Christmas-It's About Family

This Christmas was very special for us. There were 25 of us on Christmas Eve at my brother Joe's in Vancouver. On Christmas Day we gathered at Mom and Dad's for more food, fun, and family time. We are truly blessed to have the family we do!

The dishes must be done before we can open presents - here is the dish detail crew. Bryan forgot to read the dress code memo!!
Teresa and Andy, Lauryn and Ayden are opening their gifts - boy, there were lots of them!

Lauyrn and Meysa's shirts said it all: "Grandma and Santa have my list covered!"

Mom and Dad enjoyed their surprises too!

Update on December goals

It's now the 14th of December and time to reflect on what has been accomplished. Some successes and still some challenges.

• I'm leaving work by 5pm every day and getting in my workouts.


• Rusty has walked on the treadmill once - I spend more time at the gym than in the hanger because the gym is warm and the hanger is 60 degrees!!!!


• More time is spent with God; I'm doing better with this


• I miss my decorations and Christmas "stuff" but am glad we made this choice. We will decorate next year!

Idaho Trip

I spent last weekend with Andy and Teresa. We had a great weekend of shopping, making candy, eating, playing games, watching movies and catching up! We even had snow on the day they took me back to the airport in Spokane. It was fun to see how these newlyweds are settling and enjoying their married life.
Snuggling up to keep warm - it was snowing hard!

Teresa had never made candy so here we are trying to spread out the peanut brittle quickly. It was quite the feat!
Andy is trying to toss the pizza dough like the pros. We laughed and made a mess but we managed to get the pizza done!
The backyard view before the snow. It was cold and even the horses didn't want to be out in the weather. I don't miss that cold weather!

GAME ON!!

My two boys are always thinking of ways to play "gotcha." Only now it's changed to "game on!" Ryan and Aimee gave Andy a Barbie Gift Card for his birthday. So in response, Andy and Teresa have purchased a very special gift for them! (And I'm not telling except to say the camera will be ready!!) So here's to "GAME ON!"

This year Christmas will be different!

We decided to slow down this Christmas and not be so focused on "getting things done." I plan to spend this next month reflecting on what my life means to me, who I am and who I am called to be by God.
Here are the commitments I am making:
1. Spend more time together, just focusing on us. We aren't decorating this year as we are still working on the remodel project and just can't even begin to get out one more box!!!
2. Make a commitment to spend quality time with God every day. I have my weekly bible study but don't spend enough of every day seeking Him.
3. Pray daily for each member of my family: for health, wealth, and happiness.
4. Prioritize my work load and not spend so much of my time there. It's been so hectic that I've lost site of who I am supposed to be.
5. Take my dog for a walk every day; when it's bad weather, we can walk on the treadmill. I'll have to post some pictures of that. Rusty loves the treadmill.
6. Stay committed to working out as I prepare for my January half-marathon.
7. Don't forget to do 1 -5!!!

I am looking forward to this month - it will be different but hopefully, much more blessed!
I plan on posting how I am doing!

Merry Christmas, my friends!

A Week in November

This is what my vacation week in Tacoma was like! I had a lot of fun but it was a very busy week!
MONDAY: Meysa turned 4 years old and had horse birthday. We played "pin the tail on the horse!" No donkey in this party!
TUESDAY: Mom had cataract surgery so I went with her and Dad. Once she was home and resting, I stayed inside while Dad worked on the leaves to get ready to mow them up! I then went swimming in the evening with Beth and Bryan.
WEDNESDAY: It's the day before Thanksgiving and I helped Beth out with all the cooking chores. We got ourselves ready for the day by going swimming and then we spent the day cooking, laughing, and generally enjoying ourselves. I am so thankful for my sister!
THURSDAY: It was truly a day of Thanksgiving for me. Greg drove up (with Rusty in tow) and we had Ryan, Aimee and the kids here too. With Beth's family and mine, we had a great time. I got out of dishes - thanks Lauryn for needing "Grandma time!!" I love my family!
FRIDAY: The best day of the year for shopping for me! I LOVE the day after Thanksgiving and this year I got to spend it with my daughter-in-law, Aimee! She's a great friend to have and we got some great deals. Thanks for standing in those long lines with me, Aimee!
SATURDAY: The annual cookie baking day! We baked and baked and baked...did I say we baked??!!! But the cookies are done and now we can focus on other Christmas stuff! We were so tired at the end of the day but it was so worth it! Really wish Aimee and Teresa had been there to join in this tradition - we'll have to try for next year!
Meysa's cake - Aimee did a great job on it! Great tasting too!
No donkey here - it's only a horse!
Lauryn and Rusty- she loves dogs and Rusty loves the attention!
Thanksgiving with the family - much to be grateful for!
Here is the cookie baking gang! Aren't we a site to behold!! L-R: Joanne, Beth, Mom, Margaret (me), and Amy.

Family Fun!

Taking an afternoon walk to the park - here's the whole gang. Even Rusty got into the excitement of a crisp fall day! We enjoyed our outing and had a great time watching the kids burn off energy. They really love going to the park (and Mom and Dad love that they are tired when they come home!!)


It's still baseball season for Ayden; but he just can't give up the snow boots. He will be so disappointed there won't be the Iowa snows this year for him to play in! There may be trips to Mt. Rainier in the future for him!!
Lauryn is ready to run! She loves the park and can't wait to get to the slides.
Meysa and Lauryn spent most of the time on this slide. Lauryn could do this all day!
Higher, Daddy! (Grandma says - that's high enough!)