Christmas 2010

We were once again blessed to have family come visit us this Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa Schneider, Uncle Chris, and Grandpa Schwark all made our 2010 Christmas a lot of fun.

We made it to Christmas eve service...with three little kids with colds in tow. It was so full they had to add seats for us. I love candlelight service, the part where we all light our candles one by one and when you look up the room is filled with the most beautiful light. I whispered to Aiden "this is my favorite part" then in true rebellious five year old style he turned up his nose and said "I dont want my candle, take it". The kid is perfecting his button pushing. But it was Christmas, and I was filled with an extra measure of grace and only responded with a smile and hug.

By the next evening however my extra grace was used up. Aiden and Nolen take full advantage of house guests to stay up way past their bedtimes. The adults were trying to watch a movie, and to just appease the kids we set them up with a movie in our room upstairs. Half way through our movie there was excessive thumping and bumping coming from upstairs and upon investigation I found wild sleep deprived hellions cutting Nolens hair. Nolen has the cutest blonde hair, but it takes forever to grow out. It was just getting to a nice length from the summer buzz cut I gave him...Steve fixed it by giving him a mohawk which he sported cutely for a week and then I had to shave it all off today.

Thanks for all the cards and gifts, and thank you for making our Christmas Merry.
sorry about the group photo...worst camera angle ever!

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

We left last friday to fly to Billings MT, for my dad's surprise party. It has been nerve racking keeping this secret for months. But I did it, and I didnt even mess up the phone call to say happy birthday on his actual birthday from my aunt and uncles the day before the party.

The flight out, no bumps. Security was difficult as is to be expected in this age of flying. Aiden did have a hotwheel in his pocket that sent Steve back and forth three times. But all was well after 10 shoes, 5 jackets, 3 carseats, 2 suitcase, 2 little tents, and my purse made it through.

We had a lovely afternoon with some of my favorite people in the world, aunt and uncle Sande, and cousins Megan and Jeff. Then they were off to a Christmas party and some of my other favorite people in the world aunt and uncle Murray graciously had us over for dinner. (meatless lasagna - so YUM!)

Then back for a night of wrestless sleeping due to small ones being in a new place. The morning brought delicious breakfast caserole and lazily getting ready for the big party.

Twentysome of my dads friends waited quietly as he and my mom made their way down the hall, with Steve a few steps ahead giving us notice.

"SURPRISE!" And he was! My mom did such a great job planning the party and keeping it a secret and you could tell my dad felt really honored. It was fun to see friends and relatives of his that I havent seen in ages.

We spent the rest of the weekend chatting with family and sharing meals. Steve pitched in and hauled some hay, the kids sat on Sassy the horse and jumped in the haystack. Sometimes I forget how blessed I am to have parents that live in the country.

Our flight home was just short of awful. We arrived 12:45 for our flight, and it got cancelled then rescheduled for 6:30pm, and we didnt end up leaving until 7pm. The Billings airport is nice and all, but it doesnt have a starbucks. I can stand almost anything if there is a starbucks. We ate lots of vending machine food, and ate at the restaurant in the airport. The kids were beyond tired, but after the second time through security we just let them run wild. And wild they ran. I stopped caring if we were anyoying to the other flyers. Once on the airplane the combination of vending machine food and some of the worst turbulence made me almost barf. But I didnt throw up, so this still only qualifies as the second worse flight. :)

We made it home! And it was really wonderful to see my family. Thank you to all who housed, fed, and drove us around. We love you!

Aiden's Birthday Party

Thank you everyone who came to the party! You all made Aiden feel so special and he had a blast. I think the bouncy house has met its match! We are going to have to think of something else for next year...

Everything was great, except maybe the food coloring in the cupcakes...As you can see from the pictures...I hope it came out of all the clothes and off all the faces!

Nolen did have a minor melt down when he realized none of the presents were for him. But I am a softie and gave him several after everyone left.

Friends, good. Cupcakes, Good. Wild running and jumping, good.

Happy 5th birthday Aiden!