Christmas Vacation Part 2

For the second half of our Christmas vacation...
The day after Christmas we went spent the whole day with Jason's family. We had a blast! The girls ran around and around and around with their cousins, Jason and John got in a lot of video games, and the girls chatted in the kitchen. Gary unfortunately had to work most of the day and we certainly missed his company. I am so blessed to have the in-laws that I do! I sincerely cherish each one of them and am so thankful to be a part of their family!
Abby and the girls giggling on the couch while watching movies

The lone soldier in a sea of girls!

Do you see the smile? I managed to break the concentration for a slight moment! Jason hasn't played video games in months, so this was a special treat for him.

Somehow, I didn't get any pictures of anyone else this day. But we had a marvelous day and a fantastic dinner! Thanks for giving us your whole day!
The Sunday after Christmas, Jason preached for the first time at Sovereign Grace. I may be biased :), but it was wonderful! I was so proud of him! Especially because I know how much work he put into it and how reverently he treated God's word. Great job love! Jason's Dad and his Grandma drove down from California for the day to see Jason preach. It was such a pleasure to have them there and then to spend some time with Jason's Grandma after church.
Jason with his Grandma Marcella and his dad Paul

Grandpa and Great Grandma, otherwise known as GG, with some of the little ones

The second week of our vacation was spent with lots and lots of hangout time. And much to my disappointment, I didn't get any pictures! Oooo lesson learned! We had fabulous evenings spent with Carrie and Keith, Chris and Tara, and Jon and Lory. Jason got to spend an afternoon with Jeremy, I got to spend a morning with my beautiful sister, we spent New Year's Eve with John and Jessica, New Year's Day with my parents, I got to go running 3 or 4 times with Tiffany, it was good to be home! There was so much else we wanted to do, but time was not our friend.
One photo I do have, which is super cute, is of Katie and Ellie. Cute friends huh! Ellie is about 3 weeks older than Katie. They love each other!

On Monday night, Chris and Tara were so kind to organize a night at their house where we could meet several of the singles in the singles group. It was great to get to know some of them and certainly built even more excitement in our hearts about coming home. Can't wait to get to know all of you!
Friday night was a special night. Tara's Surprise 30th Birthday Party!!!! That was a blast! The highlight was the encouragement time as person after person shared evidences of God's grace in Tara and how He has used her to further the gospel. Tara is so special to me, a dear friend, and it was an honor to encourage her that evening! I love you Tara and am SO GLAD to have been there for your 30th!


It was so, so good to be home! Thank you all for a wonderful welcome home! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas 2008!

We were thrilled to head home to Arizona for 2 full weeks for Christmas break! Family, good friends, church, resting, relaxing, holidays, warm weather, sunny skies, playing at the park, going to sporting events, our vacation was certainly full! Somehow, in all the excitement, I took very little pictures. Sad, huh! So here is my best attempt and remembering a great trip home!

Can you see the excitement on the girl's faces? They were so excited to go home! We kept listing off everyone in the family and people at church that they were going to see. Then, when they were tired of sitting... we let them run wild! Not really! But sometimes traveling on airplanes across the country with two little ones can feel like that!



MY parents, sister, and her two girls were waiting for us when arrived at the airport in Phoenix. Grandma had brought bubbles and we played while the boys got the luggage. I think they may have enjoyed themselves!






Jason was busy the first few days with finishing up his sermon preparation. So I thoroughly enjoyed the company of family! I am not even sure of all that we did, but we did hang out, relax, and have fun! One day that I did get a lot of pictures was when my sister, my niece Madison, Abby, Katie, and I went to the park. The girls had been talking about this for weeks! "At Christmas, when we go home, we can play at the park!" So we threw on some sweatshirts and off we went! It was so good to be outside!







Christmas was great!!! We went to church on Christmas Eve and it was so good to be there and see the people we love! We were staying with my parents during this time, so we woke up there on Christmas morning. My mom, as usual, had it decorated so beautiful and so cozy! I just loved being home! We had a great time opening presents and enjoying each other's company! I love how Christmas gets more and more fun as the girl's grow older!
Isn't the tree so beautiful!








I love how at this age, the simplest of toys excites them! Katie loved the coloring books and chapstick!



After our little festivities, my dad, Abby, and I were able to go to the Suns game! Taking Abby to these is so much fun! She is actually well-behaved enough to just sit in my lap and enjoy all that is going on. As for Katie, who knows when she will get to go to one of these!


