Here are my snapshots from Christmas morning....again I am behind the camera but that is just as well. There is one picture of me and Rebel but unfortunatly Rowdy's butt is facing the camera so I spared you from that one.

Snapshots from the last week of December 2006! Baking cookies for Santa. Rebel relaxing on the back of the sofa "in cat mode" as Mike calls it. The girls sending their letters off to Santa and a few funny faces too, including Rowdy mugging for the cameral. Enjoy!

It's Sammi the Singing Elf and his Posse of Crazy Caroler's

Last Friday night some of the charcter's from the cul de sac came caroling. These are the same folks who do the haunted house. They have caroled us for the past three years...this is the first time with the elf suit. After a few songs and a gift of a box of candy canes the crew invited Paige and Megan to join them on the road. So Mike grabbed their Santa hats and coats and they took off for a few more houses. When they returned rosey cheeked and ready for cookies they had stories to share of their adventures. They serenaded a sherriff with "Deck the Halls with Poison Ivey". Next year they promised to come to our house first so the kids could join up earlier. It was a fun and festive time.....we have cool neighbors!

Something Silly to Share.... A few weeks ago while Paige was still at school and Mike had the day off I was in the den with Mike and I could hear this giggling and chatter. I walk to the doorway of the 1/2 bath and Megan is sitting on the pot talking to her Princess friends on her princess cell phone. So of course I ran and grabbed the camera to capture this silly moment in a 5 year olds life. As Paige likes to say "Megan was born silly". Hope this makes you smile :). Have a happy
hump day!

Merry Christmas to all and may your New Year be filled wtih good health, peace and happiness!
We had a very nice Christmas filled with fun and good memories. Santa was very generous to us and the girls.

Mike's sister Terry called us on Christmas eve requesting a family photo in front of the tree....and I am so glad that she did...because with all the hustle and bustle we had not done one yet. Terry was a busy little elf on Christmas eve. She put together a beautiful scrapbook of Christmas memories for her mom. So she included photos of our family and hers and pictures taken at Aunt Marilyn's on Christmas eve...so I am sure she was up late but it was worth it the scrapbook was beautiful.

I had nice chats with my dad and Carole and Shann yesterday ...it was so fun to hear them all excited about the magical time they had at Shann's on Christmas eve. I also had a nice chat with my Grandma. I hope she knows how much I think about her and how much I miss her each day. I know that I am pretty lucky to have such an amazing Grandma. She has lived an incredible life and I am so proud of her.

Christmas is not over yet....for those that have not received a card or gift....I am just running behind. I decidec that I would rather do it right and late than get myself crazy and do it halfway decent. So don't feel neglected or left out...Christmas from Ohio is just coming a little late this year. As I told one of my co-workers at Anderson's "I have never had anyone send a gift back because it was late" so not to worry. Plus some of my favorite gifts are the ones that come after the holiday...the nice surprises!

Merry Merry to one and all! xoxoxo

Ho Ho Ho.....Santa Claus is coming to town! Paige and Megan visited Santa last Sunday. Then on Friday we mailed their letters at the post office....Santa has his own mail box there and he must have pretty speedy service too. They received a card the very next day....and he answered all of their questions. He would prefer milk over cocoa and he likes any kind of cookies. He also said hi to Rudolph for Paige and gave Mrs. Claus a hug from Megan.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with good health, happiness and peace!

BELIEVE !

Good Morning....It is almost 11 a.m. here and I realize that my sister has bee at work now for over 4 hours.....I hope she gets some much needed sleep tomorrow.
I didn't know what to post this a.m. so I figured a puppy update would do. Puppies are always good for a smile :)

Rebel was three months old on Dec.14th. He is pretty much housebroken. You just have to watch him becuase he gets confused. He will go to the back door and sometimes to the fireplace too. I think it is because our backdoor has glass and he can see his reflection...and he also sees his reflection in the fireplace doors. Oh well at least the fireplace is only a few steps away from the backdoor. Rebel and Rowdy are getting along better. Rebel just wants to play and every once in a while Rowdy will play with him. Like the other night they each had an end of the tug-o-war toy and they were pulling and growling and dragging each other around. Rebel can get up on the sofa and chair now, so Rowdy has lost his high and mighty safe spot. Surprisingly Rebel seems to leave Rowdy alone most of the time. He has found some trouble while getting up in the big chair. He pulled a box of tissues down on the floor and was taking them out of the box one by one. When we are in the kitchen we can't see what is going on in the family room because the sofa blocks our view. Sometimes when it gets quiet it is because the puppy has snuggled up and gone to sleep...other times it is because he has found trouble and sometimes it is because he is being a good little pup and just chewing on puppy toys.

Willie Wonka would be proud of our little gingerbread house. While we were down in Georgia for Thanksgiving, Grandma Barb bought this for the girls. It is a great little pre-fab gingerbread house....comes all put together so you don't have to mess around with the mixing, cutting, baking and constructing. Because all the kids really want to do is put the decorations on, and sample the frosting and candies. So this is how we spent last Saturday night while Mike was playing cards with the neighbor guys. As you can see Rowdy was ever present just incase we got careless and dropped anything on the floor...he was ready and willing to clean it up. He is such a helpful dog...ya never know how much food your kids spill on the ground til the dog is not around. I found this out while visiting my parents. I also found out that cats do not eat cheerios from under the table.
Oh yes we have a gingerbread story too. On Monday the girls and I had some errands to run. When we returned home we found that one of the gumdrops had fallen from the gingerbread house and dropped down on Santa. Santa was in 3 or 4 pieces. So my detective children come up with theorys of their own. Megan said "maybe we left the door unlocked and someone came in and did it" while Paige blamed the dogs. I told them it was simple....good ol gravity strikes again. We got out the frosting and repaired the damage...even frosted Santa back together again...he was luckier than Humpty Dumpty I guess.
Hope you are all having ho-ho holidays!

Wisdom from an eight year old..... Yesterday while Paige and I were coming home from walking Joe boxer and shopping at Target she says to me "Mom why is it that it seems like time goes by faster as you get older?". And I said "hmm I don't know". Then she says "Maybe it is because you get so busy". And there it is the wisdom of an eight year old.

Back to the future....
Here we are (Dec. 4th,2006) picking out our Christmas tree at Anderson's. Rebel came along because my boss, Jody had been bugging me about bringing him in. Rebel got lots of love and snuggles at Anderon's.....most all of my coworkers are puppy crazy.
By the way this is my 50th post. Hard to believe in just a few short months I have posted 50 times. I will try and catch you all up on our holiday happenings. I still have Christmas cards to make and gifts to buy and wrap and send....Shann tell your clan I think Christmas will be coming from Ohio a little late....but it will be coming. Megan has a playdate with two kindergarten neighbor girls today. Paige and I are going to run over and take Joe Boxer for a walk...we will have to bring the camera and get an updated picture of Joe. Then I am taking Paige to the toy store so she can buy her sister a Christmas gift. We will get back home by 3:30 to get Megan and then Paige has her last ballet class until next year...in January 2007. So that is our day....and less than a week before Santa visits....Ugh! I am trying not to stress...about getting gifts sent out West late. The way I see it is it will be Christmas from Ohio when the UPS man shows up....I have never had anyone send a gift back because it showed up a few days late! Happy Holi-daze to all!