Christmas Gifts 2008

I was a slacker and forgot to charge my camera's battery over night, so we missed the majority of gift opening. The charge while opening gifts was good enough to take pictures of the kids' last gifts opened: the big one from Dad and Mom.

Yakko got the coolest electric train ever: Hogwart's Express from Harry Potter 1: The Sorcerer's Stone. (Thanks again, Grandpa! You saved the day!)Dot got a refurbished laptop computer that Dad worked really hard on to make special for her. She's loving it!Wakko's been asking for a Red Rider BB Gun for the past 4 years--he finally got it.
Dot's loot: books, jammies, clothes, Cleveland Indians stuff, Bratz design station, Littlest Pet shops, Webkinz, a Nutcracker, a blanket, organization supplies, etc.
Yakko's loot: Ohio State shirt, cool books, rockin' games, Webkinz, MP3 player, 20 Questions, flashlight, jammies, a doctor Nutcracker, books, books, books.
Wakko's loot: cooking tools, a cook book, jammies, books, Webkinz, MP3 player, a hockey Nutcracker, Star Wars figure, books, a football, mini flyers.

Dad got some cool Cleveland/Ohio clothes, a scarf, a Nativity ornament, a bb gun, games, tools, pruners, a boat trailer thing-a-ma-jig, food storage items, and books.

I got a beautiful necklace and earrings, a fabulous book, a jumbo griddle, a massager, a teddy bear and book, gum, and pink fuzzy slippers.

Our family was given a bunch of fun decorations for our house and some games!

A big THANK YOU to all the friends and family that helped to make this Christmas special! We feel so blessed to have you in our lives!

p.s.
Even "Peanut" got a gift: his/her first onsies... Go Cleveland Indians!

Christmas Morning 2008

Christmas morning was loads of fun! We heard the kids up and about around 6:30 a.m. We made them wait for everyone to use the bathroom and to have Dad check to see if Santa had come. They were bouncing off the walls!

Once the kids were upstairs, they immediately found their stockings and posed to get the photo session over with.Dad looked super excited.
Yakko was just dying to get pictures over with so that he could attack his gifts.
Wakko gave me his best "look, I'm smiling already... take the picture and be done with it" look.
Dot was uber ready to go!Wrapping paper--beware!Even the dogs got treats from Santa.
Wakko was quite happy with his gift from Santa.

Christmas Eve 2008

Christmas Eve was a wonderful time (as it usually is) for our family. We were blessed to have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Z and T, and K. It was super delicious (ham, funeral potatoes, Christmas Jell-O, rolls, and desserts galore)! We came home and opened our traditional Christmas Eve gifts: what could they be?Pajamas! What a surprise! (or not...)

After putting on their new pj's, the kids went right to the task at hand and took writing a "thank you" letter to Santa very seriously.
Wakko then took his newly crocheted blanket from Grandma and tried to hide.
We said our prayers, snuggled, gave kisses, and sent the little darlings to bed. They were so excited that it took over two hours for them to settle down enough to sleep!

That's a Wrap!

I wasn't great about taking a ton of pictures backstage, but here are those that I did. Yakko had a brilliant time, and made memories to last a lifetime. Enjoy!

Eating... again
Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and Mrs. Cratchit

Scrooge and Tim

Playing card games to pass the time away

Mrs. Cratchit (Katey) and Tim

Hanging out with Charles Dickens

Tim and his new found "bff"

Posing with the crutch

Playing another game with the kids

Playing the dradel game

Hanging out with his buddies

Young Boy Scrooge

Our Family's Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

This year has been one of first, miracles, and unexpected joys. The year started off with us deciding for sure that we are very content living where we do: we know there's a reason we should be here. It was my honor in February to accept the position as choreographer for Taylorsville City's "Bye Bye Birdie". Little did I know that this would be one of the most fun experiences of my life! Our family has been touched by the wonderful friendships forged from that whole experience.

