a palindrome day

happy 01.02.2010! we've been busy over here celebrating christmas with family and new year's with family AND friends! this christmas, we had a great time remembering Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and rejoicing in His birth and the promise of His return. the kids (lucas and emma) were so excited each night to open up another door of their advent calendar to see who or what would come next in the manger scene. they took turns opening each night. we found out that lucas is pretty clever. when we got down to the last 4 days or so, he let emma open the doors two nights in a row. at first we thought, "how nice!" but then we quickly realized that he had calculated it so that he could open up the last door to pull out baby Jesus to complete the scene. that sneaky boy!

my mom came and spent about a week with us but had to leave a little early (on christmas day, actually) because we found out that my aunt in california had passed away. i was fortunate to have seen her only about two weeks prior, but i was still extremely sad and shocked to receive the news that she was gone. it made me realize even more how important it is for me to share the hope that i have in Christ because sometimes it can be too late.

all in all, the kids had a great time visiting and celebrating this christmas with their po-po (grandma). they were spoiled, as always, by all of their grandparents and aunties and uncles and cousins. allan and i were pretty spoiled, too. one of my favorite gifts this year was this esv journaling bible that allan gave me (mine is black). i LOVE it and will treasure it for years. what great fun and memories for christmas 2009!

christmas card 2009

a collage from christmas eve and christmas morning
my mom and elise, admiring my mom's yummy fish dish!

lucas and emma enjoying the snow as it was falling on new year's eve
cute lil' miss addelyn and the greene twins (drew and gavin) at the wilkerson's 2nd annual new year's bash

the countdown begins!

there are only 12 days until christmas and i am so excited!!! it started snowing here yesterday, the day we finally went and got our christmas tree! allan, lucas, emma, elise and i decorated it together last night. we had so much fun! this year, lucas and emma were really into hanging up the lights, the ornaments, the garlands, and whatever else we have on our tree. elise, on the other hand, was really interested in pulling down the ornaments. argh. it was cute watching her, though. :)
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we actually started decorating for christmas (before thanksgiving, even) by hanging up lights in lucas and emma's room. they LOVE them and ask us to leave them on every night while they sleep. check them out!


later, i put up some other decorations around the house, including hanging up our christmas stockings. i still hadn't finished knitting and felting elise's from last year, so i had to bust my behind and get it done. i finally finished it last night and needle-felted it with her name tonight...yay! (some before and afters.)

allan was really on top of things this year and he got our christmas lights hung right after thanksgiving. i wasn't sure about the LED-ness of the lights, but they've grown on me and i love them now!


the reason we got our tree so late this year was because when we were available to go pick one out, none of the tree lots were up and open yet. when they finally popped up around town, we were too busy getting ready to attend my cousin's wedding in california. so, we had to wait until we got back to get our tree. isn't it beautiful? i love sitting in our living room and gazing at our tree. i also love going to friend's homes during this time of year and seeing their trees. if you want, post a picture of your tree on your blog and leave me a note and i'll be sure to check it out!

(one of the artsy fuzzy shots of the tree was taken by lucas, and the other by allan. but, i don't know which is whose.)
finally, here are some random pictures of the kids and also some from our trip to cali. enjoy!

(don't you love the one of elise in mid-sneeze?!)
(the wedding was beautiful and we had a lot of fun!)

thankful for family and friends

happy thanksgiving everyone! this year, i am most thankful for the health of my family, especially our kids. i praise God and am thankful for the success of elise's surgery and also for her cyst not being more serious.

allan and i have only hosted thanksgiving dinner once...two years ago. all of the other years we were either very blessed to have been invited to a friend's house or we celebrated simply - just the two of us. this year, we decided to host again (thanks to my sister and our good friend, kat) and it turned out to be really fun! i was a little nervous about the cooking, especially the turkey, but everything turned out fabulously! in fact, as we were enjoying all of the food at dinner, we all couldn't help but toot our own horns. it was hilarious! i had a great time eating, drinking, talking, laughing, eating some more, and more, and MORE! thanks to everyone who came...i am thankful for your friendship!

a weekend of aahhhh

so, guess where allan took me for our anniversary? suncadia resort in cle elum! i had the best weekend EVER and could not believe that allan took so much time and effort to plan such a special trip for us. he coordinated everything, including childcare and even going to the library to borrow a book for me to read and relax to during our trip. the best part was that he kept all of it a surprise from me. i loved it! i have to confess (boast?) that i'm not easy to surprise. i can be very discerning and can pick up on even the slightest of slip-ups. (but if you ask allan, he'll roll his eyes.) okay, so here's how our weekend went down. my awesome sister came over bright and early (7:30a) saturday morning so that we could get an early start to our getaway. we loaded ourselves into the truck and waved goodbye to the kids. we were on the road for almost 2 hours and it wasn't until we drove up to a sign that said "Suncadia Resort" that i knew where our destination was to be! i was so excited at that point! it was beautiful there. i kept oohing and aahing on our drive up to the lodge. the lodge was gorgeous and already decorated for the holidays, which made it even more cozy and amazing to experience. our room was to die for! it had a beautiful hardwood entry, stone fireplace, a private deck, and our very own HOT TUB! needless to say, i didn't want to leave our room. but, alas, there was much to see outside of it so we ventured out after a little relaxation. we walked around the lodge and saw breathtaking views of the mountains and trees. when i look at the majestic mountains and forests, there is no doubt in my mind that God exists. no doubt. after exploring the lodge, we decided to head out and check out downtown cle elum. on our way out, we saw some deer! they were so pretty and so close to us that i wanted to reach out and touch them. allan didn't think it was safe (i agreed) so we just watched them for a little while and then continued on our way. later that evening, we had a very romantic dinner back at the lodge. over dinner, we looked back at the last eight years of our marriage and talked about goals we each had for our future. it was so great to be able to focus on each other and talk without any interruptions. one of the best parts of our meal was the creme brulee! it's one of my favorite desserts and this particular one was scrumptious. yum. our night ended with more rest and relaxation and plain enjoyment of our alone time with each other. the next morning, we had the most delicious breakfast i've ever tasted (seriously) as we watched the snow fall. i could have sat in front of that view all day long. but, we had three little munchkins waiting for our return so we finished up and headed home. what a great way to celebrate and reflect on the eight wonderful years of love, friendship, fun, joy, excitement, and challenges we've shared in our marriage to one another. can't wait to do it again soon!

8 years and counting!

today is our 8-year anniversary! i can honestly say that love and respect allan more today than ever, and i hope i can say that as each anniversary passes. he is the best husband - always encouraging and supporting me, doing special things for me, helping me with whatever i need help with (especially diaper changes, baths, and letting me have a night off), leading me and our family Spiritually, and looking for ways to improve our relationship with each other and with God. i am so thankful he is MINE! i love you, allan!

we didn't do much in way of celebrating tonight because allan has planned a weekend getaway! i don't know anything about it, so i'm really excited! (i would usually have a clue by now but i was real good this time and didn't try to get the info out of him so that it would remain a surprise.) i can't wait for the weekend to get here!

makes me want a fourth