Mixed Nuts: Christmas 2009

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Christmas 2009

Another wonderful Christmas has come and gone. After all the planning and building up in excitement, I cannot believe Christmas day is over. We had a wonderful Christmas day - just our little family.

Christmas eve was fun. Mat had to work for a little while (well, that wasn't fun.) and so the kids and I spent the morning dancing to Christmas music.

Arlington and I made a cake and she got to lick the spoon.

Isn't that the best part of baking?

We were making a cake to sing happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas night. Here is the finished product:

I don't have a future in cake decorating.
I got this idea from my sister in laws who live in Florida who do this at Christmas time. I have always liked this idea.

We did track Santa's path all day on the computer - it was the neatest thing. The kids all got into it. We left the page up all day for them to watch Santa move from place to place.

We had homemade pasta sauce and spagetti for dinner (my family's tradition from when I was growing up) and then went to church. The kids did very well at the candlelight service. They sat through the whole service without a fuss. (I did bring snacks and crayons, so that did help).

We had hot chocolate and cookies when we got home. We had made gingerbread cookie dough in the afternoon and then realized it needed to be in the refridgerator for 4 hours. Should have read that sooner. But the dough was ready after church, so we made the cookies.

And then ate a few before leaving a few for Santa.

The kids didn't get up until after 7am Christmas morning, so that helped a lot. Mat and I didn't got to bed until 12:30pm. We were up late helping Santa put presents together. We hit a few snags - Cainan's airplane GeoTrax didn't come with an airplane, the scooter handlebar was dented and wouldn't go together, the robot cat would not stop meowing and drove us crazy.......

Anyway, where was I.

Christmas morning. The kids waited patiently at the top of the stairs until we were ready for them to come down.

Cainan was the first to round the corner.

Arlington and Finley were not too far behind.

Finley was very happy to see her elephant. I was very happy Santa did not bring the 2 ton version.

Finley also got a walking baby doll. She is as cute as she is creepy.

Arlington loved her scooter the best of all. She has been riding it all over the house. Now I am kind of wishing we lived in Florida. Or that Santa would realize that we don't live in the south any longer and outdoor toys don't make the best Christmas presents.

Cainan is very excited about his batman car. He sits on it all day long. He loves it.

He even went and got his Batman costume and put it on to ride his bike.

We had a great morning opening presents. The kids were overwhelmed with all of their new things.

Arlington gave Mat and I her present she made in school. It was very sweet.

The kids played with their presents all day. Bargain girl got a new outfit.

Santa really needed to get her a gift certificate to get a new hairdo.
Cainan was the only one who took a nap. Finley was too excited to sleep, so she stayed up with Arlington.

We had a great afternoon spending time together. The kids stayed in their pajamas all day, and they really loved that.

(She is such a weirdo. She is an original!)

We had a nice dinner here at the house - just us. I cooked. :) Aren't you proud?

Another wonderful Christmas day has come to pass.

Saturday we spent the day shopping. We wanted to hit some of the after Christmas sales on the Christmas decorations. Us, and everyone else around here. It was busy! But we had fun. We got many new Christmas goodies to add to my growing pile. Don't worry, I won't bore you with the pictures.

But we did get two little trees. Ah!! I have joined the "more than one tree" ranks. The girls have wanted a little tree in their room, so Arlington and I found this little pink tree.

Isn't it cute? I let the girls pick out the little ornaments they put on it, plus the bow and the skirt. And the little presents. The tree was only about $10, and the ornaments a few dollars more. We couldn't resist.

Of course, Cainan needed one as well. His is a little smaller, but has these really cool lights. We decorated it and put it up as well.

I know that Christmas is over, but the kids really wanted to see the trees up and we still have our company arriving to visit. So, it was worth putting the trees up. :)

So there you have it!

We hope you had a wonderful holiday! Here are a few more pictures to enjoy.

Update: I want to say congratulations to my sister in law, Teen, and her husband, Frank on becoming first time parents this evening to a BEAUTIFUL baby girl they named Reese. Congratulations to the both of you! We love you very much and cannot wait to see her in person!