Another Great Christmas!

We headed up to the metropolis of Marcus, IA this year to spend Christmas with the Voetberg's! We arrived late Saturday night and I met up with my best friend to go have a couple of drinks at the local bar and ended up running into all kinds of people I knew. It was definitely the night to be out!
Christmas Eve Kyle got some gravel grinding in! He took the 30 mile round trip out to my sister's house. He had a head wind on the way there and even though he had a tail wind on the way back, he said it didn't help since the ground was so mushy! He had a good ride and was passed by only 2 cars the whole time.
Christmas Eve night we had supper and opened gifts, we even got my brother (who lives in Rome, NY) in the action by calling and having him open his gift from Kyle. His wife wouldn't let him open any more since it wasn't actually Christmas day yet....don't argue with someone 8 months pregnant! Love ya Ben and Courtney...miss ya!!

Anyway, here are a couple pictures from the past 2 days....
Alexa loving the bows and of course we had to put it on her head! Her stretching makes her look even littler than she is!









This years family picture by Mom and Dad's tree. Not the best picture as Alexa was squirming and our camera wasn't cooperating fast enough, but at least we have one!












Alexa enjoying her new crayons that she got to open when we arrived home Christmas afternoon. Also by her are some new books and her ABC Leap Frog.

One Year/Christmas pictures

Here are a couple of Alexa's one year pics. I had them done at Target, but might try Portrait Innovations for her next ones, I have heard great things about them! I wasn't completely satisfied with Target this time.

Merry Christamas Cycling Style

Here is the Nutcracker....cycling style....


http://www.specialized.com/bc/microsite/holiday/

Early Christmas!

We had Christmas with Kyle's parents and Uncle Kurt on Sat Dec. 16th. I took more video than pictures, but here are a couple.
Kyle and Kurt have a contest going on who can "wrap" their presents better. There have been some interesting ideas....last year Kyle took Macaroni noodles and glued them all over the package until you couldn't see the wrapping paper....well this year I think Kurt really out did him!
Here is Kyle with his "pinata". Kurt took cement and "wrapped" Kyle's present. Kyle proceeded to take a pic-ax to the cement and found a tube with a bunch of candy and a note telling him his "real" present was in Kurt's car! He then had to un-wrap a package secured with packing tape to reaveal the movie "Talladega Nights". Thanks for the entertainment Kurt!
(You may be able to see Kurt grinning in the background)

Alexa had fun crawling on the cement block before it was destroyed!

Besides all that excitement Alexa received the Infant/Toddler Leapster Interactive DVD. It is really cute and she got a big kick out of the sample game we played. Now we have to go purchase one of the DVD's so we can play more games.

We all received some very nice gifts and it was fun to laugh and have a good time with the family.

Last but not least.......Caring

This I feel is one of the most important values everyone has, but does not always show.

I've always heard many complaints of the Bell Ringers outside of stores and in the DM Skywalks. I personally put something in each time I see one. Even if it is just a small handful of pennies. I feel it is the caring side in me....I'm a sucker for helping people in need! I've had to learn to say no to some charities this Season just because me only working part time does not allow as much.

Anyway, here are some quotes I found about Caring:

George Washington Carver: "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these."

"The most important thing in any relationship is not what you get but what you give.... In any case, the giving of love is an education in itself."
— Eleanor Roosevelt

“A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.” Denis Waitley

Don't lose sight of Christmas.....Celebrate!

I have heard so much this Christmas season about the true meaning of Christmas and how the stores take away so much of it.
To me Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ.
But it is also being with friends and family, helping the less fortunate if I can, and enjoying all the lights, decorations and celebrations of the season.

This excerpt is borrowed from another blog (Jonathonscloset.blogspot.com) I read and I think it is something we should all think about:
For those who want to debate the origin of Christmas, here is the truth: The Christmas season is a combination of Christian (Roman Catholic) and Pagan winter celebrations. It incorporates Christian religious ceremonies (the event that fills us with so much joy and gladness that we celebrate it each year, with more attention than for any other event; it is the entrance of Jesus Christ into our world. It is the living proof that, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" -John 3:16) with the traditions of ancient winter festivals such as Yule (the winter solstice celebration of the Germanic pagans) and Saturnalia (the feast at which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn). What emerged after Constantine came into power were religions that had borrowed some rituals and incorporated holidays from each other’s cultures.

The real meaning of Christmas is being lost by groups on the left who think it is 100% pagan and groups on the right that believe it’s 100% religious. It is a weaving of both and therefore both need to be observed. If someone is so easily offended by a Nativity scene or a Star of David or even a Kwanzaa wreath, they should be ridiculed as ignorant and intolerant and be sent on their way!

Christmas is a time to find someone less fortunate than you and give a gift from your heart. It is a time to be with your family. It is a time to reconnect or repair friendships, to give your fellow man a smile and wish them Merry Christmas and if they get offended, they’ll get over it. The changes start with one person and snowball from there. Be that one person who breaks from the norm and remembers what the season is really all about. In the end, it doesn't really matter what you do to have a more spiritual holiday; only that you do something.

So, no matter how you decide to celebrate this Holiday Season; You will hear me say MERRY CHRISTMAS! I will accept any greeting you decide to give me. It comes down to the feeling in your heart and nothing else!