Christmas Recap and Happy New Year!

We had a good Christmas. We didn't get to see family, but we had a nice quiet time at home playing games and just hanging out together.




And Santa came to our house early!!! Here he is with all the kids...



Jake wasn't too sure about this guy but he warmed up to him soon enough. I couldn't believe how much Stan looked like Santa with all that white. And in case you're wondering, that's his real beard that I promptly made him trim when Christmas was over.


And of course the presents...

Here's Mr. and Mrs. Claus...She seems to be aging better than he is. LOL

It's that time of year when everyone bundles up and walks around with clinched cheeks (and I don't mean the ones on each side of your smile!) because of the ice.

We've gotten quite a bit of snow the past few weeks. It hasn't been very cold so it melts and freezes again and again. We're actually on a flood watch today since it's in the 40's and all that snow is melting. Crazy.

This was taken (by me sticking my head out our back door since I didn't have shoes on) the first day of the new year...

Hope your new year is going great so far!

Snow 'n Stuff

Since this is "snow 'n stuff" - let's do the "stuff" part first...



Rebecca and Jessica had their school Christmas concert last week. Of course they were cute as buttons and it was fun watching all the kids. Here they are in their pretty dresses:

Mackenzie and I went to get hair cuts and they also styled hers straight and I thought it was super cute! We took off several inches, so maybe we'll have less frustration. Oh and her bangs are now officially grown out.

Alright, now for the "snow" part...

We got a few inches of snow. Don't ask me how many, I don't know. So we went sledding and then last night we got a few more inches of snow! And it's a dry snow so there will be no snowmen hanging out in the yard, but it's great for sledding (and skiing).

In the back yard we have this dug-out place and the kids like to sled down into it and...

...then it shoots them up the bank, and then back down again. (That's Mackenzie above and that's Jessica sledding in the picture below.)

Jake just liked hanging out and eating the snow.

Here's Rebecca heading down.

It's also good for snow angels! Here's Mackenzie...

and Jessica...

Rebecca was a good big sister and took the whiney 2 year old back in the house while the rest of us trekked down to the mail box. So I'll have to get Rebecca's angel pic next time we're out.

But for now I'm staying in by the cozy fire and having a cup of decaf!

Good Times!

Well I thought I'd update you on our latest and greatest happenings over here in the Estrogen Ocean. (I wrote this a few days ago, but am just now posting it...)





~ It's cold. Single digits, or less. I was really enjoying the mild weather we'd been having but I guess it's time for snap back to reality. At least we got our first snow. Finally. (update: we're back in the 20s again!! wooo hoooo!!!)


~ Jake learned how his hands feel when they get really cold and start stinging. He didn't like it. At all. Actually it made him quite mad.


~ The electricity went out (remember, single digits) and when it came back on, our TV wouldn't. And no, I promise that doesn't mean there will be any additions to our family. (Since by the 4th pregnancy people were asking us if we knew how those things happen. Yes. We do. Thankyouverymuch.)


~ I'm the worst mom ever. I saw the letter that Rebecca wrote to Santa at school. Other than the $80 stuffed animal that she won't be getting, she also asked for a new coat since hers is dirty. Doesn't that make a momma proud? I'll never be able to get a job at that school!


~ Jessica learned what happens when she sticks her tongue to a metal pole in single digit weather. She didn't like it. At all. The rest of us laughed because we're sympathetic like that. I'm pretty sure she freaked out, but by the time we headed out there she had unstuck herself and came in with her blood-tinged tongue hanging out.


~ I'm pretty sure Mackenzie planted that tongue-to-the-pole seed, but I can't prove it. Not that Jessica has ever needed prompting for anything, though.


~ In better news, our tree is still standing. (Maybe I should wait until after Christmas to report that?) And the dog hasn't peed on it. (Our dog is a girl, so I'm not too worried about that one. It just sounded so hopeful.)





Well, I ran out of colors so I'll stop there. I'm opting out of sending Christmas cards this year. That just sounds better than the previous years where I just didn't get around to it.


Sounds more proactive this way.


Not that I don't love all of you and wish you a Merry Christmas. I think you'll understand.


Jessica wouldn't be in the mood for licking envelopes anyway.


So, I'll keep you posted on any other wild and exciting times going on around here. In the meantime...



Merry Christmas!!



And that's "Christmas" -- with "Christ." Just in case you didn't know.

Christmas Tour of Homes 2008

It's time again for BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes! At first I wasn't going to participate because I thought it'd look just like last year. But, I couldn't resist...and there have been some minor changes/additions. I'll try not to talk too much since I know you're here for the pictures!

