One more thing... :-)

...and so that was Christmas...

Well Christmas is over for another year...was over just as quickly as it arrived actually. Fox and Nevada had an amazing Christmas. Josh and his girlfriend Keri spend the Holiday with us. It truly was wonderful...hectic and crowded at times but wonderful. I have to agree with my friend Sarah though..I'm glad it's over. All that hype for one day...it's great and all but when it's over..it's like "ugh...now I have to put everything away" and "where am I gonna put everything"...lol.

Spent Boxing Day with my parents/siblings/niece/nephews along with Josh and Keri. Fox and Phil were going to go and Fox was going to spend the week with his Nanny and Pappa however on our way up, we stopped at the local drug store to get some milk for Nevada and out of the blue, Fox just started getting sick all over himself and his sleeping bag so we ended up dropping him and Phil off home and the rest of us were on our way.

I made my first official Christmas dinner and I have to say....DELICIOUS! Couldn't be more proud of how it turned out.

We all got amazing gifts. I got a digital camera and LOVE it, Fox got one as well. He had asked Santa for a digital camera and a rocket ship however the Big Guy could only come through with one of those gifts...the rocket ship came in the form of slippers. I asked Fox if he was happy that he got a "real camera" for Christmas and he said he was but "where is Fox's rocket ship". I explained to him that Santa had talked to the people at NASA and that they were not willing to part with one of their ships so he contacted Mommy and told me where I could find some slippers that were shaped like rocket ships..he was fine with that.

Nevada is still too young to really understand what is going on...Fox is too for that matter. He knew it was Christmas but he doesn't really understand it yet, I had to actually bring up the fact that Santa had probably been there and when he realized what I had said, he asked me to go downstairs and see....probably will next year though I hope :-)

Well that's it for me for this year. I won't be back on to post till next year...sounds funny saying that...see you all next year. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and that 2009 is everything you all wished and hoped it would be. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Hope you all all come back and visit us!

My 12th reason why I love Christmas

My 12th reason why I love Christmas is just this:

~12: TRADITION

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.


The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

~Clark Moore (1779 - 1863)

I remember this poem so well..I even have a book that my mom made for my brother/sister and I when we were younger. She drew all the pictures and made this poem into a book for us and now I have it and am able to carry on the tradition of this amazing poem with my children.

My 10th and 11th reason why I love Christmas

Apparently I missed a day somewhere along the lines so todays post is going to be a double post.

~10: My 10th reason why I love Christmas is my Christmas tree. Each and every year it just seems to get better and better and this year is no exception. I would actually have to say that this years tree is the nicest one we've had yet. Our theme is blue/white or silver, however you look at it and we have an Angel on the top of our tree and she is wearing a blue and silver dress with a white center...she is beautiful. The majority of our ornaments are either blue or silver and same with our lights..they are blue and white...and we have the more traditional ornaments of anything and everything..which all seem to blend together so beautifully ;-)

~11: I also love buying new ornaments for my tree and I found the most amazing ice cycles ever...they are blue and silver and match so great with our tree theme.

PS: I will post pictures once I get on my land line computer cause the ones I have on my laptop are very blurry and do not do my Christmas Tree any justice.

My 9th reason why I love Christmas

For every year as far back as I can remember, our local Mall has always hosted Woody the Talking Christmas Tree however this year...he is no longer with us. They've "retired" him due to the fact that he was older than dirt :-) The kids would line up and watch Woody wake up and then they'd stand in front of him one by one and Woody would talk to them and ask them what they wanted Santa to bring them for Christmas and he'd sing songs with them and tell jokes. In order to make up for our loss, the Mall had to make the Santa Claus Display that much more amazing so this is my 9th reason why I love Chrismas.



~9: I absolutely love seeing the looks on my children's faces when we turn the corner at the mall and they look at where Santa is. It's amazing..you have to walk through a huge tree where on each side you either have the "Spa" and one of Santa's reindeer, my guess would be Blitzen, along with a racoon soaking in a hot tub or a "Cardio" display where you have another one of Santa's reindeer, again my guess this time would be Prancer riding an exercise bike and a squirrel doing some other sort of work out. On the outside of the tree, you have a little table and chair section where all the good little boys and girls can sit and write Santa a letter and on the actual tree itself, they have mail slots..two to be exact..one for Santa's shorter fans and one for his taller ones. This year they've added a new attraction and I'd like to share a picture of it with you all.

