Hustle and Bustle

The holidays are here and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything I have to get done. The shopping is done (big accomplishment), most of the presents are wrapped (thank goodness), and most of the cookies are baked. It's the cooking and cleaning that I'm not looking forward to. Not to mention I still haven't finished up the quilt! I had hoped to finish it by Christmas, get the quilt rack taken down and out of the living room, and make room for everything and everyone. Who knows, maybe I'll stay up late tonight and get it done.

We went and visited Santa over the weekend at the Candy Castle at Santa Claus, Indiana. He was WONDERFUL! Even Kaylee who normally wants nothing to do with him, sat on his lap and talked to him. They gave him their Christmas letter and each told him a few things they wanted for Christmas. Kaylee- an Easy Bake Oven and a guitar; Jacob- a gun, binoculars, and a deer hat. Santa wanted to be sure Jacob wouldn't shoot his reindeer and then told him that he'd see what he could do. Before we left, he said he needed to be sure that they still believed in the magic of Christmas. He touched his finger to each of their noses and his finger lit up to prove that they do in deed believe in the magic of Christmas. AMAZING!

We Tree-hopped Jesse's Mom's side of the family on Sunday. For those of you who don't know what Tree-hopping is (I didn't until I moved here), Tree-hopping is where a group of people get together and go house to house, see everyone's Christmas trees, visit with everyone, and eat LOTS of very yummy, very fattening food (just what I need.) The kids kept asking when we were going to actually get to jump over someone's tree, how big would the tree be, etc. Finally at our last stop (Uncle Jack's house) Joyce found a small Christmas tree she had up on a shelf and let Kaylee jump over it. Everyone got a big kick out it.

We're looking forward to having my Mom and Dad down for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then spending Christmas evening with Jesse's family here at our house. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

ARGH who goes there!

Had a little mishap this weekend, that could have been much worse. Thankfully it just ended in Jacob getting to be a pirate for the next day or so.

While helping Jesse carry firewood and fire Grandma and Grandpa's wood stove yesterday, somehow, Jacob managed to get something in his eye. We think an ash or amber flew out and landed in Jake's eye. He didn't say anything at the time, but wanted to go in the house right away. For the rest of the day, he rubbed at his eye and wouldn't open it. This morning when he woke up he was in better spirits, but still didn't want to open his eye. We took him to the doctor and they discovered that he had an abrasion on his eye. Poor little guy. He's not hip on the eye patch, but he's a little trooper. Took a good nap this afternoon and is back outside now with Jesse cutting more firewood. Nothing can keep him down for long! We go back in tomorrow to have the patch removed.

Each week, Kaylee's school features one of the kids from each grade. This is her week to be "Kindergartener of the Week." She and I worked this afternoon on her posterboard which she'll take in tomorrow and show to her class as well as the principle, Mr. Begle. She did so well picking and choosing pictures, placing them and then decorating it. She's got pictures of family and friends, pictures with Cinderella from our Disney vacation, t-ball and soccer pictures, puppy pictures, pictures of horseback riding, fishing, and even a pictures of her tubing with her cousin Ben. Here she is showing off the finished product.

We also had the annual Christmas party at the Babysitter's house. The kids enjoyed playing with all their friends, not to mention getting a couple presents. We have been so fortunate to have had the same sitter for the kids since Kaylee was a newborn. Here's a shot of them with Diane.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

These are the special times...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure did. We traveled up to see Nana and Pa. We got to see my brother Brock and his girlfriend Beth. We also got to meet her son, Andrew who's 4. The kids had a good time with him. My Aunt Debbie and Uncle Steve were there along with their daughter Liz and her boyfriend. My Aunt Cheryl was also there with her husband Rick. And we also got to spend the day with Uncle Max and Auntie Kay, which is always a treat. They were very good friends of my grandparent's and have been an important part of my family. Kaylee and Jake loved getting to see and spend the night with their cousin Benny. They don't get to see him very often, but they sure enjoyed the time they got to spend with him.

We surprised Mom and Dad with an early birthday present. Dad will turn 60 in March and Mom the following January. We will be taking them to Gatlinburg, TN for a few days next spring. Benny got the honor of presenting them with their gift as well as dropping little hints to try to get them to guess what it was.

I have a funny story to share with you as well. The other night as I was making supper, somehow I got into a conversation with Jake about how the baby will be born. Here's how it went:

Jake: "How old is the baby?"

Me: "Just a few weeks old."

Jake: "When will it get here?"

Me: "In about 6 months."

Jake: "How will you get it out?"

Me: "I'll go to the doctor and he'll help to get the baby out."

Jake: "Will he use a tweezers?"

Me: "Ummm, I don't know Jake."

Jake: "Will it hurt?"

Me: "Maybe just a little."

Jake: "Well, you'd better look the other way so it doesn't hurt."

I know exactly where this came from. Just a few weeks ago when we were down at Jesse's Mom and Dad's house, Jake got a splinter and when Jesse was trying to get it out (with a tweezers), Grandma told him to look the other way so it wouldn't hurt. I almost lost it. He's so funny.

I'm very excited to share that I'm almost finished with a HUGE project that I've been working on for the last several months. Last Christmas, Jesse's Grandma gave all 18 of her grandchildren a quilt top along with the batting and backing. She wanted them all to have another one of her quilts, but didn't think she'd have the time to finish 18 of them. I've always been very fond of her and ever since I stayed with her the summer before Jesse and I were married, she's had a special place in my heart. So, crazy me decided to ask her to help me learn to quilt. Last March, I borrowed a quilt rack, set it up in my living room, and we've been working on it ever since. She's been over several times to work on it and we're almost ready to take it out and sew the binding on. I will be SO GLAD to have the quilt rack out and get my living room back, but I will miss our special quilting times. Who am I kidding... she's always got a quilt set up at her house. I'll just have to head over there and help her out for once! Here's a shot of Grandma and Kaylee working on it last night.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. We're certainly looking forward to Christmas and the New Year. Take care!