It is official!

It is official!

I am completely current on this blog!

Woohoo!

Now I can start writing about the here and now!


Make sure you scroll down and check previous pages so you are all caught up.


I mean I know you are all just dying to know anything and everything we have done in the last 12 months!


Hurry up... get to readin'!

My little elf!

We had a little elf visit us Christmas day. She thought it would be so great to pick out and lay out everyone's outfits for the day!  Gotta love Mallory!

What is funny about this picture is that she knows her Daddy so well-- she chose jammies for him!

She even tried to fool us by picking out her own outfit. Sneaky!

A must at Christmas!

So I've got a lot of treats I love, but I have to have my chocolate dipped pretzels every year.  Not just any chocolate dipped pretzels, but pretzels dipped in caramel, then chocolate, then rolled in a mixture of sliced almonds, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. For those of you wondering why you never get them for Christmas...?

 I practically eat them all myself!

I owe my good friend Kimberly Foote for showing me these delicacies!  Love you, Kimberly!

Twas The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house... all the children were listening to mom read her favorite Christmas story.

The story The Last Straw is one of my favorites. Such a tear jerker for me.

New jammies on Christmas eve.

A little big, but they will grow, right?

Holiday Baking

Waffles with ice cream n strawberries, crafts, baking & cousins!  What fun!

So Long, Farewell...

It was a sad goodbye to one of our favorite families... The Christoffersons!

Let the crying begin!

Little Miss Avery is gonna be so tan from that California sun!

Friends for life!

He is happy, but I'm sure he doesn't understand he is losing his girlfriend!

Da' boys!

The Ladies!

Not wanting to leave, yet falling asleep.

Marilee & Adam you are already missed... a ton!

Gotta Have Girlfriends!

So I think I have the best friends in the world.  I wish I could gather all my friends far and near and tell all the things I love about them.  Here are few that live here.

Piano Recital

My sis Kendra teaches my oldest two and so we had to have a recital.  My kids played the piano-- her kids sang.  It was a quick recital, but great entertainment.

Budding Makeup Artists

The Professional

Sadie Mack

The Model

Kendra Mack

The Budding Apprentice

Madalyn Mack

My baby is a Ballerina!

My baby is a  ballerina-- or so she tried to be!  Her first recital and she was a cute fairy!  I put one pic in that is not that great, but it shows that she actually moved her leg-- we are makin' progress!

Nativity

The nativity is a big event with all the cousins here in Colorado.  There are the coveted roles (Mary & Joseph), the supporting roles (angels, wisemen, shepherds) and then the "no-one-wants-to be-this" roles (sheep, donkey, lambs).  We have added a role-- the STAR.  The nicest part about this night is that the adults sing The Nativity Song while the kids usher in when we sing about them.  It is great!

An Angel

A Star

Joseph

The donkey

A Wiseguy

Thanksgiving

For some reason I have no pics of the actual feast, but here are some highlights of the holiday. Eric's sister Ruthie/hubby/baby Shante , Eric's brother Adam/wife/kids, Eric's mom, and Eric's dad all joined us for Thanksigiving dinner.  It was nummy!

Early christmas gifts made by Eric's sister Ruthie-- we love to cook and my kids love to fight over aprons.  Problem solved!

My older brother Meredith and his family came to celebrate Thanksgiving with Kendra & Jason. Love them!

Yummy desserts!

So You Think You Can Clean (SYTYCC)

I feel like I am a tidy person and that I keep my house pretty clean.  Until I found this...

This is what was found under the cushion of my family room chair.  Now a lot of it I pulled out from the corners, but still!  What is the rule-- no eating in the family room?  Obviously we need a lesson on obedience in our home!

Funeral

Eric's brother Jared & his wife Janelle have a son named Tyson.  He had the cutest curly blonde hair you have ever seen.  He had so many special needs, but fulfilled one special need for all of us... to change our lives forever. Tyson will be missed.