Christmas Day

We were heading up to my parents house in the mountains, so we woke the kids early so they'd have time to open their stockings.

They each asked for hot wing-flavored pretzels so that's why there is a bag sticking out of their stockings. Isn't that funny?

This was Declan's first trip and he did amazing. He slept the whole 3-hour drive. My mom enjoyed seeing how much he's changed since Thanksgiving. She had a wonderful lunch prepared and waiting for our arrival. We ate and then exchanged gifts.

It was a nice day and such a relief to have the bustle of the holidays over. Time to relax and enjoy family!

Christmas Eve

Scott's mom was over and we had a fun time watching the kids open their gifts.

We hid Conner's phone in a game box.

He was a good sport.

Declan looked a little freaked out by his gift. LOL

There -- that's better.

catching up

Such a busy time of year! Every year the sheer volume of things to do surprises me, I don't know why.

And it seems like every single activity we're involved in planned some kind of function this year where we were asked to bring either an ornament, a plate of goodies, a small gift or something for a potluck. So did I do the smart thing and make up a huge batch of cookies or something? Noooo...I had to make/buy something completely different for each one. Usually the night before.

But we did manage to get through it all. And of course it was a lot of fun.

Here are a few pictures from this month:

I attended a Cmas party/ornament exchange for MOPS

Brenna had her very first piano performance at a nursing home

Chase competed in an archery competition for Boy Scouts. He came in second in his division!

We got the tree up and decorated

The boys worked on building an igloo in the backyard

A very dear friend was in town visiting from Florida, and she got to meet Declan for the first time and see how all the other kids have grown

Then she and I (and Declan, of course) got to spend an evening out having dinner and shopping and catching up

And Declan somehow turned 2 months old!!!

We had a few more fun events but I kept either forgetting my camera or batteries!

Tonight we're celebrating as a family here at home, then tomorrow we're off to the mountains to see my parents for a few days.

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

May God Bless you all in the coming year!!

truffles to die for

I made these truffles I saw on De'Etta's blog for a baby shower last weekend. They went over very well. Women and chocolate, they just go together don't they?

Anyway, I promised I'd post the recipe so here it is. They are simple to make but watch out -- it's hard to stop eating them! =)

Easy Oreo Truffles

1 pkg (18 0z) Oreo cookies, finely crushed, divided
1 pkg (8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened
2 pkg (8 squares each) Bakers semi-sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.
DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.)
Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

big weekend

Brenna had a busy weekend. Saturday was the Christmas party for her Girl Scout unit. Then that evening at church, she was baptized! She was so excited, she has been asking us if she could be baptized since she was 6.

Our church is amazing and over 900 people have been baptized there this year. It's a huge celebration, and so moving.

(photos by Conner)

I am extremely proud of her! She has such a heart for the Lord and couldn't wait to share it with the world.

On Sunday, she had her Christmas performance for a singing/drama group she's in. They did a wonderful job. The pictures did not come out great, but maybe you can see her in this one, playing the bells. She's in the middle, wearing red and white.

6 weeks

Time is just flying by so fast!! Declan is starting to smile at all of us now. He's such a sweetheart.

Thanksgiving 08

So I'm a little late posting about Thanksgiving. =)

My parents came down Wednesday and stayed until Saturday. It was so nice having them here.

My mom helped make a great meal. I had her do the mashed potatoes and gravy -- she gets them perfect every time. Me -- not so much. LOL One of the things the older boys asked me to make was a dip we first had at my friend Gretchen's house. It's called buffalo chicken dip and sooo yummy.

I'm thankful this year for a healthy baby boy and lots of family and good friends.