The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year?

I am trying really hard not to be all Scrooge like, but dang.  Could we try and jam some more into a few weeks time?  Things are settling down a little now - all the concerts are done (we had four - HS choir, JR HS band, 3rd grade performance AND Sophie played with the JR HS choir).  Whew. 

Caroline at 3rd Grade music performance

Allie in action at the 3rd Grade Music performance.

Finals were done.  This was Sophie's first time taking finals, since she is now in the JR HS.  It is the first time Kelsey has really had to study for finals.  It was stressful, but we survived.  Kelsey was even more stressed since she lost Facebook due to grades, and needed to do well to get it back.  Good news for everyone - she is back online.

Now I feel we can just sit back and relax a little.  We are headed to Dallas on Christmas day.  We will open our presents, TALK TO RYAN, and then head up in time for dinner.  It is really not that bad of a day to travel - really no one on the roads.  Eric is coming right back on Saturday since he is under the gun and needs to work, but the girls and I will enjoy Dallas for a couple of days. 

Of course, today is the BYU bowl game - will they win?  Lets hope so.  Really, it is as much fun looking for Michelle on the sidelines as it is watching the game.

Ryan sent his email yesterday, since that was P-day this week.  He told a really neat story which helps to get me in the RIGHT Christmas mood.  I will cut and paste it here.  I will correct his lack of punctuation and spelling - don't get me started on what text messaging has done....

"We get to teach a youth lesson every other Sunday at a members home. We did it this week on the true meaning of Christmas and Christmas miracles.  It was a really great lesson.  We talked about a guy, Ed, who we're teaching. He's living with his his girlfriend and they each have one kid. One is 5 and one is 16 months old.  He'd been looking for work when we started teaching him, found a job working on an assembly line, and just lost it because he didn't report an injury that he didn't think was an injury at first.  He is also an ex-convict, so nobody wants to hire him.  He had enough money to either pay bills for the next couple months or buy Christmas for his two kids.  After the youth lesson, a bunch of kids came up and were all wanting to know what they could do to help.  Because of these kids, there's enough money to get them Christmas, and we've gotten hold of the President of the the company that fired Ed and he's going to see about hiring him back. Talk about a Christmas miracle. It's amazing what these kids have done. They know the true meaning of Christmas. I'm amazed at their charity and desire to help others."

Merry Christmas.

Caroline's Christmas List

Like kids everywhere, Allie and Caroline put together a Christmas list.  It included all kinds of crap being advertised on all the kid stations.  Caroline did add one item which really touched my heart.

Number 16, in case you can't read Caroline, is time with Ryan.  The ongoing question/debate around here is how much time the kids will get to talk to Ryan.  For those who don't know, we only get to talk to Ryan, our missionary, twice a year - Christmas and Mother's Day.  Each time we have about an hour, so that time is precious.

As the person who brought him into this world, I think it is my right to take as much time as I want.   When I saw on Caroline's list she wanted time with Ryan, it brought tears to my eyes (not hard to do these days).  We all miss him, and sometimes I forget the little ones miss him too.  Kelsey and Sophie are more verbal about missing him.

So, I will share my time with everyone - and we will let Caroline get her time with Ryan.

Side note - Kelsey announced a couple of days ago that even with Ryan gone, the whole blog is still about him...  The fairness fairy strikes again.

Trim The Tree

This is our first year to do the Christmas thing when everyone is not here.  It is a little sad. I have threatened to cancel Christmas, but we all know I won't really do it.  Thus we had to undertake the trimming of the tree.

I have had a tree for a long time - I got it when I was pregnant with Sophie.  I wanted a pre-lit tree, and these were the days BEFORE pre-lit trees.  So, I pre-lit it myself. 

As each year went on, I had to spend more and more time dealing with the tree to get it up and working each year.  Last year I almost gave up, but we pushed through and used it for Christmas.

This year Eric wanted a real tree - he wanted the real tree smell.  Well when he went I guess he discovered he did not want the real tree price.  He came home with a smaller tree, which he announced would go upstairs or somewhere else and we could get the other tree out.

This is what the bottom half of my other tree looked like.

It is supposed to be in one piece.

So, we have kept the smaller tree downstairs as our tree this year.  I will go and get a tree next year -  I am thinking the Costco tree looks good.

Since the tree was smaller, there was not room for all the ornaments.  I decided not to hang Ryan's ornaments since he is not here.  There is one however...

When Ryan was 4 or 5, he went somewhere with my Mom  to a class she taught.  I am not sure where or why, but they made these ornaments.  I have tried for years to throw it away - I mean come on.  It is a raisin box.  But he LOVES it (maybe because I want to throw it away).  He won't let me.  So, in honor or Ryan, we have it hanging on our tree.

And the tree is trimmed.

Let It Snow

The prediction for Houston is snow.  That is all ANYONE has been talking about.  I have seen a few flurries, but not much yet.  The poor kids are at school and will not be happy if they don't get to see the snow.

All the talk of snow brought me back to the beginning of our marriage.  We were both students at BYU.  We needed to work.  I had a job, at a little flower shop which is now a hot dog stand (I think) and Eric wanted an on campus job since we lived in the ghetto (seriously it is not even there anymore - it was grazed for a mall) and we only had one car. 

Back then, on campus jobs were hard to come by.  But he got one.  With the grounds crew.  It was hard work, but he seemed to like it.  Until the snow hit.  Cause they would call you at 3:00 am and tell you to come to work to shovel snow.  And if you did not answer your phone, you were automatically fired.  Nice huh?  So we did not like snow not only for the mess, but Eric did not enjoy being pulled out of bed at 3:00 am.

But we all survived.  Now we live somewhere where it does not snow - a point which the girls do not appreciate, but I LOVE.  Poor Ryan is getting his fill of snow now!

If we get some good snow, maybe I can get some good pictures.  More later.

Thanksgiving 2009

We did not camp - thank you Sarah Jones.  We did spend time with family.  Sophie got behind my camera and shot all the pics, so here is our Thanksgiving in pictures - from Sophie's perspective (of course I have not included all cause as you can imagine she took like 150)

Preparing the turkey for frying.

Lowering the turkey in.

Watching the oil and talking football (and how Michael is going to design a pulley system for this process so as to make it safer).

Adult Table.

Kid's table (can you tell Sophie was at the kids table, hence the need for the photo)

Uncle Patrick reviewing the letters Allie and some of her classmates wrote to him on Veteran's Day.  He is a trooper.

After dinner Cowboy game - Dad, Michael, Patrick and Erika.

Then off to see the Pearsons.

Eric and his mom.

Eric's older brother Chad, and his wife Vickie.

Eric's sister Karen, lover of all animals, had her dog there - he is 1/2 Boston Terrier 1/2 Bulldog.  It was funny to watch he and Oliver interact.  Here they are licking each other.

We went and saw Melissa and Chris' house - it was beautiful.

And finally random pic of Kelsey getting licked by Oliver. 

It was a quick trip - up on Thursday early morning, back in Houston by 10 am Saturday.  But it was fun.  Now on to Christmas.