LOVE

I LOVE my family. I know, I know. Pretty much everyone feels this way about their own children, right? But for some reason I feel that MY love for MY children is extraordinarily different, somehow. More unique. More profound. More encompassing. MY love seems to resonate within me. Permeating from within my chest at times, and then expanding outward throughout my body until it seems almost tangible, in a real, grab hold of it kind of way. There are moments when I feel it so strongly that I wonder if others can sense the change that comes up inside of me. It brings tears to my eyes in these moments, and a giddy kind of laughter to my lips. And I wonder why am I so blessed, to have this feeling of immense love. And I realize that this feeling is unique, as unique as each of my children are, so is my love for them. As they continue to bud and grow, and change, so does my love for them. What a blessed, wonderful Journey we are each on in this life. May you all take hold of your unique and precious loved ones this Christmas and hold on tight, remembering the love you have for them right now in this most wonderful time of year! Merry Christmas to all of you that are so dear to us!

A Few Christmas Photos

I can't move on with my blogging until I post these for journaling purposes, so here goes...

Christmas Eve. Opening Pajamas.

Daddy reading the Christmas Storey on Christmas Eve.

Sienna made sure all the present were out from under the tree.

Hunter had his new roller coaster put together in one day. He was happy that Santa brought him his #1 request and Wii Sports resort, his #2. Sienna got her 1st request too, although she would have been happier with Julie instead of Rebecca, but she told me it was her own fault since she told Santa that she wanted Rebecca and then changed her mind. I was proud of her for being happy and learning a lesson of gratitude and acceptance. All Ayla had on her list was a jewelry box and My Littlest Pet shops and she was elated with them Christmas morning. Elsie 2 toys that were specifically to help or motivate her start walking. One was a horse to sit on and hopefully stand and the other was push stroller. She pushes that thing around and laughs and laughs. Brent gave me the perfect gift to sum up my year of trying to be more nutritious and I was totally not expecting it since he always made fun of it, The Blendtec. Whoohoo! I think he changed his mind when he called Katie and asked her if she really likes it that much and she told him that if her house were burning down she would grab 2 things, her scrapbooks and her Blendtec. Thanks Katie! I am loving it. So far I have made, 100's of smoothies(literally), soups, pizza crust, pizza sauce, pesto, cheesecake, graham cracker crust, fondue, and cheeseball. It gets used at least once a day. And I must say that I am almost as happy about my present to Brent(with the help of some other gift cards he had)which was a gun safe. It makes me feel much safer knowing that his guns are locked in there instead of at the top of the closet.

We went to the Egberts for dinner that evening and had a great meal and a great time.

Hunter didn't have anyone to play with really while the other girls played with their new American Girl dolls and all he could think about was getting home to build his knex. He was a good sport and played the piano and found other things to occupy himself with.

My rolls did not raise and though they did not taste bad they were just little baby rolls and this started my quest to become a good baker.

It was a wonderful Christmas. Our very first to spend the entire break at home and it was peaceeful, relaxing and productive. It is so much easier to spend Christmas at home when you have 4 little ones. We were grateful to have family in town, however, because it does get lonely with the ones you love.