CakeTV

I was going back through our picture and video files the other day and ran across this. With the help of Windows Movie Maker I was able to pull together five or six clips and create a partial episode of CakeTV (also referred to as AllisonTV in the video).

I don't know how or where she got the idea - probably on TV - but I love the fact that she was able to conceptualize the entire project enough to break it out into a TV show.

The project was actually completed. She made her "Memory Cage" from beginning to end. It was an envelope type thing where you could store your task notes (things you need to do the next day). Leave it to my first born to come up with an organizational system.

This episode isn't completed. Ally was half way through when the batteries went bad on the little point and shoot camera she was using as a video camera. Unfortunately I didn't know what she was doing at the time or I would have changed the batteries and encouraged her to finish on tape.

Maybe in the future she'll do another one.

2008 Year In Review

Hello to those returning readers and a big welcome to those of you that are here for the first time. 2008 has been a wild and crazy year full of difficulties and yet amazing and wonderful things. With the economy the way it is and the uncertainty so many are facing, I can truly say we've been blessed and have a lot to be thankful for.

I thought I'd just walk through the family and let you know what's been going on with each of us.

Tammy
What an amazing wife. Tammy definitely gives of herself until there isn't much left. Week in and week out she takes care of me, our kids, the house, our finances, etc. And she still finds time to work close to a full time job at AWS and hold Lia Sophia parties for fun. She loves to read (current series: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer) and loves watching Gray's Anatomy & Private Practice.

Tammy has shown me what it means to be "social" and maintain close personal relationships rather than curling up in my cave and just existing. She is part of a close knit small group that gets together on a regular basis to shop, watch movies, eat out and in essence do life together. Thank you Becky, Jami, Debbie and Leah for being part of that. We also spend time as couples each Saturday night after church - chatting, questioning, pushing, encouraging and laughing.

Allison
Ally is 8 and in the Second Grade this year. The picture is a little misleading. She has lost quite a few of her baby teeth and there are adult teeth half way into most areas.

In true first born fashion, Ally is a rule follower and a perfectionist in many things. She loves to do things well and do them the correct way - often questioning others when they do things outside the box.

She plays soccer, has an American Girl doll, loves Hannah Montana, and spends a lot of time drawing, painting, writing stories, singing and otherwise being creative. In fact one day this year I found her creating her own television show. She had a video camera set up and was showing viewers how to create a memory pouch out of paper. She even interrupted for commercial breaks with her own transitional flair. Check that out here.

Rachel
Rach is 6 this year and in First Grade. Talk about the exact opposite of what a second born is supposed to be like. She is not at all the left out, depressed and misunderstood child. Instead she is funny, in your face and at times downright hilarious. Out of the blue she will make a comment or use a phrase (often in the wrong context) that you can't help but stop and laugh over.

She has an infectious smile and energy that never ends. She also plays soccer and loves Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers. You'll find her playing the Leapster, watching Disney Channel, coloring, painting and drawing.

Rachel loves the water and will stay in it even though her lips are blue and she can't stop shaking. She collects shells, swims under water loves the sand.

She is quick to make friends and is the one with no fear. She'll be playing with new friends the minute they become available and doesn't stop to think about whether or not they are good for her. We'll have to keep working on that.

Tyler
I hate to use the phrase "Momma's Boy" but at this point it seems to fit. Ty is 4 this year and in Preschool. Still young, he whines when things don't go his way, but for crying out loud I know some adults that do the same thing still.

Tyler is a fun boy to be around. He loves to play and beginning to be creative and self sufficient during the day. He loves TMNT, Phineas & Ferb, dinosaurs, cars and has begun to draw and color like his sisters (if you can't beat them join them...)

Tyler learned to swim well this year in Myrtle Beach and hasn't looked back. He loves to bob, hold his breath and is jumping in all by himself at the lake.

Tyler has sporadic breathing issues like I did when I was young. He gets breathing treatments when it gets bad and then its gone for four hours. We hope this is something he grows out of like I did. There's nothing worse than sitting listening to your child hack and wheeze just to get good breaths...

Tyler has also played soccer and I can't wait to get him back on ice skates this winter :)

Me
This year has been a good one.

I love the fact that Tammy and I have grown closer and that we are doing what it takes to maintain a solid relationship. Date nights twice a month, random lunches together and the occasional long weekends away without kids are a HUGE part of this.

I have enjoyed watching the kids grow, mature and take steps in the right direction. Each has their own personality and I love each of them as much as the other. I've been able to have the random conversations where you really feel like you are connecting and can't wait for more of this to happen as the grow.

