IF SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TOLD ME...

If someone would have told me a year ago, 5 years ago, or even 10 years ago, that I would enjoy a FULL day of cooking, I would have called them NUTS!!!

I spent the majority of the day today preparing and cooking for our family's annual Christmas Eve celebrations. And I loooooved it! I'm even making TWO pies this year. Who am I???

I'm so excited to sit down to a nice meal with the family and then spend the evening celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Ahhhhh....I love this time of year.

SIX FLAGS HOLIDAY

PULL MY LEG TO GET ME THERE...but we had a good time last night at Six Flags Fiesta Texas Holiday Extravaganza. The park was lit in colored lights, the rides were line-less, Santa Claus was taking requests, and the tree lighting was such a treat.

OK...this was HI-LAR-I-OUS!!! We were so excited to see an ice-skating rink at the park for the holidays. It wasn't packed, it looked like people were getting right in to skate and it was FREE so we were sold! We walked in and realized in 2 seconds why the things I just mentioned were so. WAX SKATING RINK!!!! We laughed out loud. We laughed so hard, we cried and the first thing I thought was...TOTAL REDNECK!

look at that wax!! You couldn't even skate because the flooring was so sliced and diced.

The Tree Lighting Street Show was fantastic. The group of six singers sang a Capella and held the tune the entire time. They sang favorite. They sang with joy. Between the tree, the lights around the park, the carols, and the crisp night air, it truly felt like the Christmas holiday. It felt peaceful, and warm, and in those moments I felt, again, how wonderful it is to have my family - and to have my family forever. The lights were lit, Santa appeared on the roof, and the blew artificial snow. It was awesome!

(can you tell...AWESOME!!!)

Are we all ready for Christmas. Spiritually, we've talked about it quite a bit sporadically. We are trying to instill in their minds the true celebration. And traditionally(or the monetary side of Christmas) we are pretty ready to. We've been having fun getting the kids a few new things. And for the most part we have stuck to the one thing they want, one thing they need, one thing they wear, and one thing they read. I think they'll be happy. 

HOLIDAYS GALORE!!

The holiday season is stuck in FULL THROTTLE. The kids are out of school now. We are enjoying each other(most of the time), and coming up with lots of fun things to fill up the two week break.

But for now...here's a bit of what has gone on since my last post. So what, like, a couple of weeks or so....

Of course I got our Christmas decorations up. Pretty early, I might say. I realized that I have a lot that I'm ready to recycle. It's time to change out a few things and add to others. I love the warm feeling of having the mantel lit up with lights and baby Jesus nestled in the garland. The stocking are hung, the trees are decorated, and the lights are hung outside. Well...they are hung but are no longer in use. With all the rain we've had, it power surged the socket and it won't work. Ooops.

One evening while I was at Young Womens, the kids and Brent decorated the "kid" tree. Looks like they had fun(obviously after showers...sorry for the shirtless boys).

 (Brian has his redneck teeth in...he hasn't ruined them that bad in real life yet)

Brian had his preschool program. It was totally cute. The kids were great. did the know the songs...not really. Was it super organized...not even. Was I the proudest parent there...YES-SIR-EE!! They sang songs like Joy To The World, Frosty The Snowman, and another one that was to the tune of Wheels on the Bus. But I think the BEST one was the finale song...I love Brian's preschool. I think they do a great job teaching the ABC/123, teaching them manners, social skills, and they do a great job teaching them basics from the Bible. But the last song in their program CRACKED me up...it was something like "clap clap snap snap, happy birthday...clap clap snap snap happy birthday. JESUS, its your birthday....HAPPY BIRTHDAY...etc etc etc." Too funny.

Our first trip to Austin. We took the kids to see a production of Beauty and the Beast over at University of Texas. Beautiful Campus; very nice theater right there next to the stadium. Marcus was a little disappointed we weren't going to a football game. "We're right next to the stadium though...".

