ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS....

MY TWO FRONT TEETH!
Abryn pulled his front teeth out tonight...what a champion!! Some floss, a little courage, and viola!

A Proud Mommy

(Click the pic to see it better...)

This weekend, I had the pleasure of experiencing the overwhelming feeling of pride in my children. One in particular...Austin of course...had the cutest idea. We were at Grandma's house when he discovered a whole bag of bells on some yarn string. Well, that made the wheels start turning. He immediately asked for a bucket. I asked why, and he said that he wanted to "be like those one guys at the store that ring the bell so people can put money in the bucket". I smiled and immediately explained that they didn't keep the money, but that it went to people who were less fortunate and didn't have all the privileges that we have. He thought about it a minute longer, and said, "Yeah! That's a good idea...maybe I can get enough money to buy someone a house that lives on the street." So, he put on his snow boots, and trekked out to the highway with his little bell on a string, and an old ice cream bucket. After standing outside in the cold and wet snow for about 45 minutes or so....he came in to see how much work he had gotten done. Sure enough, he is just cute enough to make a hefty amount. In just that short time, he managed to collect ten dollars. He rang his little bell, and hollered out for people to help the poor, and was sure that $10 was enough to buy SOMEONE a house. He just beamed and grinned from ear to ear as we all told him how proud we were of him, and how Heavenly Father would bless him for being so selfless. We put all his coins and the few dollar bills in an envelope and sealed it up. He then decorated it with markers and glitter glue. We kept it safe till today when he had the chance to take it somewhere to donate it. We finally made it down to the Boise Rescue Mission. When we walked in he had a plan, but became a little shy and slid the envelope across the counter at the man sitting at the desk. I explained what it was and how he had come to collect it. They thanked him and shook his hand telling him "Merry Christmas"...as they put it in the donation box. He turned around and there was a man in a wheelchair that told him that he had a good heart. I left in tears, and full of pride to see my 4 year old experience the TRUE meaning of Christmas. I asked him how he felt, and he said good. I said, "What did you think of that place inside?" And his only comment was....."Kinda stinky." Out of the mouth of babes....the best part is...he can't wait to do it again.

Holiday Season

We love this time of year. We have had such a crazy week, here's just a few of the highlights:

We have had hot chocolate everyday because of the freezing temperatures. I especially love this pictures because you can see the ring on Amiah's forehead from her cup. She loves her hot chocolate and marshmallows!
Gotta love....and throw in a date night every now and then. We went to the Steelheads game on Friday, fun...but mellow. I mostly like the fights during hockey games, but there wasn't much to speak of this game.
Amiah also got invited to a really cool birthday party. The whole family was invited, but Daddy had to work, and Austin opted for a special afternoon with Aunt Nici at Walmart instead. (Walmart? Go figure...) Anyway, so Abryn and Amiah and I went to a pretty spectacular birthday party for a set of triplets. They each got to make their own pizzas (at Flatbread), had delicious cupcakes, complete with Mickey Mouse, Sleeping Beauty, tattoos, balloon animals, and more. Look at their adorable party favors!?! She loves her new chef hat and apron.
And last but certainly not least...we had our annual Christmas Dinner with Grandma Shelley and her family. It was so nice. We missed Molly and Aaron this year, but everyone else was able to make it. We had a super YUM-O dinner, and did a little carolling. We visited for a while longer, and ended the night with brownies and ice cream. Delicious! Thanks again Shell! (Click on the picture for a better look...)
I'm sure I'll be posting more again soon...love to ya'll!

Family Sled Night

Well, we finally got enough of this:
to do this:








Some of us ended up cold and wet like this:
And some of us didn't:
So we had to do this:
and drank some of this:
and it made for kids like this:
What a fun family night!

This year...

Announcing this year's Christmas dress...she loves to twirl around in it! Such a princess...

Pie!

Okay, fellow family and friends...eat your heart out! Here is a picture of today's domestic endeavor. I must admit it was questionable at first, but my sister and I pulled out a pretty fantastic Chocolate French Silk Pie. I was the first one to dive in after 6 hours of waiting for it to set! My own private slice of heaven. HELLO! My first attempt and probably my last...

Decorating the tree

We had a fun time tonight. The kids waited all day for Daddy to come home. The build up was so intense, and that 30 minutes flew by so quickly, it just didn't seem fair. But it was fun to watch them get so excited. My favorite part is where they always place their ornaments. We make it a point never to move them (which I admit was hard for me at first), but now it's my favorite part. I love seeing them all bunched together in one spot as high as they can possibly reach.