New Year's Past

Will stood on the island to get this action shot
Emma Mc. showing us her jazz hands
Party poopers...going home early, since someone was newly preggers

Party Hardy

Twila and Gonzo..our Florida friends
David and Gonzo showing their smooth moves
New Year's Revelers...

Twila...she actually does have some good moves

These pix are from our 2004 party...this was back when our good friends Twila and Gonzo still lived in this area...o how we miss you fun folks!! You can move back up north ANY OL' TIME, k?? We miss you at our harvest parties, we miss you at our New Year's party, we miss you at our kids' parties, we miss you on mundane Thursday evenings, we miss you for cookouts and Air Supply...we JUST miss you! I know living right next to the ocean is NICE but c'mon!! sniff. sniff.

Anyways, sorry for the tangent...this was a fun party!! You can see it. You know it. you want to be here with us. It's good clean, sober fun!!

Allrighty, just wanted to put up a few pix from the past!! Last year's pix were pretty funny, all of us dancing...not flattering. So I think I may just NIX putting any of those up. Plus, Twila and Gonzo weren't here so ....... I may post some though because they ARE pretty hilarious...pregnant me trying to dance, all of us sweating and being just really white. hee hee.

Goodbye California Boys! Hello 2008!

Andy with Charlie and Duncan
Cutie Pie Charlie
Mr. Serious Dunkalunk...(he wakes up just the way his dad did as a child, and still does)
Vince holding Molly Moo
My brothers and my nephews

My kid brother, Andy, and his sons, were here for Christmas...these are pix from yesterday morning, when they got up bright and early to head up to the airport!! Charlie is 4 and Duncan is 6.5. They are cute boys and it was nice to have them here...they both played very well with my kids. We will miss you guys! Maybe the Lord will call you to this area of the country again someday. (soon??) The guy with Molly (at 7 a.m.) is our good family friend, Vince. He's a nice, helpful kinda guy!

Otherwise, the down time after Christmas has been nice...I feel so lazy and not myself. We have all been fighting some sickness, thankfully not the stomach upheaval kind. Tomorrow night is our annual New Year's Eve bash. If I haven't invited you yet, you are more than welcome to come...come one, come all...it's usually a crazy, wild time...Nerf guns, games, the Hustle and lots of other crazy "dancing" (though we are all quite "white" and did not get the dancing gene), food, fun fellowship...so come on down!! 8 p.m.

I will post some pix from years past parties...

Christmas with my family

Baby's First Christmas

My brother, Andy w/ David and Molly
Scott
Pipes
Chaos

Mel w/ Duncan and Nora
Charlie
Duncan w/ the Raiders of the Lost Ark Legos that his cool Aunt L. and Uncle D. got him...
Will w/ vintage Star Wars toy...
David, Levi, my Dad, Charlie, and Andy

Show-off
David and Nora
Will and the Divine Miss M
Molly slept thru presents so this was her time...she is quite good.
She loved eating the paper...yah!!

Here is my last installment on Christmas.

Our family didn't arrive home from Illinois until about 4 a.m. We slept in until 10 or so and got up for our gift session. The kids were quite surprised to have received the Nintendo DS's...especially because I had mentioned getting one for each of the boys to Mel...she is so good natured though, that she was happy for them..and couldn't wait to see their faces when they opened them. I wish you could've seen HER face when she realized what she had gotten. priceless. I did videotape it. They all opened their gifts, then we got ready for our last stop for the day. The kids were so cute, they got David some gift cards to Menard's and for me, they got a nice sterling silver ring with cz's in it...pretty cool!! Whatta nice Christmas!

Christmas time w/ my family was at my sister and brother in law's house...we ate some deliiiiiiiiiiiiiish lasagna (good job, Momma), salad, bread after a crazy time of gift opening...There were 9 of my parents 10 grandkids in action.

I think my camera is dying. It is casting a white glow on most of my pix so I'm praying for the means to purchase a new one or this blog may have to shut down. Not sure what I will do. My camera is 3 years old....it has been used A LOT!! the screen is quitting on me and now this with the pix...ugh.

We had a very nice time with my family, got a lot of nice things, gave some nice things and then after dessert, we came home, vegged out and went to bed early!! Amen for that! Today, it has been tough to get myself going but there is a lot to do so I'd best get going! I do hope and pray that all of you have had a lovely, blessed Christmas time, with friends and family. Thank You, Lord, for your many blessings now and in the new year to come!! Amen. Peace and Joy to you!

P.S. I just noticed that I didn't get a pic of Ethan on here...the only one is of him crawling by the tree...he opened his gifts so fast that he was gone before I got to him. Horrible mother. I love you, E. sorry I didn't take any pix of you with your gifts...years of therapy will help with this, I'm sure. (in all reality, he was probably off in a corner playing w/ his DS...ugh)

Christmas at the Cabin

My big fellas, waiting for their giftage
Nathan
Gift dispersion....
I did make this face on purpose! I'm just wrong!
Molly is learning the fine art of opening gifts...she did quite well for 5 mos. of age.

