A Christmas to Remember

Holy Cow! What an amazing Christmas we had! It was even better than we'd envisioned. I think we took 250 some odd pictures and by the time I weeded out the odd or bad ones we still had 175 or more! If you are not big on the pictures, skip this post. I weeded it down to 20-25 that really tell the story in pictures. Remember...this is part of our family history...so if it bores you, just skip it. I just have to document it all in pictures and words while the memories are still fresh.

(I have to leave this post before completion....but check back for the commentary and perhaps a couple more pictures to show the grandeur of this cabin! Until then...enjoy my picture history!)

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Well...it hasn't been without challenges (I have pinkeye. LD is still sick. DH had to work much of yesterday)...but we are almost off to the cabin! I haven't been this excited about something in a long time! I do still have to pack, but once the car is loaded...we will be off, ready to relax, celebrate, and be together.

So, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, whomever you are with: Merry Christmas! Remember to reflect on the greatest gift of all, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Still Awake. Wide Awake.

Just in case you were curious at how long I can get myself to stay up in the middle of the night on only 1/2 hour of sleep! But...LD just went down, hopefully to stay (cross my fingers), but now I am quite awake. I guess I'll work for a bit then go to bed. I usually wake up at five, but that would only leave me one more hour of sleep. Not gonna cut it. Now, please don't let me get sick for lack of sleep. I'm a firm believer in sleeping enough to boost your immune system! Too bad tomorrow (oops..today) is crazy busy full of "stuff" to be done...or else!

Awake at 3 am

Why am I awake right now? Why did I go to bed at midnight, only to get up again at 12:30 and why am I still awake? I give you one answer: LD. He woke up extremely congested and was inconsolable. So...what did I finally do? Use my new friend, my DVR, and play him an episode of Plaza Sesamo, which he LOVES! Now he has been wide awake and playing for two and a half hours. I have been able to doze a little on the couch, but leaving him the only one awake in the house is a very scary proposition.

Speaking of LD, however, he got his first haircut yesterday! He definitely needed it..it was getting so long. Up until a couple of weeks ago, it was really curly on top and I didn't want to cut off the curl, but either he has now lost his baby curl or it just got too long to curl...it all of a sudden started looking like a mop on his head.

K started basketball practice yesterday. She has never played organized sports before. She hated it. She is by far the shortest and also the least experienced, although not that far behind a couple of the other girls. She also feels a lot of stress when she doesn't know exactly what is going to happen ahead of time. This practice with people she doesn't know, a coach she doesn't know, and drills that she's never done was quite overwhelming for her. Her coach was awesome, however. He was so patient with her and never rude. He also seems to love the game and teaching it. I think it will be a good year...but some difficult lessons for K. While she would like to be done already, I will not let her back out after just one practice. I expect a lot of tears coming up, though.

It's not fair!

I don't want to seem like I'm pouting, but life just isn't fair. I have worked my tail off to be ready early for Christmas. I knew life would be hectic so I've planned and organized for months, but NOW because of the dang clinic things are so messed up and it just isn't fair. I can't get it all done. It is impossible and now we are either going to be super stressed or not going to our cabin. It is impossible. UGH!

Contributing factors:

1. LD is sick
2. I have to take on marketing for the clinic (Marketing director left to go out of town before finishing distribution of gift baskets, etc)
3. I have to take on billing for the clinic (billing person in car accident and having a baby)
4. I have to take on working at the clinic (see #3)
5. I have to take on training new employees at the clinic (see #3)
6. I have my own stuff to find time to fit in for the clinic: keeping the books, transcription, reconcilling, etc.
7. DH isn't handling these turns of events well and thus compounds my stress!
8. I have had no sleep (see #1)
9. I still have gifts to wrap
10. I have Compassionate Service calls to finish up...(I have had so much to do with this calling over the last two weeks it is insanity! I literally spend an hour on the phone per day, just for this calling.)
11. I wanted to make big plates of goodies (don't think this is going to happen!) for neighbors
12. Oh...what about teacher gifts? Friend gifts? etc...those I thought I could easily do last minute! WRONG!
13. I still have to buy, but only for DH!
14. I have to finalize and put on the classroom party for C
15. K has Activity Days and basketball practice
16. C has basketball practice and Friday Fun Day at the library
17. My house is a disaster
18. I still have to grocery shop for the cabin
19. I have to pack for the cabin
20. I have a cell phone that doesn't work well and is brand new, but I can't return it or we won't have a cell phone for emergencies as we are driving to the cabin.
21. Did I mention that the Jazz are losing...this is not helping! Just win some games for us. I could use a cheerful DH for a night!
22. There's more...but I can't handle adding to the list. I just have to stop and go have a good cry about it all and deal.

