Hittin' the Road... And She's Off!

Grampy sure knows how to spoil a kid

He says this is all leading up to my Corvette!

Cruise'n into Christmas...

I might be a princess, but I still know how to get down and dirty!

As my daddy says, "You can take the girl out of Terre Haute, but you can't take the Terre Haute out of the girl!" He wanted to know if there was room for a deer on the back... he's such a city-boy, Carmel snob!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

If this isn't "classic" Disney Princess, than I don't know what is!

Little Miss Disney Princess...

I'm afraid we have created a monster...

a lovely monster mind you, but still a monster!

Christmas Morning...

Recession... what recession? Spoiled rotten is what our family was this Christmas morning! Clothes, games and toys galore! It was so much fun watching Addie open and play with all of her gifts... she was REALLY into the holiday spirit! Gracie taste-tested all of her gifts including the packaging they were wrapped in... yummy and organic!

Treats for the Big Guy...

Before turning in for the night, mama and I created a tray of treaties for Santa. Nana helped me sprinkle oats on the lawn for his reindeer... all of my bribes worked... he and his team brought some serious loot!

Happy Birthday Old Man!

Grampy, you stay away from my cake!
Raise your hand if you LOVE ice cream cake!

Uncle Jesse (aka "The Old Man") turned 30 on Christmas Eve. His favorite dessert is ice cream cake. Thanks for waiting to celebrate until we arrived back home. A little treat before bedtime always helps with sweet dreams!

Christmas with the Reussers...

Julie hosted an absolutely lovely Christmas Eve dinner for the Reusser family. She came up with the neatest idea and asked everyone what menu item reminded them of Christmas. She put together her menu and made each of us our favorite holiday dish... very cool! We had a fun night filled with stories, yummy food, sweet treats and presents. Of course it is always entertaining to watch all of the kiddos play together.

Longest Wait EVER...

Nana and Grampy let me open one gift early to pass the time
A Disney Princess Memory Game

Let's get to playing!

I'm pretty darn tootin' good at this game!

Tuesday night, my daddy went to pick up Kay-Kay, Gracie and Jesse at the airport. It took them 7 and a half hours to travel less than 50 miles! Darn that Indiana winter weather. We were anxiously awaiting their arrival so we started to open gifts and play games to pass the time. They didn't make it to Nana and Grampy's home until 1:30 in the morning... needless to say, I didn't get to stay up and say, "Hi."

The Reason for the Season...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY JESUS!

Nana got me a very cool, kid friendly nativity scene.

Keebler Elf...

I had a lot of fun decorating cookies for the holidays!

Family Fun...

Tonight after church, we went to Shapiro's for dinner. The main reason we even walk through the deli doors is for their coconut-cream pie. Tonight Little Miss was introduced to our favorite dessert!

Ohh, this looks yummy!

I think I will lick this yummy dessert... who needs a fork!

Nana, thank you for coming to visit and for taking us out to dinner.

Love you Nana!

Silverware is sooo over-rated!

Gearing Up for the Holidays...

Mother has resorted to decorating homemade ornaments, instead of cookies this holiday season. Betty Crocker wasn't too successful with her first batch of spritz cookies this year!

That's more like it mom... chocolate-chip

cookies from Paradise Cafe!

I visited the Big Guy on Saturday.

When he asked me what I wanted for Christmas

I replied, "Wanted presents, Santa Ho, Ho."

Addison Homes, Inc.

Last January, Doug and I started our own custom home building business, Addison Homes Inc. Everyone looked at us like we were the crazy people throwing away our money and time. (You can't really blame them, considering our country's current economic status and the poor housing industry.) Faithfully, we held hands, said our prayers, and jumped in fully committed to make this company work. Doug finalized plans, and we signed our life away to the mortgage company and broke ground on the spec home in February. It has been fun making weekly visits as a family to see what was completed and added as construction progressed. The only question I ever had was, when can we move in? The house is "B"-"U"-"T"-"Full".

I guess I wasn't the only one who thought so, because a family bought it this morning! I am on such a high right now, I'm beside myself! I feel like I have ADD and can't get anything accomplished!

I am so very proud of my husband for his talents and for his dedication to his family. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have supported us this year, cheered us on and kept us in your thoughts and prayers.

In addition to selling the spec home, earlier this week Doug signed another client to build for... they want to build his spec home again. I feel like that is a pretty big compliment to his finished work and craftsmanship!

You better believe that I am counting my blessings and thanking the Lord for everything we are receiving!

Hey Kids...

Every wonder what your teachers and parents do on the weekends or after you go to bed... D-D-R! That's right, we have Dance, Dance Revolution competitions! We rock out to X-Box Rock Band and pretend we are Bon Jovi and Cheryl Crowe. We are ROCK STARS with wicked dance moves! Saturday night we hosted the Sand Creek Intermediate faculty holiday party and had a really good time with everyone. The only lingering question of the night is... Did Mrs. Kingsley (aka Brittney Spears)crash the FCI faculty party on her way home?