Images of Christmas

Merry Christmas, Everyone! We had a great Christmas Eve and day so far. Here's a little highlight of what happened:

After the traditional meal of Ham and all the trimmings, we put on our new Christmas pajamas...

I finally finished my Christmas quilts! (only 2 years after I started them!)

Santa (aka the neighbor) stopped by. The kids were shocked and thrilled...not long enough for me to get a picture of those emotions, though...

The kids dressed up cute for church...

Matt got a new tv for Christmas...

I got a new dining table (and the really cute mirror in the background from my Mom)...

Merr got two doll houses, because one is never enough--ha!

Joely got an easel (that he prompty drew with crayon on the chalk side and permanent marker on the dry erase side)...

And little Jacky got a wooden castle. The day is almost gone and we're still in our pajamas. The snow is piled up outside and we're nice and cozy inside. Hope your Christmas was as happy as ours!

Thanksgiving--a little late

I realize this post is more than a week late. I hope you will cut me some slack since we've been moving and travelling and I'm pregnant and...I could go on. I still want to say what I'm thankful for. It still counts, even after Thanksgiving, right?

Top Ten things I'm Thankful for on Thanksgiving:

10. Home. We just barely made it, but we were in before we had to leave for Boise for Thanksgiving. We own our home and we don't own the WV house and that is enough for us! We are so grateful to have our home situation under control even in this crazy market. Here's a picture of the outside (the inside is a disaster still, of course)

9. No picture for this one, but just look out your window anytime you pass by a gas station--$1.65!!!! I can fill up my Odyssey for under $30! In the summer I was paying in the $75 range. It's like getting a raise! I am so grateful for the small break we are all getting from unreasonable living expenses. What a blessing! (Not to mention, it's a lot easier to justify travelling!)

8. My in-laws. Truly, there do not exist more generous people. I'm sure many of you have been jealous a time or two when I've told of how amazing they are to us. They take care of us in every way. That aside, they make Matt so happy and NO ONE loves their grandchildren more than Paul and Jane Malone. My kids still cry for Grandma when they get hurt and we moved away from WV more than 6 months ago!

7. My parents. So much of who they are is reflected in me. They represent everything I hope to accomplish and who I hope to become. They are a rock that I still hold onto when times are tough. The older I get, the more I really appreciate all they have done and continue to do for me.

6. A job. Well, I don't have a job. I guess that's really what I'm thankful for. But I'm also thankful that Matt has a good steady job. He likes his job and they like him. He has a firm contract, a reasonable salary and he only works four days a week! How could we ask for more?

5. Our ward. Our old ward,now,I guess. I still cry when I think about how these people showed up to help us move in when we arrived as total strangers in Moses Lake. They unpacked all of our heavy stuff, carrying a lot of it through the entire house and up the stairs. And when it was all done, they refused to leave until every box was placed in the room where it belonged! After everyone was gone, Matt and I set out to put the beds together and found that someone had already done it! Three months later, barely more than strangers still, they packed up our entire house and then unloaded into our new house. And we were moving out of their ward! They treated us like family. What amazing people! Still, I've got to know, how do non-Mormons move?

4. Pregnancy. I know I mostly complain the entire 9 months, but I am truly grateful to be a person who can get pregnant and stay pregnant. I have made many friends over the years who struggle with various phases of pregnancy, from getting pregnant to keeping the baby to even a few who have and lose babies late in the pregnancy. This pregnancy has been hard on me, but I will always be grateful for the blessing it presents to me.

3. My kids. They are so hard. They drive me crazy and I'm exhausted every night when I go to bed. I wouldn't trade any of it. Almost every bit of joy and satisfaction I experience in this life revolves around them. They are my best friends and my favorite people in the whole world. And they are really funny!

2. Matt Malone. We've been married almost 8 years and my family and I still refer to him as Matt Malone! He was the man of my dreams when I was 11 and nothing has changed. I love him and can't believe he puts up with so much from me. He is my ultimate best friend and I love that I can talk to him about everything. And as an added bonus, he's hot and he's a dentist! I am a lucky woman.

1. Nothing on this list would exist without the Savior. He is the center of it all and without Him, we would be lost now and forever. The more I try to be like Him, the more I realize how not like Him I really am. Thank goodness He made it possible for me to be forgiven! Especially at this time of year, and always, I am grateful for Jesus Christ.