we made it

and boy do I have SO much to blog about. but I'll be brief since I have LOADS of pictures to share and still a million gadgets to figure out. in the past week, I've taken close to 400. yes, I'm crazy. I'll try to break those down.

Hunter finished up his first basketball season last Thursday. He did love it, but is ready to move on to t-ball.

Last Sunday we took our annual trip to the Zilker Trail of Lights. It was freezing and I think everyone in Austin had the same idea. I've never seen so many people there. It took us about an hour and a half to walk through, that's how packed it was. But, the boys loved it. Kreg and I each carried one of the kids on our shoulders so they could see everything.






Christmas Eve was spent baking and packing up a storm. The boys made sugar cookies for Santa and spread their Reindeer Food in the front yard. We spent the evening at my parents house enjoying a shrimp boil. The boys spent all night on the computer tracking Santa. Then they both crashed hard during midnight mass.




Jayden awoke 1st Christmas morning and we heard him head to the living room. He stopped in the entry way to play with his presents from the night before. He eventually came into our room and we asked him if Santa came. He replied, "No." We asked if he saw any presents under the tree and he replied, "no." About that time we heard Hunter barrelling down his bed and he sped into the living room. The rest is history.




While the boys played with all their toys, I finished packing so that we could head up to Aunt Kara's for Christmas day. After about 5 pit stops, we finally made it to Midlothian, thanks to TomTom. I thought it was kinda silly to have a GPS, but it sure was nice knowing when and where the next gas station was. Or how far away the next town was. Or where Target was when we wanted one on the way home.

The boys were so very excited to get to spend the night with all their cousins at Aunt Kara's house. And the fact that Dave had a wii to boot was just awesome for them. Though I didn't ever think we would get them to bed.

Kara outdid herself with a wonderful Christmas meal and homemade placemats and pillows for the boys. And I think this was one of the nicest Christmas' we'd had. I surely hope we didn't overstay our welcome ;)

On Wednesday, we headed up to the Gaylord Texan for an incredible Ice Show. Seriously, I've never seen anything like it. Granted the place was 9 degrees, so it was butt @ss cold, but it was spectacular.

GUYS, THIS IS ALL ICE:









THE ICE SLIDES:




I must admit I was skeptical of the wii, and the fun it promised, and as soon as we got home on Thursday, Justin begged me to play a game of bowling with him. I must admit, it was fun. It makes me look foward to wii fit.

Having this much time off is fun but I think going back to work is going to be extremely hard. Yesterday, we all slept in until 11 and today it was 9 before anyone climbed out of bed. Kreg heads back to work on the 2nd and the boys and I back on the 3rd. We've got to get back into some sort of routine.

Oh.....and I was pleasantly surprised to return home to seeing that my candles were featured in the Austin American Statesman Shopping Newsletter AND in The 2007 Totally Austin Gift Guide in the December issue of INsite Magazine. Holy WOW! Merry Christmas to me ;)

well........supper beckons as due the piles of crap lying around the house to be cleaned up. and I've got to somehow figure out the software for the iPod and zune. thankfully the basketball goal is up and the kids can play outside. but darn....I really want some music on my iPod.

I will post more pictures later.

Twas' 5 days before Christmas........

and I've been contemplating turning on the air conditioner. It's about 75 degrees out and the kids are playing outside in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops. If it wasn't for the Christmas cd's and all the yummy food, being in the holiday spirit would probably be hard.

I've been knitting up a storm! I took a scarf to my MOPS Christmas exchange and to say the least, it was the biggest hit ever. The girls were fighting over it. I sold 7 that day and I've had orders out the rear. Talk about craziness. I can't keep up.

and that paired with a candle shortage isn't the greatest. I've taken over 10 dozen to one store and they could still use more. Everytime I turn around someone is asking for candles..............

it took me approx. 4 hours yesterday to get that darn laptop up. it's crazy how much crap comes preloaded on these things. then there was wireless, anti-virus, profiles, parental controls. I was ready to pull my hair out. Thank goodness I decided to set it up before Christmas and not on Christmas day. Hunter's already instructing me how to play games and download all sorts of stuff.

and finally after 6 years, I've upload the pictures from my digital camcorder. Talk about a blast from the past and how much everyone has changed. Here's just a sample:





and it's hard to believe it's been 6 years since we've been to Dallas. Kenny played and won the State 3A Football championship at Texas Stadium right about 6 years ago. so we are excited about going up to Kara's this Christmas. The boys are especially excited. To them it's another vacation!

