Holidays & Household happenings:

Ok so it's been a year or more since I figured out how to make a blog and I finally decided to get this thing going. I apologize this first entry is sooo long but I know EVERYONE has been just dying to know how the heck we are :) I hope to let everyone know what's been going on in our lives in a humerous and non-boring way. (Hopefully for you, I am successful at that). So, whats new at the Stiltz home?
Well, we had a GREAT Christmas. Unfortunately this means that Garrett's room looks like an amusement park and you usually can't get in and out of his room without seriously injuring your foot on something.
Ok so that's not entirely true because I do keep things pretty organized in there, but I guess you can get the picture that he got ALOT of stuff. In his defense his birthday is 4 days before Christmas so he had a birthday party and Christmas all in the same week! Some people feel sorry for kids who have a birthday so close to Christmas because they get ripped off and only get half the presents. I can assure you all that did not happen with Garrett and he will not be running out of things to do anytime soon! Apparently every adult in his life made a special point to make sure he had 2 very special days.
Danny and I usually just tell each other what we want the other one to get us for Christmas. It's way less complicated and that way I don't end up with an adult potty seat "but honey, it would be great for you to use at the deer lease", and he doesn't end up with "some ugly shirt with long sleeves. When in 6 years have you ever seen me wear a shirt with long sleeves?". This way we both get something that we want. At least it has worked well the last few years for us. This year I gave him money so he could get whatever it was that he decided he wanted. He bought a very nice meat smoker...Awesome right? Well, it was until I got the gift I asked for...I wanted a video camera so we could videotape all of our sons cute little moments. As a strong "hint" to show him that was what I was really wanting, I mentioned that if I got one, I might let him borrow it to take to the deer lease and make movies.
YES, I can hear you already! It was a mistake. The 1st thing on "my" new camera is a hunting video with clips of the guys at the deer lease without their shirts on (not pretty) bragging about how many Dr. Peppers they were able to drink that day. (thank God for small miracles, they were not discussing the crapper!) It's a good thing that I love that man! Although we were able to get video of Garrett at some point (Thanks Danny for that) , I still don't even know where my camera is "hiding" or where to even turn the thing on if I find it!
When I complained about this, he said he is not really hiding it from me and that if I looked for it hard enough, I could probably find it but I should probably read up on how to operate the thing anyway and then (I swear this is the truth) gave me the instruction manual that came with the thing! Maybe he will surprise me with it at Valentines. What a sweetheart!
I am glad we both have a good sense of humor, it really does makes life much less boring.
Anyway so that was our Christmas and we really did have a great one. Garrett was so overwhelmed on christmas morning when he saw everything that he got shy and turned around and grabbed onto me. It didn't take very long for him to get excited though when he started to see all the fun things waiting for him. His big gift was a power wheels which he loved especially when he crashed it into the sofa and found out it actually drove! We were able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with our fantastic Texas family. Great times, great food and tons of fun.
I have to tell you that when 12-31-09 came around, I did not spend the evening watching the ball drop, I was not at some awesome New Years party, I was not up late watching movies or at a fireworks show, I was sound asleep in bed with my little guy snoring lightly in my ear...if you think that is bad, when I woke up later that night and went to put Garrett in his bed, Danny had fallen asleep on the couch. Watch out for the Stiltzes! They are a rowdy crowd:) but seriously I think I liked it so much, I will plan on doing the same thing thing next year!

Danny had an off year at the deer lease and for the 1st time in 4 years he didn't shoot anything worthy of hanging on the wall. (Don't tell him I said this but I am kind of glad as that means we can keep the wall at least one more year. It is in danger of taking a serious fall if we put another dead animal up there) but at least he enjoyed his time "On God's front porch" which is what they have named their resort in the woods.
When I say resort, I feel the need to describe the deer camp to you so you can decide for yourself. At last count, there were 3 possibly 4 satellite televisions-positioned so everyone can see one from their beds, handmade bunkbeds with brand new mattresses, indoor air conditioning and heaters,hot water for showers, indoor lighting, a front porch with a ceiling fan and quite possibly, (although I have never seen it), mints on their pillows. I tell you its just like survivor out there...Oh,wait...
Garrett is growing like a weed. At his 2 year doctors appointment, he weighed 31 pounds and was over 3 feet tall. He says well over 200 words and is repeating everything we say! He is so smart. He loves coloring,playing cars,taking baths, and playing on the playground. He likes Elmo and loves anything with trains. We are working on getting him to say "ma'am" and "sir" but he sometimes gets them mixed up. He knows all of his manner words: "please,thank you,excuse me" and we are teaching him to apologize when he is "not nice". He is sooo cute. Lately he has been lining up his teddy bears on the floor and putting a blanket over them and patting them (which is how they put the kids down for naps at his little preschool.) It is really sweet.
Apparently after talking with his teacher, Garrett is like perfectly behaved at his school. He has been there almost a year now and has never had a time out. I asked the teacher if he ever was in time out after one weekend when I thought I would try it at home. He was being naughty and I told him so and asked him "Do you wanna go sit in your chair in time out?" at which point he ran to his little chair, pulled it over in front of the fireplace, sat down, put his hands up to his eyes and began fake crying, looking through his fingers to see if I was impressed. At this point it ocurred to me that he may have never been in time out at school and was curious to have a turn and figured he was supposed to cry or something. It totally cracked me up. His teacher confirmed that he had not ever been put in time out. Silly boy. He is such fun. I really don't know what Danny and I did for fun before he came along. He is such a blessing!
As for me, I still need back surgery but I am hanging in there waiting on my doctor to get my insurance to pay for the surgery I need to fix it. Does that sound completely backwards to you?
Anyways, trying to learn patience and trusting God to take care of me. I would appreciate your prayers. When I am having a bad day I just listen to Garrett laugh and it reminds me how God answers prayers all the time and can give you the greatest blessings when you least expect them. So we are all doing well. I hope good health and happiness finds everyone who may be reading this and I promise future blogs won't be sooo long. I want to make them funny and entertaining and see how many followers I can get. Take care everyone!