Christmas Morning

After a fun night at Grama's on Christmas Eve, we came home to do some family stuff. We always open 1 present Christmas Eve, which is PJ's. Everyone was so excited to get their new pj's on. I actually got all my wrapping done on the 23rd, so I got to spend the evening just playing games with Savanna and Hallie. Brad decided to get the stomach bug and so he had crashed on the floor. I am going to make sure to get my wrapping done before Christmas Eve every year because it made it so much more enjoyable. I really like to play games and my kids are getting old enough we can play all sorts of fun things.

Santa actually was able to make it through all the snow and made a special delivery to our house, Brad even slept through that, so we know he was really sick. That is his favorite part, having a visit with Santa. The kids woke up about 6:15. A little early but that's okay. They are usually ready for a nap fairly early. The kids are allowed to go down stairs and see what Santa brought them. Santa usually brings one present unwrapped and in the other room by the fireplace. Things under the tree are from Mom & Dad. Jase came running up the stairs saying"Mom, my dream really did come true, I got a nerf Football." Livee slept through all the excitement and got to open her presents later. After all the presents were opened, Aleena watched her new movie and some of us decided to take a quick nap. We headed over Linden & Michelle's for Brunch. We made waffles with Strawberries and Whip Cream, and the kids got to play their new WII. It is a lot of fun.

It was a great Christmas. Brad and I weren't sure how Christmas was going to pan out this year due to slow real estate, but thanks to a few special people (you know who you are)in our lives it was possible to have Christmas. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and hope to some day pay it forward to someone else who is in need. We love you and know that your families are being blessed for helping us out.

The kids are opening their pajamas.

Santa brought Savanna a new camera.

Jase got the fastest flying Nerf Football.
Hallie got a pink Nintendo DS.
Aleena got a Barbie and a blankie.

I didn't get any pictures of Livee's Santa gift. It was a singing rolling ball.

I will add a picture later.

Christmas with Grama and Papa Dick

Christmas Eve we headed over to Grama Dar's. We were suppose to be there around 2, but at 12:30 Brad got a call that one of his houses was closing at 1, and so he dashed out, and I lost my helper. That is okay, because we could use a closing. So we made it over finally around 3. The kids did a little sledding. Dave pulled them with the golf course 4 wheeler. We then ate food-everyone just brought snacky items. We actually got a few games in before opening presents. Jase taught us how to play Frogs and Flies. That was a hit. Kayla brought Would you rather. It was okay. The kids lost interest and started wrestling. Grama had asked earlier if anyone had brought any game ideas, and so Aleena kept asking me when we were going to play her game of Bubble gum-Bubble gum. That was fun. The kids played along and let her do it her way. We finally made our way to the presents. That is of course the kids' favorite part. Grama out did herself again, and got the kids some great things. Hallie, Aleena, Savanna, Bree, Jase
Livee cleaned out the magazines and then thought it would be fun to climb in.
Livee opening her first Christmas present.
Aleena & Hallie are really becoming best buds.
I always seem to catch Savanna with an awkward face.
Grama did some sewing for Livee and Aleena. Each family got an Ice Cream Maker. Hurray.
We should have taken group pictures first. The kids were being so silly. This picture is so our family. Brad being the jokester, Aleena giving herself rabbit ears, and you can see the hint of devil in Jase's eyes.

Thanks Grama and Papa for such a fun night.

Take the Plunge!!

Okay, so I am really going to do it. I am going to try selling my stuff. I want to try and have a weekend boutique at the end of January, so I am going to have to get busy. I also want to figure out how I could have a blog of what I made & sell it that way. I am excited, yet I always am one to get scared easily. Here is a sneak preview of my first project.

I want to sell some raw wood stuff and some painted and finished. There will be a few other things that I want to include at my boutique. I want to come up with a fun Valentine basket give away. I have lots of ideas going through my brain, so hopefully they all will turn out as good as my visions.

This shelf is 18" tall, 14 1/2 wide, and 6" deep. She is cute. I like how the chunky edges and old nails add rustic chararcter.

Watch for more details.

Kinked Neck

I have managed to kink my neck again. I swear I just did it about a month ago. I was working out in the garage yesterday and lifted the table saw. I am thinking I must have done it then. I have to walk around with my head held funny. Holding it up is the hardest part. I was hoping some sleep would fix it, but I woke up with it still. I decided to stay home from church. I have to rest my head a lot and it is hard to carry my baby, so I guess we will have to stay home. Maybe later I can do some catching up on my posts. We had a great Christmas, and are enjoying our time off from school, and of course the snow. What the heck!! Who knew those clouds could hold so much moisture.
Okay, so my neck is tired. Be back later.

Dude, Aleena's Best Friend

I have introduced Dude before. He is our cat. He is Aleena's play buddy. Now I can call him her napping buddy. Dude is getting big and heavy, but Aleena still manages to carry him everywhere and he lets her carry her everywhere. She was exhausted from staying up with the cousins, and Dude was exhausted from trying to survive the cousins. He is dark and kind of hard to see against the dark couch.

Looking Cool

Today I got to escape reality for a couple hours and help a friend with some Christmas Crafts. The kids also had their cousins over today. While we were crafting Jase and Tyler wanted to "Look Cool", so they spiked their hair, put on coordinating clothes and came down to show us. I was in the crafting mode, so I took a quick glance, said "How Handsome", and didn't really look close. A couple hours later, I was done crafting, the cousins went home, I got a phone call from my brother:

Him"Hey, Did you see what the boys did?"(chuckle, chuckle)

I was thinking-did they color on their parts-Yes, Jase has done this.

Me "No, what did they do?"

Him "Go look at your sons hair."

Me-realizing Jase cut their hair "Jase did you cut your hair?"

Jase-"Yeah, we wanted to look cool." Apparently their bangs weren't spiking into the mohawk

so they cut them off.

I guess it could have been worse, he could have decided to give Aleena a "Cool Mohawk".

Let It Snow!

The snow has been crazy around here. The kids have been loving it. It has definitely kept them entertained this week. Here are a few shots of them in the snow. This is one of the kids I babysit. She would stay outside all day.