present time

The kids made out like bandits this year! So much for cutting back, I guess. We spent most of our morning unwrapping gifts and breaking the toys loose from their packages. It took us until 2PM to get dressed for the day but isn't that how it is supposed to be?

time with friends

The Air Force has given us the opportunity to see new places and make many new friends along the way. Some of those friendships come and go as quickly as the moves do but others stand the test of time and distance. We are lucky enough to have experienced many of those kind of friendships. Our dear friends from California came out to Florida for the holidays. We spent Christmas Eve with them having lunch with all of our crazy kids and visiting Santa.

Poor guy! Isn't that pitiful?

Tasting Santa's sweet treats after our visit.


That evening we made our way over to some other dear friends of ours that we are lucky enough to be stationed with right now. We had a wonderful dinner and some good laughs and fun with friends and family. The kiddos exchanged gifts and then were quickly sent to bed to wait for Santa.

We love you all and are so glad that we have you in our lives. You all are family to us!

very merry.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours! We wish you all of the happiness, love and joy on such a magical day!

oh, the squirrels will be so happy with you.

We did two crafts in one day today because the kids were wanting to display their creative sides. Anyway, this was our pine cone bird feeders. The kids collected pine cones from the back yard and picked which one was their favorite. They then spread peanut butter all over them. Once the gooey spread was in place, they rolled them in bird seed and wallah - you have yourself a bird feeder. The poor thing about the little birds around here is that they don't stand a chance around the feisty squirrels. So, I guess I should say, you have yourself a homemade squirrel feeder. :)

The finished product.

sprinkles and all.

With Santa coming to town, it was time to decorate some cookies for the jolly ol' sole. We invited some friends over and I made sure everyone had their own set-up so their creativity could flow without thinking of having to share. (You know this is a hard thing to do when you are designing such masterpieces for Santa.)

Some got into it a little more than others. Check out those sprinkles!

The finished cookies. Don't they look delicious?

And no, Jacob was not left out of the pictures. He was out shopping with Daddy - hmmmm, I wonder what for!?

crafts...

In my desperate attempt to keep the kids busy during the break, I have decided that we are going to have some projects to do as a family. This is what I have on the agenda for this week. I will let you know how it goes...

• Popsicle Star Ornament
• Pine cone Bird Feeder
• Hand Print Christmas Tree
• Craft Stick Reindeer
• Decorating Sugar Cookies

Merry Christmas!

everything is flowing smoothly again

What more can I say?

the update.

Thank you all for your well wishes - it really means a lot to me to know that I am surrounded by such warm and caring people.

Anyway, last night was pretty good however he did wake up at 5AM and said his tummy hurt. The pediatrician called at 6:45 and said if he wasn't crying or screaming it could wait until 9:30 before he got his X-Ray. So, I dropped AJ off at school and headed to the hospital. After checking in at pediatrics we headed over to X-Ray and as they were taking the X-Ray, wouldn't you know that kid decided to poop on the table and show everyone what he had swallowed!? After a good laugh and excitement over some poop, We headed back over to pediatrics for the doc to make sure his insides were all still good and nothing was seen in today's X-Ray. Everyone at the clinic gawked over yesterday's X-Ray as well as the fact that he eliminated it on the table. Oh that kid - I don't know what to do with him?

We are in the clear now and let me tell you - that boy better not consume anymore inedible things!!!

I posted a copy of yesterday's X-Ray just for kicks and giggles.

the little boy who swalled a screw.

There Was A Little Boy

written by weary mommy, Carrie

There once was a little boy who swallowed a screw.

His Mommy had no clue what to do.

So, off the the ER she went,

And there to X-Ray they were sent.

A screw, "yes indeed", they did say,

Oh man, this was going to be quite a day!

To surgery with him, yes or no,

Or should we wait and see if he will "go."

As of tonight we will play the waiting game

and try not to place any blame.

The morning will bring more views of his tummy,

And I can only hope he doesn't find those screws yummy!

Yes, yes - that would be my Jacob. He decided today would be a good day to get a taste of a 2" wood screw. All said and done surgery was an option but the pros and cons were about even so we decided to wait and see what the X-Rays bring tomorrow. Wish us a painless and restful night as Mike is TDY and I can only cope with so much! :) Seriously, what was he thinking?

get daddy!

Some outside wrestle time is always good time on a Saturday!

no, mommy! don't do it!

DON'T TAKE MY PICTURE!!!!

fa la la la la la la la la

This evening this little dapper dude escorted us to his school for a little Christmas show put on by the students. His school is very small only consisting of 3 classrooms with only 6 students each. Each class got up and sang three songs each for all of the friends and family in the audience.

You will notice that he was in awe a little bit at the audience and didn't quite remember to sing the whole time. Also, towards the end, check out how he looks to his right and gets a big small and stops singing all together. He saw his good friends Lauren and Jake had come to watch his performance.

You did great little guy! We are so proud of you!

trimming the tree.

We broke out the tree today and tried to make our little Charlie Brown look a little more robust with some ornaments and such. The kiddos have been chomping at the bit to get the tree up so once we broke it out, there was no going back. We spent our morning decorating. The best part about it is that this is the first year that all of the kids were able to help. Most of the ornaments are at their height but, hey, it gives them character, right?

a visit.

I was invited to Elizabeth's Daisy meeting on Thursday for a special visit. As you can see, she was quite happy to have him in her presence.

The best part was that he told her she had to brush her teeth every morning and night, pick up her laundry off the floor and clean underneath her bed. All I have to say, is that is by far the fastest I have ever seen her clean up her room in my life. I need him around a little more often! Merry Christmas!

what the....?

Did you see what that said? Did that mention running? Aaaaahhhhh!!!!!

Yep - she did it! She sucked me and Mike in! Our good friend, Lynette, has been training very hard for her first marathon at Disney World on January 19th.

Well, my motto has always been - no running for me unless it is running away from someone. I guess I am going to have to throw that concept out the window because today Mike and I registered for a race in Seaside in March. Now don't get me wrong - I am not getting too ambitious. I registered for the 5K while Mike in all his glory decided the 1/2 marathon was up his alley.

I guess now I am going to have to get my butt out of the house and on the road to running. Seriously, what was I thinking?