Christmas with the Ruda's

My family has dubbed this Christmas as one of the best Ruda Christmas' EVER. Yep, ever. My parents were gracious enough to travel up to the Portland area, so that Katie and I didn't have to travel 7 hours with all the kids, and we were so thankful. Ben and I hosted the big day at our home, which was really fun. I don't know who was more excited about the grandkids opening gifts--them or "Papa and Titi." But the grandparents had every right to be excited...they gave so many fun gifts to the kids (not to mention amazing homemade gifts which I'll feature in my next posting!) We went out of the norm for Christmas dinner and instead of turkey and mashed potatoes, we went for tri-tip, pork loin, and cheesy potatoes. In the afternoon we went for a walk, and then Grandma did art with all the kids. What an amazing day! God is so gracious and we're so thankful to Him for sending his Son to be our Saviour!

Christmas Eve...in front of our HUGE and dying tree

Kind of hard to get a good picture with 5 kids



Cool shirts from aunt Julie and uncle Tom



the chaos of opening gifts

Grandpa and sweet Clara May

Art Time

Our beautifully set table

Christmas with the Morris'

We celebrated Christmas a week early with the Morris family in Dufur. It was a wonderful weekend. The first morning we woke up to lots of snow (the most that the boys had ever seen). So we all bundled up and played! Seth and Sam got to ride on the 4-wheeler while Caleb and Levi attempted to snowboard behind. It was quite the winter wonderland. That night Seth and Sam were really struggling to sleep, but Ben and I were so thankful that the Grandparents each took a shift, making the night much more manageable! (Come to find out from a doctors appointment on Monday that both had sinus infections and Sam a double ear infection.) Opening gifts with Seth and Sam was really fun this year, because they could actually tear the wrapping paper and were excited about their gifts. We got them their first "backeyballs" and they were thrilled. Grandpa and Grandma got them a hoop...they spent all weekend saying "backeyball" and having people pick them up to dunk. Uncle Caleb and Levi also taught them about video game controllers, how to play the drums, and how to say, "button."



Brothers gotta hug




Mommy and Sam




Seth driving all by himself :)

Sam looking just thrilled with his "backeyball"



Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Ben and I have found the best tree lot in Washington County. This is our 3rd year we have gone to it: "any tree $10" (ok, so this year it was $15, but still, great prices). In true Morris style, we got the BIGGEST tree we could to fit in our vaulted ceiling living room. As luck would have it, 5 minutes after we arrived, a new shipment of trees came in, and we asked for their biggest. So, we can home with a 12 foot tree that we have labeled "ostentatious." But, we love it. As you can see in the final picture, Ben had to stand on a ladder to put things near the top. I'll post some pictures of it decorated soon!

The smallest Christmas Tree ever: Sam, Seth

18 Months and Counting...

Late as always, but this time I have an excuse: we've been sick literally all month! But praise the Lord, we're finally all healthy! So here's what Seth and Sam are up to at 18 months old:

-Ben and I are daily surprised at the amount of language Seth and Sam are picking up. They will pretty much copy every word you ask them to, and are continuously chattering. It is so fun!

-Their first compound word is "backeyball" (basketball) to which their daddy is thrilled. They can also say "football"...but most round things are backeyballs.

-Seth and Sam continue to LOVE books. They are also starting to do puzzles and build things with blocks (big legos). They love cars, tractors, and trucks as well.

-They will do an entire stretching routine with mommy complete with sit-ups at the end. They also run fast, march, swing their arms, roll, twirl, walk on their knees, and have even caught air a couple of times jumping.

-We're officially done with bottles, although they are still refusing to take milk out of a cup. Beyond that, however, they are stellar eaters. I can only imagine how much food they will put down as teenage boys!

-Seth and Sam are really into shoes and empty all of our closets every day. They are also very helpful in putting up daddy's clothes when he changes after work.

-They have been doing some things that just crack us up. When they run around, they often make a "sheesh" noise through their teeth, like they are really working hard. They say "wee-oo, wee-oo," like a firetruck. It is so funny.

Overall, when we're not sick, we're having a blast. In fact, having them be sick, and now better today, we've realized how truly enjoyable they are when they aren't whining and clinging. This age is so cute! Seth and Sam are happy boys who love to play, wrestle, read and snuggle when they wake up. Twins are this age are a lot of work, but wonderful because they play together. It's very fun to watch them interact, but not so fun to break up their fights and tug-a-wars over toys. There is so much laughter, joy, and love in our house. I'm so thankful to the Lord for all he has given us!

Sammy in green, Seth gray

Free Sounds Good to Me....How About You?

Those of you who know me,  well...you know that I'm one of the cheapest people around. My husband makes fun of me for the measures I will take to save a buck. I cut hundreds of coupons, keep up on money saving blogs, and drive way too far (thus spening my savings in gas) to check costs. Well, a great deal just fell in my lap! If I tell you about shutterfly and all their great Christmas cards, and I get 50 Christmas cards for free!

When it comes to Christmas cards, I not only want a good deal, I want style. I've been surfing the web, looking in stores, wondering what to do for our family cards. Should we do a photo card, or Christmas update letter on stationary, or a card with a wallet print? Now, I don't have to look for the cheapest option, and I don't risk a cheap looking card. Have you seen Shutterly's designs? They are amazing! I've been spending my evening browsing and dreaming of what our holiday card 2010 will look like this year. Well, I don't want to reveal what I've decided...but I do know, now that I get my cards for free, maybe I'll have to use that extra money for a Shutterfly calender!

Now here's the best news my fellow frugal homemaker mommies: you can get 50 free cards too! Check out this link; it will tell you all you need to do to blog about Shutterfly's cards and get your Christmas cards rolling.

First Snow

Last Tuesday we woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground. The boys had never played in snow before, so we bundled them up (it was freezing for Portland: like 35 degrees!). They had quite the time exploring and got quite the kick out of the snow. We're hoping for more...and enough to teach them about snowballs :) As you can tell, though, by the bottom two pictures, we weren't exactly ready for this much cold!

(Sam is in the camo hat)

Mama Gets a Haircut

It's amazing how much better I felt after getting a haircut. Granted it was my first haircut since April. Seriously, I felt great. When you're a stay-at-home mom, it's the little things that count.



Yes, Ben cut me out of the picture. Yes, it's the cutest picture of the boys. Seth and Sam.