My mom had put together a wonderful Christmas afternoon dinner for all family. It was so great to gather and just hang out. I love this about our families! We have such a great time just being together!
mmmmmmmm!

My parents just but this wonderful new fire pit in their front courtyard with these big comfy patio chairs. After our family get together, Jason's mom and Gary stayed over till late in the evening and we had a great time just talking, telling stories, and laughing with both of our parents around the fire. We all had a chuckle about this!
Alright, well I am too tired to finish this post, so... to be continued!

Chuck-E-Cheese!

Chuck-E-Cheese!  What a fabulous place!  We had a family night here a few weeks ago and the girl's loved it.  What kid wouldn't, with pizza, games, prizes, a big huge talking mouse, and a Daddy who turns into a little kid in any environment like this!  This will definitely be a family night spot for the future!

A Little Behind!

Okay, so it has been over a month since I posted last.  Whoops!  I wish that I could recount all the fabulous things that we have done this past month but, honestly, I can't really remember!  This is why I need to take pictures more and keep blogging!  Thankfully, there were several highlights and a wonderful Christmas vacation back home in Arizona!  So here is my attempt to catch up... 

Crazy Deal Fanatic!

It is official!  I have become a crazy deal fanatic!  But, I have to admit, it is a lot of fun!  I go to CVS at least once or twice a week and get stuff for crazy cheap!  I went yesterday and got 2 things of Tide detergent, 3 packages of Huggies, 2 more packs for batteries, 2 tubes of Maybelline lip gloss, and a tube of Dora toothpaste.  It was $71 total and I got it for $30!  The most exciting part is more that we really have seen our grocery budget decrease!  I am learning a lot about meal planning on a budget, comparison shopping, and looking for deals.  More than CVS, I was thrilled to go to the grocery store for a quick run and get $18 worth of food for $11 after coupons!  I have been really surprised how much money you can save through coupons, rebates, rewards programs, and just looking for deals.  I guess every lit bit counts!

So for today's deal...

Old Navy was offering great doorbuster sales today.  Thermals for $5, and Sweaters for $10 and $15.  I have needed some warm tops so I was into this.  The best part was that the first 50 customers in the store were each given 4 free movie tickets!  I was in for sure!  So I called my friend Hannah and we got the kids up at 7am and headed to the store, PJs and all!  I got some great clothes and 2 date nights of movies for Christmas Break!  Fabulous, absolutely fabulous!

Of course we stopped by CVS on the way home and I spent $5 for $46 worth of stuff!  Then we went to Trader Joe's for some Pizza fixins!  Mmmm dinner time is soon!  Miss you all back home and we will be there a week from tomorrow!

Snow, Snow, Snow!

Last Saturday and Sunday it snowed!  Of course it was gone by Sunday afternoon, but it was beautiful!  Took some fun snow pics...

 

PC Wives Christmas Tea

Last Saturday we were treated to a beautiful tea hosted at Liz Dustin's home. It was frosty cold outside and her home was so cozy and Christmasy! The admin team had put so much detail into the place settings, center pieces, and yummy yummy food! Dawn Weaver, I believe, used to have her own catering company and she prepared all of the food. And it was no ordinary food! There were little pastries, cakes, and things I don't even know how to say or spell, but boy did they taste good! We played trivia games based on our wedding and honeymoon facts. It was a lot of fun to reminisce and to chuckle about the differences between generations! I have to say I laughed out loud at the number of weddings that had green bridesmaids dresses! So 80's! Thanks to Jeannie Harvey and the PC Admin Team for such a lovely morning!

This is Liz Dustin and her daughter
Dawn Weaver, the Chef Extraordinaire! 

Jeannie Harvey, the Master Planner!
My Table: Amy Briley, Miran Kang, Julie Purswell, Marie Hughes, and me!  These are our fellowship groups minus two.  Shari had to be home with sick kiddos and Amanda was home for the first day with her newborn baby girl!


Erin Wikner, Betsy Ricucci, Lilli Leslie, and Siobhan Slack
Jen Lockhart and Teresa Nguyen
Me and Amanda Welton.  Amanda's husband, Keith, is Jeff's new intern.  They have two little ones that are the same age as ours.  We have all become good buddies!
People say Siobhan and I look like sisters!  She does have the Newquist flare doesn't she.  Now we just have to tell her she can only wear black and white!
This was the young ones table!  I chuckled because I was at the next generations table even though I am similar ages as some of these gals.  Or maybe I just still think that I am!
Everyone minus Shari and Amanda.  We missed you both!
Merry Christmas Ladies!