Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve over at Grandma and Grandpa's house this year. We went over around noon, had a wonderful dinner, and then went to church at San Antonio for 6:00 p.m. mass. We had contemplated doing 10:00 p.m. mass but thankfully came to our senses and went earlier. After mass we came back to the house to open gifts and have dessert. It was a wonderful day! The Hawley's before heading out to church.
Grandma and Sugarfoot with the grandkids.
We put the kids in their pj's before opening gifts so that they would be ready to put out cookies and get to bed once we got home.
Ashley's favorite toy of the night was her stuffed piggy!

Alec and Aaron's first slumber party

In the middle of December we were lucky enough to have Ian and Cormac come over and stay the night with us while Pauline and Neil went to Neil's work Christmas party. We had pizza for dinner, watched a movie and then went to bed...notice I say "went to bed" and not "went to sleep"? Yeah, that is because it was almost 11:00 p.m. before the final hold out, Aaron, went to sleep. Ian was the first to give in around 9:00 p.m., Alec being next at 9:30 p.m., Cormac was finally out around 10:15 p.m. and then Aaron. Those boys were EXHAUSTED the next day!

They all had such a good time and we look forward to having them over again! Ian and Cormac in their pajamas.
The big boys got to sleep in the aerobed on the floor...they thought it was just the coolest thing ever!
The little boys were up in the beds. Who would have thought that they would have the hardest time falling asleep? Too funny!

Catching up...

I wonder how many posts I would find over the few years that I have been keeping this blog that were titled "catching up" or something similar...quite a few I can imagine. Oh well, here is another one I guess!

I pose the question...When does life EVER slow down? I am guessing that the answer to this question is...NEVER. I of course had tons of stuff going on at the end of the year and into January, and that certainly took up a ton of my time. Since all the big events were over I thought that I would have more time to have the house clean, get laundry done, update this blog, etc. Well, the fact is, my house is NOT clean, my husband is constantly asking me when he is going to have any clean socks or underwear in his drawer, and it has been almost a month since I have updated this thing. I have come to the realization that it is just all about priorities. I make a serious declaration that from this point on (or to the best of my ability) I am going to update this blog at least three times a week. Wow, that is a bold statement, I had better follow thru. Actually, since I have all but given up on scrapbooking, this blog is all my children will have as far as organized memories in the future so I had better get my act together!!

Now that I have made my blogging promise, let's catch up on life. Following this blog entry will be several entries that I have wanted to do in the past month and a half. Have fun reading my few but faithful readers!!

Mom and Dad's retirement

After many years of hard work, I am proud to say that both my parents retired on December 21st!

My Dad worked for many years as a Technical Writer for Hughes which more recently turned into Raytheon. He worked hard and succeeded in his job so that he could provide for his family and made it so that my Mom could stay home when we were little. My Dad's work ethic and dedication to his job were/are inspiring. Thank you Papa for all you did for our family! I love you SO much!!

My Mom's professional career was a bit shorter because she made the decision to stay at home with us girls. She was not only our chauffeur to all of our activities, but she was also our room mom, PTA president, sewer of all halloween costumes and dresses. When I was in Jr. High she returned to work at the Fullerton School District as a school secretary and worked her way up from there. Her final position was at the district office where she was the I.T. Support for the entire district. Mom, I am so proud of all the work you did over the years, paid or unpaid. You are truly an inspiration to me! I love you more than you could imagine!
All of us at Mom's retirement party at the Fullerton School District office.
Grammie and Ashley

Some December Pics

This is the photo that we intended on using for our Christmas cards. I say "intended" because they were never actually made and sent out. Oh well, there is always next year!! At Home Depot with our Christmas tree! They had a wonderful selection this year and the trees were SO fresh! By the time I finally got around to taking down the tree the second week of January it was still not that bad. Last year's tree was so terrible that I was afraid to turn on the lights of the tree on Christmas morning. This year it was not an issue. Absolutely one of the best trees we have ever gotten....and only $35 bucks!!
Every year our neighborhood does a Christmas party. We have a potluck with tons of yummy food and drinks. We have a multicultural block which makes for some AMAZING home cooked food. We also have some neighbors who bring tons of their famous jello shots for the adults. Let's just say that it is a good thing that all we had to do was walk back across the street to get home!

Santa came and visited the party and brought gifts for all the kids in attendance. Alec had no problem going up and sitting with Santa, but Aaron would only go up with the promise of a gift and while sitting on Daddy's lap. Ashley had no problem, but we will see what next year brings with her.

December went fast but was a wonderful month filled with lots of good food, friends and family, and as always, TONS of blessings in our life!