Dancing Queen

Katie will dance to any music these days. Here she is having some fun to Alvin and the Chipmunks on Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve

This year we had a Christmas Eve party with our friends, the Browns and the Johnsons. IT WAS SO FUN! Between us there are 13 kids and it was WILD!

We had a gift exchange for the kids. It was especially fun to see the little ones participate. My Katie got Kassi some markers that she would not let any other child touch! And Kassi got my Katie a doll.
Eric got this snap hand that is currently stuck to my ceiling. But he had fun with it until it got stuck!

J got this robot toy, which was great for him. He loves robots!

Next we decorated cookies. I have to say that my friend Denise is the bravest woman I know. She had the kids decorating over the carpet!

Next was the live Nativity. The kids were so good and so cute during this special story. Sadly my kids were not to interested in participating.

Josh, the Shepard, was stealing candy from the cookie decorating area.

My Katie was dancing to the music with Kati Brown. And Eric, the Wise Man, was hiding behind the camera.

After we got home we had the kids get into their nice, new Christmas jammies. We set out the cookies for Santa, and read "The Night Before Christmas." Then off to bed they went to wait for morning.

To our dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas to you all! We sincerely hope that this letter finds you happy and healthy and enjoying the spirit of this wonderful time of year.

This past year has had many blessing, but some trials as well. Last December we sold our house and moved just before Christmas. We felt so blessed to have sold our house. Just 2 weeks later Brandon lost his job. We were very thankful to have the money from our house to live on until Brandon found a new job. In April Brandon found employment at Comcast. Then in July he was able to secure a job at a hotel as the Sales Director. And finally we felt so incredibly blessed to have Brandon apply and be offered the job of General Manager of the same hotel.

Despite the trials that Brandon had with employment early in the year he now has a job that he loves. He is doing very well there and is anxious to grow more within the company. He is very busy, but manages to fit in time with the family and perform his church calling.

Becca is busy with three kids! Plus her part-time job and TWO church callings! There is little time for her to participate in her hobbies, although she gets in a few projects now and then. She has been sewing more this year and wants to take on some more ambitious projects soon.

Eric (9) is now in the third grade and is doing very well. He loves school! He had an excellent report card and we have learned that he is a very good writer! He was lucky to get into an after school program that helps him improve on his skills in math. Eric also enjoys Scouts and completed his Wolf this fall. He is really growing up and is a wonderful helper around the house.

Joshua (6) started Kindergarten this year. I am enjoying watching his mind grow and expand with all of the new knowledge that he is gaining. He too, likes school, although I am unsure how he manages to sit all day. He has so much energy! His report card was excellent and he is on his way to being a star student!

Katelyn (18 months) is our sweet little girl. She is a lot of fun, very happy and lovey. Katie loves to wrestle with her brothers and hug and kiss them when they are sad or hurt. She is always smiling. She loves to play and be with people. She has grown so much over the last year, from a baby to a busy toddler.

We are excited to see what next year will bring for us and our family. We have the same hope for ourselves as we do for you; a Happy and Wonderful New Year!

The Great House Hunt

After the adventure of house hunting in the snow this week, Brandon and I decided that we like this property. It is completely finished! No work needed! That makes it the perfect house for us with our busy schedules!

We will admit that every house that we have liked and tried to get has not gone through. We are frustrated by this and so we are not going to mention much else about this house until we hear something positive about it. Here are a couple of pictures. Wish us luck!

I am not sure why these came out so small, sorry.

Snow ~ day 1

I titled this "snow ~ day 1" because this weather is predicted to continue throughout the night. But my boys would not wait. They wanted to play, NOW! Thank goodness we had their snow clothes handy!

Their new obsession... SNOWBALL FIGHT!

Cute aren't they? They had so much fun playing outside today. I had to drag them inside!

This is our street. It has been snowing all day, but only started to stick in the afternoon. We already have a good inch + and I have no doubt that there will be plenty more by the morning.

The Great House Hunt

We put an offer in on a house back on November 11. It is a bank owned property and we knew that it would take a long time to get a response. The date came (it was this past Friday) and no word. Yes, you can assume that we are frustrated. So we are starting again. Tomorrow I am going to use some of my day off to look at these three houses. I will let you know how it all goes. Feel free to offer opinions.

B A D hair day

Katie had quite a day the other day. She learned to open the drawer that I hide the diaper cream in. She loves diaper cream. Why? Because she can't have it! Check out what she did while I was cooking dinner.

Bath time!