Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve we went to church with my family, Matt and Millie. Afterward we went to eat at the Olive Garden and then home to prepare for Santa. The kids got into their pajamas and then wanted to look for Santa on the computer. We tracked Santa on the NORAD and then Santa called Allyson to tell her that he is on his way! Allyson was so concerned that Santa was going to skip her house that she didn't even want to take the time to put out milk and cookies and rushed to bed. She even went to sleep without her lamp because she didn't want Santa to think she was still awake.


Santa's milk and cookies


Brian "supervising" Santa putting out the presents


Santa has arrived

The kids are all snug in their beds with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. :)

Christmas List Part 2

This past week we went and blew Christmas ornaments at Rynoglass. This is now our second year to do this and a great new family tradition.


William's ornament in a mixture of colors


Allyson's ornament in her favorite color pink.


Allyson aka Hannah Montana having Christmas with Matt & Millie


Donating books to the pediatric unit at Darnell Hospital on Fort Hood


Donating toys to the pediatric hematology/oncology unit at Scott and White


Allyson making her chocolate cookies for Santa with little brother supervising


Allyson putting the finishing touches on her letter to Santa

Christmas Checklist Part 1

So I know I haven't posted much lately but things have just been really crazy. I have a hard enough time keeping up with the usual routine of chasing around two kids but the last few weeks have been just plain crazy. It hard enough to find all the time to decorate, shop, attend parties, send out cards, bake (okay you know that didn't happen other than making Santa's cookies but I threw that in for good measure), teaching the kids the true meaning of Christmas (you know Jesus and not Santa), and working over a hundred hours in two weeks. I didn't finish my entire checklist because sleep was at the bottom but I will get to that next week. I wanted to share a few pictures of what we have been up to for Christmas 2008. Here is part 1 of my Christmas checklist.


We started the week after Thanksgiving. The kids first project was to put together Samaritan Purse boxes. For those that may not know, Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God’s love. We sent a gift to a 4 year old girl and 2 year old boy. We shared a letter, pictures and told about celebrating Christmas. We also sent a return envelop in hopes of receiving a letter back from our child.


Next came decorating the house. I have to admit that for me this is more of a chore. I don't enjoy dragging out all of this stuff and really hate clutter. I do this for the kids because I want them to have these memories. I wish I could be more creative and organize like some of my friends and put together a gorgous house for the holiday but who am I kidding. I love this picture because if you click on it you can see all the wonderful picture cards we have received from the people we love and get a closer look at the wondeful stockings my Grandmother has cross stitched for us.


I let the kids decorate the tree this year. That is why 3/4 of the ornaments are only on the bottom 3 feet of the tree. They are happy that they got to decorate and I'm happy that I didn't have to do it all. It's a win-win situation.


Just had to share this picture. Allyson calls it her "sexy pose". What is a sexy pose at 4 years old?!?


We will never forget our angel baby. I have truly been blessed with three amazing children and they have all taught me so much. I am a better person because of them.



Here is a closer look of Andrew's Christmas blanket. This is a tradition that is predominately done in the north but I just love the idea. Lucky for me I have another creative friend that makes any custom order that I can come up with.



Finally we finished up our Christmas card for 2008.


Last but not least to finish up part 1 of my Christmas list we have the picture with Santa. This was the first year to do this. I'm not a big fan of Santa and I'm totally not one of those Moms obsessed with getting that picture each year. This is the first year that Allyson wanted to see him and tell him what she wanted. Unfortunately for William he had to go along for the ride.

Not Me Mondays

Here it is my very first installment of "Not Me Monday"!!!

This weekend, I did not traumatize William by making him sit on Santa's lap.

I did not buy my friend the exact same gift she bought me for Christmas. We are not winos!

I am not still shopping for my kids for Christmas. I did not finish shopping over a month ago and I’m not buying any more presents.

I did not just buy Allyson an $80 play doll. Now that would be crazy!

I did not do the cardinal sin of Christmas and become one of those horrid "regifters!" No not me...how could I do something like that? Really now...

I did not just work 102 hours on my paycheck that I’m getting the Friday after Christmas. That would not be something crazy that I would do.

So what have you not done this week???????

