Skip to main content

Christmas!

By
We were so blessed this year! Honestly there's no other way to describe it. We're usually worried and afraid money-wise each December but this month, even with some bigger bills showing up, we were blessed with several unexpected opportunities for extra income. Of course much of those opportunities came from family. We're so blessed to have such an amazing family. 

Christmas Eve I could hardly sleep, I was so excited for you, Kaybree! This year you finally began to grasp who Santa Claus is. We didn't go see him this year (we saw the Suns Santa Gorilla--which you LOVED and Eisley HATED) and I think you were pretty disappointed by that. But Christmas morning as soon as I was ready your dad ran into your room to wake you up. This turned out to be more difficult than we imagined. He changed your diaper and told you Santa had come and then he ran out of the room to show you all your gifts--and you climbed back into bed and pulled a blanket over your head. 

Once we got you up you were very excited! We got you some slippers and a pair of dress up princess shoes. Santa stuffed your stocking with finger paint for the bath tub and bubble gum. Then we went outside for the big gifts!

Katie and Robert had a princess bike in their garage that was not being used by their boys (for obvious reasons) so they gave it to us for free. I had to run outside Christmas morning to capture your face when you saw it.







You wanted to get on the bike right away!


Then came the trampoline! We were able to get a nice 14 foot trampoline for you girls because of your modelling this year!


Yeah, you like it.


It was a little slippery in the Minnie slippers!

Daddy was your favorite on Christmas. He was willing to jump with you and help you ride your bike. I got a few photos and ran inside. It was cold!

Daddy insisted on a traditional picture with all your presents. Of course this is only a tiny portion of your presents. Your grandmas SPOILED you! You got SOOOO many cute outfits from Grandma Vance and some really fun dress up clothes from Grandma Duck. 



Sorry Eisley, this Christmas you were more interested in food than presents and Santa was still a scary guy in red to you. Grandma Duck did get you this awesome little car (It's Frozen themed so it plays some music from Frozen and makes all sorts of annoying noises). Kaybree rode it EVERYWHERE Christmas night but the next morning she did let you have a turn. She even helped push you along in it. So cute!

Honestly girls, we are so blessed. I can't thank my Heavenly Father enough for the good jobs we have, the amazing family we have and all that we are blessed with. We have a warm home, a close family and we're comfortable. I'm so grateful for all the help we receive on a daily basis from family, friends and Heavenly Father. 

This Christmas we did play up Santa a little bit. I strived to help you, Kaybree, understand that on Christmas we get gifts and we give gifts. I wanted you to be excited. You melted my heart when after you had opened your stocking and seen your trampoline you said "I want to say Thank you to Santa Claus." I hope as you grow you continue to be so grateful. I hope in the future we can better explain the true meaning of the season and help you get excited about helping others. My favorite part of the season is all the joy. I love making people happy and spending time with my family. I love it and I love you! Merry Christmas!

Also--this happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEOWPnEKX8E

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Work stuff

By
 My job is difficult to describe to people outside of non-profits so I usually don't. I say I'm a Grant Writer--because I am, but to some people that means a lot and to others it means nothing. I don't get too many people who are interested. To be truthful, I do think grant writing is a spectacular professional that takes a lot of skill. Not only do you have to be an excellent writer, able to tell the stories of the organization in a way that is interesting and inspiring, but you also have to be savvy enough to find your way around hundreds of different online portals (none of which are user friendly) and be diligent enough to meet strict deadlines and compile loads and loads of paperwork. At my organization we submit about 15-30 applications every month and every single application has different requirements and expectations in order to receive funding. The work doesn't stop when an application is turned in. Once we get that funding it adds another to-do to our list, m...
Post a Comment
Read more

I did it!

By
Today, I achieved a great professional achievement. I got my CFRE. It’s a big deal.  Brendon is out of town so I took the girls to get sushi to celebrate. This was our conversation on the way home.  *Passed by a Husband and Wife Law Team billboard Eisley: That dude wears suspenders. I would not call them first. I would call Jonathan first.  Me: I would call Brother Briggs first because he’s a criminal defense lawyer. Jon does HOA law which would not be very useful. Eisley: Ooo yeah. I feel like I’m going to be that kid some day. I’d call Brittany because she has experience, then Bro Briggs.  Me: You’re going to be the one to call to hide a body?  Eisley: Yeah. I’ll probably already be hiding one. I feel like I’m the Brittany, Aspen is Brodie, Kaybree is Dad.  Kaybree: Hmmm, I’m not sure. Aspen—do you like girls? Aspen: What? Kaybree: Just, would you like to marry a girl one day? Aspen: No.  Eisley: If you did, we would love her.  And then we all l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tearful moments

By
In January I cried through my appointments with my oncology doctor and surgeons. The whole idea of having a preventative mastectomy was overwhelming.  I made my peace with it. I made a plan for myself. Work slows down near the end of the year and we get all sorts of holidays so I thought if I could take my time off then, I would be fine. I made it through two whole doctor's appointments with no tears and no fear, because I had a plan, and then today that was messed up. My doctor told me reconstruction could take up to three months--which means I can't do the surgery when I originally planned if I want to get it all done in one calendar year (for insurance purposes). She suggested moving it up to August. That is next month. And if we do the surgery in August that means our family trip we have planned for October--it's a no. Camping trip I planned for September? Probably not. And honestly that all makes me more upset than anything. And suddenly I'm crying again.  I want t...
Post a Comment
Read more