Hunter had his Baby Jesus Birthday party at school today and I learned he's got a very, very special friend of his own. I've known about her. I could tell at football games when he would blush around her and I made a big deal about her, which I shouldn't have done. Because now if we see her out and about, he gets mad when I mention her. But it turns out at school, they are inseparable. One won't go anywhere or do anything without the other. Her mom and I were trying to get pictures of them today, but they kept acting so silly together. Her mom keeps talking about how she wants to come and watch Hunter play basketball and how she talks about him non-stop. I'm dying over here. Thank goodness they are still in Kindergarten.

We have our last basketball game tonight so I will leave you with a few pictures of my basketball all-star:




Mr & Mrs Claus @ the Old German Christmas


Hunter's Program


Jayden's Program

highlights and lowlights

boy have we been busy!

the kids and I have been working hard this week to make snowman poop, magic reindeer food and grinch toots. you just never know what you will get for Christmas from us ;)

Hunter had his school program Monday night and it was too precious. His classed dressed in pj's and held stuff animals and sang "Away in a Manger." If I could only figure out how to load a video........

Today was Jayden's program and party and, much to my surprise, he did GREAT! He walked into church a little unsure but as soon as he saw me and my mom, he was nothing but smiles and waves.

There is nothing cuter than listening to kids sing and dance this time of year. It melts my heart. Both of the boys school do such a great job.

Hunter is wrapping up his basketball season. Already! He only had 5 games and tomorrow night is his last. Just picture 5 year old playing ball. And we've had some high scoring games. 6-4 was the all time best. But poor little Hunter can't even reach the basket. Thank goodness Popo came and watched and got the boys a "real" basketball goal for Christmas. Hopefully next year he will be more prepared.

I was finally able to score a Wii for the boys and by that, I mean all 3 of them! I don't have any clue about this thing. All I know is that it better be worth want I went through to get it. I can't wait to see Hunter's face Christmas morning. I do hear they are coming out with yoga for the wii........but it will probably end up on the shelf next to the Dance Dance Revolution mat for playstation that we never use to work out with...................

The great part about having to spend all that time at Best Buy was that I was able to score my Gateway Laptop for $300 less than retail! Woo-hoo. But how horrible are we to not own a Dell ? Hey.....if you could get a Dell for $299, I'd be all over that.

Saturday night we took the boys to the Trail of Lights here in La Grange. It was an old timey German Christmas in a house built in the 1800's. Kreg and I really enjoyed hearing the history of the house. The boys got to see Santa, yet again.

if I could get my Christmas miracle of the boys staying well, we are going to try to go to the trail of lights in Austin.

but of course, it's that time of the year for us and both boys have hacking coughs, runny noses and sound completely miserable. I let them sleep in yesterday morning and we went to school late. Boy was Hunter mad. He told me last night, he never wants to do that again. He wants to get up and go to school. I thought it would be better to try and ward off any illness with some extra sleep.

well I have over 300 pictures on my camera to upload and the timer is going off on the oven. I'll post some pictures of our latest fun later.

Dr. Santa

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-twocases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,
MOM

...P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

the craziness of life.......

sit back, grab a snack and don't say you weren't WARNED that this blog will be long and ugly.

when you start your morning off with your electricity going out in the middle of you blowing drying your hair, your whole day just becomes a cluster-f. kids screaming for waffles and pancakes, trying to pee in the dark, things just weren't pretty.

and I feel so petty bitchin' about frivolous things, when there are people who have things so much worse. If you don't keep up with my friend Amy over at Chunkyrhino, please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Her dad had to have a Quadruple Bypass last week and I'm sure any thoughts or prayers on him pulling through would be much appreciated. Love ya Ames!

