Merry Christmas (a little late!)

I hope that you and yours had a great one! We sure did. It was a busy week, as well, and I thought I would share some of the highlights.

Monday (12/22) was Kyle's 13th birthday. Mom and Dad had a great time torturing him by making him wait until Dad got home from work to open his present! I did take him out to lunch, though, so I think that helped him to pass the time! At his request, we had chimichangas for dinner, followed by German Chocolate cake and Butter Crunch ice cream (vanilla ice cream with crushed up butterfingers... yummy!). Finally he got to open his present...


An Atlanta Falcons hoodie! He loves it, and even slept in it that night!
His Aunt Cari, though, gave him the best gift... a birthday buddy! A sweet cousin, Eden, made her appearance into this world on his birthday.

On Tuesday, Megan invited her friend, Meg, over to make cookies with her. The girls and I always bake cookies a few days before Christmas, and it was fun to include a friend this year. They helped me make sugar cookie dough, then together the two of them rolled it out, cut it out, bake it, and decorated them! They were very creative, and we sent Meg home with a plate full.


After we finished up with the cookies, we headed to the hospital to see Eden. What a cutie she is! She and Kayti weighed the same at birth, and both had a head full of dark hair. We are hoping that Eden takes after Kayti and doesn't lose any of it!


On Wednesday morning I got up early and headed into town to pick up a few last minute things. When I got home the kids reminded me that we had not drawn names this year, and they were really wanting to do it this year. (For several years now we have let the kids draw each other's names and they get to go shopping for them. They get a $5 limit, but they really enjoy seeing what they can come up with for each other.) So, we drew names, and I made 2 more trips back into town... once with the boys to buy for the girls, then for the girls to get for their brothers (honestly, it just worked out this way!). Once we had all the gifts wrapped and under the tree, we just spent the afternoon hanging out. It was pretty peaceful, and I was certainly feeling in the Christmas mood. I think seeing my kids want to do something nice for each other really helped that feeling! Barry made it home early from work, and once it was pretty dark outside we headed out to go look at Christmas lights. We have been doing this as a family for a very long time, and it's always fun to see how creative people get! After looking at lights, we made our annual visit to some dear friends, the Sparkman's. Barry and Mike started working together shortly after Barry got home from his mission. They worked together for several years (we both moved to Nashville at the same time), and a great friendship grew between our families. We visit him and his parents every year on Christmas Eve. His mom is Italian, and she makes Italian Sausage for dinner every year. Barry usually makes himself sick with them, but it's a fun tradition!

Another Christmas Eve tradition that we have is that the kids get to open a present when we get home from visiting. It's always new pj's... and they always love them!!


As soon as they are snuggled safely in bed, Barry and I set out the stockings so Santa can fill them. He did a pretty good job this year!


(In case you are wondering about the cereal in the stockings... this is another one of our traditions. Everyone gets his or her own box of cereal that they eat for breakfast. This makes it easier on mom to take care of any cooking that needs to be done for dinner, and not have to worry about breakfast.)

Christmas morning usually goes like this in our house... the kids wake up early and usually sneak downstairs, even though they are not supposed to come out of their rooms until 7:00. (To keep them "occupied" in their rooms, Mrs. Claus leaves them a new book in their rooms, all wrapped up. This is supposed to work, but never does!) Usually when they can't stand it anymore, they come pounce on Daddy to plead with him to wake up! Once everyone is awake and piled in Mom and Dad's bed, we read the Christmas Story from the scriptures together. (This year was much the same, except for the fact that everyone wanted to sleep in this year! It was close to 8:30 before the kids came in our room.) Finally, everyone is allowed downstairs after Mom has the camera out and ready to go! One of the kids gets to be "Santa" and hand out the gifts. The kids each take turns opening one present, then it's on to Mom and Dad. I usually can't stand to wait to see Barry's expression over all his loot, so I make him go first. Long ago, when Kayti and Josh were little we decided that the kids would each get 3 gifts... that was how many Baby Jesus got, so that was how we came upon that number. They usually each get one big Santa gift, then a couple of smaller gifts from Mom and Dad. This year we got the family one big Santa gift, so we wrapped it up instead of just having it under the tree. And, to top it all off, they had to wait and open it last! It about killed them, but it was great!! Before I reveal what that gift was, here is a run-down on what else they got:
Kayti got a gold necklace with a "K" initial charm on it, and a new purse. Inside the purse was an iTunes gift card. Josh drew her name and got her a big bag of peanut M&M's (her favorite!) and a set of mechanical pencils (the girl goes through them like crazy!!)


