Sorry I havent written in awhile. I can't get the computer to down load my pictures. So as soon as I get it to work I will have several updates for you all. I hope everyone is having a great Christmas Day so far and I pray you all have a very Blessed 2010!!

First Snow

Today was the first snow and the kids were sooo excited. Joshua said "maybe Santa came" and they all ran downstairs to look. When Brendyn saw the snow he said "this is the best Christmas ever", it was so cute. For 2 hours they begged to go play in the snow (ok dust of snow). So even though I new it was freezing out there I knew they wouldn't stop asking me. So James and I bundled them up and let them play for a few minutes. I can't believe that after 15 minutes they were still upset when we had them come in. I have a few pictures to show you the first snow play time. I was inside taking pictures through the window. I new better not to go out :)

I did enjoy watching them throw snow/dirt at us and Joshua trying to eat snow. Alyssa even tried sliding down the yard. They had a good time and got some yummy hot chocolate when they were done. In my opinion that is the best part.

Extra Pictures

I found one picture on my phone of the cow santa.

I also forgot to say Thank You to Jennifer, Amy and Kelly who watched the other two little kids when I left. Thank you so much for your friendship and taking such good care of my babies while I was gone. I am so blessed to have great friends that are always willing to help me out!

I will also say that Jennifer had the best time with them I think :) The kids had a sleep over in the family rooma and stayed up until 1am and then they were up by 5:30 am. All I can say is "good times".

Sorry I couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture.

James Big Night!

Well last night was James first time playing out with his band. We have been waiting for this for years! This is his favorite hobby.

First James, me, Jennifer, Brian (other guitar player) and Emily all went to dinner at Oliver Garden. It was a nice dinner and quiet without the little ones. Then we headed down to Jefferson City to Mikes Corner Pocket to get ready. We got there 3 hours before they had to play. The guys wanted to make sure they got there in time to set up and do a sound check. Plus they were really excited (and nervous).

The band played and the girlfriends and me(I am the only "old lady" of the group) all supported our men while they were jamming. It was really interesting because all the girlfriends names of our friends are my sisters names..Amy, Rebecca (Becky for short), Jennifer and Emily. That made it easy for me to remember names :)

My sister Noelle and her boyfriend, Andrew came out and one of James old roommates, Shane

and his girlfriend Becky also came out to support the guys. Thanks so much. I know it meant a lot to the band, especially James.

The band did really well. They had a good turn out for their first show and the manager really liked them. So well that they were asked back for a paying gig. The guys were so happy about that. Plus they want them to open up for a bigger named band! The manager even wants them to write a few songs of there own. So for now we are going to be widowers to the band. I said as long as they don't write songs about me I was good.

Here are a couple of picture from last night. I hope they turn out. Jennifer is going to send me more picture later and I will add them. I know those turned out good. My camera phone didn't do much justice. You can see James in one but the singer is blocking him in the other :)

I forgot to tell you that James is also singing backup. We are so proud of you, James! Can't wait to see more of the band playing in the future.

We have been very busy lately. Here is what we have been up to...
We are working hard on school, do to all the construction we took a two week break and now we have a great school room to work in. The kids are enjoying having everything in one room and getting to do work on the computer. They are all doing so well.

I finished my Christmas shopping this weekend while I was in Springfield visiting my best friend, Lori. I went down on Thursday and came back Saturday night. I took Brendyn with me because the last time I left he got really upset and cried most of the time I was gone. I enjoyed getting to see my friend and her new son, Paxton and seeing how big Adriana is getting. She is not a big fan of her brother yet but is working on it. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures. I'm very sad about that.
We relaxed, shopped and went to go see a cow dressed as Santa. They have a restaurant called Chic-fi-la (I think that's right) and they have a cow that says "eat more chicken" as there mascot. It was really cute. Adriana was very excited to see him. Since there wasn't a lot of people there the cow even came to eat breakfast with her. I think this was the best day of her life so far. I also feel she was borderline stoker. It was so cute to see her reaction and hear her talk about it the rest of the day. They even got pictures to take home with them.
Brendyn on the other hand would have nothing to do with him. The cow even went behind him to sneak a picture for me but Brendyn wouldn't have it. O well maybe next time. Thanks Lori and Ryan for letting us come and visit you and see your new house. You truly are great friends!

Extra Pictures

Here are some of the dishes and the men relaxing after the "big feast".

Christmas Trees

I do have some pictures of our trees. This year we have three trees. One downstairs and two upstairs. Then all the kids have their own little one in their rooms. We love Christmas! The kids had fun decorating and picking out new ornaments. Alyssa picked out a princess one, Brendyn did a flamingo one, Joshua did a fire truck and police car, I did one of a woman shopping (james felt that was appropriate), and Miranda picked out several right colored ones. The kids decorated the basement one together. That was fun each one of them knowing were it all should go. There is a couple of spots that have covered up ornaments but they liked it and I was good with that. Keira and Donavon were here to help with all the decorations this year. Keira and Alyssa Had a fun time decorating her room. I know I still need to put pictures up of the girls room. That is on my to do list.

The one upstairs Miranda and I worked on together. Miranda enjoys decorating so I let her finish while I started dinner. This tree only has red and gold on it and I think it turned out great. Now I just need to get a tree topper. I am so picky I still haven't found "the one".

The one in the window Brendyn and Joshua did together. After a few minutes Brendyn was the only one doing it. Joshua I think got tired of Brendyn moving all the ones he was putting on. It was cute to watch.

Black Friday!

Miranda and I got up at 5:15 to go to Kohls. We were planning to be up and ready by 3:15 but Miranda forgot to set her alarm. But in the end it all worked out. I got most everything I needed that day at great prices. I spent way to much but I am almost finished shopping. Miranda even got started on her list. I don't have pictures but I got the cuties snowman dishes and decorations from Kohls. They were 60% off so I got some extra things like serving tray and serving bowls with little spreaders. They are so cute. I will try to post pictures later.

Thanksgiving Day

I am a little behind with my blog. We have gotten really busy. I'm sure that the rest of you know nothing about that. :)

Thanksgiving Day was so much fun for our family. We have a lot to be thankful for and we got to spend the entire day with family and friends.

Starting at noon my sister Noelle, my sister Amy, her husband,Bill, and daughter Jazz came up for our first Thanksgiving dinner. We had a great time eating and sending time together. They also got to see our basement finished. Bill loved the idea for a man cave. But then again what man wouldn't. The kids played and did craft activities I got off the computer. After Bill got a good nap (we were upstairs and could hear him napping!) they were ready to head home. We enjoyed having them all here. I know the kids love when their Aunts, Uncles and cousins come to visit them.

We all then went downstairs and rested while watching a movie. At 5:30 Any, Anthony, Little Anthony, Stacy, Neiona, and Duran came over for a dinner. Amy and Stacy were our first foster kids we ever had. They are now older with kids of their own. I am so lucky that we still get to be apart of their lives. We again enjoyed food and time together. The kids ran around and played and we big people got to talk.

I didn't remember to take any pictures (which I am very upset about) but we had a great day with our family and friends!