January in Pictures

I'm anxious to tell you all about our Disney vacation, but I can't start before I catch up on the last few months. Here's a few bits about January...

Rick and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. Jake and Emma made us a scrumptious cake complete with candles.

Rick worked. A LOT. When too many days go by without seeing him, I get a little cranky. Sometimes the kids and I show up at work so we can eat a meal with  him. Rick's job has its perks, like playing in the helicopter.

With threw Emma a big ol' birthday extravaganza when she turned 12. The tiara was her idea.

I made a little Emma shrine in the entryway and the Young Womens Presidency decorated her room with streamers and balloons.

The girls were craaaaaazy! Like, hopped up on sugar crazy!!! It was such a loud night that Jake hid out in his room with the pets.

Emma received many thoughtful presents like makeup, candy, and more makeup. She now wears more eyeshadow than I do!

The girls ate pizza, played games, watched movies, and danced with the Kinect. 

11 out of 14 guests showed up. Whew!

Our little princess is growin' up! 

We finally got to break out the snow blower one day in January. Other than that, it's been an unusually mild season. We're not complaining.

It was so depressing after the Christmas decorations came down that I decided to celebrate January this year. I added some wintry silver and gold touches around the house. 

 

I subbed seminary one week, but got sick the last day. The pets took care of me.

Aaaaaaaand we went to the Bahamas. No big deal.

December in Pictures

An Explanation

Blogger and I had a falling out. Pictures are such a PAIN to load that I've had absolutely no desire to blog the past few months. I apologize to the 3 loyal people that still follow. It's not you, it's me. I really need some coaching on how to make this whole blogging process faster. By the time I get the photos up, the writing part of my brain is totally blocked. HELP!

I feel that I should share a few of the highlights from the holidays, although Christmas seems like a lifetime ago. This post will include my favorite moments from December.

Decking Our Halls

We had a blast decorating the house this year. Emma inherited Grandma Saunders's lovely Christmas village, so we got to set it up on the ledge in our basement. It looked beautiful when it was all lit up! We also added a few more themed Christmas trees so that we could showcase my growing collection of Nativity ornaments and the kids' homemade ornaments from over the years.

Grandma's Village

Our message board with a few wintery snapshots and some subway art from the Internet

One of the cheesy decorations I made in Relief Society a million years ago that the kids won't let me pitch

Our favorite mugs given to us from the Phelans in times past AND simmering potpurri (recipe from my Mom)

A table cloth I picked up on clearance after Christmas last year

A nod to my sister-in-law Toni...she used to wrap her wall art like presents.

The Greg Olsen painting is a gift I bought myself this year for my birthday. I love it!

Our living room tree (the one the kids don't like).

A view of a few nativity displays

My favorites

More nativity displays

My little nativity tree in the background

The foyer with a nativity passed down from Grandma Saunders

In the music room

I like to switch out the pictures in my frames to go along with the season. We have some pretty funny Santa pics through the years.

Emma and Chloe showing off the front porch

 Shelby's Trip to Bass Pro

Another tradition? We like to take Shelby to Bass Pro. We were hoping to get her picture taken with Santa, but the lines we sooooooo long. All the parents wanted their children to see The Big Guy. Whatever.

Shelby wore her Santa Baby cosutme all month long.

She kept licking the faux snow that littered the ground of the store. You can see it in her fur.

Emma's bestie, Emily, joined us.

You'll put your eye out kid!

Shelby was a hit with the kiddies. We could have charged money...

The Interfaith Nativity

It just wouldn't be Christmas in Perrysburg without the Interfaith Nativity hosted by our church. This year I had the pleasure of accompanying one of my favorite young women, Christy, as she performed in her very own concert. I was amazed by her poise and confidence. She's just 16 years old and she gave a beautiful 45 minute long performance all by herself. Wow!

Audrey, Christy, and Christy's mom Anita

Fake Christmas

We celebrated Christmas Eve AND Christmas on December 23rd. That's right. Rick worked on Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning, so we had to make a few adjustments to our schedule. As is our tradition, we ate at Nagoya for dinner. Then, we made our way home for music, snuggling, and gift-giving.

