Christmas 2009!

Christmas was wonderful this year! I love to hear the kids first thing in the morning when they run downstairs to see what was brought.

We told the kids they could get into their stockings, but they were not to wake us up until 7AM.

Ashley was the first up around 7:25. She woke up the boys. They ran downstairs and within 5 minutes, Aussie was upstairs waking us up. He said, "Hurry get up it's Christmas. We LET you sleep in!"

I had a hard time getting up, but I did, and with a smile! I went to bed at 4:30AM, who knows when I actually went to sleep. I have a little stinker who thinks it is playtime at that time of night. recently, we have been closing the door so she wouldn't bother us, but I really wanted to hear the kids go downstairs.

So let's talk about Christmas Eve. The kids have gotten it in their heads that they are allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve.

So I let them open a present. I don't know who had more fun, them or me.

We got them Marshmallow guns.

Mason had an especially hard time shooting it. So I would take it "to see what was wrong" and shoot him with it. They all had fun shooting Daddy!

After opening the presents, the cake we baked had cooled down, so the kids helped decorate the Birthday cake for Jesus. This is our family tradition and I really love it! I think maybe they put as many sprinkles on the cake as how old Jesus would be if he were alive in person today. (Don't get all theological on me, I'm not quite sure how to write that.)

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Thank you God for sending your precious son to be an example for us. And then to die on the cross for our sins! Because I did not live so many years ago, I don't really understand why it had to be done. But I do believe it happened and that he rose again and by doing this he has sacrificed himself, so that WE might have eternal life. He was the ultimate, perfect sacrifice. No other sacrifices need to be made. He died for OUR sins! And now by God's grace, we will be able to live with Him forever in his glorious kingdom.

And that is one reason we celebrate His birth. We know that it was probably not December 25th, but that is the day the world has set aside to celebrate it. And with our government trying to take God out of everything, so far this is one thing we can still hold onto. And that is why in our family we will continue to make our cake and cupcakes every year, so we can share God's love with others.

It was hard to get the kids to bed. They practically stay up as late as Greg does, but when they finally went down I went to work.

How is this for irony? I was too lazy to dig through the Christmas boxes to find the stockings, so I decided to make them some new ones. I didn't have time to sew their names on them before they were opened. But I have done that now and they are ready for next year.

As I was putting the presents around the tree, I realized I had a lot for one child and not the others. I KNEW that could not be right because a few days earlier I had written down everything everybody got and made sure that everyone had the SAME amount of presents to open. You know with kids it doesn't matter how much you spend on each person, it's how many presents each gets to open. Anyway, at 2:30AM I realized that I had put the unwrapped presents in an upstairs closet. UGH! I still had presents to wrap! A LOT of presents to wrap! I thought that I had already wrapped all the presents except the very few that we were testing out earlier in the day. So it took me another 2 hours to get everything wrapped and put under the tree. Greg woke up and came downstairs at 4:20 and asked me if I needed help, just as I was putting the last things into the stockings. I love him, but he is NO Santa Claus!

I found this animated deer in Florida at a thrift store while we were there. It had a doe partner but I could only afford one and even that one gave Greg shivers up his spine that I was purchasing it and where are we going to put it, etc. But I LOVE it! Absolutely LOVE it! Next year I will put it outside, but I didn't decorate outside this year so I just put the deer right on inside with our Christmas tree.

The kids had a blast opening presents. I noticed that Aussie didn't have any big presents, so I wrapped up a small present in several boxes. He kept opening boxes until he got to his small present. I wasn't sure if he would like that. I actually thought it would irritate him, but he surprised me. He thought it was pretty funny. And he really liked the gift inside. But I thought if I hadn't done that he would have complained that he didn't have any big presents. Oh the things I have to worry about!
Mason is such a happy boy! He enjoys just about anything given to him. He is always the peacemaker between Ashley and Aussie. He is just a really good boy!

And his eyes sparkle when he is happy.

Ashley got a "doll and me" doll, similar to the American Girl dolls but $100 cheaper. I wasn't sure she would like it. But she does like it, especially since her best friend called her and told her she got an American Girl doll for Christmas. I so hope that "brands" don't get in the way! I was able to get her and the doll 2 cute outfits that match.

Tika liked playing with the wrapping paper and the mini marshmallows leftover from last night.

