Hanging Out with Mr. and Mrs. Claus

During our search for new beds for the boys, we stopped in to R.C. Willey. What a surprise to learn that Santa and Mrs. Claus were there! At first the boys were a little apprehensive about these folks....

But it didn't take too long to warm up to this jolly couple from up north.

The store was printing out free photos, and invited us to snap a family picture or two.

Merry Christmas from the Salzmans!

New Sleeping Quarters

Gordy and Grayson got a special surprise yesterday -- a very cool bunk bed/fort for their room!

Happy faces in their new fort! Daddy wishes he had one like this when he was little....

Gordy is bunking on the top and Grayson gets tucked in for bedtime below. We love the built-in bookshelves, and toy cubbies. It fits perfectly in their room, and will allow more play space.

Oh, and you're probably wondering -- why are they sharing a room? Didn't they have their own rooms in the new house...? Well....we have some happy news!

Yes! We have another baby on the way -- due June 28, 2010!

We are very happy and excited, anticipating another Baby G.

The boys too are eager to meet their new baby brother/sister. We decided that since they'll be sharing a room now, we'd make their shared space extra special -- and it really is.

Winter Fun

It could be said that I go a little overboard with the visuals; I love pictures! So here's another photo-filled post, showing some of the boys' activities from the past week or so....

Painting, of course.

Naps are rare here, but we love when Grayson dozes off and gives us a little reprieve from his high energy. It helps if we're in the car for awhile. (Sure wish I could pencil in a few naps for myself too).

One of Gordon's favorite snacks.

Apples!

You can almost always catch Gordy with art supplies in hand.

Yum! We baked up a delicious chocolate cake last week.

The boys were great help, stirring, pouring in ingredients, and of course, cleaning off the beaters.

Gary bought the boys each their own snow shovel ~ they have opened the door to a whole new world of fun outside in the snow!

Gordy and Grayson's mountain of snow

Grayson's dramatic interpretation ~ 'all worn out from hard work.'

Little Gordy cleared the backyard deck and helped Gary shovel the driveway, front sidewalk, as well as two of our neighbors' sidewalks. Way to go, Gordy!

Deck the Halls

Oh, how we are loving life in our new home! This is the first year in which we have space to put up a standard-sized Christmas tree; it is such a pleasure to decorate our new home for this Christmas season!

Gordy commented tonight, "This is the most exciting day of my life!" He was so happy to decorate, as he put it, "the most beautiful Christmas tree I've ever seen!" He was also overjoyed that Gary found a box full of some of his favorite old books and puzzles that had been tucked away in storage during our move.

Grayson also got a big kick out of being able to help decorate our Christmas tree.

We love it!

I put up some pine garland on the staircase railing, though I still need to embellish it some -- maybe with red bows or leftover tree ornaments.

After our recent move, we still find ourselves looking for things that remain in storage, either at the cabins, in the garage, or in Dave & Myra's basement. I've been looking everywhere for our Nativity Set -- Gary finally unearthed it today, tucked away in Dave & Myra's basement.

It's really my favorite of all the Christmas decorations we have.

The reason for the season ~ Happy Birthday, Jesus!

And here's Gary's handiwork in "exterior illumination." The flash on my camera minimizes the glow of the lights, and the white lights are twinkling -- just to give you the whole picture.

After decorating and dinner, the boys settled down for some stories with Gary.

Luckily, we have found our fun collection of Christmas and winter time books.

Hope you're all enjoying this special season too ~ only 12 days to Christmas!

Jingle Bells

This morning Gordon and Grayson took part in our Church's Christmas program. Their first number was "Away In the Manger," followed by "Jingle Bells." I was surprised by two things. 1) Grayson didn't belt it out like he has been at home, in fact he didn't even pretend to be singing at all, though he did keep pretty good rhythm with those bells. 2) Gordon stayed up there, sang nicely, and didn't cover his face in shame as he did during the last rehearsal. (He's a little shy at times). Today, they really pulled it off. You may like to pause the "Music Box" on the right, so you can hear their performance. So cute! Gary and I are so proud of our little cherubs.

You'll notice how Gordon steps down to the microphone to kick up another verse toward the end. One little boy (not shown, to the right) was the strongest voice of the choir, amplified by another microphone. I guess Gordy decided he was ready to compete with his own voice and stepped up to the mic. I love how Grayson says "Mommy!" and runs toward me at the end. (Mommies love that kind of stuff).

December Art Show

With chilly, December days upon us, we are finding more cozy, indoor projects to keep us busy. Here are some of Gordy and Grayson's latest creations -- enjoy their art show!

Gordy made this little bat on Tuesday; he drew it completely from memory, inspired by the story of Stellaluna. He then impressively cut it out -- Gary and I love this piece of work!

Here is Gordon this morning, hard at work drawing and making a Christmas collage.

Grayson has taken notice of Gordy's daily hobby of drawing. He will now sit for longer periods of time and just draw away....

Here is Grayson this morning, studying art supplies. Not always, but often - Grayson is more of an art apprentice, watching Gordy as he works. More and more though, he is producing some awesome projects too.

Oh, the fun you can have with (what we call) puff balls and googly eyes!

This little fella was made by Gordon.

The latest Pier One catalog prompted these Christmas collages -- Grayson glued the pictures on paper after I helped him cut out his favorite images.

This little bee was made weeks ago, but we like him and wanted you to meet him too.

This watercolor is titled, "I like you," by Gordon.

This is a little creature Gordon made, using construction paper, pipe cleaners, puff balls, a paper bag, and glue.

These pipe cleaners display the names of our favorite artists who provide the decor in our sun porch.

Here is another watercolor by Gordon, untitled.

This is an older piece by Gordon, celebrating Halloween.

Gordon made this bird earlier in the week.

We hope you've enjoyed Gordon & Grayson's Art Show! Grayson will have more to share in our next display, I'm sure. The boys are actually creating beautiful watercolor paintings as I write this, and Grayson just completed a lovely one -- I'll share it when it dries.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We are grateful for so many blessings, and this year, we absolutely enjoyed celebrating in our new home! My brother Joey came over on Wednesday evening and stayed with us. Our little alarm clocks (named Gordon and Grayson) woke us early, and we watched bits and pieces of the Macy's Parade on TV. Then Gary got to work, making eggs benedict for breakfast.

What a scrumptious way to start the day!

The boys enjoyed trying on Uncle Doe-Doe's hat and glasses, much to our amusement.

Throughout the day, we played games, went to the park, read some books, and enjoyed good company and relaxation.

Our feast included a large, roasted turkey breast, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, Joey's famous green bean casserole, cranberries, Hawaiian sweet rolls, eggnog, sparkling apple-cranberry juice...and topped it all off with fresh baked cherry pie with whipped cream. Yummy.

After dinner, Gordy got back to his puzzles while Grayson watched him, admiringly.

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed the annual Christmas Parade, winding through downtown Boise.

Look guys -- here he comes....

It's Santa Claus!

And there he goes....

It was a wonderful weekend ~ kicking off the festive Christmas season!