Christmas Vacation part 2.

On Christmas day, Josh and I went to his mom's house and had Christmas with Josh's brother, Dan, and his wife, Kim, and our adorable nephew, Kaleb. It was so great to spend time the 6 of us. Momma E prepared a lot of tasty snacks and we opened presents, and let me tell you, we hauled it in! Here's some pics. (Don't worry, there are more coming for sure.)







After we opened gifts and hung for awhile, we ventured over to Uncle Jim and Aunt Sue's to have the Christmas meal. Oh my gosh delish. I then experienced 'The Leg Lamp' first hand...yup, I had no clue what it was. Then Josh and I headed to Dan and Kim's to hang out for a little longer. It was a huge adventure to be sure. Actually made up of many little adventures:

Adventure recap:
- Watching anything on a 52in HD TV. I'm telling you it's close to 3D...we were watching the Office and Michael was practically life-sized.
- Tasting the new and magnificent Olga's cuisine.
- Watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, marathon style.
And probably the most adventurous....
- Attempting an 'out to eat' trip with no diaper bag! Outcome: SUCCESS!

Like I said, more pictures to come.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!

Today, 23 December, is Joshua's birthday.

YEAH 29!!

Christmas Vacation...part 1

Soooo, as Josh weathers (ha ha) the ice storm in Missouri, I'm up here in the beautiful flakey snow of Michigan. (Some of my best friends are flakes...ha ha ha) <-can't take credit for that one, saw it on a sign this morning next to a snowman. ha ha ha!

We've been busy packing boxes, moving car loads of boxes to the new house, and running errands for Christmas, groceries, and house stuff...all while entertaining two 1-year olds. Yup. The twins turned 1. It was a pretty fun birthday party! I'm sure Marth will have more pictures up soon. I'll make sure to give her a break from the boys/packing in order to do so.

On the crazy scale...I would say we're nearing full throttle towards getting almost TOO much done in a day. Yeah right. We'd still have a list a mile long. But, we're having lots of fun. Here's a great couple of pics for your viewing pleasure.

A Season of JOY!

WOAH. Can you tell we have a large family! Don't be fooled it's really not that many, it just looks like it cause I wrap EVERYTHING...because I like wrapping gifts. So even the itty bitty stocking stuffers found their way into a cereal or empty kleenex box...which I hope isn't too disappointing when someone finds only post-its inside. Hey, they asked for them...I just made it exciting. :) (names of presents have been changed for security reasons). That is my second favorite part of Christmas...getting together with all our family and loved ones. So much fun!!

My most favorite part of Christmas though, is setting aside time to reflect on the importance of Christ's birth. And to enjoy Him and His promises for us! What a special time of year to spend with family, realizing that because of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection, we can also be part of His family. Which is all the more special. Christmas reminds me of all that Jesus has given me. I get overwhelmed sometimes, I feel like my heart will explode it's so full! (This would not be good from a medical standpoint). Even in this last year, Christ has given me so much. I owe Him more than I could ever repay. And I love this season of hope and joy! Christ came to us!

USPS: WE CARE

WE CARE

Dear Postal Customer:

We sincerely regret the damage to your mail during handling by the Postal Service. We hope this incident did not inconvenience you. We realize that your mail is important to you and that you have every right to expect it to be delivered in good condition.

Although every effort is made to prevent damage to the mail, occasionally this will occur because of the great volume handled and the rapid processing methods which must be employed to assure the most expedition distribution possible.

We hope you understand. We assure you that we are constantly striving to improve our processing methods in order that ever a rare occurrence may be eliminated.

Please accept our apologies.

Sincerely,
Your Postmaster.


I accept.
However, I'm almost certain that my friend Miranda was standing in the part of the pictures that was ripped off. Sorry Miranda! They didn't mean it! :)

O Christmas Tree

I wanted to share with you a story. It is a story of tradition. A story full of mystery, contagious laughter, and a large dose of adventure....

Twas the night after Thanksgiving, and all through the house, were people who hadn't ever experienced the most festive house in our area. So as tradition would have it, blindfolds were found, knots were tied, and accidents abound(ed). We squeezed into the Buick (pronounced Buck -long U...like puke), with barely spare room, sucking in our full bellies, and buckling our seat belts. (This is not working well).

Three of our company had not had the pleasure, of seeing this Christmas tradition well, ever! Once all piled in, and believe me, this was no small feat, we turned on some carols, and sang from our seat. What would've been quick travel, turned long very quick, our plans would unravel...because of a slow train.

Tried as we may, to confuse the blindfolded ones from afar, it wouldn't work for one rider, who knew every turn of the car. But at last we arrived, the festivities in our sights, we drove around the block, looking for a place...to park. DANG IT!

Those of us repeat attenders stared with awe, at the millions of lights those with blindfolds never saw (before). We exited the car, filled with anxious surprise, when all of sudden, we couldn't believe our eyes!

While only 10 o'clock, the house went dark. They had pulled the plug, only moments after we put it in park (eh?! yeah!). What to do now? We hadn't a clue! Until Evan hollered, "I'll save the day for you!"

He ran to the door, politely knocking at first. When no one came, we felt our night was cursed. Finally a head poked out of the door, we all held our breath, strained our ears, and hoped for more.

Evan prevailed! "No problem," they said. Only a few more minutes, till they went to bed. Every switch was flipped, every inflatable puffed up, music was playing, the street began to fill up. Cars driving in, from every which way, all to see this magnificent display. Nobody knowing that moments before, the yard had been dark, it was festive, no more. And nobody knew that they had Evan to thank, except those in our car, who...almost didn't see any of the lights.

Here's some pics!











And, here's our festive tree!! :)





What do you think of our tree? :) It was almost like Christmas early for us because we hadn't gotten our Christmas stuff out for two years. Every ornament was new for Josh and mostly new for me. Oh so much fun.

Happy Birthday!