Christmas 2011

This has been a pretty good year. Although we had to move again we are thankful to closer to "home" and family and very thankful for gainful employment. Christmas has been a wonderful ending to the year.

I had every intention of having 3 gifts a piece for the kids this year to help us focus more on the true meaning of Christmas. I had the kids involved in the giving tree locally and we really worked on giving to those around us rather than asking for more, more, more. And I heard once that Jesus received 3 gifts so we should follow that example. Well, that is truly how it started out, but then it got a little out of control as Chris and I, and Santa, were just having so much fun with anticipation in surprising the kiddies and showing our love for them.

This little gem is made up of trinkets from the thrift store. Chris bought and created it in the last few days. A lot of love, creativity, time, thought, and energy were put into it. Richard has not been able to take his hands off of his new work bench. He has been working all day and playing with new toys on his breaks.

I fully intended to save this for Hannah's birthday because a lot of work needed to be done. I found this shelf at the thrift store and thought it would be perfect for a Barbie house. Chris had to putty some spots and sanded it for me. Then he painted it yesterday so we decided to go ahead and finish it up last night in time for Christmas. Luckily I had been shopping around to find furniture and made some bed spreads, pillows, and a bean bag chair out of scraps last night. Chris made two beds from 2x4's and we used samples of flooring from The Home Depot as the flooring. I love how it turned out, but I'm a little bummed that Hannah does not appreciate the time, creativity, and love that went into it. I think I like it more than she does.

This morning the kids were up before the sun, as is normal on Christmas. But when Santa's elves are working in the workshop past midnight then they are sluggish getting up to open presents. We did it anyway because we love these monkeys.

Grandma Kia gave them these darling animal pillows/blankets and they are really so excited. They are really soft and I want to take a nap with them. ha, ha

Richard got this cool Mater play house that he gets to color and decorate, a wall-mounted Hot Wheels track, an Air Hog helicopter, Cars Squinkies, and a Harry Potter Legos set. I think he is pretty happy about everything he got. 

Hannah got a princess castle, a tea set, a kids Singer sewing machine, a tea set, and a trunk of Tinkerbell dress up clothes.

The kids also got these cool glow in the dark solar systems and digital cameras.

Richard made this great tie rack for Chris today with his new tool bench. You cannot see it but he even wrote "Tis for Dad" next to the ties. So cute!

Santa also brought us an old school Nintendo with 6 games. This is a big step for Santa because he is not in favor of video games in this house, but Mrs. Claus has a differing opinion. Needless to say, it was a big surprise and I have felt like a kid again today. We have had a nice day. I am exhausted from putting all the things together and helping the kids with their new goodies.

Thank goodness Chris took over our turkey dinner and much of the clean up. Otherwise I would have served cold cereal tonight. lol

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas this year.

Yesterday the kids and I made some goodies for Santa: sugar cookies (with cookie cutters of course), yogurt pretzels, and caramel/chocolate pretzels. Buzz snuck a pretzel off the plate and Richard nabbed a picture.

Teacher Gift..

We are trying to be more creative and resourceful this year. I found this great project for teachers and gave it a try for Richard's school teacher. I am happy with how it turned out. It is not perfect but really cute. I hope Mrs. Burnett enjoys it and that she does not receive anything else like it. We are so thankful for all that she does for our little Richard.

Flipping for Christmas

Our house has been buzzing with Christmas excitement. Here are a few pictures which depict the excitement we see daily.

School Christmas Program

I was so proud of Richard. The first time they did this program he stood there frozen in fear. Later that night we got these darling videos...and he did a great job.

Birthday surprise

For my birthday I chose to go to The Nutcracker as a family this weekend so I was surprised to wake up to this...

Chris even let me sleep in while he took Richard to school and cleaned the kitchen while I lazily lay in bed. Thank you, honey for the wonderful day and making me feel so special! I love you!

Graham Cracker Houses

All of the first graders in Richard's school made graham cracker gingerbread houses today and Hannah was able to join in on the fun. We had a really fun, very messy, time. And it was great to see Richard while he was at school. Hannah misses him desperately when he is gone.

Miniature Bull Riding

Today Richard's class and the rest of the first graders got to go on a special field trip to the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds. The Northwest Miniature Bull Riding Finals are in town and the kids were invited to learn about bull riding.

Here are Richard and Hannah with Richard's friend Seamus.

After a brief presentation the kids were sent to various stations. We began on the roping station. The kids did well considering this is a tough skill to develop. I was all smiles watching these little ones. The teen cowboys were adorable with the kids and that was just as much fun to watch.

After this station we headed outside to see the miniature bulls and talk to the owners to learn about them. The owners took us to the chutes and taught us about how they open and that bulls have a preferred side to come from the chute. They take great care of their animals and the bulls only work 8 seconds a day.

Then we went to the bull riding station. This was right at the end and older kids from other schools were taking over so the kids had very quick rides before we had to leave.

This has to be one of my new very favorite pictures. What a crazy kid! I am so glad Hannah and I were able to experience this with Richard and his cute class.