It's New Years Eve

Well, tonight is New Years Eve. Josh, Di, Scott and Jenna are here with us. Jacob is still gone with the church, but he will be home tomorrow so that will be nice. When he gets home we will have our family Christmas. It's been such a nice weekend...and tonight will be a lot of fun too. We're going to eat lots of yummy food and play lots of games. Happy New Year.

Josh and Di are home

Josh and Di got here today. They will be here for a week, so we're going to do our family Christmas this Monday on New Years Day. It's so nice to have them home. We don't get to see them a whole lot since they live so far away, so it's nice to have them home for a little while.:)

Christmas

Yesterday we had such a nice time. We were able to go to my brothers house and spend time with my side of the family for Christmas! We played games and ate lots of yummy food. I love getting together with family and catching up.

The kids are home!

The kids are home from Cedar Falls, so now Jacob, and Scott and Jenna are back. It's so nice to have them all around. Scott and Jenna had a Christmas on his side last night, and then we have one for our side on Monday. They're going to be around most of the weekend, until Tuesday, so it will be nice having them around. And then Jacob will be home until Tuesday, then he leaves for a trip with our church...it's nice to have them all here. We get our other son and his wife here next weekend, and it will be very nice to see them too!

Back home from college

My son, Jacob, is back home from college for the holidays. It's so nice to have him home for a while! We enjoy catching up with him and getting to spend time with him. He's going to be working for a one of the jobs that he used to work for when he was living at home during the summers, so although he won't be around much during the daytime, we get some good quality time with him in the evenings! :)

Christmas Party

Last night was my office Christmas Party and we had a great time! We had a yummy catered-in supper at one of my boss's homes. We also opened gifts and had a great time hanging out with all of the people that I work with!

Holiday Baking!

I've been doing a lot of baking this past week. As I wrote, a couple of days ago, I love this time of year, and baking is something that I do and really enjoy.:) Although it makes for a long day when I do my Christmas sugar cookies, I still love the feeling when I have all my baking done and can share the things I've made with family and friends!

Christmas Time!

Christmas is right around the corner, and it's feeling like it more and more! I love this time of year!! We are reminded of what Jesus Christ has done for each one of us, and although it is wonderful to be with family during this blessed time of year, I always want to remember the reason for the season, and for the whole year for that matter!

Happy Birthday to me!

Today was my official birthday...even though we were able to celebrate with the kids this past weekend. It was nice though. I didn't have to work today, and got phone calls from all my kids. I had a great day, and got to spend time with my hubby too.

What a nice birthday!

We got home tonight from Cedar Falls, and finally got everything put away and unpacked. I had the greatest birthday! The kids had made me a yummy cake...one that my mom used to make me when I was young. That was really special. We also were able to go out to eat at the Olive Garden and spend time together. It was such a nice birthday weekend!

Heading down to Cedar Falls

It's my birthday this coming Monday, so we've decided that we will go down to Cedar Falls, and spend the weekend there. We're going to head out tomorrow morning so we'll get there at a good time so we'll be able to go out to eat and spend time together.

Christmas Decorations

Thanksgiving has already past and we're headed into December shortly. We had such a wonderful time spending the past couple of days with family. Today our kids were around and all of them helped us put up all of our Christmas decorations and tree. It feels so good to have everything up. It really helps us get into the Christmas spirit!

Shopping!

We never used to take advantage of all the great sales the day after Thanksgiving. It seemed that we usually had a thanksgiving to attend most years. For the past couple of years we have not planned anything that day so that we could go shopping and get some of our Christmas shopping done at a great cost! After having gone today, and last year, I told my daughter that I'd like to try and plan to go every year! It can be quite crazy as many people are out shopping too, but it's great to get all of the sales.

Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner! It feels like we were just getting home from our vacation with the kids!! Wow, time sure does fly! We're really looking forward to the holidays. Our kids are all going to be able to come, even our son and his wife who live in Texas. It should be a wonderful holiday!

Back to work we go!

We've finally go everything unpacked from our vacation with the kids. Clothes are in the washer and dryer, and we're trying to get some rest before going back to work tomorrow. Zoe was really happy to see us too...I think she missed us a little ;). We did have a great time in South Carolina...but it always feels good to be home.

What a nice vacation!

Well time goes way too fast! It's already almost time for us to leave Myrtle Beach and head back for home. We've had such a wonderful time here though. We were able to enjoy the waterpark. It was a bit cold, but for us Iowans and it still felt much warmer than back home. We were also able to enjoy golfing, eating out, the dixie stampede, and the beach a little bit. It was so relaxing...and a much needed vacation! The kids seemed to have a great time too! :)

We're finally here!

Well, we left on the 20th for Myrtle Beach, and we got here yesterday afternoon. Although a little cooler out than what we were hoping, it's still beautiful here and should be a great vacation. It was our daughters birthday yesterday, so when we got into town and got all checked into the resort, we went out to eat and a very good restaurant. She seemed to really enjoy her birthday...so that's good.

Getting ready to go!

We're all packed up and getting ready to drive down to Cedar Falls today. We're going to be staying there with our daughter and her husband, and we'll leave really early tomorrow morning for Myrtle Beach. We're driving, so we're wanting to get an early start. Our son is going to be watching our dog, zoe, while we're gone...so we're very thankful for that. Should be a great time!

Packing our suitcases

We've been very busy packing our suitcases, and will continue to be busy as we finish packing over the next week. A while back we had asked our daughter and son-in-law if they would like ot go to Myrtle Beach with us. This is where they went on their honeymoon, and we knew that they'd really enjoy going back if they had the opportunity. We're very excited about going to, as they've only told us good things about it. It will also be nice to have a little vacation away from work, and spend some time in the sun and with family!

Our puppy!

We have a bichon frise who is 5 years old. Although she is getting older, she will always be our little puppy. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Bichon dog, they are such a wonderful famliy dog to have. They are so sweet, and very well behaved. She has been such a joy to have as a part of our family. She likes to cuddle most of the time, and is very loving. She's such a good dog too....we can leave her home while we're at work, and when we come home, the house is just as we left it. She's such a sweetie...we love her to pieces!

We had a great time!

Well, I was right, we had a great time last weekend down at UNI with the kids. We enjoy spending time with our family so much, and to be able to go down there and spend time with the kids...well it was great! We did end up going to the football game, and it was nice because our son's girlfriend also was able to go with her family so we got to sit with them. We then went out to eat to the Olive Garden, one of my all time favorite restaurants! Oh, and we even got to bring our dog since my daughter and her husband can have pets at their apartment complex...it was a great weekend!

Family Weekend

I am pretty excited for the upcoming weekend. It is family weekend at our son's college, and since that is also where our daughter and her husband lives, we get to see all three of them! We're going to have such a nice weekend. We'll go out to eat and catch a football game, something we've never done, even as our twins were in school there for four years. It should be a great weekend!

Off to college

I am sitting here after a busy weekend last week of moving our son back to college for his final year at UNI. It's a bitter sweet day for me. Although I'm happy that he is pursuing his dreams, finishing up college to get the career he's always wanted, I am also realizing how quiet it is here without him and how much I will miss him being around!