Thankfulness

The last few years, I've done a daily Thankful post on Facebook for the month of November.  I have so much to be thankful for and am truly blessed in my life.  I feel like all too often, we get caught up with life and sometimes what we don't have, and forget to focus on what we do have.  I tried to post something each day (though I missed some because I'm seldom on the computer on a weekend) that I was thankful for, some days I posted two.  Some of those things were serious, some were funny, some were weird.  Here is the list, copied from Facebook:

Today I'm thankful for chocolate.

Today I'm thankful that after almost 15 yrs together, and lots of ups and downs, I still love Andy like crazy.

I'm thankful that not all of my dreams come true--last night's was strange, irritating, and quite frankly, it pissed me off.

I'm thankful that I am the mom to 3 beautiful, intelligent, funny, exasperating, dramatic, loving, crazy girls. I love you bigger than the universe, Alayna, Lilly and Mikayla!

Today I'm thankful for craft fairs and time with friends.

I'm thankful for all 4 of my wonderful, loving Grandparents. 3 of them have gone on to a better place, and one remains here on earth. However, today I'm especially thinking of my Grampa L. It's very fitting that today we celebrate All Saints Sunday on the first birthday we will have without him. Happy Birthday, Grampa!

Today, I'm thankful that I don't forget my contacts in my eyes every night! I totally forgot about them last night and woke up with itchy, red, goopy eyes and had to literally peel them off my eyeballs this morning! Ack!

I'm thankful for music. I love just about every kind, and listen to a wide variety on a regular basis. I've always got something playing or in my head. It plain makes me happy

I'm thankful my dishwasher at least gets the dishes clean, because it sure isn't "QuietGuard" like it says it should be. It's only 3 yrs old and SO loud.

I'm thankful for great friends and lasting friendships.

I'm thankful for my freedom and for those who fight, or have fought, to maintain those freedoms.

I’m thankful for my parents.  Thank you, Mom, for asking me if you could have the kids tonight. They will have a blast, and I REALLY needed a date night to get my mind off of a stressful week.

I'm thankful for fun socks. I can be having a crappy day or wearing the most blah outfit, but having colorful, funky socks just makes it all better.

I'm thankful I'm seldom sick (our whole family, actually). Last night was tough with my body aches and sore throat. :-(

Today, I'm thankful for 9-0!!!

I'm thankful my dishwasher is fixed and QUIET again! Woohoo! Had a local repairman come.

I'm thankful for a sturdy, warm house as we head into the winter months. I realize many are not so lucky.

I'm thankful for great books and movies that I can escape into. Tonight...it shall be Breaking Dawn. :-)

Thankful for naps.

I'm thankful for our local dairy co-op! Just a few miles down the road, I can buy all my milk, cheese and butter, knowing that it comes from local farmers. And the cheese is PHENOMENAL

I'm thankful for our little country church and all who worship there. We truly are like a big family.

I'm thankful for traditions.

I'm thankful for our wonderful pets, who bring us such joy--Sunny and Marley (dogs); Coonie, Sid, Mulan and Sleeping Beauty (aka Squirrel--all outdoor cats); and Belle, Chief, Bingo and Chloe (horses).

I'm thankful for warm, fuzzy jammies...and so are my kids! They had pajama day at school yesterday and thought it was the best thing ever!

I'm thankful for a day to slow down and reflect on all the blessings in our lives. As an aside, I'm also thankful that Urgent Care is open today--Mikayla's been up since 3 with an ear infection. I'm going on 4 hrs awake already at 7am...

I'm thankful for a great day with great friends.

I'm thankful for such a fun, busy, great weekend that I had no time to update my status!

I'm thankful my headache is gone, after about 20 hrs of it's wonderful presence.

I'm thankful for the elderly couple up the road, who every year put out a great lighting display for Christmas. My girls just LOVE going by there several times a week to look at the lights. I just made them a card to thank them for the lights and let them know how much we appreciate it! Now, we're going to drive by the house and get their address so I can send it (and hope the post office will give me their last name, so I can address it properly. We don't know them at all!)

October

 October was one of those months that felt like I went to bed on Monday and woke up on Friday.  We were so busy the entire month that it was hard to keep track of the days.  A lot of things happened, a lot of time passed.  And I was going to try to keep up with the blog better.  Ugh.  Oh well, here is a photo recap of the month.

