Doesn't that just sound so futuristic??? Especially when you say it "20-10". Wow. I have been mulling over 2009 and thinking about 2010 for several days now. The kids and I returned from our week long journey yesterday (Saturday) at 4:30p (Eastern). Our bodies had adjusted to Central time, and I know it will take many days to get them back to our normal. So much to blog about! We are glad to have gotten home where we still have a day of rest before school resumes tomorrow. I wish the holiday break was 3 weeks. It was only 2. That just doesn't seem long enough! Asher asked me as I was tucking him in last night if he had school the next day, I told him no he got one more day of vacation before starting back on Monday. He was extremely happy to hear that! Being gone and off schedule we all barely could remember what day was what, even me. Last post was on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning came and Ash woke us excitedly saying Santa had came and literally jumping up and down with excitement. He got a suction cup crossbow, Lionel Train Set and a remote control F150 and car, a flying remote helicopter, bakugans, DS games, gloves, hot wheel stunt track, laser tag, star wars figure. Allie's big gift was a dollhouse and she also got several dress up outfits and new kitchen things, dora playsets, video game, tea set. Once she opened the dollhouse packages that were inside the dollhouse, she didn't want to open any more gifts! She kept saying, "I need my peoples open" and "my peoples need to go to the bathroom" HAHAHA. The kids also got several new DVD movies which came in handy on the long drives we had!
This was one of her dress up outfits she stayed in all day and I've already helped her into this morning.
John was on call Christmas Day and weekend, and shortly after the gifts were opened he had to go in to work for an epidural. The kids and I cleaned up all the wrapping paper and boxes and they played while I started packing for our trip. I actually got all our packing done by 3p and had most of the car loaded. I was debating leaving that afternoon instead of the next morning but John talked me out of it. I am glad it worked out that way though as we spent the evening making caramels and packaging them up for family gifts. We had put Allie to bed early since she never napped and Ash helped to wrap up the 200 caramels and get them in the bags. He kept saying how much fun it was to do this as a family, and John was telling him stories of how Grandmother used to make caramels every Christmas and send them and how much he enjoyed receiving her homemade candies, even as young as Asher. Good family memories and a new tradition we started! :) Saturday morning I got up at 6a and was out of the house at 7a, right on schedule. The kids, Jill, and I drove to Roanoke, IL, about a 6 1/2 hour drive, to the farm where we were dropping Jill off to be bred to Dubb. I enjoyed meeting the breeders and getting a tour (in a snowstorm no less, which it snowed on us more than half the drive) and got Jill all settled. We then picked up lunch and headed towards Lincoln where Grandmother is, about an hour and a half drive. Mimi and Papa (John's parents) had arrived at Grandmother's shortly before we did. It was still snowing like crazy! We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening there. Mimi and Papa had brought Grandmother several presents and we all enjoyed watching her open them.
Allie was drawn to the piano like a magnet, as usual! We really hope either she or Asher can play like Mimi one day!
Later the kids and I headed to a local hotel for the night. We got up the next morning, Sunday, and were on our way South by 8:30. It had snowed all night long and there had to have been 4 inches on the ground. It was also 21 degrees! It was slow going for the first couple of hours as the roads were clear in some places and not in others. Finally south of St Louis the snow stopped and the roads were dry. We made it to Hot Springs at 7p and checked into our hotel. The next day, Monday, we headed over to my parents house after breakfast. The kids were so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa and settled right in to play. Allie even took a nap in their bed (all 3 days actually!!!) and we pored over scrapbooks, shopped and just got caught up. Ash and Grandpa spent several hours outside (each day) and I was very thankful for no rain. They are both outdoor guys!!! They built a bonfire and played "Survivorman", one of Asher's favorite shows. My sisters arrived into town Monday afternoon. My one sis Shannon that lives in Georgia I haven't seen in 3 years, since I was pregnant with Allison!!! Her oldest, my niece Samantha, came with her with her little girl who is a year younger than Allie. None of us had met little Hannah so that was really special. My sis also brought her youngest who is 11. My other sis lives in Arkansas a couple of hours from my folks. She also has 3 kids. The oldest is in college and popped in several times over the next few days with his girlfriend (whose name is also Stephanie!). Her other two children are 13 and 11. The youngest is a boy same as Shannon's 11 year old, and those two were attached at the hip. Thankfully they humored Asher some of the time so he could run with them. We all stayed at the same hotel and after leaving my parents still had time together at the pool and in the rooms visiting. I soaked up every minute! We stayed up way too late every night, but it was worth it!!! Tuesday afternoon during Allie's naptime Grandma, Asher and I put together this Gingerbread House we had brought from home. The roof kept sliding off but we had fun!
