Christmas

Wow! This year was AWESOME! (Thanks to Jason--he spoiled me again. LOVE that man!) Christmas was SO fun this year. The kids were so excited and everybody seemed happy....which was SO nice. I think that Santa got it right this time, for each and every child. Whew!

Belle got a HUGE beanbag, and a pillow pet...

Isaac got his own kick bag (so he can practice his Tae Kwon Do at home more), and a pillow pet...

Johnny FINALLY got a scooter of his own, and a pillow pet...(I'm not sure why my kids love the pillow pets so much, but they were certain that they would all die if they didn't get one this year)!Sabrina got the cutest dollhouse complete with a family and some 'fur-a-ture' (furniture), and the coveted pillow pet...

As for Seth, he got a few really cute things, all of which he was totally UN-interested in--including the infamous pillow pet! Oh well. You can't win them all!

Jason got the '12 dates of Christmas' (a year full of fun dates) and I got a sewing machine. Those of you who know me well are probably wondering if you read that last part right......and YES, you did. I asked for, and received, a sewing machine this year. I know, I know, Bethany sewing? It sounds totally unbelievable! But you see, I have this vision of me becoming talented, crafty, thrifty, and even a little self-reliant maybe? And I've got to start somewhere right? So, after spending an hour learning how to thread the darn thing and wind the bobbin, I've had to put it away for a couple of days--it all just seems a bit overwhelming! Just reading the instruction manual gave me a headache! :) But no worries, I won't give up. I am determined.........I WILL learn to sew this next year!

One of my favorite things we did this year, was exchange gifts as a family. Each gift had to be homemade and cost under $5. (We got this idea from Aunt Crystal--her family does this every year). At first I was worried about how this was going to work--I mean, what exactly can a 3-year old make by herself? Better yet, what could I possibly make by myself that someone else would actually want? Oh, but things turned out SO much better than I ever expected--and I think that all of us really enjoyed the experience! It is definitely a Christmas tradition we will continue in the future.

Jason made Isaac a 'snowball construction set'--complete with a decorated box, mini-marshmallows, toothpicks and instructions. Isaac made Johnny a 'Batman' secret agent book. This was way cute--Isaac decorated a folder with the 'Batman' logo and filled it with coloring pages, word searches and comics that he created himself. Johnny wrote Jason a poem that he typed up and illustrated all by himself. Belle made Sabrina the cutest pom-pom scarf out of yarn. Sabrina made me a candy cane candle holder (with her dad's help of course)--which I absolutely LOVE! And I made Belle a pom-pom scarf--mostly because she was coveting the one she was making for Sabrina. And to not leave anyone out, I tied Seth a little fleece blanket--which he couldn't have cared less about. :)

I have to say that the funnest thing about opening presents this year, was watching Johnny's reaction to the new wii game he got. The new Super Mario Brothers. I am still laughing as I try to type this.....That kid jumped up and down, screamed, danced, yelled, the works! And when he was exhausted from that, he fell to the floor and started climbing the carpet, arms and legs flying everywhere. He seriously could not contain himself! And when he was done, there was still the "woot-woot" every time he remembered he had it. I am kicking myself for not having the camcorder on.....it was classic! Thank you Johnny for an unforgettable moment. :)

Christmas night we headed up to see Grandma and Grandpa Yeates and the rest of the family that was visiting. It was so nice to be able to spend the evening with them all. Grandma and Grandpa surprised the kids with presents this year. It was really fun and the kids were so excited! I have to say though, that the Mickey Mouse airplane they gave Seth is the CUTEST thing I have ever seen! And Seth is totally diggin it. He has become quite possessive of it too--no one else is allowed near it--it is pretty funny. He can sit on it, or stand and hold the back to walk with it. It has a ton of buttons that make Mickey talk, move up and down, sing, etc. It has a built in shape sorter in the seat, and, it makes motor sounds and has a light-up propeller that spins! Seriously, the CUTEST thing ever! Thanks Mom and Dad! WE love it!

There were a few bummers for us this year though. Like the fact that we weren't able to get down to Vegas to see Grandma and Grandpa Barker. They got to spend the holiday with Corey & Diana, Wendy & Steve and their kids. Lucky them! We sure wish we could've gone down for a visit.....we would've LOVED to have seen everybody. Jerel & Crystal--we missed you too! (We hope that your kids are all feeling better so that we can get together and play soon). And we were also missing Sara & Ryan and their cute kids. Christmas just isn't the same when you can't all be together. Hopefully next year will allow us to ALL be together somehow. We sure love and miss you all! Merry Christmas!