MMXI

There is a lot we could say about 2011.

Family milestones. Fun events. Birthday parties and family celebrations. Holiday outings and adventures with the kids. Work successes, challenges and rewarding experiences.

But at the end of the day, at the end of the year...

...this one is healthy...

...and this one is happy...

...and that's enough for us.

Happy 2012, friends.

Merry Christmas!

Nine Months

Luke William.

You are nine months.

That is a hard thing to say about you. It seems like just yesterday that your bassinet was next to our bed. You're growing up so fast!

We usually post your monthly pic sitting in your chair, but we decided to post a picture of you doing what you love the most - standing. You are so close to walking and it kills us. You've been crawling since you were 6 months - much to our chagrin. We never did "tummy time" with you because we didn't want you crawling too soon. You did it anyway.

It just proves what we've known for several months now. You're a man with a mission: to follow Big Brother.

You continue to amaze us with your ease and complete happiness. You fuss when it's time to eat, when it's time to go to bed, and when you've been in the car too long.

You are in the 95th percentile on height, 80th on your head circumference, and the 50th on weight. You're skinny and long. Just like your brother.

In fact, you're longer than your brother. All of the clothes he wore his first Christmas are not quite long enough for you. And you're only 3 days away from exactly where he was three years ago, so things should be fitting nicely. You're gonna give him a run for his money. And that's okay. I'm taller than my big brother, and it's GREAT!

And speaking of Big Brother...you just can't get enough of him. He makes you laugh. He makes you cry. But you are fascinated with him.

Last weekend Ben went to Pippi and Poppa's and you were alone in the backseat of the car a couple of times. You strianed your neck looking for him. And when he joined us on the ride home, you lit up like a Christmas Tree.

Yesterday you rode together in the "Car Buggy" at Kroger, and Ben loved it. You were hungry, though...and all we could do was shove cheerios down your throat.

You love to eat - nothing tastes bad to you. You're on formula every three hours, with oatmeal in the morning, fruit and veggies at lunch and dinner, rice cereal at bedtime, and handfulls of cheerios, puffs, and dried yougurt bites all through the day.

You're cruising all over the house, and you're falling some. Photo editing software allows us to post these pics without fear of contact by SCAN, because your head is covered in bruises. But you're a tough little guy, and nothing slows you down.

And finally - you love...L-O-V-E to play Patty-Cake. You clap and clap and laugh when we "throw 'em in the pan..."

You are the sweetest, most well-adjusted little guy, and we can't remember what a day without you was like.

Pancakes and Peppermints

A few months ago I sat down with one of my core leaders in our children's ministry. I was really wanting to finish the year with a bang, and I really wanted to do something fun for our kids, and not necessarily make it a community wide event like VBS or the Easter Egg Drop.

After brainstorming, we decided to try a Pancake Breakfast with Santa. Within a few days, everything fell into place, and we figured (with the busy season) we would plan on 70 or 80 people for breakfast.

Our chairman of the deacons, along with his wife, are a well-known Santa and Mrs. Claus in Central Arkansas. They quickly agreed to not only appear as our special guests, but to tell the Christmas Story to all in attendance.

We planned for breakfast, photos, crafts, a sing-a-long and a story time.

We planned the decor, the menu and the schedule for the morning.

We planned the invitations and "save the date" cards.

We didn't, however, plan on over 300 attending.

Luckily, I had the invitations require an RSVP for the event. Only 50 or so showed up without RSVP-ing, so it was a great idea to make them register.

The invitations that were printed and mailed to all 2BC Families

(we also provided extras for our families to invite friends or neighbors)

Our North Pole.

This was before we added bows to all of the gifts.

The dining area. We had planned on more elaborate table decorations when we were planning for 70 or 80 people. At the last minute, we decided to run long strands of velvet ribbon down the center of the tables. It worked GREAT.

Guests seated while Santa and Mrs. Claus shared the Christmas Story.

Kids down front during the sing-a-long.

I love when kids bum-rush the stage.

Our craft time included beaded candy canes, hand print reindeer, sequin-covered trees made from popsicle sticks, and a "reindeer food"-making station.

Our little Luke cooperated very well for Santa - Benjamin, on the other hand, ran off screaming. He did, however, take his bag of Reindeer Food back to Santa to share with his reindeer. The kid is SO GIVING. He loves to give gifts. Which I guess makes up for his screaming at Santa and Mrs. Claus.

I have to give special thanks to Todd Owens, one of our amazing local photographers and church members. He not only donated his time, but he provided every family with a complimentary photo of their child with Santa.

In all, I could not have asked for a better event. I had an amazing group of volunteers help with everything from craft planning to decorating, cooking and clean-up. The best compliment we received throughout the morning was "This looks like we've (the church) been doing this for YEARS. It's so well planned..."

I wanted to end the year big - and we did. We're already making plans for next December. We really hit on something that works for our families, and the fact that the kids were able to combine the fun of Santa Claus with the True Christmas Story was just icing on the cake.

You win some...you lose some

We just can't win. On a rainy, cold December day, we wrestled Ben for 10 minutes to get him to sit in my lap for a church photo. I think poor Luke was just worn out. This will be a favorite for years to come, I feel. Still, I love my two precious boys.

And I must add...I have an AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL wife.

Two Thousand.

If a picture is worth a thousand words...