The Christmas-ish Post...

You wanna know the best thing I got this year for Christmas - well here it is...

• My gorgeous husband took TWO WEEKS OFF!  Yes, he still checked his phone, but not every two seconds like usual and he didn't even bring his ear piece.  Yes, he worried and fretted about customers calling and not leaving messages.   But a little bit less that usual so I was delighted - that man needs a break.
• We drove to Kennewick, then Cascade, then back to Kennewick, then back home without a hitch.  The weather was perfect, the worst roads we found our entire trip were pulling into our own subdivision.  The truck did perfect.  And the kids were - okay, I was going to say angels, but we've all traveled with kids right?  Angels might be too strong an endearment but they were little troopers!  
• I got to see my parents, my sisters, my brother, my brother in laws, my nieces & nephews, Brandon's parents, my sister in laws, a future sister in law and a possible future brother in law (wink wink)... so the shorter version would have been that I got to see all the people that I so dearly love all in the same week.  It was fabulous.  My cup runneth all over the place, for petes sake it was a flood!  :)  (Actually we literally had a flood, before we left we noticed that our upstairs neighbors washer wasn't draining properly - it was draining into our place... great fun that was :) but that wasn't what I was referring to!  )  I miss my family so much.  They are so cool.  Really.  My sisters & sister in laws are the essence of cool, my brother is the reason they invented cool.  I love that each of these people hold qualities that I make the little girl in me say, "When I grow up, I wanna be just like_______!"  My mom and dad drove 2,000 miles AGAIN.  Just to see us! 
• Business is booming.  While we were at Brandon's parents house, Brandon closed a deal (okay, deal not TOTALLY closed but about 99%, pretty much closed...) a HUGE deal for work, which included hiring the first employee, and buying a second work truck and come spring will also lead to employee #2.

 What I'm tryin' to say here, is that it was perfect.  Exactly what Christmas is for me - family, and more importantly, a family centered around Christ.

Side note - Eliza, I'm pretty sure we all clipped your pictures - we're a bunch of cleptos... 

Andy

Please try your hardest to ignore Dillon's 'smile' Andy looks too cute. Maybe I'll have to edit this picture somehow - for now, just look at Andy :)





Sweet little Anderson has every single person in this family wrapped around his tiny baby toe - not little finger, that's too large to illustrate our level of commitment - thus, his miniaturized, tiny, littlest baby toe.

Halloweeeeeeeeen.

Where else do you find Optimus Prime hanging out with a land loving mermaid and an arm swinging, finger sucking and mostly sleeping teddy bear?

When I Was Young

I guess you could say I was, and still am, a bit close minded as to my path in life. All I've ever wanted as long as I can remember was to be a wife and mother. For a few years I would have been willing to do without the husband part and used to day dream about someone leaving a baby on my doorstep - I daydreamed every imaginable scenario CONSTANTLY. Other girls doodled boys names. I went a step farther writing notes to my imaginary children's teachers excusing them for a myriad of different reasons or notes home from the teachers that I had to sign and of course I would sign my name with the boy of the minute's last name. Little did I know one of the papers sent home for me to sign would be a 'ticket' from my sons teacher saying he'd said a bad word at school. WHAT!?!?!?! The bad word you ask? Sexy. :) He didn't use it in a sentence or direct it to a person (though there is a girl in his class that wouldn't mind in the least if it were to her:) ) Apparently he just repeated it over and over.

A Couponing Post

I know, I know. I haven't posted in ages and then it's a coupon post! Sorry, I couldn't help it!

Safeway
Transaction 1
6 Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaners
Paid: $10.42 OOP
Recieved: $11 in catalinas

Transaction 2
15 Saltine Crackers
4 Popcorn
1 Scooby Doo Mac & Cheese (Kenzie begged and begged... :))
2 V8 juice
3 Disney Princesses Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup
Paid: $5 catalina & 7 cents OOP... Still have $6 in catalinas

Rite Aid $18.06
Paid with +UP rewards from last weeks Johnson & Johnsons soap sale, so basically free diapers. Still have $14 in +UP rewards... PLUS, I will be getting a $10 check in the mail! Oh the happiness of coupons. How could I live without it??? Yes, I 'bought' free diapers today, and I'm gonna do it again!
Oh, the pencil sharpener was free :) I found it in the parking lot outside of Rite Aid (don't worry, I asked a lady near walking away if it was hers first :))

Don't hold your breath but I WILL start blogging again, someday. Anderson is too cute not to :) Maybe I'll start tomorrow, maybe in 10 years when my life gets a little less hectic! Probably my life will always be hectic because I like it that way, but that's why you aren't holding your breath!