I love living in Granger. Aside from the weather of course. I was going to title this post, "Merry F'n Christmas" where the "F" stood for "frigid" but decided against it...

My job at the church has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I love being in ministry and getting to do the stuff I'm passionate about. I recently launched a website (webdrivenchurch.com) so people can find me. You can get to my blog from here and see some of the stuff I've been doing lately (both work related projects and freelance web projects).

It has been a great year and I can't wait to see what 2009 brings.

The world may be falling apart around us but we can still have joy and peace knowing that our futures are safe and secure because we know the One that controls it all.

Peace in the new year.

A Better Person

Do you have friends in your life who make you better? Friends who know you well enough to know when something is wrong just by the look on your face. Friends who help you be a better mom and wife. Friends who are "for" your marriage and won't just tell you what you want to hear. Friends who guide you and remind you what is important when you are in the middle of a parenting crisis. Friends who have the hard conversations with you even though it is not easy. Friends who don't always agree with you, friends who remind you what is important and what your priorities should be. Friends who are completely honest with you and who you can be completely honest with. Friends who just push you to be an all around better person...to be a better Christ follower, a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, etc.

I have this in these girls (plus Deb not pictured).

Becky, Jami and I have been through a lot together. We have shared alot of laughs and helped each other through some of the hardest times in our lives. I love these girls, I love their husbands, I love their children. I would do anything for these girls and I know they would do the same for me. I am so thankful to have these girls in my life. I hope you have people in your life who push you to be a better person.

Ghetto Boys

I love this picture. Tyler and Jacob were playing one day during soccer practice for the girls and Daryl snapped this shot. One of those pictures that makes me smile when I see it.

I love watching these two grow up together, it makes my heart happy!

Happy 8th Birthday Allison

Allison Lynn,

8 years old, hard to believe. 8 years ago your dad and I became parents, 8 years ago life as we knew it ended (life was no longer just about us), 8 years ago a little girl came into our lives and stole our hearts and that little girl is you. You came into this world at 5 lb 6oz and now you are 60 plus pounds. It is hard for me to believe that you are 8 already. I am becoming more aware everyday that my time with you is limited, which I have to admit scares the crap out of me.

You are in 2nd grade this year at Mary Frank Elementary School. Your teacher is Susan Lestinsky (I actually worked with her when I was a counselor at Moran). You also have a student teacher right now, Miss Dean, who we figured out about 3 weeks ago is living right next door to us. You were so excited to find this out. You love school and have made some really good friends. Your best friend is still Abby Callender, but you also love to hang out with Rebecca, Halie S., Haylee H and a few others. Your favorite subjects are art, music, gym and spelling/reading. You don't care too much for math and tend to get frustrated pretty easily when doing your math homework. You still don't like to get things wrong and will end up in tears because of it. Overall though you are a great student.

You are playing Positive Faith Soccer right now and also just joined girl scouts. You have become quite the little soccer player this year and are having a great time. You and Rachel and Abby are on the same team this year and that has been fun to watch. You had, I think, one of your first moments this week where you felt what it was like to get frustrated and because of this you put the ball into the net with authority. Last winter you took ice skating lessons and this summer did swimming lessons along with volleyball camp. You saw the Atlantic Ocean this year for the first time. We took a vacation to Myrtle Beach with the Callender and Ruth Families. You also went camping for the first time this year with Abby and Jacob. You love Hannah Montana right now and can sing everyone of her songs word for word. You still love to sing and will just break out in song no matter where you are at. You have your first solo in the 2nd grade musical in a couple of weeks and you couldn't be more excited.

Allison, these past 8 years have been so much fun watching you grow into the young lady that you are right now. You have gone from this little baby who needed her mom and dad to do everything to this big girl who needs us for very little any more. Though many things about you are changing you are still my sweet little girl who loves with her whole heart. You have such a big heart and are normally one of the first ones to help when help is needed. You don't like to see other people hurt and will do what you can to make things right. It breaks your heart when other people are mad at you or disappointed in you. You tend to be my rule follower and because of this you tend to be a leader. You have so many great qualities and I cannot wait to see how God uses those qualities to help you become the woman of God he created you to be.

Allison you love God right now with all your heart and are eager to learn more about him. More often than not you would rather have your dad tell you a story out of the bible rather than read you a bedtime story. You are eager to learn more about Him right now and my prayer for you is that this is the case for the rest of your life. I know that God has great things planned for your life and I cannot believe that He has let me have a front row seat. Allison I pray that you stay true to yourself and that you follow after God with all your heart and soul. Never forget that He is your best friend and that He will never leave you. Know that your dad and I love with you with all we have. We are so proud of you and cannot wait to see what the next 8 years brings.

