Tree lit photos

Typically I am not ready to see this season arrive; however, for whatever reason, I am ready to embrace it. I've baked, ordered Christmas cards, decorated and shopped.....it's still good! I guess God's been working on me a bit this year! I still believe most of it is unnecessary and pulls us away from any resemblance of the true meaning of this season, but in perspective, I am thus far, enjoying this time with my family.

I love the old fashioned style bulbs. I used only two strands as an accent over 500 white lights. They were a little too pricey to decorate the entire tree. I like the final effect.

My friend Stacey gave this to me a few years ago....it's one of my favorites.

The stockings were hung by the front door with care in order to keep Ty David out of Urgent Care! (He'd pull them off the mantle and likely onto his head!)

This little nativity is still my favorite. My mom has one just like it and it was my favorite growing up too. I have five different nativity sets! My grandma's would be under the tree; however, I'd like to keep all the pieces intact so I'll hold off on that one another year! We have two that the kids can play with and are great for advent devotions.

Only a few snowmen remain from my original snowman collection. You know how things tend to take on a life of their own? I've passed on so many decorations over the years. I want to keep from getting bogged down with "stuff" and enjoy seeing the things that hold special memories for me.

Deck the Halls....

Hey Grandpa, are you going to eat all of that?

Left over pumpkin pie....oh yeah!

Ty will only cuddle with Daddy and Grandpa. Lucky guys.

Multi-tasking Erin is able to text on her iPod while decorating the tree.

Greg's working or I would not be allowed on this chair! I love my safety guy!

She literally popped in for one ornament and a photo...too busy for tradition this year!

Everyone's a camera hog when Mom wants a nice photo!

Seriously, my poor shy children!

Much better....what a group!

My dad helped me get the tree up by fixing our tree stand issue. I am grateful. Greg and I bought this tree the day after Christmas six months before we were married anticipating our first Christmas together. I still love it. It needed new lights this year and I was thrilled to find the old fashioned bulbs like the ones I grew up with. They made for a fun new twist on an old favorite. Kate couldn't wait for the tree or our first snow. Lucky Kate, today was her day! We got both! Mom took the big girls out for the new Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber cds while Dad held onto one very curious little boy. I hope I don't regret having this tree with Ty on the loose!

Thanksgiving with my favorite people....

Mom, Dad, Theresa and her family joined us for Thanksgiving this year. Greg started his famous turkey after work this morning. It was amazing, as usual. We had all the traditional favorites, thoroughly enjoyed each other and ate too much. After Theresa and her crew headed home, Mom and I slipped out for a little shopping. We happily tackled Old Time Pottery, accomplishing much but mostly making room for dessert! Afterward, we planned to hit Toys R Us, but bailed upon arrival! Holy Cow, people are crazy! There had to be 1000+ people standing outside in the freezing rain. There isn't a deal around worth that mess. Returning home after the kids' bedtime made dessert that much sweeter, in the quiet company of my husband and parents.

Each of the grandchildren contributed a hand print to our Thanksgiving wreath.

He's ready for the pros!

Mason is Makenna's buddy, but really likes playing with Kate.

One of Grandma's boys! Love this kid!

Dad says pumpkin pie is an excuse to eat cool whip. When planning our meal, I called and asked him how many 5 gallon tubs he thought we'd need and he suggested only 2!

Check out these rock stars!

Games and dessert.....it was a great day.

Early Holiday Fun

Note the little fingers reaching for the cookies in the bottom of the photo.....Ty hoped I was really distracted!

She's thinking a lot about Christmas....already!

Kate came down the stairs this morning and sat on the bottom step. After a few quiet minutes (which are really rare when Kate is awake), she said the spot where we put the big stuffed Santa needed something. Really? Hmmm....what do you think we ought to put there? After a thoughtful expression crossed her face, she decided the big stuffed Santa would be perfect! Score one for Kate.

During Family Fun Night last night, Ty was given his own bowl of popcorn. He was delighted and had it refilled twice! Up until now, I had only given him the soft part of each piece of popcorn, but he is clearly ready for big boy food!

