Easter Baskets

Christmas With Daddy!

When we came home from our trip the kids were excited to find a pile a presents under our tree. Yes the tree is still up. I was informed by the six year old that it couldn't come down until Daddy came home. They were so excited!

Aidan got another train set, a bigger one that is a remote control train. Plus some new clothes, a semi-truck to hold his hot wheels and a giant dump truck with a bunch of little tractors to go with it. Brenna got her very first doll stroller (made for 9 month olds), her first "tea" party set, her first "cell phone and car keys" and some new clothes (needed clothes since she has just about outgrown everything in her dresser). Chloe got a Hannah Montana Disney Mix Stix which she loved!! She has enjoyed listening to her own music with her headphones just like Mommy. She also got a large stamp set, so she can stamp with Mom and use her own stuff. She got a Cuttlekid die cut machine (she loves to use Mommy's Big Shot but some of the dies can be sharp if not handled properly so I thought she'd be better off with a friendlier kid version). Daddy got a book on how to be mature =), Turtles (his favorite candy) and a Kung Fu Panda DVD. Mommy got all ten seasons of Friends (once Matt's gorilla boxes arrived through USPS).

We spent the rest of the night relaxing and just enjoying family!!

New Year

Well, it is official, 2008 blew out of here with a bang and 2009 has slowly crept in. We celebrated a very quiet New Year's Eve. We cooked the roast that we were going to have on Christmas (but were too sick to enjoy) and enjoyed family. We watched movies and the kids played. Brenna has recently started pulling herself up and wants to stand all of the time. We have had to watch her constantly to make sure she doesn't fall.

The kids are finally feeling much better (I am is still sick but on antibiotics so hopefully that will help). They are all eating like crazy, have loads of energy and have a bit of cabin fever. The weather, even though the snow is gone, has been downright cold and blustery. So going outside has been a bit of challenge, not to mention all the mud that the snow has left behind. I think they are ready for Christmas break to be over with so we can get back to our regular routine.

We have not done much over the past few days, just trying to catch up on all the things that were left unattended while we were all so sick--laundry, dishes, cleaning bedrooms, dusting, vacuuming--the list is endless. School starts up again next week so I am busy trying to collect my pile of costumes and props for my theatre class as well. I feel like we are about a week behind in everything, which is understandable.

Merry Christmas!!

Well, the kids got a late start opening gifts since Aidan had another rough night but they quickly worked their way through the pile.

The kids loved their presents and got quite a bit. Chloe got lots of Hannah Montana stuff--a calendar and dress-up clothes from Aunt Nicci and Uncle Chris and a Hannah Montana game for her new Nintendo DS. She got a My Little Pony which she loved. Aidan got a GeoTrax train set (the old west version) and a bag full of markers, crayons and paper from Aunt Nicci and Uncle Chris. Brenna got a soft doll and a Pink Horse with wheels that she can ride around on in another month or so. She also got a Baby Leaps TV game and Elephant toys from Aunt Nicci and Uncle Chris.

Nana and Poppa bought us a family gift this year--a Wii. Chloe was so excited when she opened it up. We even got the sports pack so the kids can play tennis and all the sports games it comes with. We should have lots of fun with that. Here are some great pictures of the kids playing.

Thank You so much for all your love, prayers and support this Christmas! We are all feeling much better except for Aidan who is still very sick so please keep him in your prayers!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Santa's Loot

Well Santa has stopped by and loaded our tree...

Now we have to wait until the morning to see what is under all that wrapping paper.

Here is such a cute picture of Felix, who now lives at my parent's house. (In August he escaped the house and was attacked by our neighbors dogs. He was traumatized and for two weeks refused to leave the garage. So we took him to Mom and Dad's so he could heal and we decided to leave him there where the kids couldn't bug him continuously). He sat down on one of the extra gift tags. We did get him right after Christmas four years ago and his adopted name was "Feliz Navidad". So he is a Christmas kitty!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve!! We are all very slowly recovering from this nasty flu bug. It has managed to attack the entire family (from Poppa to Brenna). So Christmas this year will not be a day filled with family and friends, since we don't want to share our misery. This Christmas does not look like anything I had pictured, with all of us being sick. We did not go to Christmas Eve Service like we normally do nor will we be doing our traditional Christmas Desserts with our friends tomorrow night.

Even though it is not the Christmas I would of chosen we are trying! Tonight the kids opened their Christmas Eve presents which are their new pajamas.









Each kid also received a knotted fleece blanket I made for them. Chloe's blanket is a Hannah Montana one (big surprise there), Aidan's has cars all over it and Brenna's has red, orange and pink flowers all over it.

As you can imagine, the kids are very excited about opening gifts even though they don't feel 100% quite yet.

A Christmas Breakfast

About a year ago we made the difficult decision to change churches, after much debate, discussion and prayer. We felt like we needed to go to a church that emphasized family and had a steady children's program. We have not been disappointed this year. It has been an adjustment for all of us to make that change but the transition has been full of amazing blessings as well. The kids love our new church and look forward to it each week. Matt enjoys it (well, he still doesn't enjoy singing but he does enjoy the type of music much better) and I am making new friends each week.

