good day but missing our fam...

how is it that we spend 364 days getting ready for this day and in the blink an eye,it's over? i wish i could freeze frame this moment. my family is still here. the older boys are playing a roaring game of Monopoly, girls are reading, kids are playing. i love, love, love having a houseful. having a houseful of my favorite people is bonus! we've had a wonderfully relaxing day. slept in. coffee delivered to me while i watched my kids open their presents. this year we decided that our kids were needing for NOTHING. every year, we go ALL out, get them things they will NEVER use. we end up spending far too much money and within mins. they have forgotten what they've got. this year, we decided to get them a set of Lego,an iPod and a handful of stocking stuffers. that is all they wanted. and wouldn't you know it, it was enough. joy..joy...joy exuded from them. it was a good morning. we were proud at how thankful and genuinely happy they were.

2pm. cousins and folks here. a wonderful prime rib dinner (thanks mom) and an afternoon spend relaxing. the kids are at such great ages! the highlight of our day was chatting with our New Jersey family via Skype. it was like having them in our living room, only...they were 3000 miles away. i missed my sister more this year than any other year. maybe it's because i feel like our kids are missing out on life with each other. maybe it's because she's my sister and i just miss her. that's what sisters are supposed to do, right? either way, i know that this is the reality of our life. i am so thankful that regardless of the miles that separate us, she'll always be my very best friend, a constant in my life! my life is better because she is in it.
so friends, enjoy the last hour of your christmas. i hope and pray today was everything AND MORE than you anticipated! start planning now...only 364 days left....

p.s. i'm missing all the pictures from the likkel family party last night but i'll blog about that as soon as i get those.

some explanation of the pictures below would be nice now, wouldn't it?? last sunday, december 20, we celebrated eight years of jack's life. thankfully for me, he didn't want a big party with his friends. nope, he just wanted to spend it with his favorite friends and family (his best friend, kaiden and 'the cousins'. so sunday afternoon we headed up to Matsqui Wave pool in Canada(he was kind enough to let their siblings and parents come too!). for 5 hours these kids, and the 'brave' parents played their hearts out! we had such a blast! for you that live around here, this is the COOLEST, cheapest place for a party! ($11.oo canadian for the whole family!)every 15 mins. massive waves hit the pool, there's a big tunnel slide, a diving board and tons of floaty 'things' for everyone. it even has pools for the little ones. good times. thank you to the wubbens and cousins for spending the day celebrating jack! who's going to have the next birthday so we can go back???? :)

December 20, the same day as jack's birthday rye and i celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. it's been a good 13 years. not all perfect but good years just the same. i still choose him. (i'll post about that later). here's to another 75 years babe. i love you.

baby jack is 8!!

i know it's cliche to say but i can hardly believe my baby is EIGHT! in some ways it feels like just yesterday that he joined our family and yet, we don't know life without him. this boy is unique. a funny, silly little man. loud? yes, very loud. he thinks it's SOOO funny when he does his "glass breaking" scream. not so much. but a sweeter, sillier boy you will not find. he has brought so much laughter to our home. noisy or not, we love this little one and we wouldn't trade him for a lifetime of quiet. yup, we'll keep him. we are blessed beyond words to have him in our family!

happy birthday Jesus!

merry, merry christmas friends.
now that i put our blog address on our christmas cards, i must post. no more of this every two week thing.(happy sister? :)) it is my goal, in 2010, that i post EVERYDAY. for christams, i bought MYSELF (as mothers, we do this)a kit from Becky Higgins called 'project 365'. in a nutshell, it will journal our life in 365 days. i have been coveting my friend Becky's 'project' since last year. last year, it sold out but yeah for me,this year i hopped on the bandwagon in time! i will stick with it. i will stick with it. i WILL STICK WITH IT! so here's to new beginnings....


if you are reading this, chances are, you have our blog address from our card or you're a 'regular'. in that case, you are important to me. (if you found this by accident, stop stalking me. :)) it is my prayer, for you my friends, that this year you may come to know Jesus better. that you will embrace every moment you have here on this earth. in an instant, your life can change.
thank you for checking in with us. may God bless you in rich ways this year....