Saturday

Today's a pretty weird Saturday -- it doesn't feel like Saturday. Matt had to work today, but fortunately only a couple of hours. Before he left, he let me sleep in; I love that man! I've been just so tired lately!
Goals of the day:
-catch up on laundry; it seems to be multiplying around here. :)
-keep the house picked up so that I can clean it this weekend.
-work on January's budget: since October, I've been using this software I really like, but the free trial ran out and I'm not spending money to use it. At this point I'm really really wishing I'd retained more from college about Microsoft Excel. I can just see how this budget worksheet would come together, only I'm lacking the skills to actually do it. :( I'll keep working on it. :)
-finish our photo calendar at Walmart.com, or at least get closer. I love having our photo calendar up on the fridge, but it's so much work to put it together, especially if I wait until the end of the year... which I did. This year I'm going to try to do what I did a few years ago, and gather pictures every month.

Now I will leave you with some of my broad goals for 2010 (baby steps, okay?):
-Be nicer to my husband... a lot nicer, even when I'm tired.
-Spend more time in the Word and in prayer.
-Stay in touch with friends better.
-Work harder at my job; get better at it.
-Save toward our “emergency fund.” Live with less, happily, and really blast through the steps from Financial Peace... toward financial peace.
-Eat healthier. Keep junk out of the house, and eat it only on special occasions. :) Start making a lot of things from scratch (bread, etc.). Meal plan every week, and keep more fruits and veggies in the house.
-Get on a sleep schedule so I'm better rested.
-Incorporate some kind of exercise into my daily life.

The girls

Jessica...
-is hiding from all the football by being upstairs in the office.
-is also hiding a little bit from Natalie, who is perfectly happy until I walk into a room, at which time she must have me or cry.
-confirmed today that I have the worst sense of direction. Kathryn got it all and I got none.
-is very sad that stinky Babies R Us is already out of the Earth's Best diapers that are on sale this weekend. :(

Natalie...
-loves to point.
-LOVES to talk.
-loves to push buttons.
-will be ONE really really soon!
-has a cold. :(
-took a nap sitting next to Daddy on the couch today.
-does not like riding in the car.

Joanna...
-is giggling in the hallway right now.
-LOVES her cousins.
-is a great shopper and a dream child in the car. (She was with when I confirmed just how bad my sense of direction is today.)
-did not take a nap today but has endless energy. Her mother... does not.

I'm being called from the football room. Maybe there's food... :)

Christmas Night

After a quick nap, we headed over to Aunt Mindy's for Christmas dinner.
One of the reindeer was there, too. :) Natalie crashed again.

Joanna snuggled up with her cousin Katie.

Kurt, Pop, Joanna, and Katie

We had a white elephant gift exchange, and Mamma and Pop ended up with this dancing/singing penguin. Natalie really liked it at first... then it scared her.

We had a fantastic dinner and lots of fun with so much family!

Tuesday

I heard a little voice at 4:00am this morning say "I did poop in my race car pull-ups." It was a very sweet little voice, and her wonderful daddy got up to take care of her. I listened to him changing her diaper; she just talked and talked. He put her back to bed, and she went without a fight. We didn't know until later that she'd crawled into the crib with Natalie. :) Natalie slept fine until her usual 6:10am (ick). She's playing very sweetly in the playroom (or was, until she discovered I was at the computer -- she doesn't like it when I'm here!) I'd better get back to my reading, which I haven't done in months. It's a reread...but, baby steps, I say.

Trains and Naps

After we left Grandma's, we headed over to Mamma and Pop's house to check out the giant train set-up in the back yard. Natalie was pooped. She'd skipped the morning nap, so she fell asleep in the car. She transferred right over to Auntie Kathryn to finish her nap. Yay!

Over the river and through the woods...

to Grandmother's house we go!
Grandma invited us over for breakfast on Christmas Day (which due to our lazy selves turned more into lunch!)

It was so yummy, Grandma!

Christmas Through our Years

Every year I've taken a picture of our fireplace... it seems to always be our "spot."
2006: Matt and my first married Christmas, also our first Christmas in this house. We had only started to move in. If this was a panoramic view, you'd see our bed in the living room and not much else. I remember Matt and I stuffed each other's stockings. I'm pretty sure those presents in the middle are from my dad and step-mom. 2007: Joanna's first Christmas. We put up the train Christmas Eve after she went to bed. Again, Matt and I stuffed each other stockings... and of course, Joanna's! I'm pretty sure all the gifts in the picture are from Nana and Popo! I'm noticing that this tree looks so much better in this picture than the one a couple down from this year. Did it wilt? :)

2008: I was imminently due with Natalie so I decided not to pull out any Christmas decorations. I did not want to put them away pregnant or with a newborn. Ick. So, what you see here is ALL of our decorations last year. The tree was already put together in the garage (lazy storage from the year before) and all the ornaments on it were gifts in December! We did pull out stockings. We had one in reserve for Natalie just in case she showed up a little early -- the fourth one here is my mom's. I think I stuffed everybody's stockings last year (including my own!)

2009: I think the problem with the tree is that I tried to put too much stuff on it (oh, and Joanna helped decorate the bottom!) This year I got to stuff all our stockings, and Kathryn and Patrick's! It's fun to be "Santa." I love how my step-mom wraps in reusable bags -- a gift within a gift! A couple of Kathryn and Patrick's gifts even made it down from OKC for them to open... amazing how that happens!

No train again this year, but I have high hopes for next year. The girls will be bigger, more able to understand (and maybe obey?) "Don't ride/shove/move/derail/throw the train." We'll see! I know Matt would really love to have it up during Christmas!

I love looking back at these pictures -- they take me right back. I love Christmas time.