dear santa {from emily}

dear santa,
how are you?
how are your christmas preparations going this year?
i promised max and brennan that i would let you know that they slept the best they've ever slept last saturday night.
and also, i promised you would make them an extra present for doing so.
i believe in the magic!
so please, no underwear for them this year.
for me, i would also like to forgo underwear.
i'm all stocked up:)
i have something special in mind.
it's not a million dollars,
and it's not a sports car.
i would like the complete cosby collection.
i have never laughed so hard than i did last tuesday night watching the cosby show on demand.
see, i tried to watch pbs, but then the vultures started eating the baby seals that were crushed under the males that were fighting for the women.
then i tried to watch secrets of the dead bones of budha,
but the man didn't have a british accent and it also wasn't very exciting because they didn't really know real facts.
the week before that i tried to watch sister wives, just to see what all of the fuss was about,
but i ended up vomiting in my mouth, so then i tested out toddlers and tiaras, but i only made it 5 minutes with one and that was about 5 minutes too long.
so while sean was off at church meetings, and a long line of bad experiences on netflix and live telvision, if you can even call it that, i decided to give my hand a try at on demand.
i needed to be inspired!
in a way that can only happen from the comfort of your couch with a remote control in hand.
i started with the A's,
as they are always the best place to start.
downton abbey seasons 1 and 2!
i could watch them again!
this would be great!!!
except for the part where they reel you in like that,
and then tell you you're not a subscriber for this option,
but you can pay more to have it in three easy steps.
negative.
then the B's.
nothing.
then, low and behold they appeared!
under the C's.
THE COSBY SHOW.
three 22 minute episodes.
i sat there on my couch laughing so hard i was crying.
and when sean walked in from the store with my chocolate satin pie i made him sit down and listen to the story line of why i was laughing, and then we watched two more episodes laughing.
but the funniest one was thanksgiving was when mr huxtable {is that how you spell that?} got sent to the store four times on thanksgiving for things he kept forgetting,
and the third time he finally remembered the eggs, but it was raining and the bag was wet, and the eggs fell out of the wet soggy bag and broke all over the floor, so he went out and again, and then the funniest part happened, but i won't spoil it for you.
anyway, we were both laughing so hard and talking about how this was great television,
and why do i ever waste my life watching teen mom and other shows like that anyway???
so santa,
i'd please like THE COSBY SHOW on dvd for christmas.
i've worked really hard all year,
and i promise i'll try to swear less,
and shower more.
also, i eat my fruits and vegetables every day,
and i really try hard to not cut people off on the freeway.
i hope you've been watching all of my best behavior,
and forget my worst.
because everyone knows that focusing on the positives is really what counts;)
and i KNOW how great you are.
especially in your red suit.
it really is your color.
and i promise to not let max lick all of the cookies this year before we put them out.
{sorry about that last year--she just got away from us for a minute}.
anyway, carrots for the reindeer and winder milk will be with the unlicked cookies especially for you!

all my love,
emily

coming out of the pumpkin pie closet.

{i sent sean to store last night at 8:53pm to buy this.}

...

let it be known 

that i don't like 

pumpkin pie.

there.

i've said it.

i've always eaten it.

because i'll eat anything smothered in whipped cream.

except for oysters.

i won't eat oysters.

especially not smothered in whipped cream.

shudder.

so when my mother in law asked me if i would like to bring a pie

for thanksgiving dinner, 

i said yes!

i'd love to bring a pie!

how about

a frozen marie callender's chocolate satin pie!?

with chocolate cookie crumb crust!

from scratch.

it says so on the box.

and then to my surprise,

she consented! 

bless her:)

i mean really,

who brings chocolate pie to thanksgiving dinner anyway???

ME:)

i do i do i do.

and who let's you ruin their thanksgiving dessert like that?

my wonderful mother in law,

that's who!

and guys,

i just want you to know 

that i am finally excited for thanksgiving dessert.

for the first time since i was 12.

GLORY BE!

because after a day of eating turkey,

stuffing,

chocolate see's turkey's,

green beans,

mashed potatoes and gravy,

and marshmallow topped sweet potatoes,

i just can't motivate myself to open my mouth for a pumpkin pie.

unless,

do they make chocolate pumpkin pie???

i think i'll have one bite of sean's pumpkin pie,

just to make sure i really don't like it.

or maybe i'll be so daring to mix a bite of the chocolate pie with the pumpkin pie.

oh the agony of being an indecisive person!

better safe than sorry.

that's all i'm sayin'.

in other news...

brennan's so excited to have 5 lazy days in a row.

me too pal!