I love you sweetheart!

Love,

Mom

Happy 4th Birthday Tyler

Tyler,

Today you turned 4. I cannot believe that 4 years have gone by this fast. It just seems like we brought you home from the hospital. You are my big little boy. It won't be long and you will pass your big sister, Rachel, up in weight. I can remember telling your sister's when you were little that they better be nice because the day would come when you would be as big as them and that day is quickly approaching. You are our big boy. As Aunt Becky says, you are going to be our linebacker. Though you are our big tough boy you are also as sweet as they come, which is one of the things I love the most about you Ty.

Tyler Ryan, you are all boy. You are rough and tumble and every time we turn around you are hitting your head on this or that or falling down and scrapping your legs or arms. In the past year you have had stitches by your left eyebrow and also had a gash by your right eyebrow glued by the doctor. Your dad and I always say that you will be the first kid we take to the ER. You are constantly pushing the limits when it comes to doing things that might end up hurting you. I have learned to just turn my head and not watch, otherwise I might have to keep you locked in your room...ha! As much as I love how much "boy" you are, I also love how sweet you are. You tell me at least 3 times a day that you love me. You are always giving hugs and kisses or just wanting to be snuggled by me or your dad. You are helpful in so many ways. You never let me carry groceries into the house by myself, you help me carry laundry all the time and you are the first to want to help do just about anything. You miss your sisters when they are gone all day at school and are the first to greet them when they get off the bus. You are also the first to tell me or your sisters that you like what we are wearing or that we are pretty. Like I said I don't think you could be any sweeter.

This year you have accomplished many things. While we were in Myrtle Beach for vacation you learned the beginning stages of swimming. You learned how to go under water by yourself and by the end of the vacation you were without floaties trying to swim under water. By the end of the summer you were swimming under water. You took swimming lessons at Penn this year with your sisters and spent lots of time at the lake and pool swimming too. You also rode on the tube behind the boat for the first time this summer. You have also taken soccer lessons this year. This year you are going to preschool 3 days a week at Mary Frank Preschool. You have learned how to spell and recognize your name in print and to write the letter "T" this year. You have also made huge progress this year with your speech. You are still getting speech therapy but you are almost all caught up. You are so proud of yourself when you say something that is hard for you. Right now you love to play and watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Phineas and Ferb. You just told me the other day that you wanted to get rid of your Diego bike and get a Phineas and Ferb one. You also still play with your cars and trains, and love to draw and color. It has been fun to watch you learn to draw people this year too.

Tyler I am so proud of the little boy that you have become so far. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you. I know God has great plans for your life. My prayer for you little boy is that you will continue to love people like you do now. I pray that you will always be as sweet, loving, helpful and caring as you are. Always remember that God is your best friend, that He will never leave you or forsake you. I pray that you seek God's will for your life and that you run after that with all that you have. Know that your dad and I will always love you, no matter what. We will always be your biggest fans. We also promise, to the best of our ability, to raise you to be the man God's wants you to be. No matter where life takes you or what you become you will always be my sweet little boy.

I love you Tyler Ryan with all I have in me!

Love,

Mom

Happy 6th Birthday Rachel

Okay so I know this post is almost a month late, but hey that is what happens when you are on vacation during a Birthday :) So I guess it is better late than never!

Rachel,

6 years old, I cannot believe it! I can remember walking around the house with you when you were just baby thinking I have to have another one of these, she is just too cute and sweet. You were a such a sweet baby and you have grown into a sweet little girl. These last 6 years have flown by and I am so proud of all you have accomplished this year.

You just finished Kindergarten at Mary Frank Elementary this year. You were so excited to go and could not wait to ride the bus with your sister. You were in Kindergarten half day Monday through Friday and then also attended Kinderclub the other half of the day, 3 days a week. You had Mrs. Krieger as your teacher for Kindergarten and a slew of other teachers for Kinderclub. As much as you loved being gone all day and riding the bus to and home from school, you also loved the 2 days a week where I picked you up at 10:20 and we spent the rest of the day together. You made all sorts of new friends this year, though I think you played mostly with Lydia Bradford. She also rode the bus with you and lives in the neighborhood behind us. Though you played alot with her you would also come home and tell me about all your other friends. You are just one of those kids who makes friends easily and is friends with everyone, though I would still say that your best friends are Jacob and Abby.

