Best of 2010

I can't believe it has been another year.  This is the third year in a row doing best of.  Check out 2008 and 2009 if you are so inclined.


Best Movie: We got Netflix this year so I have been able to watch a lot of fun movies I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.  Still didn't go to the theater much though.  Hmm.  This is always a hard one for me.  I really really enjoyed Scott Pilgrim vs. The World though I don't think I'll ever own it. Toy Story 3 was the best family movie, yes even better than Tangled. and Inception was also really amazing.  I have to watch that one again though.  Still haven't seen (but look forward to) Prince Caspian, Harry Potter 7 part 1 and Gulliver's Travels.
Best Book: I read a lot this year and liked most of the books I read.  The one that left the most impact was Alive: The story of the Andes Survivors.  Best Fantasy this year was Mistborn, the whole trilogy, and best YA fiction was Hunger Games and Catching Fire.  I didn't care for the third one.
Best Place to Live: Cincinnati.  We went to King's Island for our anniversary and I fell in love with NKY all over again.  Since we only lived in Lubbock this year I decided I could write what I think would be the best place to live.
Best TV Show: Castle.  Easy.
Best Game: Didn't play a lot of video games this year so I changed this category a little.  I did play a lot of board games and I love Ticket to Ride.
Best Home-made Dinner: Natasha and Steven gave me this awesome recipe for Pork Tacos with green salsa.  Oh. MY. Heavenly Goodness.
Best Deal: Toy Story 1 and 2 on DVD/Blu Ray combo pack for $5 each, including 2 free tickets to Toy Story 3.  Awesome.
Best New Hobby: Photography.  I guess it is an old hobby come back for a second round.  But I am loving it!  Also started crocheting this year.  Woot!


Best Husband Ever: Still Brett Foutz.

Rows Your Boat

by Juliet Foutz

Row Row Rows your boat
Gents, down the stream!
Larry, Larry, Larry, Larry,
Life's a spider dream!

Come let us adore Him -- adorably.

This is Juliet's fourth Christmas, but it is the first Christmas she has been interested in Santa.  Santa Santa Santa.  And even more than Santa, she has been interested in asking Santa for a Pillow Pet.  Any time she sees Santa on tv or on the computer or a picture at the mall she says she needs to talk to Santa about her Pillow Pet.
While totally adorable, this is also a little discouraging for a parent who feels like it is her motherly duty to help her children keep Christmas centered on Christ.
When it comes to your kids you can never really know how much gets through to them (especially when their vocabulary is so limited) so it is always a pure joy (and a relief!) when they let you know in their own way that they get it.


This is what I found this morning.
Juliet's explanation: "Look! It's the baby Jesus!  Everyone needs to see Jesus."

Merry merry Christmas!!  I know that Christ lives, that He is our Savior.  I know that through Him we can return to live with our Heavenly Father.  I know my family is eternal, and I am so grateful for the Gospel in our lives.  I truly have been blessed, and I thank Heavenly Father every day for my beautiful family and the opportunity I have to return with them to Him once more.  I rejoice every day for such a wonderful knowledge and I should express it more often!

Hard day.

Sundays are our hard days.
There is never anything to do.

We sit around.

Bored out of our minds.

Wishing we were some place else.

Doing something else.

Or at least doing something.

But no.  Sundays are the hard days.

We never do anything fun on Sundays.

Give me my hair!

There are around 383 operating drive-ins in the good ol' USA, and we have been blessed to have one of them in Lubbock Texas!  Even more fun, our Drive-in is open year round, so you can enjoy your favorite movie as you slowly freeze to death.

Last night we decided to have an adventure to top off our fun-filled thanksgiving weekend.  Since there was a Tech game last night we were confident the drive-in wouldn't be too crowded, so we loaded up the car with snacks and blankets, donned our pajamas and headed off for the 7:20 showing of Tangled.  At the theater ($6 bucks for all three of us to see a double feature -- can't beat that!)  I moved the babies' car seats to the front two seats, and snuggled into the back seat with the snacks, doling them out as I saw fit.

The kids did great!  Everyone loved the movie, we stayed relatively warm (turning the engine on every 20 min for a quick reheat!) and we got to eat as much popcorn and dry cereal as our little tummies could hold. During the intermission we took a quick potty break, buckled the babies back into the back seat, and I sat upfront to watch Secretariat (ye old horse movie).  The babies fell asleep and my movie was over in time to go pick Brett up for work.

All in all a very successful evening!

As we were driving home from the airport Juliet roused momentarily to exclaim, "Give me my hair!"  I'm taking it as a sign that she enjoyed the movie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great visit with Marsi and Quinton and LaRae and Hendi this week!  They drove the 6 hours from Moore to spend a great Thanksgiving with us.  All the food turned out great, and the company was fantastic.  So glad you guys came!

10 points to whoever can correctly identify the slideshow music! (Or at least what it's from)

Not for Nothing

Bedtime at the Foutz home consists of a lot of running around, cajoling, pleading, some tears, ingested tooth paste, and very occasionally, sleep.  We have tried different bedtime routines to try and get the kids to settle in and calm down, and unfortunately haven't had a lot of success.  Our most recent attempt are hymns and primary songs.  Right around 8:30 Mom starts to sing.  I sing as we pick up the front room, I sing as we get teeth brushed, I sing while Juliet uses the potty one last time, I sing as Bensen escapes once more down the hallway to hide in some random closet, and I sing as kids are once more captured, kicking and screaming.  I sing a lot right before bed, and sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't.

The days it doesn't help are the worst because honestly, I don't feel like singing.  It seems pointless to continue on with "Teach me to walk in the light" when two kids are running up and down a darkened hallway.  "Do as I'm doing" seems a little silly when one child is jumping on a bed, the other is pulling out blocks and I am alone in the bathroom singing at the top of my lungs as I brush my teeth.  "I have a family here on Earth" seems a far stretch when my two sweet hooligans are screaching in a most unearthly tone.

I was feeling just that way.  I was sitting alone in the living room, singing "I am a child of God" to myself waiting for my kids to file in for family prayer (hopelessly waiting) when the most awful wave of pointlessness washed over me.  Why sing?  My kids were as wild as usual, it wasn't particularly making me feel better, and it was probably making the neighbors crazy.  So, with "parents kind and dear" barely whispering past my lips, I sank down to the carpet in silence.  I was done singing.

My children, who had been playing at who knows what in the bathroom sink, suddenly stopped chattering.  I saw Juliet peak out the bathroom door at me down the hallway, making sure I hadn't mysteriously died I'm sure.  Convinced that all was well, she disappeared into the bathroom again.  All was quiet.

Then, belted on a small, yet piercing voice I heard "LEAD ME GUIDE ME WALK BESIDE ME HELP ME FIND THE WAY!" echoing through the bathroom and down the hall.
I had no idea she knew the words.

What a sweet and gentle reminder that not only can my children hear me, they are listening and learning.

So now I'm back to singing again.