Christmas Take 2....

We opened presents at our house...

at around 10:30 we headed over Dad & Linda's

here are the boys Christmas morning!

the parents 

the opening... 

the Beardo!! 

At Dad & Linda's we had to have a photo op! 

So you might be wondering why we are all dressed alike....good question!

The Henderson's have a family tradition of wearing matching sleep pants....so because they were here from California..we all wanted to match them!  It was so fun!  

Hannah & Eric wore theirs in St Ignace..... Joel & Carissa wore theirs in Oregon! and we all wore ours in Michigan!!

the Buckner's

Grandpa & Grandma with the Grand kids! 

the attempt at a "Jump" picture

we actually have a picture of us "in air"..but if isn't on my camera..

so I will have to get it from Tod (hint hint!)

the sisters "jump" picture  

We got Dad & Linda a new mailbox 

with their name hand painted on it 

Trent & Uncle Tod modeling their Michigan shirts!! 

Christmas dinner...ham, garlic mashed potatoes, Karen's fruit salad, sweet potatoes 

and Grandma Marian made it! 

Tyler and Alisha 

Playing Golf! 

We had a wonderful time together...it's rare that we get to spend a holiday together, so it was extra special this year!!!  We made so many wonderful memories that we will hold close to our heart!

♥

Christmas...Take 1

School Christmas Party

This is Trent's LAST school party.

Here he is with his friend Dolan

Playing a game in his classroom 

making a craft 

just being cute! 

playing Pictionary with Dolan 

Christmas

 We were able to all get together the Sunday before Christmas with the Buckners

Trent got a Nexus 7....do you think he liked it?? 

Troy was a little embarrassed when he realized his gift was a Taylor Swift CD and poster!! 

Don't be fooled ..he loved it! 

Grandpa got a power station! 

Our three sons! 

a family picture! 

Troy and cousin Maddie 

November & December....

So, I'm almost embarrassed to be just posting this NOW!

I just kept getting further behind as the weeks and months flew by.....

I just KNEW I had to catch it up, so I could keep everything in order!!!

So bare with me....

 Thanksgiving 2012....

Grandpa carving the bird

everyone gathered around the same table!

all 16 of us! (Tyler and Alisha came but arrived late)

 heading out hunting after dinner...

Maddie was the only one that shot a deer! 

The Tree

 We headed over to Kahler Tree Farm and picked out this lovely tree!

Troy picked this one out and we got quite a chuckle out of it at first.  Then we took a second glance and realized it would be perfect after it was in the stand! (as you can see it has no lower branches!)  Boyd said he was going to cut it down and burn it....then he decided someone might like it!

the fam with the tree!

Couldn't help but snap this picture of Trent's Christmas list.

Don't you just love the last thing on his list!

He's so adorable..I love him so!

AWANA GIRLS

Around Christmas time we usually do an activity with the girls.

This year we planned to do "Jar Mixes", chocolate molds & a few crafts.

 They always look so forward to this special week and have so much fun!

A couple of the girls working on a craft...

Starting to layer their jars... 

Using lots of flour...

putting the finishing touches on the jar 

playing UNO!

they always enjoy this week!!

That's how our December started to shape up!

Playing Catch-Up...

I had been having problems uploading pictures to my blog...and we all know, 

a blog with no pictures is not worth having

...so today I was trying to remedy it...and now it lets me load pictures???  Now I need to play a little catch-up from the last 2 months.  

Hold on and get ready to read about our Nov & Dec!  

I'll be back!

A Favorite...

A Recipe for you to try....

A Family Favorite or maybe MY favorite

and I'm the cook....

 so it's a "Family Favorite!!!"

Orange Jello

1 large orange jello

2 c. boiling water

1 small frozen OJ concentrate (which you can't find, so just buy a big and about 1/2 the can)

2 small or 1 large mandarin oranges-drain

1 can crushed pineapple-undrained

 topping....             1c milk, 1 small box vanilla pudding & 1-8oz cool whip

Mix jello & water together stir till dissolved. Add OJ, oranges & pineapple. Refrigerate till firm.

Topping-mix milk and pudding together; fold in cool whip.

Put on jello

ENJOY!

** I add 2 large cans of mandarin oranges..cause I like m oranges!..and I'm the cook**

**the other thing I like is, it's so easy!!**

** I like to put it in a shallow-er dish, so everyone gets the topping, not just the first 5 people!**

Even Better

Today I have taken a turn for the better....

I'm feeling much better today....everyday gets a little better!

I'm still sore but cutting back on the pain meds & I'm dressed and took a shower...=)..bonus!!

I've reached the stage of healing where I don't want to sit around anymore..I know most of you are thinking.."I would love the excuse to sit around for a couple days"..."I would watch movies, read a book, clean out my files, organize my pictures...."

As a self diagnosed ADD'er...I can only do that so long!!

I'm getting antsy....at first it was fine because I didn't feel good....but now the antsy's have set in..and I don't know why?  

Why is it I can't just relax and kick up my heals...I really don't have anything I HAVE to do! 

It's not like I have a mile long list of things to do.

The only thing I can come up with is..that's the way God made me...I know, deep huh!!!

It seems we always want something different than what we have...doesn't it??

Why are we never content with where we are?

Why aren't we satisfied?

I don't have the answers..I'm just throwing out the questions...

Maybe this is the year I need to resolve to be more content in my life?

What about you??

Feeling Better

Day after update....

I'm feeling tired and quite sore..but that is to be expected!

My surgery went well ..1 1/2 hours longer than they had expected.

Which made me under anesthesia that much longer...I'm already a light weight when it comes to being "under"....it takes me FOREVER to wake up.

So you can imagine how long of a day we had....we had to be there at 5:30am and didn't get back home till 5:30pm.

This morning Steve made me eggs & toast with a side of Vicodin!

He's taking good care of me!

Thanks for all your prayers on my behalf...I really appreciate all you & your caring for me!