Christmas Update

I guess I am posting this to brag a little. I am totally done getting ready for Christmas!!! All of the gifts are bought and wrapped and ready to go. I even have all of my stocking stuffers ready to go. I still have a few to deliver to friends but the rest are waiting for "Santa". I am so glad to be finished with over a week to spare. So you won't see me out the night before frantically trying to find a gift! Good luck to all of you out there, I hope you find the things you are looking for so you can get some holiday relief soon. Only 8 more shopping days left!!!

Little Boys are Such Joys

Yesterday Parker spent the day with his daddy. They had a few errands to run and then they went Christmas shopping for me(mommy). When I got home Matt was finishing wrapping the gifts they had bought. He said to me, Parker wanted to give this this to you, something that we didn't buy. I was confused for a minute and then he continued to tell me that Parker wanted to wrap the coaster set that we have in our living room and give them to me for Christmas. So Matt wrapped them up and put from: Parker, to: mommy on it. Matt told me to act surprised when I open it. I thought it was pretty funny. I guess Parker saw Matt wrapping all the presents and wanted to contribute. He probably looked around the room and that was one of the first things he saw. I thought it was sweet that he wanted to "give" me something, even though it was something we already had. He can be so sweet sometimes and I love it when he is.
On a side note, I have just finished all of my treats for friends and neighbors. I have a few gifts to wrap still and 1 still to buy. Other than that I am all finished. Now I just need to deliver my goodies and I will be on a roll!!!

Oh Christmas Tree

Today I caught Paige unassembling my Christmas tree. She is almost to the crawling stage and is become quite the curious little girls. She can't quite seem to get her leg out from under her and then figure out how to move her hand and legs to crawl. But that doesn't stop her from getting what she wants. I will put her down in one spot and a few minutes later she has scooted across the floor. This morning she made her way to the tree and began pulling on a branch. Then she caught eye of an ornament and successfully pulled and pulled until she got it down. Then after playing with it for a few minutes began searching the tree for something else she could get down. She found an ornament with a bell in it and thought that was fun to play with. I just watched her for a minute and then grabbed the camera to capture her in the act. I want to make sure and remember and preserve her first Christmas as much as I did for Parker. I had noticed that ornaments had been rearranged, but I just assumed they were always moved by Parker. Now I know that she probably took them off and Parker tried to put them back on the tree where she couldn't reach them. I have a few branches at about his eye level that have 2 or 3 ornaments on them and the branches at the bottom don't have any. Kids...you gotta love them!!!

Sister's Graduation

My sister Graduated from nursing school on Thursday. We are so proud of her for sticking to it and finishing. She has been a super busy lady working 2 jobs and going to school to finish. We know she will make a wonderful nurse and that she will help out many people. We went to a little ceremony that the school had on Thursday night and then we went out to dinner to celebrate. The kids were pretty good, considering they had to hold still and be quiet for over an hour. We are so excited for you Charyn and can't wait to be able to spend more time with you now that you will have some free time!!!

Busy Day

Today I seemed to have a burst of energy or something because I got so much done today. I am worn out right now from it, but I feel so good when I accomplish a lot during the day. I cleaned my bathroom, incluuding cleaning out 4 drawers. I vaccumed the entire house, did 6 loads of laundry - including washing big brothers comforter and sheets. I made 7 loaves of banana bread, did the dishes--twice, made dinner, dusted my bedroom, cleaned out the coat closet, and copied my Christmas letter to get it ready to send. When Matt got home from work he didn't say anything about it until I wouldn't let him just plop his stuff on my clean and clutter free kitchen table. Then I told him how I had worked hard to get the house cleaned up and he had better put his stuff away where it goes. Then he made the comment on how good the house looked. Although I accomplished a lot, I still have a few more things to do in order for my house to be cleaned good this week. Sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor, paying some bills and folding towels are on my list of to-dos for tomorrow. I do know why I don't usually get this much done in a day, 2 kids that make messes almost as soon as I get one cleaned up. But it sure feels nice to have a clean house at the end of the day!!!

Girls Night Out

So I posted about a girls night out on Saturday. Here are the pictures of us girls at the resaurant. Lindee, Tate, Melissa, and Me. We had a great time talking, laughing and catching up with each other. We sure need to do that more often. It was fun to get away and have a break from the kids. Thanks to Matt for watching the kids. He did have to call and tell me to come home after Paige cried for over a half hour. He couldn't seem to calm her down....she's a mommy's girl. What to do?? But I guess 2 hours is a long enough time for dinner right, haha!!! Love you girls, it was so fun!!!!

Countdown to Christmas

Only 24 days until Christmas!! I can hardly believe another year has almost come and gone. There is something about the feeling in the air when Christmas is apporoaching, no I am not talking about the bitter cold weather. I love the feeing of Christmas all around, the lights and decorations, the holiday baking...and eating, the buying and giving of gifts, wrapping presents, decorating the tree, the first snow fall, and the music. The true meaning of Chritmas and the real gift we have all been given!!! I love the fact that I know we will be able to be together as a family on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and to be able to spend time together laughing, talking, playing games, reminiscing and enjoying one another's company. I truly love spending time with the people that mean the most to me. I can't wait for that special time. So today begins the Christmas countdown!!! Here is my list of to do's before the big day: (In no particular order)
1. Finish writing my christmas letter, copy family pictures, and send out Christmas Letters to family and friends.
2. Finish Christmas shopping
3. Finish gift wrapping
4. Make holiday goodies for neighbors, visiting teaching families, and home teaching families... (not quite sure what I am going to make yet)
5. Attend ward Enrichment night, it is about Holiday Traditions.
6. Attend ward Christmas party.
so far that is what is on the calendar. I am sure there will be more to come.