Christmas 2008

It has been a really nice week! Christmas for our family was fun, not too crazy or hectic, but it was actually fairly relaxing and enjoyable, like it should be! This year was the very first year that we had Christmas morning by ourselves and not with our extended families. And although we love our families and we miss our family in Michigan, it was nice to have a quiet morning. My parents and sister did come over later in the day, but overall it was just a fun day and the kids had a blast too.
We all got some wonderful gifts. Among other things, I got my new stainless steel pots and pans that I desperately wanted and needed, along with a beautiful bench for my entryway - thanks Mom and Dad! The kids received way too many toys, as well as some clothes and other things they needed.
The rest of the long weekend was more of the same - we didn't do much and I loved it that way!





Santa came!

















Opening all those presents....













Bob the Builder slippers!


















Emmy sporting her new bathrobe, new roller skates and knee pads.
















Giant Incredible Hulk gloves!

Merry Christmas! (a little late...)

Just a quick note to say that we had a really nice, quiet Christmas. I have been enjoying a few relaxing days with my husband home, and we really haven't been too busy - but I have a ton of great pictures to share - maybe I will get to that over the next couple of days.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Cards Over the Years...

I love Christmas cards, in case you hadn't already figured that out based on my obsession this year for the perfect Christmas card photo. I have mailed out photo cards since Emmy was born. Here is a look back at the pictures I used to make those cards over the years....





Emmy's 1st Christmas, 2004.









2005 - my cutie in her Santa hat









Christmas 2006 - my Christmas card also served as Pooky's birth announcement. I love this one!




2007 - when they both cooperated for the camera perfectly!





And this year's card from 2008 - such big kids now!

One Week 'Til Christmas....

And this is what the temperature was outside here today. I am really not complaining, or bragging, since my friends in the north are freezing cold and buried in snow. But... it doesn't feel like Christmas when it is almost 80 degrees (which is way warmer than normal for us), and it has been this way all week.

Although.... given the choice of this or the weather in Michigan right now, I choose this. ;)

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It has been a busy week! I baked a lot of cookies, wrapped a lot of gifts, ran a lot of errands, took the kids to our play group's Christmas party....

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My little elf, aka Emmy, has been stealing scraps of wrapping paper all week. Then I find presents like this under the Christmas tree.
So far, there are about 5 beautifully wrapped Emmy gifts under the tree, with tags that say they are for me or Ray. I peeked at one, and it was a magnet from the fridge. Not sure what the other ones are, and I haven't noticed anything else missing yet, so that should be fun Christmas morning...
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I am looking for a job again. I have not been doing anything at all since about August, when we thought that we were moving to Chicago. Up until that point I was still watching Baby R full time, but her mom had made other arrangements for her since we were going to be leaving. But we didn't end up moving. And now I am really poor and need a job.
I am contemplating finding a new day care client, which I may still do, but I do have a job interview lined up for Monday, so we'll see how that goes. My problem with getting a job is my availability - I can't be there until 5:30 pm during the week, since I have to wait for Ray to get home to watch the kids. So, not sure how the availability will play out at the interview Monday, so I will keep you posted. Cross your fingers for me, because if it works out I will be super excited.
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Also this week, Ray and I celebrated our 9 year wedding anniversary. I love you Sweetie! And many more years to come....

Have a great weekend!

Santa at the Zoo

We went over to the zoo last night for "Lights at the Zoo". It was a lot of fun, and our friends Dan and Jeana and their 3 kids ended up meeting us there, which was great!
The kids also got to see Santa, which went surprisingly well. I figured Pooky would absolutely freak out - but he didn't. He did want to show Santa his cars, which is what he is doing in all the pictures. But he did not cry. I was impressed. Emmy sat up there for an extra minute and told Santa what she wanted for Christmas, and she was very brave as well! A successful Santa visit!

Christmas Meme

I think I first saw this on Mandy's site, then a few others too, so I decided to join in the fun...

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1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I love Christmas paper! I have like 20 different rolls.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. We did real for a couple of years, and it was a pain - all the needles and sap. We might try it again in a year or two...

3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving weekend! I get so excited about Chrismas, so I do it as soon as I can!

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually around New Years. Last year I took it down almost immediately after Christmas though, I was ready for my house to be "normal" again!

5. Do you like eggnog? NO!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmm, one certain gift doesn't really stand out. We were always spoiled rotten at Christmas, so I got a LOT of really nice gifts. I still do. :)

7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Emmy and Pook. I LOVE buying stuff for them anyways, and now I have an excuse to do so!

9. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes. We have a beautiful manger built by my husband and his grandpa. The nativity scene is the one Ray's family used when he was little - Ray's mom gave it to us a couple of years ago.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. A photo card. You know, I have been talking about it for weeks now.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Socks. Not cute socks either. They were ugly (and thankfully I recognized them as being a Target brand. I returned them.)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie. The Santa Clause, Elf, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story - I love Christmas movies!

13. When do you start Christmas shopping? This year I was on the ball and started early, at the beginning of November. Normally I start around Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Maybe. ;)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Fudge. Cookies. mmmmmm....

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, we have them. My tree has purple and clear lights, and I love it!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Anything by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. AWESOME music. Ray and I have seen them live several times, and it is truly the best concert I have ever attended.

