Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

What are your Christmas traditions? We tell the story of Jesus's birth and open presents on Christmas eve. The first gifts are jammies and blankets. Here are the kids with theirs...
















For Christmas day we do some sort of service/humantarian aide project. This year we tied a baby quilt for the local domestic violence shelter.

















The finished product...

Rules

I need some advice for dealing with my new stepmom. First I have to say that I really like her and think she is a wonderful companion for my father. She is also a wonderful Grandmother to the kids and I know she always has good intentions. That being said I am struggling with the cohabitation we have going on. Living in my parents house has always been pretty easy and since I was raised here I know what the rules were and what was expected of me. Since we have moved back and Dixie is the new woman of the house it seems that all the rules have changed. This would not really be a problem except that Dixie and my dad do not really want to establish what the rules are and so for the past 2 1/2 months I have been walking around on egg shells trying to meet expectations and abide by rules when I am not really sure what they are. I have tried asking both Dixie and my dad on several different occasions but the reply is always 'everything is fine', or 'just be more sensitive to Dixie's need to be the Queen of the house.' I am not sure really what that means and what I am doing to be unsensitive to that fact and I am really lost about how to fix it. So, I know none of you know her,but do any of you have any general suggestions for how to fix my problem???

A Whale of a Tale

I was asked recently by a friend what I looked like so I decided to post some pregnancy pics. I want it to go on record that I hate these pictures, but for the curiosity of some of you out there this is what I look like at 31 weeks pregnant.

This is what I feel like (the animal not the lady)...



This is actually what I look like...
Notice the cute cardigan (shout out to Diane!!!)

It's Begining to look a lot like Christmas!

This last weekend we woke up to this....



I LOVE the snow! My brother's Jamie and Darren came over and we went sledding in an empty field near our house that had a big dirt hill. It was a lot of fun! The kids had a great time playing together! The snow always makes me feel like Christmas. I suppose it is the years of snowy Christmas's from my childhood,but now I am very excited for Christmas to come!!!!


Uncle Jamie and Jr attempting the hill!


Amaya and cousin Taylor


L to R bottom row - Amaya, Mattie, Josie and Jessica
L to R top row - Aysia, Taylor,Thomas, and Jamie


Plum tuckered out! Jr couldn't walk home so he was carried by dad!

For you...

Recently I have been reflecting on the places I have lived and the places that I have been the happiest. Growing up I lived in the same house, in the same town and aside from a few short stays at other places lived in La Grande until Aqeel and I were married 6 1/2 years ago. Since then I have lived in Asheville, NC, Athens, GA, San Diego, CA, and Greenville, SC. Of all these places none have made me as happy as I was (excluding my formative years) as when I lived in San Diego. I loved the weather, the wards, the activities, the school system, the shopping and eating out options, and even the beach, though I am really a mountain girl at heart. Mostly though I LOVED the people. So, this posting is a tribute to the women of San Diego!

This is for the women, my friends, who made me laugh. For you who in the late night hours drove me to the hospital when I thought I was in labor. For you who celebrated birthdays with me. For you who spent time with me at the park while our children played. For you who bouyed me up when my mother passed away. For you who shared kind words. For you who let me hang out at your home to keep me distracted from the fact that I didn't have a husband in mine. For you who went to spin class with me. For you who helped care for my children. For you who scrubbed my toilets and cleaned my home when I was too sick to do so. For you who brought in meals when I was prego and too sick to provide for my children. You are the women who made me happy. You are the women who let me feel your love for me. You are the women who, through unspoken example taught me to be a better wife, mother, and individual. You are the women I love and will always love. I don't have any pictures of you women, but I managed to borrow one from a friends blog and though all of you are not in there here are a few of those women...

Thankful

Thanksgiving was nice this year. It is so different spending it with my family opposed to Aqeel's family. My three brother's and my sister were here with their families. In total there were 10 adults and 18 grandchildren. It was a bit of a mad house. There was tons of food, card playing, and football to last for a while. On Friday we had our own family version of the Turkey bowl The little kids were so fun to play with and it was so cute seeing my three and four year old neices and nephews catching the ball and running to the opposing teams goal line because they were being chased! I wish I would have taken pictures, but I forgot my camera. So, this year I am thankful for family!