Christmas: Gone to the Dogs

Christmas morning was probably one of the most memorable ever this year.  Not only were we in the new house surrounded by boxes, but Santa decided it would be so cool to bring Abby and Parker each a puppy. (Mrs. Claus wasn't so sure about this, but Santa is a smooth talker and won that battle.)  Christmas morning the kids woke up to filled stockings, one wrapped present each, and puppies running around the house.Ill never forget Abby rubbing her eyes at 5:15 am, and saying, "puppies?!!!"

On top of the dog kennel were the following notes to each of them that said:

Dear Abby,
Your mom and dad told me you were a great help with your baby sister this year. Because of this, I have decided to give you a puppy. The one in the pink collar is yours. She loves attention and needs lots of affection. I knew she was perfect for you the minute she was born. Please take good care of her and give her a good name.
Love, Santa


Dear Parker,
I heard you were a very good boy this year and helped your dad move all the boxes to your new house. It makes me very happy to know this. As only the best children get puppies, I hope you enjoy your dog and treat him well. Your puppy is the big one with the brown collar. He is a strong boy, who needs you to take care of him. Please give him a name he will love.
Love, Santa


Abby chose to name her dog Sandy, and Parker named his Colt. (No help from parents on naming, despite Taylor's anxiety on that matter.)

Here are photos of what might be one of the most memorable Christmas mornings ever.

Our tree: notice the boxes behind it.

 

Love it!

 

Parker's requested present item: A Bakugan

 

Abby with her new dog: "Sandy"

 

Dogs eating presents....and so it begins.

 

Parkers dog: Colt

 

Abby's pup: "Sandy"

 

They look cute...when they are not peeing on my floor.

 

 Can you tell its 5 am?

 

Lucy and I in our Christmas morning glory.

Christmas Card

I sent my christmas cards out late this year... yesterday to be exact. Why? Well let me provide you with a list of excuses....

1) We moved a couple days before Christmas.
2) We didn't know what house we were moving into until the day before we moved thus I had no address to put on them.
3) After we moved, we left out of town.
4) When we came back, we celebrated Christmas and Santa brought two (yes, two) puppies. Then we left that morning (puppies and all) and went out of town again.
5) When we returned our whole family got sick. Nothing like cleaning up kid puke every few hours from Christmas day to the present! (. Yes, I was sick as well.)
6) As I write this, I still am sitting in a mess of boxes. 


So there. Beat that list of excuses!

Just in case you haven't seen it. Here it is, although our address is deleted for obvious reasons. Taylor was inspired with the idea by my bitterness toward the Arizona photo radar cameras this year. Yes, they got me more than once, and I cant let it go!

Click on the photo to see the whole thing. When I have time I need to play with my blog layout so that it will show completely. (Maybe when things settle down.)

I love how Lucy is stashed on the dashboard and Taylor is texting and looking at a map while driving! If you'll notice Abby is in a swimsuit in the middle of winter and Parker is wearing the t-shirt he never takes off. Classic! I think it really captures us as we were in 2009. Thanks to Megan for all her help.

Moving...Loads of fun.

Yep we are on the move once more. This is our 7th time in eight years of marriage. I'd love to email everyone to let them know our new address but alas we are not sure. It is a long story...(deep breath)...maybe I'll share the story later...(deep breath)....but it is one of two houses here in Prescott. And guess what? As if moving is not stressful enough when we are doing it 9 days before Christmas, we wont know which house until the day before we move.

Taylor keeps telling me that it doesn't matter what house we go to, as long as we know where to drive the uhaul in the end. I guess he's right, but geez! Despite this minor/major detail I am very excited to move as we MIGHT be  finally getting a home that we MAY actually stay in for a while. That will be so nice.

So while I was packing, I was trying to devise different ways of keeping Lucy entertained. And then I found it.


I think I am going to patent some sort of device that films your baby and then they watch themselves on the tv. Maybe baby einstein will buy it off of me. :)

This was Lucy's first time in front of the mirror, and I literally had 30 minutes to get things done while she was there. It was great.

 

The Holy Family

The American Lutheran church here in Prescott puts on a big production every year entitiled, "A Walk through Bethlehem." The production is like a live play in guided tour form through the ancient town of Bethlehem. Visitors interact with the characters in the town and see roman soldiers, visit with the women at the well, tour the bakery, the jail, beggers' alley, see the shepherds, the pottery shop, the carpentry shop, the weavers shop, and talk with the rabbi's etc. All the while you are trying to find some room at the inn during the crowded time of the census. It is quite a production. At the end of the tour, there is no room at the inn, so you are forced to go out into the stables, where you first meet angels to tell you about the birth of Christ. After that you make your way into the stable to find Mary Joseph, and Jesus.