Wednesday evening the kids and I were able to visit with the Hooks, a special family who we're close to. Mr Hooks drove John's bus and was his teacher in High School! They have hunted and fished and kept in touch all these (many) years later. They are very dear to us and we see them every time we go to Hot Springs.
Thursday morning arrived way too quickly. We all checked out of the hotel and made our way to my oldest brother's (Jon) house, in the Little Rock area. My parents came up and my other brother Jason and a brother in law too. Jason had brought his good camera and took lots of photos for us. I wish I had worn red but honestly I wasn't even thinking about photos that morning. He did a fantastic job and had his tripod all set up and a cool remote clicker thing. The whole family minus one grandchild, two son-in-laws, and one sis-in-law and plus one girlfriend.
The sibs.
Parents and sibs.
Jon's outside is a kid's dream! They have 20 acres with riding trails for the 4 wheeler. Also a cool bonfire area and playground and trampoline! That's Jon pushing Allie. He and his wife have two little ones, a girl (4) and boy (2).
Confused yet with all the family??? Ash even was asking me one evening at the hotel who belonged to whom and how they were related to us. It does take awhile to master. Haha. And I LOVE this photo of Asher with my dad. Thanks again Jas for being the photographer for us!
The grandkids and Dad shot off bottlerockets and did sparklers and we prolonged our visit as much as we could! Us girls were all bawling by the time we had to say goodbye. It is so hard!!! We had such a wonderful visit with each other and the folks and I truly enjoyed every minute of it!!!! I love our life in Kentucky, but oh to live close to my family again. That's all I'm saying or I'll be in tears! I wanted to meet up with several old friends but there just wasn't enough TIME!!! After leaving Jon's house, the kids and I drove the 2 1/2 hours to Mimi and Papa's near Memphis. We stayed there on Friday, New Year's Day, just relaxing. Saturday morning we drove on home! We made it in 7 1/2 hours which I think is a new personal record. It's great to be home, I'm still a little sad that our trip is over with, but there's lots of work to be done however with laundry, unpacking, decorations put away, and cleaning. I am hoping to get back into my normal routine this week! To wrap up 2009 ~ I didn't meet every goal I had set regarding scrapbooking, but I met my most important one which was to finally finish 2007 for both kids. I felt like I honored my One Little Words pretty good! For 2010 I plan to change up my OLW system. I am going to have a word for each season. So for Winter 2010 my word is RESOLVE. I have added it to my sidebar along with a scripture and quote: WINTER 2010 : RESOLVE ~being resolute ~make clearly visible ~find the solution ~understand the meaning of ~reach a decision ~settle conclusively Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. ~Psalm 17:3 "Where there is a will there is a way," is an old and true saying. He who resolves upon doing a thing, by that very resolution often scales the barriers to it, and secures its achievement. To think we are able, is almost to be so... ~Samuel Smiles I thought long about my first OLW for 2010. I feel good about this one, it feels right. I have lots of my list that I want to RESOLVE. And I feel confident I will.
This was one of her dress up outfits she stayed in all day and I've already helped her into this morning. 
John was on call Christmas Day and weekend, and shortly after the gifts were opened he had to go in to work for an epidural. The kids and I cleaned up all the wrapping paper and boxes and they played while I started packing for our trip. I actually got all our packing done by 3p and had most of the car loaded. I was debating leaving that afternoon instead of the next morning but John talked me out of it. I am glad it worked out that way though as we spent the evening making caramels and packaging them up for family gifts. We had put Allie to bed early since she never napped and Ash helped to wrap up the 200 caramels and get them in the bags. He kept saying how much fun it was to do this as a family, and John was telling him stories of how Grandmother used to make caramels every Christmas and send them and how much he enjoyed receiving her homemade candies, even as young as Asher. Good family memories and a new tradition we started! :) Saturday morning I got up at 6a and was out of the house at 7a, right on schedule. The kids, Jill, and I drove to Roanoke, IL, about a 6 1/2 hour drive, to the farm where we were dropping Jill off to be bred to Dubb. I enjoyed meeting the breeders and getting a tour (in a snowstorm no less, which it snowed on us more than half the drive) and got Jill all settled. We then picked up lunch and headed towards Lincoln where Grandmother is, about an hour and a half drive. Mimi and Papa (John's parents) had arrived at Grandmother's shortly before we did. It was still snowing like crazy! We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening there. Mimi and Papa had brought Grandmother several presents and we all enjoyed watching her open them. 
Allie was drawn to the piano like a magnet, as usual! We really hope either she or Asher can play like Mimi one day! 
