weekend recap...the rest of the story...

wow - what an awesome loooooong holiday weekend!

i hope ur's was just as good!

besides the BIG DAY, we enjoyed a lot of relaxing & family time...sprinkled with a few fun outings & get-togethers here & there...it was a perfect balance!

we started off with the kiddos' Christmas program at church Wednesday night...because of the recent snow & lack of time to practice, they performed the same program as last year...only better! cause this time, all the kiddos were confident with the parts/songs & totally rocked it! u can check out the videos from last year here

the girls sang Away in a Manger with little Seth again...

Jaden also sang a solo (the part that was totally made for him!) & played the part of Joseph for the nativity

it was great...just the right way to start off the holidays!

Christmas Eve is when my dad's side of the family always gets together to eat, fellowship & have the kiddos open gifts

it's always fun for the cousins to hang out & play

when we got home, we still needed to decorate our tree!!! ~lol~

i know, we're awful - but i have to say, it was kind of nice doing it on Christmas Eve...

we took time to talk about all the ornaments...

& where they each came from or who made it...

the anticipation for Christmas day was at it's highest...

decorating the tree in preparation just seemed appropriate...

we're actually considering making it a yearly tradition!

finally, the last ornament was hung...

our stockings were ready...

we moved our last piece of the advent calendar - precious baby Jesus, into the manger u go...

& hung up the last of our mini nativity ornaments...

it was time to hit the sack & wait for the big guy to visit...

i tell u one thing - this Santa gig gets harder & harder every year! i have no idea how much longer our kiddos will believe...but boy, every year i hope & pray we don't get caught! this year, we passed out on the sofa...& when we finally woke up & got started, we were pretty loud getting those bikes in the house...i have no idea how we managed to do it without waking everyone up! but we did - whew!

do u guys have as much trouble playing Santa as we do?

anyway, the kiddos were up at 6am...i could hear em in the living room...
"oh my gosh - BIKES!"
"look, he ate the cookies!"
"wow, look at how full my stocking is!"

that seriously made the 2am madness all worth it!!!

they came into our room & woke us up with a "IT'S CHRISTMAS!" & as soon as we could get our eyes peeled open & the drool wiped from our mouths, it was time to open presents...

everyone was thrilled with what they got!

which made Curtis & i feel awesome...we totally can make things happen on a super tight budget!!! ;0)

the girls loved their new toys...& actually had fun sharing them!
~gasp~

of course, all Jaden cared about was that Fero & Skirmix set that he'd been asking for for months! he immediately set about putting it together & didn't stop until it was complete

my favorite gift?
this...

made by Gabby - isn't it the coolest?!

after breakfast, we headed outside to try out the bikes...it was already misting (it rained/sleet all day Christmas), but not enough to keep us inside!

oh, & of course Skirmix had to come with! ~lol~

after that?
naps!
;0)

then the girls helped me make a huge pot of chili & corn muffins for dinner...

& chocolate snow cream for dessert ;0)
(just snow cream with a little chocolate syrup added)

most of the rest of the day was spent playing our new Wii!

that's right - u heard me - a new Wii!!!

another jolly man made a special delivery to our house last week...Pop (Curt's dad) had a surprise Christmas present waiting at our door one evening...

& we've had SOOOOOO MUCH FUN breaking it in...i didn't realize just how much fun one of those things could be!

we've spent hours having family bowling tournaments, playing tennis, boxing each other...it's something that we all can play together - & i love that! oh, & creating our Mii's was pretty fun too ;0)

thanks so much Grandma & Pop - we really love our super cool gift!!!


the day after Christmas, we finally headed out to our favorite Christmas light spot...Winter Wonderland at Clearbrook in Winchester

pictures never do this place justice...the whole park is decorated in lights...& it surrounds a lake that has lights set up in the middle too - little ice skaters! there are sections that are put to music & a spot to warm up with some hot cocoa & cookies...it's such a magical experience...

we drive over an hour to get there & make one long stroll around the park every year...then load back up for another hour+ drive home...that's how cool it is! ;0) u should totally check it out!

well, that's it...except for church...& Corinn losing another tooth yesterday - not much else happened...it was a pretty chill weekend - filled with lots of family time...pretty perfect if u ask me!

crap, that reminds me - the tooth fairy didn't come last night...thankfully, Corinn musta forgot too...it's pretty sad when u lose teeth so often, it's no longer an "event"...wonder if the fairy can make it before she remembers this eve? ~lol~

oh, & one last thing...anyone know how to get silly putty out of fabric? Corinn went to sleep with her's in her hands...

gee thanks Santa!
;0)

Twas the night before Christmas...

Twas the night before Christmas,
and all through the house...

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...

The children were nestled all snug in their beds...

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads...

I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight...