so most of you probably cringed yourself last week hearing Jay was on steroids and neb treatments. most of you know about the fun of 'roid rage. I've been dealing with it for 5 years now and remember dealing with it growing up with Kenny. it's something I'm accustomed to. but I tell you, there's always something that comes along that blows my mind. it's when Hunter wrote H's all over my walls and furniture. it's when both boys smashed a whole bag of purple grapes onto my floor. it's when the boys cut the blinds apart. oh....the list goes on. and now we get to add when Jayden colored Hunter's new wooden desk completely with a purple crayon. where was I, you ask? making dinner and listening to Hunter read. I had NO idea Jay had a crayon in his possession. and I can't get mad because I know the poor child just didn't know what to do with himself. so all last week became watching Jay like a hawk.

The weekend couldn't get here fast enough. but it went down the drain quick enough. Friday night Justin asked me to swing by my parents house to pick up his dog, "Rocky." No problem. Just as we pulled into town, the smell started lingering. yes, Rocky took the liberty of pooping all on the back floor of my car. poop like he hasn't pooped all day. Justin got left to clean that up.

Saturday morning was a bit of a rush. Hunter had basketball practice at 11:00 and we had to leave home by 12:30 to make it to Yoakum for a wedding. needless to say, we didn't leave until 1:00 and were rushing to get there in time and not be late. and we did make it to the church with about 10 minutes to spare. just as we turned to park, Hunter started throwing up. and not just a little either. I made a mad dash to the church for house keys. thankfully 5 of my aunts live in Yoakum. we rush to Aunt Jane's and spend an hour, cleaning and washing the car and carseat. the good news was that Hunter was completely fine. nothing but a case of being car sick. which reads NO more playing Nintendo or leapsters in the car for a while.

after Rocky and then Hunter, my car smells TERRIFIC!

the wedding reception was nice and lovely, but Kreg and I were beyond exhausted and we headed home early.

mom and I had planned to do some shopping in Austin on Sunday.

we have this German/Czech/Catholic tradition of St. Nick visiting on the night of the 5th and fills your stocking. well Hunter needs new pj's for his school program and this was the perfect stocking gift. except for the fact that I was pretty much out of luck finding something in La Grange. so I had to make it to Austin and I really wanted to jump start some shopping already.

after much debate, Kreg and I did decide to get Hunter a Wii. okay......so Kreg pulled the fact that he wanted one too. anywho, I was out to nab one at Best Buy. which sounds like a good plan, right? so I march into Best Buy and tell the friendly little sales associate, I needed a Wii please. and the kid laughed at me. I just looked at him. He asked if I was serious. Yeah, I have no better way to spend my Sunday. He proceeded to tell me that they didn't have any so I asked when they would be getting more. He said they received 83 this morning and they were already all gone before the store opened. I asked did all the employees buy one or what. He said, No, people started lining up at 11:30 the night before to be able to get one. There were more than 83 people in line this morning. WHAT THE HELL? I'm not doing that crap again. just when I thought I had everything figured out...............................

and if people insist on buying you something for Christmas, don't you think they should at least bother to ask you what you would like. I know that will take the fun out of things but neither Kreg nor I have too many wants and definitely not any needs but we are both tired of getting stuff from people that don't even bother to try and get you something that could be of use. and I've tried telling people to NOT get my anything and then they end up getting offended. why can't people be respectable of your wishes? there's nothing worse than someone telling you they've already put their time, efforts, thoughts into other gifts and they just don't want to take the time to deal with even bothering to ask you if there's something they could get you that would mean something or help out. they want to give you their leftovers and want you to feel pitty for them because they feel they've over exhausted themselves buying a bunch of other gifts. then please listen when I say to not do anything for me. be respectable of my wishes.

I know......I'm off on a rampage, but I'm sick to death of the emphasis put on presents/gifts this time of the year and the way it's dealt with. Kreg and I've taken a cold hard look at what we want to change about this holiday for us and our kids. We aren't Grinches or Scrooges. We just want to reject what we consider to be the wastefulness and stress of the season. And it's really hard when people won't consider our feeling on the subject and just think about themselves.........

