Merry Christmas!!

Well, a lot has been going on over the last few weeks. Chris and I finished up our Christmas shopping early and have just enjoyed this season to its fullest. Elijah had a program at his preschool that was way cute, and of course both kids and most of our family were in the program at church.  (This years program "rocked"!! I enjoyed every minute of it. You could tell the cast, all ages, worked very hard.) Not to mention that our church "blitzed" our community by handing out 100 baskets which included COMPLETE holiday meals and gift cards to Walmart. And let me just say. . . those were no small turkeys.
I love this time of year, but for some strange reason this year has just really stood out above the rest. Its not because we had lots of money to spend on gifts, trust me. It wasn't because we went to the most parties or did the most running around. But I think we have just simply embraced FAMILY this holiday season. Thanksgiving included. This past weekend we went to Branson with our entire family. . . I think we had the best time. Not because we did anything fancy or big, even though we did go to Silver Dollar City and managed to do some shopping, but because we enjoyed each other. We honestly had more fun. . . and yes we all agree. . . playing video games together at the house we were at than anything else we did all weekend. We have a special family. We may not be all "physically" related, but the links that connect us all go far deeper than any natural blood line could. Its called "supernatural genetics" and  I am so thankful for my "family." They are what makes Christmas so special to me.

What a CRAZY fun Turkey Day!

We have had an extremely busy, fun filled week. The kids were out of school and we had lots of plans to enjoy the long weekend. I, of course, had to work Monday thru Wednesday. However, Tuesday night everything began. Lots of turkey and toooo much desserts! We had fun seeing family that we hadn't seen in a long while and playing games on the wii. Of course, our kids thought that was just the best. Then when Thursday hit, round 2 began. We went to Chris's parents for lunch and then he and I went shopping at midnight for "Black Friday" FUN! We rested for a (very) short while and then went to cut wood for makin' a fire!! Lots of work, but lots of fun!! We built our first fire that night, and that was a story in itself!! Just ask my son!! Then Saturday, the 3rd round of turkey dinner and a good ole video scavenger hunt!! Surprisingly enough, NOBODY CHEATED!! Not even my husband!! I am so happy with him. :-)  It's definitely going to be hard to top this one next year!! (A special shout out goes to Mrs. Cortney!!) We enjoyed our Thanksgiving and we hope you did too!!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas. . .

So if you know me well, you know that we always put up our Christmas decorations 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. Not because we are not thankful or do not appreciate the Thanksgiving Holiday (and everything it stands for), but more because of the less stress factor. We go all around on Thanksgiving weekend, so it is just easier for us to decorate when we can. The first few years we were married, we went to what seemed like 50 different places. Now that we have minimized the chaos its not as hectic, but decorating early has just become tradition for our family. So, YES we have our tree up, and YES we have lights up outside too.  Here are a few of the pictures.

                                  Outside!!      Chris did a great job this year!!

                                                 Our Christmas tree!!

We have so many special ornaments on our tree from throughout the years we have been married. These are really sentimental to me because it helps me to remember the things that our kids were into or what their personalities were like during each year they were added to our tree. This year I am wanting to add a soccer girl for Shaylin (because it was her first year to play) and Batman or some other hero ornament for Elijah. . . he likes playing "Super Heros"!!  So if anyone sees a cute one please let me know where you found it!!
We usually go to Silver Dollar City at Christmas time and that is where I pick up a lot of our personalized ornaments!! But I'm thinking the Batman one may be a little bit of a challenge!! Who knows, maybe I will get lucky and it will be a piece of cake!!  Here are a few of my favorites so far!!

                                       Family ornament for 2008.

                         This was one of the very first. I think from 2001.

                               Shaylin was really into dressing up this year!!

              Elijah used to be into Tractors MAJOR!! They grow up way to fast!

Well, the next few weeks will be busy for us as well as everyone else I'm sure. I will do my best to post fun events that the holidays bring for our family. But until then. . .  We wish EVERYONE a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Harvest Nite 2010

Our church hosted Family Harvest Night, Saturday evening. It was a lot of fun. There was a bounce around, a wall climb, a box maze (my personal favorite), a hay ride, creative "Trunk or Treating, and hot dogs!!  I think our family came home with more candy that we should eat in a year. WOW. . . now that's a lot of sugar! We all had a good time and we are looking forward to next year!!


