It Was Merry

Elves set the table.The sugar rimmed glasses turned out super cute, but everyone looked like this all night:

Even the adults! We saw a lot of tongues during dinner.
Santa bbq'ed tri tip in the 20 degree weather.
This was my favorite Christmas present! Nothing more precious than time with family.

Squeak squeak.

Rockin' some Christmas songs.

Christmas morning. Some kids woke up at 5am. We made them wait until 9!

As part of Chad's scavenger hunt for his last present, he had to jump on the ice filled tramp and run around the house. He also had to solve some Spanish riddles.Sarah's clue read, "Rub Grandma's feet 10 minutes to get next clue!"Uncle Ben assembled presents!

I sent Russ to Restoration Hardware with the item description and coupon attached. And it's the first time ever it wasn't wrapped in Walmart bag.
Sarah went to town making gifts!!! Seriously, she spent hours. These are a few of the Elmer's glue and glitter ornaments she made for me. She even hand sewed Ava a pillow, made a picture of Ava into a real hard backed puzzle, and made a board game for Alyssa!
He got what he wanted.
Alyssa made a cardboard, plastic, and scotch tape doll house for Sarah and parted with some of her toys.

Opening my present felt awkward, but watching the kids open theirs was exhilarating! Giving is so much more fun.

My Developing Six Pack

Thank goodness I like a low key holiday because I've spent the last 2 weeks working on my six pack abs (coughing that is). Sick, sick, sick for more than 2 weeks. This darn cold won't go away and my snoring then coughing have me sleeping on the floor in my office to let my poor husband get some sleep. Thank goodness I've got some energy back because the pace has picked up. And I can finally breathe through my nose so I can kiss my husband again! I missed that. But I don't think the kids appreciate our kissing in the kitchen very much.

Russ got the first pimple on his forehead since college days. Must be job hunting stress. He's working hard at finding something despite the fact that most are laying off right now. He has his first interview this week. Not rooting for that one, but he seems excited about it. Something better will come up. Patience, faith, and optimism are carrying us through! I even had a friend bring me flowers and chocolate when she heard the news. I know everyone is keeping us in their prayers and we feel very loved!

So back to the merriness of Christmas!!!!

A little grumpiness by an unnamed blond was going on during the gingerbread fest so I declared the number one rule of gingerbread house making...when you make gingerbread houses, you HAVE to be happy!:) Of course.
Then Ava says, "I know a rule!!!! I know a rule!!! If you WANT candy, you GET candy!!!"
We made freezer jam or a plate of goodies for friends. Oh my gosh the kids love this. Seriously, love this. Hopping in and out of the car dozens of times...more than thrice a few of the back seaters accidentally kicked people in the face trying to climb in or out head first.We have been rockin' this smashminton set in the family room!!! Massive massive amounts of indoor entertainment. It's like badminton, but smaller rackets and more indoor friendly. Even the little kids can do it. Highly recommended.

Chad's guitar recital.

Sarah's First Orchestra Concert. She LOVES LOVES violin. After hating piano for the last year, I wish we made the switch earlier.

I'm wondering why I try to shop in November when my kids change their minds about what they want for Christmas by now! I'm headed to the return desk already.

Now just for fun...I'm posting some Christmas Eye Candy...
As the president of my friend Nancy's fan club, I declare her rock star status. Adore her. Adore her talent.Another tree Nancified in her entry. I walk into her home and hear angels singing! She will be decorating in Heaven too!
Eddie Ross' Christmas drinks. Pomegranate seeds and a green sugar rim! Could work with Martinelli's or cherry 7up. (I'm using Karo's syrup to get it to stick...he made his own syrup with Pomegranate juice and sugar).

Can't wait for my Mom and Dad and brother to come over for Christmas Eve and spend the night! They are the best present ever. And I, the Program Queen, will be putting on a merry merry program and making tri tip dinner barbequeing in the snow. Still haven't finished my gift to Jesus. Just a few more days left!

It's Finally Christmas...

