Holiday Fun

I could write forever on how nice this Christmas was. My sister's family came home early in December so we could celebrate with them. We opened presents with Ken's mom early Christmas Eve. Then we headed to the Ellis Christmas at his Aunt Brenda and Uncle Tom's. We then ventured to my parents for Christmas Eve. We exchanged presents with our second Secret Santa and had my sister and Rick on the phone. The boys solved some of the world's problems. Christmas day was blessed with Granny's arrival at my parents so she could enjoy the laughter and chaos she has enjoyed for so many years. Ken's mom came to my parents-thank you so much!!! My uncle and his 2boys and their families came (Melissa we missed you) Angie's in-laws also came to join us. I love having everyone together--that is what makes holidays so special. We then ventured back home to see if Santa came to the Ellis house. Oh the surprise when they found presents under the tree. He must have come while we were up north!!!

Hope you enjoyed the holidays and had special time with your family and friends.

Oh...So Sweet and So Bitter

Here is the sweet part--yesterday was a day in the snow. Forts being built and tunnels being made. Last night took the cake. Ken spent about 1 1/2 hours blowing snow off the pond for an ice skating rink for the our kids as well as the rest of the neighborhood. He made the basic rink and then other "bypasses" so the kids could play tag. It was getting dark by the time he was finished and the kids were still in full skating mode. So he brought out spot lights from the garage to illuminate the rink, cranked Christmas music from the speakers on our deck and we watched the kids skate. I tried to take pictures but the lighting made it difficult. Unfortunately today they are not able to enjoy the wonderful little playland Ken created.

Here is the bitter part--Following our blast of snow, we are now getting a blast of cold. We are sitting at -3 degrees with a wind chill of -35 below. Our high tomorrow is 6 with wind chills still at -30 degrees. This makes playing outside basically impossible. So we are stuck inside with 3 kids so wanting to "do something" Cleaning isn't quite what they have in mind.

White Christmas is Now Guarenteed

Well, the first storm of the season has arrived. We were out blowing snow for about 4 hours this morning and know that we will be heading out later to clean it up again. The kids were a big help for a bit, then you will see that they found other ways to have fun in the snow. The funniest story of the day is--Jake wanted to go fishing on the pond so Ken went out to help him dig the first hole. We took out the auger, the sledgehammer and the big ice chisel for scraping the driveway. Well Ken was doing the final breakthrough of the ice and pounded the chisel. Finally they broke the last layer. Unfortunately Ken was not quite prepared for this and the chisel slipped out of his hand and went right down into the pond. We all just stood there for a minute. We could not hold it in anymore and busted out laughing. What could we do? Jake said he would try to find it in the spring--Knowing Jake, he probably will. All I could say was thank goodness it was Ken--anyone else and all hell would have broke loose. They continued to clean out the hole and proceeded to ice fish for the next 2 hours--I will never ever understand this sport!! In spite of the snow, it is beautiful out. We might as well enjoy it--or it will be a very long Wisconsin winter. We are anxiously awaiting for the second round to arrive tomorrow night.

So Much to Be Thankful For!!!

How do I even begin to count the blessings I have? As this Thanksgiving came and went, I was able to just sit back and look around. I watched as the kids ran to Ken's mom, my mom and dad, Uncle Craig and Gram to give great big hugs. Jake played polker for the first time with Ken and his mom. Jordyn played with Maddy and Alexa all day and we hardly heard a peep out of them. Jackson got even with Uncle Craig--after Craig smooshed a kneecap in Jackson's face, Jackson put whipped cream on Craig's glasses. My dad and Uncle Dick sat on each side of Granny at the table and we laughed as they said "Grams--you are the thorn between two roses" Yeah right but we all had a good laugh as Granny shook her fist at them--She knows better too!!!! As always, dinner was wonderful. Everyone pitching in makes this so much easier. Lee and Diane, Mark and Melissa--it is always fun hearing the laughter!!! Karen, thank you for coming and being a part of our family!!! Our family isn't that big so it is so nice when we are all together. We missed the Heck family but can't wait for them at Christmas!!!

Then we returned to our house and on Friday we went to slay our Christmas tree. Again, listening to the kids laugh as they are throwing snowballs at Ken and I. I had to sit and listen once again to Ken complain that I take too long to find a tree every year. The boys then decorated the house outside and the girls did the inside. Jackson pretty much went wherever he wanted and we went like crazy to get stuff done when he was sleeping. Light, ornaments and Jackson don't go real well quite yet.

Then as you can see--yes we had our 1st snow storm--snowball fights, shoveling and sledding--here we go!!

We have such special people in our lives and I am so thankful for all of you.