I have been a bad girl!

Seriously, I shouldn't use this as an excuse - but I have been so busy that I have fallen gravely behind in my blogging! So I am taking time out throughout the next few days to catch up all our December activities. So please scroll down and update yourselves with our holiday festivities! (Some are even added before my "Wicked" post.)

Even if you may not be that interested - PLEASE humor me & read on - feel free to add some commetns too! I have put alot of work and thought into some of them...really!

Come on, is this the face of someone who would lie to you?

Home for the Holidays?

This seems odd...but I have been thinking about something lately. Since we have been in our house, we have been asked many times how we like it & things like that, but lately I have been hearing "So isn't it great to be in your home for Christmas?" It is said in a way that makes it seem like I am supposed to feel different, more excited, about it.

That is the question I just can't get out of my mind. Honestly, I feel no different this year than I have any other. I loved our last apartment, our last home. A home isn't just the structure - it is the feeling inside. I have always thought of our various apartment dwellings as "home" and I have been grateful to be with my family wherever the place may be. So, yes I am grateful to be in a house, but I would be happy no matter where I was...as long as I had my family.

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Our day was filled with wonderful memories. We shared Christmas with uncle David again this year. Our day started early, about 7:23 - but not nearly as early as I used to get up as a child. The girls were so excited. We started with the stockings then moved onto the other gifts. The girls received new purses from the Aunt Jennie, Uncle Dallas & Ethan, Rory & Emma, cute High School Musical tops from the Aunt Crystal, Uncle Tom & Alex, jewels from their Daddy & the cute chef wear from Mommy. Grandma & Grandpa sent a super awesome bean bag game. They also received books and other treasures & trinkets, including that easel - they played "Art Festival" all day!

The best part of the morning was when Chris had to go on a scavenger hunt for the gift I was so excited to give! It was a "Major Award."

I had him search through the house and the clues eventually led him to the front door. Where I had the box & myself, armed with the camera, waiting.

You see, "A Christmas Story" is a Fairall family favorite - meaning, he has loved this movie since he was a kid & it was something I married into. So when I saw the leg lamp ornament, I knew I had to get it for him! You know me, I couldn't make it simple - this deserved some major pomp & circumstance!

Did the girls get their most asked for & desired gift of all??

Yes, they did and they were so excited!!

Another holiday tradition is finding the pickle ornament on the tree. Uncle David really wanted to get it this year. He actually did find it first, but when he went to grab it, it fell and he couldn't see it anymore. Victoria ended up with it!

After the gift giving was finished, I made a yummy pancake breakfast. We then took time to remember why we celebrate Christmas. There were little papers on the bottom of the figurines with scripture references and questions about the story of Christ's birth. It was a great way to bring it all together. We then gathered in the living room and read the account of the Savior's birth from the view of the people living in the America's at that time.

It is found in The Book of Mormon another Testament of Jesus Christ. (3 Nephi 1) It is a companion to the Holy Bible that accounts the history of the people living here in the Americas during the times of the bible.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with the love of our Saviour.

Happy Birthday Christianna!

Today my "baby" turned 6. It is so hard to believe how time flies. It seems like it hasn't been that long since December 23, 2002 when our little one came to our family. It was a busy time of the year...it was almost Christmas! On top of that, Chris had just graduated from POST days earlier. I had gone in to the doctor for a regular check up and he gave me a couple options:

1: We could wait until she was ready to come & possibly be there on Christmas with some other Dr. (boooo) OR

2. Walk over to the maternity wing and have the baby...well, sign me up! I was ready!

She was born later that day at 4:31 PM weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz & 21 inches long.

She has definitely been the one to keep us on our toes. We love her! She has been compared to a handful of everyday items:

The Energizer Bunny

A Pill

A Mule (stubborn)

A clown

No matter how you say it, she still is a SWEETHEART!

A few of her favorite things are:

color: blue (make it pink)

toy: Sleeping Beauty

Food: Beef Stroganoff

She likes to play games & play with her dolls. She loves playing with Victoria and her friends too!

She also loves to do artsy stuff, like drawing & painting. Plus - her favorite thiung to do right now is snapping her fingers - ALOT! She snaps as she talks to you...it's really cute.

The birthday girl received flowers from her Daddy. She was very excited to finally have her very own vase! (She was seriously ecstatic to have one in her "childhood.")

We had a little family celebration after Dad was home from work. We had raviolis for dinner - the meal of her choice. We then moved into the living room armed with her baby book. We told her all about the day she was born & then went through the book and told many stories of things she did as she was growing up. She loved learning more about herself.

After presents, we went to the kitchen for some "Pinkalicious" cupcakes. They were fashioned after cupcakes in one of her favorite books: Pinkalicious...in which this cute girl, who LOVES pink, ate way too many pink cupcakes & eventually turned COMPLETELY PINK! It is a must read.

A special gift from Victoria - a picture of Christianna as a princess.

Happy Birthday honey! We love you very much!!!

Comic Corner

I totally had to add this one! Some of you may remember our calendar post for December & my sister's lack of good behavior judgement....well, wouldn't it have been received differently if we had been coal miner's daughters? Even funnier to me since we were from major coal mining country - Northeast Pennsylvania!

And a little side note: Victoria said the funniest thing to me the other day....

"Mom I want to get coal for Daddy this year."

"Why?" (Thinking she was mad about something.)

"Because he is so excited for Christianna to get some so he can use it in the fire! So, I really want to get him some." (What a caring kid!)

(Christianna had received 2 black dots her first week, which had inspired that initial conversation - but has actually been super good since.)

Note to Santa: Can you bring some coal for Chris, he will NOT be upset.

I PROMISE!!!

A Christmas Carol

This year we hung up our ballet slippers and went to see "A Christmas Carol - a Broadway Musical" instead of our traditional "Nutcracker" performance. (I know Chris was very excited to have a break this year...not too excited with the guys-in-tights thing.)

We drove all the way to Provo to see it. It had been snowing there for most of the day but it the roads were fine by the time we had to leave.

The show was great! I had never seen the musical one before - unless you count the totally awesome "Muppet's Christmas Carol." I did actually participate in the play when I was in High School. I was one of the ladies who went to Scrooge to ask for money for the poor orphans. Yes, I know it was a small part - but, if you think about it, most of the parts are male ones. Anyway - on with the show!!

We had great seats too - front row in the center! You couldn't ask for a better place and to top it off, it was a FREE performance. It was bittersweet though, you see...this was the last year that the Center Street Theater was doing it. In fact, the theater was closing up shop and this was their very last performance.

Thank you for a wonderful show!

Game Time

One thing the girls absolutely LOVE to do is play games. So when their Aunt & Uncle decided to play something with them, they were ecstatic!

Here they are playing the cool FHE game that was actually a gift from them last Christmas. It has turned into one of the girls' favorite games.

They tried to get a little LIFE in before their Aunt & Uncle before they headed out to go down to Provo.

Uncle David is a riot! I don't even know where he found that eye thing, but it was hilarious! "ARRRRRRRR, whatchou looking at???"


Then, what is an evening without the Wii??? This was a highlight of their entire stay! We took turns boxing each other. Do you realize that it is really hard to box someone when you both are totally laughing hysterically? I almost plastered Auntie in the head with a vicious left hook! The guys totally got a show!