A happy house

One of the best things about the holidays is the post Christmas sales. Sendai and I picked up 2 gingerbread house kits at KMart for cheap. We had the kids make them for Family Home Evening. Our house had a bit of an issue with a broken roof but we worked it out with an icing patch job. The kids loved decorating the houses with the candy. Sawyer loved eating all the candy Nerds that fell on the floor. His middle name should have been Hoover.

Merry Christmas

This is the first Christmas we have spent at home since having children. In the past, we have always gone to Nebraska. It was nice to not have the stress of traveling for the holidays. Luckily my sister and her family were able to join us. That made it a bit easier to not be so homesick. It was fun having the ILs come down to watch the kids open presents. They've never got to experience it before. The kids got thoroughly spoiled. I feel blessed that we were able to get them so many things. We made sure to include our family tradition of crab for Christmas supper. It was delicious! That is one tradition I hope we never give up.

Iceland

That's not snow on the ground. It's ice. The temperature hasn't gotten about 27 the last two days. It sleeted off and on yesterday and for most of the night. Today was a stay inside and bake kind of day. It's crazy to think that on Friday and Saturday the high is suppose to be in the 60's.

Meet #1

Olivia had her first gymnastics meet in Hot Springs on Friday. Paxton stayed with the ILs and the rest of made the two hour trip to the competition. Olivia was so nervous before the meet. She did really well. She got 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th place in 6 year old Level 3s. There were only 6 kids in her age level so I don't know how she got 7th place. They rushed the awards so I think they messed up somewhere. Olivia had a blast. She got a trophy and ribbons and two goody bags. And now she knows what she is working for at the gym.

Warming up:

On the beam:

Floor exercise:

Wii Time

The kids sold some toys they no longer play with and used the money to buy two new wii games. They love for me to play the games while they cheer me on. One of the new games is Wonder World: Amusement Park. I have spent way to much time over the last week playing this game. You play games to earn tickets, use tickets to buy prizes and buy prizes to open up more of the park. I have won more tickets than I care to admit. But how can I resist my kids' cute faces when they ask me to play.

Oh and when we play, Sawyer thinks he has to be holding a remote. He swings it around like he is playing and occasionally chews on. I think I know what he needs for Christmas

.

Oh Christmas Tree

You know me and how much I love finding a good deal. I called a local Christmas tree farm to see how much they were charging for their trees. They said all trees were $20 regardless of size. You betcha we jumped in the van and headed right over. It was freezing outside so we basically picked the first tree that looked halfway descent. It's not the purdiest thing you've ever seen. But it didn't break the bank, and it makes our home look like Christmas.

Words to live by

1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and unclutter your life.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns . If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety . If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good 'Thank you Jesus .'
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before.

Random thoughts

Some of my family came for Thanksgiving. I had such a great time having them here. I got to show my mom all of my latest projects, and we had way too much fun shopping together. I can't wait for the day when they move back here permanently. Nebraska is just too far away. :(
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I got to call Poison Control today after Sawyer ate half a tube of lip gloss. I figured he would be ok, but I thought I should double check. They assured me he would be fine. I have a feeling I'm going to have my hands full with this little boy.
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I have had a headache for a week. My neck has been hurting and now the pain extends up into my forehead. I have tried heat, motrin, tylenol, and excedrine but nothing helps. I should probably go to the doctor. but that is another bill I don't want. And I'm afraid he is just going to prescribe me pills instead of getting down to the root of the problem. Is this what getting old feels like?
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My friend is due to have her baby anytime. I got to teach her a childbirth class last Sunday and I took maternity pictures of her on Tuesday. I may get to be her doula once she is in labor. She wants to see how helpful her husband is first.

I love anything to do with childbirth. I've been like this since I was a little girl. My sister and I used to check out all the pregnancy and childbirth books from the library and study everything in them. I went to college intending on being a nurse midwife, but I chickened out when I had cadavers my first semester. I still secretly think about going back to school to be an RN.
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The transmission in my van was whining really badly when I was out and about today. I should probably mention it to Jody. We were told a year and a half ago that the van needed a new transmission. It's amazing that it has lasted this long- the longer, the better. We plan on driving it into the ground. We're hoping it lasts quite a bit longer. We hate to spend a lot of money with the way the economy is these days.
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Speaking of the economy, I paid $1.46 a gallon for gas today. *doing the happy dance* I never thought it would be that cheap again.

Bargain Shopping

The KMart in my area finally has double coupons this week. I did some research online and got my game plan ready last night. I loaded up the kids this morning and off we went to do some bargain shopping.

As I was walking into the store, there was a man selling subscriptions to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Jody has mentioned several times that we should order the paper since we usually buy one on Friday and Sunday. The man offered me two weeks worth of papers for free and a $30 KMart gift card if I signed up today. After two weeks, the paper will be $2.88 a week. That's about what we've been spending on papers every week anyway. He also gave me two copies of the Sunday paper which means more coupons for me!

After applying the $30 gift card, I got everything in the picture plus a Christmas dress for Olivia and a Crest Spin brush for Paxton for $35.04. Can you say what a deal?! We are going back to KMart on Thursday to get family pictures made. I wonder what other deals I can round up before now and then.