Daddy got the video game that he really wanted, Plants Vs. Zombies. It's a funny game played on the PC. Greg keeps wanting me to try it, but it looks too stressful to me. Plus I don't need another thing to keep me busy. I've got enough on my plate.
The boys were quite pleased too.

One of Aussie's favorite gifts was a real bowling ball. I happen to find one at Goodwill for a couple of $. Unfortunately, no one in town engraves on bowling balls anymore. I will have to find one in Ohio or something when we go there next.

I think the theme this year was legos and Video games (which includes Sonic.) They all got some of their favorite stuffed Sonic characters.

Ashley got several tiger things. One thing I ordered online was this cute, cute tiger backpack. When I got it, I was quite disappointed because it is tiny! 12" tall and very slender. She likes it but I was disappointed.

And here is Ashley with her big present.

We waited until the last present was opened under the tree to pull out the family present from Gramma and Grampa. It was THE thing that everybody wanted... The Wii.

After opening presents we went to church for lunch. It was almost cancelled this year, because the family who hosts it wanted to take a break. A week before Christmas, someone stepped up and took over the role of hosting. I was very thankful!

There wasn't many people this year, probably because most people thought it was cancelled and made other plans. But it was still nice.

Ashley wore one of the outfits she got for Christmas.

And she brought her matching doll,

whom she calls Sarah.




































So we left church and the little kids cried, "wii, wii, wii" all the way home. (Greg came up with that and I think it is funny!)

And here is a couple more pictures of Ashley with her Tiger.

I hope all of you had a nice Christmas too!

Chinese Performance

This is Aussie's introduction. He says his name, how old he is and that he likes zebras.



Aussie's Chinese performance was a huge success!

His class performed a song about a fish. They did so well that they have been asked to perform it again sometime in January at another school. This time it might make it on the news. Ashley and Mason think it will make Aussie famous to be on TV.

Here are some pictures from that day.

Guess who is the fish?

They performed right before intermission. They had a hard time starting up again, because the fish was very popular with the kids. I had to drag him away.

Ashley and Mason had to try it on.

They look cute!

Looking at Greg in this shot.. is well.. just frightening!

It was a fun day and I'm really proud of my Aussie!

Whirlwind!

I know it's been forever! Sorry about that!

Last Friday was a whirlwind day!

Thursday night I had stayed up until 3AM or later preparing for my class on Friday. I needed to get something off of the internet and print it. However, Greg was trying to upload a file for work on his laptop. So I was trying to wait until it was finished then I could transfer the internet wire over to my PC and finish my work. UGH! I waited and waited and waited! The file NEVER uploaded. I finally got onto his laptop and was able to get what I needed. Then I had to figure out how to set up the printer onto his computer. That wasn't too hard. But I was stressing about it.

I finally went to bed and had to get up early for school. Everything went well. Well except the craft that I chose to do in class was taking much too long, so I had to finish them up during lunch time. I really like what I chose to make. I'll have to take a picture and put it on here when I get back in town.

The kids had a small Christmas party after lunch where they decorated gingerbread cookies.

Then after school I had a very short window of time where I had to pick up a luggage carrier from a friend who was 45 minutes away from school. So I ran there, got the carrier, went home, made PB&J sandwiches for the program in the evening, put in a load of laundry, got the kids ballet outfits on and ran out the door back to school late for rehearsal.

The program was really sweet!

Here is Ashley with her best friend Abby.









This is Aussie and one of his best friend's Reyna.

On the way home Daddy was telling Aussie that Reyna was BEAUTIFUL! And that maybe he might want her for a girlfriend. Ausse got really mad and said, I have promised to marry Kadence, Kadence loves me and I love her. We made a promise to eachother.

There was a Christmas party after the performance and then we hurried home. We got home between 9:30 and 10:00.

Now on EVERY Friday night I am exhausted, unfortunately I've had to give up my scrapbooking nights because I just can't stay awake. But this particular Friday, I was beyond exhausted. And I was supposed to pack for our trip the next morning.

I simply could not do it! I had to go to bed! When the alarm went off at 4:30AM, I stumbled across the room to turn it off and then just went back to bed.

Therefore...we had a late start on our 14 hour drive to Florida. We got there about 1AM. Then we had to get up and go to church.

The church was much hotter than I am used to, so I had to go to the lobby and walk around a bit to stay awake.

Then right after church we had the party we came for! Greg's dad turned 70! So we had a special birthday party for him. All of his kids were able to make it here. And I will save that story for another post.