 Lilly turned 7 on the 7th, which means it was her golden birthday!   She had 7 friends over for a party that included lots of outside play, a horse pinata, supper and cake.  They all had a blast!  (Marley also celebrated a birthday in Oct and it was her golden birthday, too!  3 on the 3rd!)

 

Lilly lost her first tooth on the top--literally lost it!  She doesn't like to pull her own teeth and will get them super loose, then have Dad pull them.  Unfortunately, he tied it with floss and when he made the knot tight to sever the last bit of whatever holding the tooth in, the tooth flew across the room!  Oops!  That was Friday and when we got to church Sunday, her best friend had lost the same tooth the night before!

 

 Alayna got an award through 4H for being the junior beef showmanship champion for the county.  She accepted the award in front of an auditorium of people and also has her name engraved on a plaque that hangs in the county 4H office.

 Alayna also got her braces off!  :-)

They girls didn't have school for a Wed-Fri in October, so we went on a mini-vacation to get some quality family time that had been lacking with all the busy-ness of the last several weeks.  We headed out Thursday morning for drive up to Ashland and around to Superior, where we stayed for the night.  We met up with our friends in Duluth for a visit to Enger Park and dinner.  Friday morning we woke up early to drive to Ely, MN, in the hopes of seeing a moose.  We didn't see one, but we still had a lot of fun driving around, checking out the shops, and playing at the park.  When we got back to Duluth, we did some shopping and then went swimming at the hotel.  Saturday morning my friend met us at the hotel with coffee for a visit, and we headed home late morning.  It was so nice to get some great family time!

The last weekend of October, we finally got our project day in!  We re-shingled our roof, put concrete in the barn, replaced my cracked picture window and cut down a tree in the yard that leaned toward the house.  It was so great to have everyone here, helping out and volunteering their time.  Thank you to everyone!

Of course, we ended the month with Halloween.  I don't know what's up with the picture, but I can't change it now.  Ugh.  Anyway, Mikayla was Belle, Lilly was Jasmine and Alayna was a punk-rocker.  The girls had a lot of fun and got WAY too much candy, but that's okay.  They already have plans for next year.  :-)

A Day All About ME! (and all the other Moms out there)

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year!  I've been meaning to post these pics for awhile, but honestly I forgot until my friend Lexey posted on her blog (thanks Lex!).  I posted earlier about how I was woken to Sunny and her run-in with some fishing lures, but nothing about my great gifts and love!  Alayna was trying to surprise me with breakfast in bed, but we didn't have enough milk for pancakes and only 1 egg (yeah...I needed to grocery shop)  Instead, we all had toast with peanut butter and raspberry jelly or cereal, and I opened my wonderful, thoughtful gifts from the girls.  They are truly the best kids I could have asked for to make me a Mommy.  Every day I am so thankful for having them in my life!

This first series of photos is from a book Lilly made for me at school.  She also made the handprint plaque.  Then it's a card that Alayna made, with coupons for me to redeem.  I didn't take a pic of my other gift, but it's the entire series of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman on DVD, including the 2 movies they made.  I have loved that show since it was on TV and watch re-runs on GMC all the time.  The girls have really gotten into watching it with me, so we're going to start from episode 1 and watch in sequence all the way to the end.

 

 

  

 

 

 

(Anyone want to teach me how to do those cool collages that I see on other blogs?  I didn't want to do them all in a row because that would be forever long...)

Lilly's Book reads: Happy Mother's Day.  My mom is the most wonderful mom in the word!  Her name is Candy.  She's pretty as a prinses.  She is 29 years old.  She weighs 90 pounds and is 30 tall.  She has blue eyes and brown hair.  Her favorite food is guockamoly.  In the good old days when she was little, she used to rid hoersis.  I think Mom is funny when she goes cross eyed.  But I know she's really angry when I don't lisin.  I wouldn't trade my Mom for lots of candy.  I love my Mom because I love her and she loves me.  Happy Mother's Day, Mom!  Love, Lilly.  (She also made me a card that says To: Mommy from: Lilly.  I love you a lot!  Happy Mothers Day!  And you are the best mom in the world!  But it won't post pics of that for some reason)

Alayna's card reads: Happy Mother's Day.  You are the best mom in the world.  Love: Alayna  This flower coupon is good for: cleaning the living room, a daughter/mom movie night, and breakfast in bed.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!  I wanted to take a moment to tell you all about the mothers in my life...