Now, since I haven't posted about actually getting the tree, we'll start there. Grab your cup of coffee/cocoa while we go outside.

Stan and the kids always go get our tree and bring it back as a surprise to me. Jake didn't make the trip this year because his nap was much more important. Trust me.

Here we have it all inside and set up, complete with towels under it to catch any melting ice. It's so hard to wait for it to dry out before stringing the lights!

Now we will stay inside for the rest of the tour because, baby it's cold outside! It was -3 degrees when I took the kids to the bus (wind chill -20). When I went out to crank the Excursion it said to me, "Are you stinking kidding?!" So lets cozy up to the fire for a bit.

Ok, so here it is all decorated. I give each of the kids a bowl full of the non-fragile ornaments to hang wherever they can reach then I hang the rest up high. In case you're wondering, the tree is roughly 13 feet tall. And yes I need a 10-foot ladder to decorate it. And yes I'm afraid of heights.

But isn't it worth it?! ;o)





Now we'll go around the room and check out the rest of the Christmas sights.

I was a little bummed that I didn't put up my little cowboy tree with the chili pepper lights this year, but having a 2 year old in the house calls for some modifications. He likes whacking the bell tree (pictured above) and making it ring. And I resist the urge to stop him, since what's the use of having a bell tree if it doesn't ever ring?

These little trees are new this year. Not the greatest picture, but at least I don't think you can see any cobwebs.

This year Stan came up with the idea of the 12 scents of Christmas and I gladly took that challenge. I found this cute little...um...what's it called? Anyway, you put the scented wafer in the bowl and light a tea light under it. Lots of fun! (Now if only the tea lights lasted longer...)


Confession: this is last year's picture, but it looks the same. I promise. Mom made this fun quilt wall hanging a couple years ago.

And she made this fun wintery/tree quilt wall hanging this year!! Isn't it beautiful?!

This is also last year's picture, but again...it still looks the same. This was new last year and I absolutely love it! I'd love, love, love the Willow Tree nativity set figurines. Maybe someday...but for now I'm happy with this!

(We do have our fun Little People nativity set...somewhere...I still need to go digging for sheep and baby Jesus. They couldn't have gone too far. Surely.)



So there you have it! Thanks for stopping by, we really enjoyed the visit! If you come back next week we'll have some homemade nativity cut-out sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles. That is, if you trust them. The girls always help make them...and sample them during the process.

Be sure to check out the other homes in the tour!

Birthday Girl is 6!

Jessica seems to have mellowed somewhat in her ripe old age of 6. I wonder if she's starting to pass the torch to little brother, but I'm not letting my guard down for a minute!

So, on to the birthday girl...



She asked for a brown bear cake, inside and out. So we had a chocolate-filled day! Note she is wearing her favorite color - purple. Also see that her bangs have grown out nicely. You can barely see the remains of her self-haircut in her school pictures. And her teacher loved the story and her pack of 24 scissors.




Don't be shy, Jessica. Go ahead and get up there and blow those candles out.


Thank goodness she is still easily pleased with her presents!

Now if she can just keep it away from Jake long enough so that he doesn't think it's his.

Jessica is still quite the free spirit. She loves to sing and will make up words and tunes if she can't think of any. She still loves to dance but some of her dance moves have gotten to be a little scary. But then again, while we were singing in church last Sunday she broke into a full body swirl and sway with the arms and legs and all. At least she stayed seated. She also has a vivid imagination and will recruit anything that isn't tied down into her little world of make-believe, giving them voices. And attitudes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For your Thanksgiving viewing pleasure...



Who needs parades and football games when you have this?!

Oh the joys of having sisters! Are there no blue, black or red goggles in this house?! Poor little guy. Tell me he won't grow up all warped!

(I haven't taken a picture of him wearing the big floppy yellow straw hat with a big yellow flower on it yet, but knowing how ornery this boy is already I'm thinking I may need some bribery pictures for later on in life.)



So anyway, moving right along....

Somehow I don't think washing Jake's mouth out with soap is going to do any good (that is, whenever he starts talking where we can understand him).

Why?

Because I caught him with this...

Yep, that would be the soap bar from our shower. I know... EEEEEWWWWWWW!!!

At least this time he didn't also rub body wash all over his face and hair. Like last time.

Hope you're having a wonderful Thanksgiving!! And that your turkey dinner tastes better than soap!

