A Glimpse Into Our Christmas

Here is a little peek at what my Mom and Dad's house looks like this time of year. Yep, that is 35 stockings hanging by the fireplace. Yep, all of our names are on them. My siblings and I, our spouses and all of the grandkids.

We had a wonderful Christmas. We drove down to Wichita late Christmas Eve afternoon. The first thing Reece asked Grandpa, was if he had a chimney at his house. Obviously, he didn't see it hiding behind all of the stockings. He was very concerned Santa would not come, if there was no chimney.

On Christmas morning, Riley was up at 4:30!! He is just like me. He said he was too excited to keep sleeping. I still have a hard time sleeping on this one night of the year. I didn't even have any presents to open. I get too excited just to give gifts. Santa brought them a new DS, a DS game and another Lightsaber, so they can feud. The 2nd DS made up for the Wii that we couldn't get. Now the boys can play against each other. They love it and the Wii never got brought up. A couple hours later, we opened up just our family's gifts, before the crowd came.

It was a very calm day at my parents. My mom didn't work too hard, preparing a big meal. Just some casual, delicious finger foods to snack on all day. When it came to exchanging gifts among the cousins, we had them sit in a line, youngest to oldest (youngest always gets to open first), and most of them are at an age where the line stayed put, for the most part. The weather was pretty cooperative too. It could have been a little warmer, but it was nice enough to get the kids outside to burn off some energy.

My gift from Jake, that I am super excited about, was a couple of center, orchestra seating tickets to "The Phantom of the Opera." It won't be until April 9th, and I can't wait.

The day after, we left to go back home about 10 in the morning. Overall, we had a great day with family, and it was one of our few trips to Wichita, that wasn't rushed. Now it is on the the New Year. I wish everyone a fabulous 2009!

just a quick update...

It's been almost 2 weeks, so I thought I would update everyone on what we've been up to. Amazingly, we are 4 days away from Christmas, and things are very calm around here. The weather is a different story. Today it is a miserable 8 degrees outside, with a -20 windchill. OUCH! That's cold. We've had a few snow storms, but no snow on the ground at the moment. Just the ugly piles of snow, that are all black and gross to look at, and won't melt until March.

Last Sunday we had Reece's birthday party. It was a fun time. My family was able to drive up from Wichita to attend. (Thanks Mom, Dad, Ben, Joanna and kids!!) We had pizza, cake and a ton of kids running around the house, playing. It's shocking we didn't have any injuries. I think we had 30+ come that day. Even, I, the one person who stresses about everything, didn't have a care that day. I just enjoyed the company and celebrating the fact, that I've survived with Reece for 4 whole years.

The countdown is on in our house. Riley is especially excited. This is the first year, he really is talking about Santa and Christmas all the time. He is learning songs at school. His favorite songs are "Jingle Bells," and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." This is because he knows all the words to these songs. The other day he asked "How Santa knows if we are sleeping?" My response was "Magic?!" It seemed to be good enough. This year we are driving to Wichita on Christmas Eve and staying until the day after Christmas. I told Riley to write Santa a note that we will be in Wichita, and he needs to find him at Grandma and Grandpa's house. A couple of hours later, Riley sat down to write the note...

Dear Santa,

You mite not give us presents. Because we will go to Wichita.

I felt awful, he really thought Santa couldn't visit him, because he wouldn't be here. SAD!! I quickly explained to him, that we just need to remind Santa to find us in Wichita. SO, that is when he wrote...

Dear Santa,

Please come find us in Wichita.

I was surprised he never questioned, not getting a visit from Santa. I would've cried if I ever thought Santa wasn't coming to my house. That dilemma was solved. However, Riley asked Santa for a Wii. Uh, Oh! Slightly out of our price range. I tried to be clever and told Riley, I don't think Santa makes Wiis at his workshop. Even more clever, Riley, responded with, "I know, Santa buys them at the store." Dang!! So on Christmas morning, everyone should feel sorry for Riley. For, he is not going to get what he wants from Santa. I do believe, Santa will get second best for the boys and they will be happy.

Yesterday, I helped a friend throw a baby shower. Our good friend, is less than a month away from having twin boys. It was a good time, and I wish the best to Jen. She will be going from a family of 3, to a family of 5. It makes me stressed just by thinking of it. But, Jen is a calm soul. I know she will do a great job.

I have also been baking. I am baking Apple Bread for the neighbors. I took a loaf to my parents for Thanksgiving, and the few that ate it, raved about it. I hope they really did like it, because I am now giving it away. That would suck if they were lying to me, so they wouldn't hurt my feelings, and I was sharing some awful food with everyone.

