It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!! With some minor destruction here and there.....

Here are the boys in Santa hats, wearing matching PJ's that my parents recently sent them.

One day earlier this month I had come across my candy dish and realized someone had been up to something. Needless to say, this started becoming a recurring event and I had to move the candy dish all together.

We bought the boys an early Christmas present this year. We set it under the tree just after Thanksgiving and they've been enjoying it ever since. It is the FP Little People nativity set. FP actually has a few different sets, but we got the manger scene, the inn with no room set and the wise men set so that the boys can actually play out the whole Christmas story. It had to be moved out from under the tree when Jeremy decided to get himself an early Christmas present as well and purchased a train set that had to go under the tree. :)

I haven't really posted any pictures of the house since the move, but here is our foyer. I just painted it at the end of September and I'm still not sure if I like it. The color looks great in this picture, but it changes constantly throughout the day as the light changes.

This is a terrible picture of the outside of the house, but Jer did such a great job of putting up lights that I really wanted to give him some credit. He even bought lights for me to put on the wreaths that I made for the windows and front door.

And... as I promised... some pictures of the "Molly damage." I came home one morning and found that she had ripped some molding off of the wall in the dining room, where I had closed her in. Not only did she rip it off... but she chewed part of it to pieces! (Did I mention she is camera shy?? Most pictures I have of her look like this.)

Later that same day, we had to run out to a Dr. apt. and then we ran to Walmart to get a crate to put her in while we were out. This is what we returned home to. Notice the wires hanging out of the wall... that was where a phone jack used to be. Yeah, she ripped that right out of the wall, too.

A big thank you to my father-in-law who came to our rescue and helped us patch everything up as good as new before a big Christmas party that we hosted, less than a week later!

Meet the newest member...

Molly.

Molly was rescued from a shelter in KS that was going to put her down. We adopted her from a local golden retriever rescue. She is a two year old golden retriever mix... not quite sure with what, but someone suggested a spotted spaniel so I'm going to go with that, since I have no clue. She only weighs about 45 lbs and she is totally adorable. She is a great dog, loves to be around people and she doesn't chew on anything! Well, she is great until we leave the house. Once I find my camera I'll share what she was up to while I was at MOPS the other day. (That is another reason for the absence of posts... our camera got lost in a box for about three months after we moved!) I love that she is potty trained, especially since neither of the boys are.

Does anyone even check this anymore??

I will be impressed, if after all this time, someone is still checking to see if we are on planet earth! Things have been crazy since the move and we spent the summer traveling and entertaining. Then school started. Then we had another miscarriage. Now the holidays are here. And we just got a dog. Whew!! Life just seems to run away with us at times.

When I named my blog I was thinking of Ecc. 3, where King Solomon states that there is a time for everything in life and a season for every activity. I try to remind myself that I'm in the season of "little ones" and that there is so much to be cherished in the craziness of it all. Sometimes, I'm going to be honest, I feel like there is nothing cherishable and I just want my kids to be eighteen and walking out the door. Then the Lord gently reminds me that I am exactly where He has placed me, for this time in life.... for this season. He has given me exactly what I need to be the best wife to Jeremy, the best mother for my children, and the best sister in Christ that I can be. I'm still learning. It is a constant lesson that I need to keep learning. Praise God. All this to say... we are here! We are doing well. We've missed you and I hope you've missed us too!

Our Peanut

Bryce is very different from his brother Kyle and he has been right from the beginning. Bryce was born at 6lbs 5oz. and was 18.5" long. (Kyle was 8lbs 1oz. and 20.5") When he came home all that fit him was preemie clothes... and he was born 10 days after his due date! He hasn't really grown the way the doctors would like and we've had to take him in for all kinds of lab work and special appts. just to see how he was growing. It has all been very frustrating. He has developed well and been content, but when your one year old is still sporting six-month clothing you start to wonder/worry. He has never really been a good eater which doesn't help his situation. After our visit to the Feeding and Nutrition Clinic at Children's hospital last week, the doctor felt that though he is definitely short for his age, his weight matches up with his height and he seems to be developing right on track. Praise the Lord!!

