Searching for pinecones...

Friday morning I got the older kids off to school, came home and did 100 things and was worn out in a few hours. I just wanted to go back to bed and drift away for awhile- but looking at the clock and only seeing 11:00- I knew I was dreaming. I was exausted, depressed and feeling unhappy about my Mothering talents, so I blurted out: "Grace, lets go for a walk!" My beautiful 4 year old ran to her room and was dressed in about .3 seconds. She ran out and said, "I'm ready Mom, can we look for pinecones too?" You betcha. We bundled up, hopped in the wagon and walked to the park. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was perfect. We walked and gathered her treasures and then walked some more. It felt so good to be moving! And jogging! And breathing in cold air! And to hear my babies laughing at the vibrating wagon under their bums! It was heaven for a hour and we even took the Christmas lights down when we pulled up to the house. It reminded me that no matter how I'm feeling, I have 4 children whose futures depend on what we do in that day. The influence we have over them is ginormous. At bed time when I asked Grace what her favorite part of the day was, she said- "Our walk Mommy."

My little Gracie...

All I can say is I love my Grace. She was so thrilled when I bought her pink rollers for her hair. (not that the girl need any more volume! Hopefully she keeps it because she's lucky!) She was tickled to have curly hair and she kept them in all night too. I made sure to position them in places that would still be somewhat comfortable while she slept. But when she saw how curly they made her hair, she was quickly wetting it down with water & a brush. Oh well. I tried to make her dream come true.

Gary comes for a visit...

Travis and his best friend Gary grew up together in their tiny little town of Conrad Montana. They did EVERYTHING together and have hundreds of memories that are so fun to hear about! Gary and his girlfriend stopped by last night for a few hours on their way home to Nevada. Gary has always been great to stop by during the holidays to see us. He was Trav's best man at out wedding and has stayed in touch over the years. We went to Goodwood with them last night and visited for a few hours before they had to leave. There's something in Trav that just lights up when they are together. It was nice to meet Gary's parents on our last visit to Montana- thet are all such sweet people.

Swimming at the Y...

When Trav came home Thursday after work, we decided to take the kids swimming. The were so excited to go and it was great to get them out of the house for a few hours to play!

Shane & Chelsea come for a visit...

I'm so glad we were able to get together before they had to return home to Portland. We miss them like crazy!!!

Shane, Chelsea & the twins come over for lunch!!!

On Monday, Shane, Chelsea & the twins came over for lunch. Andrea & Isacc came too which made the best lunch ever. We ate pizza, talked for hours and watched the kids play together. It was wonderful to see them again and see how much the twins had grown! It was the greatest afternoon! We love you guys so much!

Christmas morning...

We had a nice relaxing morning at our house. We opened presents, ate cinnimon rolls, layed around in our new Pj's and then got ready to go to G-ma & G-pa's house. We had a nice day over there and a wonderful dinner. We came home at 6:00 and the kids watched the grinch and then went to bed. Everyone was tired after a long, wonderful day... Now time for the clean up!

Christmas morning...

The kids were beyond excited! It was a great morning!

Santa definatly came to our house...

When Tristin & Daisy woke up at 4:15AM, they came running into our room yelling, "Mom, Dad, Santa came and he left FOOTPRINTS!" I stumbled out of bed to find the kids examining the evidence left behind. They were in complete awe and I watched as they talked back in forth about it. "It must be soot from the chiminey, look, he left a big glob over here." Tristin said.
As they squealed with delight I reminded them that it was really early and to go back to bed for awhile. (Trav & I didn't fall asleep until 2:00 AM)
I heard them talking in their room and they were so excited. Somehow they managed to wait until 6:10, so we got up and the fun began. It was a wonderful Christmas and we were definatly spoiled. Thank you family for making it so great!

Making Gingerbread houses...

I think we ran out of time when G-ma & G-pa came, because usually we make our gingerbread houses with G-ma, but this year we were solo. The kids had fun like always and Willow was in heaven with a tray of candy before her eyes!