Christmas 2008 . . . Wow!

Well Christmas 2008 has come and gone. . . It was a whirlwind!! (Enough of a whirlwind that I haven't blogged all month!) What have we been up to?

The first weekend of December kicks off the holiday season with the Priddy Family Christmas Party up in the Salem area . . . 16 kids, multiple families, and lots of fun!! Alas, my camera's batteries died before any pictures were taken; I'm thinking it was left on in the camera bag. Ahh well. Next came decorating the tree, wrestling matches for Elijah, school, taking the kids up to see "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" in Salem, enjoying Mom's Sweet Adeline's Christmas show, Christmas shopping, work, Faith getting sick, a week out of school for snow (the week before Christmas), Christmas Eve, Christmas, and then we had the Wasko Family Christmas Party yesterday. . . . with today spent taking the kids shopping with their Christmas gift cards. Whew!

Oh, and did I mention that the boys and I painted their bedroom and then I gave them a surprise Christmas present by having Mom & Dad take all the kids overnight (thank you so much!!) for me and my pals (Thank you Kim & Blandon!!) to assemble their new beds and bookcases. Joel threw together a TV stand and the boys were delighted with the new room.

Needless to say, all I want to do for the next couple of days is a whole lotta nadda! I'm pooped!! Fortunately Joel & I are off work until the 5th and so we have some time to unwind. (NOTE: Faith just snuck into my room 20 minutes after being told to go to bed, gave me a kiss, and told me I'm the "bestest mom ever". . . Now I hear the boys hollering "go to bed Faith!" . . . always something!) My plans? Reading a good book, scrapbooking, cleaning up our room. . . And, possibly (no promises here!): Blogging ;>)

My take-away from this holiday season? I'm very thankful for my many blessings and the joy of the Christmas season. I'm thankful that I really feel God's presence. And, next year I'd like to push myself to make the effort to put together an advent wreath. . . That's something we did when I was little and I think that it really helps me build up the anticipation for Christmas and prepare my heart to celebrate the gift of love that God's given me. There's something about lighting the purple candles each night for about 15 minutes, singing "Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel" or "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" and saying a prayer of preparation while looking forward to lighting that pink candle that signifies that Christmas is almost here. . . That's something that I need to do next year so that I force myself to slow down on a daily basis and appreciate the season of Christmas. As is, I love this season and the joy of it all! I am busy by choice: I choose to try to experience all the season has to offer. Alas, I can't fit it ALL in (no sledding, caroling, I'd love to host a Christmas party, and the children's Christmas show is delayed until January) - but I'm very grateful for all the fun we've had!

Here's a few pictures for you to see what we've been up to. . . . Merry Christmas and much love!!

My lovely children after attending "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" at the Pentacle Theater.

Decorating the Christmas tree

Brothers :>)

Daddy's Girl"The stockings were hung. . . "

Christmas Eve mass . . . Alas, the other pictures taken were blurry (bummer!) ;>)

Cheese!

Can you roll your tongue? I can't.

Grandma Sherry (mom) made Faith a very special Christmas dress :)

That's my boy!!

Guitar Hero World Tour was a big hit at our house!! We even got Mom & Dad (Grandpa and Grandma) into the gig. LOTS of fun!

Elijah is a "expert"-level on the guitar!

Joel's got "expert" on a couple songs . . . He and Elijah like to compete but Elijah tends to beat him ;>)Faith's a beginner. . .
I really like that Guitar Hero now has the beginner level -- it means that Faith can participate on the drums and guitar. She's doing pretty good at keeping the beat :>)

I can do the "easy"-level but it takes a lot of concentration!

Merry Christmas Mom!!

Dad is infamous for his wrapping presents in duct tape (oh the joy to unwrap the gift wrap to find a box with layers and layers of duct tape and newspaper). . . So this year I returned the favor. . . This is layer 1.

Here's layer 2.

Mom is a duck fan about to attend the Sun Bowl (leaving at 3 AM tomorrow) to receive an award on Grandpa's behalf -- so for Christmas she received a pair of "Beaver" earrings I made at my friend Barb's Christmas party. Mom said that's much better than the Beaver T-shirts (which tend to give her duck loving body a rash). . . What a goob!

Many thanks. . . The boys are HUGE lego fans and Isaac is thanking Elijah for the new Bionicle.

Some of the stocking treats on Christmas morning.

Our joyful Christmas tree . . . LOVE Christmas!

This was the kids today: This is how I see them all the time -- Elijah not quite paying attention, Isaac screwing around, and Faith being silly. Ahhh, love these kids!

Merry Christmas!!