ME too:)

cotton headed ninny muggin

cotton headed ninny muggins.

i just couldn't help but call him that tonight.

you know, with cotton balls coming out of his ears.

but not in a mean way,

in a nice way.

like a fond endearing term kind of way.

plus, it really made me excited to watch elf,

and also he's a baby, 

so they don't know that you're calling them something mean,

as long as you say it with a smile and tickle them,

it comes off as nice.

scout's honor.

poor chap had blood coming out of both of his ears this morning.

last night it was clear and i was all,

"it's fiiiiiiine, clear is good, i'm sure he just licked his fingers and shoved them in his ears."

but then this morning i was like,

"WOOOOOAAAHHHH!!! there's blood coming out of his ears! not good!!!"

thank you tubes.

thank you antibiotic/steroid drops.

4 times in each ear, 2 times a day, for 10 days.

just like the good ol' days,

except with sleep.

it's like coming home for the holidays.

sort of.

why oh why do i pack my christmas dvds in the christmas decorations boxes 

that are barricaded off by the halloween, and easter decorations,

which also are surrounded by all baby toys 

that have been dispersed in every area of the basement by elf 1 and elf 2??

how am i supposed to watch elf before thanksgiving when it's packed away.

this is how i force myself into waiting to do such things until after thanksgiving.

because i know i have absolutely ZERO self control in matters such as these.
and i cannot be trusted.

barricades.

it takes barricades.

so until then i'll entertain myself with cotton stuffed ears on chase.

no babies were harmed in the making of this blog post.

FYI blood coming out of tubes with ears {or is it ears with tubes?}=ear infection draining. 

no need to panic. 

get drops. give drops. 

cuddle baby. watch barney with baby. refill milk for baby. 

thank your lucky stars baby's tubes haven't fallen out yet. 

kiss baby. brush baby's hair to one side with your fingers. 

and so on and so forth.

he is such a champ.

but last night was rough rough rough.

it's the molars really.

that are causing the ears to bleed.

and other things EHEM to take their course.

also he was getting over a cold.

perfect storm for an ear infection.

he was so very sad.

my heart was aching.

i love him.

and his perfect little chubby cuddly self.
he ate tonight for the first time in 3 days.
like a starving man in the dessert.
hilarious.

{tomato soup addict. hours of entertainment. or 20 minutes. whichever.}

P.S.

i feel zero desire to cook anything the week of thanksgiving.

this happens every year.

obviously psychological excitement.

you know, not wanting to spoil my supper.

thanksgiving supper.

by eating too early.

it's not that i don't want to eat.

i just have no motivation to cook.

we didn't eat dinner last night until 8:05pm.

on a school night.

b/c i just couldn't find it in me to get up and cook.

like i should hold off on all eating up until thursday,

b/c i just can't stop thinking about turkey!

turkey sandwiches.

turkey soup.

turkey drumstick with stuffing.

and leftover mashed potatoes.

but you can't eat turkey before thanksgiving.

you just can't.

so until then,

it's pancakes,

grilled cheese,

and baked potatoes with lots of stuff on top.

tomorrow night we might actually have to resort to cold cereal.

the love voice {kinder thanksgiving}

6 thanksgiving centers,

about 10 glasses of spilled water,

23 paper bag vests,

13 pilgrims,

10 native americans,

turkey slices,

olives,

turkey candy corn feather cookies,

marshmallow counting,

paper turkeys,

bingo,

and

a partridge and a pear tree.

meet ryann.

brennan's first crush.

:):):)

he has a look when she's around.

this sweet 5 year old,

dreamy eye kind of look.

and he always makes sure she sees his work when it's done.

like when he bites his turkey cookie,

and he wants her to see it.

"ryyyyyyaaaannnnnn, look at my cooooookieeee ryyyyyaaaannnn"

{insert image of cheezy smile here}

in his sweet voice.

you know,

the kind of voice you'd use when you're talking to a baby, 

but not the high pitched kind.

the "i'm going to marry ryann"

because i really like to be around her,

and her hair is pretty kind.

and really,

she is just the cutest little thing.

someday he's going to kill me for this.

but for now,

i'm just gonna document it all:)

dear sean, there's 20 gallons of milk in our fridge.

