A Contest

A friend of mine from high school is sponsoring a contest to win some books! She has her best of 2009 reads and directions on how to enter the contest here. Go check it out!

Native Houstonian

I'm just not cut out for this. It's pretty, but I can see pretty in pictures. My kids don't even like to play in it anymore. These pictures are all starting to look the same and being inside with five, restless children all day is not fun. Maybe you viewers will enjoy it.

We Love You and We Will Miss You

Austin Lee Mills (August 1994- January 2010)

Respectful. Kind. Thoughtful.

You will be greatly missed.

Austin Lee Mills, of Craig, died on Monday, January 11, 2009, at his home. He was 15.

Austin was born on August 15, 1994, in Ft. Morgan, Colorado, the son of Dawn Finley and Wade A. Mills. He was raised in Brush and Ft. Morgan where he attended local schools and most recently Riverview Christian School. He moved to Craig with his father and stepmother in August of 2009.

Austin was a freshman at Moffat County High School and was on the freshman football team. He enjoyed riding motorcycles, fishing, playing golf, baseball, running track, playing video games, reading books and learning about cars. He was also very close to his extended family.

When they sing about it they don't tell you...

the ugly part. When I hear "Let it Snow" or "Frosty the Snowman", snow sounds fun. When I look at pictures of snowy landscapes and falling snow it is beautiful. But the reality is, it's a pain in the rear to drive in and this is what you have two weeks later:

Doesn't that look fun? Isn't it just gorgeous? Oh and it's ice folks. Not fluffy. There is no way to pick it up and make a dirty snow ball out of it. Just big, dirty chunks of ice. Yeah, love the scenery.

Things That Have Made Me Cry Today

No, I'm not pregnant or hormonal in any way. Anyone who knows me knows I rarely cry. This week it's been a sob fest for some reason. These are the things that made me cry in just the past 24 hours.
This blog post:
Nurse Heidi's Spot

This child:

This movie:
And this show: (I don't know what is up with that!)
Maybe I just need a bit more of this:

Getting Around To It

Finally! I keep looking at my blog, thinking about Christmas then getting pulled away by a sad child, a chore or a husband who wants on the big computer. It seems that today is finally the day I can get this done!

Christmas was wonderful. It always is even though each year I get nervous that it just won't be as nice as the year before. We opened family gifts on Christmas Eve since we had early morning plans on Christmas day. All the kids said that they got everything they wanted. They didn't, that is why the gift cards and cash from family came in handy, but they said they did.

Brooklyn asked for a pair of Sperry topsiders, I told her no way, too expensive...
Ayden did not ask for a Magna Doodle but since he's been coloring on everything Bobby figured he needed one - good call.
Oops, should've gotten one for Dillon too. He used some of his money for a little one for him.
"But this isn't what my brother has, I don't want it." I imagine that is what he was thinking...
Aunt Holly made sure to get Seth the book he asked for.
and the game Caleb asked for....
And the motorcycle Ayden likes...
Then she made these beautiful letters for Brooklyn's room.
And got a chew toy for the psuedopuppy of ours.
And because Bobby is, who he is, they all got games!
Papa and Grammy sent each child an afghan, made by Grammy and a book to snuggle up with. I forgot to get pictures of all those, they turned out so beautiful, but I will. Then Bobby and I got a surprise too!
A SNUGGIE!
Can you tell how thrilled Bobby is? He really loves it!!
And that was just Christmas Eve....

Christmas morning Ayden woke up quite early and he and I decided that we needed to wake the others up too! Come to find out the others were asleep because they were up at 3am, sneaking down to check out their gifts. This is the first year Ayden has been excited with anticipation for Christmas. When he woke up he knew Santa was supposed to have come and he couldn't wait to see if Santa brought him a truck, like he asked for. Dillon slept through most of the excitement, which was fine with us.
After going though stockings and eating beignets, we got in the car and headed to David and Kim's in West Virginia. It was a gorgeous drive. All the snow we'd had the week before was still on the ground. Everything looked beautiful under that soft white covering. Luckily too, the day was overcast so we didn't have to battle the sun reflecting off the snow. I wish I had brought a camera because there were many scenic moments. At David's the older kids played with one another, the two little ones explored and the adults were able to visit. Kim made a great dinner with turkey and ham! It was wonderful. We came back home exhausted but totally satisfied.