There was a major snow storm so we took advantage by going sledding. We gave the kids their new sleds a day early and we had a fun time braking them in. The kids were so hyper we needed to do something to ware them down and to get them out of the house!
We kept our fun traditions of the candy bar game as well as a gift exchange and my mom reading Christmas stories, but we added a nativity. It is so easy to loose track of the true meaning of the holiday in all of the excitement.
Of course my mom gave us all awesome presents.
Merle, Christie and Kate also spent the night which added to the excitement of the holiday. Ali was SO FUN to watch. She LOVED everything she opened. She would squeal in excitement and run to Merle for help getting it out of the box. It was a wonderful morning.
We spent Christmas afternoon at the Kirks and enjoyed more presents.
And, of course, more great food.
The rest of our holiday brake was really quite lazy and unstructured. I tried to do something fun with the kids every day. We went sledding at my mom's one day with the runner sleds in honor of my dad. He loved taking the kids sledding. We had a great time! The best part about sledding there is that we use the truck to get to the top of the hill. Andy was the cutest little sledder. He had more than his share of crashes insisting on driving himself. One time he was sitting on top of Caleb, who was laying down. Caleb turned sharp and Andy went flying off. He just laughed and laughed and went running after the speeding sled as Caleb continued down the hill. Andy also decided to do everything Mia, mom's dog, did. Mia would jump into a snow bank, Andy would jump into a snow bank. Mia would eat snow, Andy would eat snow. What a cute boy!!
Josh and I each had major accomplishments on December 31st. First, Josh accepted an offer to work for Harris Research (the ChemDry corporate team). He wasn't really looking for a change, but he had been subcontracting for them. They were looking for someone full-time and made Josh and offer that was good enough to accept. I am excited to see what changes it will bring into our lives. Off the bat it will bring benefits, and a steady income. Two things we haven't had for a really long time. Josh is excited about the people he is working with and the challenge the job will bring. It is not a graphic design position with is strange since he is so talented at that. It is more of a mid-level management position helping all of the the current franchises get onto a new data-base program. He was the perfect candidate being techie and personable. It should be a wonderful new chapter for us.
My accomplishment was reaching a milestone rank advancement with my business. I love the good that essential oils are doing in the world and I am thankful for those I have been able to share them with. It is wonderful that I can make money doing something that I am really passionate about. Hitting the rank of Silver is a sign of great things to come.
New Years Day is the day that dad usually took us sledding, but we didn't make it back up to moms for New Years. We did go sledding on the hill by our house. The kids were all so happy. They never even complained about the hike, they just loved the ride down.
I just love to listen to Andy laugh. My dad would have loved watching how brave the kids were. They were probably a little too brave! It did end with a near emergency trip when Caleb landed on his face braking his glasses and gouging the bridge of his nose. He could have used a couple of stitches, but he and Josh talked me out of taking him in.
Ali preferred to watch more than sled, but she was happy. Life is good! We are so blessed!
