this is what we have come to...

my house looks like some homeless kids have camped out in my den! those boxes that scott wanted from santa have seemed to multiply and the old ones are refusing to leave in order to make room for the new. as most of you know, i really like to have everything free of clutter and nice and neat. this arrangement is about enough to drive me to insanity. but....seeing my kiddos having fun with their friends amidst the chaos warms my heart. scott refers to his box as "mine old box." he has it decorated with fireantz paraphernalia. as an added bonus (much to the joy of his friends) he sells candy out of his old box for free!!! and brooke...well, she's attached to alex more so than the box. but that's another story. i had no idea that this "boy infatuation" started this early. i didn't want anything to do with boys for a long time. but not so with brooke. and, did i mention that she wants to be homeschooled? HA! the thought of me homeschooling is just downright comical! :) anyway, i just wanted to share the box-filled home that we so love. (jana, i know that you are proud to see my home in this state of disarray!)

fun for all!

brooke insisted that i take a pic of the pose above...she loves pink lemonade!

coming down the slide and taking a sec for a photo for mommy

these two have so much fun together!!!

the kiddos enjoyed coloring on these chalkboards when they needed a break from jumping

the kiddos were out of school today and so we headed to monkey joe's. lucky for us, our neighbors were there! the kiddos entertained each other while jen and i caught up on what was happening in our lives. :) perfect!!!

scott and emma...

these two met each other when they were only a year old. jana (emma's mom) and i have already decided that they will get married one day. don't they make a cute couple! :) here they are playing nintendo ds in scott's clubhouse made from an old box. scott put his gun at the front door of the clubhouse to protect them. what a little man! he's already taking care of his girl. not that emma needs much protecting....she tells scott where to go and how fast to get there and he doesn't hesistate to follow her orders! isn't that the way it should be? haha!

relaxing after the excitement

after opening gifts, we all took some time to relax. brooke put her "fancy" dress on along with her sleep mask (she has wanted one of those for a long time) and curled up with gramma and sasha for some cuddle time. scott and grampi assembled scott's gun and scott had fun shooting various things. scott also got a cool scooter that lights up and he wanted to test it out!

we had a wonderful Christmas.

we wish you all a very happy and blessed 2010!!! :)

more Christmas...

after checking to see what santa brought, we moved onto gifts from family and friends. we got some wonderful things and are so thankful! the time and love that they put into our gifts means so much. as you can see in the pic above, brookie made a cross out of her bendaroo that she got. it is my hope and prayer that the kids will always remember what Christmas is truly about. how blessed are we to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior!!!

Christmas with Mommy, Gramma and Grampi

so, after spending christmas with daddy, the kiddos came back to mommy's house. santa visited mommy's house since it would be a little difficult for him to put the gifts on a cruise ship. :) scott asked santa for old boxes and an ambulance. brooke....well, she had a more substantial list! she wanted a "light up" polar bear, some clip on diamond earrings, make-up, a dress, and a pink squirmy. it's so funny to see how different brooke and scott are. we have a "girly girl" and a boy who is "all boy."

we were so happy that gramma and grampi were able to celebrate with us! we are so blessed and i am so thankful for everything that God has done for me and my family. He astounds me with His love....everyday.

Christmas with Daddy

it's Christmas!!! and look who made an appearance on the cruise...cheeky the elf!!! :) the kids were so happy that he found them. everyone got all dressed up for Christmas dinner. brooke was excited about her roy rogers coke. and scott was excited about wearing flip-flops with his reindeer outfit. haha! i love it! :)