Lately, every time I log on to facebook there is always someone that is ringing in on their attitude about Christmas pushing out Thanksgiving. The opinions vary from disgust at the stores for "decking their halls" in November to giddiness that Christmas music is in the rotation at the radio stations. I have watched the comments on such posts and they can become very animated as people express their opinions. As I read and consider these battles, I find myself in a very strange place. One that I am not used to. I find myself without an opinion. I have tried to pick a side but it comes down to the fact that I really just don't care. Yes, I recognize the fact that Thanksgiving is often downplayed by Christmas. Yes, I see that Thanksgiving is completely skipped over by most retails giants. No, I don't put Christmas decorations up until after Thanksgiving. BUT- I don't get disgusted when I see Christmas lights and candy canes gracing the shelves. ( I actually really like buying my first chocolate orange of the season! ) If someone wants to put up Christmas lights on their house on Nov. 1st- more power to them. I wish my husband would do that. Then I would have some lights on my house for the holiday. I still love Thanksgiving. I love the feel of an overcrowded house with more food than is humanly possible to consume. I love the board games, the movies, and the pies. But I also think we shouldn't get too heated over Christmas entering the scene prematurely. After all- what is Thanksgiving all about? ( I mean other than the day after shopping? ) It is all about being thankful right? And what is Christmas all about? Our Savior's birth. I can't think of much more to be thankful for than His birth. Maybe the solution is to create a new holiday. Or combine the two and do a month long holiday. I am ok with that. We can call it Christgiving or Thankmas. Anyway- until our legislature creates that holiday- deck your halls and stuff your turkey. They are both wonderful holidays with wonderful messages. I just hope we can keep those messages in mind.

My friend came and shot some pics of my kids. I just wanted to show you how cute my baby is.

On Saturday I took the kids out to a recital that their cousins were performing in. My nephew Levi really wanted to come to my house after to watch the BYU game and Tylie really wanted to stay in Grantsville to play with her cousins so we did the classic kid swap with plans to meet later that night. Well, the game went longer than normal and it was pretty late to be running all the way out to Grantsville at ten o'clock at night so we sent Levi home with grandpa and Tylie got to have an impromptu sleepover. Sunday morning came and Jake and I found ourselves in church with our kid count back down to two. When sacrament was over I asked Jake if he would take Mason to nursery since I wasn't sure which nursery he was supposed to be in. Our ward has three nurseries and due to bed rest and newborn baby time, I felt confused to where he should be. Jake just looked at me with shock and told me that he didn't know either. "Tylie always takes him and picks him up. I don't have a clue to where to take him." So there we were. The parents in the situation wishing our five year old were there to show us the way. I know that they always say that parents take care of the children and then a time comes when the children take care of the parents. I just didn't expect it to happen this soon.

Cade's blessing

We blessed Cade yesterday. It was a great day full of lots of family and special moments. There is just something that gets me everytime I see those wonderful men surrounding my baby dressed in white. It is such a selfless act on all of their parts to come and use that preisthood for my child's benefit. Thank you to everyone who came and those who wanted to but couldn't. Sundee, as usual, we missed you. We are excited to see you at Chrsitmas. Britt and Rick, we missed you too. 3 weeks is not much time but my kids are counting down the days that you come and they get to see Dylan again.

What have I become?

As I have stated in previous blogs, my football fanaticism has only recently started in recent years. It came with the territory on that day I was all dressed in white and promised myself to Jake forever. In marriage sometimes you do things just because your spouse wants to and that is why I started watching football every Saturday in the fall. It is what Jake and I did when we lived in California and then I, unexpectedly, began to love the game. I am not claiming that I am an expert but there is just something so fun about sitting around the TV praying for a hail mary with ten seconds left in the game.
My addiction started slowly. First, watching the games with Jake. Then I started to watch them without him. Shortly after that I found myself watching games that I wasn't really cheering for either side, I just liked watching the game. Before I knew it, I was part of a Fantasy Football league, following injury reports of players, setting the DVR for several games because I was watching another at the same time, and making sure I had the right line up on my team as I was driving to church Sunday morning. I can say that I do not check my team while I am at church but I will not say that I have not been tempted.
The other day I was cleaning up the house and Tylie and Mason were in my room watching some cartoons before I made them get dressed for the day. Mason was dancing with the "Little Einsteins" as he always does and inadvertently jumped on the remote control and changed the channel. It changed to ESPN and the were running a highlight reel of the previous weeks football games. As I rounded the corner I heard Tylie in a hushed but worried voice talking to Mason. "Hurry, Mason, hurry! Change the channel before mom sees the football!" I couldn't help but ask myself as I laughed behind the wall- "What have I become?"

Mason is three!

Mason turned three on Oct. 2nd. I felt bad because it was the day after we got home from the hospital so I was in no shape to plan a party. Thanks to my wonderful family who made sure that he did not feel forgotten. It was a great day.

I don't know if it is the fact that we have a new little baby in the house, or the fact that he just turned 3 on Sunday, or the fact the he is just crazy but this last week Mason has decided to crank up the naughty meter. At first I felt bad for him because I know that his world has been permanently altered with this baby but all sympathy feeling have fled and I am left with exhaustion and frustration. In less than a week he has:
* Left the house without my knowledge and wandered to my friends house. Thank goodness she found him and saved him from the elements. I promise to never leave him to brush my teeth again!
* Screamed for 45 minutes because I put the frosting on his toaster strudel and he wanted to.
* Decided that Cade needed to be held while I was in the shower and I found him with Cade in a choke hold trying to drag him out of his bed.
* Threw sand in Tylie's face repeatedly while she sat there and screamed. ( Tylie obviously could have ran away but she is always one for a flare of drama!)

I could go on but for the sake of his future self esteem, I will stop with the highlights. I feel bad that he is struggling. He is bored. His mom doesn't leave the house because of this new baby. The weather has gone bad so it is hard to be outside. He wants the attention that he is used to getting but now has to split with another little human. I recognize all these things but in the heat of the moments when he is blatantly disobeying me, it is hard to remember why I feel bad for him. He is trying to find his place. His is smashed somewhere in the middle of this family and he is determined not to be forgotten. He is very good at this job.
Today he is off at his cousin's house playing for the day. I am so grateful that he can go to a place he loves and I don't have to worry a bit about him. He can expend all that energy and come home and collapse weary from play. Things will settle down and get better. I feel that Mason is, in many ways, a mirror of myself. He is acting out what I feel inside. Things are chaos right now. I never expected the transition from 2 to 3 to be this hard. Once I start to figure things out I am sure that a new routine will fall into place and Mason will calm down. Until then, I pray that the house is still standing at the end of this.

He is here!

I am so happy to announce that my baby boy is finally here. After much anxiety and waiting, he arrived last Thursday. Here are the details-

Cade Clay Hancock
09/29/2011
8 lbs 2.5 ozs
21 inches long
Born at 4:40 in the afternoon

He looks so much like Mason that it is scary. I just kept looking at him and thinking "I have seen this baby before." I am so happy to have him here. He is much more work on the outside but now I can kiss him and hold him so all the work seems easy. It has been a long road but I am finally off this trail of my life. He is here, he is healthy, and Jake and I are happy. Life is good.