~A Very Merry Christmas 2009~

The Christmas "season" is my favorite time of year and this Christmas was truly magical. I have so enjoyed having Katelyn home from school for Christmas break. We've been able to do so many fun things together & spend a lot of quality time. I've enjoyed the holiday music, receiving Christmas cards from friends/family near & far, shopping for the perfect gifts, and meeting with friends for lunch or just to chat. Colorado's had a lot of snow so far & this year we truly had a white Christmas-perfection! Last year it was 60 degrees on Christmas day and this year on Thanksgiving it topped out at 70 degrees. No, it's just not the same to me if there isn't snow!

But the best Christmas gift of all was a visit from my dad, Katelyn's Grandpa Tom. He arrived on Dec. 23rd with our traditional barbecue supper in tow, this time from Gate's Barbecue. You may not know that Kansas City is famous for its BBQ, and every time my dad comes for a visit he brings a different restaurant's BBQ for us. YUM! In addition to bringing the BBQ, my dad always brings me the most beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers and helium-filled balloons for Katelyn. It's wonderful to have special family traditions. Thanks, dad-you're the best!

Lately Katelyn has been very interested in the history of Ancient Egypt. So on the 24th we took Grandpa Tom to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science so Katelyn could show him the Ancient Eqyptian Mummies exhibit. We also toured the special Genghis Kahn exhibit (which was fabulous!), and took in "The Little Star that Could" at the Gate's Planetarium. We had the best time! Katelyn & I have a membership to the museum & visit often, but it was SO special to have Grandpa along with us!

Is there anything better than Christmas morning with little ones? You hear the toilet flush, water running, and then little feet scampering down the stairs as fast as they can go! Did Santa bring me what I asked for?? Did Santa drink the milk and eat the cookies I left him?? Did he take the gift I left him too??(This year Katelyn decided it wasn't fair that Santa only gave presents, but didn't receive any himself. So she left him a note and one of her favorite books. Precious, right!) I'm telling you it just doesn't get any better than my daughter's excited little face on Christmas morning! We had a wonderful time opening gifts and sharing a breakfast of bacon & cinnamon rolls!

At about 1 pm my brother, Chad, joined us for Christmas dinner: Ham & Turkey from the Honeybaked Ham Store, AuGratin Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Potatoe Casserole, Fruit Salad, & Rolls. We had a wonderful time eating & visiting. Later in the day, Michael Jr. & Shelbey and her family joined us for Pecan/Cherry pie & ice cream. We all went to bed exhausted, FULL, and happy!

You might think the magic ended on Christmas Day, but we got an unexpected gift from Mother Nature. A snow storm that blew through late in the night closed I-70 from Limon, CO to the Kansas state line making it impossible for my dad to return home to Kansas City. Jokingly, I told my dad that he was my hostage!! I was just SO happy to have an extra day with him-when you only see your dad/Grandpa twice a year, an extra day makes a big difference!! We ate lunch at Red Robin and went to "The Chipmunk" movie later that afternoon. On the 27th he was able to leave for KC(sniff, sniff).

Here are some photos from our Christmas 2009~

Mom & Katelyn attempting to decorate a gingerbread house(next year I WILL buy the premade kind!!)

Grandpa & Katelyn at the Egyptian Mummy exhibit

"Walk like an Egyptian!"~the Bangals-the 80's rule!!

Grandpa & Katelyn at the Genghis Khan exhibit-turns out they don't like you to sit on the statue-nope not so much!!

Christmas morning: "Santa brought me the Ancient Egyptian Playmobile set I asked for!!!"

Not as thrilled over the new toothbrush in my stocking!

I got my own luggage set! When are we going on vacation???

Katelyn gave Grandpa a new calendar full of pictures of what else-Katelyn!!!

Opening gifts from mommy & daddy

Mommy & Katelyn

Christmas dinner

The kids

Our little family

My dad, me, & my brother

Katelyn with the Chipmunks(FYI-Alvin is her favorite!)