I'd better get off my soapbox.

Here's a few pictures from the weekend:

it's impossible to get a good picture with this many of us (and 1/2 of us were missing):

the infmaous Aunts and Uncles (back row) and my great aunts and uncles

debating.

after our thanksgiving debacle of getting to Best Buy @ 2am and walking away with nothing, made Kreg and I really try to focus on what we wanted to get the kids this Christmas. Hunter has asked every Santa that he has seen for a Wii. He tells everyone he's getting a Wii. Which leaves the decision to Kreg and I on what to do. At times I can't fathom getting a 5 year old a $300 or more gift. But then Kreg weighs in with that he wants it also. So, it could be our family gift.

This weekend as I pondered and picked up the paper to look at the ads, I was taken back by the Season of Caring that was in the Austin American Statesman. It actually brought tears to my eyes. While I'm having the hardest time debating a $300 purchase, there are families out there that are just wishing for blankets, food, any toys at all, things to make their daily lives better. And as I continued reading their stories, that much more quilt swept over me. Christmas isn't always easy for everyone. And I know I've said it more than once, but I don't want the focus of Christmas to be presents for my children. I've been reading and re-reading all the stories and I've been putting together a list of things that we have and can donate to these people. I want to teach my kids to give to the less fortunate this time of the year. I want them to experience the joy on people's faces as they receive a gift from the heart. To me, there is no better gift then making someone else happy.

I know I'm all weepy but it's just so sad to read the stories. It's so sad that most people read the stories and move on with their lives. But just think about the impact on these people's lives if you, just one person, took the time and effort to give them one thing, either large or small. Think of the joy you could bring to their lives. To a child's life.

There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone's life.

Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else's life forever.

And that's how I've decided to live out this holiday season. To make as many differences as I can.



wiping my tears.......

Oh the Best Buy debacle.......after spending Thanksgiving day stuffing ourselves mad and getting to watch our boys shoot their first guns, we decided to be nuts. Best Buy was having several good deals on several laptops. $229 for a laptop + an all-in-one printer. HOLY SMOKES! We knew the lines were going to be bad so we made the decision to leave La Grange around midnight and head up to Austin. Not only was it 40 degrees outside, but it was raining. Not a good combo. Thankfully by time we made it to Austin, the rain stopped but it was still butt a$$ cold. At about 2 am, we make our way to stand in line outside of Best Buy. They were to start handing out wrist bands for the items at 3. Well, 3 turned to 3:30 and 3:30 turned into 3:45 and they finally started. By then, most of our limbs were numb and we were cursing making it until 5am when the store opened. We figured we'd grab our wristbands and head for breakfast and be back when the store opened. Sounds like a GREAT plan except that they only had 20 of the computer we were after and there were about 125 people in line in front of us. Okay. We will take either of the 2 other laptop doorbusters or the desktop doorbuster. Well, it turns out the store only had 8 of the other laptop and 20 of the desktop. And they announced that at 4:30. Now, not only were most of our limbs numb, but we were pissed. We had just wasted a perfectly good night to get some great sleep to wait outside in the freezing cold to walk away empty handed. Best Buy is on our $hit list this Christmas. We turned around and came home and slept until noon. At least at work today I wasn't the only one with a crazy Black Friday story ;)

The boys got our tree decorated and it's just as beautiful as ever.


I had to take Jayden to the doctor today. $90+ later, we are dealing with an upper-repository infection that had landed Jay on steroids. Oh.....'roid-rage. Hopefully the little bugger starts feeling better soon.

