Christmas

We had a good day. Santa and family were kind to the boys this year. The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. We are just now trying to sort through everything. The boys got a PS3(thanks to John and Susan). Trey got a fish and tank and a squawker bird. Evan got skates. Zane got many fun shoes and socks along with a SmartCycle. Mommy got her ModPink Vera purse. And daddy got tons of cologne along with the Legends Guitar game for PS3.
We had a little fun with Haley on Christmas day. She really wanted a new phone. So hubby decided to buy her a fake plastic phone and surprise her. We gave it to her as the last gift. She was not amused but the whole family thought it was funny. It really was funny.....trust me on this! Teasing her about the phone was so easy all day. She was really really mad by dinner for not getting her phone. After teasing her all day the "real" phone was given to her by her mother. It was ringing in her purse. Funny how that ended up in there. She looks really happy in the last picture doesn't she.....new phone and all. I just love Christmas!!

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!!!

Well...make that one front tooth. Evan has finally lost his third tooth of his seven years of life. He has two more that are loose(one top front and one bottom side) but since he is afraid to wiggle them they will take another few months to come out. His front tooth has been wiggly since before 1st grade started. He is so excited that the Tooth Fairy comes one night and Santa the next night. He feels very special and lucky!

I've been Elfed!!

At Trey's preschool(Westminster Presbyterian) they make life size elf's of the children at Christmastime. After bringing home Trey's today I had to get Evan's out of the closest from his preschool days. He was curious how his compared to Trey's. My elf kiddies are hanging on the wall and they look adorable.

On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen.....

I am so happy I have my little reindeer babies. The family is complete. A huge thank you to PaPa Donker for making the last two babies. Now I invite everyone to drive by my house and view my little reindeer family. They are so adorable. Can you guess their names?

Our house is a very, very fine house........or maybe not!

We have the spirit of Christmas in our house. The boys decorated a gingerbread house. The house was a premade box kit....did you really think I was going to hand make a gingerbread house. Uh...no! I assisted the boys in the creation. Little hints here and there but mainly it was there ideas. I think it came out really cute. I was proud of them for working together and listening to each others ideas. I placed the finished product on a side table for proper viewing by everyone that entered the house. Well later that night I noticed the gingerbread house looked different but I did nothing. The next morning I noticed the house looked really wrong. What happened?!!?! At first I thought it was sneaky children but they denied ruining their creation. Zane was a suspicious character but he nodded no as well. Then it hit us....the dogs!! But which one or all of them. Gypsy would have eaten the whole thing in one swallow. Dash(being short) would have knocked the table over trying to get at the house. Alex!!! She very sneakily was licking and eating small portions of the house....the icicles, the cany canes, the peppermint windows. Oh what a sad looking gingerbread house it is now. So the house is set highter up now and the boys still enjoy their creation...just less of it now.

The Reason for the Season

The boys and I went to 'Walk Through Bethlehem' (http://209.61.148.168/templates/System/details.asp?id=35870&PID=369056) on saturday night at Kings Avenue Baptist Church. We were fortunate to have friends join us. Amy and Chris with their little army and Karen with her two tikes. This has become a tradition for the boys and I. The boys get to learn about Jesus in a realistic setting. I am always excited to go every year. I want the boys to understand Christmas is not santa, elves, lights and toys. It is about the birth of Jesus. I know I can't get away from all the hipe of Christmas and Santa nor do I want to. That is also what makes Christmas special and transforming for a child. But by goodness the birth of Jesus should be the main point of the season. And try to get this across to them.....I will succeed!

Christmas Parade

My whole family went to the Lakeland Christmas Parade last night. John surprised us and took the day off to be with us.....how sweet! The parade is a tradition in my family. I am so glad I can pass it along to my boys. They are Lakeland boys....born and half raised there. I had a friend(Stacy) and her kids join us this year. I am glad my family is pleasant and embrace my friends. I think Stacy and her kids felt relaxed and enjoyed themselves. I hope they can join us again next year. Some of the sights we saw at the parade were Elvis, Ronald McDonald, fireworks, the Grinch, dogs, horses, high school bands and of course Mr and Mrs. Claus.











On A Sad Note.......Our beloved pet ants did not make it. We had two left in the ant farm. Trey let them go this morning. They made wonderful tunnels and then died. Why... I do not know. We will send off for more ants and see what happens. So if you were planning to join our flock for a friday or saturday night ant watch you must wait a few weeks. I will let everyone know when they can come over.

I'm Baacckk!!

I hope you all have been missing me.....but I am now back! I have been meaning to blog for a while and then the unthinkable happened. I fell ill, I got sick, I came down with a cold. This just can not happen to a mommy with three kiddies and Christmas just around the corner. In hindsight it was a minor cold but it wiped me off my butt. I did not have much energy last week. The energy I did have I used at Evan's school for his Christmas store. And the rest of the week I was lazy, uninspired and unmotivated. So please everyone forgive me. Today(sunday) was the first day I truely felt energized and eager to do things around the house and world(I went grocery shopping). I was a very bad girl today and sent the men/boys of the house off to church this morning without the mommy. I(the mommy) spent church time cleaning and dusting the house. Clean sheets and towels for everyone. And a bonus....the inside of the house is beginning to look like Christmas. The outside of the house has been done for a few days now but then again daddy has not been sick and still running around school helping out. Ah...it is good to be my old self again. Now if only my appetite would pick up. Food is still not my friend....and NO I have not lost weight during the illness.