Merry Christmas

In a few hours the 3 (and a half) of us will be piling in the old family car for our annual 10+ hour drive to PA for Christmas!
I'm excited for everything but the drive as you can probably tell if you look at what time it is that I am posting...(6 a.m.)

Woke up at 5:00 a.m. with my mind racing and worrying about last minute details and my "strategy" for keeping Raegan occupied and amused for the first half of the trip before she "hopefully" falls asleep for the evening. We were not blessed with a child who sleeps easily and deeply in her carseat so I'm anticipating that with each gas or restroom stop she will wake up and have to try to fall back asleep.
In years past (before kids) Brad and I would stop for the night at the same hotel in Youngstown, OH and enjoy a hotel room and continental breakfast to break up the trip. Now I laugh and understand why my own parents would always insist on driving straight through the 24 hour trip to Florida every year with us kids. You just want to GET THERE!!
Hotel rooms + kids= not so much fun. Better to "suffer" through the long drive revved up on McDonald's coffee and greasy fast food...=)
It's all worth it for the end result though! We can't wait to spend time with Brad's family for a few days and then to head off on an adults-only vacation for the rest of the week.
So on that note, I hope you all have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. Next time I write it will probably be 2007.

I also want to leave you with one picture of RG on our "Christmas morning" we had last weekend. It was the first and only present that she showed some interest in and the funniest part is, it sat unwrapped upstairs for two weeks and she looked at it everyday. You'd think by the look on her face that it was a complete surprise. =)
(P.S. If you have a daughter, check out this 10 in 1 playset by Graco from Target. It was 19.99 awhile ago and might be on sale again...BEST bang for your buck for doll accessories!)

Christmas Quiz

I found this on a friend of a friend's blog (Laurie, your friend Amy) =) and thought I would copy it to pass on to my fellow bloggers. I'm a sucker for fun quizzes, especially to see others answers..so if you have a blog, please copy, paste,post your answers, and pass on the fun. Merry Christmas!

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? - Hot Chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? - Mrs Claus wraps all the presents in our house and Mr Claus has had them wrapped at the stores (in years past).
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? - All white inside, and red and white outside
4. Do you hang mistletoe? - Nope, but maybe I'd get more affection if I did...Hmm, note-to-self for next year. =) (just kidding Brad)
5. When do you put your decorations up? - The weekend of Thanksgiving
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?- I'm sure Brad would have a list a mile long from his mom's delicacies but I don't have a favorite. However, our brunch this year at my mom and dad's was excellent!!
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child- Our tradition of having Christmas BEFORE the 25th because we went to Florida and waiting and wondering when Santa would make his appearance on a weeknight at our house (usually when we were "convieniently" out for dinner).
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? - I don't remember but it was dragged on for years at our house because of my little sister, whom I think still believes in Santa at 22 years old. =)
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?- Not necessarily
10. Snow! Love it or Dread it? -I love the first big snow we get that sticks around for awhile but after January, it could melt and be summer in my opinion!
11. Can you ice skate?- It's been a long time and I'm not very good at it although Brad has visions of creating a rink on the pond in our backyard.
12. Do you remember your favorite gift?- Not necessarily a favorite but I specifically remember the childhood Christmas when I got my first pink Huffy 10 speed!
13. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? -
The reminder of Christ's birth and God's gift to us; but also all the family time. I just love it.
14. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? - My Mother-In-Law's Graham Cracker Pudding....YUM!!
15. What is your favorite holiday tradition?- Probably getting the Christmas tree with my whole family
16. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Brad always handles the lights and then I do the rest. I have red and silver bulbs and a few ornaments although this year I realized I've got to hit the after Christmas sales for next year. Our tree decor was a little sparse. I used to do icicles or tinsel but that got too messy for my liking.
17. What tops your tree? - A star my mom gave each of us girls last year
18. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? - I love finding the the perfect gift for people and then watching them open it. But I would be lying if I didn't say I love getting he perfect gift too!! (ditto this answer I copied from the previous person!)
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?-Oh my...so many. I love the old classics like "What Child is This"
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?- I like the fruity ones, but not the peppermint and I don't buy them because I'll maybe eat one, and then the rest get stale

We're all off the market

Congrats to my littlest sister Krista and her fiance' Andy who got engaged on Friday night! We love you and Raegan can't wait to be a flower girl =)

20 months old and sick

I cannot believe that in 4 short months I will not only have a two year old but a newborn. This very obvious realization struck me today as I struggled to keep my patience and take care of my sick little one. Some days I feel like she is all I can handle and then I think about my friends with more then one kid and realize that soon that will be me, and I will figure it out and handle it just as they have.
Funny how we can only see what's in our little world at the time.
Here's a few pics of my sick little one playing in her new handmade poncho. (Thanks to my crafty cousin Julie!) I finally convinced her to put it on after I told her it was a blankie and held it against my cheek. (?)
That's Raegan for you.




Marching to the music in her room









A "close-up" of her leaky nose and dreary eyes.

Forty pounds of meat

Well...Brad's very successful deer hunting season came to an end this morning with his muzzle-loader kill of a doe.
I am now "looking forward" to 40+ pounds of jerky, sausage, chops, tenderloins, etc.
We bought a "game" marinade in Shipshewana a month ago and we also have quite a collection of "Wild Game" cookbooks that I just can't wait to pour through to find the perfect recipe.
Unfortunately Brad did not bring his camera or I would have another dead deer shot for you. I contemplated taking a picture of the blood splattered bed of his pick-up truck but I can't bring myself to go outside and look at it again.
Let us know if any of you want to come over for a venison tenderloin some night!

19 months old + photo session = disaster

Okay, so after being "teased" by certain people last year for our family christmas card picture in our hats and vests I decided to try to do one of Raegan by herself this year. She has 3 Christmas outfits and will probably only wear each of them twice so what better way to forever immortalize one of them but in a Christmas card picture, right?
Well, easier said then done. Raegan and I had some time before church on Sunday and she was looking so darn clean and spiffy that I pulled out the camera ready for that perfect shot. (I've had several photo op's with her lately as she gazes out our window at the snow or gently touches the colored ornaments on our tree...unfortunately most of these times are in the morning in her pajamas so not exactly my "ideal" outfit for a card picture.)
Anyways, we went in the living room and I asked her to sit by the fire place. She followed my instructions until I pulled the camera up to my face and then she yelled "No!" and jumped up giggling. We tried this several times before moving on to the Christmas tree. I asked her to stand and touch the pretty bulbs...."No!". Would she sit down and hold a present? "No!" After much giggling and "No's" from Raegan and frusterated sighs from me we were late to church and I have zero options to choose from.
Here are a few of what I did get:






"pretending" she was going to give me a sweet and precious photo...












...then chucking the ornament across the room that she was so gently playing with










Threatening to "call body" (call somebody) on her cell phone to tell them I was making her have her picture taken





SO...if you get a copy of last year's Christmas card of us in your mailbox this year...you know why.