Christmas.....

Ok so this post is only a WEEK late!  I have been running around with my head cut off (or at least that's what it felt like) for the past few weeks.  I thought FOR SURE things would calm down after Christmas.... NOPE! Not when your hubby decided that we should go visit his side of the family. and hey, since we were going to visit the In- Laws, we HAD to go visit my parents and brother (it is only fair!)  So I got busy making these for everyone as a gift....

I recruited my marine to cut out the wood for me and then painted these Nativities.  They are my favorite.  My girls LOVE to play with them and it's ok.... they are durable. Ya I know... I am crafty.  But everyone who I gave them to (so far) LOVED them! So they were a hit.

Anyways, back to the reason for this post.... CHRISTMAS 2010 for the our family......

My marine was AMAZING this year and helped me out a ton!  Kept me company as I wrapped the last few gifts and then helped prepare for Christmas morning.  I think this is the 1st time in YEARS that I haven't had to do it 100% on my own.  What a difference when you have help! 

So here are pictures from our Christmas morning. The girls LOVED their gifts.  Santa didn't get all the kuddos this year.  Dad and mom gave the "big" (expensive, I mean the one they REALLY wanted) gifts.

 Delaney's loot

 Haylee & Sydney's loot

 Dad, mom & Kelsee's loot

 Our tree BEFORE we opened presents

 waiting to check out what Santa brought

 HOLY COW!

 Delaney LOVED her Dora stuff!

 Pillow Pets..... Why didn't I think of that?  Big hit this year!

 Haylee has wanted a REAL sewing machine for a few years now

 Kelsee is a skater dude now!

 

 Delaney LOVED opening presents

the girls gifts from their daddy

 homemade gifts for daddy

 yes.... don't be shocked I was in a few pictures too. (after I handed the camera to my marine.  Because every year my girls say to me... mom, where were you? YUP! taking ALL the pictures)

 I just LOVED this face

How blessed we were this Christmas!  

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you!

Christmas Eve.... NEW Jammies!

We all LOVE our new jammies for Christmas!

 (sorry about the NO makeup.... I look like I've been run over by a MAC truck! But I made daddy take one so I had to take one too!)

 Sydney

 Haylee

 Delaney (she got new jammies but with being sick for the last week they fall right off her waist)

Kelsee

Now we are all ready for SANTA to come!

Oh the goodness

It is a tradition in my family to bake, bake and bake goodies for Christmas.... well we bake (make treats) with a purpose.  The purpose being that we pass out plates of homemade goodies to all the local Fire Dept. and Police Dept in the area CHRISTmas eve.  To thank them for their service and sacrifice for being away of CHRISTmas eve from their families, so that we can be safe.

This year Haylee helped me make most of our treats.  Actually we baked for 3 days.  1st making plates of yummy goodness to our friends and neighbors.  Lots of chocolate and peanut butter.  (it seemed to be the theme this year LOL) Yesterday though Haylee and I made some yummy goodness ...... like these

 And this was just some of it. 

Haylee, Delaney and I took it around last nite.  We started with the Naval Hospital,then off to the front gate of M.P.'s than off to the Fire Station (they dug into the treats before we even left the parking lot) and last the back gate of M.P.'s.  I am so glad that we have traditions, especially the ones I had growing up, that I can pass on to our girls.  CHRISTmas is for giving and sharing in the JOY of others..  Glad we could do that last nite, even if it was just with yummy treats!

Merry Christmas to all....

I want to wish you, all 19 of my faithful followers, a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!  I hope that you can all take time and remember the real REASON of the season. The birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He came to earth to be our example. To show us the way to live so that we may return to live with our Father in Heaven again.  I am so grateful for HIS sacrifice. May we celebrate HIS life by giving service to others around us who are in need.  That is my "new years resolution". 

MERRY  CHRISTMAS!

You tell me.....

Which do you like better?

or

I think the MEN IN UNIFORM are WAY better to watch!

MERRY CHRISTMAS (Eve) to you all!

Getting in the Christmas spirit.....