It doesn't feel like Christmas until tree is up! I tied this one down by myself and brought this beauty home in one piece thank goodness. I'm really surprised it made it home with my tie job. It's our smallest in a long time but I'm thinking I like it smaller! Much easier to handle, decorate, and leaves more room for dancing to the sparkle from our bowl of green disco balls.
Saturday, Sarah was Mary in our Stake Christmas Cantata. She held perfectly still for 45 minutes. As the spotlight focused on her staring lovingly at baby Jesus in her arms, the orchestra played and choir sang of the Savior's birth. She was angelic and pure. She IS angelic and pure. Nothing distracted from the spiritual message of the Savior that night. A wonderful way to open the Christmas season. Although her neck was sore that night!
Also this week, we all voted for our favorite trees at the Davenport Hotel, a fundraiser for the symphony and a great six dollar family tradition night out on the town.I voted for the one with the fishing trip (of course), Sarah voted for the one that had home decorating gift cards (of course), and Chad voted for this crazy tree with the most cash given away (of course). So very like each of us!

There's a lot of stuff I don't do in December. Do less, live more I say! :) I don't shop for gifts (I try to get that done in November), I don't mail Christmas cards, I don't bake unless I have to, and we don't exchange gifts in our extended families (on my side we donate to a charity instead). The only package I'm mailing is to a US soldier. There is no one more deserving. But anyway, I'm enjoying this Christmas season and all of the things I don't do leaves more room for the Christmas joys I want to do. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Our Newest Christmas Present...

A layoff. We are now officially riding the emotional roller coaster of unemployment. We've never had to do this before. We're hopeful, but I can already tell there will be many humbling experiences.

...Like when Russ asked if he could apply for this job where I'd have to find more than $50,000 to cut from our frugal budget. I was stumped. Tears welled up a few times as I was crunching numbers in private. Nothing ever dripped down my cheek though! I am SO very composed. Do I get rid of my one haircut each year? I didn't understand how to make a dent. He's still applying for it anyway. He'll find something better as time goes by.

I was thinking I shouldn't post about all of this, but then I thought about my kids and how this is my journal in many ways. I want them to know that these things happen to the best and brightest of us through no fault of our own and how we can really enjoy life even during the bumps in the road. It's just much more of a wild ride!!! Unpredictable, exciting, trying, spontaneous.

It's times like these that make you realize no matter what, we are the richest people on the planet because we have family, clean drinking water, a beautiful home, etc. When things are tight we are still living like billionaires compared to most of the world. And joy comes from the little moments we have every day with these cute munchkins running around! Little smiles, little hugs... those are what life is about. And those happen every day, even while job hunting.

We are really doing fine and have savings. Thank goodness!!! Our spirits are up. We're living a very normal life.

It is interesting timing. Russ has the good fortune of working for companies that bite the dust a couple years after working for them. One company was almost 100 years old, and this one was 158 years old!!! They're now gone forever.

But when one door closes, another will open. We pay tithing. Good things are in store. Russ is the man. We have faith. Now we just have to work hard, be patient, be incredibly resilient, and be really really cheap...oops, I mean wise! ;)

Chad's Christmas Tree...

This is how I got ready for Christmas this weekend.

Meanwhile, Chad found a tree in the storage room and covered it in bullets, army men, cars, planes, Star Wars dudes, and topped it with a shotgun shell!
So him. And very resourceful I might add!

Can you eat 14 different side dishes?

Well, we did! In one sitting.
Yes, that is my mom's idea of a "simple" Thanksgiving dinner. She even wanted to add more! You can see why I was hoping to host this year...to give my mom a much needed break. I had my menu all planned and my parents were coming. It was all set. However, I had to change plans when my mom said food kept "falling in her lap". She said she HAD to host because she already had all of the food. It actually was a huge blessing because our little family sure did love the getaway. Russ has been applying for jobs all week and needed a break. Thank you Mom and Dad!!!!
It was a most lovely affair with love and laughter and relaxation. The food was awesome, but the conversation and love shared is always more delicious than the food.