Here's a few pictures of our latest adventures:






I know this one is blurry, but it's the only one I got of Rocky and Jezabel playing. Jezzie is rocking her sweater from the infamous Target Dollar Spot!



and no......Rocky isn't ours. He's Uncle Justin's rottweiler. A gift from Kylie for Christmas.

vaca.....WHAT

so we are thinking......we are on a little vacation for 5 days, let's hope the boys sleep in so we can. but atlas, our dreams were crushed as Jayden hopped into our room at 7:15 this morning, wheezing up a storm, completely convinced he didn't need a breathing treatment but sent Kreg and I scrambling into a game of who can find the nebulizer parts first.

oh well, we did have plans to go to Houston today, so I guess being up early is good.

you would think that with 2 Nintendo DS' and 2 Leapsters, we'd have a quiet trip to Houston. I guess one can hope.

they had to fight over games and everything else imaginable.

we got the candle supplies and then headed over to the Galleria to wow the boys with the Christmas tree and ice skating rink.

of course, they awed at the tree, begged to go ice skating in shorts, rocked the Apple store, threw money into the water fountain, and wished for BIG presents with Santa. All in all, it was fun. And the great way to start our 5 day vacation.







granted, Jayden was a maniac running up and down the escalators in Nieman Marcus and we had to beg the kids not to touch a darn thing. and as I went to show Kreg this $800 dress, Jayden yelled, "DON'T TOUCH THAT!" nice to see things don't actually go in one ear and out the other.

but as we settled down to lunch at Gringo's, and Jayden started running amuck in the restaurant, we finally realized that it was the Albuterol nebs we gave him this morning that was making him bounce. thank god the booth seats where high, but I think the whole restaurant heard every word out of Jay's mouth. I think out waitress was taken back by a 3-year old being so demanding.

on the way home we found a christmas cd and tried to serenade the boys with Santa Claus is Coming to Town, but it didn't faze them a bit.

but we are now home, raking about 15 bags of leaves and taking down our fall decorations. Jayden is still bouncing...........I think there has to be a point when he crashes. let's pray it's soon.
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except that I hear Jay chasing Hunter with a stick outside and Hunter's screaming bloody murder and Kreg's chasing both with the leaf blower............and it's just dropped 10 degrees.........guess I'd better go.

ho hum.

so we haven't been having as much fun as amy, but I guess that's what happens when mom goes back to work.

or she gets this wild itch to bake....and bake and bake some more. it doesn't help that we have pecans coming out of our rears. and I've been sending boxes and boxes to friends to help lesson our piles. but in the past week I've made Pecan Pie Bars, Pecan Tassies, Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies, Pecan Cheesecake Pie, Pumpkin Bread, Eggnog Bread....

the lovely recipients of most of these wonderful homemade items have been my work and the boys teachers. oh......and Popo.

and for Thanksgiving I'm making a German Chocolate Pecan Pie. Thank goodness most of this stuff I don't eat ;)

in other news........

we received around 7 inches of rain Saturday night/Sunday morning.

and it's raining now again.

Jayden has been running fever all afternoon. And has had a horrible cough. Always in time for the holiday's. In which everyone feels compelled into trying to guilt us into doing what they want. Hello??? can Kreg and I not make the decision about what WE want to do?

moving on........

Hunter is reading like a champ at school and I couldn't be prouder. he's on to his 3rd reading folder and has been the 1st one to complete the other 2 folders. He is trying so hard and doing such a great job. It's so precious to see him sit down and read to my dad. Of course, as soon as he finishes the 1st page, my dad starts at him with questions. My mom and I told him to stop but he made a valid point. Hunter just can't read, he has to understand what he's reading. Go Popo!

I took the boys up to the hospital to see Santa this weekend at the craft fair. My normally rambunctious boys turned completely smitten upon sitting on Santa's lap. It was quite shocking.



Of course, I've saved the best snapshot for the Christmas card coming to your mailbox soon.

Today starts a 5 day holiday for the whole family. Pending everyone feeling well, we are looking forward to decorating for Christmas on Friday.

And to all the yummy food on Thanksgiving because..............Thanksgiving is all about food! Before you say that I'm being too cynical about the holiday, think about the origins of this holiday - it was a feast. Yes - Thanksgiving is a feast, and food is an integral part of that feast.

the good, the bad and the what do I do now?

so after feeling like I was shot in the stomach yesterday morning, I had to take off to Austin. the lovely thing about being in La Grange and driving a Toyota is.......there's no Toyota dealership. And since, for some reason, we bought an extended warranty, we hoped....no prayed....that this lovely malfunction with the drivers seat would be covered.

so the good news was that the 1100 dollars of work would be covered under the warranty but the bad news was that my car wouldn't be ready until Wednesday. thankfully Kreg was able to get a rental.

since I was in Austin, Justin was able to pick up Hunter and take him to my dad who was off due to Veteran's Day. Hunter and Popo had a really good time together. And the good news is that Popo taught him how to ride his bike! Woo-Hoo! FINALLY!