This is the hand I've been dealt...

so I just have to live with it!

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I have so many things I want to document and blog about that I am about ready to explode! So...a warning to anyone reading this...you might be in for the long haul.

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First, I am a very health-conscious person. I love to exercise. I fix healthy whole-grain and vegetable filled meals. We don't eat a lot of desserts of sweets....UNTIL I GET STRESSED....then...Why does it all go away? Why is chocolate such a great comfort food? Okay...so I have problems.

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Second, I have been working a TON in the clinic. It is a long...too long...story, but we have been going CRAZY. DH worked Tues and Wednesday all by himself (until our high school after school employee could make it in). Yesterday and today I worked all morning with him. And...in the midst of this I am trying to prepare for Christmas, plan the Holiday parties at school, my own stuff I do for the clinic, and now all of the billing that our employee was doing. It is insanity. I feel like I am being a horrible mother, I am not doing as much as I should with my calling (which has all by itself been insanely busy the last few weeks!), the house is a wreck, and there is still a ton more to do for billing at the clinic. UGH!

Third, here are some fun pictures I have been meaning to post (can you tell why I haven't had the time?)

I couldn't figure out how in the world we were quite so late in getting our tree up this year! I realized that it was mostly that we went to Houston for Thanksgiving and so didn't have the couple of days afterward to really decorate the house. Here is C helping put up the tree. What you can't see is that it was after 9:00 at night on a school night. I finally decided that with all the craziness that we just had to work on it and they really wanted to help. Both C and K were very helpful and even LD didn't really destroy anything so it was a pleasant experience! DH was still working, so I really needed their help and was pleasantly surprised at how much they could do this year. My babies are growing up!

Here is the promised toothless wonder picture! Isn't it a classic? If you know C, you know this captures his personality perfectly

"Yes, Mami, I am cute in my pajamas....but did you see my mischievous grin?"

Happiness amidst the chaos. K has been wanting a miniature tree to put in her room. I actually found one at the dollar store and figured she'd like it even if it is small and cheap, but with all the stressful events of this last week, I hadn't had time to give them to them. Last night, I once again rebelled against bedtime and gave them their trees. They were so excited. I wish I could've captured the excitement to share. Hmmm....very rewarding for $3 each!

C working very hard on his little tree. He is a perfectionist and he couldn't get it quite "right" last night. It is beautiful, but he was so frustrated we almost had to just throw it in the trash.

Weekend Update

So...So much for the blogging every other day at least! It is already approaching a week since my last post. -sigh- Life is just so crazy. We had at least one thing every afternoon/night this week.

Oh well, here are some pictures from the last week/weekend.

Little K has turned into a wonderful babysitter overnight. All of a sudden she finds it fun. I was very grateful for her on Thursday when she entertained both LD and my friend's toddler, P (His Mama was having a baby!). She had a blast and they loved her and it allowed me to have a few precious moments to make dinner.

On Friday, we went to the Christmas Party at our church. K had been practicing with other girls her age a special dance. She had such a fun time and she had a blast performing. I ended up on the other side of the performance from where she was dancing so the pictures aren't that great...you'll just have to take my word for it. She is the girl at the end in a blue shawl with a white ribbon in her hair.

Santa came to this same Christmas Party! I have never had a kid cry on Santa's lap. They have looked nervous, but never cried. Well, not only did LD cry...he SCREAMED! At least I caught the classic picture in the two seconds I left him on his lap!

Oh, and Saturday, C lost his first tooth! I don't have a toothless picture yet, but he was very excited!

And that was only a small portion of this week. We also had meetings at the school, Science night at the school, Activity Days for K, cooking meals for other families, organizing meals for other families, dance practice, RS dinner, watching kids for one of my BFF to have a baby, Friday Fun Day at the library, the Christmas dinner, putting up Christmas lights, etc....What a week!

