pictures of Christmas 07

i couldnt get pics posted with my writings...so make due- hope ya get the idea.

christmas eve, bros and i being weirdo's
girls.....

mom getting her gift....the puppy

this is Dakota!
at the Anderson's...us girls!

christmas 07

Christmas this year has been crammed full of fun times with family and friends. I drove to Mora last Saturday do 'family' Christmas; we always have to find a different day to actually do Christmas cuz of every one's schedules. We had a fun time- had taco's for supper, got after opening gifts, and than played guitar hero for what seemed liked forever. Of course, the older i get the less exciting the gift portion gets....i get more excited to watch my niece and nephews tear into theirs and ohhh and ahhhh at what they got; me getting gifts isn't a big deal anymore. My mom did a fantastic job making Tyler (the youngest) a home made Thomas the Train track. He loved it and played most of the evening with it. Dad seemed to score huge this year. He got everything he wanted and at some point I thought he had more gifts than the kids did. My mom on the other hand only got 2 really small gifts that night cuz her big one was being delivered on Sunday. This is what made Christmas super special this year. Mom has been bugging dad for a long while to get a dog and dad has always responded with a big NO. But...a couple weeks ago i pulled out all the stops and convinced dad that we should get her a puppy for Christmas. he gave me permission... thus i went Internet searching for a Springer Spaniel puppy. I found one in Turtle Lake North Dakota and after a couple of hours thinking it over I purchased it. So; we had to lie some to mom to get her to believe that her gift was on back order and wouldn't be here for a couple more days. she fell hard for the lie and wasn't upset about the lack of gifts she had to open. Sunday I got up extra early in the yuck and muck of all the snow that was falling and drove back to the cities for church at open door and an afternoon with my favorite girls. the girls (Sara, Anna and Jen) and I went to Buca's for some fine dining and than headed to my house for some chill time. Anna requested some cookies so as i headed to the kitchen to bake they took a short but much needed rest. how is that fair? we made some fresh coffee (thanks to Jen who got me a bean grinder, beans from caribou and a coffee container) to go along with our cookies and just chatted. I love just sitting with coffee and chatting, so fun! After a quick afternoon together Anna had to bolt to make the Vikings game on time and Sara had some much needed Christmas shopping to get done. Jen stayed with me cuz she wanted to see the much talked about puppy that was being delivered. of course, i was pumped to pick it up. at around 5:30 i got a call and 1/2 hour later i was holding the cutest puppy ever. we ran to pet-co to pick up some chow and other toys, i dropped Jen off and than headed north, again!!!! the roads sucked but i enjoyed the extra amount of time i got to hold the puppy on my lap. When i got home mom was in the shower so it worked perfect.....when she came out of the bathroom and walked into the living room...- she freaked when she sow that puppy!!!! i think her words were 'what is that?', 'how did you do this?' 'how did you convince dad?' and 'look how cute she is!' one of the best gifts i think I've ever gotten anyone and it was worth every single penny to see how excited mom was. i, of course, love her gift as well and already am attached to that puppy like it was my own. We named her Dakota (since she came from North Dakota). so fun!
As for Christmas eve and day....we hung with family and did a lot of eating, a lot of talking, a lot of laughing, and a whole lot of 'shhhh-ing' the kids! it was a great time. My cousins Kim was in town from New York and that was a riot to see her and catch up. Her husband, Sean, seemed to take an extra liking to Dakota as well and Kim told me that playing with the puppy might be one of his highlights. i got to spend some extra time with them as i drove them to their hotel/airport in the cities on Wednesday.
Wednesday i was back in the cities for a party with good friends. Keith and Allison hosted a party for Mandi and Sunil (also from New York). again, lots of food to eat and just some much needed catch up time. We also played guitar hero there and found that it's a toss up as to who sucks the most- Allison, Chummer or Mandi! interesting! always fun to see friends and enjoy each others company.
today- (Thursday) i am AGAIN headed back to Mora to visit my God-children. Chummer and I are excited to just play with them and spend time with them. we decided 'time' would be a great gift this year instead of buying some sort of silly toy. We might end up sending Ryan and Darla out on the town and we babysit, but aren't sure if we are ready for that yet. we will see! Should be a good time.
Not sure what else my Christmas break will hold, but if i have to drive to Mora...AGAIN- i might go nuts!!!!
Happy Christmas Peeps!

LAST SUNDAY

this blog happened 7 days ago. Tammy (the one on the right) hosted our annual Christmas party for college friends. It is always a good time to catch up on life, to eat some good food, and to enjoy all the kids that seem to multiple with every year. I love these two ladies...thus, i have came to love their children as well. sometimes i really want my own kids...but after a afternoon with 9 precious children running around...i was glad that i was leaving alone and not with a crew! although- the 'crew' might be cooler. anyhow. we exchanged books this time around and i ended up with a Barnes and noble gift card and am very excited to use it. not sure on what yet- but i am excited to go shopping. B&N is own of my favorites....probable cuz i love the smell of new books. oh- only if they could take that smell and make it into some sort of Cologne for men. yummy! last weekend proved to much more entertaining than this one.

This weekend entailed lots of homework, some cleaning and Landry, a high school basketball game, a couple workouts, 2 visits from jen, 1 visit from anna, some good laughs and a purchase of a Christmas gift that i cant wait to give!!!!! one more week of school left and.....HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

sorry....it's been a long time! this was last weekend. yeah- thats right, this happened 8 days ago.

my bible study group and i decided to way back in October to attend the Jars of Clay and Third Day Christmas Concert. It was amazing. But before the concert we all got together at enjoy some fantastic food: Jason's ribs, Jen's cheesy potato's, Nate's cornbread, my taco salad and Anna's cookies. After we went a couple hours stuffing our bellies...we crammed ourselves into Nate's jeep and went to the show. Mac Powell has the most amazing voice...i could listen to him all day i think. The concert really got me into wanting to listen to Christmas music...specifically Third Days CD...to bad i dont own it! It was fun night celebrating Jesus' birth. Highly enjoyable.

Oh Christmas Tree....

so something pretty cool happened to me the other night...Wednesday it was. A got a real Christmas tree. I've never had one before; at least what i can remember. i might of had one when i lived in Friendly Fridley with what seemed like a million roommates, but i really cant remember. anyways- this tree is pretty awesome. It was given to me by a friend. He went with me to pick it out, he than delivered it to my house (which was a long ways out of his way) and he figured out how to put it in the stand. I was so excited. Thanks Matt for blessing me with this, i truly do enjoy it and am still in awe of how willing you were to give it up and to bring it here. Matt had a gift certificate and didn't want it. I, when offered it, did! super fun. i spent that night decorating it and actually enjoyed it this year. Most year i look at my sorry little 4 foot fake tree and wonder...'why am i going to the trouble of setting this up, it's so small and ugly'. this tree is far from small and it the complete opposite of ugly. and it smells fantastic! i have yet to get gifts put under it...but love that it is in my dining room. This sort of gift and action from one friend to another is what makes Christmas a blast. I am truly blessed!!!

p.s.- did you know that real trees like this cost $80.00- Holy Cow. i had no idea!!! again, i am in awe that it is in my dining room. come see it! i love having visitors.