Out With a Bang (or a Bug!)

I'd love to say that we spent the last week of 2010 sharing lots of fun times together as a family, but unfortunately the only thing we shared was a lovely stomach virus that has been going around.

Eden started things off on Christmas morning. When I went to get her up that morning, I quickly realized that she had thrown up in her crib overnight. She never cried or called for us to let us know that she was sick, so by the time I discovered the mess, she had been laying in it for quite some time. It was all over her pajamas, in her hair and on the floor. What a way to start our Christmas celebration! We ended up having to start our morning with a Christmas bath.

The next victim was my mom, who got sick on Christmas afternoon. We had to cancel our family Christmas dinner so that she could rest and get better.

Parker didn't want to eat any dinner on Sunday night and it wasn't long after we put him in bed that he started vomiting. He was sick all night long but thankfully was better by the next morning.

Cory came home from work on Monday not feeling well and by the middle of the night, it was clear that he was next in line to get the virus. He had to take off of work on Tuesday to recuperate and rest.

I woke up Wednesday morning and quickly realized that I was not going to escape getting sick. Thank goodness my mom was able to help me with the kids so I could stay in bed and rest.

Thursday was a good day. The weather was nice and everyone was finally on the mend, so we were able to take the kids to the park to play for awhile. I was looking forward to the long weekend relaxing and spending time together before I have to go back to work on Monday. Unfortunately, as soon as I got Lily in bed, I started getting sick again. I was up all night and only got about an hour of sleep, so instead of playing with the kids today, I stayed in bed and slept. I am finally feeling better and am really hoping that we are finished with the stomach bug. I am going to spend tomorrow washing all the sheets and cleaning the bathrooms to get rid of any germs that might still be lurking in our house!

Although 2010 did not end the way I had hoped, it has been a good year for our family. Welcoming Lily into our family was definitely the highlight of our year and I could not feel more blessed that I now have three beautiful kids. I am looking forward to seeing what 2011 has in store for our family!

"Jeez"

Eden's newest word is "Jeez" (Jesus).

Every night during the month of December, we read the story of Jesus' birth to the kids at bedtime. It is very important to me that they know the real reason we celebrate Christmas and not just focus on Santa and presents.

Although Christmas is over, Eden is still wanting to read the Christmas story at bedtime. The past few nights, Eden has brought me their Bible and said "Jeez". She will not read any other story until we read about Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. My prayer is that they will always know what a wonderful gift we received on Christmas night when Jesus was born.

Christmas 2010

Christmas morning was full of fun and surprises this year! When I went in to wake Eden up, I quickly realized that she had gotten sick overnight in her crib. So instead of starting the morning with presents, we started the morning with a Christmas bath! After we got everything cleaned up, we let her and Parker go see if Santa had come! They were so excited to see what Santa had left for them- a new kitchen! Parker was more interested in his stocking and started going through it immediately. Eden started playing with the kitchen and had to be coaxed into opening her stocking. Parker was thrilled that Santa brought him a new Lightning McQueen car to replace the one that he had lost a few months ago. Lily rested in her bouncer and enjoyed snuggling with her new lovey. After their stockings were opened, Parker helped me and Cory open ours. I don't think we got to open anything without his help this year!

After breakfast, we opened presents. Parker got some new games and Eden got a tea set. They also got some new books, which Eden wanted to read immediately! The last thing they opened was Woody and Jesse dolls from Toy Story 3- Parker and Eden's new favorite movie.

It was a great morning spending time together as a family. I know that the next few years are only going to get better as all three kids get bigger and show more excitement about the magical aspects of Christmas!

Christmas with Granna and Granstan

This year we celebrated Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve because Aunt MerMer had to work on Christmas Day. We started the morning trying to get some good family pictures before the kids a) got too cranky or b) spilled food all over their nice clothes! Then we let the kids open all of their presents. Eden got a pillowcase with her name on it and Parker got a Nerf gun. He absolutely loved the gun but it kept getting him in trouble when he would shoot it at inappropriate things (and people)! After presents my mom made a great lunch that made us all need an afternoon nap! After naps, we let the kids watch Toy Story 3 while we opened presents. Then we let the kids put on their new Christmas pajamas so that we could go home and get ready for Santa to come! The next morning, we went back over to Granna and Granstan's house to open stockings and have Christmas breakfast. As always, we had a great time hanging out and watching the kids play together. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful family that all live close to me. I can't imagine not spending Christmas with them every year!

Rudolph at Casa Manana

My mom and sister took Parker and Addison to see Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer at Casa Manana Theater the weekend before Christmas. They were very surprised when they got there and discovered that their seats were on the second row. Parker had fun but said he got scared when the Abominable Snowman came on the stage. Hopefully this will be the first of many trips to the theater for a special Christmas program with Granna and Aunt MerMer. Thanks again for such a fun day and a special memory!

Christmas with Grandma and Papa

Cory's parents spent Christmas in Lubbock, so we celebrated early with them this year. We went over to their house after Cory got off of work and enjoyed a yummy lasagna dinner. After dinner, we opened presents, which included a puppy pillow pet for Parker and a new doll for Eden. There were also lots of goodies in their stockings. Eden's favorite thing was marshmallows- she wouldn't leave Papa's side until they were all gone! Although we missed spending time with them on Christmas Day, we enjoyed our special night with them before they left.