HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope everyone has a great time with friends and family tonight. Be safe and eats lots of yummy food! Tomorrow you can start worrying about your weight..........ya for new years resolutions!!

FUN TIMES

RANDOM PICS FROM CHRISTMAS TO SHARE!

Christmas Bliss and Blessings

I love Christmas morning. Seeing the awe on my girls' faces and watching them with delight as they open each new treasure is a gift all in itself. And especially rejoicing and reflecting on Jesus and how much He means to our lives. I am so thankful for having this passion and knowledge to pass down to my own children.

Kylie was up before Hannah (shocker) and it was so neat to watch her on her First Christmas. First look at the tree, first Christmas smile......too sweet!


Hannah was overwhelmed with everything. She has been waiting for this moment for so long and it was exciting to watch her take everything in.
She of course "helped" her little sister open everything up and H kept stopping and hugging K and saying "Merry Christmas Kylie!!". It was too precious!



Yes, I do love Christmas. New toys, great food, and lots of memories.


On a side note, we didn't miss the snow one bit!

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

RANDOMNESS

Here is just a sample of some pics taken over the past week. I'm the Mama so I get to brag....they are just too sweet not to brag.....so enjoy.














There I am done......for now! That wasn't too bad now was it?

WHO DOESN'T LIKE TO PLAY WITH PLAY DOUGH?

We made play dough today and I it was with a toddler friendly recipe.......bonus*** it makes your hands smelly pretty!!




KoolAid Playdo

3 Tb. oil
3 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 Tb. alum
2 c. boiling water
1 Kool Aid packet

Combine all ingrediants, minus the water, and stir. Add water and stir, then knead until cool.


Hannah dumped all the ingrediants and stirred them up. The only part I really did was boil the water, dump the water, and knead the dough until it was cool enough for her to touch.

Presto! Instant fun!!!!!

OH THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS OUTFITS.............

and the joy of trying to get a good picture.

(sing to the tune of "deck the halls")

Get the girls in their dresses...Falalalalalalalala......

Do their hair up in bows and pretty's Falalalalalalalala.......

Here we are in front of the tree..Falalalalalalala.......

Quick snap the pic before they leave..Falalalalalalalala!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


ENJOY.....it wasn't easy!

'TIS THE SEASON...............

TO
EAT
COOKIES












If you like peanut butter cookies this is the recipe for YOU!

Its a very yummy recipe that has already joined the list of our "favorites" in our home. ENJOY!!

****S'MOOKIES****

Cooking Spray

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES (or use whatever recipe you are use to)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter; softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg, beater
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

FILLING

1/2 cup chocolate chips (or however much chocolate you want..)
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup marshmallow cream (again, use your discretion)


1. Preheat over to 375. Lightly coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Mix flour and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside.

2. With a spoon, mix butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add flour mixture and stir until combined.

3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and flatten with fork. Bake 8 minutes, then place cookies in fridge for 20 minutes.

4. While cookies cool, place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl; heat about 1 minute, until just melted. Let stand for 30 minutes; or until slightly stiff.

5. Heat marshmallow cream in microwave for 10 seconds to soften. Spread marshmallow on cookie, chocolate on another and sandwich together.
Store finished cookies in fridge.

***the p.b. cookies can be made the day before***

I hope you love them as much as we do!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM TEXAS

"Its the most wonderful time of the year"!

I **heart** Christmastime. I love how everyone says "Merry Christmas" to each other. I Love hearing Hannah say it back. I get the biggest smile. I love to buy for others (even though this year was a bit different) and I am getting the hang of shipping packages clear across the country. I love hearing Hannah sing "Jingle Bells". It is just too sweet. I even love the Bell Ringers. Hannah gets such joy out of putting money into the red bucket. I am one proud Mama!!