In March, our family went to Disneyland for the first time. It was the most fun it could have been! The only down side is that we fell in love with it so much that we're all itching to go back. Easter time was beautiful and wonderful. Our garden and yard produced so much wonderful food that we felt it was a great blessing.Wakko and Yakko participated in Little League Baseball this year. Although it wasn't Yakko's favorite thing ever, Wakko discovered new talents and abilities. His confidence and talents really grew this spring.My sweetheart changed jobs this summer and is so happy! His commute is five minutes--on a bad day. Work is 1/2 mile down the road, so that's been a great blessing. He feels very needed there and is learning so much every day.

Dot was able to attend her first Girl's Camp and Beehive camp. They were great opportunities for her to grow and step towards being an independant woman. Her self esteem blossomed and her confidence grew to a new level!Yakko did a great job earning awards in scouting and loved his scout day camps. He developed new skills and friendships there.All three kids had a blast learning a ton from their wonderful swimming teacher. They are already asking about swimming lessons for next year! We also developed a new love: archery.
August was a month of miracles and big changes for us. Our lovely boarder moved in: this was such a new and fun adventure for us! We were blessed tremendously to have my awesome brother come for a surprise visit for our dad's birthday. Memories to last a lifetime were made that weekend! It was great having all the siblings together: the only thing that would have made it better would be if my brother's darling family could have been here, too.In August, we were over joyed to also learn that we were expecting our fourth child. Hearts were broken when we learned that we had a miscarriage. The devastation and heart break that followed were indescribable. The support and love we felt from dear family and friends was incredible. Melissa, I still cannot thank you enough for your amazing support during this time. Little did we know that we hadn't had a miscarriage after all; we learned in November that we were actually still pregnant! Our surprise has really been amazing and the emotional roller coaster has been a trip, to say the least.

All three kids auditioned for "A Christmas Carol" at the Hale Center Theater. Although we felt the audition would only supply a good opportunity to have that experience, we were amazed when Yakko was cast as "Tiny Tim". Words cannot suffice the gratitude and joy of that entire production. Yakko's self image and confidence has sky rocketed and doors that we didn't even know existed have been opened wide for him. We will be forever grateful for the chance he has to be part of such a wonderful production in such an amazing place.
Friendships have been strenghtend, formed, and tightend. Love has grown. Life has been formed. Blessings have been abundant. It has been a wonderful year.

May God bless each of you and may your holiday season be filled with joy, laughter, happiness, peace, health, and miracles.

"God Bless us, Everyone!"

Sleep

I am thankful for a good night's sleep! As simple as this may sound, sleep has eluded me for at least the last two weeks; I have been averaging 3 1/2 hours per night. Last night I skipped out on Girls' Night (so sad! I really wanted to go...) in order to try to take better care of myself. I am so happy to announce (who cares?) that last night I got a whopping 9 1/2 hours of sleep! I feel like a whole new woman.
On a totally different note: I finally remembered my camera yesterday, so I took some pictures of Yakko and friends back stage. I will post them soon!

One Word

rULeS: aNsWeR tHe quEstIonS wItH OnE wOrD oNLy!!

Were is your cell phone? table
Were is your significant other? Colorado
You're hair color? blond-ish
You're favorite thing? family
You're dream last night? baby
You're life dream/goal? beauty
The room your in? kitchen
You're hobby? musicals
You're fear? loss
Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
Where were you last night? Hale
What you're not? thin
One of you're wish list items? health
Where you grew up? Sandy
The last thing you did? win
What you are wearing: maternity
You're TV? died
You're pet? smelly
You're computer? sweet
You're mood? content
Missing someone? hubby
Something your NOT wearing? shoes
Favorite store? Target
Your summer? fast
Love someone? tons!
You're fave color? pink
When is the last time you laughed? yesterday...
When is the last time you cried? today
Your significant other's hair: dark
You're life in one word: lovin'

Now it's you're turn!