dear sean,
do you remember last night when i told you that yesterday was the most perfect day? and how that is always the kiss of death? welp, this is one of those times when i am not happy to be right. max was up the entire night. first she came in at 1am asking for a "beenana and milk," then 2, then 3, and finally at 4 i just told her to come into our bed where she tossed and turned until 7 when brennan came in to get up for school. why did we let her give up her binky? can we give it back? how psychologically damaging and confusing would it be to give it back? just for a month until christmas. then she could leave it for santa!!! or we could let her keep it until she's 14! whichever, just as long as she goes back to sleeping. what do you think about my idea? brennan doesn't want to sleep in the same room with her anymore. now i know why. she is so loud all night long. she is not on my happy list. i sent her downstairs with brennan once the sun came up. she yelled and screamed at him. i gave her my phone so brennan could get dressed in peace. you won't believe this, but brennan got himself all dressed AND ate his entire breakfast before he turned on the tv. i was so proud of him. i tried to go back to bed for half an hour before we had to leave for school, but max came in screaming for her milk that got lost in her bed at 1am last night. i gave up on going back to sleep after the 3rd time she came upstairs to ask me something in a 10 minute period. then when we were trying to get out the door to get brennan to school she screamed and huffed and puffed about getting her jessie boots on and not being able to get the zipper zipped up on one boot. it was annoying. i had my coat, chase, and my purse in my hands, along with barney and a half empty bottle of milk. at which point i remembered that it was friday, and even though i had gone to the store and stocked up on milk yesterday i had forgotten to cancel the winder. good news for you though because now you have your workout drinks for the week, and i guess we won't have to go to the store for the milk on thanksgiving because we have about 20 gallons in our fridge right now. i hope that you are laughing because all of a sudden i am. max just went poo for the second time this morning and is screaming for me. it is 8:51am. i am ready for bed. i love you and miss you.
love, 
emily

P.S.

i bought bologna for the first time yesterday 

for the kids and made them sandwiches with lots of mayo.

i had to make myself one too because it looked so good.

it was almost as big of a hit as christmas morning.

i kid you not.

P.S.S. it snowed yesterday, and i listened to christmas music. it was wonderful.

the girl who cried wolf

dear dad and sandie,
good news. the water heater is NOT broken like we thought. phew. max just turned the dial down to pilot lighting. she told sean it was brennan on the way to school. brennan denied it. then she told me later it was brennan, and wasn't he so naughty for doing it? then after asking brennan one more time, and him denying it so fervently that i believed him, she finally fessed up. at which point i told her about the boy that cried wolf. i don't think she got it at all. especially because she kept telling me that she likes being the wolf a lot because wolves are so cute and cuddly. welp, i'm sure you are laughing and smiling right now thinking about how great the circle of life is because i'm getting back what i put out as a child. i'm not giving up hope here, but man, i can't help but laugh about how funny it must be for you to watch me be a mother and go through the same things you went through with me. signing off now to go save the world one lying child at a time!
all my love,
emily

the beauty box

playing beauty shop in the bathroom sink.

i told her a kinked neck is just part of the deal.

when it dried she asked me to curl it in ringlets,

and spray it all over.

oh the life of girls.

meanwhile,

chase tore apart the space heater and ate some soap or shaving cream.

whichever.

good times at the beauty box.

letters to beth {batman drawing, 2-5 church, & baby ready}

dear beth,
i can't believe bear is turning 2!!! it seems like you were just here celebrating, and it's already been an entire year. our babies are growing up so fast, wah!!! i am so baby hungry, but then all three of my kids cry at once for hours and hours and hours, and brennan and max fight all day, and i think, eh, i'm not sleep deprived ready, no patience ready, or ready for my life to be turned upside down ready. and then i think, let's give it another year. sean thinks the woman brain is hilarious and fascinating all at the same time. thank goodness he loves me for it.

tell me about smith's new school, what is the name for your children's book.do you have one yet? my kids will be sooooooo excited to hear that you are writing a book. they ask all the time when you are coming over next. i can't WAIT to see your illustrations. your batman flying over the city drawing is still the coveted drawing in the house. my children TREASURE it, and it has a designated safe spot behind the bread bowl. it has had some additions made to it, which i'm sure you will think are charming. brennan is sooooo into drawing right now, and i love it. right this very minute he is drawing a motorcycle man. i love his attention to detail, and how he puts what he is drawing right next to his paper so it can be more real. i'm pretty sure he learned that from you when you drew the batman for him. he is really growing up.

chase is sick, so i am staying home from church with him. i am DONE with 2-5 church and am not ashamed to say that i feel like i've won the lottery to get to stay home with him. i realize i shouldn't be complaining b/c church is so close and easy to get to, but by this time in the year, i am just ready to go to church at a normal human being time. i don't think it matters if you have little kids, older kids, teenagers, or grown ups in your house. 2-5pm church is just not conducive to normal human sunday functioning. 

max is girly as ever, complete with drama and a capital D. she gets herself dressed before i get out of bed, AND this morning she even made her bed before 8am all by herself. she is so motivated and organized, and i'm wondering if it's just a girl thing or a max thing. either way, i know she is an up and at 'em kind of gal, and it makes for a more simple morning around the gibson home. 

happy anniversary my friend and congratulations! i am so happy for the both of you! 7 years and going strong. i hope you have some time to spend together and celebrate, but it seems like with little ones at home, sometimes those moments are hard to find. happy birthday to bear, ROOOOOAAARRRR!!!!!

love, 
emily

letters to Emily {updates}

Dear Emily,

I just love that you met Stephanie Nielson!  What an honor. I seriously think she would be the best ambassador or queen or something like that.  But guess what?  She is a mother.  A MOTHER.  I love that.  I also love the title to your blog that says, because one mom decided to stay home.  You are amazing.  I love Stephanie because she makes motherhood a full time amazing fulfilling  job for all of us who simply decided to stay home.  She makes mother hood an adventure that I want to go on.  