But the bad news is my other son.........and what to do with him, I'm not sure. so...over a month ago we had the whole episode of me losing my keys at my parents house. till this day, we've never found them and can't explain what happened. we've all been at a loss. then my dad goes to start his tractor yesterday and his key is gone. we all remember that Jayden was the last one on the tractor playing around. I also cleaned his room last week and found a secret stash of keys that were missing off of our "key hook." the kid has been obsessed with keys in the past couple of months. so dad wants me to talk to Jay about where the tractor key is. we pretty much now figure that he's got a secret stash at my parents house and for the life of all of us, we can't figure out where it is. so I spend the better part of last night trying to talk to Jay.........and I can't get anything out of him. I've tried explaining how bad everyone needs their keys back. I tell him we aren't going to be mad. I try to bribe him with a reward. And I just sit and talk to him about the keys. Let's face it folks, I'm up against a brick wall here and I'm at a huge loss. ADVICE? HELP? ANYONE?

After the pain I endured yesterday morning, and not wanting to feel like I've been shot again, my doc. and I have decided to hold off on the laparoscopy this Friday. I just hope that this pain goes away by then.

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week. Kreg and I have been trying to put some serious thought into Christmas. We really want to consider going away again. I know lots of people ridicule us for that, but I think we both really enjoyed being away from Christmas and actually being able to enjoy Christmas. That totally makes no sense huh? The focus of Christmas these days seems to be nothing but presents, everyone having to out do the next person, who got what and so on. And that's SO NOT what I learned Christmas was about and what I really don't want my kids thinking Christmas is. Yes, last Christmas had it's ups and downs but what we remember the most about it, is that it was all about the kids and family. Christmas was about being away, and spending time with each other. We made the gift giving all about the kids and santa. On Christmas Eve, there was no "Let's open presents. PRESENTS, PRESENTS, PRESENTS." It was all about going to church as a family and coming home to spend time as a family playing monopoly all night long. We laughed and fought and cheated but enjoyed ourselves. Christmas morning was all about seeing the joy on the kids faces of Santa coming. Then the guys settled into the football game and the girls spent time preparing the Christmas meal. The boys got to enjoy time playing with their new toys. We all enjoyed time outside feeding the deer and then playing in the snow and snow tubing. It was nice and relaxing.....which is what Christmas should be. It's how I want my kids to treat Christmas. My memories of Christmas as a child were spending Christmas Eve at Meme's house. All 20 of us running around outside playing Ghost in the Graveyard and Hide & Seek. It would take forever to actually round all of us up for Santa. And once they did, we all sat around the Charlie Brown Christmas tree filled with ornaments with our names on them and sang Christmas carols. Santa would bring us a little gift and we each got a gift from Meme. The whole present fiasco was over in 2 minutes and we were all out the door again to play. Christmas was about ALL of us being together and having fun. The boys are growing up so fast. Memories are being made as we speak. I want the kids to think of Christmas as a celebration of being together and having fun....laughing, playing games, being outdoors, eating yummy food......not a celebration of presents.

so......I will get off my soapbox now........I need a pain killer.

nothin' but good ole' fashion trouble

what else could those boys spell? and they are all cousins. but they are all so cute together and really look forward to seeing each other. it's crazy that my meme had 7 girls and 2 boys. out of the grandchildren, there were 14 boys and 6 girls. out of the great-grandchildren, thus far, there are 7 boys and 3 girls and another boy on the way.

in other trouble, Kreg went to detail my car yesterday and moved the drivers seat up to clean under it. and then it decided not to move back. so it is pushed completely forward and I had to drive it to and from Yoakum yesterday......like a little old lady.....right on top of the wheel. I pray that one of the dealerships here can fix it and it's covered under the extended warranty we had purchased.