Thanksgiving revisited

Life has been absolutely crazy lately. I think it will slow down some as I got the out-of-town gifts mailed out today. One more thing down and only 20 days until Christmas. I haven't done any decorating, but I think most everything else is done! Hip Hip Hooray!

Anyhow, we headed to Houston for Thanksgiving this year. We spent it with DH's cousins and aunts and uncles. It was an enjoyable time. I especially like establishing a sense of family for our children. The first two of these pictures was at the Thanksgiving parade that morning. It was actually COLD! The last one is at the Christmas Lights Lighting at night. K and C love DH's cousin, AK. She is 17 and is so good to them. They really look up to her and she is a great example for them.

I am so grateful for the wonderful life I have. I am excessively busy and my to-dos are never done, but honestly, I don't think I'd be happy any other way. I am so blessed. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ, my family, and enough of the essentials of life to be comfortable and happy. What more could I ask for? (Actually, I know...a stellar, experienced front-desk CA for the clinic! We are having more employee issues, but I have faith that it will all work out for the best...it just adds to the stress in the meantime).

Miracles do happen

I usually don't post (or lately...I usually don't post at all!) really personal stuff, but I had a miracle happen to me this week that I just had to share.

On Saturday, I had my first yard sale. Oh my. What a lot of work. Some friends and neighbors joined me in the endeavor, but...it was still a lot of work.

Sunday morning I woke up with immense back pain. I could hardly move. DH had to give LD a bath for me since I couldn't even kneel down to wash his hair. It was bad. DH thought that for sure I wouldn't be able to go to church. He is a chiropractor and sees many cases of back pain and recovery a day. He told me that I was going to be in pain for a few days, even with treatment, as this is the typical pattern of my type of back pain.

Since church doesn't begin until 1:30, we were planning on going to the clinic for me to get therapy and a chiropractic adjustment. I wanted to go to church so bad. It is the highlight of the week. I love feeling the strength of the spirit, partaking the sacrament, and also socializing with the ward members. I was so bummed that I wasn't going to be able to go to church.

Then, all of a sudden, I felt better. I could move. I could bend. I could walk without hunching over. It was a miracle. I thought to myself, "Too bad we haven't gone to the clinic yet...then DH could claim this as his miracle!" Immediately, however, the answer came to me..."If you'd gone to the clinic already, you wouldn't see that it was MY miracle." It was definitely an answer to an unuttered prayer and the righteous desires of my heart.

And, I was worried that once I got to go to church that the pain would return, but it hasn't. What a blessing and a witness to me that God knows me and is ready and willing to help me at all times. Miracles do happen.

Row Captains

C and K both got off the bus today absolutely ecstatic. They had both been chosen as "row captains" in PE. It is a new thing this year, but every six weeks the PE teachers choose one student from each row to be the captain. The captains, as far as I can tell, are the row leaders. They take care of the equipment, keep the other students in their row in order, and get to be "taggers" and such in the PE games. Both of them aspired to this title at the beginning of the last six weeks and both weren't chosen. They were so bummed as they thought that they'd been extremely well behaved (the major quality of a row captain). This morning, C could hardly wait to go to school to see if he got it. How exciting that they both did at the same time. They also each get a goody bag full of coupons for free meals and such as a reward for the title.

K's Third Grade Play: "Whether the Weather"

Last night was K's third grade play entitled "Whether the Weather." It was a very cute little musical about meterology and all types of weather. K had the lead.

I was shocked when her teacher said that she had the lead as I didn't even know that she'd tried out. In Kindergarten she was too scared to try out. In first grade she tried out, but didn't get a part and she was sooooooooooooo nervous. In second grade they didn't really hold try outs, the teachers nominated a few kids and they then tried out just to see which part they'd get, although they were guaranteed a part of some kind. Her music teacher said she was shocked when K tried out as she is usually so shy and quiet, but that she did such a great job that she had to give her the lead.

K was so excited that she memorized all her lines the first day! She did a great job last night. She didn't forget a single line. She was a little less animated than in practice, but that was just the nerves part. We were so proud of her. We took her to Sonic and let her choose whatever she wanted and the rest of us didn't get anything. She thought that was very special. We might have to make it a tradition! C was a little jealous at first, but quickly calmed down when he realized that it was important to celebrate with K.