These pictures are of the recent Children's Christmas Breakfast (Aidan was at Nana and Poppa's). We had so much fun listening to Christmas stories, eating and doing crafts. Brenna was happy and content being in the baby carrier, this was her first time riding as the 'caboose' and she had a blast playing with my hair. Chloe loves making crafts so she was loving every minute of it.

Nutcracker

Tonight was our annual trip to see the Nutcracker. This was our third year going to one of our many local theater groups to see it. This has become a real treat for us, something we look forward to every year. This is a fun "Ladies Night Out". unfortunately this year Nana was unable to go with us (she caught that nasty cold we were fighting last week). So Aidan spent the evening (and night) with Nana and Poppa and is enjoying himself immensely. That left Chloe, Brenna and I off to the ballet!

Ever since Chloe found out she was going to have a little sister she has wanted matching dresses. This has not been an easy task since Chloe is no longer in little girl sizes. I had pretty much given up all hope of them being in matching dresses. Then an Osh Kosh B'Gosh opened up at our local outlet mall. They carry everything from newborn to size 14!! Yeah! I found the girls matching dresses and Chloe has been in agony waiting to wear it. Both girls looked beautiful (we even managed to get Chloe's hair to curl a bit).

The ballet is the same basic concept (the Nutcracker story hasn't changed any over the years) but each performance is a bit different as the dance theatre changes the choreography to keep it interesting. I must admit, I think this was my favorite year! Chloe loved it! She was completely mesmerized by everything on the stage. She loves ballet. During intermission the girls got to have their pictures taken with "Clara", "Uncle Drossimier", and the "Snow Queen". Chloe informed the Snow Queen, "that whey she gets older she is going to do her part." :-)

Believe it or not, Brenna adored the Nutcracker as well. She watched it and kept squealing and laughing. She thought it was great. I kept trying to put her to sleep but she absolutely refused. She didn't want to miss a thing. She kept all the people around us in smiles, especially the older lady in front of us who loved the fact that Brenna was enjoying herself so much.

We had such a great time with our friends the Cox family and the Jung family. The kids got to have fun together and enjoy some beautiful dancing. It was a great evening and such a fun way to kick off the holidays.

Here is Chloe at intermission-she couldn't stop dancing she was so inspired.


Here is Brenna with my dear friend Rebecca.


It must of been a fun night--I am typing this with a girl on either side of me in bed, sound asleep!

Tree Attempts

The past few days have been full of: Dragging all the boxes out of the attic (especially the 60+ lb tree) all by myself (I am still taking advil after that little stunt). Checking all the Christmas lights (which worked great last year but NOT this year). Standing on furniture and stools trying to hang garland and ornaments. Tripping over bags and boxes of decorations because the kids can't wait for me to get to the next project yet. I am sure you are all nodding your heads with me because you are in this process too or are lucky enough to be done with it...

Normally it takes about 2-3 hours to get Christmas up in our house. This year try 2-3 days--And we still aren't finished yet! Hopefully tonight we can get it up. I will send pictures once we get it all up and pretty! But here are some pictures of the kids-trying to be helpful!

Brenna playing with the oversize ornaments that go in the windows.


This picture was taken after Aidan got in trouble for swinging the ornament over his head like a lasso (this is why 85% of all of our ornaments are plastic).


And here is Chloe showing me the ornament she finally managed to get untangled. (At least she was being helpful as always!).


Here are a few shots of Brenna and Aidan playing while I was untangling garland. Aidan has been struggling with sharing lately especially where Brenna is concerned. He definitely has the toddler motto down: "What's mine is MINE and what's yours is MINE!!" But he is trying! Brenna thinks it is hilarious when he gets mad and just starts to giggle.

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving didn't turn out quite like we had been planning on for months thanks to this lovely cold. We were going to spend the day with the kids' godparents and their family and some friends like we do almost every year. But with Brenna still sick (although on the mend) I thought it would be best not to go to our friends' house this year. I didn't want to share our germs with them.

Instead we spent a relaxing day hanging out with Nana and Poppa. We had Thanksgiving with them and the kids really enjoyed it. It was a nice quiet day. A great preparation for our shopping marathon tomorrow! :-) So here are some fun pictures of dinner and the clean up crew. Brenna enjoyed mashed potatoes today too!










FOR MATT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEXY! I LOVE YOU!


What I am Thankful for:

I am sitting here while my kids (yes ALL 3) are running through the house squealing and laughing with joy! It just makes me smile to hear their laughter. I am so grateful for my wonderful husband and best friend. I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. I know it sounds completely cheesy-but you complete me! I am so grateful for my kids-they truly are my blessings and joy even through the hard days. I am grateful for my friends and family and their love and support because of them life is so much sweeter. I am especially grateful for my relationship with my Savior which sees me through all of life's ups and downs.

I hope you each had the chance some time today to count your blessings and really find out what you are thankful for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!!!! MATT SENDS HIS LOVE AS WELL!!