Outside time today

We finally got a chance to replace Elijah's broken skateboard so I took the kids out for their first time with the skates and skateboard. When we got through all the tears of not being professionals right away they had fun. We made it down the path from our house to Kerrie's and back, and that was about all they could handle. Poor Hannah is going to have a bruised up tush because she kept falling on it. Caitlynn tended to fall more on her hands then anywhere else. Elijah didn't fall but once and even if he did I don't think he'd feel it, between the knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards he was pretty well covered.

Not sure what we'll do with the rest of out Saturday, maybe lunch and a movie and just a lazy day, who knows.

All or nothing

I went from not scrapping at all for months to completing 3 projects in 2 days. This one's by no means a masterpiece, but I love the paper salon paper and think I'll be doing more brown/green combos.

Here's another layout

I absolutely LOVE this photo of my mom! While she was here I took her on a tour of the south side of the island, which to me is the most beautiful part of the whole island because it is much less developed. This photo is from Inarajan pool, you can't relly tell cause it's so small here, but she looks so happy and carefree.

Feels good to scrap again

It felt so nice to actually sit down and scrap for the first time since before Thanksgiving. I've had this little file folder book sitting in my stash for over 2 years, probably over 3, so it was nice to pull something old and make something I love out of it.

Getting there

It's by no means perfect or spotless, but at least I can work in there now. The next issue is to decide what to scrap first, Christmas? The HUGE catterpillar I saw yesterday? Pictures I still haven't touched from Tokyo? Easter pictures I came across in my cleaning effort? The kids singing on Christmas Eve? Man the options are virtually endless.

Can't put it off any longer!

Now that Christmas is past I no longer have any excuse for not being able to scrap, or more to the point not even being able to walk into my scrap room. So since Dave's got a dive class tonight I'm working on organizing it all. Can you tell how into it I am, as I sit at the computer taking a break? lol. Here's a photo of the hallway with my organizing in progress, hopefully I'll have a done photo to post tonight also. Wish me luck, if no one hears from me in a week send help I was attacked by scrap supplies!

MMmmmm...

Dinner was super yummy! We didn't do much since it was only the 5 of us, but it was still delicious. We had a spiral ham, garlic smashed potatoes, corn and broccoli with cheese. The only thing left is a cheesecake when we're ready for dessert. What a wonderful day. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Last but not least, the presents

Children's Choir

The children's choir was so sweet. The sang Go Tell It On The Mountain and they did very well.

More Photos

Adult Choir Men's Choir

Christmas Eve service photos

There are more pictures to come as I get around to resizing them all.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Hark the herald angel sing, glory to the newborn King! Merry Christmas all! So far the day is fantastic, the kids got all kind of toys, movies and video games. Elijah got this insame Terrordactyl hotwheels playset that takes up about 5 feet of floor space. Caitlynn got a ballet dvd with barre and matte to learn how. Hannah got the twelve dancing princess dance mat with dvd. As we speak Caitlynn is honing her ballet skills, Hannah is resting after a grueling practice with the princesses, and Elijah is playing a new Scooby Doo Leapster game. I'm off to play the game with Elijah, I'll upload pictures later!

Christmas Caroling

The kids and I went caroling with the church last night and it was fantastic! I was worried because it didn't start until 6 and would end late, but the kids did real well, considering they go to bed at 7 usually. We visited all the homebound from our church and you could see they really enjoyed it! I'm not sure who was more blessed, I think it was probably me. The kids and I got to meet church member that we've never met before. The only thing that would've made it better was if Dave could've been there, he had duty last night. Of course we missed him, but I'd rather have him work last night instead of Christmas! Our last stop was at Sanctuary, a home for troubled teens. Of all our stops my kids really enjoyed this one the most. At the end all the teenagers were hugging them and telling them how cute they are. One young man called Elijah a little soldier and totally made his night, he thought that was so cool. Caitlynn was asking on the way home why those kids lived there and it was hard explaining it all to them, but I think she really got it, and realized what a great thing we did. By the time we got home it was about 10pm and we were all beat, as we pulled into the garage the kids were saying they wanted to go right to bed, like they had a choice hehe.
I just found this at www.claus.com, very cute:
Top 10 ways to make the naughty list
10.
Not wiping your feet before coming inside when it's snowy out (glad there's no snow in Guam!)
9.
Not bundling up like your mother tells you to when it's cold outside
8.
Not sharing your toys with your brothers and sisters
7.
Knocking down other people's snowmen
6.
Making a mess and then blaming it on the dog, cat or your imaginary friend
5.
Telling your brothers and sisters what they are getting for Christmas from Mom and Dad
4.
Knocking over the Christmas Tree while wrestling with you brothers or sisters
3.
Forgetting to put out carrots the reindeer with Santa's cookie's and milk. They need to eat too!
2.
Being bad all year and then trying to "nice up" just before Christmas. Remember- Santa watches you ALL year!
1.
Waking up early on Christmas morning to remove presents from everyone's stockings and replacing them with coal (this could be fun!)

See you in 2007

I can't believe Christmas is only 3 days away, it just all seems to have gone by so fat this year. Part of that was having my mom here for Thanksgiving, her visit just flew by. Today's the kids last day of school until January 8th. They actually won't go back until January 9th because we get back from Hong Kong on the 8th.
My house is a disaster, I've spent the last 3 days baking and running around like a chicken with her head cut off. And it continues today, I have a ladies lunch at Monica's house which I'm really looking forward to, it'll be the first relaxing I've done in a bit.
Kerrie and family left for Australia last night. I'm going to miss her, but I'm also soooo excited for her, this is her first Christmas home in 10 years. This is also the first time her family will get to see Ciara.
Caitlynn and I have some sinus thing going on, so we're both in fantastic moods hehe. The two of us butt heads all the time anyway, but right now it's even worse, I feel bad for everyone around us.

Who knew?

The kids and I went to watch Dave's basketball game last night. The kids have watched him play other sports, but never basketball. So we walk into the huge gym and the men all over shooting shot, dunking etc and they were in awe. They were in the stands cheering their little hearts out before the game even began. Then when it started? They went nuts. We will definitely be attending more games in the future!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

well not really, Guam is still very green and very hot, but that doesn't really matter. The tree has been up since a few days after Thanksgiving, all my favorite decorations and candles are out to help set the mood. All the hymns in Church are Christmas carols, and our family totally has the Christmas spirit. We're still trying to teach the kids the true meaning of Christmas, and they know it's a celebration of Jesus' birth, but I still don't think they really understand that's more important than the presents and other "signs of the season" Hopefully if we keep telling them it'll finally sink in one day. Hannah and Elijah's Birthday was the 10th and we had their parties this weekend. Hannah had a sleepover party with 4 girls from her class, and it was definitely an experience. Elijah had a bowling party yesterday with classmates and family friends. All in all it was a good but tiring weekend. And I've come to realize what good kids we have. You know how it is going through the day to day and it feels like your living with a bunch of heathens with no manners who you're embarrassed to take out in public, then you see some other kids and thank the Lord yours behave so well.