Merry Christmas to all...

and to all, a good night!

it's that time of year again...

it's that time of year again...time for some holiday JibJab fun!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

u probably won't hear much out of me for the next few days...i'm off work today & tomorrow - yay for 4 day weekends!!! & i'm assuming my blog won't b getting much traffic during that time either...at least i hope u're all enjoying the holidays with ur family & not wasting ur time reading this rubbish ;0)

may ur days b merry & bright...& i'm sure our Christmas will b white! besides what's still lingering on the ground from our big storm this past weekend, there's more ice/snow in the forecast for us on Christmas day! can u believe it?!

stay warm guys...& PLEASE, remember the REAL reason for the season! i saw this church sign on the way home the other night...i think it sums Christmas up perfectly!


i pray that each & every one of u has a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

xoxo,
sharon

wordless Wednesday...Santa cake i made last night...

weekend recap...

wow, i haven't seen snow like that since the beginning of 2003...Gabby was just a few months old then, & Jaden was 2 1/2...the snow drifts were taller than he was! so technically, this is the biggest snow the kiddos ever remember seeing!

we knew the storm was coming & that the grocery stores would be chaotic...but regardless, we had to stock up on food...our cabinets were almost bare & i knew getting stuck for the whole weekend with 3 growing kiddos & no food would mean big trouble!

we also needed to take the kiddos shopping for their cousins (& each other - sibling gifts)...we had Christmas with my side of the family planned for Sunday & we couldn't show up empty handed ;0) i made goodies for all the adults & we set the kiddos loose in the Dollar Tree for gifts for their 1st cuz's...they love shopping for each other, & it's so cute to see what they pick out...this way, we knew they wouldn't break our bank - everything in that store is $1! ;0) & wouldn't u know - their Dollar Tree gifts were some of the most popular ones received that day?! more on that in a sec...back to the storm...

here's what the Walmart parking lot looked like when we came out from getting groceries & were getting ready to head home...

& by the time we got home, everything had a thin covering...

but the next morning? we woke to this...

& by lunch time, we had a good bit of accumulation!

we didn't see much of VDOT for the first half of the day...but thank God for farmers - we spotted quite a few tractors out scraping the roads!

& thank God for my husband...i mean seriously, i don't know what i'd do without that man sometimes! u can see, he's shoveled from our front door, out to the end of the driveway...

& by the time he'd turned around & headed back, there was another couple inches on the ground!

look at the front porch steps that he had just cleared!

but he was smart - going out several times that day to clear the way...better than shoveling 2+ feet all at once! here's the bird bath in our front yard...u can see just how deep it is!

& here's the kiddos when we finally let them head outside...

they begged us to go out from the moment they woke up! but we kept making them wait - hoping the snow would slow down & make it easier to get around - u know, without fat, wet flakes pelting their faces ~lol~

finally, in the late afternoon, we gave in...it still hadn't stopped, but it wasn't coming down quite as hard...& we knew if we didn't soon let em out, they'd drive us insane!!! ;0)

but of course, it wasn't the easiest to play in either...they'd get up & start trying to run across the yard...

only to fall again...it was pretty entertaining to watch ~lol~

Gabby really wanted to get to the swings...

cause the snow was almost as high as they were!

the fun didn't last long tho...soon, they had snow down their boots, Corinn had lost her hat, & walking just became way too difficult

i'm not sure what our final total was, but at that time on Saturday (around 3pm) - we had around 22inches already - & it didn't stop until about 8pm that night!

i kept the hot cocoa flowing all day long & we had lots of fun hanging out together inside...the kiddos out voted Curtis & i - we ended up having tacos for dinner instead of chili...but we all agreed that desert was awesome...snow cream of course!

snow cream:
go collect about 16cups of clean snow in a big bowl
stir in 1/2cup sweet condensed milk,
1/2cup sugar,
1cup milk,
1tsp vanilla
add more/less milk to get the creamy, ice cream like consistency u're after
YUM!

i was scheduled to deliver 2 cakes that day...one party canceled on Friday...the other went on as planned, but totally understood when i called to say i wasn't going to chance it & come out to deliver their cake...she didn't want to come after it either & was fine with it being delivered the next day...i would share the cake with u all here, but it was a "naughty" one...that also happens to be the password to the adult themed album on my website...u can check out Scotty's cake there - but only if u're 18 or older please ;0)

(btw, i made the cake in the middle of the night, when the kiddos were in bed - then boxed it up & kept it in a closet until the next day, so they wouldn't get curious & try to peek)

the next morning was just beautiful!

& the total accumulation was amazing to see!

thankfully, the roads were much better - scrapers had continued to come through all day & night...& the salted roads were ok to travel on if u had 4-wheel drive (thankfully, everyone in my fam does)

church was canceled - & so was the children's Christmas program that was scheduled for later that night...but we went on with our family Christmas as planned...after delivering the day-late cake, we headed over to my brother's house for TONS of good food & presents!

thankfully, everyone was able to make it - no one had to work! & the kiddos had a blast...each getting totally awesome gifts from Nana & Grandpa!

afterward, we ran home to get suited up - then headed over to my sister's house for some sledding on their little hill

once again, the brutal cold & deep deep snow brought us back inside sooner than we'd planned, but we still had a great time!

the rest of the evening was spent playing with the kiddos' new toys inside...Gabby got an awesome art set - chuck full of markers, pencils, chalk, paint, etc

Corinn got an amazing little doll house - very similar to the one that Gab got for her birthday last year - she was psyched to have her own...& Jaden was in heaven with his new Bionicle sets! he's played with nothing else since!!! ~lol~

how was ur weekend?
did u get hit by this big winter storm?
only 3 days til Christmas!
(thx to Jaden for my hourly reminder! ~wink~)

random thoughts for the day...

i get a lot of FWD's & i skim/delete most of them...but i hadn't seen this one yet - & i laughed at every single random thought...hope u enjoy too!
(thx for fwd'ing this to me Dee!)

Random thoughts for the day:

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
(amen!!! ~wink~)

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is a great need for a sarcasm font.
(no doubt!)

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this-- ever.

15. I hate it when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
(for real!)

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. My 4-year old asked me in the car the other day "Mama, what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How do I respond to that?

19. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
(the freezer at our last place did have a light - & i LOVED it!!!)

20. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Bud Light or a Margarita than Kay.