And the fact you met her and Christian is so awesome!   And did I mention you look amazing?  I love those spring colors on you.  Oh Emily, I miss you and your amazing Kitchen skills.  

updates.

Bear turns 2 tomorrow.

Bryce and I celebrate our 7th anniversary...tomorrow.

We are signing up Smith for a new school for next year.

I am working on my children's book. ( text done, art in production)

I am loving life.

And I love hearing from you!

sorry so short,

I am not as cool as you.

Love

Beth

letters to beth {i met stephanie & christian nielson!!!}

dear beth,

i am over the moon excited to tell you 

what you absolutely will just not believe,

because i can barely believe it myself!

i finally got to meet

THE

Stephanie AND Christian Nielson.

i am

DREAM COME TRUE 

excited!!!

pinch me because i must be dreaming:)

at the last minute sean and i heard about it,

and scooted ourselves on over 

to the south towne expo center

last night.

5 minutes from our house.

it was a stand for the family conference,

and there were loads and loads of amazing people that talked about

how our entire society is breaking down

because the family is breaking down.

it made me so proud of the little families we are raising in our homes.

all of our traditions,

and all of the hard work we are doing to raise happy and thriving someday adults.

and how important that work is today.

there is this book that sean and i want to read that a professor from oxford recommended called 

"The Children of Men" 

and i wrote it down so i could tell your mom about it,

but then i thought that since she is Liz 

she's probably already read it and written a dissertation on it,

or something really wonderful and great like that,

but i'm still going to tell her about it,

so she can say "fabulous, read it."

anyway, it's now sitting in my amazon cart waiting to be purchased.

it's all about what will happen to our society if people stop having children.

sad, uplifting, depressing, and moving.

that's what the professor said.

and we were intrigued.

i hope you will read it too so we can talk all about it next time you are here.

and then as we were sitting there listening to stephanie and christian speak,

i all of sudden realized that almost 5 years ago to the date 

i had organized the fundraiser for them 

in the EXACT room they were speaking.

i knew i just HAD to say hello.

i bawled my eyes out and confessed all of my admiration 

for her and all of the influence she has had on my life,

and i also told christian how awesome he was because he really is so great too,

and i didn't want him to feel left out and everything because he is great too,

and i'm not even embarrassed about any of it one bit!

because it was just THAT awesome to have finally met them.

and she was just so warm and loving,

and kept hugging me over and over again.

and we talked about our red headed babies born 1 day apart,

and then christian said to sean "oh man redheads" or something like that,

and they laughed about it like guys do,

and then we talked about

whole wheat pizza recipes,

and how much she hates physical therapists,
after sean told her he was one,

but then she said really she loves them,

because they helped her raise her arms up over her head again.

at which point sean declared that see, she really did love them.

and we all nodded our heads and smiled about it.

because she was all,

"but they're awesome because i can do this!"

and then she raised her arms up,

and christian raised his arms up with her,

and it was just fantastic!

because she really is a living, walking, breathing miracle.

and i felt like we were just getting together with old friends,

standing outside of that conference room at the sandy expo center.

except they don't know us at all,

but we know them.

which is why i would think that if i were them it would be weird 

to meet people who know all about you, and you know nothing about them.

but they weren't weird about it.

they were just the sweetest sweetest people.

and those 5 minutes totally made my entire year.

there is no other famous person i have ever wanted to meet more than them,

NOT even oprah.
like if i were dying and the make a wish foundation was all,
"what is your wish?"
i would be like,
"i want to meet stephanie and christian nielson."
no joke!

and i just feel so honored to have met them after all of these years.

and i came home thinking,

there really are no coincidences.

and what a tender mercy it was to be there last night.

having that fundraiser for them 5 years ago,

in that room,

on that day,

and we were all there together last night.

full circle.

that's what i thought.

and it was just amazing.

OH HAPPY DAY!

did that really happen last night???

it did.

and also,

it's supposed to snow today,

so i'm pretty much all cued up to turn on my christmas music when it does.

because when it snows in november,

i can't help but turn it on.

there is nothing more that i love than a furnace blaring with snow falling all around outside of my windows.

i just can't imagine having a happier life than we are living right now.

and i know that if we are good mothers, fathers, husbands, and wives

that we can take on anything.

absolutely anything that we come to face.

just as long as we have each other.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!!

tell me everything that's going on with you.

i miss you dearly!!!

love,

emiline