Lastly, Jake is just working hard. He had to work a lot this month, due to his fellow managers all taking their vacations. This is getting him over 4 days off for Christmas, and that's nothing to complain about. He is 2 1/2 classes away from finishing his degree and he can't wait. In his spare time, (which is very rare) he enjoys having me beat him at "Guitar Hero." Neither one of us is really that good, but I'm a little better. =)

Well, it's been birthdays, parties, showers, shopping and working. Now that all of that is done, it's hopefully, smooth sailing from here. We can all enjoy the Holidays. We wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY REECE!!!

I can't believe my "baby" is 4 years old! We woke up this morning and opened up presents. I was right. He didn't want to stop there, and he asked if he could open up Riley's Christmas presents. So far, Reece got a couple of fun games for Riley and him to play, and Jake's favorite, "The Ultimate LightSaber Kit." I think Jake is trying to live vicariously through his kids. All he ever wanted was a lightsaber. The poor guy just had a twig with a glow stick on the end. Let's all take a moment and pity him. After presents, Reece decided he wanted a corndog for breakfast. Mmmm! Yummy! I guess a birthday boy can do that.
Reece is my "high energy" little charmer. He has been the more ornery child, but he knows when enough is enough, and that's when he flashes his charming smile and knows all is forgiven. I usually, love all the questions he asks. Riley never did this. Reece is my "WHY?" child. However, his questions never start with "WHY," they always start with "HOW?" Forget the "Who, What, When, Why & Where?" It is always "How?"
Oh, I love Reece! I love his personality, his smile, the way he acts shy, and his pretty blue eyes, and especially, how determined and persistent he is. This is a kid who was crawling at 6 months and walking at 9 months. He is so eager to keep up, and I don't think he will allow himself to fall behind. There is so much more, but this blog would never end. Ultimately, Reece is my sweet boy, who loves to push the limits, but is a wonderful son and brother. I couldn't imagine life without my "Reecy-poo." We love you so much! Happy Birthday!!!

Now, here is a recap of his 1st 3 years...

3 year

2 year

1 year

Your Birthdate: December 8
Watch out Donald Trump! You've got a head for business and money.You'll make it rich some day, even if you haven't figured out how yet.A supreme individualist, you shouldn't get stuck in a corporate job.Instead, make your own way - so that you can be the boss.
Your strength: Your undying determination

Your weakness: You require an opulent lifestyle

Your power color: Plum

Your power symbol: Dollar sign

Your power month: August

Christmas Tree

Andrea's most recent post, reminded me that I haven't posted pictures from us decorating our tree. We put it up just after Thanksgiving. This is the first year the boys contributed to the hanging of ornaments. If you saw our tree, you would see a VERY bottom heavy tree. That's where most of the ornaments ended up. I love the way the house looks at Christmas time. The rest of the year it is pretty plain around here. The countdown is on... 18 more days!

Caramel-Chocolate Covered Pretzels

This is the second year the boys and I have enjoyed making some Holiday Goodies. They are so easy, fun and delicious! Last year we made so many, we shared with all of our neighbors. All you need is 1 pack of chocolate almond bark, 1 bag of pretzel rods, 2 packages of flat sheets of caramel wraps (usually 5 in a pack), wax paper and sprinkles are optional. I cut the caramel sheets in half and let the boys wrap them around a pretzel. When they are all done with that, I dip them in chocolate and let them do the sprinkles. I usually have extra chocolate and pretzels, so I make a few without caramel. They are so yummy and everyone loves them!

Portraits By Dawn

My sister-in-law, Dawn, is on her way to becoming a fabulous, professional photographer. Here are some great shots of my boys, that she took for the holidays! Merry Christmas!

First Snow

Last Saturday & Sunday, we had our 1st snow. It was maybe a 1/2 inch, but it was enough to get the boys outside for about 15 minutes. Riley said it was too hard to make a snowman.

Happy 4th Birthday Ariana!

My Niece, Ariana, turns 4 today! This means the countdown is on for Reece. In exactly 1 week, he will be 4 as well. For some reason, he actually remembers us celebrating his birthday, with my family, on Christmas last year. Now he thinks Christmas is his birthday. I guess he will be sad when he only gets to open his Birthday presents, and not his Christmas ones. Back to the point, Happy Birthday Ariana! See you at Christmas, hopefully... (Ariana is Phil's youngest)