Later the kids and I headed to a local hotel for the night. We got up the next morning, Sunday, and were on our way South by 8:30. It had snowed all night long and there had to have been 4 inches on the ground. It was also 21 degrees! It was slow going for the first couple of hours as the roads were clear in some places and not in others. Finally south of St Louis the snow stopped and the roads were dry. We made it to Hot Springs at 7p and checked into our hotel. The next day, Monday, we headed over to my parents house after breakfast. The kids were so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa and settled right in to play. Allie even took a nap in their bed (all 3 days actually!!!) and we pored over scrapbooks, shopped and just got caught up. Ash and Grandpa spent several hours outside (each day) and I was very thankful for no rain. They are both outdoor guys!!! They built a bonfire and played "Survivorman", one of Asher's favorite shows. My sisters arrived into town Monday afternoon. My one sis Shannon that lives in Georgia I haven't seen in 3 years, since I was pregnant with Allison!!! Her oldest, my niece Samantha, came with her with her little girl who is a year younger than Allie. None of us had met little Hannah so that was really special. My sis also brought her youngest who is 11. My other sis lives in Arkansas a couple of hours from my folks. She also has 3 kids. The oldest is in college and popped in several times over the next few days with his girlfriend (whose name is also Stephanie!). Her other two children are 13 and 11. The youngest is a boy same as Shannon's 11 year old, and those two were attached at the hip. Thankfully they humored Asher some of the time so he could run with them. We all stayed at the same hotel and after leaving my parents still had time together at the pool and in the rooms visiting. I soaked up every minute! We stayed up way too late every night, but it was worth it!!! Tuesday afternoon during Allie's naptime Grandma, Asher and I put together this Gingerbread House we had brought from home. The roof kept sliding off but we had fun! 
Wednesday evening the kids and I were able to visit with the Hooks, a special family who we're close to. Mr Hooks drove John's bus and was his teacher in High School! They have hunted and fished and kept in touch all these (many) years later. They are very dear to us and we see them every time we go to Hot Springs. 
Thursday morning arrived way too quickly. We all checked out of the hotel and made our way to my oldest brother's (Jon) house, in the Little Rock area. My parents came up and my other brother Jason and a brother in law too. Jason had brought his good camera and took lots of photos for us. I wish I had worn red but honestly I wasn't even thinking about photos that morning. He did a fantastic job and had his tripod all set up and a cool remote clicker thing. The whole family minus one grandchild, two son-in-laws, and one sis-in-law and plus one girlfriend. 
The sibs. 
Parents and sibs. 
Jon's outside is a kid's dream! They have 20 acres with riding trails for the 4 wheeler. Also a cool bonfire area and playground and trampoline! That's Jon pushing Allie. He and his wife have two little ones, a girl (4) and boy (2). 
Confused yet with all the family??? Ash even was asking me one evening at the hotel who belonged to whom and how they were related to us. It does take awhile to master. Haha. And I LOVE this photo of Asher with my dad. Thanks again Jas for being the photographer for us! 
The grandkids and Dad shot off bottlerockets and did sparklers and we prolonged our visit as much as we could! Us girls were all bawling by the time we had to say goodbye. It is so hard!!! We had such a wonderful visit with each other and the folks and I truly enjoyed every minute of it!!!! I love our life in Kentucky, but oh to live close to my family again. That's all I'm saying or I'll be in tears! I wanted to meet up with several old friends but there just wasn't enough TIME!!! After leaving Jon's house, the kids and I drove the 2 1/2 hours to Mimi and Papa's near Memphis. We stayed there on Friday, New Year's Day, just relaxing. Saturday morning we drove on home! We made it in 7 1/2 hours which I think is a new personal record. It's great to be home, I'm still a little sad that our trip is over with, but there's lots of work to be done however with laundry, unpacking, decorations put away, and cleaning. I am hoping to get back into my normal routine this week! To wrap up 2009 ~ I didn't meet every goal I had set regarding scrapbooking, but I met my most important one which was to finally finish 2007 for both kids. I felt like I honored my One Little Words pretty good! For 2010 I plan to change up my OLW system. I am going to have a word for each season. So for Winter 2010 my word is RESOLVE. I have added it to my sidebar along with a scripture and quote: WINTER 2010 : RESOLVE ~being resolute ~make clearly visible ~find the solution ~understand the meaning of ~reach a decision ~settle conclusively Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. ~Psalm 17:3 "Where there is a will there is a way," is an old and true saying. He who resolves upon doing a thing, by that very resolution often scales the barriers to it, and secures its achievement. To think we are able, is almost to be so... ~Samuel Smiles I thought long about my first OLW for 2010. I feel good about this one, it feels right. I have lots of my list that I want to RESOLVE. And I feel confident I will.