This year you learned how to tie shoes, read, count to 110 by ones, fives and tens. You also learned about money and what each coin was worth. You became a great swimmer, learned how to ice skate completely on your own and also learned how to ride a two wheel bike (this was a tad after you Birthday). This year you participated in gymnastics, ice skating, soccer and poms camp at Penn last summer. I think one of the biggest things you learned this year was how to navigate friendships. We had many conversations during the school year about this or that person being mean to you and why they would do that and what you should do about it. You were always so perplexed by the fact that someone would be mean to you one day and then be nice to you the next. You also had to deal with the fact that Allison and Abby moved from the Penguin room at church into the Jungle room and you did not get to go with them. Your feelings were hurt and you were upset but you moved on pretty quickly.

Rachel one of the things that I love about you is your personality. You are so full of life and love and laughter. I cannot tell you how many times your dad and I have just looked at each other and started laughing about things you have done or said. You come up with the silliest, craziest things sometimes. For you there is no hiding your feelings, you can tell just by looking at you how you feel and I love that. You still love to snuggle with your dad and I and anytime we are sitting down to watch TV you are right beside us wanting to be on are laps. You love our family nights on Friday when we hang out and watch movies, you never let us forget that it is "family night". You are my petite, cute, cuddly, smart, silly, full of life little girl. There is not a day that goes by that you don't make me think of your Nana, you are her in a nutshell!

I cannot wait to see what the future hold for you Rachel Lauren. I know that God is going to do great things in your life. I pray all the time that you will follow after Him hard and that you will seek His will for your life everyday. Know that your dad and I will always be here for you, no matter what happens in your life. Our love for you will never change. I cannot wait to see the beautiful woman you turn into, but between now and then I am going to enjoy every minute I have with you as my "little girl".

I love you Rachel!

Love,

Mom

Rachel Loves Us

I found this laying on the island in the kitchen the other day and thought to myself:

Thank God! My daughter loves us just the way we are. Because the way we are is very strange sometimes...

You gotta love Rachel's charm.

Sisters

My hope and prayer for these two girls is that they will grow closer and closer every year, that they will at least be able to tolerate each other through adolescence, and that as adults they will be best friends. I have huge hopes and dreams for these two, but the thing I long for the most is that they will be sisters in every sense of the word for life. I pray that they will share their hopes and dreams with each other, that they will keep each other's secrets, that they will always stand up for each other, that they will love others and each other well, that they will serve Christ together, that they will be accountable to each other, that they will laugh together and cry together and that no matter what life throws their way that they will come out on the other side of it closer to each other and better because of it.

My promise to them is that I will do everything in my power to be the mom they need, to serve Jesus and our family well and to help show them how to build into each other and lift each other up. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for these two girls!

Notes to Remember

Rachel has just started in the last month or so to write letters. It is so fun when they get to the age where they are comfortable sounding out words and writing them down for you to read. She wrote two letters last weekend that just made us laugh.

Let me give you some back drop for this first one. Allison and Rachel have their own rooms, but they started a few months ago asking to sleep together on the weekends. Rachel is an early morning girl and Allison is not! Allison likes to sleep in whenever possible and Rachel on the other hand likes to get up with the sun and likes company. So when she slept with Allison she would wake her up when she woke up or she would just sit in the bed and play knowing that if she did it long enough Allison would eventually wake up. Well this only lasted a few nights before Allison was done and told Rachel she could not sleep with her anymore. So this was the case for the last few months. Well last weekend Rachel convinced us and Allison that she would not wake Allison up in the morning if she could sleep with her. So we are getting the kids ready for bed and Rachel says "wait a minute I need to go write myself a note". The next thing I know she comes up to me with the note below and says "Mom, I wrote myself a note so I would remember to not wake Allison up in the morning. Mom make sure you put it on my robe and slippers on the end of the bed, so when I wake up I can read it and remember". So I read the note and almost lost it from laughing so hard.

In case you don't quite get Kindergarten writing it says: "Rachel do not forget to not wake Allison up in the morning".

The next day she comes up and hands me this note for the Easter Bunny.

"Dear Easter Bunny thank you for the candy and I am not so good at finding eggs"

These notes are treasures to me and will be kept for years to come!

New Adventure

So for those of you who have not heard yet, I have embarked on a new adventure. After taking about 6 weeks or so to think about it, process it with other people and research it, I have decided to become a lia sophia jewelry advisor. Why, you may ask? Well for a couple of reasons, first off I LOVE wearing jewelry. It is so much fun to have several different pieces to pick from. It can make a very boring plain shirt look totally different. The other reason is to make a little bit of extra money.

