Our Missouri Christmas

***For those here because you received my email about a new post...be sure to read the one right below this, also***

Hey!

I meant to write a review of our MO Christmas, but we've been so busy and I've been uploading so many pictures that by the time I'm done, I don't feel like spending more time on the computer typing a bunch. But here I am...enjoy. lol

We picked up all three kids on Friday afternoon after they got off from school. I made them all a sandwich, apple slices and some chips for on the way down. We stopped a few times for the normal stuff...bathroom breaks, drinks, gas, etc. We got into Arnold around 8'ish...I called Kelly and John to let them know we were in town and we had a safe trip. When we got there, we started downstairs to hand out presents. They got all kinds of stuff from my parents...little guitar hero hand-held games, Spiderman and Sleeping Beauty hoodies, Cars stuff, Disney Princess tea party set, pajama's, new clothes, all kinds of stuff. They had 14 presents each. We took lots of pictures of all of their presents and got some pictures around the tree over the weekend. We had a late night...after we did all that we came up and ate some of my mom's vegetable soup...which Jason complimented as being, "fantastic." And I told my mom that was a sincere compliment, because he can be picky. lol He had two big bowls of it before he had to stop. After that, we put the kids to bed. One of the gifts the kids got were some sets of books...all Disney books, like Nemo, Dalmations, princesses and things like that...each pack came with three books, and three CD's so that you could just put it in a CD player and let them listen to the CD read it to them. I put one of those in for the kids while they fell asleep.

My mom had set up the spare bedroom for them...their own room for their stay. lol It was really cool. She said she wanted to paint it too, but hadn't gotten around to that part yet. There were beds, and a big desk full of stuff...crayons, puzzles, books... They all fell asleep relatively quickly. After they went to sleep, my mom wanted us to help her stuff the stockings. Well, my dad had found some old recordings of when he used to play the drums for the family reunion...so he went in my room on my desktop computer and let Jason listen to some of them. It was really cool, my dad and Jason just sat in my room for a while listening to the music, critiquing it, and talking...I sat in there for a few minutes, and decided that I'd just go help my mom stuff the stockings so we could get more done faster so we could go to bed. lol I was so tired. After all of that, we ended up staying in the kitchen with all four of us talking for a little while. Then we all went to bed, knowing that the kids would be up by 7.

Sure enough, the kids were up by 7, so I got up with them and mom and I got them some breakfast. They started playing with some of their toys for a little bit. We had to get ready and make cookies...so once everyone was awake and had eaten, we all started making cookies. We had Daniel with us too, so there were four kids, four adults...we all took a kid. I had Jasmine, Jason had Luke, dad had Daniel, and mom had Shawn. There were four bowls, and four sugar cookie mixes, so they could all make their own cookies. My dad and Jason didn't want to help make the cookies, but before long, they found themselves helping anyway. LOL All the kids bailed on us, so it was just my dad, Jason and myself making the rest of the cookies, with my mom trailing behind us cleaning up what she could while we were still making the cookies.

After that, I gave the kids a bath, and then myself a shower so we could be ready for when family came over. On Saturday, we had Travis, Eve, and Travi, Aunt Joyce and Uncle Dan, Daniel, and Aunt Kathy. I hope I'm not forgetting anyone...I think that was all that was there on Saturday. We opened some presents with everyone. Everyone that came brought presents for the kids, which was really nice and meant a lot to me. Travis and Eve got Jasmine a camera and the boys a Spongebob toothbrush set. They've been using it and they think it's cool. Aunt Joyce and Uncle Dan got the boys a Hulk and Spiderman toy. I think they were on motorcycles or something. And they got Jasmine a Barbie doll that came with a dog...that pooped. LOL It was funny. Jasmine loved it. Though, Aunt Joyce was embarrassed because she didn't know what the dog did. Mom had put some chips and snacks on the table downstairs for everyone, and she made her shrimp dip stuff...which I think is gross, but Jason was intrigued, and he loved that, too. I made some BLT dip, which seemed to go over well, I know Uncle Dan really liked it. My aunt Kathy bought us 20 scratch off tickets and put them in a card for us...so we had 10 a piece. I'll get back to that later.

