Christmas at Home

We sure did love having my parents here

This Christmas was our Christmas at home, and my parents came out to join us. Winter weather brought them to us a day early. Yay! Mom and I did lots of baking, with not much help from the boys, I might add. Aaron frosted a few cookies, and Kaleb frosted a few less. He was actually quite grumpy while frosting cookies. So much for that idea! My dad and Derek ran cable and phone lines from our computer to our tv. It took several days, they made quite a mess, the mess made me grumpy, but they cleaned it all up and life was good again. :) Braylen followed Grampy all over the place, always asking to use Grampy's netbook. It must be more fun than our computer.

Can you tell that Kaleb looks less than thrilled?

A Christmas blizzard made it hard to see across the street, but made us feel warm and cozy in our home. We braved the weather for the Christmas Eve service, and again for Christmas dinner by candlelight at my in-laws' house. During the week, Mom and I played 3 Scrabble games (I won 2 out of 3). Braylen and Grampy played Monopoly, we all played the Wii, and the boys wrestled my poor dad in the snow. Ginger enjoyed her homemade peanut butter treats from Grammy. My mom did plenty of knitting with Aaron, completing the blanket he asked for last fall. I even got a few new coasters and dish cloth this time.

The big news of the week was my Christmas gift from my parents...a CRUISE! Yowza! Mom and I will be getting away this fall for our Florida-Mexico cruise, giving me lots to look forward to this year. :) I feel incredibly blessed with this gift of time to spend with my mom. We did mother-daughter outings when I was growing up--a weekend at Embassy Suites, banquets at church, shopping trips and hair appointments, and eventually, wedding planning. This trip will be more precious time together, continuing our journey together as mother and daughter.


This was the Star Wars Christmas for Aaron, the GI Joe and Philadelphia Eagles Christmas for Kaleb, and the clothing/iPod stereo Christmas for Braylen. Nobody got the DSi they wanted, but we blamed Santa for that. :)

Another surprise of the week--my dad went turkey hunting with my husband! Derek, Dad, Braylen, Shawn, and Derek's dad went out together and came back with 3 birds. Derek, his dad, and Shawn were the only ones shooting, but Dad and Braylen had just as much fun. Braylen even lost a tooth. How fun to see my dad enjoy spending time with my husband and son. The rest of us stayed home and slept in. :) The kids always wake up Grammy and Grampy while they're here, and every time they seem to get them up later and later. But isn't that what vacation is for?

Kaleb and Aaron went along on hunting trip #2 of the week. My husband is amazing!

Mom and I went out for lunch, shopping, and coffee one day. Now that they're gone, I see our memories all over town and it makes me miss them more. I know God has us where we need to be, but it's still hard to live apart. My brother spent the holiday at his in-laws' house states away from us; hopefully we don't let an entire year go by before we see each other again. He did send me a case of Dublin Dr. Pepper for Christmas, so I can think of him every time I take a sip. :) What a guy!

New Year's Eve brought a funny from Aaron:

Kids and adults sipped on sparkling grape juice--adults from tiny crystal goblets, kids from large plastic margarita glasses. Quite a while later, we re-filled glasses and Aaron asked, "Can I have some more beer?" Wow, I'm SO glad I knew we needed to straighten this out for Aaron's understanding. He thought we were passing around alcoholic drinks for all to share--kids and adults. Yikes! :)

I think Kaleb's had a few too many :)

Yesterday was our first day back to normal; kids back in school and me back at Walmart to buy groceries. After preschool Aaron said, "Can I put my footy jammies back on now Mommy?" Can you tell he enjoyed wearing his new jammies a LOT during Christmas break? Oh, if we could only wear footy jammies and cozy up under a blanket all winter long...we could hibernate like bears. Sounds good to me. :)

Trying Something New

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Christmas slideshow of our fun times together. :) What great memories I have of Christmas 2009!

Here Comes 2010

Aaron made these glasses with my mom...aren't they cute? Next year (ha ha) I'll re-visit our Christmas at home, but for now a simple "Happy New Year" will do! :)

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

On the brink of our Christmas snow storm, I'm thinking of my many blessings. 2009 has been such a great year for our family. Our kids are at the most amazing ages--not too old to hate being with us, and not too little to make outings a burden. We've taken lots of bike rides, spent many hours boating, and enjoyed playing with and raising our puppy. My parents made several trips out here to visit us this year, including this week of Christmas. We're blessed with good friends that come and stay with us, see us at our worst, and come back for more visits. :) Friendly neighbors, friends through church, and a close-knit extended family all contribute to the feeling that we're well-loved.

School is out for Christmas break, which means we're half-way through this school year. I just don't know how that can be possible. Braylen admitted to us that he "likes" a girl at school. I'll call her "E." He says she's his girlfriend. YIKES!!!! A few weeks ago he came to me and asked, "Mom, do you think I should tell E that I like her?" Wow, I didn't think I'd be answering questions like that EVER. One day he's my baby boy and the next day he's asking me for advice about girls. At least that's how fast it's seemed to me. I encouraged him to be E's friend, not make it anything more than that. I guess he didn't take my advice. Not the first time, I'm sure. I'm just thrilled he's telling me all about it. So, now Braylen's girlfriend is E, and his buddy Jake has a girlfriend too. Welcome to the new world of 10 year old boys.

Aaron's been a sweet blessing to me during this Christmas season. He really likes to sing Christmas carols. His favorites are "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "Silent Night," "Jingle Bells," and "Away in a Manger." Derek and I heard him singing last night and realized we've never heard him sing to himself around the house like that. It is sweet to hear. While snuggling with him before bed, we sang "Silent Night" together. When we got to the part that says "Mother and Child," Aaron said--"Hey, mother and child" while pointing to me and to himself. I took a picture in my mind in that moment with him.

Finally, Aaron's given me some more funnies this week. While tucking him in last night he said, "I sure like these leather sheets." Umm, he meant flannel sheets. :)

Aaron's bedtime music tells of a story about people returning to Judah. He heard that tonight and said, "Aunt Sarena went back to Judah tonight Mom." Umm, his aunt's plane couldn't land at our airport and needed to fly back to...Denver. Not Judah. So I ask him, "Do you mean Denver?" He says, "Oh yeah, Denver." :)

Merry CHRISTmas!