One of my favorite Christmas crafts...

We made a Gingerbread House and Sleigh. Annalee decorated one made out of graham crackers at the homeschool Christmas party. Michael decorated a house and Annalee decorated a sleigh. They both had a great time doing it! I loved watching them and helping them with the icing. It's always fun to watch them decorate things.

A first for Ernie

Ernie tiled our bathroom! Being the indecisive person that I am, we talked about it for a long time before picking out the tile. It took the toilet overflowing and soaking the carpet to make me finally pick out the tile. It took a long time to get it done, but it is beautiful! Ernie did a great job!





The entire bathroom is not done, yet, but we have an area where the concrete is raised. We've got to figure out what to do about that situation. I think it'll have to be sanded down or something. I think the plan is to rent equipment and smooth it out... hopefully soon! Now that it's part of the way done, I want it finished! The next project will be ripping down that nasty wallpaper and painting. I think I know the color I'm going to use. The name is Oyster Bay. It is a cross between grey and blue. It's beautiful!

I feel like a grownup this year!

We did Christmas cards for the first time! I absolutely love them! A couple from the homeschool group took our pictures and had them made. They went out in the mail today, so I'm going to share it.



We our almost completely done with our Christmas shopping! I feel much more relaxed now.

12 shopping days?

Is that really all we have left? Where has December gone?! It shouldn't come as a surprise that I've barely started shopping. Procrastinator that I am! I did manage to knock out a couple of people yesterday. I am waiting on family photos to come in for grandparents. I have one thing for the kids. Only 1 thing! I need to get on the ball! I really don't like ordering online for Christmas gifts. It just doesn't feel the same to me to not buy it in a store. I know that's silly! Maybe I'll get out and shop this weekend. I'm a little scared to unleash the shopping freak. Once I start shopping for people, I don't want to stop. I love to give gifts. I love receiving, too, but there's just something about giving that I love. We'll be shopping for a new stove this weekend and tile for the bathroom. The toilet soaked the carpet this morning! Lovely, huh?

Weekend pictures

We had another great weekend! A lot of weekends we are so busy that I cannot wait for Monday to get here so we can be home more and things will slow down. This was not one of those weekends. It was fairly busy, but not as chaotic as some have been. The cheerleading team had plans to ride in the Christmas parade Saturday afternoon. They spent a couple of hours decorating the float, then enjoyed their time throwing candy. Stacie and Joe from church had several ATVs and a couple of floats right behind Annalee's team's float. Stacie invited Michael to ride with her boys in the trailer. He was so thrilled to be able to ride! Ernie rode with Annalee, so Bella and I came home so she could nap. They enjoyed this parade more than any parade they have ever gotten to see. I enjoyed it more because they were throwing OUT candy and did not come home with a bag of candy each.





We had a great afternoon today at Mom's house. Melanie was in town. She got sick Friday, after driving up, so we didn't see her too much this visit. The kids were happy to see her. We were able to see Johnye for awhile this afternoon. She is usually dancing on Sunday afternoons, so it was great to see her.

Johnye and Bella

Annalee has been asking to get her ears pierced for a couple of weeks, so we went and had them done this afternoon. She is growing up!


We are gearing up for a busy school week this week. I am trying to get a lot in the next couple of weeks, so I don't feel guilty about taking off a couple of weeks for Christmas. I am wondering if my obsessive compulsive tendencies will allow us to be completely school free for 2 weeks!

I am trying to think a lot about Christmas this week, also. I am definitely a procrastinator. I am trying to think of things for the kids that won't only be played with a couple of times this year and pushed to the side. We finally got our play room completely cleared out and I don't want to clutter it back up with toys! At the same time, I want the kids to have some things they will love.

Look Ma! No hands!

Bella is getting brave! The past couple of days she's been letting go of the furniture when she's standing. It is so cute because she doesn't seem hesitant about it at all. She lets go and holds something in her hands playing with it or flaps her arms like a bird. It is hilarious! She will be walking before we know it!

I've got to share a picture of Michael and Annalee, also. We've had a fun, laid back week at home this week. We went to see Scrooge yesterday and had a blast. I wish I'd taken my camera to get a picture of the kids with Johnye, but I didn't think about it! She did a wonderful job dancing, as always!

Annalee was being goofy in this picture. She was in a playful mood tonight! They wrestled on the floor awhile after supper. Bella loved watching them. She would squeal and crawl quickly from the playroom. I loved hearing her! I have to say that I am totally sold on chiropractic care for infants after seeing the remarkable changes in her. I was scared to have someone adjusting her neck and back as young as she is, but if there is ever another baby, I think I would take the baby in much sooner! We are loving every waking minute with her!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I love December! I love the holidays! I love spending time with the family and all of the opportunities to give to others. I love long drives looking at Christmas lights. I love baking cookies and drinking hot chocolate. I love decorating the Christmas tree with the kids! I am still like a kid at times when Christmas comes around!

Ernie took vacation last week and spent the week at home with us. It was wonderful having him here all the time! We went to High Delta Safari Park Wednesday. The kids had a blast feeding the animals in the petting zoo. We had a great time driving through the park and feeding the animals from the car. Annalee had a little scare. She turned around and looked out her window and there was a huge ox looking at her! Other than that, it was a wonderful afternoon.