Jack and Elie Day

Jack and Elie came over for some play time on Thursday, and we had a great time putting together a puzzle, making cupcakes, building with legos, playing soccer in the hall, and reading books. Elie loved two little metal bikes, and she kept thinking that she could ride them - it was really cute :). Jack is quite the baker. He learned how to work the mixer and was very excited to frost the cupcakes. Elie was also very excited to bake, and she was so proud to pour in the ingredients and put the liners in the cupcake pan :). It was so fun to get to spend the day with them, and we wish that they lived much closer so that we could see them more often!

Christmas Celebration

We had wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations this year. For Christmas Eve, we went over to my parents for a delicious steak and chicken dinner. The kids all received their traditional Christmas pajamas, and the dogs were even included in the pajama tradition this year! Then we went to an inspiring candlelight Christmas Eve service at Village. The kids slept in until 7:20, and then came downstairs to open their stockings. We invited Mom and Dad over for cinnamon rolls, and they enjoyed watching Conner and McKenzie open their new iPhones that they gave them for Christmas as well as watching Kelsey open her jacket and shoes that she really wanted. Conner was more than surprised to get a phone, and McKenzie had a look of shock on her face when she saw that he got one (little did she know that she would be getting one, too :). We spent Christmas Day relaxing at home. Kelsey and I took a little walk together, and she and I tried out her new popcorn popper by making popcorn before lunch :). For our family celebration on Christmas night, we did something new this year - we all went bowling! Amy was most improved by going from a score in the 60's to getting the top score the next game of over 150! Jim suspects that she has been sneaking away to the bowling alley when the kids are at school :). After bowling we all went back to my parents' house for a hamburger and hotdog barbecue! As Paula Dean says on her cooking shows, she could eat hot dogs for Christmas as long as she is surrounded by family! Family really is all that matters, and I definitely felt that this Christmas.

In Honor of A Great Man

To honor my grandpa's very generous spirit to those in need, my parents, siblings, and all of the kids adopted a couple of families this Christmas season. It was great to shop with the kids to pick out their presents and have everyone help wrap. The whole family came over for a pizza lunch, and then we all went together to deliver their gifts. The families were also given food from a food drive at Curves, where both my mom and I exercise. The women there were very generous, so the families each received many bags of food along with gift cards to Fred Meyer. We sure miss Gramp, but it's so great to do something to really honor a person who lived out the spirit of Christmas all year long.

Annual Cookie Exchange

It was lots of fun having everyone over for our cookie exchange again this year. Fawn and Mia even drove down from Seattle just for the occasion. The younger girls got to do a gift exchange this year, too. It's always so fun just to spend time together. Peter was such an amazing help in getting ready for the party and then doing most of the clean up afterwards. I'm so grateful to be married to such an amazing man, and I'm so grateful for our family!