As I have gotten older and have had kids, getting in the Christmas spirit has gotten difficult.  Every year I get wrapped up in finding those gifts my girls want, TRYING to clean the house and prepare things so that on Christmas day, the house is "ready" for Christmas pictures. (looking back through old pictures I was not READY for Christmas day pictures. My house was a wreck and totally disorganized.  I DO NOT want that for this year!) I put WAY more on my plate than I need to. I stress myself out to the brink of going nutso! And EVERY year I say I am gonna be ready WAY before November so I can ENJOY the Season.  And yet again.... Here I am in the SAME predicament as always.... Stressed out and NOT in the Christmas spirit!

I fill my home with Christmas decorations.  I LOVE to pull out all my nativities and find special places for each one.  I love to decorate every inch of my home with greenery, red bows and lights.  

It is a tradition in my family growing up to read a Christmas story, poem or scripture each night before bed through the month of Dec. This is SUPPOSED to help get us in the RIGHT mindset.  The CHRIST-LIKE mindset.  The one where is it better to GIVE than receive. I so wish that before we had kids my marine and I would've sat down to decide just how we wanted Christmas to be.  I WISH with everything in me now that I would've started it LONG ago, to be SIMPLE.  I have 2 sisters that do just 3 gifts per child. Just like the WISEMAN that brought gifts to the Christ child on the night so long ago.  But I wanted my girls to have the Christmas they would LOVE and remember.  

I remember as a child always having an abundance of gifts under the tree as well as the gifts from Santa.  There were 6 kids in my family and both my parents were self employed.  They did NOT have the money to do all that.  Come to find out as I got older, we were SO blessed by family and friends each year.  We had MANY angels and secret santa's that blessed our lives by giving us a Christmas. 

My marines family growing up didn't have much either.  His parents both self employed as well and just scraped by.  Luckily their family was blessed by so many giving people at Christmas time too.  Each year someone from church would "adopt" their family and there would have presents for everyone wrapped under the tree. But there wasn't much else.  No presents from siblings and maybe just a homemade blanket and doll clothes for the girls, from their parents.

 As I have gotten older I realize it is so much better to get things we NEED than what we want.  We have become such a selfish people. It makes me sad.  When I looked at my girls Christmas lists this year I was a little shocked..... my 10 year old asked for a IPOD Touch, IPAD, IPHONE etc. WHAT? I don't even have those. It is the society we live in I guess.  I wish it was simpler like it was back then.

As this season draws closer to CHRISTMAS, I have prayed that the true season of Celebrating the birth of the Savior will fill my home and my heart.  That the craziness of shopping and buying gifts will calm and we can focus on the importance of this season.

1st Sgt Select

Well HE did it!  My marine was selected to 1st Sgt.  He is getting promoted.... SAWEET! I am SO proud of him!  He is the BEST marine ever and gives it 110%.  Now the question is WHERE in the You know what are we gonna go now?  My marine has to contact the monitor and let him know our 3 choices of where we want to go.  Problem is my marine looks at the job itself and I am looking at the schools, the area, the housing etc.  Compromise! is what it all comes down do.

I guess we will see.....

Our "official" Ball picture

Our picture from the Marine Corps Birthday Ball came in the mail and here is the result. 

Sorry for the glare.  I took a picture of a picture (DUH! after I put it in a frame)

Kelsee Lost her 1st tooth.... FINALLY!

Kelsee is 7 years old….. and FINALLY (according to her) she lost her very 1st tooth. She was wiggling and wiggling it a few weeks ago (Nov 17th to be exact LOL) before we left for church. She has wanted to pull it out for a while, but just too afraid to. FINALLY all the wiggling worked and it popped out.

Now tooth #2 is loose. Of course it’s the other front one… hey maybe she’ll be able to ask for her 2 front teeth for Christmas. 

Her toothless grin:

Her tiny little tooth:

You might call me crazy but I miss this.....

 SNOW!!!

My Year in Facebook Updates

Making Gingerbread houses

ok so I TRY to be a crafty mom.  It doesn't always work though. But this time I think it did.  The girls made Gingerbread houses.  They have wanted to make "real" ones, since I made mine at my aunt's house after Thanksgiving. 

(this is MY finished product.... not too bad for my 1st one)

These are the makings of my girls (with daddy's help.  I helped too but I was the taking the pictures too!)

(daddy candy PLEASE! How can you say NO to that?)