15 Year Wedding Anniversary

Doug and I are celebrating 15 years of married life today - wow. It seems impossible that we have been married for 15 years. We have lived in 7 states, had 3 kids and 2 dogs.... Lots and lots of love. Lots of memories. It's been incredible. I love this man so, so much. We are so blessed. We celebrated with a wonderful dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and the new Sherlock Holmes movie.

Christmas At Mom's

We had a wonderful Christmas day at Mom's house. We headed over while Doug was snoozing and enjoyed a light lunch of ham and biscuits and I helped Mom while the kids played. We didn't have to wait too long for Doug, Aunt Chrissy, Uncle Chris and the girls to arrive and there was a flurry of ripping wrapping paper and ribbons while the kids unwrapped gifts. Mom got all the kids skates for Christmas and they were so excited to try them out. I think they skated around the house on the carpet for the rest of the day (which is a great way to learn how to skate!). We celebrated with a yummy dinner of filets, roasted veggies and rolls. It was just good for us all to be together. It has been such a wonderful and magical Christmas this year. I have loved every minute of it.

Merry Christmas!!!!

The kids were so, so excited to see what Santa brought for them on Christmas morning! Noah woke up around 5am and waited as patiently as he could for Doug to come home from his mid shift. He was popping his fingers and rolling around in bed - trying to be patient and while he was trying, he woke everyone else up too. :) It's hard to wait for something as exciting as seeing what Santa brought! It wasn't too much longer before we heard the garage door opening and Daddy coming up the stairs to get us. The kids raced down the stairs and the ooooh's and ahhhhhh's began! Noah was thrilled to find his new 'real' light saber under the tree tucked in next to the Millennium Falcon Lego's he had asked for. Rachel was so, so happy to see the American Girl doll Santa had brought her. She immediately picked her up and gave her some love. She was tickled to find a bed for her and pajamas and house slippers to go along with her. Kate was pleased to find her candy first and foremost that she had asked for. She ate all her jelly beans before really reacting to anything else Santa had brought, although she did squeal "Repunzal!", when she first saw her new doll. Santa also brought her a beautiful new dress up dress with matching shoes and purse to play with. As Buddy watched from his newest perch at the top of the tree, the kids hurried from package to package to see who's name was on it and what was inside the wrapping and ribbons. Doug and I watched with smiles on our faces, enjoying their joy and reactions to all the treasures that they had hoped for. Noah and Rachel had both made us wonderful Christmas cards and drawings that were tucked into each of Doug and my stockings. Love those, so much. Kate still wasn't feeling 100% and took time between presents for more candy and some snuggles. She was cute to watch as she opened a present, put the contents on and then opened more presents. Rachel would open presents and then go back to her doll, then open more presents. Noah ripped his way through most of his presents quickly and then went straight back to the light saber. Santa did good this year. Even Daddy got cool bike stuff in his stocking that he needed. :) After all the gifts were unwrapped and we had tucked Daddy into bed, the kids enjoyed playing with their new toys for a while. Kate and I snuggled on the couch while we watched The Grinch (again - she loves it!). Because Doug was so tired, we forwent the traditional trip to Waffle House and had homemade waffles here at home. We had a great Christmas and it wasn't even over yet!....