First, my mom Paula.  She's an amazing woman who is always there for us, no matter what it is we need.  She's kind of crazy like me, and that's why we work so well together.  She has taught me how to be a better mom with everything she has done for me in the past and the present.  When I need advice about something, she's the first person I call.  She never judges me (or at least makes me feel judged).  And when I don't need advice or just want to vent, she understands and lets me figure things out on my own or just get it off my chest.   

My Gramma C is another mother in my life who has always been there for me.  She has always made sure to have time for her grandkids, whether we were 4, 14 or 24.  When I was finishing college and had baby Alayna to find daytime care for, she was the first to volunteer her time to me.  It was such a blessing to know that our little girl was being cared for by someone we loved and who loved her as well (and her fee of "bring me to breakfast every so often" was perfect for a college student and her hubby who worked barely above minimum wage at the time!)

My Gramma L is no longer here on earth, but I know she helped shape me in my own journey as a mother.   When I was younger, we spent a lot of time at her house and she was always patient with us when we helped make cookies or dinner.  On New Year's Eve, she'd let us cut up page after page of newspaper into tiny pieces and throw them as confetti, telling us a mess can easily be cleaned up after having some fun.  She was also a tiny woman with a huge giggle who could surprise you with things like a homemade meal from seemingly nowhere, or her abilities to shoot a woodchuck in one shot from quite a distance--through the open bathroom window.  My only regret is that she passed away when Alayna was only 8 months old, so none of my girls got to know her.

My mother-in-law Lynn is not the typical "monster-in-law."  She is my husband's mother, but she's also like a second mother to me.  She and I get along great and though we have differences in some ways, we never let that come between us.  I feel just as comfortable spending a day with her as I do my own mom.  She is always there when we need her, for a recipe or advice or help with the girls.  She lets me be me in all my quirkiness and just laughs when my crazy ideas come flowing out.  I am so thankful for all she did to raise her son, who is the perfect man for me.

I have a huge network of aunts and friends who are amazing moms.  They have all taught me something about motherhood--from craft ideas to tips for medicine taking to discipline plans and everything in between.  Each person brings something new, important and different to the table.

My life is infinitely better for all the moms in it.  I love and thank you all!

Hoppy Easter!

We hope you had a great Easter celebrating that Jesus rose from the dead!  We had a wonderful day.  It started with our egg and basket search, then church service, then we hosted Easter dinner for my mom's side of the family.  We ended the day with a nice afternoon walk and family movie night viewing of "Tangled."

Christmas was here

Christmas was last week, in case you didn't know. We had a crazy busy few days, like normal, but it's always so fun and well worth the lack of sleep and minor temper tantrums that may appear.

It started off with our daycare Christmas party on Thursday. I had all my daycare kids here and we made ornaments, watched "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas", had a dance party and played freeze dance (both with Christmas music), baked some cookies for them to take home, had lunch, read a few stories and then opened up presents...all before 2:00 when they were all picked up so I could go to a funeral in the cities. Whew, it was a crazy day (and I didn't even tell you about having to pick up Lilly from school because she threw up. Twice.).

Christmas Eve started out with sleeping in until 8:00!! It felt like a Christmas miracle, I tell you. And everyone was healthy and feeling great! We had a few screaming sessions that resulted in children finally helping clean the house so that it was presentable when our company came around 9:15. Since the house was now clean, we could all be happy the rest of the day...which we honestly were. My parents, Andy's parents and Andy's sister all came over for brunch and the present presentation. Together we prepared eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, sausage and toast. It took about an hour and it was all gone in 4 minutes. Then we opened presents from my parents and the girls didn't catch on that there were only a few presents from one set of grandparents, but not the other. Or that all the presents had a theme...like princesses, Tinkerbell, Mickey Mouse...you see where I'm going here? They finally figured it out when a calendar with a countdown was opened.

We're going to Disney World. Yep, my parents and Andy's parents are taking us all to Disney World--all 11 of us (my 5, my parents, my sister, Andy's parents and Andy's sister) It should be crazy, stressful, and a whole lotta fun!

