Our Christmas!

'Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.






The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of sugarpulums danced in their heads.




I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Bring it. . .

It was fun to get out in the snow today with the kids. Even with as much stuff as I still have to do before Christmas, I was out in the snow pulling Bo and his friends behind the wheeler. It was really kind of fun to see how many times I could dump 'em.

Let it Snow!

The BIG GUY!

Grandma always has to be in the picture, too.

After we met Santa, we had dinner and gift giving at The Spaghetti Factory. We have a gift exchange among the cousins each year and they always look forward to finding out who has them, and picking a gift to give to someone else. They were all happy campers by the time the party was over. . .give or take a few battles.

VIBE Christmas Concert

Savannah had her 1st performance last night with the VIBE and she did a great job. She has skills! She was excited to finally get to perform and do her make-up. We are proud of her dedication - it's been "touch & go" but she's hung in there and it paid off.

Spirit of Christmas

I wanted to share this cute story & tell you how proud it made me.

Last week, while shopping at Cabelas (on Saturday) the crowds were horrible. As everyone hussled and bussled around the joint, it was difficult to even shop or to get down the isles. We squeezed through the crowds and made it passed the registers when I realized we forgot a shopping cart. There was no way I was dragging Savannah back to get one, so I sent Bo for one. I knew with his fancy footwork he would find a hole.

Of course, as I watched him, I could tell the carts were gone. As he waited for a cart to be returned, he noticed an older woman in an electric wheelchair trying to leave the building. As you are probably familiar, the doors are solid wood and very, very heavy. This woman just kept slamming her wheelchair into the door hoping she could push it open. There had to have been 30 adults come and go from the building - not one of them helping her. As I watched from a distance, my Bo walked over to her, opened the first door letting her through, then opened the second door also. This woman began to cry and took Bo by the hand, pulled him towards her so she could give him a hug and said to him, "That was the nicest thing anyone has done for me this Christmas".

I noticed there were adults around who stopped to watch Bo perform this great act of kindness (embarrased as they were and rightly should have been). I couldn't help but shed a few tears myself.

We all get so caught up and in a hurry

that sometimes we forget to notice the small things.

Greatest Invention EVER!

Peppermint M&M's!

One of MY FAVORITE THINGS

When Shaun and I got married my mom started our Christmas Village Tradition for us by giving us one new piece each Christmas. Needless to say, my collection has grown and I don't even have enough room to display them all. Each piece is from the Dept. 56, North Pole series. My kids have always loved them. They will sit and daydream in front of the village forever. Most of my pieces represent something that has happened during our family adventure, i.e., Bo starting elementary school, Savannah being obsessed with playdough, Bo learning to snowboard, the year we landscaped our yard.

This village is something that makes me HAPPY and feel like a kid again.

Pieces not displayed, Reindeer Barn, Elves Bunkhouse, Toy Delivery Train, Ice Skating Rink.

Our New Tradition!

Last year for Christmas, a cute little Elf appeared under Grandma's tree for each grandchild, packaged in his own box with a story about his mischevious behavior!
We are only to remove the Elf from his package on December 1st
and place it in our home somewhere for him to watch & see if the kids are being naughty or nice.
The story explains that he will fly home to the North Pole at night while everyone is sleeping to report to Santa,
and reappear in a new spot each morning.
His name is RUCKUS
and we welcome him to our home.



This is where we found him the first morning. It took Savannah a while to find him, she even had to ask Indy to come over and help.
I'm sure that Ruckus got a kick out of that.
He loves being sneeky!

BOLT!

We had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. Very relaxing and enjoyable. Thanks Hayley & Josh for offering their home, the table was set beautifully and I could tell it was a lot of work.

After dinner, we all (minus Colby's family) went to see

BOLT!

What a great show! We went up to the District Theatres

and they had it in 3D.

We all left a little dizzy. Hayley bought popcorn

(don't ask me how she could fit anything else after eating dinner)

but Savannah Banana finished off the BUCKET!

This little girl can eat popcorn like nobody else I know.

Butting Heads!

Does anyone else ever feel like this

about their relationship with their husband?

This is how I feel every year at Christmas time (and every other holiday) . . . he HATES it - I LOVE it!

It must be true what they say . . .Opposites Attract

Twinkle, Twinkle little STAR!

I am a huge STAR fan. I was looking around the house, getting ready to decorate for Christmas and noticed how many items have a star on them. It was kind of funny! I love all the words that describe a star. . . shine, twinkle, dazzling, sparkle, etc. Maybe that's why I like X-mas so much!

Shy, Shy!

Shylo spent a few hours at our house tonight and it made me realize that Savannah really needs a little sister. . . . . .too bad, so sad - not gonna happen. Shylo is the baby in our family, but not so much a baby any more. She entertained us more than we entertained her.
Peek-A-Boo!

To Blog or Not To Blog? - That is the Question

Here's my thoughts on blogging. . . After reading what KSL News had to say last night at 10:00 it made me ponder and scroll back through my posting topics and things I have said. I have taken all precautions they mentioned, except going private. There are a few local places I have named which may have been a mistake, but never have I mentioned city where we live or schools, employment, etc.

I think it's a big mistake to post your "personal profile". I think it is critical to adjust your "settings" so that your blog is not listed on blogger. You also don't want it to be searched using a search engine like google. Also make sure your readers are asked to type the word verification when leaving a comment, this will reduce spam comments. As a test, I went into my google search engine and I searched for my name. My name only appeared from comments I have left on other blogs that have not taken these precautions. I ask all of you to please do this to protect others who comment on your blog.

KSL also said that we shouldn't leave pics of our children - well then, what is the point of blogging??? I guess I could still journal without pictures, but I can keep a journal numerous other ways.

Blogging is my form of creativity and a hobby I enjoy. I don't hang with friends and this is one way I keep in touch. I would hate to stop. But should I go private??? Please vote to the left in my sidebar. . .and please comment with your thoughts.

Homework!

I told Savannah to sit down & practice writing her numbers. When she was done, this is what I found! So Creative!
Great numbers with a little extra flare!

Halloween's Over!

Hope ya'll had a GREAT Halloween!
(Time to shop for Christmas)

Jack-O-Lantern - never again!

Why does this fun activity never turn out quite the way you imagine it. The kitchen's a mess, I'm in a bad mood, Shaun's teasing, Savannah's crying and in time-out most of the night, and Bo just sits back and watches all the CHAOS!

The most memorable and least fun we ever had carving pumpkins, was when Shaun gave Bo a screwdriver to poke his pumpkin - thinking it would be safer than a knife - and we ended up in the ER with that screwdriver stuck in Bo's eyeball - no joke! That evening ended around midnight, but all was well!







Halloween 2007




Bo's Haunted House!
Good Job Buddy!