Josh got a new mp3 player and an Auburn hoodie. Kayti drew his name and got him a movie.


Kyle got a Nike soccer bag, and a new sterling silver CTR ring (he lost his months ago, and picked this one out when we went to the bookstore in Atlanta. The middle spins, and he LOVES it!). Megan drew his name and got him a poster of the Falcon's QB.


Megan also got a new mp3 player with an "iFlops" (a cute stuffed pig that acts as an amplifier), and a portable art station. Kyle drew her name and got her earrings.


It finally came time for them to open the "biggie", and Barry made them all gather around it so they could all rip the paper:


They tore the top of the box off and...


So, what was inside this box?


An XBox 360! It came with two game and one controller, but Barry got them 3 more games and an extra controller. They were all beside themselves, and the boys both took turns jumping in their Daddy's lap to show their appreciation!

After breakfast and some "play time" we loaded up and headed out to see a movie. This is the first time that we have ever done that on Christmas Day. We went to see "Bedtime Stories" and loved it! It was a great family movie. After the movie we headed over to Granny and Grandpa Mayfield's to visit with them for a bit, then we all headed to the Callahan's for Christmas Dinner. It was great being their with family and we enjoyed the visit and yummy food.

On Friday morning Barry had to go into work, so the kids and I went to visit my family. We had a yummy brunch at the farm. We had fun visiting, eating and playing! We spent the night, but had to head home the next day so I could finish up my RS lesson for Sunday.
Megan is spending this week at the farm, and is loving it! She calls me every day to fill me in on all of her adventures! The weather has cooperated, and the kids have been exploring all over place.
The other kiddo's and I have been very lazy!! We have slept in, and stayed up late. I really feel guilty about it, though, because Barry has to head to work each morning. I have to go back to work on Friday, so I am trying not to get too used to sleeping in! Barry will have to work on New Year's Eve, which we hate, so we aren't doing anything huge. The kids and I will watch some movies, eat some treats, and watch the ball drop on TV. We will all sleep in on New Year's Day, and I plan on making a big breakfast around lunch time!
Kyle will be heading off Friday morning on a camp out with his Deacon's quorum. Kayti and Josh have a winter youth conference on Saturday, and I will go pick up Megan then. Starting this Sunday we will be switching time for Church to start, so we will have to get up bright and early. I guess that will get us back in the swing of things for the rest of the week when everyone heads back to school, and life gets back to "normal".

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and has a wonderful New Year!!

Happy Birthday, Kyle!

This cutie turned 13 last week. I now officially have 3 teenagers in the house... it's a good thing this one is so sweet!!

2nd Annual Blog Christmas Newsletter

Wow! It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. What a busy one it has been, too. Here is a brief update on our family:

Kayti

Kayti turned 16 this year, and she is currently a Junior in high school. She has learned to play the guitar this year, and has been serenading us with Chirstmas songs over the past few weeks. She loves Seminary, and is serving as the second counselor in her Laurel class presidency at church. She is such a helper around the house, and there are times that I don't know what I would do without her. For youth conference this year, our youth went on a pioneer trek, which Kayti loved! The youth had to either make or buy pioneer clothing, and Kayti helped to make her clothes. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, the trek had to be cut short by a day, but Kayti came away from it with an increased testimony of the Savior, and a better understanding of the hardships that the early pioneer saints experienced. On a slightly scary note (for me) she has started looking into colleges. I can't believe that she is old enough to start thinking about that yet!! She still wants to be a writer, but plans on being a secondary English teacher to acually support herself. She always has her nose stuck in a book (even at the beach!), and loves to write as well.

Josh

Josh just turned 15, and thinks he is 21! He will be getting his driving permit soon, and can't wait to get behind the wheel. He teases Kayti that he will be getting his license before she does (as she is too afraid to drive). He is a Freshman in high school now, and stands a good head taller than his mother! He took a drama class last year in school, and really fell in love with it. He played an old man in his class play, and did a great job. His teacher raved that he was the best one out of all the classes. He plans on taking more drama classes soon as his schedule allows it. Josh decided that he wanted to go back to playing soccer this year, and he did a great job! He was very upset when a bruised kidney kept him out of both regional and area championship games. He plays defender, and loves it. He also went on the pioneer trek with Kayti, although he did not enjoy it as much as Kayti did! I was proud of him for going, though. He loves spending time with his younger cousins, and he does a great job keeping them entertained. He went skiing for the first time at the beginning of the year with a group of YM from church. They drove to North Carolina, and set up camp in the snow. They actually did tent camping to keep the cost down. He loved to ski, although he did run into lots of people and trees! Thankfully he didn't break any bones.