After presents, we got ready for church and headed out. I managed another Christmas miracle by getting a picture in front of the tree at church with my girls and my 2 close friends' 5 kids all looking at the camera, smiling, and looking great! One picture and they all scattered. It really was a miracle. Then we went to dinner at a family friend's house, where Mikayla chewed her turkey for so long she turned it into paste and gagged herself...all over my shirt. Greatness. Mikayla, of course, was just fine and played hard the rest of the night. After dinner, we went over to Andy's parents' house and opened up some presents there before heading home with 3 very sleepy girls.

Christmas morning was our third and final Christmas miracle--the girls slept in until 8:15! It was crazy to wake up and have the sun up already, especially on Christmas morning when the girls were chomping at the bit the night before and telling us they would be up at 6. We opened presents and then raced to my parents' house for our family gathering with all her siblings and family. Sunday was spent at Andy's cousin's house for that side of the family's gathering.

Very busy, very fun, very crazy. I would post pictures but for some reason, it's not working right now. *sigh*

Cards Schmards

So if you remember my earlier post about our Christmas card fiasco, here's Part 2.

They're still messed up. Yep, I did everything they told me to do and they assured me that the print preview is exactly how it prints. The print preview was perfect, so I printed them and then waited. 13 days. We got them in the mail on Saturday and we gained about 1/2 of a letter on the end of each line. I was so upset because now it's just too late to do new cards. They'll just have to make do. Ugh.

Oh, and my Christmas letter was being printed when my ink ran out. In the middle of Lilly's synopsis. So I need to find a way to e-mail the letter to someone, have them print it, then get them copied and sent all before this weekend.

If you're on my normal card list, don't count on it. You'll probably get them more around New Year's, but that's okay. I'll post it here after I've sent them in the mail. At this point, I'm about to say cards schmards.

Programs

This past Thursday, the girls had their program at the school. Lilly's class was up first and for Kindergartners, they did a great job! Usually, you can't really understand what they are singing but they are so darn cute you don't care. But this year we could understand every word! Lilly was the last person on the top left row.

The program progressed through 1-3 grades, then Alayna's 4th grade class came out to do a little play. Alayna was an elf and had 2 speaking lines. She did a great job saying her lines and dancing across stage.

This Sunday was our Sunday school program at church, despite the snow and cold. My mom wrote the program again this year and did a great job! The kids put on a news broadcast like what would have been seen on that first Christmas. There was a traffic report, saying how busy the roads were because of everyone coming into town for the census and even included funny tidbits like a "camel down on I-95" and a horse that "threw a shoe on the Bethlehem Bypass." We also had a weather report, which stated that the skies were unusually clear and one could see for miles. Then the anchor (Alayna) reported on the census before breaking news came in about a strange, star-like light high in the skies over Bethlehem. The roving reporter (Lilly) was on the scene to investigate. She interviewed several people in the crowd to see if anyone knew what the light was. Then our traffic reporter interviewed a shepherd who said angels appeared to her on the hills! After some further investigation and an interview with a local inn-keeper, reporter Lilly found the newborn Baby Jesus in the hay. It was such a cute program and my mom did a great job writing it! The only thing that would have been better is if our church had a few more kids so that each child didn't have multiple roles. But all in all, it was a great success!!

Christmas Cards

I have gotten in the habit of making our own Christmas cards on PhotoShop. A friend taught me how to do it a few years ago and not only is it pretty easy, but then I can have them look just how I want it. I don't have to adjust anything to fit a template, or deal with wording that is okay but not quite what I wanted. I can do as I please.

Yesterday I got our cards in the mail. I set the size to 4x6 on PhotoShop and then print them as photo prints from an on-line site--it's cheaper that way and works great. Until this year. Apparently 4x6 isn't quite 4x6, but more like 3 15/16 x 5 7/8. Must be that "new math" everyone is talking about. So my cards came without the last letter on the last word in each line. Oh and the year for these cards is 201. Fun stuff. It's like a word puzzle (everyone who knows me know how much I like brain teasers and word/number puzzles) to figure out what it is I'm really trying to say. *sigh*

I spent almost an hour on chat this morning with Customer Service trying to figure this out. They said my digital photo size didn't match their digital photo size. I said, "I set the photo size to 4x6 when I created the file and I ordered 4x6 prints." But somehow that doesn't match. Thankfully, they worked with me and credited me not only for the prints, but also for new shipping. They gave me a few tips on how to correct it and it's supposedly all legit and good now. I guess I'll see in a few days when my new cards arrive.

