Decorating for Christmas

Today we went out and got ourselves a Christmas tree. There's a lot that sells them and personally I think they are prettier than the ones you get at Lowe's or Home Depot. We already knew that we wouldn't be getting one as big as we normally get since I knew I'd have to carry it in the house and well, that wouldn't be happening with a 7+ foot tree. So we settled on a lovely 5 1/2 foot tree that is very full. I think it just may be the prettiest live tree we've ever had. This year I also told the guy not to take any of the extra branches off the bottom. They butchered the tree last year at Lowe's when they did that. I'd rather have it very full at the bottom. I really like the way it turned out. Of course the lights aren't perfect, but that's because Dan wasn't here to do them. He's very meticulous about them and I know I didn't do them up to his standards. Oh well......he can make up for it next year. It feels weird to be doing all this without him. We sent him a small tree to make up for it although i'm sure it won't compare.... :(
Anyway, we are ready for Christmas and now that we are decorated, the kids and I are getting very excited!

at the tree lot looking for the perfect tree and don't let Keegan's lack of coat fool you-it was in the 40's with a wind chill in the 30's. It was COLD!

i had to rig it so it wasn't crooked, I'm not sure that we'll ever get a tree that isn't crooked in the tree stand....but at least it's sort of straight now....

would you believe I only have 2 1/2 weeks to go???
yeah I don't believe it either....

lights are on....not great but they are there!

for some reason i can't get a decent picture when the flash isn't on....frustrating...

huzzah! all decorated and ready for presents.

yes, there are 8 stockings up there. dan didn't want us to send his so it's up there and then one for the yet to be named new addition and of course mema and papa had to have one.

blocks i made at super saturday this year. the tree in the middle is a candle that just looked perfect sitting with them.

Thanksgiving 2010

We were able to spend the day with some friends from the ward. They have 4 boys and a couple of them are the ages of the kids so it was a good fit for everyone. They cooked a fabulous meal and of course I ate way too much. My philosophy is that if you don't come away from Thanksgiving dinner feeling miserable then something is wrong! And believe me, I came away feeling miserable, but in a good way! After dinner we played games and sat and visited. The kids had a great time and crashed very soon after we got home. Then of course I got up at the witching hour to do some online shopping for black Friday.
I am thankful that we have good friends who took us in and many more willing to do so, so our family didn't have to suffer through the Chinese buffet for Thanksgiving dinner. I am thankful for our family, our children, and especially for Dan and what he is willing to do for our family and the sacrifices he's willing to make.

Say hello to Turtle-our guest for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We are doggie sitting for his humans.

Dan's chair is his very favorite place to sit, regardless of who else is sitting there.

Playing LCR-i'm gonna have to invest in this game-everyone enjoyed it!

Then after board games they pulled out Rock Band for the kids to play. We've never played it so we got to try it and i think it was a hit!
May have to invest in this one!

1st Grade Thanksgiving Celebration

Today was Keegan's Thanksgiving Celebration. The kids ate lunch outside, put on a small program and then played until they had no energy left. Paige and I were able to attend and eat lunch with Keegan. It was a lot of fun. They all dressed up as pilgrims and indians and did a great job with their program. Lots of poems and songs. Really fun. After wards since nothing else was going on, the teachers let the kids play outside until all the sugar and energy had been run down. I know I was tired and I wasn't even running around!!!
I think we are ready for Thanksgiving! A friend from the ward invited us to dine with their family and we are pretty excited about it. It'll be nice to have someone else to be with since Dan is so far away. Otherwise if it had just been us, it would have been the Chinese buffet!

getting ready for the feast

eating lunchables on blankets, just like the pilgrims did!

Mrs. Whitcomb-Keegan's teacher

singing songs

turkey poem, keegan didn't have a speaking part in this one

getting all hyped up on the sugar!

Baby Shower

Normally you don't hear about women having baby showers for any baby that isn't their first. Well In our current ward that is not the case. Any excuse to throw a party. Well tonight it was my turn and I have to tell you I feel so blessed by the awesome ladies in our ward. We've been in a few wards in the almost 10 years that we've been married and this ward that we are in right now is by far the best ward we've ever been in. Not just because of the parties (although they are a lot of fun!) but because the people are genuine and they truly love each other. It's really wonderful!!! I truly do feel so blessed and because of it have made some wonderful friends!!
So tonight my visiting teachers and a few other friends threw me a baby shower. The theme was little pumpkin! The invites and all the food was pumpkin themed. So cute!! Another perk is that this is the first girl to be born in the ward in over a year. All previous babies have been boys. It was a lot of fun and we spent the better part of the evening laughing and carrying on. I really enjoyed it!!!
Thanks Holly, Melodee, Nicole, Gina and everyone else for making such a special night!!

me, yvonne and stephanie

fab tablescape by melodee

nicole, debra and holly

me and gina

holly and helen

carolyn, koleen, and dawney

andrea and nicole

melodee and kari

Meet Albert, Goldie, and Princess Peach

Remember the fish Seth won at the carnival.....well it turned into 3 fish (at 25 cents a piece everyone got one). And some snazzy tank that I didn't expect to have to buy. Apparently goldfish don't just live in a bowl....they have to have filters and all that kind of jazz. I just may regret this decision........

Albert is Seth's fish and he's gold in color, Goldie is Keegan's and he's white with orange spots, and Princess Peach is Paige's and she's orange with brown spots on the belly. Not that you can see the fish that clearly....but the kids would want you to know!