Oh, I almost forgot...

...to mention what Jamie got me for Christmas. He did really good this year. I ended up guessing 2 of my gifts. It wasn't that hard to guess, though. I made it really clear what I wanted by slowly and loudly saying, "I'd really like ____ for Christmas..." But he went a step further, and got me something all on his own. I had a hunch that he'd bought something else. One afternoon while the girls were eating lunch, Lily and I were talking about some of the gifts under the tree. Lily said, "I bet you don't know what's in the big red box." I told her that I knew what it was. It was the mixer that I'd asked for. And I told her that I also knew about the dutch oven that Jamie had bought, as well. She said, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe you already know what you're getting." Then, hoping to get some information out of her, I said, "I even know about the other present your dad bought me...the little one." And she said with surprise, "I can't believe he told you about the necklace!!!"

Of course I knew nothing about it. And even though I managed to spoil the surprise, I was still impressed when Jamie gave it to me Christmas morning. He was excited to find it. He said, "It's a heart for each one of the kids." He's very thoughtful. I've had it one since he put it around my neck that morning. He did a good job this year! Just had to brag on my hubby.

And for those of you wondering, "Why didn't I get a card?" I didn't get a chance to sit down and put together Christmas cards this year. I think I managed to send out 5, which caused a problem. I sent one to an aunt because she was in the beginning of my address book, and didn't get the rest of the aunts a card, and everyone was asking, "Where's mine?" I guess I'll save the cards for next Christmas, but I still have pictures. I think I'll do a family newsletter, or something. Who knows? But here are the actual pictures that were suppose to be sent out.

The holidays are over...

Okay, I'm making myself sit down and post an update. It's been busy around my house since Thanksgiving. In an attempt to get a bit of rest after the holidays, my house is a mess and my Christmas tree and decorations are still up. I'll deal with that on another day, though. Right now I have a lot of pictures and stories to share.

After Thanksgiving, my brother, James, came back home. He was stationed in Alaska, serving in the Army. He's now working with Jamie, and being an uncle to the kids. We're so excited to have him back. I'm close to all of my siblings. We're spread out over the country now, so it's good to have James here.


We got the tree up and decorated in early December. The girls had a lot of fun. Last year I switched over to plastic ornaments so the kids could decorate the tree. When I was little, one of my favorite things was decorating the tree. I can still remember some of the handmade ornaments that we had. I want my kids to have the same memories. Each year I've taken them to the store to pick out a new ornament. And I also make sure that any decoration that was made by them finds it's place on the tree. After the last ornament was on the tree, I had to get a family picture in front of it.

Jamie took Lily hunting one weekend with his dad. This was her first time, and won't be the last. Lily had a blast. She said it was awesome. Her grandpa got a doe, and Jamie got 2 javelinas. But if Lily tells you the story, she calls them "hogalinas." They brought one back to have it mounted. Lily calls it her trophy. When it's ready, I don't plan on having it in the house, but I'm sure we can find a nice place for it in the garage. Lily got to experience everything that goes with hunting. She watched her grandpa gut the doe, and she says, "It was awesome! I got to help...I got to hold a leg." Since her siblings were home with me, I tried to make sure we did something special. Each night, we'd drive to a local house that had Christmas lights and music, and we'd watch the lights dance as we ate our dinner. One night I made all of them hot chocolate with marshmallows and whip cream. Here's a picture of them enjoying their treat.

And here is a picture of the kiddos dressed in their best on the Sunday before Christmas.

We had our Christmas with Jamie's family on Christmas Eve at our house. We ate way too much, and the kids were spoiled. Each one of them got a bath robe from the grandparents. All the girls look so sweet with them on. They had them on when they woke up Christmas morning.


Christmas morning was all about the little ones. I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays. I love the excitement of the kids, and all the family and festivities, but I hate the stress of buying gifts. And you wouldn't think it would be hard buying for your own kids, but last year it was. I had to make sure they all had the same amount of gifts, and that each one of them got something they'd really like. But this year, when the big toy magazine came, I gave each one of them a chance to circle what they liked (understanding that they may or may not get it). Then, I decided not to do individual gifts at all. I bought a bunch of gifts, wrapped them, and stuck them under the tree...no name tags or labels. We don't do the whole Santa thing, so to build their excitement and wonder, each day at breakfast I'd ask, "If you get to open the first gift, which one would you choose?" Each day they'd change their mind on which gift they'd open. They couldn't wait for Christmas morning. When the day finally came, I got breakfast going, and Jamie read the Christmas story to the kids, and then prayed. We ate and then started with the presents. We had them open gifts from youngest to oldest. I explained to them that everything was to be shared, so with each gift that was opened, they were all equally excited. This year was less stressful with the shopping, so I'm definitely going to do the same thing next Christmas.

My sister, Jessica, flew in from Washington, and my brother, Justin, flew in from New York. Jessica is stationed at Ft. Lewis, serving in the Army. Justin was serving there as well, but is now attending West Point. I love having my family in. We don't do anything special while together...basically just hang out, catch up with our lives, and pick on each other (as siblings do).

Jessica is always a big help when she's in town. She's great with the kids. She helps me with them, and helps so much with the house. She's one of my best friends. I love her very much. I couldn't ask for a better sister. She always puts herself last, and would literally give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. There's not enough "Jessica's" in the world, so I'm grateful that I have my very own. It's always tough when it comes time to take her back to the airport. I don't know when I'll see her again. She's scheduled to deploy in a few months. I hate that she has to go, but I rest easier knowing that she's one of the many people protecting us.

Justin has already served his time in Iraq. He's been at West Point since June 2008. I'm very proud of his accomplishments and the direction his life is going. Justin is so smart. I can only wish to have some of his brains. He's great with kids, which makes him a wonderful uncle. He loves to irritate Lily to get a reaction out of her, which isn't that difficult. He likes to call her "Billy." It drives her up the wall, but it's funny to watch them go back and forth.









They both were in town for two weeks. We got to spend a lot of time with our dad since they were here. We had a couple of big meals over at Dad's. The meal closest to New Years, we ate Mexican food. It's sort of tradition since we're originally from New Mexico. My dad made a bunch of tamales, enchiladas with homemade sauce, beans, rice, sopapillas...oh, I was hurting from all the food I ate. It was all so good.

We all had a good visit. I can't wait for all of us to get together again.

And to end this entry...Lily is very proud of the fact that she lost not 1, but 2 teeth. She was a bit uncertain when the first one was loose. But after that one fell out, and I gave her a buck for it, she couldn't wait to lose another. About 2 weeks later, she (all by herself) pulled out the second one, and was quick to tell me that I owed her another dollar. I have her teeth saved in a bag, and she hopes to tuck them somewhere in her trophy when it's ready.