This year is quite a bit different being in Texas and all. I know I can't be with my family from Michigan but they are in my heart as we celebrate the Holidays. We will still be baking up a storm and having a big turkey dinner. Yum! Yum! The good thing is that you can eat as much as you want because the new year is right around the corner and resolutions come with the new year....heehee

I can definitely get use to the warmer weather....although I do miss sitting in a chair with Danny at nighttime and watching it fall down from the sky while sipping on hot cocoa...so romantic. However, I won't be missing the whole ordeal of going outside. I don't even want to imagine all the gloves and hats I would have to hunt down before I even began to get the kids dressed to go outside. Whew, just thinking about it makes me all itchy and sweaty! No layers here in good ol' Texas!

All in all, this has been such a fun Holiday for us already! I can't even imagine how excited Hannah will be come Christmas Day.

***Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone! I hope this season finds you happy and healthy and is filled with love, laughter, good memories, and yummy goodies!!!***

So Funny!

WE FOUND SANTA

Its true....we found Santa at the North Pole as Hannah has been repeating all weekend long........

So after church we decided to go to this extremely huge mall to go see "Santa at the North Pole!". According to the sign Santa does not start seeing children until 12:30. No biggie. Seeing it is Noon we will eat lunch first then go see Santa. Mind you, again, I grew up in a small town so I do not think about getting a number first. Thats right!!! A number to see Santa.....its like I'm at the Secretary of State or something. Anyhoo.............after we get done eating and by the time we push our huge stroller (which by the way neither kid is in) we arrive at the "North Pole". WOW. This guy has one sweet setup. He is in a darkened room lit up by only christmas lights and his "house" is at the end all decked out with a cozy homey atmosphere. And the Santa.....I think Hannah is right!!!! There is no way this guy is NOT Santa himself. No fake beard here.......this guy is the real deal! He totally flew in from the North Pole. So as we try to see what is going on that is when we noticed the big flashing sign indicating this is a "take a number please" kind of deal. No problem. The place is pretty crowded but they are only on number 14. We go to get a number..............what??!!! They have only been open for a half hour and they are already into the 200's?? Well...I find out that they start giving out numbers at 9:30. So....we would have an appointment at around 7 pm tonight. No thanks. We live 40 minutes away and I am NOT coming back. So we decide to go catch the Puppet Show. It is now 1:20, they don't start another show until 2:00. Okay, we will go see the train exhibit. Nope. That line is way too long! And Kylie just informed me she is not happy and overtired and without her formula. We are going home.
I feel really, really bad for Hannah. The poor girl didn't get to see Santa or the puppets or the trains.....and it was super busy in there. So we agree to come back during the weekday when it less crowded. Wish us luck!

THINGS THAT I MISS

So, now that I have been living in Texas now for almost 7 months I can see there are definitely HUGE differences compared to living in small O-Town. However, there are things and traditions that I totally miss about my small little town.

1. Just hopping in my car and driving literally 3 minutes to visit my Parents during the day.
2. Pulling out the stroller and walking my girls to the park~~sometimes twice a day.
3. Walking uptown and waving at a gazillion people that we know.
4. Just hanging out at the fire station. (Whoa, thought I would never say that!)
5. Walking to the beach with the family.
6. Spending weekends at the house with Autumn.
7. Getting my "hair did" with Autumn.
6. Walking to the beach with Autumn and enjoying a DQ
7. Enjoying long meaningful conversations over a full moon with Autumn (okay, I think I covered the Autumn part)
8. Doing annual events around town with my Mom.
9. Long weekends of just relaxing and having fun at Danny's parents' home.

So ya, there are quite a few things I miss and will always miss. Being so close to family and then moving so far away is hard on the soul. I hate the fact that my girls are so far away from their grandparents and I can't immediately fix that. I know in time we will eventually move closer or they will move closer but for now we have to make do with what we have. Life is good here in TX and I know we are helping Danny fulfill his dream and I totally support him and am so incredibly proud of him.

However, there are things that I do NOT miss about O-Town,don't get me wrong. One being THE COLD. But I guess God is putting a little Michigan back into my life because it is downright freezing here in Texas. I figure he knew I was missing O-Town however I don't' think I clarified it like I should have....;) Oh well.......life is good.

ORNAMENTS: FOR MY FRIEND BETHANY!!

