Teacher Gifts

This is what my kids' teachers are getting for Christmas this year. My traditional note cards. Conner's teacher won't get his until after they go back to school. And we are delivering Mrs. Tyger's to her house this afternoon. Courtney really wanted to deliver them personally. That will make it more special for her.

Willard Christmas Lights

Several weeks ago Clay and I took the kids down to Willard to see the fantastic light display! It was so awesome!! The kids both hung their heads out of the sunroof of my car as we drove through the campground. I took a ton of pictures, but the majority of them were blurry... it's hard to take pictures in the dark in a moving vehicle. They also had a hayride and reindeer!!! I highly recommend taking this little adventure!! Very much worth it!

I Think I Need A Bandaid

This is what happened to me Monday night. One more thing to add to my list that I really didn't have time for. But who actually plans to be in an accident???? Luckily it wasn't my fault so I guess that's a good thing. It just put a damper on my already lacking Christmas cheer. I have damage from the very back bumper all along the passenger side to the front bumper and the front passenger door won't shut tight so when I am driving I can hear and feel the cold air coming inside!!! And the pictures show how dirty my car is but I can't wash it or water will get in as well. My car gets repaired on Monday....Merry Christmas to me! Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!

Home for the Holidays, Part 2

Here are some more of my decorations for Christmas...

My "Mary Moo's" Christmas

Nativity
Both of these Santa's are just a couple of decorations that are "homemade"
from a few years ago.

The "fat Santa" on top of the table is another "homemade" decoration.

Home for the Holidays

I wanted to post some of our Christmas decorations throughout our home, so I thought it best to start with the tree. This is a new tree this year, I finally broke down and got a pre-lit tree and I think it's one of the best things that I have done. It was up in moments and I'm sure that my mom was thankful that she didn't have to hang the lights. As many of you know, my tree is all decorated with Cow ornaments. My collection has grown for many years and it is so fun to pull the ornaments out every Christmas and see them again. I forget how many I actually have. I love the mood that the tree brings to our home. It feels cozy and warm and starts this feeling of excitement as Christmas gets closer and the gifts are slowly wrapped and placed beneath it. I have to admit I haven't really felt the peaceful excitement and happiness as much this year. I'm hoping that I will get the feeling soon. I'm missing it.

Here are some of my favorite ornaments on our tree...

Besides the Advent calendar that I made this year, our other countdown to Christmas is our Santa that sits in the window sill above the sink that is Courtney's job to change the numbers. It's her favorite thing to do every day and she never forgets.

Rinderknecht Photo Shoot

I've been waiting for a long time to finally post these pictures. I wanted to make sure that Keesha had sent out her Christmas cards before I ever posted them . So here are some of my favorites from the day. It's fun to take pics of a 2 year old who doesn't want to cooperate! Anywho....love you guys!

Birthday Makeover

For my birthday this year Clay gave me these canisters which I love! I added some vinyl and gave them a little makeover! Thought I would share!

Perspective

My heart goes out to the Andersen, Thurston and Roach families. My thoughts have been with them all week. I can't even imagine what they are going through. We had taken the kids over to Willard to see the Christmas lights Friday night and unfortunatly saw the terrible accident. It's a horrible tragedy. It has put a lot into perspective for me. Life is so fragile and short. How quickly everything that we hold precious and dear can be taken from us, whether it be a death or some other reason. It really makes you realize all of the things that are truly important. It's not about our possessions but about our families, friends and relationships that we make while we are here. The ones we love, appreciate and care for. It makes me wonder, have I made a difference? Do the people in my life know how much I love them? My husband and children mean the world to me, I can't imagine my life without them. Each one of them are so special and I cherish every moment that I am with them. I hope they know that my love for them is unconditional. They have brought me so much joy and happiness. It has been a difficult year with many challenges, tests and trials and not just for me, but people around me. It's hard to look ahead and be positive when everything seems to fall apart. It's natural to ask ourselves "Why me?" and feel sorry for ourselves. I feel like I've tried to be positive which I will continue to do. If we could only see into the future and know what lies ahead of us. It might make it a little easier.

Novemberfest Performance

Last Saturday Courtney had a dance performance at the Novemberfest in Logan. And Hadley had her first ever performance. They both did a fantastic job and looked so cute!!! I am so impressed with the amazing progress that Courtney has made in dance from last year to this year! She is so brave and loves shakin her stuff!!! Love you Sweetie!! Hadley even shocked us all, we didn't think that she would go out and dance. We expected her to be shy and cry but she went out and did her thing!! Yea Hadders!! Here are some pictures from the day...

Family Pictures

This is what we did this Thanksgiving! Everyone was so happy about it! Can't you tell? Just thought that I would share. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I have so much to be thankful for. I am thankful for my family, my husband and my children. If they only knew how much they mean to me. I'm grateful for good friends and the relationships that I have with them. I'm thankful for this time of year. I love the feeling the holidays bring!!