Christmas Day 2008

The girls showing off their new matching dresses.

Katie Beth was so excited when she opened a present from Mason that was slippers she had really wanted. Mason spent a lot of his own money on them because he knew she would be excited to get them.

Santa left a new ipod for Katie Beth....that is all she really wanted!!! This picture shows her excitement when she sees it.

All the kids waiting patiently to see what Santa brought!

Santa's plate with a note and cookies.

I can't imagine what Christmas would be like without kids. They are the ones that bring so many smiles to our faces! They are the ones that we get excited about shopping for a couple of months before the special day. To them...it is the most amazing day of the whole year!!! We had such a fun day. All the grown-ups watched as the kids opened presents...trying to keep up with who the giver of each gift was. When the kids finally finished we all needed a little breakfast. We then realized no grown-ups had opened any presents yet. We were so focused on kids opening and their excitement and helping them get to the toy that is extremely secured inside each package, that we hadn't even thought about what was given us. It was fun to give all the grown-ups their presents also. After opening gifts and cleaning up the piles of wrapping, we all headed to a couple of nursing homes to visit some ladies and do some caroling for them. We all realized how thankful we should be to have family to celebrate with and a comfy home to be in during Christmas.

The day is drawing to a close and everyone is winding down. What a wonderful, exciting day that reminds me of all that I have to be thankful for.

God Bless and Merry Christmas!!!

What a job!!!

I am a new blogger and have a lot to learn! I can't seem to make time to keep posting regularly. But I have an awesome job!! I am actually messing around with my blog right now at work so that I can learn how some things work for JLA purposes. I created a blog for a group recently that they are using as a discussion board. It's up and going, but I am seeing what all it can do. Learning more about grouping and labeling some things, limiting access, etc.

As much as I have a hard time appreciating winter, our family has tried to look at some positives this week. We have enjoyed a couple of dinners on the living room floor by some warm, beautiful fires that my sweet husband keeps going. I think we have finally gotten up all the Christmas decorations....now to just get all the boxes back up in the attic tonight. The kids always enjoy helping get out all the Christmas stuff and Greg just waits patiently for me to get the mess back up in the attic. Greg and I have enjoyed some hot coffee a lot more recently. And of course cuddling is one of my favorite things about winter!

The Cutie Patootie Chicken

Emerson was a precious chicken for Halloween. Her costume fit perfectly and she kept it on the whole time. She figured out this trick or treating thing was worth her time.

Fall Days

I am happy that Halloween is over and excited about moving on to Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have never really gotten into Halloween. With that being said, we have had a good time enjoying the fall season. I thought I would try to share a few of those memories through some pictures. This will be my first time putting pictures on the blog....so we will see how that goes.

We had a family outing at the pumpkin patch....it's just tradition around here. You gotta' go to the pumpkin patch. Katie Beth had been begging to go and pick out a pumpkin. They each picked out the one they wanted and then we took them home to decorate.

We had a great time trick or treating with lots of friends....even got in a traffic jam. Mason was a rockstar....he looked great and loved his homemade costume. Katie Beth was a cheerleader....again. She is all about being comfortable. At least she likes to be cute and comfortable!

We enjoyed Westwood's Fall Festival at Ms. Joette's house. She sure knows how to throw a good party! Lots of games, hayride, food and treats. Fun for everyone.

What? Sandi has a blog?

Let's just say I've at least started one. The question will be can I keep it up? It seems like once I get all this set-up process done, it will be simple to post every now and then. I still have to work on the picture thing. Anyway.....I will get it. Well, I am ready for another week to begin. The weekend was great and started out with going with Jimmy and taking the kids to see High School Musical 3. They loved it!!! We then enjoyed dinner and hanging out with some friends. Saturday, Katie Beth had a soccer game that didn't end in a victory this time. Then Greg, Jimmy and the kids went to the golf course and left me with the afternoon to accomplish quite a lot.

Where to begin...

I woke up this morning feeling so blessed that my family was feeling well! Praise the Lord!!! Greg started feeling blah last night and progressively got worse through the night. Katie Beth had an AWFUL headache and was exhausted from her day...which included a rough soccer practice. She fell asleep at 7:30 pm on the couch with no dinner. Sometimes sleep is just more important than eating. Matt, my brother-in-law, called last night saying Tammy and Emerson both had some major stomach issues....repeating episodes every 30 minutes. Matt joined in late last night. My thoughts...."My goodness, we are falling apart here!!!" I asked God to end this for everyone very soon and this morning he amazed me, yet again. He never ceases to amaze me!!! The Matthew's household is on the road to recovery and everyone woke up ready to start a new day at The Wakefield's. What a wonderful start to a new day!