Unsuccessful!

Today was NOT my day!

I went to Walmart at 4:30 this morning. It was PACKED full of people. I don’t mind that typically on Black Friday. However, I was quite stressed that they had everything on sale in odd places in the store. The cricut was in electronics, tvs were in crafts and toys, the princess Barbie was in automotive, the jackets were spread all over the store, etc. I went back and forth and found practically everything I wanted but not everything. I wanted to get to JoAnn’s at 6:00, but I waited in line for over 1 ½ hours!!! Right when I got up to the checkout, one of the cashiers had a problem. But she could not take care of it, she had to call my cashier to come help. So I waited and waited while other people just kept passing me at the other checkout line. OK finally my turn! She rings me up and my credit card is denied. It’s the end of the month and I have no money in the bank. I have absolutely no other way to get this stuff! So I have to leave it there and walk out. Later, I vaguely remembered replacing my Sam’s card. It was taking so long for them to get the card to me that I said, “don’t sign me up for the credit card, we don’t use credit cards anyway”. Hmmm…no wonder it was denied, I never re-set it up.

So I headed out of there empty handed trying so hard not to cry, but unsuccessful and went to JoAnn’s. Luckily they still had the $35 Christmas tree I wanted. I had a little bit of cash on me, so I bought the tree and some fabric.

Then I went with my friend to Target. One of the sales clerks was trying to get something off a top shelf for someone else. Well it fell! ON ME! A heavy box came tumbling down on my head and then the corner of the box hit my arm. I was quite shocked! It made me dizzy. This happened before noon and it still hurts.

Then I came home and had to vacuum the entire house because of the little flea problem we had. As I was vacuuming, the vacuum got stuck on my bedspread. I quickly turned it off, but somehow I tripped and fell. I twisted and caught myself, but now my hip hurts.

So I think I just need to go to bed!

The Beverly Hills Stray

Well....I couldn't resist! Today I went to a friend's house and actually crafted. I made some Christmas tags and started my December daily. I have not had that much fun in a long long time. I miss getting together with my girlfriends!

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On my way out, as I was loading my car, a little visitor decided to jump in my car. Apparently she has done this on many occasions. Last night she had jumped in another friend's car and my friend didn't know it until she came out to go home. She must have stayed in there for 7 hours.

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Anyway this very sweet, affectionate kitty likes to get in places where it is warm. She tries to get in peoples houses, etc. My friend told me that she is a very loved stray. They had a stray cat in their neighborhood who was pregnant. Their neighbor cared for the stray while she was pregnant and while it gave birth. 2 kittens were given away, 1 kitten may have been stolen and this kitten was still around. She is about 6 months old. All the neighborhood children love her. One girl dressed her up in baby clothes and carried her around. However, no one was willing to put her inside the house and it is starting to get cold.

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So I brought Tika (pronounced Tee-cah) formally named Princess home with me on a trial basis. (Yes she does look a lot like Kiki, but much skinnier!) My friend will ask her neighbor tomorrow just to make sure it was ok that I brought her home. Anyway, Tika stayed in the back of the car for the first half of the ride home and then she ventured up to the front seat. She climbed up on my chest and just cuddled me the rest of the way home.

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When I got home I noticed that my dinner, I had in the front seat was missing it's chicken. She ate the entire piece of chicken! So that is what she was doing the first half of the trip in the back seat. When I told my friend about this, she told me she fed it a bunch of chicken this morning and some milk. LOL! That is how I have come to call her the Beverly Hills Stray. I hope she can come to love L.A. (lower Antioch) where she will be loved but fed CAT FOOD!

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I worried about Kiki being mean to her. We had heard before, when we were thinking about getting another cat, that we should keep them separated for several days. Let one stay in the bathroom, while the other roams the house and they can sniff and talk to each other through the door. Then trade off. Well Kiki was a little nervous, her eyes were HUGE, she wagged her tail a bit and just stared at Tika. Tika stared at Kiki and this sweet little gentle kitty growled at my Kiki. Uh oh!

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I put Tika in the bathroom. We got a stuffed animal dog bed and put it in there for her. She immediately cuddled up in it and purred!

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I think she really likes it here already. I think she is just precious and I really hope it works out. And I hope Kiki and Tika will love each other and get along well.

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I tried to love on Kiki after putting Tika away and Kiki was scared and scratched the living daylights out of me! She is warming back up to me, but I don't think she liked me cuddling with another cat!