My 8th reason why I love Christmas..

My 8th reason why I love Christmas is the letter writing to Santa that my children (well Fox for now) does. For the longest time this year, Fox has been telling us he wants a "REAL CAMERA SO HE CAN TAKE PICTURES OF MOMMY/DADDY AND VADA AND A ROCKET SHIP". Here is his letter to Santa this year:
I think he did amazingly well for doing it all by himself and for being just 3 years old. I couldn't be any prouder.

My 7th reason why I love Christmas

I love shopping and when I get to buy things for my children..that makes it all the more exciting. My 7th reason I love Christmas is just that...a great excuse to go out and buy stuff for my kids.

~7: Shopping...tonight I went to WalMart with my sister and the first thing I see is a price that read "Clearance..regular $129.97 on sale for $29.97"...all that was lying around were these huge boxes of Little Tikes 2 in 1 Buildin To Learn Motor/Workshop. I thought right away that there is no way this could be correct so I went searching for a worker...to which I found none but there were other shoppers there loading up their carts of this amazing buy so I bought one for Fox. I am so excited about this and to be honest...I'm looking forward to playing with it myself :-)

My 6th reason why I love Christmas

Well everyone knows that this time of year means lots and lots of yummy food so I guess that will be my 6th reason.

~6: I love love love all food related to Christmas. Chocolates, hard candy, candy canes, little chocolate santas, turkey dinner, gravy, mashed potatoes. I am very much looking forward to this years dinner cause it will be our first official Christmas at home as a family..Phil, myself, Fox and Nevada and we will also have Josh and Keri there too. I love cooking for my family!

This picture is compliments of a yahoo search I did..I did not take this picture..lol

My 5th reason why I love Christmas

Ok so this reason is more of a personal reason.

~5: Bedtimes (with no fuss cause Santa is watching). I know this also goes for everyday of the year however with how busy Christmas time can get...bedtime is sometimes a blessing :-) There are days when I am counting down the time till the kids bedtime..lol

This is an older picture of Fox....but I thought it was just too cute that I had to use it.

My 4th reason why I love Christmas...

Ok so this year is going to be somewhat different for me...my parents are not going to be here for Christmas..they've decided to stay at home, which will be really great for them but sad for us. It will be my first Christmas without my parents being close by. We will however be having 2 additions to our Christmas morning traditions this year so this is my 4th reason:

~4: FAMILY. I love my family very much. My brother in law and his girlfriend, who is practically my sister in law anyways :-) have asked to spend Christmas with us this year..which I know Fox will love cause he loves his Uncle Josh so very much...and he's even asked us today actually if he can call Keri (Josh's girlfriend) Aunt Keri cause he loves her just as much. Family

just makes it all that more special.

This is "Uncle Josh" and "Aunt Keri" taken on Halloween night

in 2007 however neither of them have changed one bit...they are just as crazy now as they were then. :-)

My 3rd reason why I love Christmas

My third reason for why I love Christmas might make some of you think I'm crazy but here it goes:

~3: I love going into the crowded malls and shopping and just listening to all the bustle and commotion that this amazing time of year creates. I know some people get really cranky in crowded stores however I love just the atmosphere of it all, not to mention looking at all the decorations and seeing the wonder and amazement in my childrens eyes.

~taken from Sarah~ My 12 days of Christmas

Ok so while I was checking out my amazing friends blog...I decided to steal...lol...her idea of "The 12 Days of Christmas" and post 12 reasons why I love Christmas. Seeing how I am now two days late with this great idea, I'm gonna post my first two reasons together:

So the first and second reasons why I love Christmas are:

~ 1: Music: I love Christmas music. I love listening to it, singing it and trying to teach it to my children.

~ 2: Snow: I love snow...well let me rephrase that..I love snow when it's on the grass and NOT the roads (I do not like driving in the snow at all) I love seeing the look on Fox's face when he sees the snow falling and someday will love seeing Nevada's face as well because right now she is afraid :-)

So there you have it...those are my first 2 reasons as to why I love the Christmas season.
(thank you Sarah for the great idea) I look forward to talking to you all tomorrow..until then...