And of all the presents she received, what did Katelyn enjoy the most?? The cardboard boxes they came in!! Katelyn spent more time playing her games or pretending to be a dog in her "doghouse" than anything else.

Just doesn't get any better than this!


I want to say a special heartfelt "thank-you" to all of you who have read my blog this past year. Thanks for leaving comments, sending me an email, or just giving me a call(old-fashioned, I know!HA!) It's meant SO much to me to be able to connect our lives to yours! I wish each of you peace, best in health, and much happiness in the new year!
Love, Shell

The Nutcracker Ballet

This afternoon we took Katelyn to the BNC(Ballet Nouveau Colorado) production of The Nutcracker Ballet. One word: WOW! What an amazing performance. Katelyn used to take ballet at BNC, but quit after deciding the tights were too itchy. She liked everything else about ballet, but just couldn't deal with the itchy tights!!(Unfortunately tights are part of the required uniform, so we couldn't do anything about that!HA!) Anyway, today's performance far exceeded my expectations and Katelyn was truly mesmerized. I was particularly impressed with the elaborate sets, beautiful music, and gorgeous costumes. I haven't been to a lot of ballet in my 40 years, maybe 3 productions total, but the quality of the dancing today was really top notch!! The BNC ballet company consists of both students and professional ballerinas/dancers. Katelyn loved seeing other children in the ballet-many very close to her age.

After the ballet, the director of the school came on stage and allowed the children from the audience to ask questions. Then all of the children were invited on stage where they were taught a short ballet from the Nutcracker. After practicing a few times, the children performed their ballet for all of us. Katelyn loved being on stage. Afterwards, she twirled all the way to the car!

Katelyn: From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I started planning all of the wonderful experiences I wanted to share with you throughout your childhood. I am SO excited that you're old enough to go to the theatre with me and really enjoy yourself. I love going on special outings like this one with you. I love watching your face light up, delighted. I love watching you experience something new for the first time. I love being your mom. Merry Christmas Sweetheart.


On stage learning a dance


Taking a bow!

Disney On Ice~

On Saturday, Mike & I took Katelyn to Disney on Ice. We had such a wonderful time-Katelyn was so excited!! She dressed as Snow White (man, have we gotten our money's worth oughtta that dress!). It's so much fun to watch your child having fun! I love that we can spend these quality times together as a family. The sets were amazing, the skating was great, all the familiar music from the shows, cool costumes, yummy junk food...! I took lots of pictures & told Katelyn I would make a special photo album just for her. And guess what Katelyn wants to be now when she grows up??? Yep, an ice skater! Oh, but I bet she changes her mind again!

Katelyn posing before the show started

Our host & hostess: Mickie and Minnie Mouse

Cars

Daddy & Katelyn

Little Mermaid

Lion King(this was Katelyn's favorite part!)

"Yeah, I'm having fun"!!

Mommy & Katelyn

Tinkerbell

We've had a wonderful time!

Just a little Christmas cheer!

It's no secret that I love to decorate for the holidays. It's also no secret that Christmas is my favorite holiday. I LOVE CHRISTmas and everything about this time of year. I've always put my Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. Every year when I get out my Christmas decorations, it's like getting out old friends I haven't seen in a while. Hello stockings. Hello mistletoe. How ya been nativity set? And having a little girl to share my passion for everything Christmas with is absolutely the icing on my cake! Katelyn loves to help me decorate our house. She loves to listen to my Christmas cd's and sing along to her favorite songs. We read lots of special stories about the birth of Jesus. I love the Advent season at our church and all the special ways we pay tribute to Christ's birth. At home we love to sip hot cocoa in front of the fireplace & watch all the special holiday movies and kids shows that only air this time of year. I LOVE to go Christmas shopping for special gifts for my loved ones. I've never been the type of person to buy Christmas gifts in July. It's just not the same to me at all. Christmas is a very peaceful & reflective time for me. Like Thanksgiving, it's a time to be grateful for all of my blessings. It's a happy time to share with friends and family. And decorating our home for Christmas adds to my joy, well all of our joy!