 (The original Chuy's)

(Texas, our Texas...U.T. Stadium)

 (Bass Concert Hall, University of Texas)

 (Not a great picture from inside. That pinkish blob was the rose)

Breakfast at Lakeway Resort and Spa. What a fantastic hotel. We had a first...Brent had his holiday dinner with all his peers and his boss on Saturday night so we hired a sitter through an agency. The sitter came and watched the kids at the hotel. For four hours they played non-stop. I was so impressed that she kept them entertained in the confines of a hotel room. We will definitely keep this lady in mind for the next time(there won't ever be a 'next time', but still!)

Letters to Santa were written and mailed tonight. Tall order, I must say. Lot's of disappointment gonna be happenin' at our house come Christmas mornin'. LOL :) I think Santa will take care of the kids, and I know Brent and I will. They've been good kids this year, so no coal. Although, if I'm being totally honest, I have used that as a threat over the last few weeks.

Today is gonna be a GOOD DAY

It's raining. Has been all night long. Actually, now that I think of it, it's been raining for DAAAAAYS.

But today was the first day, with the rain, that I pushed the garage door button and nothing happened. No lights, no clicks saying something was causing it to fail. NOTHING. My first instinct is that the power is out. But that's not the case since the lights are on in the house. My second instinct is a breaker is tripped. But there isn't a single breaker that has been pushed to the center. My third instinct is to check the garage freezer.

BAM! No light. And I know the problem....the GFI needs to be reset. Easy, right. Push the button...NOTHING. Push it again...NOTHING...again, again, again!!!!! NOOOOOTHING! Well, this isn't exactly foreign territory for us. When we moved from Yuma we had a faulty GFI that un-thawed our freezer. PLUS, I have the added stress of getting the vehicles out to take the kids to school(but that's an easy fix because even I know how to manually open the garage doors). 

So after a few tests and trial runs I resort to the fact that we need an electrician. Fair enough. In my frantic state I yell at the kids, "get in the van! We need to get to school!" And at that very moment my day changes....

I confidently walk over to the garage door, pull the emergency line and lift. You would have thought I moved mountains.

"ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

"WoooooooooooooooW!"

"MOM! How did you do that! You're so strong!"

"It's because she's been working out...."

"Thank goodness you go to the gym. Wow, your muscles are strong....."

"Yay for Mom!! Yay for mom!!!!!"

Am I going to tell the kids that I grew up opening and closing the garage manually? Am I going to tell them that my 85 year old grandmother could open the garage by herself? Am I going to tell them that they, themselves, are strong enough to lift the door?

HECK NO!!!!!

I'm a hero. Today is gonna be a Good Day!

oh...and ps...the massive amounts of rain we've been getting. Well, that's not so great on Christmas lights plugged in to outlets that are connected to a certain GFI in the garage. Yeah...unplug the wet lights and your GFI is fixed! No electrician needed...just a really quick call to dad(Brent was on an airplane).

FHE...Sacrifice, Crafts, and a little bit of dancin'

The kids are starting to be very responsive to our Family Home Evening lessons. We can actually have a 8-10 minute lesson without loosing them after the first 2 minutes. Last night Brent gave the kids a wonderful lesson on Sacrifice, using Abraham and Isaac as an example, and then tying it in to our Heavenly Fathers love for His Son. Though it was a pretty heavy and deep subject, the kids were very responsive to the lesson. I hope they are learning the meaning of sacrifice; giving up one thing for the greater good of another.

After our lesson we finished up a craft that was put together by Grandma Rigby(my mommy). For the Rigby Family Christmas party every year, my mom always has a fun craft for the kids to do. This year was no different. Because we couldn't attend this year she was gracious enough to send it in the mail. And it turned out fantastic.

Thanks mom for an awesome craft. Once again, you've outdone yourself. But we love it! And it will be perfect for the kids' rooms. And what a wonderful message. We should all look in the mirror and remember these important words, "I AM a child of God, and HE LOVES ME..."

Once we finished our craft we headed upstairs for a little friendly competition...Just Dance 3. If you have yet to buy this game for your WII, XBOX or whatever gaming system you have, GO TO THE STORE TODAY! It is a great family fun game. It also makes you sweat! 

I'm not bragging or anything...but I kicked everyone's butt! Any takers???