Happy New Year!!!

From our family to yours...

We wish you a wonderful 2009

December 20...a Very Special Day

My mom insisted that she be here in Idaho for her birthday...Dec. 20. My dad was concerned that they might not be able to make the trip up here from Southern California in time, but was determined to do his best to make her wishes come true. Well, he did it! It wasn't the snow storms that we were having here that slowed them down though...they had their own share of snow right in their own town. It shut the freeway down and even just getting down their steep driveway was something of a challenge with all the snow. But they plowed on through and got here on Dec. 19th!

Here is a recap of how we spent the day celebrating...

Birthday girl

First, we all headed down to the river in Eagle to meet our photographer, Amanda, for a photo session. It was absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful there and she got some great shots!

After we left the river we headed over to The Pursuit, our church, to gather together the gifts that our family was to deliver to the Angel Tree families in Boise. We had the awesome opportunity to bring a little CHRISTmas to some families and to show them the love that Jesus has shown to us.

Afterwards, we went to the neatest candy store here in Boise. It is so old fashioned and we all found a candy that reminded us of our childhood.

Powell's Sweet Shop at Bown Crossing

Then we headed over to Kessler's Cafe. We didn't realize that they opened for dinner at 5:00pm...it was only 4:15. We peeked through the windows and the owner noticed us and ran to the door to greet us. Even though they weren't ready to open she invited us in and told us she would love to cook for us! It was like we were special guests at her home. She brought us some delicious Czechslovakian beer and wine to start our celebration. By the end of the meal we felt that we had made a new friend.

My mom and I both enjoyed these butternut raviolis

After dinner we headed over to the Botanical Gardens for the Winter Garden aGlow. What a beautiful evening filled with millions of lights (which were very hard to catch on film) bonfires, hot cocoa, carolers and even Santa with his reindeer!



Happy Birthday Mom....

we love you

and were so happy to celebrate your special day with you!

Tanner's Class Party / Jammie Day

Tanner and Mrs. Harrison Class gift exchange.

Each child brought in a wrapped school supply for the exchange...Mrs. Harrison read a story aloud to the class and each time the word "right" was read, they passed their gift to the right. Each time the word "left" was read they passed the gift to the left. The kids had a blast!

Working on his gingerbread house.

Me and T
The whole 3rd grade class

Chase

We had a great Christmas...I will post pictures soon. But I wanted to let you know what Chase learned today. He learned to DRIVE!!!!

Troy took him out to a subdivision (neighborhood) that is being built near us. It has all the streets paved and lights up, but no houses yet. The roads are covered with snow and ice and they thought it would be a fun place to go for a "drive". Actually Troy just wanted to go somewhere he could spin "donuts" and slide out in the snow. Well, I guess he decided that today would be a great day to start teaching Chase to drive. He is only 12, but at 14 he can get his license here. They were driving our little stick shift pickup. I would have probably started with teaching him in the automatic Tahoe or the Chevy 4x4, and on a clear day, but no... he learned in the stick shift...on ice and snow! He did great...didn't stall once!!! He learned to stop at stop signs and even did a 3 point turn.

I am proud of this kid!

A caroling we go...

We had a great time caroling in our neighborhood with friends... Me and Michelle

Tanner's teacher and husband

Our family

Tanner and his best bud Brady

Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday Mom!

We are so excited to have my parents here in Idaho with us this year for Christmas! We went to the river to have our photos taken....here is a sample. I can't wait wait to see them all tomorrow! Happy Birthday Mom!

A day in the life...

Waiting for the kids to get home from school.... here comes Chase!

And there's Tanner's bus... Coming through the back gate...and ready for some hot cocoa I'm sure!

He thinks he's sneaking up on me with that snowball...but I spotted him just in time!
He's lucky I let him in!!!
Time for a little homework...not much this week since it's almost Christmas vacation!
Took some photos of decorations we have around the house.
Our tree...
Sewed some pom pom fringe onto these dish towels...
Some dear friends came to my door the other day and sang me a Christmas carol...hidden behind their backs was this adorable Christmas sign! I LOVE IT!!!
The beginnings of our Christmas card displayThe kitchen...with that awesome sign!

View from Chase's roomChase's tree...View from Tanner's roomTanner's tree...

A lesson for us all...

I got my weekly newsletter from Hannah Keeley today and this is what she had to say...
Thanks Hannah for the reminder!
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Today I was out shopping and the cashier in my checkout line was evidently a bit on the grouchy side. She was complaining to her co-worker that she was tired, she hadn't had a break, and she wanted to go home. When I finally made it to the front of the line, I asked her, "Are you tired, honey?"She looked at me and said, "Like you would not believe!"I reached over to the cooler and said, "Let me get you something to drink, my treat." She was totally shocked; and it was beautiful to watch her demeanor completely change. She went from cranky and bothered, to renewed and inspired. And it wasn't the diet soda that did it. It was the refreshment of the unexpected.God loves the unexpected and that always seems to be where He shows up. You were not given this life to coast through it, taking the path of least resistance. Trust me, that's not going to lead you anyplace. The world expects you to conform, to fit in. But you're more than that. You were meant to live boldly. You were meant to go places. And you get there by doing the unexpected. Do you want life to be exciting? Do you want abundance? Then follow your gut. When you do the unexpected, then you open doors in your life for miracles to happen - to you and to everyone your life affects, which, I guarantee, is far more than you could imagine. Every life touches hundreds, thousands of other lives. And no good deed or act of kindness just sits lifeless. So be outrageous. Tip a waiter a huge amount. Give your coat to someone who's shivering in the cold. Take the kids on a nighttime picnic to gaze at the stars. Hug a stranger. There are opportunities all around you to bring light to a dark and lonely world. Seize those opportunities. Do the unexpected even when it leaves your palms sweaty and your mouth dry. Live boldly and watch miracles unfold right before your eyes.

I'm on the Lemon Annie Christmas Tour!

I love checking out various blogs and what a surprise it was to see our home on the Lemon Annie Christmas Tour! You can check out her blog too ... just head over to my blog list over there on the right hand side of this page (you might need to scroll down) and click on her name. I love the way she decorates and her style so I feel very blessed that she chose my home to post on her site. Thank you Annie!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

We woke up to it snowing this morning! I took these random pictures during my walk this morning through our neighborhood.