So if you get a card in the mail and it's a fun word puzzle, there's a prize for those of you who can figure it all out! Okay, so there really isn't, but you can pretend there is cuz I'm nice like that.

Giving Thanks

I love Thanksgiving. I love the family atmosphere, the wonderful food, the start of the "Holiday Season". But most of all, I love how it's a day dedicated to being thankful for what we have. All too often, we (and I'm including myself in that we) tend to focus on the things we don't have instead of those that we do.

Every year during the month of November, I post a daily (except for weekends, since I'm seldom on the computer Sat/Sun) thankful post on my Facebook status. I thought it would be fun to list them all in one place this year. So below, you will find just a fraction of the things I'm thankful for.

Candy...

*is thankful for a healthy family, as I know many who are dealing with sickness and disease or even the loss of a loved one.
*is thankful that I live in the United States of America, where I can voice my thoughts and opinions without fear of persecution. How do I voice those thoughts and opinions? One way is to get out and VOTE.
*is thankful for music and the ability to hear and enjoy it.
*is thankful for my Carhart jacket on cold mornings when I have to feed the calves and horses at 7 am and 25 degrees (or colder).
*is thankful for a hard-working husband, even if that trait is one I simultaneously love and don't love about him. ♥
*is thankful for a beautiful day spontaneously spent at the zoo with my girls and a great friend!
*is thankful for the roof over my head and all the things I have under that roof--even if they need to be cleaned or washed or thrown away--because it reminds me I'm more fortunate than many...and to count my blessings.
*is thankful Andy was feeling well enough (he stayed home from work b/c he's sick) to monitor nap-time so I could go for a 1.5 hr horseback ride on this beautiful, sunny November day that is 62 degrees--which is 20 above average!
*is thankful that I finally got off my butt this spring and went to the optometrist. Seeing things clearly again is amazing!
*is thankful for the great library we visit--it's a beautiful building, staffed with wonderful employees and volunteers, filled with fantastic books and opportunity, and visited by some pretty great people!
*is thankful for all the men and women who have served, or are currently serving, our country (including their families who sacrifice so much!) A special shout-out and thank you to my cousins Matt and Reed, who are both active duty right now.
*is thankful for where we live--I love Wisconsin and all the seasons and changes.
*is thankful for a great family day--a little shopping; then basketball tournament for Alayna; 8+ inches of fresh, wet snow that was a lot of fun to play in; a great snowy day dinner and then a family viewing of Grumpy Old Men, one of the best movies ever!
*is thankful the power came back on after about 2 hrs--it was getting cold in here!
*is thankful that Andy and I have the same weird, warped sense of humor--we make each other laugh all the time and that's such a huge blessing!
*is thankful for my girls, who bring me such joy, love, confusion, anxiety...but I wouldn't trade them for the world!
*is thankful that not all socks are toe-socks. :-P
*is thankful for the ability to read--it allows me to learn, grow, dream and escape. (I'm also thankful for writers and authors who allow me to do the above mentioned things.)
*is thankful for new opportunities.
*is thankful that I don't have to be on the roads today, Day 2 of freezing rain and ice. Fun stuff.
*is thankful that Andy installed my new light above the kitchen sink. It hasn't even been quite a year since I bought it... ;-)
*is thankful that I found my Grampa's pocket-knife after 3 yrs!!!! My Gramma gave me one of his engraved knives after he passed away and I was certain I'd lost it for good. SO happy!
*is thankful for LIFE!
*is thankful it's time to decorate for Christmas!
*is thankful for the great 4H group that we belong to.
*is thankful for the likes of Mannheim Steamroller and TransSiberian Orchestra this time of year...and Sarah McLachlan's "Wintersong" cd...and all Christmas music, really.

*Knock Knock* Hello?!

Is anyone still out there? I know, I know...It's been a long time since I updated. Over a month and a half. Ouch. We have been busy and while that's not an excuse, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

But I've been informed that people have missed our little family. And I've missed blogging. So I'm going to make a bigger effort to keep this thing caught up again. But in doing so, I'm going to do one update post right now, with some pics, and then we'll be off again on the daily what-nots.