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We are not telling the kids that we are keeping her yet! There are too many possibilities that she might have to go back.

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So tomorrow morning the kids will find out that we have a visitor.

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We are telling them we are babysitting Tika for awhile until we know if we can keep her.

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Here are a few cute pictures from earlier on in the day.

Alrighty, I must go to bed. Good night. Sweet dreams! Pray for us!

My Birthday

November 11- My birthday. My Mom was coming into town so I spent the day cleaning the house. Ashley kept saying over and over, "But it's your birthday you shouldn't have to clean the house- let Daddy do it." Daddy has been extremely busy himself. It was a nice thought though- but I had to do it. I cleaned up until the very minute my Mom showed up at the door. "Everything has a place- and I was trying very hard to get everything in its place."



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I turned 39. I suppose this is where I stop counting. I really would like to have one more baby, but Greg says this is the last year. He tried to make it the last year for at least the last 2 years. All along Greg said he wanted 3 children, I wanted at least 4. But since God likes him best (wink) I think he is going to get his way.





Ashley told Greg to pick up a cake for me on his way home from work. She wanted to make sure I knew it was HER idea. He came home and took her out to help pick out the cake.

They got a Dairy Queen cake- My favorite! Ashley helped pick it out. She picked chocolate because she knew I liked it. She does not like chocolate herself. I thought that was very sweet of her!
So she ate Skittles instead of cake.
I think there are a couple cherries missing on my cake. Hmmmm!

Aussie said we needed to have 39 candles on the cake. Mom said we might burn down the house. HA! I looked all over the house and couldn't find any candles.
So the boys pretended to be flames. They sang to me and I blew them out.

Greg served the yummilicious cake.

And we ate the cake. Some more civilized than others.

"OH Aussie- Did you finally realize you have a spoon?"

Tuesday, November 10

It was simply a gorgeous day November 10th. Dana wanted to get pictures of her boys and so we met them at a nearby park. We got there a little bit earlier so my kids took off doing their own things. It was so warm outside, we all could have been wearing shorts. I had already put away their short sleeve shirts and shorts for the winter. I rolled up their pants to let them "put their feet in the water."
But I think Aussie thought it meant time to go swimming.

It was hard to get them out once they got in. They miss swimming at the Y so much! Unfortunately, the outdoor pools are closed for the winter.

I brought a rake and Ashley started raking leaves...

to obviously jump in them.

When our friends got there, they had a good time jumping in the leaves and running all over the park. Unfortunately, my battery died and I didn't get anymore pictures. I'm hoping Dana got some of my kids in the leaves and under this beautiful tree that was there.

But I'll leave you with this sweet picture. It's amazing when I can get them all to smile!

Not quite well

Ashley insisted that she was feeling OK on Friday the 6th. She had been fever free for at least 24 hours. She REALLY wanted to go to co-op. So I took her. I wasn't planning on going myself because I didn't feel good. I had 2 people who volunteered to take over my class. But since I was feeling a little better, and with a little begging from my daughter I went. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have gone.



Ashley had a girl scout meeting. She knew if she was sick, she wouldn't be able to go. So I suppose she pretended to be well.



It was a beautiful day and Mason played in the leaves with some other boys.

Aussie played on the monkey bars, but when Kadence got there he hung out with her. The girl scouts were making plates for presents- they were supposed to be for their parents. The siblings were allowed to make a plate too. I really wanted Aussie to make a plate with Catlink on it. So I got him to draw that. Mason drew a Pokemon character and Ashley to drew Tigerlily. I think Kadence was a bit upset that he didn't make a plate for her. Sorry girlie! If I'm going to pay $7 for each plate- it's going to his Mama!

Ashley got really sick and we had to hurry home. She fell asleep at 6:00 and slept thru the night.

Sunday we went shopping! Oh how I love to shop! Saturday we bought the kids new shoes. They needed them. Aussie jumped up 2 1/2 sizes! The only thing he could wear were Crocs.

But Sunday we were on a mission to find Greg an interview outfit.

Check out Mr. GQ
Well we think he's handsome!

And I would hire him.

But before he got his groove on as Mr. GQ, he got his groovy on.

And now check out this cool dude!


He is not only cool but he is one happy chap!

Well Hmmmm...I thought I was actually going to go to bed early tonight. I guess that didn't happen. Goodnight!