Bryce is just shy of being 14 months old and now weighs a whopping 16.5lbs! He is also 27" tall. He has been trying out walking on and off for the last two months but prefers to scoot his way around, probably since it is much faster for him and he can either keep up with his big brother or get out of his way! He has a very limited vocabulary, which was a bummer for me since Kyle was such a good talker so early. I'm beginning to think that Bryce has quite a bit to say, he just never gets a chance to try to say any of it! Kyle is a CONSTANT talker. Poor Bryce can never get a word in edgewise! Here is a little video I shot last week of Bryce saying "Kyle." Notice the background noise!! He is such a blessing from the Lord.

Jer n' Jenn

Marriage is a great thing. It's awesome to know that you have someone who is committed to you and will be by your side to help you through whatever life brings. I am sooooo blessed to be married to Jeremy. Unfortunately, it is so easy to become caught up in raising kids, cleaning and cooking and all the busyness that is our lives and before we know it, our focus has shifted and our spouse is no longer at the top of the list. Seriously, I don't have to worry about dressing him each day, he can fend for himself if I don't feed him, and.... well, he is potty trained... let's just say he is pretty self sufficient! I find myself constantly fighting against the notion that he doesn't need me as much as my kids and striving to keep my relationship with Jeremy a top priority. (Neither of us really remembers what marriage was like without kids. Kyle was born just a month and a half after our first anniversary.) This past weekend was a great opportunity to spend time together and focus on each other. Belleview held their Jr./Sr. banquet on Friday night and we got to enjoy an evening out together... all dressed up. (Just for the record, I love to dress up!)

On Saturday night, we headed downtown for the Rockies game. It wasn't the best evening for a game, being only 45 degrees it sprinkled during the sixth inning, but we made the best of it and had a great evening. Here we are before the game started and the Dodgers scored four runs in the first inning!

Thanks for two fun evenings in one weekend, Jer! I can't wait until our next night out together!

Crayon Fun!

Craft time doesn't happen often around our house. I always thought that I would be a mom that would be so into doing crafts with my kids.... um, yeah, no. I still have hopes for the future, but for now I only bring out the crayons when Kyle specifically asks for them. Ususally, if he asks to color I get out colored pencils... they are so much less messy and the boys don't try to eat them! On Saturday, Kyle asked if he and his bear could color with crayons so I sat them down and brought out the crayons. Can you see the excitement on Kyle's face? For some reason he just can't smile with his eyes open anymore.
Then Bryce noticed his big brother was doing something that he may want to try out. Here he is heading over to check out the scene.

Kyle wasn't too excited that his bear had to give up a seat to his little brother.... but eventually, Mommy won that argument.

And... this is why we don't bring out the crayons.......

Kyle's excitement lasted all of 10 minutes. At least it was good time to get a few pics of my boys playing PEACEFULLY together!! :)

Easter Blessings!

I have mentioned to several friends that I had really felt as though Satan was attacking my family recently with all we've been enduring. Then Easter came. It was such a refreshing reminder of God's plan, not only for me and my family, but for all people ... and He has had in place since the beginning of time. Yes, my family (especially me) has been really struggling in the last few months, but in compared to what Christ experienced during the week before His crucifixion... my struggles do not compare and are very temporal in the grand scheme of eternity. Yes, the Lord is molding us (me) and lessons are being learned, but.... The battle is won... and He won it for us! Praise the Lord!!!

Jeremy and I were able to attend a Seder dinner on the first day of Passover and it was so fabulous to look back through history and see God's plan for Israel and how we were included in that plan. Jeremy and I have casually talked about celebrating parts of Passover with our kids as they get older because it is a great way to teach the next generation (hence, the Jews reason for the tradition). Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, but it was a great time and tons of fun!

We spent Good Friday looking at a few houses and are praying about one in particular. On Easter, we headed to church and then over to the in-laws for a family meal. Someone asked if we were having a big, family dinner. I laughed and replied, whenever we get together it is a big, family dinner! It is such a blessing to live close to family and I love it when we can get together. Sarah and Kensey (Jer's cousin, Warren's, daughters) put together an Easter egg hunt for the boys to do and they had a blast! Here is a pic of them after all the excitement. I'm pretty sure Collin and Kyle both had candy in their mouths!

Here, Kyle is proudly saying cheese after showing his goodies to Daddy.

Tara is too little to get involved in all the action, but she seemed to be enjoying herself anyway.

Here are our adorable boys in their matching outfits.

I hope that each one of you were refreshed this past Easter weekend with the knowledge that we have a Savior that LIVES, who cares about us, and desires for us to have a relationship with Him not just now, but for all eternity. Praise God for his grace, mercy, and love!

It's been a long while....