About 5'ish, we gathered the kids together so we could go to Crystal City and visit Kelly, John, and all of their kids. We had a nice dinner over there and opened some presents. They got me several Debbie Macomber books that I had asked for. They also got Jason some books that he asked for as well. They also got us a Tupperware chopper thing...I know it's not the technical name, but I know what it means. lol We stayed there about 4 hours or so and then made our way home. Jason and I decided we'd scratch off our tickets when we got home. We took a guess at how much we thought we'd win... he thought we'd be lucky to win $10...but he didn't realize how many tickets were in there either. We got home, divided the tickets...and together, won $64. Then the next day when we turned them in, we used our free tickets, and won another $10. Pretty cool, huh? I called Aunt Kathy to let her know and she said it made her day...she was so excited.

When we got home, my mom had said Travis and Eve called and wanted to come over in the morning for breakfast. So around 8:30, they came over and mom and Eve made breakfast for us. It was nice to have them over again. I hurried to get the kids baths and myself a shower and by that time, my grandma and grandpa were there to visit. They were going to come on Saturday, but they had to be home because they were getting a washer or dryer delivered and they needed to be home for it. We visited with them until about 1...and opened more presents. We got all of our stuff packed up and then started to head out. We started saying our goodbyes and giving hugs, and my mom started crying, which made me start crying. lol And then we all got in the car, and all three kids are in the back going, "Bye grandma, bye grandpa, love you!" Which is so cool because we've never told them they have to call them grandma and grandpa, but they do on their own. I know it makes them feel good and it makes me feel good, too.

So that was pretty much our weekend home. We took like over 200 pictures all together! That took me a while to upload. Well, that's about it...

I love you guys...

Cole

Christmas 2008 (What a difference a year makes)

Hello everyone!

Oh my...I don't even know where to start. It's been a few weeks since I wrote anything. I am so tired of being on the computer though, because just in the past day or so, I've uploaded 185 photos. Right now, the kids are taking a nap, so I decided I would write in my blog while I have the time.

Christmas break started for the kids last Friday. Kelly, John, Anthony, Zachary, and Hannah all came up from MO to have Christmas with us and Grandma Stella. On Saturday, Kelly and I were on our way to Pekin, IL just to look around, when I decided to see, since we were headed right by Danielle's house (the kids' mom), I'd call her and see if we could get the boys. She wasn't home, but she was in Pekin...so she said she'd meet us somewhere and we could get Shawn. Luke was with his grandma, so we picked him up seperately.

We had Christmas here with Kelly, John, and all of their kids. They left on Sunday. On Saturday, Shawn and I made gooey butter cookies from John's special recipe...and they're all gone now. lol

On Monday, Jasmine called Jason and asked if he would come to Havana to pick her up because she wanted to see us. So, while grandma and I made dinner, Jason went to pick up Jasmine. Later that night, Jasmine, Luke, Jason and I had a tea party with Jasmine's new Disney Princess tea party set she got from my parents. We had some hot tea and gooey butter cookies. Jason didn't want to attend our tea party, but finally conceded. LOL

I had to work on Tuesday, so we didn't do much of anything. I was off on Wednesday, Christmas Eve. We had to take all three kids to their mom's side of the family about 5:00 on Wednesday for their Christmas dinner and activities. The kids and I made cupcakes, so they could have something to take to their Christmas dinner with their mom's family.

I had to work on Christmas...and Jason picked up the kids betwen 4 and 5 on Thursday...and I got off work at 9. We did some last minute stocking stuffer shopping and headed home. During the course of Christmas, I spent half the day on the phone calling everyone to wish them a Merry Christmas. When we got home Christmas night, we were both really tired...so we made sure we had everything ready to go by morning. I let the kids help me wrap their present for Jason...and then he let them help him wrap their present for me. The boys weren't feeling very well, so they didn't get up until almost 9, but Jasmine was up around 8. I made blueberry muffins and they had cereal and muffins for breakfast. Then we all went upstairs and sat by our tree and opened presents.

