Jingle Bells....

Well up on the roof their arose such a clatter... seriously I'm glad Santa didn't come to our house this year because if he had there would have been no room under our tree for his gifts. I think we may have went a little overboard with gifts, books, and games for Joe this year. Not to mention clothes. And do you know what his favorite thing was??? The gift wrap paper. I guess the joke is on me. Next year I'll just buy him a few rolls of paper.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve here at the house with all of my family plus Larry's parents, Uncle Brian and his sister Mary and her family. Plus a special appearance by my wonderful niece, Sarah and my great-niece Grace. Sarah, Grace and Joe made a wonderful gingerbread house for Grace's mom, Beth.

We all had a few appetizers, and then a dinner of roast beef, roast pork, roasted carrots, and roast potatoes. And some very overdone broccoli - Yuck! All in all it was very nice.

The next morning we awoke and opened our gifts and then headed over to Larry's folks for Christmas brunch. Grammi and Pop-pop put on a very good spread and as usual went way over our $20 gift limit. Oh well, how are we supposed to control the parents I ask ya.

We really missed seeing Santa this year - (hint hint Pop Pop) and hope he'll make an appearance next year.

All in all we had wondeful holiday celebrations and enjoyed spending the time with all our family.

It's Tulsa time!

My cousin Michelle (aka. Missy) came to visit for a few days before Christmas all the way from the great state of Oklahoma. We all had a very nice visit and Michelle kicked my butt in gear and got me started baking. We made Grandma Hill's famous finnish bread, Nissou, and it was a big hit with mom and my in-laws. Mom and I even sent a loaf in the mail to Uncle Jake and Uncle Armas. As usual Uncle Armas toasted his up and had it with a little butter - YUMMY!

Joe fell in love with Michelle. I think he's officially dubbed her his new girlfriend as he was constantly climbing in her lap and giving her tons of head butts (his way of giving kisses). I think the feeling was mutual as she was giving as much love as she was getting.

Our visit was way to short, only four days, but memorable. Missy thanks for making the trip. It was one of the highlights of our year. We love ya.

Happy Holidays

Larry, Joe, Mom and I would like to wish each and every one of you a joyous holiday and a New Year filled with love, laughter, and many adventures. We love you all.

The Griswalds Have NOTHING On Us

I have to give BIG kudo's to my wonderful hubby for taking the time to "glorify" our home with his good holiday cheer. Not to mention his ability every year to weazel additional decorations for our yard away from his mom and dad's holiday stash.

Doesn't it look great? I'd venture to say if money were no object, and electricity was free, he'd have our house and yard covered in lights inch by inch until sunglasses would be required once the sun actually went down for the day.

To Kill A Christmas Tree

Well, I've been a little low on energy lately, therefore no new posts of late. I did however muster up enough get up and go in order to go out and kill a Christmas tree - or rather watch Larry kill a tree. We set out last weekend to find the perfect tree (read at least 7 feet tall and almost as wide) at Davis Ranch which boasts 50,000 trees to choose from for the bargain price of $35. We started off the day with hot cocoa while we waited for Larry's brother and wife, Chuck and Kelli, to join us. Upon their arrival we were off and searching.


Joe got down on all fours at times to investigate and to find the perfect tree while Larry stood on tippy toe to try to find the biggest one - or at least one a few inches taller than whatever his brother might find. In the end they both got the huge trees that they craved and Kelli and I got quite a few laughs out of their antics.


All in all it was the perfect way to begin our holiday celebrations.