflatable Santa (Gracie informed Joshy he wasn't the "real thing" so he didn't have to be scared).  Look at us HAVING FUN, darn it!  :)

At last, either out of inspiration or exhaustion, we found OUR TREE.

"Ain't she a beauty, Clark?"  (Those tired boys are pretty handsome, too!)

Jeff cursing, er, CUTTING down the tree...

And this, people, is the best part of the deal.  This tractor runs a "shaker" that bounces your tree until all the dead needles fall off.  It cracked me up!  I am laughing, just looking at this still picture.  I had visions of Jeff getting to hold onto the shaking tree while trying to sing "O Christmas Tree," but Dietz Farms frowns on newbies getting this privilege.  (Maybe next year?)

And then they wrap the tree up for us to strap to the roof of our car!

So here they are, kids.  Pictures showing that we cut down a tree as a family.  Will it be the ONLY year?  Who knows...maybe in eleven months we'll be hopped up on eggnog on December 1 and will have forgotten the tree farm STRESS and will somehow remember family BLISS.  (The complimentary candy cane hot chocolate was pretty delicious...)

Thanks for some great memories, Van Sickles!  Stress or bliss, we always have fun with you!

Papa Scott's REAL Birthday

Thanksgiving was so early this year...that when Scott's birthday actually came, we'd celebrated a week earlier.  It didn't feel right.  We partied again.  :)

This family doesn't need much to make a party happen, of course...any special day, a carrot cake or pan of brownies, a house to go to (and sometimes even that isn't needed)...and wha-la!  Instant celebration.

Uncle "Rico" is the best!

 ...and the rest of the gang.  Notice the Christmas lights outside that Jeff ran home from work to put up. We'll always remember this as the year that Jeff lost his wedding ring as he was putting them up.  The first chapter of this party involved flashlights, guests in coats, and a very relieved feeling after Jeff found it out in the grass.

Thanksgiving at the Farm, 2012

Uncle Tom and Uncle Jerry have carved the turkey for as many years as I can remember.  I love that some things never change.  Sigh...

We were at my parents' this Thanksgiving...and stayed the whole four days.  I was done with conferencing, Jeff was living for sports, and we were escaping any sense of responsibility that existed at home.  :)

Aunt Diane made Gracie this lovely blanket...and Gracie lived under it all weekend.

Dad and Nate talking WSU sports...

G'ma Trudy and little Kenley--5 months old

Auntie Sheyanna--she was the turkey with the birthday on Thanksgiving DAY.  Gracie's eating protein-less SEE-food.

I love this big family.  If we didn't have to raise them and I didn't have to birth them, we'd also have seven children like G'ma and Papa...

Gracie getting in on Kings-in-the-Corner.  Uncle Tom is the right person to learn from!

Millie getting in on Up and Down the River--a Moser/Weber holiday staple.

And the turkey highchair was brought back to life for this sweet girl on Thanksgiving Day!  Man, she looks like my brother in this picture...cuter, of course.

Chips in a fort for Joshy

We found Ben's old case of matchbox cars and decided to set up a ramp that morning...

This lion sings, "In the jungle, the might jungle..." which is a Greg Moser classic.  Our kids have been deathly afraid of this thing for years, yet Mills just looks at it and blows bubbles.

We went shopping the day after...and then...

Mom and Dad invited us to the Blume's where they lit the enormous pile of windbreak trees that Ben and Dad helped haul from the windbreak...it was time for the lighting!

It was amazing!

Finally, on Saturday we helped G'ma Trudy decorate her basement for Christmas.  She's busy recovering from her 2nd knee surgery, so we were happy to help.  I think she was a bit overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of Mosers who showed up to help...Katie and her three, me and my two, and Mother Joan, the supreme holiday elf.  We made quick work of that basement.  All ready for Weber Christmas on the 23rd!

 Tomato soup and grilled cheese for the littlest elves...

(Notice Joshy's stripped down?  In our family, tomato soup eaters under the age of four must wear nothing but skivvies when eating this delicious nectar that stains clothes...and sometimes Jeff does it for the fun of it...)

 And here is little Cinderellie--Brooke fed the whole pesky crew while her mom, aunt, and grandma...

 ...were busy decking the walls.  :)

Bring on Christmas!  :)