Kyle

Kyle is 13, and loves life! He is a 7th grader now, and gets to ride to and from school with mom each day! He is a great student, and loves to learn and figure things out. He attended scout camp for the first time this year, and loved it! He was also able to attend Space Camp this past year with his 6th grade class. They went each day during school hours, which helped to keep the cost down. He was a mission specialist within his group, and loved the simulated mission to Mars. His highlight of the year, though, was going to the Georgia Dome, the home his favorite NFL team the Atlanta Falcons. He played soccer again this year, but as a midfielder instead of goalie. He liked playing midfield, but really prefers being in the goal. He has enjoyed being involved with his Deacon's quorum, and served as 2nd counselor for a short time. He has enjoyed being able to attend the temple during youth temple trips. He is the best big brother to Megan, and the two of them are best friends.

Megan

Megan is 11, and a little chatterbox! She is in the 6th grade, and the only one left in elementary school. She loves her teachers, and is doing well in school. In the early part of this year, she and her 2 best friends entered the school science fair, and won 3rd place. They were able to go on to the regional fair, and took 3rd place there as well. They were too young to go on to the state level, but they did a great job, and learned a lot. She loves to spend time with her Grandpa up on the farm. She is his right-hand girl, and helps him feed, milk, and herd the cows. She loves to ride his horse, too, and is great with all the animals. She played soccer this year, too, but decided to play on an all girls team instead of co-ed. She loved it, and played as goalie most of the year. Her team came in second in the region, thanks mostly to some fantastic saves on her part. She will be turning 12 in a few months, and can't wait to move on to YW. She is almost as tall as mom, and loves to help out in the kitchen.

Barry and I stay busy working and running kids around. Barry still works at the credit union, and I am still at the middle school. Barry works in the IT dept. as a supervisor, and I am the school secretary. I really enjoy my job and the people I work with. They make it fun to be there everyday. In August I was released as the Laurel Advisor and called to teach Relief Society. I still miss my girls, but I am growing to enjoy being in RS as well. We have enjoyed a few tips this year... some not as long as others, but fun nonetheless. We loved going back to Destin this past October, and spending time on the beach! Our day trip to Nashville this Christmas was a fun way to fill up on Holiday cheer! We have enjoyed visits from both Nicki this summer, and Kari and Rob this past Thanksgiving. We had a family wedding in July, and welcomed a new sister into the family. It's been a full and busy year; one blessed with health and happiness. And for that we are grateful. We are looking forward to 2009 and all that comes with it.

We hope you have had a good year! Please leave us a comment, and let us know how you are doing!!

Christmas at the Opry

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was feeling very grinchish a few weeks ago. I was really having a hard time getting in the Christmas spirit. I mentioned to Barry that I felt that we needed to make a "Christmas Road Trip": The Christmas Place in Gatlinburg (the ULTIMATE Christmas store!), then on to Nashville to visit the Opryland Hotel. He laughed off my suggestion, then surprised me a few days later and asked me if this weekend would be a good one for us to go! I of course said it would be and started planning!! I thought the trip from Gatlinburg to Nashville wouldn't be too long, but I was shocked when I saw that it was almost 4 hours! So, not wanting to spend the entire day in the car, I decided to just head to Nashville... spend some time at the Opry Mills Mall, then head over to the hotel at dark. We headed out around noon yesterday (which gave us time to sleep in, too!), and as we travelled further north we were surprised to see this:


SNOW!!!

We were so excited... even though there wasn't much of it, and we couldn't get out and play in it, it was fun to see.

Traffic around the mall and hotel was awful!! It took us probably 45 minutes to get through it all and finally find a parking space. But, thankfully, everyone stayed positive about it. Opry Mills Mall is HUGE! And it was packed, too. We walked through the mall, and went in several stores. Barry is not a shopper, and he HATES crowds, but through it all he was a trooper! Around 4:00 everyone was starving and tired. The lines at the food court were huge, so Barry had the fun idea of taking the kids to a movie; we could grab some snacks and sit and rest for a while. So, we headed to the theater in the mall and went to see Bolt! It was so cute, and it was just what everyone needed! We actually got in to be seated just as the earlier showing was ending, so we were able to get great seats. When the cleaning crew turned the lights on, I grabbed a quick picture of the kids:


After the movie we walked over to the hotel. When Barry and I lived in Nashville we went to the hotel every year to see the lights. We always went on a week night, which is probably the best time to go, because last night it was packed!! We haven't been in years, and they have made lots of changes since we were there last. We were completely lost, and a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of it! We were a bit disappointed as well... it just wasn't as we remembered it. The outside was brightly lit (every tree covered in lights) and the nativity was beautiful, but a lot of the inside attractions that we remembered are now behind closed doors, and you have to pay to see them. They were even charging for a "self-guided" tour. Oh well, what we did see was fun, and festive. We got home around 10:30 last night, and everyone quickly fell into bed and was fast asleep in no time... myself included! I plan on making the weekend complete by going to the concert at the Christmas Festival at the Stake Center tonight. That is always one of the highlights of the season for me.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from last night:


This is the front of the hotel


Trees outside


A couple of the nativity


The one Christmas tree we saw inside... and it was HUGE!


A few of the kids inside the hotel

Happy Birthday, Josh!!

Little Boys

Author: Unknown

Little boys come in all shapes and sizes,
Shy and adventurous, full of surprises,
With misshapen halos and mischievous grins,
Small dirty faces, and sweet, sticky chins.

They'll keep you so busy, and yet all the while
Nothing can brighten the world like their smile.
And no greater treasure has brought homes more joy
Than a curious, active, and lovable boy!

Yesterday this sweet boy turned 15. Where did the time go?

School Calendar

Just in case anyone is interested, MCS has posted it's adopted 2009-2010 calendar. It is on the website now.

It's not ideal, but it was the best of the three that they had to choose from. We will lose most of fall break, but we are keeping all of Thanksgiving Break, and we get out the week before Christmas instead of a couple of days before. Kids don't start back until Aug. 10, and they are out the end of May (the 25th). All in all, not bad, I guess.

Weekly Recap

We've had a fairly busy couple of weeks around our house this week... or maybe it was just me.

The kids and I went up to the farm on Wednesday, and we spent Thanksgiving this year with my family. My niece, Kari, and her husband, Rob, drove down from Minnesota to join us. We had a great time with them. This is the first time that Rob has been to Tennessee, and met all of the family here. He is a great addition to our family, and we really enjoyed having both of them here. Barry had to work Wednesday and Friday, so he drove up for the day on Thursday. We had great food and ate way too much!

Kari and I got up super early on Friday morning and headed out shopping! We found some great bagains, and actually enjoyed being out among the crowds.

The kids and I headed home that evening, and enjoyed just hanging out with Barry in front of the tv. We got up Saturday morning, cleaned the house, then put up the Christmas tree. I came down with a cold earlier in the week, and by Saturday afternoon I was a total beast. I felt awful, and my mood was even worse. I finally realized that I was ruining the afternoon for everyone, so I turned the whole tree over to the kids, and went upstairs and took a nap. When I got up, the tree was up, the lights and garland were on, and it was ready for the ornaments. I unpacked them and the kids put them on the tree. I finished up the "Charlie Brown" trees on the front porch, and we called our decorating done!

By Sunday I was exhausted. My cold had caught up with me, and I felt even worse than I had all week. I spent the day either in bed, or on the couch. I was still feeling like a big ole Grinch, but we watched some Christmas movies and that helped some. I made comfort food for dinner, tucked in early, and thankfully work up Monday morning feeling tons better.

On Tuesday morning our school bookkeeper and I headed to Birmingham to attend the Secretary and Bookkeeper Conference. This was our second year going, and we had a great time. We stayed in the Wynfrey Hotel in the Riverchase Galleria, where the conference took place. What more could a girl ask for... a luxary hotel connected to a fabulous mall?! We shopped, attended some great workshops, shopped, went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, shopped, attended some more great workshops, and then, oh yeah, we shopped!

We made it back home around 3:30 on Wednesday afternoon... just in time to run around picking up kids from after school activities, and getting them to their church activities for the night. 

Thursday and Friday were pretty busy days at work. I guess that is what happens when you are gone for 2 days... you spend the next 2 playing catch-up. Last night the boys spent the night with Uncle Dave, so the girls and I (on Daddy's suggestion) went out for a girls night. Megan begged to go see Twilight, Kayti was more than willing to jump on that, so we headed to the movies. I think that I actually enjoyed it more the second time around than the first. I wasn't so critical, and could just sit back and relax! Megan loved it, too.

Today has been a lazy day... catching up on laundry and a bit of light house cleaning. I got started with my Christmas cards, and I hope to have them finished soon. I plan on doing better this year than last with getting them actually sent out! With that being said, I guess I should go get busy working on them!