About 11 years ago now, my husband introduced a new Christmas tradition to me. Mike had been at our local Ace Hardware store and saw that they had a Christmas village set up. He was intrigued thinking, "Wonder what my wife could do with this?" So he bought the "fire station" and brought it home to me. Next came the Catholic Church. I don't remember which building came 3rd, but over the past 11 years I have amassed a holiday village of 39 different buildings, countless number of faux trees, people, mountains, accessories, etc. My village fills our entire entertainment center, 2 of the shelves next to the firplace, and the end table. By the way, I say "holiday village" now because about 5 years ago I started putting everything up before Thanksgiving. It takes me about a week to unpack and put everything together, so I want to make sure there's plenty of time to enjoy it all. All of the buildings light up, so it's quite the electrical ordeal to get everything plugged in. Let's just say we wouldn't want the fire marshall to stop by!!

I have to admit that my village has also become a bit of an obsession. Every year new buildings are introduced and the old buildings are "retired". So naturally when I see the new ones I want them too!! And it's not just me, Mike is just as bad!! Our biggest problem? SPACE!! We are running out of space to put everything!

I don't think these pictures really capture the beauty of my village. So if you're in the neighborhood & you want a closer look, just stop by, and I'll fix you a cup of hot cocoa! Merry Christmas everyone~

Most of the village is on our entertainment center~

Anyone up for a bit of theatre or ballroom dancing??

New this year, I let Katelyn pick out a building (a house) and created the scene on the end table just for her. Everything is at her level, and she loves turning it all on and playing with the people etc. It's hard to see from the picture, but there are lots of dogs too! Shouldn't surprise you!

Happy New Year friends~

MOO!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are SO thankful that all the kids were here to share in our celebration, as well as my mom and brother, Chad! A friend of Mike's even stopped by too!

I'm usually so nervous about entertaining/throwing a party. I worry myself needlessly about how the event will go. Will everyone have a good time? Will the food turn out o.k.? Etc. Etc... But I have to say even though we had twice the number of people as usual, everything went really well. The food was really good-yummy turkey & stuffing, Mike! Everyone seemed to enjoy the side dishes I prepared. And we had a wonderful time sharing the day together. Later that night my dad called and we talked for at least an hour~it really was the perfect ending to a wonderful day(thanks dad-can't wait to see you at Christmas!)

I have much to be thankful for this year, & I am reminded of all my blessings especially on this day!


While waiting for our guests to arrive, Katelyn creates another use for our laundry basket!!

Elton and Katelyn are great pals!

H'oeuvres anyone??

Dining table ready for 12!!

My brother Chad, mom, and me

Chad and mom

Katelyn loves her oldest brother, Shane! (His wife Gina looking on)

Snuggling with brother Michael!

Ready to eat!! Bring on the turkey!

What a SOOPER idea!

Katelyn's been sick for the past week and a half with croup. She's been fever-free for several days now, but still has the barking cough. It's been quite the ordeal! Today I took her to the doctor for a follow-up appointment & he confirmed that she was not contagious & could be at school or out & about. I needed to hear him say that because when other people hear her cough, they look at me like I'm crazy. I hear their thoughts, "What are you doing here with that poor sick baby. She should be home in bed!!" Well, the truth is she has missed four days of school and church, but we are both so stir-crazy that we (I!) just needed to get out of the house.

So this afternoon I decided we'd go to the new King Soopers(136th & Zuni) and get our groceries for Thanksgiving. I love this store because they have child-size shopping carts & Katelyn is thrilled every time we go-(I haven't seen these carts anywhere else.) I think it makes Katelyn feel so "grown-up" to push her own cart of groceries through the store. On every aisle other shoppers remark about how cute it is(until today when she'd cough-and I'd get the stink eye!)

Katelyn sick with croup had fevers of 103.9-104.3. It was so scary!

Little Miss Independent!

Of course her "dog", Nona, had to come in the store with her. She takes "him" EVERYWHERE we go!

Glad you're feeling a little better sweetie!