Christmas Questions

Thanks Chell for posting this...I thought I would do one of my own. Try it friends, it really reminds you of all the Christmas fun!

1. Eggnog or Hot chocolate? Egg nog, not a fan of warm drinks!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? wrap, except for the big present that is usually open

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? colored lights on the house (the kids love 'em) and on the kids' tree, white on MY tree!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? nope, don't need it ;)

5. When do you put your decorations up? The day after Thanksgiving...so exciting!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? all those yummy appetizers at parties!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? my stocking...we always had the funnest stuff in there and everything was wrapped! I also loved the year I got my dollhouse.

8. How and when did you learn the truth about Santa? Much too late, I refused to believe there was no such thing

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? of course... new PJ's and my girls exchange gifts with each other (the ones that they picked out for each other) so they don't get lost in the shuffle the next day)

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I love color themes...I usually switch between red and gold, blue and gold, red and silver, blue and silver, red and blue, etc. This year it's red and gold...my favorite! I also gave the kids free reign over there own tree this year. It is adorable.

11. Snow? Love it or dread it? dread it, but would like to see one good snowstorm for my kids ...maybe this year!

12. Can you ice skate? yep

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? my dollhouse when I was 10 or my skiis when I was 16 (which were stolen the next day up at the ski resort)

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Remembering and honoring Christ...and teaching my kids about Him

15. What is your favorite homemade holiday dessert? Pumpkin anything...this is a new thing for me....I used to hate pumpkin! I don't want to sound like a scrooge, but I really dislike "cookie exchanges" where you have to make 50 cookies and bring a container and then come home with 50 assorted cookies that I never really like...and frankly, what am I going to do with 50 cookies??????? This year to make it worse, my girls BOTH have one at school...so we will come home with 64 cookies...all made by 3 and 5 year olds! :)

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Everything about Christmas Eve...opening pajamas, setting treats out for Santa and his reindeer, reading the Chrismas story from the Bible, playing my violin with everyone singing, getting everything ready and set out for the kids (won't this year be fun with a trampoline to set up?????)

17. What tops your tree? a star, one tradition Dave loves

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? definitely giving, I love to shop for other people!

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? The First Noel, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (I think that's what it's called, but it makes me happy), and I love to hear kids (especially my kids and my preschool kids) sing ANY Christmas song!

It's YOUR turn! Leave me a link so I can read yours! I love to share in the holiday spirit and read about other thoughts and traditions on Christmas.

Thanksgiving

We spent a wonderful Thankgiving with just the four of us. The girls helped with the turkey and Dave made his mom's fabulous mashed potatoes. I made real gravy for the first time, actually, I made turkey for the first time alone too. We missed our family, but it was so fun!

I'm grateful for Aunt Jo, and the beautiful china she gave Dave and me at our wedding. We never really get the chance to use it, so it was fun to set the table and pull it all out.

This was my beautiful turkey!

Celebrity Look Alike

Okay Friends, this is my celebrity collage. Candice did this on her blog and I thought it looked like fun. Give it a try!

Name Game

I was tagged by Jessi, so here it is:

Amelia Lee
After months of debating, we couldn't agree on a name. I liked Lauren, Morgan, Kristen or Jessica...Dave didn't. Finally one day I said, "How about Amelia?" That dated all the way back to high school. I had a friend who had seven siblings and the all ended in "a." Leah, Adria, Melissa, and Amelia (I don't remember the other names), but I always thought Amelia was so unusual and old fashioned, but so cute! Dave loved it, and from that minute on, that was her name. (Dave still thinks he first suggested it, but he didn't).

Lee is after Dave --David Lee, who is named after his Grandpa, Leland. It is also a family name on my mom's side, going clear back to John D. Lee, my fifth great grandpa ( of Mountain Meadow Massacre fame).