I took quite a few pictures...here's some of the stuff each kid got.

Jasmine: Her three favorite gifts that she got (out of all of her gifts from everyone) were her easy bake oven (from us/Santa), a light up medical set (also from us/Santa), and a pink girls guitar (from her mom). I don't know which order those were in, but she said she had three favorite gifts. With her easy bake oven, she got some mixes to bake with. She got a few dolls, coloring book, a Hello Kitty video game, a pony set, and some other various toys...it's hard to remember everything.

Luke: He said his favorite was a spiderman kids laptop...not sure who it was from though. Out of the stuff he got here, he loved his K'Next set (it had 400 pieces), and some of his Ben 10 characters...he seemed to pick out some of the smaller stuff as his favorites.

Shawn said his favorite was his laptop. We got him a VTech kids learning laptop. It comes with a regular mouse, and it has this little monkey on it that talks and helps him learn things. It has all kinds of games for him to play. He freaked out when he opened it, he thought it was the coolest thing ever. He said, "Cole! Now I have a laptop, just like you!" He always wants to play on my laptop and he thinks it's so cool, so I thought a little kids learning laptop would be perfect for him.

We got each kid one big gift a piece and then a bunch of smaller gifts. Jasmine's big gift was her Easy Bake Oven, Luke's was his 400 piece K'Nex set, and Shawn's was his laptop. Which is funny, because those were their favorite (or among their top few) favorite gifts. Each child had a different kind of wrapping paper...Jasmine had bears on hers, Luke had Santa's on his, and Shawn had penguins on his. It was the cutest thing...Shawn couldn't say penguin correctly...so he said, "pen-ga-len". LOL Then he got embarrassed because everytime he'd say it, we'd laugh.

The kids got Jason a Gillette for Men gift set. It had shampoo, body wash, deoderant, and a razor and shave cream. They got me some St. Ive's products...some body wash, lotion and this stuff that exfoliates your skin. I don't think I'm spelling that right, but oh well. lol I used my stuff in the shower yesterday and loved it. And Jason's favorite deodorant is Gillette...so he was happy.

After we were finished opening presents, we had one more stop to make. We went to see Jason's dad and step mom. We got everybody dressed and off we went. His dad lives in Havana, IL, which is where Jasmine lives and where Jason grew up. We stayed over there for 3 or 4 hours, I'd say. The kids opened some presents over there. I took a bunch of pictures there, too. They got Jason and I (well, I guess it was more for me, really...) a two-sided crock pot! I was very excited about that. lol We just took an 8x10 of the family picture we had made in a frame and then a 5x7 of the picture of just me and Jason and framed them. Gitana (his step mom) loved it. We got his step sister a Hannah Montana make up set. And we got his step brother some Axe stuff...shower gel, deodorant, and cologne.

When we got home, we had all of the kids take a nap for a little bit. Then we had dinner, got baths, and opened more presents! Grandma Sella and Torrey had some presents for the kids as well...so we let them open those. Shawn went to bed early...but Jasmine and Luke stayed for a while playing with all of their new toys. Finally, we said it was bedtime. That brings us to today...which we haven't done anything special. We're all so tired and worn out from constantly going from place to place. lol

Tomorrow is the 28th and it'll be a year and a half for Jason and I. We're really not big celebrating each month, but we do mention, "Hey...guess what today is...the 28th.." and that's about the end of it. LOL But, we got a gift card for the Olive Garden from Kelly and John, and as long as the weather is okay tomorrow, we're going to Springfield (the nearest Olive Garden) and have lunch with the kids. Jason has never been to the Olive Garden, and the kids probably haven't either. I love O.G. but I haven't been there in a while. So, it should be fun.

We have the kids until NEXT Sunday, January 4th. The go back to school on Monday, January 5th. We've got to keep them the majority of their Christmas break, which has been GREAT! We've really enjoyed having them. Grandma says when they get up from their nap, we will make some cookies.

