Going to visit soon!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let my friends and family know that we'll be down in Phoenix on February 11, and we are staying until Feb. 17. We would love to spend time with everyone- so book us now. It seems like there is never enough time for long visits with everyone. Ryan and Amela are getting married on Valentine's Day (so exciting!), but much of the other time is free- (except maybe Sunday, right mom?)

Anyhow, we look forward to seeing everyone and getting into some warmer weather. Actually, we had snow today, yet again, so 70 degree weather sounds really nice right about now....

I guess I have been wanting blinds for this room...

Well, I have learned my lesson- again.
The other day while I was taking a shower, and Chris was watching TV downstairs (sick with the stomach flu), Chase found something to practice cutting on. He has been really excited about using the kid scissors on paper. He actually does a really great job with them, and holds them correctly. Anyhow, apparently he found the really good scissors (which were in the very back of one of the kitchen drawers), and he decided to cut up not only one of the panels of the curtains in the living room, but 6 of them.
I have really been wanting to get faux wood blinds for the boys' bedrooms and the large window above the front door, so I guess now I will just have to purchase an additional set for this window- it will match, anyway.
The most hilarious part is that I saw those scissors on the couch after I got out of the shower. In fact, I picked them up and asked Chris if he had used them. After he replied no, I looked at Chase. He said to me "I use them for nufing" I didn't actually see the curtain art until later when Xavier pointed it out to me. Chase then ran to his room yelling, "Gary did it!"
Can I just say, "What else?"

Hey there- we're still here!

Sooo...
I realize that I have dropped the ball on posting lately. I can't say that I've been too busy. Actually, it was a really lovely break. I was able to sit for a few days and do nothing- and I mean nothing. However, in my defense, our internet access was out- who knows why. There were at least 8 days that we were without access, so no posting possible. I have needed to post about Christmas, so here is that one first.

We were asked to spend Christmas Eve with some friends of ours- Skott and Angela, at his parents' house. They are awesome people. Chris was working, so it was just me and the kids there. (There's a picture of me and Angela).

Since Chris wasn't going to get home until after 9 am, we told the boys that they could wake up whenever they wanted to, but that they could only open one present each until Daddy got home. This was almost torture for them- but I wasn't going to let Chris miss out on all of the opening. Once Dad got home, we started in. We open presents one person at a time, so sometimes it takes a little while to get through it all. This year we opted not to give a lot of toys, since our kids don't really need more toys.

The biggest hits were the Spiderman singlet (Chase), battle bots (all the boys), video game rocker chair (Gavin), and the pull-up bar (Mason). I have video of the boys (not able to post that yet) on the pull-up bar. It's pretty darn impressive- as I can't even do one- sad I know.

At the end of the evening we played some poker. I bought a poker set for Chris, complete with chips. Xavier and Chris were on a team together, and ended up with the pot. Chris thinks he's funny and has nicknamed himself "Chips McGee".

All in all, it was a fabulous Christmas, and we are so fortunate to have so many blessings!