Makenna's health update

Poor Makenna has not eaten since Sunday. She has visibly lost weight this week. Her 103 degree temp finally broke today and she is no longer taking Tylenol and Motrin in rotation every three hours. I had to take her into the doctor yesterday because she woke up with a mouth full of blisters. I was convinced it was still viral but had to be sure given the duration of the fever and body pain. Sure enough, she has a virus, but she tested negative for mono. It was so weird since her symptoms mirrored exactly what her friend's did and Hannah was positive for mono....anyway, given the season upon us, we are relieved that this will wrap up in a few days and she should recover quickly. We were also informed that this is not contagious so we pray it stops with her. Dr. Rezaei was out of the office so we met with Dr. Sepheri who prescribed ice cream and milkshakes for two days to add fat, calories and comfort for the painful blisters. Makenna likes Dr. Sepheri!

On a fun side note, I had to run errands today since we've been house bound all week. My van's transmission acted up again so I pulled off the highway to restart it and see if it would comply. It did. Praise God. Kate said that we'd call Daddy if it didn't work because he is really smart. I agreed that he is really smart but inquired as to whether or not she thought I was. She thinks I am too but since Daddy works at UPS, he must be smarter. Hmmm????

So I moved the toy box today......

Happy Birthday Lauren!

Lauren was celebrated this weekend. Her baptism and birthday fell within two days and she was well doted upon. Kelsey spent the weekend with us and they requested donuts for breakfast. She chose whole grilled chickens, mashed potatoes with gravy, homemade mac n cheese and slow cooked green beans for her birthday dinner yesterday. It was a starch overload but oh. so. good. We topped that off with cookie cake. Her gift was her concert ticket to see Justin Bieber this past week and we also gave her his new book. Overall, I think she is having a great birthday!

We had to celebrate a day early since Erin has school and works on Mondays. It is the one day a week we don't have dinner together as a family. As of three am, we were really glad we celebrated yesterday because Makenna appears to have Mono and our house no longer feels like a party!

Little blessings

This boy is wild and 16 months old today

Kate and Ty are both captivated by this little guy. He is a sweet little addition to our family two days a week.

Last week, I hit a mailbox with my passenger side mirror while avoiding a school bus in oncoming traffic who was left of center. I counted myself blessed to have hit only a mailbox and turned around to find the mailbox I hit to make it right with the owner. I knew the general vicinity but after two round trips looking for the right one, I couldn't narrow it down because four in a row were bashed in.....apparently this is not uncommon on that road! I was worried about it and talked with Greg about how to find the right one. Kate, the helpful one, has looked "for the mailbox Mommy hit" every time I've taken her out. By her calculations, I've hit no less than 1000 mailboxes thus far!
My van is having some mechanical issues and Greg was under it in search of our latest culprit this morning. Kate, again, our helpful one, pulled her little battery operated jeep up next to my van and her dad on the garage floor and told him it didn't sound right when she started it. That just happens to be the issue my van had a month or so ago when the battery was dying!
Greg was off work this week. It was a beautiful week. The weather was amazing and we did a whole lot of nothing. It was the calm before the storm. The upcoming season stresses us out with the demands of everything that comes with it so it was just wonderful to hang out together all week. Have I mentioned how much I love that man?

A Beautiful Day.......

She's got "Bieber Fever"!

Yes Cherie, she does still live here! Lauren is camera shy and doesn't let me take her photo often. I took advantage of her great mood today and am happy with the results. She is going to the Justin Bieber concert tonight with Kelsey for her 14th birthday this weekend. 14! How on earth is that possible? I love this girl. On a really funny note about the upcoming concert, Kelsey had a young man at school ask her out on Monday. She told him she had to wait until after the concert, "just in case". These silly girls are convinced they will someday marry that boy! Hilarious. I know for certain that Lauren would not tolerate a spoiled, high maintenance musician for long!

Little Man

He's saying "eww" which happens to be one of his favorite words.

Let's just say the back of his head is well documented as I can't seem to catch him looking at the camera for more than a split second!