Christmas is coming!

This week begins one of my favorite weeks of the year. I love preparing all the gifts that we've purchased, making goodies, watching the snow fly, visiting neighbors and friends who are a dear part of our lives. Friday, we celebrated Christmas with a party for my preschool kids. It was the best! I'm sure I feel that way every year. I have a special mom who knows from previous years how hard the gift exchange is and volunteers every year to here and help me explain that each child puts their present in the middle and will recieve a new present. This is very difficult for some to understand. This year one little girl hide her present at home under their family tree so that she might be able to keep it. There were no tears this year and the day was so fun. Santa visited the children. Each one was amazed that he knew their names and what they had been learning at school. He even wrote them a letter and identified one thing that makes them special to their teacher and how much fun learning shapes, numbers, and the abc's are.

Remember back to my post at the beginning of the school year when I wrote about the little girl who DID NOT want to be at preschool once she walked through my door? Well, we've come along way and I really love this little girl. She says the funniest things. It kills me when she says "HOLY CRAP" or tells on her little sister and tells me her sister is naughty. On Friday, she walked in and started unloading her backpack and began handing me gifts. I began with the card where her mom told me how much this little girl loved preschool. It nearly made me cry. To top it off her mom is amazingly creative and designs for different companies. She gave me a couple of stamp sets featuring her hand writing. Perfect for all my projects. Then she gave a recipe book with all their families favorite recipes. Compiled so beautifully and some delicious looking recipes. I am so excited to try something new. The presents were nice but not as much as the card. It is always nice to hear that what you work so hard at does make a difference. I am very grateful our paths crossed.
This week I also went shopping with the twins. AHHHHH! My body hurt so bad when I got home. Those stinkin' infant car seats are great but killers. I need to figure out our next way to move around. Hopefully, there is a double umbrella stroller on santa's list. I hate going shopping by myself.

This weekend Melody is home, Camber and David are in Boise (it is not fair they get to spend two nights in a hotel), Ashley and Kirk are here, and once again I am completely exhausted!

Dean Family Pictures

I am working on a Christmas present and needed family pictures. Lucky for me Ashley's family arrived before Christmas and in time for me to complete a project(cross my fingers). Friday was freezing cold and miserable but I told them to look pretty and I would keep clicking. Poor Liv didn't think it was all that great. I think I got some good ones. These are my favorite.

Christmas came a little early!

If gifts for Drew arrive early and he knows about it ...... so much for waiting. JUST like his dad ( that is what I hear anyway). The UPS guy was going to help me hide it too. I should have just to drive him crazy.

Merry Christmas to One & All

Briggs has a Birthday in the midst of the holiday celebration. So this is what he has done this year at 3. Pictures courtesy of the best preschool teacher in town. Oh, the photographer is really good and one of my preschool MOMs. Thanks to Sherelle Christensen for helping me provide memories for my friends.

I'll post Camber's too. She won't start a blog, she is too busy! I'm just teasing Camber.

Thanksgiving & the Christmas Tree

I 've needed to post about how much fun we had over the holiday but now that I am getting the chance to work on it there is not one ounce of creativity in my body that will allow me to write something that will sound the least bit clever. I must say this week has been one full of emotion and I feel completely drained. It is Saturday night 10:30 p.m. who wouldn't be drained. Right?! This is usually a very productive time for me. Drew works cleanup at Supreme and this is my time to create, work on my lesson for Sunday, & be with Janae since Travis works most Saturday's (doubles at Carino's) he doesn't get home until midnight, so Janae and I have the night to do whatever. Watch the news, then Friends, and then TLC.

Sunday was home teaching night of America. Last day of the month. Drew went out and then our home teacher visited us. We talked about family and especially the talk given by President Monson entitled Finding Joy in the Journey. LOVED this talk. I know the prophet was speaking to me. We talked about the part of the talk when he mentioned ....."If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will -to your surprise - miss them profoundly." We shared our family experiences of times like these, our children on the verge of driving us absolutely crazy but listening to the prophet reins us back and helps us put those situations into perspective. So, our Home Teacher leaves and we go about the night. I suddenly hear a yell from Drew to come to the living room quick. So, I run, all to find my perfectly decorated Christmas tree crashed to the floor with ornaments, lights, water everywhere. AHHH! I couldn't even laugh. Drew was in a good mood and thought I would see the funny in it too. NOPE . All I could do was walk out of the room. He redecorated the tree alone and I went to lay down. I think it was coming down from all the holiday cheer and I was tired and flat emotional. This emotion was on the side of grouchy. Monday, I spent the morning with Liberty's class and the day went o.k. Tuesday, was swell until night. I didn't have mutual and so I was putting kids to bed. I had asked Burton several times to get undressed and jump in the tub. He wasn't listening. SO, I'm sure I got after him and he started crying. I'm sure there was more lecture from me and telling him to just get in and get washed up so I could fix the problem by putting him to bed. Now, he starts with his stomach hurting. More lecture from me...."WHY, does your stomach always hurt when it is time for bed!" MORE Bawling. This point I might go nuts because he is walking out of the bathroom once again. AHH! He gets to the hall bawling about his stomach and I'm going after him and he throws up everywhere! AHHHH! All night on the hour he is throwing up. Well, to make things more interesting Cooper wakes up at 1:00 a.m. with another stinkin' fever. I can't believe this. The whole month he has fevered and NOTHING..... nobody knows his problem. So, I give him tylenol, wipe him down with a wash cloth and think we are good to put him back in bed. NOPE! He cries the whole entire night! He finally sleeps from 6-7 a.m. but is up Cranky as ever!!!

Now, it is Wednesday. I have been making arrangements for this day all week. My cousin Diana's little girl Hannah passed away the night before Thanksgiving. All the events and timing with the holiday made me sick. At times when I would think about Diana I felt like it just couldn't be real. It is when I saw the obituary and saw Hannah's picture, her little eyes looking just like Mack's, I knew it was real but didn't want to believe. After my hour of sleep and in my crankiness I called Camber & Mom and told them my situation and they told me what I didn't want to hear but how could I go with a fussy baby and a kid with the throw ups! Not to mention Liberty didn't get enough sleep either and bawled every time I helped her and was gagging in the garbage before I sent her to the bus giving the lecture if your really sick you have to stay home. She loves school to much and didn't realize that her teacher doesn't like to clean up throw up as much as I do ?!!!!

I wasn't satisfied with the option of staying home so at 9:00 a.m. I loaded up the kids, gave Burton a garbage sack and we headed for the funeral. Even if we sat in the back away from everyone I needed to be there.

The day turned out so much better than it started. Where would we be without adventures like this. I might be the only crazy one to ever post it on my blog.

Yes, the holiday was GREAT! Hopefully soon I will feel like I can create a better picture of that time in life.