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? I prefer to stay at home, especially now, since traveling with the kids is not fun, even worse when I have to worry about packing and shipping gifts.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Of course!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We have an angel. The year Ray and I were married, I looked everywhere for an angel, and had the hardest time finding one. They were all ugly, gaudy, and just scary looking. I finally stumbled upon the perfect angel on clearance after the holidays, and she is beautiful!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The stores are so crazy busy. I wasn't thinking when I decided to swing into Walmart last weekend to pick up something, and it was packed!!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like a hodgepodge of my favorites. Most of our ornaments remind me of something special.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Scalloped corn - always a holiday favorite with my family.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A nice relaxing family vacation, like a cruise or something would be nice.... ;)

I am tagging Ray and Chantelle.

Operation Christmas Child

I am finally recovering after a miserable week - my throat still hurts, and I was still running a fever as of yesterday, but today I have a lot more energy, and I actually got my butt off the couch!

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I wanted to write a quick post about Operation Christmas Child, which is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse, a Christian organization which you can read more about here. I first heard about Operation Christmas Child through our church last year, and I loved the idea of it, especially since we can get the kids involved.

What we do to help is this - collect a shoe box, fill it with small toys, candy, and toiletries for a selected age and gender, wrap it up to look pretty, include a check to help with shipping costs, and bring it to our church for it to be picked up. Samaritan's Purse then sends the boxes all over the world, to give to needy children on Christmas. Over the past several weeks, I have heard of many other churches and organizations collecting boxes as well, so it is fairly easy to participate.

This year, we did 2 boxes, one from Emmy, one from Pooky. Emmy is able to help pick out the gifts and put the box together, and she is getting old enough for me to explain a bit about why we are doing this and where the box will be going. We tell her that we are sending it to a friend who lives very far away, and she does not have as many toys ad nice things as Emmy has. If anything, I am hoping to teach her something about giving to other people.

We put our boxes together tonight - Emmy was so excited to help! At bedtime, she prayed for her "friend who is far away" and that she would like her presents we were sending. It was very sweet to see her "get" it.

Here are our boxes, ready to go -

What's on my Tree Wednesday

I have been sick the past 3 days, a killer sore throat, fever, chills, aches, etc. I am miserable. Just throwing that out there so y'all will feel sorry for me. Blah.

This week's entry for "What's on My Tree Wednesday" is this lovely specimen.

Ray's sister, Stevie, had several years in which she was notorious for giving, well, not-so-great Christmas gifts to her brother. One year for Christmas, she gave him a bottle of bubble bath that had a warning label that said not to let it touch your skin. And never mind the fact that Ray doesn't even take baths. Another year the gift was a girl's brown hat. From what I understand, everyone else would get "nice" gifts but Ray was always last on her list and she normally had about 73 cents left to spend. I think the crazy gifts are hilarious.

This ornament was one of those wonderful Stevie gifts from 1993. It always makes me laugh. For one thing, it is kinda ugly. It says "Dunk It". Who says that? Secondly, Ray did not even play basketball. LOL.

Here is a view from the back.

But, we hang it on our tree every year. It is a part of Christmas now.

BTW, Stevie's gifts have improved tremendously over the years, probably due to the fact that she is grown and has an income now. :)

But it is the season of giving. And we are very appreciative of Stevie, bad gifts and all!

"What's on my Tree Wednesday" is held by Katie at This Crazy Life. Go check it out, and join in!

P.S. I don't know why my text colors are all crazy. Some sentances are in blue, others in black. I can't fix it. I don't really care today.

My Sweet Pooky Bear!

So... I know I mentioned how difficult Pooky has been when I try to get a picture of him over the pasts few months. And how he freaked out at the portrait studio, and how every time he sees the camera he crosses his arms across his chest and yells, "NO!".

Well, Ray got a new camera for his birthday (thanks mom and dad, we LOVE it!), and it takes really, really, really good pictures. Amazing pictures.

Today while Emmy and I were shopping at Target, Ray was taking pictures of Pooky. He cooperated. And they were adorable. I am thrilled. Thanks, Raymie!

Of course I already ordered my Christmas cards, so y'all will have to deal with non-smiling Pooky on the cards.

But, look at this face.... Don't you just want to eat him up?! Adorable!












P.S. Happy 29th birthday, Ray. I love you!

My Elf Family

Now, remember when I found Yearbook Yourself, and I wasted hours laughing hysterically at the funny pictures I made??

Well, I found a new one, thanks to Susie at Mommy, Just One More Minute!

I giggle every time I watch it. Seriously, I love this stuff. Thanks, Susie!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

What's on my Tree Wednesday

I am trying something new - a new, fun blog I found, This Crazy Life, is hosting "What's on my Tree Wednesday" for this month, and I thought it sounded fun. The idea is to post a photo of a Christmas ornament from your tree and tell the story behind it.
So, here is one of my favorite ornaments -



















Ray and I were married in December 1999 - one week before Christmas (coming up on our 9 year anniversary!). This ornament was sent to me by my grandparents the summer before our wedding. Not only is it obviously a "wedding" ornament, but it also represents our very first Christmas ornament we owned as a couple. And I like it, it is super cute. :)

So, go check out This Crazy Life. Thanks, Katie, for a great idea for a new theme!

Wishing on Stars

As I was putting Emmy to bed tonight (for the third time, she keeps finding reasons to get back up), she wanted to look out the window to wish on a star.

I opened her shade, turned off the lamp, and watched her little nose squish against the window, looking for a star in the dark sky.

She found her star, and recited "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight," then asked me to make a wish first.

I said, "I wish for Emmy, Daddy, Pooky, and me to be together forever, and always happy. What do you wish for?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and thought about it for a minute, and recited the rhyme a few more times. "I wish for..... a new stuffed animal. And a jack-in-the-box."

I love the way her innocent mind works.
(photo edited by my rock star husband. Thanks, Baby)

Let the Christmas Season Begin!

The tree is up!