I haven't been on here since January and seeing that in a few days it will be April (my goodness, where has the time gone....) I figured I needed to update my blog before I feel like it is a lost cause. We haven't had much going on around the Polson household... just lots of resting in between many bouts of sickness. The last post I made was in the midst of the boys having a week-long stomach flu... ugh! Since then it seems that the boys and I have taken turns being sick each week. As I sit here writing this, I'm surrounded by tissues and my head and neck are quite achy. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the worst of it.

In early February, Jeremy and I were quite surprise to find out we were pregnant! I will be honest and let you know... I wasn't super excited. We know we want to have at least one more child, Lord willing, but I was not ready to be pregnant again. Soon my energy seemed to vaporize and the boys seemed to become more demanding of what little energy I had left! Jeremy has always been super excited about our pregnancies from day one and he can't wait to tell people. I for some reason lean the other way, not really wanting people to know until I am showing and this time Jer gave in to me and we decided to keep the pregnancy quiet. We started talking about names and I started dreaming of a nursery (I've yet been able to have one with our current living situation). It was only a matter of weeks until I was sure we were having a girl and my excitement started to overflow. My face kept breaking out terribly and I was craving fat and sugar... I started dreaming of buying dresses and having a pink nursery! I have been wanting a girl with each of our boys... don't get me wrong... I adore my boys, but there is a special bond that a mother can have with a daughter that could last a lifetime... that's not really there with a boy. Late at night on March 18th, the Lord showed me that He had a different plan and there will be no baby for us in October. He chose to take our baby home to be with Him. It has been harder than I had ever imagined it would be and I'm not sure I will ever understand His purpose this side of Heaven, but I'm choosing to trust Him and thank Him for giving us our baby for the time that He did. All glory be to God.

Many other things have happened besides the miscarriage to praise God for. We have been trying to buy a house and have had several offers out there, but have yet to find "our"place. In the beginning of March, Kyle started preschool at the school Jeremy teaches at. He goes for two mornings a week and I pick him just after they eat lunch, so he is home with me before noon. He absolutely loves it and it gives me some one-on-one time with Bryce and Bryce seems to love that! Bryce celebrated his birthday on March 10th and is one now. (I'm waiting to get pics from the family and I'll post more on that later.)

The Lord continues to bless us with His grace and mercy and we are so grateful for His abounding love and forgiveness. We wanted to thank all of our family and friends who reached out to us to let us know you are praying for us or to share some kind and encouraging words. The Lord has used you to remind us of his unfathomable love. I'll end this with some of the most recent pics of the boys... that were taken at the end of January!

A new....

car!

I know what you're thinking... I thought you guys were looking for a new house, not a new car. Well, long story shortened... we've been looking for a house, but with one car the area we were searching wasn't the greatest and there weren't many good options. So Jeremy started looking around for a second vehicle, found something he liked and we got a good deal.

This is a bonus picture... Kyle eating PB&J. I don't know if it's a boy thing or a Kyle thing... but this kid is messy!! It's not just with eating either... it flows into all areas of his life right now. If you're wondering why he's not wearing any pants... it's the whole potty training thing. I'm hoping to send him to preschool for two mornings a week in March, but they prefer him (and I want him) to be potty trained. We haven't made much progress, but he hasn't regressed either so I'm trying to stay positive! Enjoy!

Dave and Kate's!

After we left my parent's house in NY, we drove to Columbus, OH, to see Dave and Kate! For some reason, we didn't take a lot of pictures of our time with them. It was a great visit and we really enjoyed spending time with them and their precious new little girl, Brianna. Our first day there, we drove to a nearby mall that had Chick-fil-A (my favorite!) and an indoor play area. The play area was insane with kids and it was interesting to look around and notice how many parents were actually NOT WATCHING their kids. Katie and I enjoyed ourselves anyway, drinking our Starbucks, while the guys chased the boys around and Brianna snoozed. I think this is supposed to be a bear that Kyle is sitting on.

Kyle sliding with Bryce.

Brianna was less than impressed with her first trip to the playground.

Dave is a great photographer and offered to take some pics for us while we were there. Thank you so much, Dave! We really appreciate it! Here is one of my favorites of Kyle.

Dave took some good ones of Bryce (even though he was an hour overdue for bed... that's a good photographer for ya!) This one is too cute though... I just love his little pout face. I'm sure it won't be long until I no longer enjoy this face. :)

Thanks so much for your hospitality, Dave, Kate and Brianna! We love you guys!

