Merry Christmas to all! The Girls were so excited they could barely contain themselves. Christmas was filled with a day of being surrounded by family and friends. We were full of company this year. Jonathan's Mom arrived first from Logan Utah and spent 10 days here in Delaware between our house and his sisters. My girls look forward every year to their annual shopping spree with Grandma and this year was no exception. My parents arrived a few days later and Mom and Dad had the pleasure of spending the afternoon in Ashley's kindergarten class. What a treat that was for Ashley. Then on Christmas Eve our very dear and wonderful friends Clay, LeAnn, and little Nora Tess Broadhead came to visit us from Wyoming. Their daughter is 17 months and an absolute angel. It was fun having a little one around for a few days. This picture is of the girls in front of our tree in their new pajamas that Mom always gives them on Christmas Eve. I most of was thrilled to not have to work. I feel truely blessed this year. This is the first time in 18 years I have not had to work at least one of the major winter holidays. Wow is all I can say! I really enjoyed my time off!

I hope at this time of year we can all remember the truely greatest gift and blessing we have been given. The gift of eternal life....the gift of joy along the way. As so eloquently spoken below by President Monson....may you have the best Christmas Ever!

"If we are to have the very best Christmas ever, we must listen for the sound of sandaled feet. We must reach out for the Carpenter’s hand. With every step we take in His footsteps, we abandon a doubt and gain a truth.
It was said of Jesus of Nazareth that He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Do we have the determination to do likewise? One line of holy writ contains a tribute to our Lord and Savior, of whom it was said, He “went about doing good … ; for God was with him.”
My prayer is that at this Christmas season and all the Christmastimes to come, we may follow in His footsteps. Then each Christmas will be the best Christmas ever."

Christmas is almost here and I am longing for some snow. Chances are it will not happen in Delaware....oh well I can dream and when I do I will see some of my favorite places of the west.

I must say I have never been so excited about a set of books. The Winter Rose is the sequel to The Tea Rose....both of which I have thoroughly enjoyed as well as everyone I have shared them with. I have also had the pleasure of reading another book by this author called a Northern Light. All very good. The main reason I am telling you this is upon researching her web site today I discovered she is writing a third book in this series. I may have to wait a year or so for it to come out but I will be patient. I may have to call Oprah and tell her to put them on her book club list! Check out her web site.
http://www.jenniferdonnelly.com/jd_books.htm

Jonathan showed me this picture of his first grade class the other day. See if you can pick him out. I was able to find him right away but even though I did not know him then I do know him now. Its funny how much we do and don't change over the years. I had the opportunity to watch videos of my girls births the other day....something I have not watched in a long time. My how they have grown but are still my babies.

Well we had a great visit with Mom and Dad over Thanksgiving. The trip was anything but uneventful. We had a minor accident on the way down and needless to say my brand new car was left in North carolina for repairs and still remains there waiting for a few parts to come. Thankfully though, we were all ok and no one was hurt. When we got to Mom and Dad's the next day we had a suprise visit from Santa. Apparently he was vacationing in Florida and came by to see Morgan and Ashley! He even brought is book of good boys and girls. Afterwards he took the girls for a ride on his summer sleigh The SS Claus (his golf cart) complete with twinle lights and antlers! It was the highlight of the week for my girls.
We made it home all in one piece and I am anxiously awaiting for my car to be fixed. We got word yesterday that it may be 3 more weeks. Oh well! All is well. I am really enjoying the holiday season this year. For the first time in 18 years I do not have to work one holiday. I feel truly blessed. We are having a few visitors this Christmas...My parents, Jonathan's Mother, and our dear friends The Broadheads. I cannot wait to see their little girl Nora Tess.

Dutch Wonderland

We had a fantastic time camping in the snow the weekend before Thanksgiving up in Lancaster, Pa. We went up on Thursday and on Friday morning when I got up to let the dog out there was a dusting of snow everywhere. It did not help that I was wearing my pajamas outside! We have a lot of fun with our camping club. We went shopping at lots of great shops and even went to an Amish flea market. In the evenings an Amish family came around the campground selling pies and cookies! Yum! It was a little cold in the camper but we do have a heater in it. On Saturday night we went into the Dutch Wonderland park. They have a great light display and even a few rides were open. The kids did not mind that it was cold and were happy to run around and have fun. Here is a few picture of the great time we had! I will put a few more up later.

I came across this picture today. I have a big one hanging in the house but thought I would post this one. I thought we looked so great that day. When Jonathan told me he was getting married in his kilt I was a little leary I must admit. He did however look very handsome that day. When we went to get this picture done the people at the studio could not believe that we had just got married. No fancy wedding party just him and I. It was nice.

