Christmas 2010

Christmas was a ton of fun this year. Naomi was so excited about learning about the Baby Jesus and opening the boxes of our "What God wants for Christmas" nativity. She also learned about Santa this year and was very excited at the prospect of him coming to our house and leaving her gifts. We did our regular Christmas traditions like making a gingerbread house, baking cookies from scratch and going to Flame Run to blow a glass ornament.
Christmas eve we usually go to Greg's uncle's house, but because of the bad weather we decided not to travel the 2 hours to his house and back. Instead we had a quiet dinner at home and then roasted marshmallows by the fire place. The kids loved it. After the children were fast asleep Greg and I went to work on making it look like Santa had been to the house. Thanks to the ideas from my Mom we were successful. We placed cornstarch around the fireplace to look like he made a mess with snow and then made foot prints from the fireplace to the tree where he left the gift. Of course the cookies and milk were both gone in the morning when Josiah and Naomi woke up. Seeing Naomi's reaction to the snow footprints was so fun. She told everyone that came over for lunch that Santa made a huge mess all over the place. It was fun for us to see her excitement since we never had that with Josiah. He has just never believed in Santa. He figured out the whole Mom and Dad putting gifts under the tree a very long time ago.
Christmas morning was fun with the kids. Greg's family came over for lunch and some fun family time.

Twas Two Weeks Before Christmas

Twas two weeks before Christmas, when all through my mind
Not a thought was stirring, about Christmas cards I must find.
My friends were all sending the cutest I've seen,
To Shutterfly.com it was clear they had been.

The designs are so varied, elegant and great,

How on earth would I choose before it was too late?
There are folded and flat and photo ones too,
What color should I pick? Red, Green or Blue?

When this project is done, to the world I will show,
How creative you can be when you're in the know.
It's as easy as can be,

With Shutterfly's steps...one, two and three.

If you're faster than me, and your cards are all done,

A last minute gift idea might be sorta fun.

A photo calendar for Granny, a mug for Uncle Rick,

A photo book for Mom might just do the trick.

They've got all the tools to do this just right,

May your future projects fill you with delight.

Merry Christmas to all,

And to all a good night.

Now that I'm all done and this poem is over,

I need to make one little disclosure.

Our friends at Shutterfly got some extra exposure

For the 50 free cards they're sending right over.

The Big Four-O

Yes that is right, I am now 40 years old. Quite honestly, I can't believe it. I remember when my Dad was 40 and he kept telling us he was middle age. I didn't believe him then and by golly I refuse to believe it now. For my birthday, Greg organised a "Totally 80's" party for me. It was a small get together of family and a few friends. It was fun to see the way everyone dressed up and it was also fun just hanging out. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Pumpkin Patch

Back in October Greg took a day off work and we went to Huber's Orchard and winery. Grandma and Leah came with us. We packed a picnic lunch and went to play for the morning. When we got there we took a wagon ride to the apple orchard. We picked a bag full of apples and then went back to the farm to play. Fruit you pick yourself always tastes better than store bought. At Huber's they have a petting zoo, a corn maze, slides and many other fun things. Everyone had so much fun. After lunch we headed back to Louisville.

Naomi Starts Pre-School

This year Naomi started pre-school 2 half days a week. She has been waiting so long for the day when she would be old enough to go to school. We told her for the longest time that when she turns 3 she can go to school. We were hoping she would forget and not bring it up again, but in June as soon as she was 3 she wanted to know when school started. So, we had to tell her that when we come back from South Africa she will be going to school. We didn't learn from the first round. The day after we arrived back stateside she wanted to know when school starts. I had no idea she wanted to go so badly. Finally the day arrived that the school was ready for her and of course she didn't want me to take her picture. She was such a big kid. I dropped her off in car pool line and she just ran up to the door and just like that my little girl was gone. It was a little sad for me, but she loves every minute of school. He friend Audrey is in her class and they are so cute together.

Josiah Turned 6

While we were in South Africa Josiah turned six. I can't believe my little boy is getting to be a little man. We had a small family get together to celebrate and he got a few extra gifts this year. He had so much fun getting a new DSi and Super Mario Brothers game for it amongst other things.

Durban - My Home Town

The day after we got back from our weekend away we drove 10 hours to my brother, Neville's, house where we spent a week. He lives in Durban which is the town I grew up in. We had a wonderful week letting the children get to know each other and just having fun. Neville and his wife Melanie have 2 beautiful daughters. Aimee is 5 and Emma is 3. Josiah and Naomi got along with them very well. While were there we spent a morning at the beach (yes it was the middle of winter, but we had to do it anyway!). We also went to UShaka Marine World were we saw a dolphin show a seal show and many marine animals. The kids had a blast. I was surprised to find out the Gambit, one of the dolphins that did shows when I was a little girl, was still performing. Neville and Melanie were in the process of selling their house so we had to quickly clean the mess that we had trailing us for a last minute showing. We also spent time looking at their new house which is going to be completely gutted and rebuilt on the inside. Can't wait to see the finished product.

A Weekend Away

The first weekend that Greg was with us we went away with my parents and my sister's family. We stayed at a vacation rental place in Hazyview and had so much fun. One of the days we went back to the Kruger National park and the other days we shopped and spent time at the cabins just enjoying the sunshine. My sister, her husband and her 2 kids and our family stayed in one cabin. My Mom and Dad had their own cabin so that they could enjoy a little peace and quiet from time to time.