Toodles: How lovely are thy branches!

Above is the link to my good friend Bethany's website. She is a very talented girl~~check out her site! She is also having a contest which you can enter. Have fun browsing :)

Here are four favorite ornaments thus far in our home!!! Each one holds a special memory that we reflect on each Christmas season.



This is one of the many firefighting ornaments that Danny has. I particularly like this one because 1. Its a snowman. I love snowman! and 2. It is just so darn cute! Danny had a blast being a fireman and this will always remind us of all the times he went running out of the house to go help save others. He was tremendously brave and humble. And we love him for that!Awwwww......this one was my very first ornament....as you can see by the date. Don't really remember much about this Christmas but it signifies the start of my holiday tradition. Thanks Mom for such great memories!
Hannah's first christmas. She was so little but at the time we thought she was growing up so fast. She received alot of fun toys that year including a cute crawl along pooh bear and a vtech train set that we have now passed down to Kylie.
This is funny! Kylie received this last year while she was still in my tummy growing. We had some anxious grandparents who were so sure she would be delivered before the holiday season. But in true fashion she showed up two days late, January 12. No biggie. Kylie is enjoying it this year and what a great story she can pass on to her children some day!
Thanks so much Bethany for allowing us to share these memories with you and anyone who reads it. Happy Holidays!!!!

JUST BECAUSE SHE IS WEARING IT

I thought this was so funny!!!! Hannah has grown quite a bit....however her 2T dress she wore on her actual birthday last year she wore yesterday........crazy!!! Here is the pic from last year.

CHRISTMAS TREE PHASE I

TAKING TIME OUT TO COLOR....



STARTING TO DECORATE


HANNAH GLOWING WITH EXCITEMENT


FIGURING OUT WHICH COLOR GOES WHERE


HANNAH LOVING THE LIGHTS!



So this year we are putting up the christmas tree in two phases. First the tree and lights. Second decorations and tree skirt. Just because with a toddler things seem to take a lot longer. No biggie. So last night we brought out the tree and Hannah and Danny had tons of fun matching up the color coded branches to their destination. And when we put on the lights and lit up the tree you should have seen Hannah's face!!! She was in awe......then broke out with the sillies!!!!!! It was really cute. I think she likes the tree!
Tonight we tackle the ornaments!!!!

Gobble Gobble '08

IF YOU CLICK ON THIS PIC YOU WILL SEE THE ALIEN ON THE TOY


UFO/ALIEN INSPIRED PLAYGROUND


LETS EAT!


TWINS WOULD BE FUN!!!!!!!!


SARAH AND I


ALIEN WALMART



So this year was quite different than any other thanksgiving I have had. One that began with wonderful friends and one that ended with all the kids puking.........ahh the memories!

Being so far away from all our families we spent Turkey Day with some of our closest friends who are just like family~~The Smiths in Roswell, New Mexico. Yup. The Alien Town. Sweet!
First off, let me just tell ya, these Roswell folks are serious about their aliens. The alien lamp posts were our first clue. And of course they had them decked out in santa hats. How festive. And creepy. Even the McDonalds, Walmart, and parks were alien themed. I'm not even joking.
So anyway, asides from spending the holiday with some green guys, we had an awesome time. Nothing like snacking all day long while the turkey is baking away in the oven.......mmmmmm. Who needs to count calories on t-day??? The kids of course, had a blast! Which made good relaxation time for Sarah and I to just hang out and talk. Which doesn't happen too often.
Hannah and Cayden were all about helping out in the kitchen as well. They loved making pancakes and pie. Yum-O. And it was so cute to see the big kids all snugged up together watching movies. Best friends are the greatest, as Hannah tells me!
The not so cute part was all the kids puking. Yup. Gross. It started with Garrett and ended with Raegan. We had a fabulous ride home with Hannah and Kylie taking turns puking. Garbage bags and hand sanitizer are my new best friends!!
All in all Roswell was a cool place to visit and I am ever thankful to My Smiths!!!! I love you guys and am so grateful for the friendships we have and the friendships our munchkins have!!!!