Here's my daughter, son and husband, along with neighbor Sarah making a snowman in our yard. You can see the finished product at the top of this page.
Here's our tree (and notice the lack of snow outside the window - my daughter was especially bummed at having a green Christmas this year). Envelopes always get put on the tree, while the gifts go under.
My son was playing peek-a-boo with someone across the room while waiting to open his gifts.
After the planned activities were over, my husband, brother-in-law Brian, niece Hannah and mother-in-law played dominoes together.
We spent time in the morning around the piano, singing Christmas carols - one of our favorite things to do as a family. My usually shy and quiet daughter can really belt out the tunes, when I'm playing and singing with her.
My husband received some t-shirts, long-johns, and a pair of jeans. The kids and I picked out this 15-in-1 game set for him also. My daughter especially was SO excited about this gift (partly because she really enjoys playing board games with Dad). I think this was the first time that she experienced the joy and excitement of giving gifts. She was seriously more excited to see Dad open this one gift than she was about opening her own gifts. I was so proud of her maturity. And yes, we've already played at least 4 of the 15 games in the 2 days since Dad opened the gift. 
I received a pair of slippers, a small frying pan (perfect for one egg), and numerous bath salts and lotions. My daughter also made me a special card. I also maintain that one of my Christmas presents was a gift from me to me: my free Kitchenaid Mixer.
Here is my daughter with her 4 gifts. The new bike was definitely her biggest and best gift. She's been riding a too-small kids bike for over a year so it was time for an upgrade. She is so excited to have a big bike now. She also received a set of 6-books (for her to read during our upcoming holiday travels), a package of socks, and a pottery wheel. She is fascinated with watching people make pottery so I knew this gift would be perfect for her, allowing her to make her own clay pottery at home.
Here's my daughter with her friend Kat, just prior to caroling.
My son did some coloring while waiting for the rest of the troop to show up.
We toured some neat local sites and the kids did a craft.
Even the siblings had a craft to do - my son is showing off the beaded candy-cane ornaments he helped make.
Here's my daughter with her craft - a stained-glass type bottle with yummy smelling bath salts. 
The Scouts had a gift exchange. Here's my daughter opening her gift.
My husband's mom and sisters and their families headed to our house one night last week to tackle the cookie decorating. Here you can see my daughter (in the green sweater) and cousin Racquel next to her. Fun times. 
And yummy too!
I have only one snapshot to share this week. On Sunday my son surprised me by choosing to wear this fancy outfit, tie and vest and all. Then he grabbed his blue sunglasses. He spent the day either wearing them as glasses or hanging them like this from his vest. What a cool dude he was... and so adorably cute!
We had portraits of my kids taken a few weeks ago but I hadn't posted these shots of my daughter yet. So here are a few of our favorites.
Growing up, as kids tend to do.
So pretty.
12/15/2011
It's been many months since I've posted an update, but I think it's time to give an end-of-the-year update on how I've done in inching closer to the goals I set in early 2011.
Spiritual Goal: Read through the Bible this year. Bible reading has gone very well. This is the easiest goal to measure and I'm right on track to finish the Bible on December 31st. Throughout the year, I've been as much as 3 weeks behind in my reading but I've been able to catch up and move forward again. I am seeking a good devotional book that I will work through in 2012, as I will take the year off of the one-year Bible plan. But this year, I'm so thankful that I did this and was regularly amazed at God's timing by having a particular day's reading apply specifically to something I was dealing with that day. I think that as long as we're reading God's Word each day, He will do His part to drive it home and press it into our hearts.
Physical Goal: Lower my cholesterol and lose weight. I have to admit that I've been on and off and on and off the working-out bandwagon so many times this year. Prior to my miscarriage in June, I had a regular work out routine and was well on my way to making this goal a reality. After the miscarriage, though, my motivation took a nose dive and it still hasn't recovered. Fatigue, depression and physically recovering from a miscarriage kept me from my treadmill... a lot. Over the last 6 months, there have been a couple days each month that I've stepped onto the treadmill and even then it's been for a moderate walk but not a fast-paced work out. All that said, however, I have lost weight and I have lowered my cholesterol in 2011! Probably not to the degree I would've if I'd stuck with my plan for the entire year, but my cholesterol has gone from "high risk / needs improving" to "desirable." There is still more improvement needed, but I'm greatly encouraged to see that exercise and portion control CAN make a difference. My ultimate goal is to avoid cholesterol medication, though my genetics are working against me. I lost over 10 pounds this year and have kept it off, despite the lack of regular exercise the last few months. I've also introduced healthier foods (like barley, more beans, more fruits) into my family's diet this year, which is not only helping me with my physical goals but helping us all be healthier overall. So 2011 was a good year, with measurable steps in the direction of this goal.
Character Goal: Exercise more self-control (fewer angry outbursts, reign in my tongue, etc). I have floundered a lot in this area as well. I've had good days and I've had epic-fail days. It's just going to take time to cultivate this fruit-of-the-Spirit in my life. I would say that I've become a bit more humble about it, though. I've had to apologize to my children A LOT this year and generally it didn't take but a few minutes for me to realize the hurt my words/anger have caused and to apologize for it. So perhaps I could say that I've made some progress in this area, at least in terms of being aware of my actions and the pain that it causes others when I don't exercise self-control. I've made some baby steps forward, but I have a long way to go to reach this goal.
"If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time." I decided in January that this was my year to at least aim at something and see how close I could get. I'm glad I set some goals and I'm encouraged to see progress towards those goals, even if it's been slow. At least I'm moving in the right direction and am not at a stand-still.
Now I'm pondering what my goals should be for 2012. Do you have any goals - either from this year or that you want to work on for next year?
Step two: Grab a few marbles and some washable paint.
12/12/2011
On Cyber Monday I was able to buy something I've been saving up for - this Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. Here's how I got it FOR FREE!
Regular price at Amazon.com is $279.99.
They ran a sale on Cyber Monday, marking it down to $259.99. This item qualified for Super Saver shipping, which means shipping was free.
I had saved up enough Amazon.com gift cards, which I'd earned through Swagbucks to pay the balance. I had been saving for over a year, for such a time as this, knowing that this mixer would eventually go on sale and eventually be mine!
There was also a $50 rebate offer on this model.
In addition, they were giving away a $24 magazine subscription that could be opted-out of, which I did, thus refunding the $24 in cash.
You can see how I not only got the mixer for no cost out-of-pocket but also am receiving back $74!
So I now have a mixer that I'm using almost daily... and loving! And it cost me nothing! In fact, it is almost as if I was paid money to take the mixer off Amazon's hands! You can see why some people call this "shoplifting with permission." I did nothing wrong - just used the deals, rebates and gift cards to turn the purchase of a mixer into a money-making prospect!
This qualifies as my best deal of 2011. Yeah for deals!
This is my daughter standing by some of our radish experiments - a school science project. We have radishes in different environments (with vinegar, salt water or regular water to see which grow best), radishes in small foil planters (seeing how they bend towards the sunlight, how they respond to overcrowding, etc), and some radishes growing in the homemade greenhouse (made with a glass jar of water, some paper towels and an empty orange juice box. Lots of fun during this 4-week study... and plenty of learning took place too!
Here he is posing with a few of his birthday presents.
And some of his 4-year portraits.
He looks so much like his daddy.
Happy Birthday, my son! I'm so glad to be your mama!
For those of you who love a walk down memory lane as much as I do...
