Christmas Eve- 2010

I am not sure what happened to the month of December because I could swear we were just having Thanksgiving!

I am feeling mixed about Christmas being over. Kinda glad it's all over but yet sad too.

It sure is a lot of work. This year for some reason I felt very overwhelmed...I am not wanting to take everything all down either. So not fun and even though I have had my tree up since the day after Thanksgiving I am not wanting to take it down yet.

So some highlights of Christmas Eve 2010...

Christmas Eve...after a yummy mexican dinner...

Santa Ed....

Sienna couldn't believe Santa knew Grandpa's special nickname for her...she thought it was pretty darn funny.

Nicolas and Henry...

Even big kids get to sit on Santa's lap..and there are twins in Summer's belly!

Some aren't not so sure...

And some just fall alseep on his lap.

My bestest lil buddy Hudson...

Rach and Jman

It was a full house and as always a lot of fun to be all together with family and friends...

Briar Woods Falcons!

So I realized I never really wrote much about Hunter and his football year.

If you can believe it he just finished! He has been practicing since August 1st! Every day! 4 hours a day...during the month of August he was doing 2 a days...they even made them practice on Thanksgiving! That is a lot of football. But it all payed off because for the first time for Briar Woods High School they went all the way to the State Championships and yep they took it! We were nervous wrecks...sweating, biting our nails, screaming...it was a close game and the team they played were undefeated. We really weren't expecting to win...but win we did. So very exciting!

The sweet cheerleaders left this for Hunter before a big game against our rival school.

I have to say I was so impressed with Hunter this year. He worked so hard...he got multiple awards at the Awards dinner and he even Lettered which is pretty great for being a Sophomore.

Hunter is such a good kid. He always does what he is suppose to do and doesn't complain. (unless it has to do with cleaning)

I am so so proud of him.

Not to mention they wouldn't let any of the football players try out for Basketball until

football was over. Who knew Football would last into December! It was killing Hunter. He wanted to be playing Basketball.

So he gave it his all at Try Outs and made the Basketball team too.

Have I mentioned how proud I am of Hunter? We were all not sleeping very good during those 3 days of tryouts.....and we were jumping for joy when he made it.

Hunter #24

I am so excited to watch him progress in his High School Athletics...I Love love love watching him play basketball.

So Hunter...if your reading this....I am sooooo proud of you! I love you oh so much!

Love,

Mom

Tree

Can I just say how much I love Christmas Time and sitting by the Tree.....almost as much as I love Summer time! My kids are getting tired of listening to my Christmas music too...but I just don't care....there is always Christmas music on all the time at my house! :)

So a couple people have asked me to post some of my Christmas decorations on here so here are a few of my favorite's around my house....

Love love love my wooden stocking...

I feel like it's Christmas everyday going to the mailbox...Love love love getting all your cute cards and my door is starting to fill up....Love it!

Some of my favorite ornaments.....

Yep these little guys match my big wooden stocking....love them!

And of course I will end with my most favorite ornament...the picture of my little mom so she can be with us every Christmas...makes me cry every year when I take it out to hang on the tree.....

Happy Christmas Time everyone!

Happy Birthday Holly!

So every once in awhile you meet a person and you instantly become friends and feel like you have known that person FOREVER...I still remember the day I met my sweet friend Holly at the gym. We are a like in so many ways we even named our kids the exact same name...not just the first name the middle name too. Weird! Jackson Edward.

I love love love Holly she is an amazing person and I don't know what I would do without her...so here are my 10 Things I love about Holly Joy Haefner...

1. She is without a doubt the most generous person I have ever met. Not just to me to my whole family and extended family as well....

2. She is an amazing mom doing everything on her own..not sure how she does it. She works soooooo hard!

3. She is so fun to be around and always happy.

4. She sings with me (out loud) in our gym classes...sorry to everyone around us...but we just don't care.

5. She is an amazing athlete.

6. She has been through sooooo much and yet still keeps an amazing attitude.

7. She comes to all my kids games...even baseball!

8. She bends over backwards and goes above and beyond for the ones she loves.

9. We love all the same shows and can always count on her to introduce me to ones I should be watching but not watching...sometimes it can take awhile but when I finally listen she is of course right on and I get hooked.

10. She is beautiful inside and out and I feel very lucky to have her in my life and in my family's life.

11. She is an AMAZING (yes I know I use that word a lot but just describes Holly so well) Baker! (had to add that bonus one)

So Happy Birthday Holly! I hope it's the best year of your life...I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to be!

Keepin it Real...

So the other day I logged onto my sweet friend Holly's blog (Happy Birthday today Holl..10 things I love about Holly coming soon) and in her latest post she mentioned my blog and how I never complain or vent..just blog about my amazing family. I can't get it out of my mind and while I so appreciate her sweet words I REALLY REALLY don't want to be one of those blogs that makes life seem perfect and hope I'm not...you know one of those blogs that are like the Christmas Cards making life seem so peachy all the time.

While I am VERY grateful for all the many blessings in my life, it is so far from perfect.

From kids fighting about cleaning their bathroom (ALWAYS A FIGHT) to dirty socks I find all over the house and in the backyard, to worries about my kids, worries about family, my own personal struggles, worries about friends, worrying about the fact that Hunter will only be with us a few more years full time, the black permanent marker that is Sienna's best friend right now...and the evidence of it on the walls, on the pillows, the couch, the table and on the tv screen, the kitchen faucet that has been broken forEVER, the 80 loads of laundry that need to get done each week, the layer of dust that is on my dresser right now, the lists of things that don't get done everyday and I fall into bed exhausted every night then wake up at night worrying even though I know I should be asleep...I worry on the inside...in the middle of the night.

The daily struggles that come with living with 5 other people, struggles in relationships...

I guess that's life and I guess I just figure you all don't really want to hear about all that stuff...if your even still reading this now...life is far far from perfect.

I have been blessed with an amazing family that I love very much...and I am sorry if it appears we have a hunky dory life all the time...cause we all know that is just not Keepin it Real.