We will be (future tense...I'm writing this on Wednesday but setting it to post on Thursday) celebrating Jessica's 6th birthday, cooking turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, broccoli, rolls, and pumpkin pie, eating birthday cake, and possibly taking that whole turkey dinner over to someone else's house where our church will be having Thanksgiving all together. (Most people up here have family far away so our church has Thanksgiving together.)

And if you're going to brave Black Friday, good luck to ya. I'll be home snug as a bug!

Double Digits

Do I need to reintroduce myself? It's been a while since I posted so I have some catching up to do. We've got two birthdays in November and it's one down and one to go. Mackenzie turned 10 this month (Jessica has a Thanksgiving birthday this year and I'll post about it later on.)

I can't believe we're in the double digits now. That "estrogen ocean" thing is getting scarier by the minute!

Mackenzie asked for a chocolate two-layer cake with pink icing. She did the sprinkles on top herself.



And yes, it really is November here in MONTANA. You know, where it does get cold in the wintertime. You wouldn't think it since Mackenzie is wearing short sleeves and Rebecca is wearing a tank top. At least the other two have good sense (either that or they couldn't find their summer shirts that I hid).

We invited the girls in her class (all 5 of them) over for a little birthday party. Oh my head!

Actually, it went pretty well and wasn't too torturous. We don't do parties every year but we try to do them every now and then. Winter birthdays are hard because you can't really have the party outside and let the wide open spaces filter out the madness.

Fun Game?

Jake: Mama!

Me: What?

Jake: Mama!

Me: What?

Jake: Mama!!!

Me: What, Jake????

Jake: MAMA!!

Me: Yes, Jake?

Jake: Maaaama!

Me: Jaaaake!

Jake: Mama!

Me: What?



Wanna play?

It's usually only mildly annoying (and mildly cute), but when your throat is on fire it's not fun at all. He gets mad when you whisper.

You might have won Love Starts With Elle!

Remember the Love Starts With Elle tour a few weeks ago? You might have won a copy of the book afterall!!

Check it out! Here's what Rachel said on her blog:


Thanks so much to all the bloggers of the "Love Starts With Elle" blog tour. Applause, applause.

And a big thanks to all who signed up to win a free copy here at rachelhauck.com.

With so many entering, I just couldn't pick two so I went to Thomas Nelson with an idea and they heartily agreed.

EVERYONE IS A WINNER AT RACHELHAUCK.COM!

They are graciously supplying the needed books for the 63 who sighed up for the drawing!

Please send your name and address with "LSWE Winner" in the subject line to rachelhauck@gmail.com and I'll get those books mailed out to you in the next few weeks.

Congratulations everyone!


How 'bout that?! So if you were one of those who had left a comment on Rachel's tour post, go claim your copy!!

Halloween Night!

Why is it you can never get one decent picture of a group of kids?

Because they're kids. And kids wiggle, and giggle, and jiggle...and cry.

This year for Halloween the girls all wanted to dress up as princesses. (Rebecca is a "fairy princess," thankyouverymuch! Do NOT call her just a princess. She will correct you. Oh and don't tell her that's actually a "bride" costume I'd found at a consignment store.) Of course Jake is Spiderman.

He's protesting here because the girls got him in the car too soon and I had to get him out for pictures. He was ready to GO already!

I took several pictures trying to get him to laugh...or something. And when he does...

...Jessica looks away.

*sigh*

So anyway, the kids got home from school and all their school parties and hallway parades. Then after dinner we gathered up and paraded to the neighbors (well, not loud-car neighbor). We have an elderly couple across from us and each year they have a bowl of candy to give out. So when we showed up they were thrilled. We were their first trick-or-treaters in 15 years! (The kids were sick the past two Halloweens so we didn't go out then.) We live out of town, can you tell?

After that we went to town and trick-or-treated up and down a block where a couple of teachers live, then we went to a community party full of games and goodies.

They had this little set-up for picture taking:

It was so DARK in there I wasn't sure what kind of picture I'd have when we got home. Hmmm, not bad!

Stan missed out on all the hoopla because he's out hunting this week for opening elk season. I'm sure he's completely broken hearted! *grin* Actually, I know he misses seeing the kids all dressed up and excited, but I doubt he misses the craziness part.

Maybe I'll be able to post a picture of a dead elk when he gets back!

Oh, I also have to tell you that we went to trick-or-treat some friends of ours who the husband works with Stan. And while Stan is gone this week our friend is using his work truck. So when we pulled up to their house and the girls saw daddy's truck in the driveway they all said, "Hey!! Daddy's here!!!"

It was so cute!