We're in! And we're out!

We moved in last week, and though there are still odds and ends needing to be dealt with (touch up paint, window washing, towel rods, etc.) , we are so happy to finally be living here!

Getting all of our things OUT of the other house was a huge, miserable task. We have amassed far too much stuff over the years, and I am more determined than ever to go through everything and DE-JUNK!! It would have made moving far easier had I done this BEFORE moving so we didn't have to waste time and energy moving things that are destined for D.I., Ebay, or the dump.... But as of yesterday the house is FINALLY empty and clean, so our renters can move in.

I hope everyone is enjoying the season and that you all have a very merry Christmas tomorrow!

sick. and tired. and sick and tired.

Jeremiah's been working extra long hours at work and I have been feeling sick all week. Of course THIS would be the week I'd get sick and he'd have to work overtime. THE week we've been preparing for and anticipating for, oh... let's say A YEAR!

We had our (first of several) final inspection last weekend. There were quite a few items that weren't ready to pass, as is to be expected - we've been told you never pass final inspection the first time around. So we planned to work on those items through the week and pass them off today.

Needless to say, when you have three kids and you are sick and your husband is working until midnight, you don't find it possible to get those things taken care of like you wish you could.

Thanks to my little sister, who came to my home to keep an eye on my children last night, Jeremiah and I were able to work at the house into the wee hours of the morning. We got a lot done and planned to finish it up this morning.

However, this morning I could hardly stand and had to literally lay on the sidewalk several times as I was out front sweeping sidewalks and clearing gutters (an inspection item).

In the end, we did not get quite everything done before the inspector showed up, but we are thisclose. We'll have to try again Monday.

Meanwhile, we plan to move everything over between now and then, so our home life will be very primitive for the next few days until we move in and rejoin our belongings.

Now that's what I call NEVER giving up!!

All the kids are finally asleep and I am enjoying a mug of hot chocolate as I browse the internet.

I came across this article, which talks about a 70-year-old woman in India who just gave birth to her first child. Then I read the following:

"The mother, Rajo Devi, had been trying for 50 years to get pregnant with her 72-year-old husband...."

Fifty years!!!

It made me chuckle, feel very sad for her, and feel very happy for her all at the same time.

A Baby Changes Everything

I got Faith Hill's new Christmas album from my Grandma for my birthday a few months ago. The last song on the CD is called A Baby Changes Everything. It is fast becoming one of my (many) favorite Christmas songs. Enjoy!

Lack of posts.....

To my three faithful readers, I would like to apologize for the lack of posts lately. I hate to think of the great disappointment you must have felt over the past several weeks each time you have pulled up my blog in anticipation, only to discover - yet again - nothing new awaiting you there. ;-)

One reason for the lull is that we are moving into our new home in about a week (YAY!) and have been extremely busy jumping through all the hoops it has taken to get to this point and preparing for the move itself.

In addition to that is the fact that my pictures are not accessible to me at this point (a very sad and long story of which I will spare you), and pictures are needed to complete almost any post! If and when my pictures come back to me I will happily be posting some!

Holiday Edition Tag

Welcome to the 2008 Holiday Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends! You know the drill. Don't be a scrooge!!!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Looooove Hot Chocolate, not such a fan of Egg Nog

2. Does Santa wrap presents or sit them under the tree? Wrap. And despite his best intentions, he is often up late Christmas Eve doing it. One day he will get it all done in advance, as he always intends to do.

3. Colored or white lights on tree/house? colored

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nah, who needs the excuse of mistletoe?

5. When do you put your decorations up? As soon as I get to it once Thanksgiving is over.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Hmmmm..... ham and mashed potatoes, probably.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: There are two (and they could possibly be from the same year). Here's one.

When I was 10 or 12ish, I remember staying awake with my brother all night waiting for Santa do his thing so we could check out the goods before morning. Our bedrooms were in the basement, and we kept sneaking to the base of the stairs to listen for "Santa" to be hustling around. My parents kept hearing us run up and down the hallway and would yell down to us to go to bed. Finally we heard them putting everything out, and once it was silent we crept up the stairs. We stood there letting our eyes adjust to the darkness and looked at all the gifts overflowing from beneath the tree. Just as we were about to move in for a closer look, I caught sight of some Christmas lights from the tree reflecting off of my dad's glasses. Only then did I realize that he and my mom were sitting silently on the couch watching us. It seems one of them broke the silence with a final warning of "Go to bed!" as we scurried back down the stairs, finally relenting.

The other, for those who know the story, is the eventful trip we took to San Diego to visit Aunt Pam and family.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Probably around eight years old, something about snooping around and finding a bunch of wrapped presents labeled from Santa. I don't remember it being very traumatizing, so I probably had a hunch by that point.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes. The rule is one per person, but before we had kids there were several times Jeremiah and I got carried away and opened them all. It doesn't take all that long when there are just two of you.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? no specific color or theme - just colored lights and random assorted ornaments

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love the look of it, just not the temperature. But I definitely prefer a white Christmas!

12. Can you ice skate? Yes. I'm amazing. ;-)

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My son, Isaiah, whom we were blessed to adopt when he was born just a month after Christmas a few years ago. It was a very magical Christmas season as we prepared excitedly to welcome a baby boy into our family. We were blessed to have TWO birth moms offer us the gift of adopting their baby boys, and we are extremely grateful to each of them.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family - spending happy times together.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Almond Roca, baby!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? No one thing, necessarily, but I look forward to things like seeing the lights at Temple Square, attending the Festival of Trees, etc.

17. What tops your tree? I grew up having a star atop the Christmas tree, and for Jeremiah it was an angel. So far we have always had a star, but we may use an angel at some point.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? I'll plead the fifth.

No, really I do love giving, but I hate the exchanges where you are expected to spend an exact dollar amount and get something off a prepared list, so there are no real surprises and no way for it to seem genuine and from the heart. Too many regulations kill it for me.

I like giving out of the goodness of my heart, though, especially when it isn't expected.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I LOVE the duet Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy sung by Bing Crosby and David Bowie. Also, almost any rendition of O Holy Night. And a few from the Forgotten Carols - He Was Here and Three Kings Found the Lord.

20. Candy Canes! Not such a fan.

21. What is you favorite Christmas movie? One of my favorite movies of all time is While You Were Sleeping.

22. Black Friday. . . all over it or NO WAY? Changes year to year. Mostly, I just prefer to stay in bed and away from the crowds.

23. Craziest gift you ever got? I don't think it would be appropriate to mention here.... Suffice it to say, we were newlyweds, and most of our gifts were fairly risque.

24. Is your tree artificial or fresh cut? We went with fresh cut until just a few years ago. Love the smell, hate vacuuming all the needles. Now it's pre-lit and artificial.

25. What do you eat for Christmas breakfast? a breakfast casserole - eggs, cheese, ham, etc. All the good stuff!

Have fun with this... Now that you know your friends a little better, copy and paste this but change all the answers to your own. Merry Christmas!!