I actually don't care one bit about Thanksgiving food (well, I do love the chit chat with the women while fixing it!). We just cook it for our men and they love us for it (until they've eaten their fourth meal of leftovers!). My handsome bro!

Last year, when I was stressed out preparing to leave on a trip without the kiddies on Thanksgiving Day, look at what I cooked...a Costco rotisserie chicken artistically place on a bed of lettuce! This meal is more my style...
See doesn't it look like a turkey? My kids were on cloud nine and happy hyper with all of our wine glasses out and candles lit! They didn't care it wasn't a turkey! ;)

Okay, back to this year. I told Mom to skip the jello because my kids don't like it. She insisted. And she was right...it was their favorite! What do I know?
The intoxicating smell of fresh pine and leaves and earth after rain blessed our senses on our nature walk. We breathed it all in as deeply as we could.

The food is tastier, the views more intoxicating, the beds softer, the love stronger, the laughter more abundant, the worries fewer, and the perspective clearer at Mom and Dad's. Thanksgiving 09 was fab.

Happy Thanksvalenchrisjulyweenirthday!

Loving Thanksgiving and all it stands for. I mean every day is Thanksgiving when you really think about it!!!

Just like every day is Valentine's day when you are blessed with a loving spouse... and every day is Christmas when we celebrate Jesus Christ in our lives... and every day is Fourth of July when we love our country and the soldiers that serve it... and every day is Halloween when you treat yourself to a daily dose of chocolate... and every day is your birthday when you love yourself.

So happy Thanksvalenchrisjulyweenirthday!

We've got an attitude of gratitude around here as Sarah prepared a wonderful family home evening where we all wrote what we were grateful for. Jesus, family, etc. were all on the lists, so here are some of the more unique responses...

Chad (12):

Greenbacks (his word for bucks)
Poop (he does have a pooper scooper job)
Brother Williams (our home teacher that hired him to do the above)

Sarah (10):

One on one dates.
Old Country Buffet.

Russ (old as dirt):

Grocery stores that are close.
Me being a good picture taker. (He's never taken one ever unless I've asked.)
Lemon bars.

Ava (3):

Peace. (What? I am not making this up. She came up with this on her own. It made me laugh because Ava and peace is an oxymoron.)
Splashy the whale. (From a commercial of course.)
Eggs and pomegranates.

Me (29 again):

Pants with elastic waist bands.
Cheetos. (Both of which Sarah totally added to her list after I said them. I know , I know. We are both thin, but we love our elastic waist bands! I wear jeans out of duty, not love. Sarah won't even wear jeans.)

Alyssa (6):

Birds with beaks. (As opposed to birds without beaks I guess!)

Changing subjects, my bff and college roomie dropped by last night. I can't be more blessed to have her in my life. Unconditional love! And we are looking mighty fine in our old age I must say (but she has no wrinkles)!
Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be spending it with my Mom, Dad, Brother Ben, and my little family. I couldn't be more blessed.

My New Favorite Designer

Years ago I almost bought this bed pictured in David's Kansas City home.

But I don't spend money on furniture or decor. I am just very cheap like that. Or as I like to say...wise. I'm saving instead for the college careers of 4 smarty pants children! Okay, I'm also painfully indecisive. But...I do like to dream. And I found my new favorite designer (besides Candice Olsen of course)...

His name is David Jimenez.

I love how he buys stuff at thrift shops or garage sales and repaints them or recovers them with new fabrics. I love his use of black and white...my favorite noncommittal colors! His design aesthetic may seem a bit familiar because he's been responsible for the aesthetics of some major stores like Pottery Barn and others. He likes a layered, collected look. I know I found my kindred soul because I'm seeing a lot of stuff in his houses that I have purchased over the years or are in my collected inspiration tear sheets! I have this silver bowl!

Now if he could just come over and work his magic.
Here is his eye candy link...

http://www.djimenez.com/

Do you have any favorite design blogs or websites? Please post them in the comments section so I can dream some more without spending a penny.