Merry Christmas 2010!!

Today has been a nice quiet (as quiet as it can be with three boys excited with new toys). I even got a nap! It was WONDERFUL. Jacob and Nathan played and watched movies in the play room and Ian even got to play with his new addiction, I mean toy (XBOX game). We even set up the camera with a timer and took a family picture. For some reason it turned out blurry but I cannot help sharing it because EVERYONE looked and SMILED. It is some sort of Christmas Miracle, especially with Owen!

We ended the evening with AWESOME prime rib, a gourmet mac n cheese, and Caesar salad among other things. The boys especially loved that I warmed up apple/pear cider and served it to them in wine glasses with whipped cream. It made them feel super special which made me happy. Owen entertained us throughout dinner once he was finished bringing us his new toys, dancing and singing "SUNBEAM" over and over again. (He sings a song in church called Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam and I guess he has picked it up because this was the first we had heard him singing it). We ended the meal with a little piece of chocolate tort and some peppermint ice cream for the boys. All in all a lovely day and we are thankful to have one more semi restful day tomorrow before Ian heads back to work for a four day work week before we say goodbye to 2010!

Merry Christmas to our family and friends. We miss you and hope you are having a safe, fun holiday. We are so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ and his birth!!

Now here is picture overload in order throughout the day:)

LOVING the new Tee Pee from Nana. It even says "Heller's Cove" they thought that was soooooo cool!


This is what happens when you get your KIDS Nerf guns and daddy gets ahold of them first.....

Christmas Morning shot. Can you tell Owen was thrilled?:)






Owen now likes to hide his new tools IN his pajammas. He is a nut what can we say?

Prime Rib Dinner! YUMM-O




Ian prepping Keira's Christmas Present. Lets just saw she got lost in the backyard for quite some time. Now we are praying we are not woken up with foul smells throughout the night!

Christmas Eve

After so much traveling the past couple of months we were content to stay home this Christmas and enjoy some family time. The time is coming all too soon when our spoiling of Shore Duty and school is going to end and it will be back to Sea Duty and long separations so we want to make the most of it while we can.

The boys and I enjoyed the week off from school making gingerbread trains and having popcorn/movie days while we had a torrential downpour of rain for days on end. Thankfully by Christmas Eve the rain had stopped and we were able to get out and enjoy some Christmas lights!

Before the lights though we made half a dinner for a family for church who needed the extra Christmas love. Ian and I heated and made a glaze for a ham, cooked a turkey roast, made a green bean casserole and some pumpkin cookies. Then Ian, Jacob and Nathan met our friend at the people's house who had the other half of the dinner and they dropped it off. Ian said the wife sobbed when she saw all the food. I think it was a wonderful thing for the boys to experience, giving to others who need us if not temporally but spiritually.




While they were playing the part of "elves" I got homemade calzones together for dinner. YUM! We all loved them. Ian said he thinks we should have those more often rather than pizza even. Owen just loves pizza period so he was one happy camper:) After dinner we headed out to search out some Christmas lights. I had heard about a certain house not too far away where the parents, as a labor of love for their two Autistic sons create a HUGE light display each year. It was amazing, set to music and even had a Santa coming to the window "ho ho hoing" (a large TV I assume). The boys were enthralled! We found two other houses on an Internet list including one that had a huge Frosty which Owen LOVED and was screaming "foty toe man foty toe man" over and over between "let me OUT" :) He wanted to go see Frosty! and a house that was Toy Story themed. It was a fun outing that we all enjoyed. It reminded me of when I was a kid and my dad would take us girls out to look at lights while Santa, "AKA MOM" was at home getting presents ready. Thankfully I had everything set so I was able to enjoy the outing too!







We got lucky and all three boys went right to bed. Then it was time to "help" Santa get presents and stockings ready and put together the Tee Pee Nana sent the boys. I think Ian had just as much fun in it. You tell me??

Nathan's Kindergarten Christmas Sing Along

Last night we got to enjoy Nathan and all the other Kinders sing us some adorable Haunnakah and Christmas songs. The place was packed to the brim and had to be a fire hazard but it was fun all the same. Owen loved sitting in Daddy's lap and hearing all the kids sing and I think he clapped harder and longer than any of the rest of us.

I tried to get a few shots of Nathan but as I said it was a mad house. Here are a few:

Waiting for things to start. Check out Jacob's bald spot where he decided to cut his own hair.....won't even comment on that one.

Nathan and his buddy Ben

Lining up!


Owen enjoying a cookie watching the kids

Nathan in front of one of the murals at his school. His mascot is the Gecko.

Its a gingerbread man? Its an astronaut? Nope its a Gingerbread Man-Astronaut!

Nathan's homework this week was to take a gingerbread man cut out and turn it into "whoever" he wanted it to be. His teacher told me that as soon as she told them about the project he raised his hand and told the class his was going to be a "space man". He kept getting upset last week because she told them about the homework early in the week but did not send home the paperwork until Friday so each day he was going into his backpack when he got home and then was upset that it was not there. So, tonight we finally got out the project and set to making him his space man. I had no clue as to how we were going to make it. After the help of Google clip art we had a plan including cling wrap for the front of the mask. He is ecstatic about how it turned out and can't wait to take it in to show his teacher tomorrow.

I did have his parent/teacher conference last week and he got wonderful remarks and comments. Not one thing did she say we need to work on besides the normal reading and pushing that. They are graded with a Proficient, Basic and Below Basic and he got Proficient on every single mark except one basic and he got awesome marks on his citizenship stuff too. We are very proud of him. We LOVE his school and are hoping and praying that Jacob can get in there next year too. I am to the point where I may try to move into the boundries if I have to but I so don't want to move solo!

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!

I have been DYING to get our tree this year and to unpack all my Christmas decor that has been boxed up since Christmas of 2008! Last year we did our big move and then went home for Christmas so I never took anything out. So depressing for me because I LOVE having a tree and lights etc around the house. So, yesterday we set off to get a little tree. Ian and I decided to get a smaller tree and set it on a table with the hopes it would detour the cat and Owen a little bit. So far it seems to have worked. It is a cute fat little tree and the boys were SO excited to help decorate it. Almost too excited. I miss the boys being babies but I am truly enjoying experiencing things with them as they get older and enjoying being able to do things together.

Here are pictures from our little tree adventure!











We are going to miss family this year at Christmas but are also looking forward to staying close to home and enjoying each other and gearing up for Daddy's disappearance this spring....