Hunt for the perfect Christmast tree

Each year the weekend after Thanksgiving, rain or shine, freezing or comfortable, we gather the Bielozer troops and head out in search of the perfect Christmas tree. This year was no different. Friday it snowed all morning, so we put on all our snow gear and headed out (the snow all melted by the time we got out there).

The boys loved the wagon/tractor ride out to the fields. This year was so fun because Ty totally had an opinion on what tree we should get. For the first 15-20 minutes he would not leave the side of one tree because he wanted it and was convinced someone might take it if he left it. Fortunately we were able to convince him otherwise (the tree was only 3 feet tall) and eventually found the perfect tree. Ty loved helping to cut it down and carry it back to the tractor.

Grandma and Grandpa surprised all the grandkids with a set of ornaments from our Disney trip this past summer. Carter said "Thank you Grandpa" all the way home. Thank you Grandpa (and Grandma).

Being Thankful

You know it's been a long time since I blogged when Keith is telling me I need to blog. He used to make fun of me for always blogging and now he's concerned I'm "losing interest." No, I'm not losing interest, I have just been so sick and so tired that I just haven't been able to gather up the energy. Finally though, I think I'm nearing the end of this morning sickness (more like all day sickness) thing and might finally have some of my regular energy back. I totally feel for the women who have horrible morning sickness and am counting my blessings that I didn't feel this way with my other pregnancies!!



I've been spending a lot of time lately feeling sorry for myself and how sick I feel, so in the spirit of feeling better and my Thanksgiving day post, I decided to take some time to reflect on all that I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for:



1. My health. It's too bad that it takes feeling horrible to be thankful for your good health. Even though I have felt so sick and tired, I'm grateful that it's not permanent. I'm grateful that overall I have been blessed with good health and that this pregnancy is going well (we heard the heartbeat last visit).





2. My husband. Yes, I really am. I'm grateful for his love and dedication to our family. I'm grateful that he goes to work each day for us so I can stay home with our children. I'm grateful for his unselfishness and the way he cares for and loves our boys. I'm thankful for his handiness around the house and all that he does for us.



3. Ty. I'm thankful for his sweet, sweet spirit. I'm thankful for his gentleness and the way he hugs me and tells me he loves me. I'm grateful for his desire to do what's right and to do everything "the right way." I'm grateful for how polite he is and for his ability to make friends. He truly makes our home and family a better place to be.






4. Carter. I'm thankful for his love for life and his spunk. I'm grateful for how he loves his brother and wants to be wherever he is. I'm thankful for his energy and his sweet little voice. I love his determination and strong will (most the time:)).





5. My extended family. I'm grateful that my parents are near by and always will to help out. I'm grateful for their unselfishness and love. I'm thankful for all the support and love all our family gives us.





6. My faith. I'm grateful to be sure in what I believe. I'm thankful to have a knowledge of the gospel that gives my life meaning. I'm thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for my Heavenly Father.





7. My friends. I have been blessed with so many wonderful friends in so many areas of my life! I don't know what I would have done throughout life without each one of them.





I'm grateful for many more things, but this is what it all comes down to. If I lost everything else and still had these seven things, I would be blessed!



THANKSGIVING
We had a great Thanksgiving this year. As we have for the past 3 years, we had both my family and Keith's family over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. I love have Thanksgiving at our house because we can have both our families together! Everything went perfect this year. The turkies were done on time, the food was excellent, the company was wonderful...I couldn't have asked for a better day (except to have had more familiy in town!!).

Here is Ty after his Thanksgiving feast at school.





Carter entertaining the crowd in the basement. What a ham!

Smooching little Sammy.

After all the tables were cleared and put away, Carter found one lonely chair and climbed up with a big helping of pie. That's my boy!

Carter helping with the dishes. Definitely the highlight of his day!

One of the two birds this year.

The boys wrestling before dinner. My boys are in heaven when the older cousins are over!

Turkey will do this to you.

Ty Guy playing comando with the cousins.

A family get together wouldn't be complete without checking out Utube.

The table before dinner was served. Thanks Gammy for doing the decorations!

Dad doing what he does best. LOVE his mashed potatoes!

Gayla was in charge of the gravy--super yummy!

Carter had to sample to turkey before it was served to make sure it was okay.

The man of the house.

Sleepover

Ty has been begging for a sleepover with his cousin Zach for awhile. The last one at Zach's house ended with Ty screaming to go home because he missed his brother. So this time it was at our house. Things were good: the kids played great and we even had them all in bed and lights out by 9:00pm! Ty was so excited to put the air matress on the floor in his bedroom and sleep in sleeping bags! When Carter saw it all set up there was no convincing him that he wasn't sleeping there. So I told Keith to grab the camera to capture this cute moment.

Don't be deceived by the closed eyes in the picture (or even by the fact that they are all in sleeping bags). By 9:30 Carter was escorted to his crib (after he kept sneaking into his room to collect more stuffed animals to sleep with). By 10:00pm Carter and Zach had received countless warnings, but Keith told me to relax and just let them be. By 10:45pm (after Keith was sound asleep mind you and the boys were running around Ty's room with the sleeping bags on their heads) I had had enough of being a "cool mom" and Zach was sent to Ty's bed and Ty came in my room and slept on the floor. And thus ended our sleepover.

First Field Trip

Ty had his first school field trip recently to a pumpkin and apple farm near by. I volunteered to go with his class (I figured this way I've done my duty and another mom can do the third grade zoo trip!). It was really fun to see Ty interact with his classmates and friends!

Halloween Catch Up

Neighbor's Halloween Party

The Saturday before Halloween was full of Halloween festivities. Firs was a party at my neighbors for all the kids--complete with a painting pumpkin craft (she's a brave women!).

Boo at the Zoo

Every year my mom takes Ty (and this time Carter too) to Boo at the Zoo. Ty looks forward to it every year. Keith and I enjoyed date night at the Cheesecake Factory while they were gone. Thanks mom!

My little Buckeye.

The black Spidey!

Love these boys!

Carving Pumpkins

The monday before Halloween is always carving night for FHE. Neither of my boys really like to get their hands dirty, but they man'd up and did a good job (with mine and Keith's help). Grandma and Grandpa Noll came over to help.

Trick or Treating

It's been our tradition (can you tell I'm all about tradition?) to have family and friends over on Halloween for soup or chili in Panera bread bowls and then trick or treating. We were lucky again with great weather (68 degrees). It was wierd trick or treating when it was still light out, but the boys loved it.

The boys got lazy at the end and Grandpa gave them door to door service!

I almost forgot to post my halloween costume...

The best part, when we sent this picture to Whitney, she sent an identical one back. Next June will be an exciting month in our family!