She Wants a "Real Sister Baby" for Christmas

Allyson is busy putting the finishing touches on her letter to Santa. I will post her wish list to Santa on the website along with some new pictures this weekend. One of the items Allyson has been asking for is a "sister baby". William and Allyson love to play babies and house. Both are always carrying around, feeding, rocking, and putting babies down for naps. She tells me that having a baby is "hard work". I'm glad she finally gets that. Ha! At first she wanted a real baby sister but for the last two months she was okay with getting one from Wal-Mart. I knew at this point she was desperate for a new doll because some of you may remember that when Allyson was two years old she told her Nana that she “doesn't do Wal-Mart.” Well for the past couple of weeks she is back to wanting a "real sister baby just like William but a girl". I finally found her a baby doll that looks more like a baby instead of just the generic babies with the hard vinyl heads and the eyes the rolls back when you put them down. Yes, I bought her a Berenguer doll that has been reborn off of Ebay. Some look so real that it is kind of creepy. I think it is beautiful if you collect them as a piece of art but not something I want my 4 year carrying around at the mall. The one she is getting looks like a doll. I just like these because they have hair more like a baby and love the eyes. I’m just curious on what Allyson will name her. So far all of her babies are named “Baby”. I really hope she is a little more creative with this one.



Update:

After the auction the seller responded to me about having some "misgivings" on selling the baby to me for my daughter. She wanted to make sure I knew that the baby contained a magnet in the mouth for the pacifier. She wanted to make sure that I knew that it could be harmful and would be glad to refund my money. She also wanted me to know that I could contact the Poison Control for accurate information in a timely manner. She said her "mind was at peace" when she found out that I actually work there. I thought it was really sweet to know that there are still people in this world that are still concerned about others.

Shopping For Miracles

If you still have any last minute internet shopping please take the time and go through this site. Shop online for the things you would normally buy, from the brands you would normally choose, and at the prices you would normally pay-and raise funds while you do it. We should all take the time and be thankful for our healthy babies and help those that are less fortunate.

The Background behind "The Card"

So I'm finally starting on my Christmas cards. I'm not talking about addressing them. I'm still trying to find a decent picture of the kids. This all started about a month ago when the kids took Christmas/school pictures. I bought a somewhat decent picture from Lifetouch with the intent of scanning them. Unfortunately, I can no longer find my $40 purchase. Really, I'm more upset about loosing my $40 than the pictures. Yesterday I made an appointment and took the kids to Portrait Innovations. I thought this was going to be easy. Here I had a professional photographer that could corral my kids, shoot me a wonderful picture, and use their wonderful professional program to take off any cuts, scraps, or bruises that William has at that moment. This all went a lot smoother in my mind then it did in real life. Our appointment was for 9:30. I thought that would be perfect. The kids would be well rested, fed, and ready for anything. Well, the kids were great but they really weren’t up for following directions. Also the photographer (I use that term extremely loosely) could not get her camera to work so it would flash about 2 seconds after she took the picture. Also all the lighting was off. So after chasing the kids around for 15 minutes, changing clothes, changing room, and shooting more pictures for another 15 minutes it was time to look at the final product. Now, I must add that we have never gone to Sears or Wal-Mart or any place like that to take pictures. I will admit that I’m a photo snob when it comes to pictures of my kids. I have only taken them to Solas Gallery in Salado for all their pictures. Every time we leave there I complain and panic about the money I just spent and have to remind myself that the pictures are worth it and that these are treasured family memories. I regress, so here I’m sitting with the “photographer” looking at the pictures. She puts three pictures up at a time and you pick your “favorite” and she then moves on to the next set of pictures. At the end there are 23 pictures left of the 70 initial photos. She looks at me and says “the package for these 23 poses is $358”. Is she serious? These pictures are crap and so not worth $35. We continue to go though the pictures and I get down to 4 poses. I have two with the kids together and then their individual pictures. The total is now like $75. One was okay to use for the card. They were wearing their Christmas church clothes and sitting under a tree. I asked the “photographer” if she could just brighten the picture up a little and then I would take that. She just looked at me and told me that she doesn’t have a Photoshop program and cannot touch up the pictures. Really? This is a chain picture place and there is no program to fix these pictures? Come on. As I continued to sit there I just can see spending that kind of money during this time of year for something I’m really not happy with. By the end I couldn’t even fake how unsatisfied I was with the entire experience. So I took the one pose for $9.95 special just out of courtesy for wasting her time for an hour and still did not have a picture for the Christmas Card. I called my friend Amy on the way home to see if I could use her yard to attempt on taking the pictures myself. Lucky for me I have an amazing friend with an awesome camera who got a shot that I can live with. The shot isn’t perfect but hey, neither are my kids. Thanks Amy for putting up with me. So now when you get our Christmas card in the mail you will know the background behind the card. Life with small kids is always exciting.