Here are a few pics. . .

 

                                         Shaylin the Purpleicious Fairy!!

                                   Tiffany and Teja as Bat Girl and Robin 

                                             Ethan a.k.a.  Super Why!!!

 

Laden and Elijah as a Ninja Turtle and Batman

I think the only picture missing is Alex. . . and it was just too stinkin' hot for his Monkey suit!

Super Heroes

Who knew being a super hero's mom could be so tough?
This year for Halloween Elijah wanted to be "Batman." Well, not just any Batman either. . . the blue n gray one. That would have been great if we had been able to find a good blue gray batman costume for less than $40 + shipping. (You all know how it goes.) So Chris and I have this brilliant idea that we would just make his costume for him. HA ha ha ha HA hahahahahah Ha Ha haha. Ha HA HAhaha HA! WHAT WERE WE THINKING!! 


                       Elijah with his friend Cash (a.k.a. Spiderman)

We have a few special touches that are left to do, but my little boy felt as good as gold today!! I am so thankful that he is not picky. . .   He makes a good little Super Hero, don't you think?

 

I love being an Aunt!!!

Last night I got to keep Alex for the first time, while his mommy and daddy went out to dinner. Ethan came too, but he is a familiar visitor. Everyone had fun. . . and it was fun to see Eli and Ethan playing and Shaylin actually being the "Mother Hen" I always new she would be. She loves to be a big helper, and I'm not complaining. (I actually took a lot more pictures, but I guess the room was too dark and the others turned out blurry!)

All in all it was a good night. Both boys were awesome and Shaylin and Elijah loved the company. Well, we all did!!  Hopefully Aunt Dana will have many more opportunities like that in the future!!!

Happy Birthday to my Princess!!

It's hard to believe that my little girl is 7 today. Actually she's not so little anymore. She has come a long way from the baby that I came home with a few years ago. It seems like only yesterday, and at the same time it feels like it has been forever. I love her more than she will ever know and I am so thankful for the beautiful joy she has turned out to be.      Happy Birthday Shaylin Grace. I love you!!

Birthday Wishes!!

A  few months ago Shaylin asked for a "friend day" for her birthday.Yesterday we took Shaylin and Chara, which is one of Shay's best friends, to the Jones Center to fill her birthday wish. We ice skated for one of the sessions and we went swimming for the evening session. We had birthday snacks and played at the J.C. Community park in between the two. It was a very full day. Here are a few of the pics we took.

 

 

 

Momma helping Elijah learn to ice-skate!!

 

                     Our friend Whitney runs the Ice Rink at the Jones Center.
                   It wasn't busy, so she got to play around with the kids on the ice.

                                                   Shay and Chara

                                                   Thanks Whitney!! 

                                          Playing on the playground!!

 While we were at the park playing, we had birthday snacks and Shaylin opened her gift from Chara. She got the book Purplelicious. She has been wanting all of the Pinkalicious books, so she was excited. Guess what she did during the break??? That's right, she read to us all!!!

 

All in all , today was a VERY GOOD day!!

Unwanted Conversation

So we were in the van this afternoon on the way to get Shay from school. Unfortunately, conversation went a little like this:

Mom:    Elijah Daniel, DO NOT hit _______ again, or you will get a spankin'!

Elijah:    Ok mom, I will not do it again. :-(

(a few minutes later)   *** WHOP***

Mom:    Elijah, why did you hit ______ again after I just told you not too?
Elijah:    I don't know, I guess I wanted a spankin'. :-(
Mom:    Did you not believe that I was serious when I told you I would give you one
             if you hit _______ again?
Elijah, mumbling this time:    Yes. . .
Mom:    Ok, when we get home, I AM going to give you a spankin'.
Elijah:    WHY MOM?  Because I disobeyed?
Mom:    Yes, that is exactly why.

(pulling into the driveway)

Elijah:   Mom?
Mom:   Yes son.
Elijah:   Can you just give me my spankin' NOW before we get into the house?
Mom:   Yes??? Why is that???
Elijah:   Because I know its comin' and I just want to get it over with. . . .