Christmas in NY!

We traveled to NY to spend Christmas with my family... and we got there by car! It was kind of funny, whenever we mentioned to anyone that we were driving to NY for Christmas we got one of two responses, either "Are you crazy?" or "You're insane!" Well, it wasn't that bad of a trip and we only ran into weather on our very first day driving. The Lord was very good to us (as was my Dad, who used his hotel points to put us up for two nights.... we love you, Dad). Here is Kyle on Day #2... for anyone taking a road trip with toddlers... bring a DVD player. When all else fails, it works! We didn't use it very often, but when we did it was a sanity-saver.

Bryce had a great time riding in the car. He actually spent a good amount of time sleeping.

The boys were so excited when we got to NY. They didn't have to be in the car AND they were at Ahme and Grampy's house!! Here is Grampy and Kyle watching the Grinch cartoon.

We had such a great time with my family. Jim and his girlfriend, Jess, came over as much as they could. They came over to help decorate the tree on Christmas Eve... a Kennedy family tradition. We always decorated for Christmas just after Thanksgiving, but the tree didn't go up until Christmas Eve. I loved it and hope that one day I can talk Jeremy into getting a real tree and putting it up Christmas Eve!

The boys on Christmas morning.

Christmas at the Kennedy house. If it looks a little crazy, that's because it was! It was also loads of fun!!

Daddy and Bryce are opening some of his gifts. He really liked ripping paper.

It was so awesome that we had SNOW the whole time we were there. I love snow! We took Kyle out to sled on the hill that I grew up sledding on. He had a blast!

Kyle was introduced to video games during this trip. He would ask to play "yegos." (Lego Star Wars) Bryce isn't one to be left out.

It was a great trip and it was totally worth the three-day drive that it took to get us there!! Thanks so much, Mom and Dad for everything you did for us! We love you and can't wait until our next visit... for which we will probably fly!

I missed a whole month!!!

So, I'm thinking maybe it's time for an update.... it hasn't quite been two months, but I think I definitely qualify as a "blog slacker." Sorry for all of you who have been on the edges of your seats, wondering what is going on with the Polsons as you attempt to fall asleep at night. I'm here to put all of your wondering and worrying to rest!

Let's see... where to begin. Well, just after my last blog, Jeremy and I headed to Estes Park for the weekend to attend Family Life's Weekend to Remember marriage conference. I would highly recommend it to everyone. It was so great for Jeremy and I to get away for a weekend and focus on just each other and a great reminder that our marriage should be reflecting Christ and his love to those around us.

I somehow manage to go through all of Thanksgiving without taking any pictures. John and Amy came to visit for the week and we had a great time hanging out with them!

Jeremy had his first (and probably only) snow day of the year and we took advantage of it to take the boys out and go sledding! They had a great time until the boys accidentally ran into the fence, after that, it wasn't as much fun.

Bryce wasn't too impressed with the snow.

After the unfortunate fence mishap. I'm glad the fence was there, otherwise they would have been in the road... not good.

Later on in the week, we took Kyle to the museum to see the dinosaur exhibit. He LOVED it. He really likes dinosaurs and has learned to recognize the big bone collections in the museum are supposed to be dinosaurs! They had a really neat hands-on area for kids to uncover fossils, put massive, magnetic wall puzzles together, and do a few other things and Kyle really got into it.

Daddy was having fun, too. Bryce was content to be a spectator, but I doubt that will last much longer. His balance is getting better all the time and he loves to be involved in all the action, so we'll see how long it takes for him to start walking.

Kyle did great playing with the other kids. He would notice someone new come along and hand them one of the brushes so they could get involved in the action. He had the most fun grabbing handfuls of the rubber and tossing it in the air... such a boy!

The big, magnetic wall puzzle. I think Kyle was a little too short to really see the bigger picture and get what was going on, but he had fun playing anyway.

I love my boys!!

The same day we went and looked at a townhouse that we had found and were interested in. It was perfect for our family and we put an offer on it, but the bank went with another offer. We're continuing to look and we're trusting that Lord has something out there for us, somewhere.

Unfortunately, this is all for now. Both boys have had a stomach bug the last few days, so I haven't had a chance to get our pictures on the computer. I want to send a shout out to Margaret... tried the charcoal, so far.... so good! Hopefully, it won't be another two months before I post about Christmas!!