Here are a few pictures, but in the cafeteria is one place that NEVER turns out good on any of my digital cameras. One is really blurry, but...it is all I have (except for video, but that's not digital).

I am so excited!

I am so excited! DH had a wonderful idea earlier this year to skip the traditional Christmas presents for our family and give ourselves a wonderful vacation instead. Well, we recently decided that the big vacations that we'd like to give for Christmas really aren't in our budget. We'd have to save a little to go on a cruise or to Disneyworld. So, DH had another wonderful idea...going to a luxury cabin for Christmas and having fewer presents, but still some. I thought it was a good idea, but I was certain that Christmas day, itself, would be booked. Surprise! Our favorite cabins are available! These are NICE: Here is a description of one we might get:

What would you like to do first? Soak in the hot tub and relax your worries away? Take a steaming cup of coffee out on the front porch and rock in a rocking chair? You’ll definitely want to light a fire in the rock fireplace that stands in the middle of the living room. Also on the list, should be a leisurely bath in the double jacuzzi tub upstairs or star gazing on the back deck.
If you’re a kid, you’ll want to race around the wrap-around deck until you’re delightfully dizzy or scramble back and forth on all fours across the towering catwalk stretching across the living, dining and kitchen areas. Perhaps you would prefer to challenge someone to an exciting game of air hockey out on the deck. The upstairs loft is a perfect kids retreat with a Foosball table, games galore, and a variety of books and movies for all ages. The kitchen and dining areas are ideal for lively family meals. A fire-pit in the yard is great for campfires, roasting marshmallows and sharing stories.

Doesn't that sound SWEET?!? I am hoping that we do decide to go over Christmas. We would have to be all done shopping and ready for Christmas on Saturday, go to church Sunday, drive to the cabin on Monday where we'd have a nice leisurely Christmas Eve, just our family and thoughts of the Savior. We'd spend Tuesday opening presents and celebrating the holiday, and Wednesday we'd play, relax, and go home. Perfect! However it works out: I am so excited!

Clean-up!

This has been a crazy week. A really crazy week. One of the crazy days partially involved watching my friend's young children while she had a baby. They, combined with LD, were on a destroy-my-house mission. It was a big mess. But...I had two wonderful helpers, C and S (K's friend that I watch before and after school) who cleaned it all up for me in about half an hour while K was at activity days and I cooked dinner. They did such a good job that I paid them each a dollar. Amazingly they were so excited about this dollar that I might have to "hire" them again. $1/half an hour...not a bad rate for me, the employer. Hmmm...I wonder if my employees at the Clinic would like that as much!

Family, Pumpkin Patch, Halloween, and Catch up.

This is a catch-up post. We had so much fun with my sister and her two kids (E-three years and S 20-months). Here is our week in pictures:

Don't I have a cute niece and nephew?

Girl cousins! We're ready for the Pumpkin Patch!

Here we are on the hayride. E was a little scared of the tractor and held on very tight to my hand.

It's Fall 2007 (LD, K, and C at the Pumpkin Patch)

All dressed up for the local school carnival. S was a basketball player, C a Jedi, K a snow princess, and E Tinkerbell. They were very cute!

After church on Sunday I was surprised by a horse entering my kitchen with three riders! My sister's husband, P, is a great sport!

DH's birthday was on Monday. It was a little crazy to get ready for that and have my sister here and everything. We even got our hair done that morning for my birthday present to her. See my last post...isn't she cute?!? Anyhow...this is the cake that I made for DH. It turned out very good and I even impressed myself!

Goodbye hugs. It was so hard to say goodbye. I even took K and C out of school for an hour to say goodbye. They loved their cousins and their cousins loved them. It was so cute.

Here are some pictures from Halloween: LD is Darth Vader.

K is 100 months old! Can you believe it? It goes by so darn fast. She is a wonderful girl and it makes me happy to be her Mama.


Last of all....is this a model boy or what? This is the outfit my sister brought for LD's birthday. It is soooooooooo cute! I hope there are many more chilly days to come over the next couple of months so that I can dress him in this outfit again! :)