Blessed

Yesterday we were blessed with a new oven!!!  PRAISE THE LORD!!! 
For those of you who have ever been to my house, you probably noticed that the old oven needed a bit of help. Actually I think it was the original oven that was in the house when it was built. I won't say it was very old, but close to as old as I am. . . .and it has worked fine for the most part. (Considering that you could only cook on preheat, and only 2 of the 4 top burners actually worked.) However in the last few weeks, we have had problems baking with it. I have honestly tried to avoid baking at all measures trying to grill and use the stove top more. Because when I actually did try to bake in the oven, it just burnt the top of everything. . . no matter what the temp setting. But God is good and our need for a new oven was met. . . and what an awesome surprise!!
But the even bigger blessing was knowing God supplied for our need. Yes, He used some AWESOME people to get the job done. . . and I believe they know exactly how thankful and grateful we are to them!! And I am praying and believing that they are blessed even more for being such a huge blessing to others. (Not just us, but many more) But none the less, I am giving God all the credit!! He has been showing me to trust him for our families needs for a while now. ALL THE GLORY BE TO HIM!!

1st Soccer Game

Shaylin has been asking since last fall to play soccer, but Chris and I agreed that she needed to wait until 1st grade to start any extra activities. (After all, Kindergarten gave her a run for her money. We are talking about a kid who never took naps. . . until she started school.)
So this year we gave in after about a month of insisting "We said she could in first grade." The deal was. . . you can play, but no matter what, you have to finish the season. Her team has been practicing on Tuesday and Thursday nights for the past few weeks. Today was the "Big Day"!! The true test as to if she was going to like this sport or not. . .  Her very first game and SHE LOVED IT!! She got in the van after the game was over and could not stop talking about it. I think she was a bit excited. That makes me happy. I am glad that she is doing something she is enjoying. . .  can you imagine what life would have been like if it had been the opposite?

 Her team colors as you can see are neon green and black. . . I'm not sure if its official, but they are calling themselves "The Crushers" and that is exactly what they did this morning. They crushed the other team, winning with a final score of 8 - 3. It's fun to win, and I'm glad they did, but I am hoping that she still likes it as much if the end result isn't so favorable next time!! That is one thing that we are trying really hard to teach our kids right now. . . "Nobody Wins All The Time". Not in sports, not in family game nite, not ever. A hard concept for them to understand, but one that has to be learned.

 I have to admit though, it was quite comical. . . and I started my Saturday morning off with a smile. They are so funny. . . but then I guess all little league sports are. She has games and practices for the next 5 weeks, ending the season by the last weekend of October. Until then. . . I guess I am officially a "Soccer Mom" and I am loving every minute of it!!!


       

I have PROOF!!!

                                             
                                   At any given time, on any given day,

                                        you can come to my house 

               and the inside looks like a tornado/ hurricane has just come through. 
                              (Thanks to our very own Ike and Katrina)

 

                                             So I am writing this post 

                                            for everyone who thinks 
 

                                         I do not tell the whole truth

                                                     when I say 

                       "I promise, my house was clean!!!" 

Star Wars Buddies

Today we had a friend come over after school and play. Jackson has been part of our family for almost 5 years now. He started kindergarten in August and we just haven't seen him enough lately. . . . or at least that is what my kids say. Shaylin and Elijah both agree that Jackson is one of the worlds "greatest friends". I am guessing that's because he plays anything and everything with either one. All three get along very well. . . TOGETHER.

This afternoon I have 2 Jedi heroes and a Princess "Shaya" that needs to be rescued. They are having so much fun and I am enjoying just seeing their imaginations run wild.

Happy Birthday Ethan!!

Today we went to my nephew's birthday party. Yep, that's right. . . Ethan Kyler turned 4 today.
He celebrated at the MtBurg city park because the theme was Dinosaurs. At the park they have a couple of concrete dinos that the kids can crawl in and on. VERY FUN!! All the kids had a great time.

I must say it was stinkin' hot though. But, all in all, I think he had a good morning!!! Happy Big 4 Buddy!!!!

Here we go. . . .

So I have been wanting to try this whole blog thing for a while now. As you can see, I am just now getting brave enough to give it a go. I am hoping, through this blog, that I am able to document and share our family's experiences with our friends and family. I guess we'll just see. Here we go. . . .