Here are my beautiful girls school pictures! Could I be any more lucky? They are so adorable.....of coarse I am biased. We have had a crazy week here. Morgan and Ashley both were running fevers and had sore throats at the begining of the week. Then poor Ashley got progressively worse and actually ended up having to spend a night in the hospital for severe dehydration. She was pretty lethargic when we got to the hospital but perked right up a few hours after the IV was put it. Brother Beamer and Brother Biang came from church and gave her a blessing. Much appreciated. She recovered quickly and is back to her old self. Kids are amazing with how quickly they get better. I am blessed.

Dancing in the Barn

Here is a bunch of the kids dancing to the MR C Slide. They all knew the dance!

Collin was fascinated with Jonathans tractors. He had to ride up front during the hay ride. The other picture where Jen is holding him is when Jonathan was showing him how the backhoe worked. I think he would sit on the tractors all night and play with them.

Here is a close up of Hunter Biag going for an apple!

Morgan had a John Deer cake! No girlie stuff for this cowgirl!

We started the night off with a hay wagon ride. I think Jonathan took about three trips out to the fields and back. That is Ashley trying to climb up onto the wagon. I think she went on every ride!

This is Ashley and our next door neighbor Drew. They always have fun together.

As you can see the kids had fun bobbing for apples. I don't think some of them had ever done it before. It was funny to watch them all give it a try. I had a few of them put their hold heads into the water!

I have been wanting to write for a few days now but have had a busy week. Last Saturdays Barn party was a success. The kids had a great time and I was pleased to hear everyone's thought on Morgan's book drive. I really want to raise my girls with a strong sense of self and commitment to standing up for what they believe. To know that it is ok to be different and that sometimes you do not always win or get what you want. After Morgan's birthday in September I challenged her to come up with an idea to help others. I told her that in turn she could have a barn dance/party with all of her classmates and friends. Recently she has developed an interest in reading and is reading very challenging books. She reports every detail to me and I love it. She thought it would be fun to have a book drive and donate all books collected to her school's library. It was a success. We collected alot of books and everyone that came was committed to her wish. A few people gave her a few small item as gifts and to them I say thank you! But to everyone I say thanks for helping my daughter's project succeed! The world is full of really great people who are very generous and giving. No matter what some may say, we in America have kind hearts and are generally very willing to help out another in need!

Here are some great pictures from the party!

My sweet Morgan decided to dress like Granma when she was young and be a fiftys girl. Partly inspired by the Pink Ladies in Grease. She looked pretty cute. I just wish I would have had a pair of saddle shoes for her.

This one was taken before we left the house when she was still considering being Snow White. I think this one stayed on about 5 minutes. She sure did look cute though.

This is Ashley with her friends Noah and Chloe. They were very cute and ran from house to house. Although Chloe was done after about 5 houses.

Halloween

What fun the kids had! They kicked off the day with the annual Clayton Elementary Halloween parade. They dressed up and paraded through town. I forgot my camera and did not get pictures of that but I did get some of the evening festivities. I took the girls to my sister in laws house and we trick or treated through their neighborhood. The loved every minute of it.

Ashley finally decided to be a care bear after changing her costume 3 times. We started as a witch, became snow white, and then the bear. Decisions decisions!

Halloween Camping

Well the camping trip was wet and soggy but the kids had fun. We had a campfire on friday night and roasted hot dogs and had ice cream with our club. I can finally say our club since we were finally voted in as official members of the Fun Seekers. The group is full of very nice people. Most are more my parents age but there are a few like us with kids. Ashley plays with a little boy named Nathan who is 7. He was hanging out in our camper and out of the clear blue wanted to know who I was voting for. He informed me that he was voting for John McCain and I had better do the same. It was too funny! Kids listen way more than we realize.
On Saturday afternoon we went to the boardwalk in Ocean City. I find it very nostalgic there....I spent quite a few summer vactions there when I was in High school with my best friend Susie. We had alot of fun and going there brought back good memories. Not to mention we had to share some Thrashers fries!
The haunted hay ride ended up being cancelled due to the down pour of rain so we went out for some seafood.
I still cannot get over how some people really go all out decorating their sites. I guess I just don't have time to get that creative. All and all it was a fun weekend and I know the kids look forward to the next trip to Lancaster to Dutch wonderland to see the christmas lights!

October 24, 2008
We are heading to Ft Whaley campground in Ocean City Maryland for a weekend of Halloween camping fun. The girls are very excited. We spent time getting the camper ready last night and making sure we had our decorations and costumes on hand. The campground is hosting a haunted hayride, pumpkin carving contest, trick or treating from camper to camper, site decorating (some people really go all out for this one), and a Monster Mash with a DJ. It should be alot of fun. The weather is supposed to be cold and rainy but no worries! I think we plan to head over to the boardwalk at the beach for a day. I love Ocean City as it brings up memories of going there in High School with one of my best friends, Susie. Wish you could all come. I will take pictures and post them soon!
Amy

All of these Pictures were taken at the 2008 Delaware State Fair. As you can see the girls had alot of fun showing their animals and riding the mechanical bull! They look forward to this every year. I am always exhausted by the end of the week but it is worth it to see them smile!