Cornelius Chronicles

Xavier (8 yrs old)  We told Xavier we were going to have a new baby come to our family this year.  After the initial exclamations of excitement and enthusiasm Xavier grew somber with deep thought and asked with a touch of worry in his voice, "Mom, they aren't going to send the baby home from the hospital until it's done crying are they?"  I guess he remembers all too well all of the craying Baby Owen did in the hosptial before he came home.  :D Owen (3 yrs old) Christmas morning Owen runs out to the front room and sees the tree filled with presents.  He suddenly souts out "Happy Birthday!  Let's sing the birthday song so we can open the presents!"  We all sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus." Christmas morning while opening gifts Owen rips off the wraping paper from one present to discover a white, nondiscript box inside.  Enthusiastically he shouts, "Yea a box!  Boxes are my favorite!" Maeve (5 yrs old) Maeve: "Mom can I have

Step 1: Make a trip to Space Center Houston to check out the astronaut potty on the Space Shuttle Step 2: Tell Owen that astronauts use the potty Step 3: Tell Owen that Darth Vader and Storm Troopers also use the potty Step 4: Pull out the potty chair, some potty books, and dress like Star Wars for the day Step 5: Owen does all the rest Step 6: Give Owen a sticker for a job well done  Now why didn't we figure out the astronaut and Star Wars incentive with the other kids?  It's way easier than what we did before.

Due to flood damage from Hurricane Harvey the Houston LDS Temple is closed for repairs until some time in the Spring.  To help members in our Stake still attend the temple the Stake Presidency organized and offered a Saturday bus to Dallas for anyone who would like to attend.  With my parents here to watch the kids while we were gone for the whole day Dustin and I took advantage of the offer and headed to the Dallas, TX temple.  We had a wonderful day performing temple ordinances and spending a peaceful, Spirit filled day together in the Lord's house.  What a treat and a blessing.  And, as you can see we even had a little time left over for a little fun.  :)  

  Grandma Phillips, Owen, and I had lots of fun attending Maeve's preschool Christmas party.  Maeve, her fellow preschoolers, and all of their great teachers entertained us by singing lots of wonderful Christmas songs and sharing in a yummy Christmas lunch with us, but the highlight of the party for the kids was Santa's personal visit.  Santa talked to all of the kids and made sure each one recieved a special gift.  Maeve and Owen were super excited to meet Mr. Clause in person and get a chance to tell him what they want this year.  Maeve asked for a robotic kitty and Owen requested a toy robot.  Both were very happy with their gifts this year.  It seems that Santa was paying attention.  :)  

December 8th brought another historic weather moment to this very packed year in Houston.  We got SNOW for the first time in 8 years!  It ws glorious fat flaked, heavy snow perfect for snow balls and snowment.  As you can see, we got up early to play in it before the big kids had to go to school.  Once they were gone and the rest of us were in something warmer than PJs we headed outside with Grandma Phillips to make our very own snowman.  We were very frugal with our snow and used every last flake to make our amazing snowracoon and tiny snowman budy.  What a fun memory to go with this crazy year.  :)     Even Rebekah had fun in the snow with some art on the car of her own.     Meet our very tiny first snowman.  Good thing Grandma got us on track with something a bit more ambitious.        

Rebekah worked very hard all semester long to do an awesome science fair experiment using her awesome computer programming skills and algebra to work out the best angle for a rumba to turn when vacuming a room to cover the most floor area in 20 minutes.  Dustin deserves a big shout out for being an awesome dad and helping Rebekah out a ton with her project and being a great mentor/teacher on her project.  We are so proud of the the hard work Rebekah put into her project and her willingness to think outside of the box.  She was one of only 7 computer science projects submitted by the entire middle schoo.  Go Bekah and her mad computer skills!  All her hard work payed off too with an awesome Honorable Mention ribbon. Bam!  That's how we science!  ***** Dustin had another awesome Dad moment that week.  He helped the boys set up tents at our Cub Scout December Pack meeting. It was uper fun.  We set up tents, pretended we were the Nephites and learned from our very talent

 Christmas Season Opener Check-list:  1.  Visit Santa and eat yummy cookies at Helen Hall Library - Check!  2.  Attend the super fun Christmas party with our church family at the LDS Church Building - Check!        3. Enjoy listening to Loyd and Xavier perform flawlessly Christmas piano pieces for the Ward as part of the Church Christams Program.  Xavier played a song called, "The 24th Day of December," and Loyd played, "Frosty the Snowman."  They were perfect and very brave for performing in front of a crown for the very first time.  - Check!   4.  Decorate the house in lots of Christmas bling to celebreate the season of the birth of our beloved and loving Savior - Check! We finally invested in a new tree this year after 12 years of long service by our previous tree.  We are loving our new, more full, easier to assemble and store, prelit tree.  We are especially enjoying our new Star of Bethlahem tree topper that lights up the whole

Maeve went on her first preschool fieldtrip to Moody Gardens' Aquarium in Galvenston, Texas.  Her day was filled with lots of excitment and fun.  She got to ride on the big yellow school bus, see a 3-D interactive Sponge Bob movie, and see hundres of amazing and beautiful sea creatures.  Maeve said her favorite things to see at the aquarium were the seals and the colorful fish.  We learned that Maeve and Owen are just barely taller than an emperor penguin. Owen, Grandma P, and I had fun tagging along and seeing the beautiful things Heavenly Father has given us to enjoy in our oceans and waterways as we spent the day with the ever exuberant Maeve.  Thanks for letting us explore and learn with you on your fieldtrip, Maeve!         

Our favorite Owen turned 3 this November!  I can hardly believe that three whole years have passed since this very special little boy joined our family.  Owen, you bring such joy and laughter into our family with your happy personality.  You have the best jokes and make the best sound effects when it comes to space ships and explosions.  You say the cutest things and bring unabashed enthusiasm to all your favorite people, activities, and things.  I love how honest you are with your feelings and your love.  I love you so much and can hardly wait to see what kind of wonderful things you are going to teach and share with us this next year.  But remember, don't grow up too fast.  Your mommy is loving very precious, fleeting moment of the gift of your childhood. A List of Owen: Favorite Thing To Say: "Shake your poopie!" Favorite Show: PBS Kids - Odd Squad Favorite Toys: Blocks and things that look like rockets, robots, or guns Favorite Obsession: Star Wars! Favor

  Just another beautiful 80F Sunday afternoon here in SouthEast Texas at the end of November.  I love our weather!