Santa Came!

The big jolly elf came and filled the stockings...

ate the cookies so lovingly decorated by the kids...

and left them presents.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve: part 2

After a much needed nap from all of the fun at the Browns we went to Brandon's parents house.  There we had more yummy food, nativity fun and a sing-a- long.

Here my "Joseph" and my "Wise-Man."

And my little angel who DID NOT like her costume!

And here in our completed nativity scene (minus the angel) ninja style.  Grandpa then took them around to the neighbors asking if "there was room in the inn."

After dinner we sang some Christmas songs...

while the little girls danced...

and the boys wrestled.

So fun to watch!

Here are the kids listening to the story of the first Christmas.

Then it was time to go home, go to bed, and wait anxiously for the arrival of SANTA!

Christmas Eve: part 1

Christmas Eve was a very busy day!  First we went to our friends the Brown's where we had lunch with them and our friends the Johnson's.

Here are the kids lined up to get their lunch.  There are 13 kids total, ages 16 months to almost 12.  8 girls and 5 boys.  It's a wild group sometimes, but lots of fun!

And this is the yummy food that we had to eat.

Here are the oldest kids waiting, and playing around!

After lunch we had them decorate cookies.

Josh really got into the decorating

Every cookie that he did looked like this one.

Eric was our official taste tester.

and Katie watched and helped out the other kids.

It was such a fun afternoon for everyone!

Gingerbread Houses

The Saturday before Christmas we made Gingerbread house with Aaron, Marissa, and the kids.  Actually, we made graham cracker houses with lots and lots of candy!

The kids really enjoyed creating the houses and eating all the candy.  Sugar highs for all!

Our cuties

Brandon was so sweet the Sunday before Christmas.  While I was getting ready for church he took the kids and snapped a few pictures.

Our handsome Eric.

Our (very) busy Josh

Our excited Kate

A good looking group a kids, if I may say!

Crafty Christmas ~ Cupcakes

Well, I guess that this is not super crafty, but more creative. 

Eric wanted me to make cupcakes to bring to his class on their last day before the Christmas break.  This is what he had in mind.

Well, I am just not that talented.  So I got creative with a cake mix, Wiltons food coloring, and sprinkles.

Good ol' Pillsburry white cake is what I use for the cupcakes.  I have it on hand so I used it, but overall I am not a big fan of it (by accident I only put in 2 eggs instead of 3 and it improved the quality of the cake a ton).

I added "leaf green"coloring and got this.

After I baked them I whipped up some frosting (I always make my own from scratch) and added "christmas red" food coloring.  After I frosted the cupcakes I rolled the edges around some green sprinkles.  This is the result.

Eric said all the kids loved it.  Success.

Crafty Christmas ~ Ornaments

So, like most of America, money is very tight in our house.  It really hurts to have me back in school (but so worth it!).  To compensate, I have been making a lot of our presents this year. 

This is what we gave to the boys' teachers.

This is so easy to make.  I even had the sense of mind to take pictures for a tutorial.

This is what you need.

1. clear ornaments (I bought mine @ Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon!)
2. scrapbook paper in a holiday theme; two different kinds.  If you can find some that is double-sided, even better!
3. cutter
4. pencil
5. ribbon

Cut the paper into thin (or thick) strips, whatever your heart desires. 

Then take a pencil and start to wrap the strip of paper around it, like so.

When you are done wrapping it, slide it off of the pencil, and hold it for a moment or two.  This is to keep its shape.  Then slide it into the bulb.  (sorry, I did not get a picture of this.)  It will open into the curls that you see.  Fill it as much or as little as you like, put the top back on, and tie a ribbon at the top.  So easy and so cute.  A great little gift for anyone!

breakfast

What do you suppose could make this mess so early in the morning?

Breakfast, of course.  But WHAT in the world does her mother feed her for breakfast?

Christmas cupcakes, of course!

I was happily getting ready for my last final this morning when noticed that Kate was quiet; really quiet.  So, I went to investigate.  She had taken her stool, went the the counter where these were and helped herself.  But like many young children, she does not appreciate the fine quality of Walmarts cake, only its frosting. 

a quick note on finals week

I am in the middle of finals week and am procrastinating studying for my ANTH 101 exam by blogging about my finals thus far.

I got the best e-mails on Friday and Saturday. The first one was from Dr. Pressel, my Communication for the Classroom Teacher. The test in that class was last Monday (Dec. 7), which I took in the dark.  It read:

"Hi Becca -

Your grade on the test was 75 (perfect score). Your grade for the course is "A". Have a good holiday.

Dr. Pressel"

Yay!  I love "A's"  But I was expecting that one to show up in my inbox. The next one was a complete surprise. It was from my Geology professor who we called Tim because his last name is soo hard to say! This is what it said.

"Greetings,

This note was sent to you to inform you of your final grade. You have earned an A in the above referenced class and the final is optional for you. If you choose to take the final, you may potentially earn an A+. Your grade will be assigned in loboweb after all of the grading of the final has been completed.

Thanks for being part of the class and good luck during finals week.

Cheers
Tim"

This was an awesome e-mail to receive! No final in Geology! HOORAY!!!

Not having that final makes my life so much easier. His tests are intense to study for. By not having to do that I can focus my efforts in another class where I am teetering on the "A" or "B" fence.

I took another final this morning in poly sci. I loved that class and am sad that it is ending. I was really frustrated with the final because I completely for the methods used by pollsters to ensure that the polling results are accurate. I am so bugged that I won’t even look up the answers because I don't want to dwell on it. I will just wait until I get my grade and then see how bad I biffed it. All I need to do is maintain my "A." So send 90% thought my way!

It's not that I don't want to update you on our lives and it's not that there aren't things to share, but I just don't have the time that it takes to update this blog.  I promise, after my finals after Christmas, that I will make an attempt.  Until then...

Josh's birthday

Josh had his 7th birthday last week. He was VERY excited for the whole day. It started with him getting to take cupcakes to his class at school. He got a great surprise there when I was able to get out of class early and surprise him at his class with a balloon.

Later that day we had a family birthday party for the special guy. Everyone came over for some pizza, cake, ice cream, and PRESENTS!

The second everyone had walked through our front Josh wanted to open his presents. But we manager to hold him off until after dinner. He received some pretty great gifts.

A Steelers sweatshirt, his favorite team.

A really cool transformer.

And an ipod shuffle.

Josh is such a special guy. We are so luck to have him in our family. He has such a fun a sweet personality. He is a great helper to Mom and Dad, and a great brother. He is a great blessing in our lives.