Family Pictures

Last week we had a family Christmas party at my step-sister Shannon's house and got family pictures done!  It's always tricky trying to get everyone together at the same time and to get the kids to cooperate but I thought they turned out pretty good!

The Walkers :)

My brother Dan & his family

My brother Ben & his family

My mom & step-dad

My brother Sam & his family

My step-sister Shannon & her family (and their dog Sugar :))

All the grand kids (my poor little nephew in the left-hand corner!  He was so sad!)

 The Nunes/Martindale Family 2013

Bring on Christmas!

The past couple of days since Thanksgiving we have been working hard to set up all of our Christmas decor.  I am one of those people who likes to wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating, although I don't judge those who start before because I'm not going to lie, it is hard waiting sometimes!

The kids were so excited this year and although it was stressful at times I tried to let them "help" decorate (ahem, which I usually went back and fixed later but hey, they didn't notice!).

Just some of the Christmas decor mess!

Last year I found this pink tree at Walmart and I couldn't resist getting it for Malea's room!  She decorated it herself (in her Halloween jammies, lol).

Last year we set up a little 2 footer tree that I've had forever in Isaac's room and he didn't seem to care but this year he wanted a "big tree like Sissy's" so we went and got him his own little tree.  He was so excited to decorate it!

 Daddy helping Malea put the star on the tree! :)

The finished product :)

(Malea actually put all the ornaments on while Keith and I were hanging up lights outside, she did a pretty good job!  She couldn't reach the top so I just went back afterwards and evened things out a little bit.)

We are getting so excited for Christmas!  Now if someone could just give me a money tree so I can START my Christmas shopping that would be great, thanks ;) haha

Thanksgiving 2013

For Thanksgiving this year we went to my Dad's for our first meal at 1pm and then went to my Mom's for the second meal at 5pm.  I thought I was going to burst after eating all that delicious food!  It was just so fun hanging out with family, eating good food, and relaxing. 

Doing crafts with the kids on Thanksgiving Eve :)

Dinner #1:

Malea and Sienna playing tea party while we wait to eat....the are sure cute!

Everyone hanging out watching the football game

Cute baby Marshall, he's getting so big!

All the food was so good!

Three generations :)

Dinner #2:

Finally got a pic of both kids in their little Indian hats!

Cute pic of Keith and Gavin hanging out together

Me with my sweet boy :)

Keith got demoted to the little kids table ;) haha (Isaac was in a really grumpy mood so Keith sat by him to keep him in line, he actually ended up taking him home early which was a bummer)

I am grateful for so many things in my life, but the thing I am most grateful for is my family.  I can't imagine what my life would be like without them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Malea's First Stitches

Poor Malea had a rough night last night.....she fell and hit her ear on the edge of her bed really hard and it sliced the edge of her ear right open. Yes, you read right.....on the edge of her bed.  She has one of those captain beds with a wood frame that the mattress sits in with drawers underneath (see pic below) and she hit her ear on the edge.  We are pretty much in shock that it sliced her ear open like that, it is the most random thing!  The other crazy thing is that her bedspread was on it hanging over the edge so she didn't even hit the edge directly.....there was a little bit of padding.  I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if the blanket hadn't been there!  After it happened she was crying, I started crying, and Isaac was crying.....thank goodness Keith was calm because we were all a mess!   

[Warning, a couple of these pictures are kind of graphic (for any squeamish people reading)]

This is similar to what Malea's bed looks like.....she fell and hit her ear on the edge (above the drawers)....

We took her to Instacare and she had to get 10 stitches!  We told her if she held really still the whole time we would take her to get a new Monster High doll afterwards.  She was a champ the whole time, held very still and didn't cry (not during the stitches anyway).  We still can't believe that it sliced right through her ear, we will definitely be getting some padding to go on the edge of her bed after this.

The doctor did a great job and even let her watch "Curious George" on his phone while he stitched her up. That definitely helped her stay still and distract her while he worked.

Malea with her new Monster High doll.  She wanted "Frankie Stein" because she has stitches too :)

I wanted to get a picture of the stitches but she didn't want me taking the bandaid off (fair enough)....maybe I can get a picture later on.

 I hate when my kids get hurt :(  It just breaks my heart!  I just hope it heals well and the scar isn't too bad.  Poor girl :'(

Reflections

Malea participated in the Reflections art contest at her school that is put on by the PTA.  I remember doing Reflections when I was in school, so it was fun to see her do it too.  The theme was "Believe, Dream, Inspire", so when we sat down to figure out what she was going to do for her project we talked about something she dreams about.  She said that when she grows up she wants to be a teacher so she drew a picture of herself as a teacher.  I thought it turned out so good!  She is a good little artist and she loves doing crafts at home.

Malea with her picture on display at the recognition night

 Malea didn't win (even though I thought hers was one of the best, but my vote doesn't count ;)), but she did get a certificate for participating and a little goodie bag with stickers, coupons to restaurants in the community, etc.  So proud of my girl!