What a wonderful TIME!!

Okay, Okay....I do realize that we are a FULL week into January now....but....hey!! My excuse is that I wanted to give Nathan's piano playing the main spotlight. He turned in his numbers yesterday but they didn't announce the winner. He got a total of 148.....oh boy :) Shout out to everyone who listened and let us know!! Thank you!!!

Here's a few pictures of our Christmas fun. (sorry for the HUGE entry)

I took Amanda and Nathan ice skating.....I lasted for about 10 minutes and then was starting to feel the PAIN!! Am I the only one that feels cramps in their feet when they ice skate??? We dropped Derrick off at a day camp at the zoo and so I was able to spend the day with my original two....which was much needed!! They had me laughing all day. It was a super fun day!!

Yep...it's ANOTHER party. Having teenagers has made Christmas break less "family" fun and more "friends" fun. It's all about the friends!! Schools out, let's get together for this, or let's go on a date here....so sad for poor old me! This party was super fun though and it's so fun to see Amanda and Nathan planning it and running the show. Here's the group ripping the shape of a 3 bodied snowman behind their backs....try it...it's HARD!!

Christmas Eve was all about family though. We've graduated from making and decorating gingerbread men to doing gingerbread houses. My personal preference is the little men cookies...this fine decorating stuff is for the birds! Actually....it's getting that ding-dang house together so it wouldn't fall apart that just about blew all my patience for the day!

Lucky to have 2 of my brother's families living close!! We got together in the afternoon for a delicious feast and re-enactment of the nativity. I don't think we'll win any awards. And, I don't know if it was the most reverent.....but....I loved the chaos!

No, this is NOT a beautiful picture of a Christmas tree with wonderful presents. Do you see that obnoxious basketball thing to the left?? Two words....dumb and dumber!! First off the blasted thing took Bob until 2:00 a.m. to put together. Second, it's HUGE!! It definitely didn't look that big in the store! It was intended to go up in the playroom. But, after setting it up, we thought it was permanently our newest living room furniture! I almost peed my pants laughing that night. But, by this time, Bob definitely was NOT in the laughing mood....which actually made it even funnier to me (oops). The next day...We did manage to get it up the stairs but had to take it apart in order for it to fit through the playroom door. Bahaaaa!! But, I will say that it is AWESOME and totally fun!! This is a present that everyone is still playing with!! Nice!

Our camera broke during the present opening....but, we did manage to find our old camera and capture Nathan opening his DREAM present....Duct Tape. This kid is seriously the easiest and cheapest boy to buy presents for. One year we wrapped up a package of printer paper...he LOVED it....making all his airplanes, marble tracks and other things. Another year we bought him a Costco sized pack of those Post-It notes....LOVED it....He has a whole drawer full of sticky note movies. So dang funny!! :)

I know this is a super sad picture and doesn't necessarily portray the outstanding parenting model....but....it's our REAL life. It's what we have to deal with. Derrick....well....he decided to ruin his Christmas by starting the pant pooping AGAIN. So, he got to wash out his pants and write sentences. It's been tough with this kid. If you ever wonder if staying home with your kids and loving them makes a difference...here's proof that it DOES! This poor child is so messed up in the head from a mom who didn't care. And, this isn't from alcohol...it's from abuse and neglect. We finally found a therapist who is fantastic! She's raised 6 of these kiddos and so doesn't take any of his guff. He's going through a rapid eye movement therapy to try to get the two sides of the brain functioning. When I say that he's messed up in the head, he really is. Certain "big word" brain parts are not developed....so interesting. Frustrating and sad...but interesting!

Our family just can't go through the holidays with out going to the movies!! Have you seen the movie "Avatar"?? If not....go see it!! And, if it's showing in 3-d...DEFINITELY pay the extra to see it. The latest fashion trend around here is popping the lenses out of the 3-D glasses and wearing them. What do you think? Watch out Drew! Oh, and the "Princess and the Frog" is SUPER cute too!!