I was telling Jason about some of my observations between last Christmas and this Christmas. Last year at Christmas time, we were only together for six months...and I had known the kids about 4 and a half of those 6 months. So, I wasn't as close with them then as I am now. Last year, Jason and I bought seperately for the kids. We realized how goofy that was and decided next year, we would by together for them instead of seperately. Obviously, this year we bought together...and I guess I started having those worries that every parent has....I kept asking myself if they would like what we got them, if there were enough presents, wishing we could have got them more, things like that. And I realized...this is it. This is what every parent goes through, but this was the first year that I really thought about things like that. It's amazing how quickly I forgot I'm not the biological mother of these kids. But I love them like my own. And it may sound weird because I don't technically have one of "my own", but if you're in a similar situation as I am, you understand. Shawn has slipped up three times so far and called me mom....which is nothing new, he's done it before, but every single time he does it, it stops me dead in my tracks. The other night when he wasn't feeling good, I gave him some medicine and he said, "Thank you mom...um...Cole, thank you." I just smiled, tucked him in and didn't say a word.

In fact, the other day when Jason picked them up from thier mom's, Shawn immediately asked, "Where's Cole? Is she here?" and before Jason could even say "no," Danielle said, "No, Cole's at work...but you'll get to see her later." And Jason joked, "Ya know... I dont know if they come to see me anymore, or just Cole." Danielle said, "Oh...Cole. Trust me, it's all I hear about...Cole, Cole, Cole." LOL

In their stockings, Santa left them a Webkins pet. For those that don't know, it's just a stuffed animal...but it has a code with it, and you can take it online. You can choose if your pet is a boy or a girl and name it...and you've adopted a pet. Jasmine named her girl dog Wanda, after Fairy Odd Parents (a kids cartoon), Shawn named his boy cow Biscuit, and Luke named his girl Tiger, Cole...can you believe that? Cole...he named his tiger after me. It was cute. And Jason thinks that Luke has a crush on me. Which is funny.

ANYWAY...I'm about done with all of the pictures...at least until I take more. The kids are still napping. I'm snacking on some chocolate. And I'm supposed to come up with 5 songs that I want Jason to learn on the guitar and he's going to learn them for me. lol In between everything else going on, I'm on the second Twilight book, called New Moon. I'm loving it. Back to reality now... I'll either upload some of the better pictures later, or figure out something you can all see some pictures.

Love you all,

Cole xoxoxox

P.S. Jason wanted me to tell everyone he said hi! :)

Wrapping, cleaning, packing!

I was off work yesterday, so Jason and I decided to get out all of the presents for the kids so we could see where we were with them. Jasmine had a few more gifts than the boys did, so Jason went out to even it up a little bit. While he was gone, I popped in my Keith Urban DVD (the latest one) and watched the concert again while I wrapped presents. It took me quite a while to wrap all of those presents. I wrapped Shawn's, then Luke's and took a break. Jason offered to wrap the rest, but I did Jasmine's anyway.

The rest of the day I spent just cleaning upstairs, doing dishes, laundry, and odd and end things like that. I have to work at 3:30 today...but either before I go to work or tomorrow (because I'm off tomorrow) I'm going to start packing to get ready for coming to MO shortly. I can't pack much of our stuff (meaning Jason and I) but I can get the kids' stuff packed.

I'm so excited, I can't wait! :)

Love,
Cole

Saturday, December 13th...

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to make a quick announcement for those who don't know... Jason and I will be making a trip to MO with our kids the weekend of the 12th-14th. We will get into Arnold late Friday night. Mom is making some food in the afternoon for people to come and visit. We're just going to open a window from 1pm-4pm for anyone who wants to stop by and visit with us. We will NOT be in for Christmas, so this is our Christmas with our families in MO. I realize none of us will know how the weather will be and that may keep some of you from traveling, and we understand that. We're doing it this way so we don't have to stop by several different houses. We'll be staying at my mom's like usual. About 4:00 is when we'll be going to visit Jason's family for the evening and do Christmas with them.

We look forward to seeing everyone! :)

Love,
Cole