It's the holiday season ...

It's the holiday season and that brings lots of fun activities to do!!!  We are busy but it's all fun!  All done with family and loved ones, and that all requires lots of energy!!! 

Saturday we spent part of the day at home doing the norm.  Organizing the house, sweeping the carpets, taking out the trash, burning any burnables and cleaning out the van.  After lunch, we all drove down to Ben's to celebrate a birthday party for Bobo.  We left the two oldest kids with them and Mike, Ashlyn and I headed for a car dealership.  Mike saw a Yukon that we wanted to buy.  We are happy and blessed to now have a 2008 Black Yukon.  We still had lots of papers to sign and then actually call it our family vehicle!!!  We were getting ready to leave and the dealership said that we could also pick out a bike.  Free!!!  They had four choices:  Men, Ladies, Boy or Girl options.  We picked out a bike for me.  :)  Yellow & pink.  I am excited to now also be able to ride bike around our country roads this Spring/Summer with my family!  We loaded up the bike in the our new (new for us that is) Yukon and I drove it back to the birthday party.  Mike drove the van back.  Ashlyn was in her glory to be able to watch "Gnomeo & Juliet" on the way back.  This vehicle has the loaded details.  Something that we are all enjoying!  It will be some getting used to driving a bigger vehicle but a change I am excited about!  We feel like we are riding in class!  :)  Quit a difference from our family van of eight years.  :)  We spent the night at Ben's eating Chinese and playing dice.  I was tired.  I knew the next few days were going to be full of more fun events.  Of course, all the children wanted to ride home with me since I was taking the Yukon.  I was just fine with that though.  It's like a big new toy for us all.

It's not the best picture.  When we picked it up, it was sparkling!  Now it's already dirty.  If you see me ... wave to me!!!  :)

 

Sunday I taught Matthew's Sunday School class and we did some fun quick projects.  We wrote down some things we were thankful for and then made small pumpkins out of the paper strips.  Then we decorated an Oreo cookie with corn candy and made it look like a turkey.  We came home for a quick lunch of eggs and scrapple before Mike joined the men in my extended family for the cabin.  Mike drove and spent the night and Monday in the woods and helping brother John Mike haul in his huge 10 point he shot!!!  Exciting!!!  Way to go brother!!!

Meanwhile, the kids and I packed up our bags and headed for moms.  Jody and her girls joined us too and we played "Dice" and "Panic" into the late night.  The cousins had fun together and couldn't wait for this night together!!!  We all slept at moms.

Monday we stuck to our normal traditions.  We do this every year when the guys go hunting.  Chocolate coat peanut butter crackers, peanut butter balls and truffles.  We helped the children put together gingerbread houses.  The children cleaned up all the toys at moms so nice that she rewarded them with a quick stop at 5 Below.  We stopped for supper.  We went to a big greenhouse for poinsettias.  And this year we even made a stop by the hospital to visit cousin Jen, Les & Braydon!  (Your baby boy is so adorable!!!  Congratulations!!!)  The children were all patient with all our stops.  I was happy to be back home after our fun, full day.  Mike came home just after the children got tucked into bed.  We were all happy, especially Matthew, to see daddy again.  Mike even allowed Matthew to get out of bed and hang out together for awhile.  They love their time together!

Here Jody made pretzels with a chocolate wafer on top.  Then an M&M.

 We filled Ritz Crackers with peanut butter ...

 Ashlyn was my peanut butter ball helper!  She dropped one at a time and then I rolled it in chocolate and put it on our tray.

 

 Meanwhile, the kids made gingerbread houses!  Just a tad crazy!

 Truffles ... and peanut butter balls.

 

Mom dipping one cracker at a time.  Yum!!!



 Here's the finished product!  I melted some white chocolate and made snowflakes on top of just some of them.  Some of us like our traditional crackers with nothing on top!  :)

Tuesday the two oldest were back to school.  Mike and I had an employee wedding we went to.  Tuesday's of buck season, is usually our annual shopping day out with my mom and sisters.  After a yummy lunch at the wedding, I met the other ladies at the mall.  We shopped and laughed and had more fun!  I love days out like this with family!  I am happy to announce that my Christmas shopping is almost finished.  Mike and I always go out together to get something for our children and that is planned for a date night!!!  By the time I got back home, the kids and Mike were relaxing in their pj's! 

Today the laundry got caught after.  Hadassah and Matthew are getting their rooms switched this week and so I was swooping their closet things.  I cut more fresh greens and stuffed them in my window boxes outside.  The Christmas music is playing on the radio!  (Yippee!!!)  Our family Christmas cards are setting right beside me waiting to be stuffed in envelopes and addressed!!!   

PS.  We are so excited about all these babies being born too!!!  I have Gracie to met.  (Dutch & Rosa's)  I have James to greet!  (Sister-in-law Mary Sue & Ervin's baby.)  Dylan to see.  (John & Martha Rose)  I'm happy to say I already got to see and hold Braydon!  (Cousin Les & Jen)  And I just got a call from Sister-in-law Anna Ruth ... they have a tiny baby girl in their arms!!!  Janessa Shae was born today and weighs 5 lbs., 14 oz..  I can't wait to meet all these little people!!!  Congratulations everyone!!!

"For truly this is the most wonderful time of the year!!!"