Duh!

Okay, lets look at the data that we have to work with......Forecast a big snow storm for Friday early morning......It's the Friday before Christmas break....we have had no snow days, as of yet! What do you think....did they call a snow day? Ummm....Yes! I could have called this one!

The first picture is up the road in front of our house...yes there is a road! The second is our backyard. So for all you that are missing snow, here you go! I think we got 6" from 3am-5am...or something like that.
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In Michigan, they hold the school parties on the day before they are scheduled to get out for break...for the snow day reason. Trent had his party yesterday, I was in charge of coordinating the food....which all willingly provided. They had a fun time eating, do crafts, playing games and having a book gift exchange.

He got a Bakugan book

Recipe for December.....and Santa!...

My recipe for December is Poppy Seed Bread........I got this recipe from Steve's mom. She always made it around Christmas time...and it was always a favorite! I make it and give to my neighbors and pastors at church. I've made 4 batches this years so far...and I'm not done yet. One thing I like about it is...it's soooo easy...especially if you have a stand mixer and can let it mix while you do other things.

Poppy Seed Bread

½c. oil

1 c. hot water

4 eggs

1 small box instant vanilla or coconut pudding

1 yellow cake mix

1/8 c. poppy seeds

Mix! Ü....oh and put in 2 well greased loaf pans, 350° for 50-60 min., check for doneness with a toothpick in center. (I think adding almond extract would make it even better!)

BTW...for those of you in the GR area....if you haven't checked out Penzey Spices (on Alpine near Toy's R Us)...you have to!!! They have great stuff...I feel like I should get a cut from their profits! You can get Poppy Seeds their for $4.?? for 4 oz...which is a lot of seeds or you can get smaller quantities. We love their Northwoods Seasoning....we use it when we grill chicken......it's great! The other thing is, most of the spices I have purchased are cheaper than the grocery store....and don't have all those fillers! We also really like their Taco Seasoning. It's a must "check-out!"
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Trent could hardly wait till Santa came to town on Saturday by way of train. He is way more excited than the other boys ever were about Santa. It's kinda funny what he said to me on the way there. He said "I know Santa is real...he just doesn't wear those clothes everyday....just sometimes"...I was kinda shocked...I was under the assumption he thought Santa was just a fun thing to believe in! He asked for a BB gun....in camo and with a scope or he said if Santa says no to that, I will ask for a dirt bike??!!...well good luck on that Trent!

Dog Torture!....

I think I have lost any 'good sense' I might have had! I just bought a kit to make an ornament out of your dogs paw print! What is wrong with me? Jaxi participated pretty good...well....she didn't bite me!

We have to let it dry for 2 days and then add the words.....Jaxi's First Christmas '08 and tie a ribbon on it.....


What do ya think? You can get one for your dog at Bed Bath and Beyond!

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This is just a cute picture of Trent I took the other night! He's all decked out for the holidays!

Friday Night......

We had our Annual Pastors, Deacons and their Wives Christmas Dinner. It was held at Arnie's in Rockford....the same as last year. We love that place! They have an upstairs that we are able to use, so it makes it a great place for a group.

We had 30 in attendance......it was an enjoyable time together!

After dinner we have a White Elephant exchange. We enjoy a lot of laughs and some disappointed looks, after they opened their gift!! There is, as always, a hot couple of gifts...this year it was the dancing snowman and the old church directory!

That's me trying to leave early!

Theyyyyy're Back!!!......

Dad & Linda arrived home last night (Saturday). They got confused on the day they were coming in...but we got them...let's just say.....we were glad we were home to recieve their phone call!

They were some tired travelers...after 17+ hours of travel! I think it was 4am on Portugese time, when we finally got them home!

Trent was a little bummed 'cause Grandma Linda told him she was coming home at Christmas time....so he thougth it was Christams Day..he got over that. They were glad to be home!!

We Got It!......

Getting The Tree.......

First Troy cut

Then Trent cut

Then Tyler finished it off

Troy & Trent hauled it to the truck

Here we are before we cut the tree....the tree behind Tyler....not the one in front of us! Ü

That was the easy part! Let me explain...we took our dog Jaxi for a little ride. We let her run...and...that she did. She was having a ball...running in the snow....having the kids chaser her. All was fun, till we wanted to leave!

You see, Jaxi doesn't like to ride in vehicles....so the chase began! First Tyler thought he could catch her..then Trent entered in...out hopped Steve...then Troy thought he could get her......NOPE! She is so stinking fast and she knows just how close she can get to us! We were chasing her a good 30 minutes...no kidding! Finally the kids headed to their house and caught her while we drove up! She might have lost her traveling privileges for awhile!

The tree is still in the garage....maybe tomorrow! I have petitioned the 'powers to be' for an artificial tree...no go.....it's kinda sentimental to him being his grandparents owned a Christmas tree farm.

Do We Need Our Heads Examined??

So the Story begins......the Friday after Thanksgiving....
It started out like most other Black Fridays...girls go shopping...kids have 'cousins sleep-over' at Grandma's (lets hear it for grandparents.....hip hip hooray!) Then after exhausting every shopping ad we had..we arrived back to grandma's house in the late afternoon.
Now, most of the kids have been at grandma's house for 2 days and some 3 days. The moms began to hatch a plan.....lets send all the kids to Fremont to see a movie! Couple problems..none of the moms wanted to go! So we asked the two kids with drivers license, if they would take all the kids to Fremont to see a movie...they agreed! After some second thoughts, we let them go....all eight of them, with Drew driving with his 6 months of experience! They had to take grandpa/ma's Expedition...only thing big enough.

Second problem....we needed OJ and milk. We asked the kids if they could go to Walmart and get these items for grandma, while they were out. They said they could handle it. BUT...it was cheaper at Plumbs for OJ, so we instructed them on how to price match...this might be a challenge!!!

When we mentioned what we had done to Grandpa, his eyes got really big..we all thought..if grandpa things it's a bad plan, what will the dads think???? Then he said those words we were longing to hear......"Oh they'll probably be fine!" The dads didn't give us any questions...it was sooooo quiet!!

All in all it was a good experience for all of us! The kids made it without us and even got the OJ for 2 for$5 (which made me extremely proud!) They made some lasting memories as cousins. We trusted God to keep them all safe and not leave Trent at Walmart!!