Jake is good enough now to play all sorts of Kurt Bestor arrangements. He performed "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" for our ward's Christmas Sunday program.

Chloe LOVED her first Christmas. She took particular interest in the trees and gift wrap.

Shelby's expression strikes me as funny. I love her!

"OK Kids. Let's take a sweet brother/sister photo by the tree".

There we go!

This one of the few "Christmas morning" pictures of me wearing makeup - ha! I can get used to this.

The Holidays in A Nutshell

This was not to be a season spent with family. Instead, we put money away for savings. Rick was blessed with some wonderful and lucrative moonlighting opportunities, but we had to sacrifice our time together. I have to admit, it was hard. All of my siblings and families gathered with my folks for Christmas this year. I reeeeeeeally wanted to be a part of their fun. Family is truly an essential part of Christmas. Snow is too. We didn't have either. Next year will be different!

Thank goodness we had Chloe and Shelby to distract us from missing our family!

What makes your Christmas a successs? How will you make things different next year?

Brace Yourself

The kids' smiles have gone from this:

 To this:

Thanksgivin', Shoppin' -n- Birfdays

Thanksgivin'

Folks are surprised to learn that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday since I don't eat meat. Well, hello! The side dishes, rolls, and pie are waaaaaaay better than some dry ol' bird any day! So, while I didn't miss the main dish, I did miss the family. That's why we decided to dine out for our meal rather than stay home all alone without grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Boo.

We drove out to the shores of Lake Erie for a noontime meal at Maumee Bay State Park. Rick had volunteered to moonlight later Thanksgiving day, so we had to eat early in order to have him with us for the feast. The food was overpriced and nothing like the taste of home, but we were together! We tried to eat our money's worth and found we couldn't eat the rest of the day. We were that full!

  

Shoppin'

There was the usual power napping in the afternoon while the kids watched a movie. Later, we dug out some of our Christmas stuff and started decorating the house before Rick left for work. I also took some time to browse the Black Friday ads and decided I'd try a little holiday shopping once the kids went to bed.

I left for Wally World at 9:00 p.m. so I could take care of the early deals that were to begin at 10:00. I was totally unprepared for the madness. The parking lot overflowed and folks were abandoning their cars in a field next door to the store. All the carts were taken, though I couldn't have maneuvered one anyway. People were lined up throughout the store, some sitting in lawn chairs, waiting for the deals. I had long missed out on the big ticket item I wanted to buy because I didn't come early in the day to claim my place in line. Everything was "sold" before it even went on sale!

Idiot that I am, I waited in the checkout line for close to an hour to purchase a few movies and such. My long wait time gave me a chance to get in a good chat with my folks on my cell phone. I couldn't end my shopping spree without anything good to show for it, so I decided to tackle the deals at Kohl's.

Unlike Walmart, Kohl's wasn't open on Thanksgiving. The deals were to begin at midnight, so people were lined up outside and around the building. I got a lucky spot in between a chain smoker and two dudes chewing tobacco. In addition, I still had my cute Thanksgiving outfit on when I should have worn a parka and wool socks. DUMB!

After waiting an hour, I made my way inside Kohl's and found the deal at 80% off! All the shivering and second hand smoke was worth it (I hope). Plus, I got $15 in Kohl's cash for my trouble.

My last stop was for the kids. They've been wanting a Christmas tree for the basement so they can hang the ornaments not making the cut for our upstairs tree. Home Depot had a $180 pre-lit tree for $49. I was 5 minutes too late though, or so I thought. Just when I thought my sleepless night was for naught, I got a tap-tap on my car window. It was a Home Depot employee! Apparetly, someone had just returned the very tree I wanted to buy because it wouldn't fit in her car. Well, you better believe I hugged that wonderful messenger and bought the tree. Hooray! It was a Black Friday miracle!

My Birfday

Fast forward a few days...My birthday was a sweet, peaceful one. Rick was off work and could join us for church. In the afternoon, Jacob received his Patriachal Blessing. To cap off the day, Rick made a delicious chocolate mint ice cream cake. Yum!

 

Yup. I managed to blow out all 35 candles Rick so thoughtfully placed on my cake. Baby, I've still got it!