So what's been happening since Lilly turned 6? Well, she had her friends over for a friend party. And she was able to officially join 4H as a Cloverbud. Alayna started basketball, which has kept us running at least 3x a week for after school practices and 5 Saturdays in a row for tournaments. We celebrated Halloween, where we dressed up as the 3 Blind Mice, the farmer and the farmer's wife (complete with a cardboard and aluminum foil carving knife) Mid-November brought us our first snowfall of the year--10" worth--and a great day in the snow. The snow is still around and today we are dealing with freezing rain on top of it. I started watching a new little girl for daycare and last week interviewed a new little boy who will start after Thanksgiving. I also found out one of my families has a brother who will need childcare for his son come January--so I feel very blessed to be keeping busy. Andy shot a very nice buck on opening day of deer season, and the head is in my freezer. Yes, I'm told it will get mounted. I can't really fight him much because he lets me do just about anything when it comes to decorating the house...

That's the last month in a nut-shell. Now here are some pics and we'll hopefully see you soon, same place and whatever time is convenient for you.

Alayna zooming by with the ball

Lilly wanted a big brownie instead of cake for her party

Halloween 2010

Snow!

Easter in Review

Our Easter started on Saturday morning with a craft. A few weeks ago, I found a Foamies Easter Egg Wreath kit. It included two wreath forms, dozens of foam eggs in all different colors, and various shapes and fun things to decorate the eggs with. The girls loved. We made a beautiful wreath for on the door, and the girls also decorated individual eggs for their teachers, friends and family. It was a hit!



Sunday morning we were up bright and early for the egg and basket hunt before church. Alayna and Lilly each got new bike helmets and Mikayla got a pink soccer ball. Of course, modeling had to commence immediately after finding their baskets!

Church followed a hasty breakfast, then we came home to host the holiday meal for my side of the family. There were 17 of us here for ham, cheesy hash browns, buns and various salads. Then the guys hid 74 plastic eggs filled with candy around the yard for the little ones. Lots of fun to search for the eggs!

Christmas 2009

Our Christmas was a great one this year. We had a lot of wonderful family time, time with friends, and some yummy food.

Christmas Eve my parents came over to do presents and brunch--steak and eggs and hashbrowns. After opening presents (we got family themed gifts of new sleeping bags, air mattresses and a huge new tent!!), we played a few rounds of Disney Scene It and then took naps. We made it to church on Christmas Eve, in the middle of some pretty heavy, wet snow, then headed to Andy's parent's neighbors (who are like family) for dinner. Then it was off to the in-law's for presents.

The girls helping my parents open presents

Ready for church!

The snow from church to dinner at 35 mph

My baby-the Cricut I got from Andy's parents!

There are too many pictures to post them all, so I'll add that Andy got a miter saw from his parents that he's been wanting for a long time. We all got some really great gifts from Bill, Lynn and Alicia and had a lot of fun visiting and being together. We also got a great family gift--a year's membership to the Minnesota Zoo! It will be so nice to be able to go whenever we're in the cities and have some time without having to worry about cost! The girls and I LOVE the zoo, and Andy tolerates going there...

Christmas morning Alayna woke up about 6:45 and it killed her to wait for her sister to wake up at 8:00! The 3 of us snuggled in bed until the little girls woke up, then we headed downstairs to see what was under the tree. There were filled stockings on the stair railing and presents for everyone--including the dogs.

Marley and Sunny anxiously waiting for their bones--Sunny is excited, Marley has no clue but is excited because Sunny is

Mmmmmmm
Sunny tried to steal them both
Lilly got some new V-Smile games

Alayna got a new camera!

Alayna found Mikayla the purple rescue Mermaid that she'd been asking for--we have no idea what it is, but a purple mermaid was found and it fit the bill! She was so excited!

Lilly was relaxing on our new air mattresses and playing her new game

The Christmas pic in front of the tree

Christmas afternoon was spent at my parents' house, visiting with mom's side of the family. Saturday was a day to relax a little, and we went to see the Chipmunk's Squeak-quel. Saturday night Andy's cousin and his family stayed overnight. The kids had a sleepover and played, watched movies, did kid-stuff, while us adults played games. In the morning, the kids played outside with the dads while us moms cleaned up from the previous night. That day at noon, people from Andy's side of the family started showing up and we hosted Christmas for 24 (I think).

All in all, this Christmas was a wonderful time and we are now anxiously looking forward to the new year and all that it has in store for us!