Why lia sophia you might ask? Well one of the things I love about the company is their lifetime guarantee. If anything happens to your jewelry at any point or if you decide at any point that you no longer like it you can send it back no questions asked. They will not just fix the jewelry if it is broken, they will replace it and if they no longer have the piece then they will send you a gift certificate for the full price of the piece you are returning. There is NO place else I have found that has this same deal. I have bought way too many pieces of jewelry and had to end up throwing them away because stones fell out or they tarnished. No more of that! The other thing I love about the company is that they have great deals every month, they give hostesses great deals and their jewelry is just plain cute!

So far I have done 4 shows and have another one tomorrow and have a couple scheduled in March and April so far. I am really having a good time doing all of this. I love meeting new people and showing them how to get good deals on great jewelry. If you ever want to host a party, you get lots of free and reduced price stuff (really it is amazing all you get) and I also offer great deals for hosting a party, let me know!

Go to http://www.liasophia.com/ and take a look at the new Spring and Summer catalog, you WILL love it!

Tyler's Phrases

Here are some the the things Tyler says that just crack me up sometimes:

- huh, that's weird

- your jokin

- you're funny

- if you say so

- Carter Ruth (okay so that in itself is not so funny, but Tyler only calls Carter, Carter Ruth, never just Carter and even Carter sounds more like haha)

- I don't know

- naw, naw, naw (he sings this when he plays Allison's Hannah M. guitar)

- whatever

- school where my teacher gets me out of the car (he is going to 2 preschools right now and this is what he calls one of them)

- I am a happy boy!

- He has also been known to tell his friends that he has a big penis, yeah we all cracked up at that one!

- you like my big, big muscles

I love this stage when they are talking like crazy, but not all words are 100% clear, it is just so cute. I also love the fact that they say what is on their mind and there is no filter. of course I like it till one of them says something about someone they see that is true, but dosen't really need to be said outloud. Gotta love kids!

Perfection

I have figured something out about one of our kids just recently. Now, I thought that this was one of her characteristics before but it is becoming very clear to me now that it is who she is going to be. Our eldest daughter, Allison, is becoming more perfectionist all the time. For those of you who know her father, the apple did not fall far from that tree. Yes, I do also have things that I like a certain way, but not sure that I would call myself a perfectionist.

There have been clues along the way that have helped me come to this conclusion, like when I send her and her sister up to clean their rooms, Allison CLEANS her room. She picks everything up and puts everything in its place. Her bed is made, she even runs her hand across the comforter to make sure it is smooth. Her dresser is neat and orderly, she has a drawer in her nightstand for books and a drawer in her dresser for all her American girl doll clothes. She even likes to organize her underwear drawer and put them in piles by colors. Rachel on the other hand, likes to clean her room by putting more stuff out on her dresser. When you ask her what she is doing, she will tell you that she is decorating and making it pretty and yes adding more clutter. Which by the way can tend to drive me CRAZY! She is also one who has been known to just shove stuff where it cannot be seen when you walk in, that must make it clean right?

The big clue though for me this year, has been Allison's school work. Almost everyday she comes home with papers they have worked on throughout the day. Some of the papers are ones they have done together in class and other ones are ones they have done on their own throughout the day. If she happens to miss one problem on those papers, it can send her to tears. As I would go through her stuff everyday I would talk to her about the ones she missed, so that I knew she was understanding what she did wrong. As soon as I brought up that she had missed one the tears would start. I have talked and talked to her about how it is okay to miss problems and that no one gets everything right. I have told her that all her dad and I expect out of her is that she does her best and when she gets something wrong that she learns from it. I cannot tell you how many times I had this conversation with her while there were tears flowing down her cheeks.

I will say it has gotten a little better and now when she comes home from school she will tell me right away if she missed any on her papers. I look through them and if I can tell that her teacher has gone over them with her then I just blow it off or I ask her if she understood why she got it wrong. The other thing that really gets her going is tests. She already worries about them the night before and asks us what happens if she gets her answers wrong. We try to reassure her and tell her that she will done fine. All I keep thinking through all of this, is she is in 1st grade! What in the world is going to happen when she is in middle school or high school? To be completely honest it kind of scares me.

As nice as it is to have that really clean room of hers, I sure don't want her living her life worrying about not being perfect! My hope is that Daryl and I can help her strive for excellence but also teach her how to learn from her mistakes and move on.