Levi, Grandpa Y. and Emilie...posing for someone else.
David's sister, Amy, her baby, Adelaide, Molly, and David.
Levi by the explosion...
Aaron, Em and Molly..
All of the stockings hanging by the rafters...

A rousing game of Monopoly...it lasted for almost 2 hours.
Natalie and Molly
David's mom got Molly laughing with this monkey

These are a few pix of our visit out to David's parents house on Monday evening...we had a really nice time, good food, fun times. Thanks, Mom and Dad for the yum roast, ribs, fixin's, fellowship and gifts!! Molly got to officially meet her newest cousin, Adelaide...they regarded each other...it was kinda funny how they both kicked their legs. Kinda like a baby hello.

We do a gift exchange each year...otherwise, it would be so overwhelming to buy for all of his siblings, let alone any of their extensions. So this year, I got a really nice Cuisinart food processor as well as a Cuisinart hand blender from David's younger bro, Aaron! Thanks Aaron!! David got some fleece shirts, the kids got Lego's, Littlest Pet shop stuff, Leap Frog stuff etc...thank you, everybody!! What a nice time!

Ok, well, now I am going to post some of the pix from our Christmas with my side...

Melanie's Piano Teacher's party...

Melanie is in the back row...short brown hair. Her friend Audrey is to her (Mel's) left
The fabulous creations....mmm mmm
Said piano teacher (well, not really but see below)
I think Mel said this was her little gingerbread house...what fun!!
Let's start this off right...we had sooooooooo many holiday events this past weekend. As I sit here, Christmas evening, I'm so unbelievably relieved that it is all finished!! Not that we don't love and appreciate each moment but it is exhausting for a mom (can I get an amen, fellow mommas???) This past Friday, Melanie's piano teacher, Mrs. S., hosted a nice gathering of some of her younger students, where they got to make gingerbread houses of their very own, enjoy a tea party, play with her ever-so-cool dollhouse in a shelf, and just enjoy some Christmas cheer! The dollhouse in a shelf was really, really nifty! She made it when she was younger but you would almost have to see it to see how cool it was. She stenciled "rugs" onto the "floors" (shelves) and made furniture, had some antique pieces and some dolls with some missing appendages...even a mini-piano and a one-armed piano playing prodigy, a good encouragement for all of her students to be thankful for both of their arms and to NOT make excuses for not practicing. Melanie had a great time and we thank you, Mrs. S. for putting on such a nice party to kick-off the holiday weekend.
I am off to bed...I had four hours of sleep last night and it's hitting me...so I will blog on our Illinois visit tomorrow as well as our get together with my side of the family today...but for now...Good night and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours. God Bless you!!

Christmas Past

David and Will, relaxing after some gift opening!!
Superman a.k.a. Charlie J.
Mel and Pipes in their matching outfits from Uncle Andy's family. Andrew

Levi lookin' cute by our tree...
A December walk down at the Canal...lovely
Christmas morning...Mel, Will and Levi E. and his stash

Duncan and E. - weapon geeks

Well, Beck is in need of a post...so I will take time out of my scrappin'/shopping frenzy to put a little blast from the past up on here for your viewing "pleasure". ha ha.

These pix are sadly out of order...but they are all from Christmastime of 2006. Andy and his boys will be flying in on Christmas Eve to be with us for 5 days. My mom has been out in Cali. with him since last Friday and is flying home today...we have missed you Momma!! Can't wait to see you!

I am looking forward to some down time this weekend before Christmas...i have so many gifts I need to finish up..calendars, coasters, wrapping, purchasing...Bah Humbug!! no, it's really fun and we need to embrace the holiday. That mantra belongs to Beck and I. I think moms feel the pressure and sting of the frenzy a bit more and I guess as moms, that's ok. Shield the blow. Takin' one for the team. yup. ok...movin' on.

I'm officially 35 now. My sister got me a really cool sister necklace, a heart and a key...I LOVE it, Beck...thank you so much, to your family!! and to you. I have yet to use my Starbucky's card...maybe we could do coffee (you could do hot choco, of course)...Thank you for the delish dinner...it helped stifle the blow of Mom and Tom being out of town on my b-day and David working to keep us caught up thru the holiday week. I am so stinkin' blessed to be your sister. I love you more than you will ever, ever know! I LOVE YOU!!

Yesterday, I got together with my BFF's and they made me a really neat bracelet for my b-day...I will have to take a pic and post it but it has all of our birthstone jewels on it, and a CROSS right in the middle...the way it should be. Jesus Christ at the center!! a good, daily reminder!! Thank you, girls!! I am loving each one of you so much!! I am blessed with a good circle of chicklets...what would a girl do without her "girls"???

Ok, well, I gotta shower because Mel has her Piano teacher's Christmas party today...I will try to get pix of that, though she will be flying solo at this event. Pal Charmaine lives across the street from said piano teacher so I may go visit over there..though I have so much shopping yet to do...ahhhhhhh. Hope you all are embracing this Christmas season!! Choose JOY. CHOOSE JOY!! God Bless You today!! Adios!!