Good bye to 09

Relishing in the peace and quiet in front of the fire, smelling cinnamon rolls in the oven and fresh brewed coffee... so grateful for my life, God, my fabulous husband-my soulmate-best friend, my 2 beautiful children, my parents, Ralph, Char, My brother, Tiffany & Jason all my family and friends. Thank you for the journey of 2009. GOOD TIMES ! GOOD TIMES !

I look forward to sharing a blessed 2010 with each of you !

Have a very HAPPY & SAFE NEW YEARS !

Christmas far from"Normal"

Christmas was far from Normal this year.

For a month, we had tossed back and forth what we were going to do for the Christmas holiday. We just had a hard time making any sort of decisions for what ever reason.

This year was going to be be very different on so many levels... Our 16 year old and our 9 year old were going back to Denver for the holiday, one set of parents were going to be on a cruse ship on the open sea half way across the world, the other set of parents are over 1000 miles away.

We tossed a few ideas around... Let's go to Florida to see our 85 year old grandmother. Washington DC is to be quite spectacular this time of year...

With our kids safely in Colorado and our parents safely half way across the world.

The question still remains unanswered WHAT THAT HECK ARE WE GOING TO DO?

Christmas Eve morning the conversation went something like this.

ME: Good Morning! Merry Christmas Eve.
My 29 year old: So what are we going to do today?
ME: I have no idea, what do you want to do?
My 29 year old: Well, I guess any out of state travel is out.
ME: Why it is just raining, we have no snow.
My 29 year old: Yeah well there is a blizzard every were else around us.
ME: Well let's go to church tonight.
MY 29 year old: OK... What time is the service?
Me: Well we have a choice 5,6,7 or 10:00.
My 29 year old: OK lets go to the 5:00 and the 7:00 and then go have dinner.
ME: Just looking at him, wounding if he realized it was Christmas EVE.
My29year old: Tomorrow we will go to Chicago to spend the day with Tiffany(DOR)and Jason(Silor). and then come home.
Me: OK, sounds like a plan(YEAH WE HAVE A PLAN)!


We left to go to the 5:00 church service. Great service, with a great celebration for the birth of Jesus and lot of Christmas carols we sang with packed house. It was beginning to feel like Christmas !

We made a quick stop and then my 29 year old really did wanted to go to another service. So we went, it was a candle light service it was very nice. We lit our candles while singing Silent Night. Then I felt a fuzzing next to me... It kind of sounded like OH, AHH SHHII..... I looked over and started laughing hysterically! My 29 year old had HOT dripping wax all over his hand and could not do anything about it other then sit there and look at it.

We got out of there quite quickly. While still laughing running to out vehicle in the rain. I got in and asked him it we are going to make it to the next service. My 29 year old looked at me and said NO, we are going out to dinner.

Again just looking at him, saying you do realize it is Christmas Eve ? He said yep everything will be open ! I gave him the good ol'emm~hmmm.

Well needless to say, NOTHING WAS OPEN....
Then we pulled into a lot with two cars and the sign said ....



I felt like I was living in the movie "The Christmas Story"
I could do nothing but laugh, I guess that we are making this night as far from normal as we can get. LET'S GO !

All in all we had a great time! Just the two of us, as far from what is Normal to us both. We had each other to bring in good cheer and I would not have changed a thing!

If I had to spend Christmas with one person, God new who that one was to be.
Thanks for the the wonderful Christmas Eve memories Nathan !


Merry Christmas Eve !

Christmas Magic

So do you BELIEVE ?
I'm 33 and the magic of Christmas is absolutely wonderful !

Over the years we tend to have so many different Christmas tradition...
We try to keep them going each year and some get lost in the hassle and bassel.

We stared this new charming tradition this year. For most families they started it when there children were very small. Like most children and adults through the ages, they wanted to know how Santa really knew who was naughty or who was nice.

When you have a child the doctors do not give you an instruction manual so you just have to go with it. That is what we have done here.

STICK WITH ME AND JUST KEEP READING.

So to help us with that answer few hundred year old question we officially adopted a pixie elf. We gave him a name(Max). Each year he will arrive around the holidays, usually at Thanksgiving like he did this year. His sole responsibility is to watch over the kids and Nathan too. Max will report there behavior to Santa each night. Each morning after we awake, we all discovered the elf had returned from the North Pole and was now resting in a new and different place.Max has been in our bathroom, on book shelf's, in the fire place, the Christmas tree and many more places. So far we have found him each time.

Each day we all have raced each other out of bed to try and be the first to spy him in his new position


There are a few rules to better preserve his mystique the kids are not allowed to touch him but talking to him well this a different matter all together. Nathan and the kids have shared many secrets with the elf (Max) my guess would both good and bad... but that is why they call them secrets, and while he was under strict orders not to talk to them, the elf (Max)was under no such orders where I'm concerned (Nathan does not like this rule).

Unwittingly, this tradition provided an added benefit: it has helped the kids and Nathan to better control themselves. All it took was a gentle reminder that the "elf (Max)is watching," for errant behavior to be modified.

This new tradition has lead to so many fun treasured Christmas memories for our entire family.

This Morning we had a bit of hard time trying to locate him. We thought that someone was bad and he did not come back from the North Pole. Well that is what I blamed it on. Needless to say that caused a emotional break down from both our 9 year old and the 29 year old. (What was I thinking when I hid this dam elf (Max)... I thought someone would find him... Sooner then later. I had to think quick.)

Then right before it was time to eat breakfast ... I asked for our 9 year old to get the milk out for the oatmeal.


There he is my 9 year old said.
He in the refrigerator Mom !




(I found myself thanking Santa...Made it threw that one.)

All you have to do is BELIEVE !

3 or 33 or 103 keep the magic alive !