A Trip To The Mall

We went to the mall a few weeks ago and had a total blast. In fact we had so much fun that we were late for ballet. We just walked around and window shopped. We let the girls play on the toys and as you can tell they had a lot of fun. At one point a little boy who was probably a year older then Arayah became obsessed with her. He followed her around hugging, pulling on her shirt, holding her hand and trying to lead her around. Arayah dealt with it really well and didn't even seem to mind when he was pulling on her shirt. We tried to discourage him from kissing her several times ( mainly for the germ factor). When it was time for the little boy ( Aiden) to go his mom came over and grabbed his hand, he started pulling and crying and reaching for Arayah at one point he got free ran over to Arayah and pinched one cheek and scratched the other to the point of bleeding. The parents apologized and said, they had no idea what had gotten into him. After Arayah was feeling better and off playing again, Ryan said, " I can't believe it's started already".

Arayah feels like she has the weight of uh.... tree on her shoulders.

Cute little Christmas Elf's.

The girls love playing with shaving cream but, this time they went a little overboard. They smelled really good though.

Arayah played with these toys for an hour all by herself. Yay!

Sweetness!

Arayah the punk.

Gingerbread House ???

Besides running to the store and getting there and then realizing he didn't have his wallet, running home to grab that and then going back to the store and returning home just to find out Jamie and I remembered some more things we needed. This pic of Ryan holding the knife is the only part he was interested in.

P.S. Jamie ended up going back to the store again later in her pajamas and my slippers, frosting covered and all.

This is what happens to people who fall a sleep around Jamie and Taneisha while they are on a sugar high!

It took me two and half hours the next morning to clean the mess up.

It all started a long, long, long time ago ( or Sept. 2007) . When two close friends stood staring at the gingerbread house display at the county fair. They thought to themselves and each other, "We should make a gingerbread house this year they look like so much fun, and of course we could make ours look much nicer". Now you can see where there downfall began.

Well, four trips to the store, plenty of mistakes , several Christmas songs and a couple Christmas movies later we decided to quit for the night or I should say morning seeing as it was 3:30a.m. . I finished the next day and have to say that it was a total blast, mistakes and all. Of course they pretty much look crappy and we will both have a new found appreciation for the gingerbread house display. But it was totally worth all the laughs and meltdowns we had. We are already planning our next adventure

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!

These look a lot darker then they did on my camera and you can't tell it was snowing really hard when I took them. Oh, well they still turned out ok.

Thankful

I have been feeling a little ungrateful lately. Mostly because Ryan is working so much and we are making so much less money. I thought sticking to a budget was hard but, I had no idea how much harder it is to not have enough money to make a budget. On the other hand I have been forced to slow down and am getting to know my kids even better. Anyway, I have been thinking of things I am thankful for lately to try and change my terrible attitude. I thought I would write a few down.

1. I am thankful that God is always teaching me even though it is sometimes hard.

2. I am thankful for a wonderful husband. He is teaching me how to really love others. He seems to just love people so easily.

3. I am thankful that my one year old ( currently being called our little Christmas elf) always makes me smile .

4. Only moms of four year old will understand this one. I am thankful that Victoria wrote her name all by herself even though I was totally slacking on working with her.

5. I am thankful for all the kind things Bella does everyday. Even though most days they go unnoticed. Like always making her baby sister happy when she is crying even if Bella has to hurt herself to do it.

6. I am thankful for having such good friends. I know good friends are hard to find and we sometimes take ours for granted. I am thankful that as friends we can learn and grow together.

7. I am thankful that our friends are also good parents so that my kids will have good friends.

8. I am thankful for my dog. I know a lot people won't understand this one. But, my dog makes us all laugh and we have had fun learning about another one of Gods creation. Believe me we still have a lot to learn.

9. I am thankful for a big back yard. We definitely get our use out of it.

10. I am thankful for babies, all babies in general. You just cannot look at or hold a baby and stay in a bad mood. Yes, even if the baby is crying they are just too precious. No, this does not mean I am pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant.

This will have to continue on a later date. Jamie and I are going to attempt making a gingerbread house. Hmm everyone should make a thankful list it really does make you feel grateful. :-)

Timothy, our godson is not only adorable, smart and funny but he is also a superhero. Honestly what else could we ask for.

The Tucker and Hathaway kids.

Oh, and just in case you don't keep up with the latest trends, the kitchen is the new bedroom.

The bedroom is the new workout room... wait wasn't it always.

The kids having way too much fun jumping on our bed. Timothy looks like he just got caught.

Ryan took some really cool pictures of his knife. Which is probably why it sold so fast. I thought Matthew would enjoy seeing some of the pics.

Bella wearing her new coat that Ryan picked out. He did a really good job,it totally fits Bella.

Giving us her fake smile.

Classic Bella!