Parker goes to the preschool at this church so I have made some friends with  a few of the people who help put the production together. And because we had an infant, we were asked to participate as, yes you guessed it, the Holy family.

Im sure you can guess that Taylor was not thrilled about this. Lets just say dressing up and acting is not really his thing. But, as the good husband he is, he did it. Half because he knew I wanted to do it so bad, and half because he felt like you cant turn down such a sacred position. (He did mention to me though that I cashed in all of my chips from 8 years of marriage for this.)

The night was an absolute blast. We had many, friends and family show up to see us which was awesome. And, Abby and Parker even got a role as Angels.Apparently, they had almost 2500 people attend this year split between the 4 nights of performances. (We only did one performance.) Hopefully we can participate again next year, although I am pretty sure I wont be Mary---planning on waiting more than a few months before getting pregnant again. :)

Here is the Nelsons as "The Holy Family."

Friends and Family Waiting to Get In

 The Meat Market

 Live Animals: I sat next to a donkey in the manger!

The Potters Shop

A Weaver

 

Indy and Mac tasting dates and unleavened Bread

 

  Angels announcing the birth of Christ

 

 Mary and Jesus

What Angels!

Proud Papa: Who Knew Joseph wore stripes???

 

 

The Holy Family

Thanks to all of our friends and family for coming. It meant a lot to us! And thanks to Holdsworth Photography for the great photos!

Whats your address?

When I redid the layout of my blog I forgot to save all of the blog addresses I had. (Still killing myself.) So, If you do not see your blog in the lower right hand corner, send it to me!

Roll Over....Baby!

Lucy rolled over for the first time yesterday. I took this photo right afterward. She was really happy with herself.

This is my first child in which I have ever been the first person to see them roll, crawl, walk, or smile. With both Abby and Parker I went back to work when they were young, and was always told about their milestones when I returned home which really bothered me. Now in the scheme of things, I dont think it matters much that I didn't get to see their baby accomplishments...I still love them just the same...and they will still grow up to be functioning adults. (I hope.)

However, I cant ignore how wonderful it is to be the one she smiles at first, and the one who is sitting next to her the first time she rolls. I feel so blessed to be able to be home with my children at this time. Thanks to Taylor for making that happen. I love you.

A Trophy

For the last year or so, Abby has occasionally mentioned how she wished more than anything that she could win a trophy. She was obsessed at the idea of having a trophy on her shelf. "If only I could win something....", she would say, as I would roll my eyes and laugh. Well, I am happy to say her dream has finally come true. She has....won?....a trophy.

At the last soccer game of the year, one of the moms, showed up with trophies for all the girls inscribed with "Pink Princesses 2009". (Apparently her daughter had the same trophy obsession as Abby.) The coach played it off that they "won" them for being such an awesome team. The girls were so excited. Abby insisted on it being displayed in the living room so everyone who came over could see it.

Program Extravaganza

Last Friday, both kids had their school Thanksgiving programs. So yes, I was running back and forth between schools all day. Poor Lucy, I think she spent like 5 hours in her carseat, but at her expense, it was worth seeing all the cute children sing their songs.

Parkers pre-school Program:

 

Abby's Kindergartern Program:

 

Halloween or Disneyland?

Another benefit to living in a smaller town....holidays are awesome! Here, 4th of July is filled with Rodeos, BBQ's, and parades. Christmas is filled with caroling and lights, and to my utter surprise Halloween is over the top as well!

Have you ever stood in line to trick or treat...well I have. We went to the old historical street "Mt. Vernon" for trick or treating and I could not believe my eyes. Thousands, yes I mean thousands of people were there to trick or treat. The city actually has to subsidize these houses with candy  so that they may keep the trick or treaters happy. It was insane!

I know...I know....you would think having that many trick or treaters would be completely frustrating, right? But to our surprise it wasn't at all. It was much like being at Disneyland! Every house was elaborately decorated, and even most of the adults were dressed up. Everyone was in a good mood and excited to be there. You cant get much better than that.

This year, Abby was a bride, Parker was Batman (yes, we switched last minute from a cowboy to batman...good thing we have a dress up stash), and Lucy was our little ragdoll. Enjoy the plethura of photos.

Oh... and Taylor made this for dinner. Its meatloaf. Pretty cool, eh?