Family Night

I love Friday nights and the reason I love them is because they have become our family night. Daryl normally is home right on time, the house is normally clean, and it is the beginning of the weekend. We do dinner, which most of the time is more breakfast like foods, then clean the kitchen up together and then it is jammie time. All the kids and mom and dad sometimes too get pajamas on.

Once everyone is all comfy then it is time for some sort of treat. Last Friday night it was chocolate milkshakes, tonight it was popcorn. We then all retreat into the living room for movie night. Movie night has become a huge hit in our house. We all snuggle together, turn all the lights off and on comes some sort of kids movie. Last week it was Meet the Robinsons, this week it was Jungle Book. The kids absolutely love it and look forward to it all day.

Movie night is one of the ways that we spend quantity time with our kids in hopes that there will be moments of quality time that come out of it. I cannot begin to tell you how important it is to me that we are making it a priority to carve out quantity time with our kids. One very wise man (Dr. R. Mark Beeson) once said that quality time only comes with quantity time. You can't plan the quality time, it only comes with quantity time-and that you can plan.

Christmas Eve and Day Pictures 2007

Opening presents at my Sister's house on Christmas Eve.

More presents at Grandma Marques' house on Christmas Eve.

Santa came, Santa came!

Rachel and Tyler in their new sled!

Allison in the new sled, take a look at Rachel in the background, too funny!

Tyler with his new Diego backpack.

It was a Hannah Montana Christmas!

Rachel and Allison both got Ipods for Christmas, thanks to the discount from Aunt Katie!

Papa got Rachel a drum set,

and Allison a Hannah Montana guitar, he pretty much won the Papa of the year award!

Our new band, not pictured Tyler on the tambourines.

Papa got Tyler a new bike for Christmas!

Stocking fun, I LOVE stockings! My mom always put special things in our stockings.

Christmas 2007

As Christmas Vacation comes to an end, I thought it about time I blog about it. The kids go back to school tomorrow which is crazy. Daryl and I both had about 12 days home with the kids and it was awesome.
It all started on Christmas Eve when we attended Christmas Eve service at GCC (they knocked the ball out of the park this year), celebrated Christmas Eve with my sister and their families and then headed over to Grandma Marques' for a bit. We then came home and got ready for Santa. The kids could not have been more excited.

Christmas Day started about 8:30 am for us, when all the kids ended up in our bed. We started 2 new traditions this year. The first one was we decided that before we go downstairs and the chaos begins that we are going to read the Christmas Story out of the bible. So we did that and then made the kids wait at the top of the stairs while we got the cameras all ready, etc. They could barely stand it! The 2nd tradition we started was each person opens one gift at a time, that way everyone gets to see all the presents. My dad and brother came over about 9:30 am and we had breakfast with them and then opened more presents. It felt like it was presents for about 5 hours straight. Then mid-afternoon Daryl's sister and her family came over to hang out with us. Daryl's mom and dad were out of the Country this year for Christmas. The kids had a ton of fun hanging with their cousins and playing with all of their new toys. The Callender Family was supposed to come over, but we missed their phone call which was a bummer! Christmas night Allison and Rachel got the chance to spend the night with their cousins and they had a great time.

The day after Christmas we went ice skating up in St. Joe with the kids and Daryl's sister and her family. This is the second year we have done this and I think we need to make it a tradition. I was amazed at how well Allison is skating. We even got Ty on skates this year, he was a little unsure at first but by the time we left he was having fun.

Thursday we took the kids to a movie, dinner and then to the mall to do some after Christmas shopping. Friday we cleaned the house and went through all the toys in the basement and got rid of about 4 bags full of toys. Friday night we headed to Chi-town with our best friends to eat at PF Changs, all I can say is yum, yum, yum! Saturday was a typical day, hang out at home, go out to eat with friends and then go to church. Sunday, I spent the afternoon and early evening with Allison and Rachel shopping, we had a blast. Monday was New Year's Eve and we had our normal group along with Trent and Leah over. It was a ton of fun! New Year's Day we spent the day playing in the snow, sledding and taking down all the decorations. As much as I love the holidays, I love getting my house back to normal once they are over.

Our vacation then came to an end and it was back to work for Daryl and I, but at least it was a short week. We ended the kids vacation with having Christmas at Daryl's parents on Saturday and hosting Carter Ruth's Birthday party today. It was a great Christmas vacation. I have to admit it will be strange to not have all my kids with me all day, but I suppose school is important :)

Some pixs to follow in the next post!