Mikayla Mae
I really wanted a boy the second (and last) time around. When I found out she was a girl, we talked about a lot of names. We talked about Mikayla but decided on Reagan. I had bought block letters for her nursery and everything! When she was born, I had two strong feelings: 1. My family is complete and 2. Her name is not Reagan. We just went back to Mikayla, which was one of about four we liked. It fit her and we loved it. The only decision was how to spell it. I just tried to be very phonetic so she didn't have to deal with a teacher trying to pronounce it, like I did! Mae is after the world's best grandma...mine! Her name is Wenda Mae and I love her and respect her so much!

Okay, so that's my name game. Now I am tagging Jayme, Chellie, Chelie, Candice, Nanette and whoever else reads this! Nan, yours will be especially fun with your six kids, so just put yours in my comments if you don't have a blog!

Out of the Mouths of My Babes

I have realized that overall, I am happy. I'm content. Sometimes I'm too busy, but I like being busy. Why am I happy? Well, there are a lot of reasons, but these two little ones and the crazy things they say keep a smile on my face. Here are some of the recent things I've overheard:

“But I HAVE to have gauchos so I can be a teenager!”

“HUBBA HUBBA” (Said when anyone is kissing or hugging)

“Mom, you are the best mom. You are better than all the other Moms. I mean, you play with me and take me to the pool and I get to go to work with you.”

“My name is Nora!” Her current name.

I had told Amelia about each of the kids in my preschool class. The next morning I was doing her hair and she said, “Mom, you know that boy that’s really polite and always says, ‘Yes, Ma’am’?” I couldn’t remember which boy that was, so I asked, “Now who are you talking about?” Amelia answered, “You know, the ribbon boy?” I was still very confused, until I thought about it a minute longer…. “Amelia, do you mean Beau?” “YES!” She replied.

“Mom, God made everything good, so I think he made string cheese.”

“Ms. Angie was driving fast and got a GOLDEN ticket from the police.” (Said after we had watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where a golden ticket is GOOD!)

“Mom, I have veins in my face.” Me: “Yes, Amelia, you have veins all over your body inside. It’s what blood travels in and carries it throughout your body from your heart.” Amelia: “Mom, I don’t want you to talk about all that. I’m talking about VEINS hanging down in my eyes.” Me: “Amelia, so you mean BANGS?????” Amelia: “Ya, that’s what I said, veins in my eyes.”

Amelia to Nana on the phone: “I liked the horses you sent. I picked the vanilla one and Mikayla picked the vanilla and chocolate one.” (brown and white)

(After telling her that we would wait for her to get home from school to take down the Halloween decorations): “Mom, is it time now to up the CHICKEN (turkey) decorations?”

“Mom, I’m glad God made hats.”



Mikayla: “My name is Hillary Duff!” Her current name.

“But Barbie needs a boyfriend!!!!!” All Mikayla wanted from a little shopping spree at Toys-R-Us for Amelia to spend a birthday gift card was a Ken doll.

“Where’s my boy doll?” Now this is said constantly as Ken has become her favorite toy!

“Mom, I love you so much I’m not going to sell you in fourteen days.”

“Mom, I know what the frog says: Focket, Focket.” I guess it was a mix between Frog and Ribbit, but it was funny!

After buying a $4.00 doll at the consignment store for Mikayla: “Mom, I love her so much, I want to name her Ham.”

(While I was on the phone with Dad) “Tell Granddad I can do a cartwheel!” Then I saw Amelia trying to think of something she can do. Finally Amelia said, “Tell Granddad I can put my tongue in a bowl!”

Mikayla (while riding on Uncle Jerry’s shoulders at Jeff’s Raiders Football game screaming at the top of her lungs): “Go Way-Dohs, Go!!!!!!”

“You’re not the boss; God’s the boss!”

“Mom, I want to go to Lawn Mar for Ham decorations!” Translation (after a lot of thought and questions): “Mom, I want to go to Wal-Mart for turkey decorations!” and no, she didn’t hear Amelia’s chicken conversation! They are so confused about turkey!

“Mom, I want you to have another baby and I want it to be a girl baby and I want you to name her Aunt D!”