Chugga-chugga CHOO CHOO!

Our local mall has this awesome trackless train that rides around the mall for ten minutes at a time. This guy that owns it has to make a KILLING during the weekends. It was the best $3/person spent for our family... Keegan absolutely adored it... so much so that he got this hysterical attitude for the rest of the evening, almost as if he thought he was pretty hot stuff now that he rode on a choo-choo... Ha!

Here are some pictures of our time riding the choo-choo as a family:

Keegan picked the BLUE car. Here he is saying, "SEE?!"

Peeking over the side... :)

Date night sure has changed!!! Ha!

You can literally see the the shape of his mouth saying, "CHOO CHOO!"

 We have such a little train lover on our hands. He is a monster for trains. He's definitely wearing his Thomas shirt under his fleece in these pictures, and brought the Thomas that his Auntie M and Unkie and cousin, Cohen, gave him for Christmas. It's so funny how most little boys just have an absolute love of trains, construction equipment and trucks built in them!

Okay... As Keegan would say, "BYE SEE YOU!!!!"

A Bittersweet Birthday

I've been decently quiet lately... Sorry! I've got some really fun posts coming up... 

We have been up to lots of fun things, but there has been a lot of things going on in my brain lately... especially after the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

I'm feeling so bittersweet and broken this Christmas. And that says a lot, because I'm typically a Christmas Nut... However, this year it's different.

I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting older, or because I'm a mom, or if it's the recent heartbreaks in the news, but I'm so uber-emotional this Christmas. I can hardly listen to the Christmas radio stations because if the right song comes on while I'm in the right mood I'll be a bawling mess.

I've finally accepted though, that it's not anti-Christmas to feel melancholy during this season. I'm no Grinch... I wish more people would examine the reality of what Christmas is, and I think more people may adjust from being so incredibly selfish, shallow and greedy to stand in reverence to how this Holiday started, whether or not they believe it in their heart.

The day Keegan was born was the greatest, most incredible day of my life. I've never felt such overwhelming joy or love in a single moment then when I first met him. However, if someone would have told me in that moment that my son was being born to die a completely unjust death in place of someone else- I'm sure that day would have taken on a whole new meaning. It'd be joyful, but most likely, just as equally painful. Every day of his life would change from being a new, exciting day of firsts to have a dark cloud of anxiety for the future.

I'm praying that as we prepare for this Christmas that I can come reverently before the Throne, rejoicing in the fact that He gave His only Son for someone as weak and broken as me. I'm praying that in light of that I can love others endlessly and serve them without expecting in return... I pray that I can feel a deep JOY- not just during Christmas, but year round. Because that sacrifice was made for eternity- not just for the month of December :)

Praying that my friends, family and readers will have an incredible blessed and joyful celebration with loved ones near.

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

 ***NOTE: that IS the infamous Christmas card photo as previously posted about... Hahaha, so ENJOY!

Public Meltdown 1.0

We're on a budget, and I am obviously in love with a good deal. So when I saw that JC Penney's was doing FREE family photos for the month of November, I knew we had to schedule an appointment before the end of the month.

I've always hired photographers to come to our house for pictures, but I knew it was such a great deal, and Keegan is ALWAYS a gem in public... normally...

He did great when we first got there... but they were behind, so we had to wait in the lobby. Keegan loved the toys... but pretty soon sweet Peegy turned into a raging terrible two year old.

He wrapped his arms around/across whatever the other little boy was playing with and yelled, "Noooo! Noooo! Mine!"

MORTIFIED.

Keegan has not been the fastest physically, but I've prided myself in his incredible social skills.... and THAT, ladies and gentleman, is what pride gets you.

Everyone says that Keegan's a photographer's dream as he looks right at EVERY camera and says, "Cheeeeeeese!"

Not Thursday night... 

He shouted and screamed,and flailed his arms about.

We got a whole ONE decent picture.

All that to say, when you get your Christmas card from us, please know the work and disaster that the photo session was... and maybe save it for a little longer than you normally would! Haha! Don't worry, you don't REALLY need to do that :)