Shadow

Our beloved fat cat, Shadow, died today. We've had him for about 11 years... he was truly part of the family.

He was a great cat. Sam and I would play with him and dress him up in ridiculous clothes. Dad would always share his cereal milk with him in the morning. Mom would let him sleep on/around her face. He was a friend to all of the pets... and an even better friend to me.

I love you Shadow. I miss you already. I hope you are catching those bed mice in kitty heaven.

Aren't You Glad He's Not Your Neighbor?

This guy does this every year, but it never seizes to amaze me.

I'm just glad I don't live next to him!

Christmas Light Display

We are headed up to visit Mike's family tomorrow...so let the festivities begin!

I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

12 Days of Christmas: A Scavenger Hunt

My sister and I came up with a fun little Christmas treat for our parents... a scavenger hunt based on the 12 Days of Christmas.

We made little clues and hid prizes around the house. After much searching at Walmart, we decided that our 12 Days would have a food theme.

This is what they ended up finding!


On the 12th day of Christmas, my daughters gave to me...


12 drumsticks drumming



Oops! Typo! 11 peppers pepping.


10 Lords A-Leaping (Get it? Ultimate popcorn... it leaps when its popping... okay, kind of a stretch)



9 Ladies Dancing (see the lady... she's a-dancin'!)



8 Maids A-Milking



7 Swans A-Swimming (Swanson... get it?)



6 Geese A-Laying


5 Golden Rings!



4 Calling Birds



3 French Hens (My favorite! See their curly French mustaches?)



2 Turtle Doves



And a partridge in a pear tree!

New Phone=Awesome

I got a new phone today! Wooooooo!

AND it's IU red! Woooooooo!

Juke

New Friend

I met the most beautiful little man tonight.

Keegan

I finally got to hold this highly anticipated little guy today. What a cutie. I love him already!

House Update!

So we called our landlord again today, asking about that wonderful little contract again.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it seems that we have made progress.

She said that she will have it to us at the beginning of the year and she will back-date the contract to June.

That means everything we've paid since June will go towards the cost of the house. That's 7 months of rent going towards our house... a whopping $4200 going towards our house. A wonderful, most unexpected surprise!

So that's the scoop. Mike keeps saying good things will happen to those who wait. We shall see!

Twas the Days Before Christmas

This little poem just about sums it up.

‘Twas the days before Christmas,
And all through the school,
The teachers were trying
To just keep their cool.
The hallways were hung
With Christmas art.
(Some made in November
To get a head start!)

The children were bouncing
Off ceilings and walls,
And seemed to forget
How to walk in the halls.

When out of the teacher’s lounge
With “holiday shirts”
And “jingle bell jewels,”
The teachers looked festive
Enforcing the rules.

There came such a chatter,
The principal went in
To see what was the matter.

The teachers were hiding
And trying to refuel,
On coffee and cookies
And treats from the Yule.

When what to their wondering
Ears do they hear,
But the ringing of school bells
It’s the children they fear!

More rapid than reindeer
The little ones came,
And the teachers all shouted
And called them by name;

Walk Vincent! Walk Tanner!
Walk, Tyler and Sammy!
Sit Jamie! Sit Laura!
Sit, Tara and Tammy!

To your desks in the room!
To your spots in the line!
Now walk to them! Walk to them!
No running this time!

So straight to their places
The children all went.
With fear of detention
Where they all would be sent.

With manuals of lessons
Cradled in arms,
The teachers began
To use all their charms.

But the lessons presented
All fell on deaf ears.
The children were thinking
Of Santa’s reindeer.

With a toss of their hands
They put manuals aside,
Went straight to the cupboards
Where videos hide.

And laying their finger
On the TV remote
They sat back to write
Their last Christmas note.

But you could hear them exclaim
At the end of the day–
Have a wonderful, happy and
L-O-O-O-O-O-NG Holiday!!!!

Class dismissed!

Meow

Here's a picture of Mr. Marley Cat.

End of a Season

Today was my dance team's last performance. They were a pretty good group of girls, but I'm definitely not sad that it is over. No more rushing back and forth to different schools and hopefully I'll never have to hear "Getcha Head in the Game" ever again.

It was the first time I've ever coached anything, so it was a good experience. I learned a lot about wrangling pre-teen girls and how to deal with parents and just how extra-curricular activities work from an administrative view point. While I'm very glad to be taking a nice long break from coaching, it's something Ill definitely consider doing again.

6 Months Ago...

At this time, 6 months ago, I was getting all dolled up with my friends and Mike was hanging out with his buddies, all in preparation for our wedding.

I can't believe it's already been six months... but then again it seems like we've been married a lot longer than that.

Of course we've had our ups and downs, but all in all, I think marriage really suits us.