Taking a moment to catch up...

Wow! I guess it has been a little while since I last wrote anything. Life certainly has been busy! So, I thought I would dedicate this post to "catching" everyone up on the latest...

Well the holidays have come and I love it! It is certainly my favorite time of the year! I love seeing my family. I love what Thanksgiving and Christmas stand for. I love the Christmas carols, the Christmas decorations, the Christmas shopping, etc... I love it all! So even though life has been on the crazy side lately, I've enjoyed "almost" every minute of it.

Our family had a wonderful thanksgiving. It was my side of the family's year to spend "Thanksgiving Day" together, so we all met at my sisters house. Although she was a tad nervous about having the celebration chaos at her house for the first time, it turned out great! We cooked and set a table that would have made Martha Stewart proud. :) It tasted good too!

Food aside, it was a wonderful few days of spending time with family. Games were played, movies were watched and Christmas card pictures were taken (or at least we attempted to take them!). The kids played soccer, built a fort and hit balls in their monster batting cage in the back yard. The "girls" went Christmas shopping on Friday, while the "boys" did a little roller skating, deer hunting and skunk hunting. Yes, I really did say "SKUNK" hunting. You had to be there...

I returned from the vacation holiday with a mission... I needed to put up my MANY Christmas trees. I emphasized the "many" because that is what my sister seems to think I have... I have to admit, I do have more than one tree, but since it seems over the top in comparison to my sister and others who only have one"hodge podgy" tree, I feel the need to explain my trees... Last year I bought a new Christmas tree. It was my first new tree since Kayla was born 12 years ago. Wait, I'm not saying I haven't bought any other trees, it is just that the rest of them have been 4 feet or shorter. So, when I bought my new tree last year, I decided not to get rid of the other tree. What I ended up doing is making the new tree my Chrismon tree, meaning that all the ornaments represent the names of Christ and who he is. My old tree remained the "hodge podge" tree with the Santas, snowmen, Hallmark decorations and homemade gifts from the kids. I really loved my two trees and what they represented. As for all the other trees, well each of my children have always had a small tree in their rooms, I think there is usually a very small tree in the kitchen, something I got at a party one time and I might have another one or two of those miniature trees hanging around. I have to say, as the boxes are piled this very minute in the living room, that I love Christmas lights and I love my house all lit up like Christmas. I'm afraid I haven't completed the decor yet, so pictures will have to come later.

We had our first Christmas party last night. I'm sure it was the first of many. We also watched the Christmas parade. It ended up being a fun night.

Well, I guess I had better get back to my holiday decorating and cleaning. It is my turn to host the holiday festivities for my family...