O Holy Night

In our family, we celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve. We have a family Christmas Eve program where we read the story of Jesus' birth from the bible and make a nativity. We also sing songs, read stories, and spend the night focusing on the true meaning of Christmas, which is the celebration of our Savior's birth. This year, I bought a special Christmas star and gave one each to the kids. It was to remind them of the Savior and the night he was born, and I told them that just like that star guided the wise men and shepherds to Jesus, if we follow Jesus and his example, it can lead us back home to live with our Heavenly Father. The Savior and his life, teaching and example, are our guiding star. It was so neat to be able to share my testimony with them on such a special night.

I am so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. For His life, for His love, for His sacrifice. And I am thankful that Christmas Eve gives us a chance to really reflect and be thankful for the miracle that is His birth.

Santa Came!!

Sean had asked Santa for two things this year, Bakugan stuff and a talking Zurg action figure. He was thrilled to come down the stairs and see that Santa had delivered!

Avery really wanted a "big girls" doll house so that she could put her princesses and barbies in it. She gave her old dollhouse to a little girl that needed it and so Santa was happy to bring her what she wanted. She LOVES her new one and plays with it all day everyday.

Eric did so well shopping for me this year and I LOVED everything he bought me!! He picked out a whole bunch of shirts at old navy and they were totally things I would have picked myself. :) I also got a pair of boots I had wanted forever and the big surprise gift was a chandelier to go over my bathtub. I have always wanted one and he picked out a beautiful one all by himself.

Eric's big gift this year was a ping pong table. He has wanted one for 8 years (at least) and I stayed up all night on black friday to get one at a great price (it was sooooo worth it). I had it at my parents house until Christmas Eve when I snuck it back to our house. He was so surprised on Christmas Day to find it with a big red bow on it. We all love his gift and have been playing everyday!

After we opened our family presents, my parents came over for our annual Christmas Day breakfast feast! We cooked up a yummy spread of breakfast goodies and ate until we couldn't eat anymore. Then we opened presents to and from the Grandparents.

Sean had been saving his money up since July so that he could buy his presents for everyone with his very own money. He did an amazing job! Not only did he buy thoughtful useful gifts but he also found some great bargains and really stretched his money far.

This year, we had the kids' picture made and framed it for my parents. It turned out really cute!

Christmas Traditions

In keeping with our annual family tradition, the week of Christmas we went to Great Wolf Lodge. It was the perfect way to kick off our two weeks of family time and prepare for Christmas. Great Wolf is an amazing place to be for the holidays and it always helps us get in the holiday spirit. We especially love storytime by the fireplace, the christmas show at the clock tower, and the real snowflakes that fall every night in the lobby before bedtime. It is so beautiful! We spent lots of time in the waterpark, making crafts at the kid club, playing magicquest, and games in the arcade. The time at Great Wolf always passes way too quickly and before we knew it, it was time to go back home. We are so thankful for a wonderful trip and all the special memories we made!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We held it at our house this year and Grammy and Grandpa came over for the day. It was perfect! Thankfully, the food all turned out good and no major mishaps occured. This year, I cooked three of the side dishes in crock pots and it really made things easier. And the best part was that it all tasted great! I don't know what I would do if hadn't found Stephanie O'Dea and and her website!

After the feast, we enjoyed the great weather on the porch and played with the kids outside. Sean and Avery really loved having Grandpa home!

We also have a family tradition that we started about four years ago and every Thanksgiving, while the food is cooking, we gather round the table and make a thankful tree. We write on each leaf something that we are thankful for and then put them on the tree. It is a lot of fun and a great way to start out Thanksgiving, by reflecting on all we have to be grateful for. The kids really love this and it's neat to see what they write on their leaves.

I hope that all of you had a great Thanksgiving also and were able to spend it with those you love!

The Crock Pot Lady

Okay, so I have a new obsession...the crock pot lady! She is AMAZING! Her name is Stephanie O'Dea and awhile ago she set out to make a meal in the crockpot everyday for a year. I ran across her blog one day searching for some new dinner ideas. And the truly amazing part was that a the all her recipes are gluten-free! Wow! That is huge! I have had a hard time finding good recipes, let alone ones that were gluten free! And then on top of those two things, they are all crock pot recipes. I feel like I hit the jackpot when I found her blog.

I have used one of her recipes everyday for three weeks now and I LOVE IT!!! All her recipes turned out perfect, and I put dinner in the crockpot every morning, then clean the kitchen, load the dishwasher and poof! No more work and dinner cooks itself. It is so nice to not have to worry about cooking dinner at 5 of clock with both the kids underfoot and while homework is being done. Thanks to this aweosme blog my life has lost a lot of stress. :)

So, if you are looking for dinner ideas that are yummy, delicious and happen to be gluten-free check out her blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2007/12/alphabetical-listing-of-recipes.html

Did I mention that she was recently on the Today show because of how awesome her blog is? :) And she also just released a cookbook of even more awesome recipes. :)

And as I write this, I can smell the steaks, corn on the cob, and potatoes, all cooking in the crockpot. Yummm! Who knew you could make a whole dinner in the crockpot? The recipe I am making tonight is this one: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/crockpot-layered-dinner-steak-potatoes.html

Thank you Stephanie for being so brillant and making my life soooo much easier!

Fall Fun

In between battling the flu, ear infections, and bronchitis, our family has managed to have some fun. :) We went to a wonderful pumpkin farm and corn maze close to home a few weeks ago. We all had a great time and loved being outside. I think my favorite part was watching Avery lead us through the corn maze. She had decided early on that she was going to be the leader and boy, can that girl run. It was all we could do to keep up with her as she navigated her way around the maze. Sometimes she would lead Sean lead too and they would hold hands and run. Sooo cute!