Shrek the Halls

Hope everyone with kids is watching Shrek the Halls tonight! It is on tonight at 7:00 on ABC. We can't wait-I love Shrek and Donkey!



Just thought I would share a picture of my little love bug. He loves to give kisses and hugs and we can't enough of them. He is sitting on my lap now giggling at seeing Dada (:

We spent the afternoon decorating the Christmas tree and doing a little decorating. It was probably the last warmish day of the season, so I talked Jon into getting the outside lights up, too. They turned out nice and I can't wait to drive up to them tomorrow (:

Here is Alaina getting all the stuff ready!


Here Sawyer is "helping" get stuff ready, too.What, mom? I'm helping!

The kids each have their own box of ornaments they have gotten over the years, so I love hearing them remember each ornament, who gave it to them or when they made it themselves. It is fun to reminisce each year and they get so excited putting their own up. I try to buy them an ornament each year that reflects what they were interested in.


Sawyer did great placing his ornaments on the tree. He also did great taking them off, too! It is going to be a long season (:
Here 's the tree! It turned out beautiful even though you can't really tell in this picture.
I was tired of cleaning up after Sawyer terrorizing our tree, so I put him in this chair in the family room and told him to sit and stay. He knew he was in trouble and sat their so adorably! It was hard to stay mad for too long.
Notice the two nativity scenes-one for me and one for the kids to play with. My mom made the wooden one for us a few years back and the kids love setting it up and playing with it-so cute! Surprise, surprise Sawyer could care less about it and only wants the glass ones on top-sigh.....
My favorite spot is our fireplace. It looks so cozy and I can't wait to start lighting fires soon! It was sad not being able to hang up Troopers stocking this year.
I took many pictures trying to get a good pic of the kids in front of the tree and yes this was the best one!Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Thanksgiving Day

We had a great day yesterday with Jon's grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, etc. It is big, wonderful group that I am so grateful to be a part of. It makes me miss my big wonderful group of relatives back east a little less! Sawyer and Tucker sharing a meal together

We started the day eating a lot of
fabulous food. Everyone brings
a dish, so it ends up being a lot
of food! I just wish I was hungrier
longer so I could eat more!
Hunter the Cowboy .......................................Hungry Karen? (:

The gathering is held at The Assemblies of God church to accommodate everyone. There is a lot of room for the kids to run and play-It is a great location!











































Another tradition we celebrate is making Gingerbread houses to kick off the holiday season. This is a favorite for Alaina and Jonnie. They did so good this making them all by themselves. It is fun to see how much better they get at creating year after year!











This was Sawyer's first year creating or should I see eating his house. It was soooo yummy!



















































Another tradition is the annual swap meet. Everyone can bring items from home they longer need or use. It is like a free garage sale and you can just take what you want. Sawyer is trying on a vest I found. He wasn't sure what to think of it (: It was more like a vest dress!















So, here is Jon and I at the end of the day content and happy after eating some pie. Notice the fabulous accessories I am wearing-They are a gift from Jonnie from the swap meet (: We had a great day and I love each and every one of Jon's family. They are truly special! Now off to round two on my side-can't wait!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! Remember to be thankful for all you have and to eat lots of pumpkin pie! It is around the holidays that I wish all my family lived close by so we could celebrate together. Enjoy your day!

Goodbye Friend

Trooper passed away last night. He was laying in his favorite spot on the couch when he died and looked peaceful. I don't think he suffered in the end. I was grateful to be able to say goodbye to him last night and sit with him for awhile-I just had a feeling. I think he died shortly after I went to bed. He was such a good boy and even in passing he made it easier on us. We buried him at the farm this morning in a quiet peaceful spot.

Update....

We found out today that Trooper is severely anemic and is jaundiced. His red blood cells are low and that is causing his heart rate and breathing to be increased. To make a long story short, he is basically losing blood somewhere-possible causes are poison, tumor, or what the vet thinks it is is his immune system is basically self destroying. So it doesn't look good for him to pull through, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't try something. We are trying him on a couple medications and we should now in a couple days if there is improvement. Everyone pray that he will pull through. I have already talked to the kids about it and basically prepared them for what might happen-Jonnie burst our crying and said he was going to lose his best friend... That broke my heart, but they at least understand this may be our last days with him and they are giving him lots of love. Every time I look at Trooper he has another stuffed animal or pillow by him. So, keep Trooper in your prayers.

My Old Man

My big sweet boy is under the weather-well, it could be more than just that and I am hopeful he will get better. Trooper has a lot of issues (severe hip problems, degenerative eye disease, allergies, and ear problems) and I knew one day it would all catch up to him. I am so afraid it is happening now..... He is has been the best dog for our family. Anyway, he hasn't been eating hardly anything for a week, seems to be losing weight, labored breathing, and just depressed. I have been trying some homemade concoctions to bring him out of it and to make him full of energy again, but he seems to be going downhill fast..... We brought him to the vet today and he is running a temp. and his heart is racing and he has lost weight. The doctor put him on an anti inflammatory pill in case he is in bad joint pain and an antibiotic just in case he has pneunomia or some other infection. He is running a bunch of blood tests, he thought the whites of his eyes looked yellow, and he will let me know in the morning what they found out. Part of me can't wait to find out and the other part doesn't want to hear the news.... I have been medicating him with something or other for most of his life, so I am really hoping this is something I can treat again. I will keep you all posted with the news and how my Trooper Boy is doing...

Week in Review

It has been about a week since I last put anything on, so I thought I will let you know what we have been up to. The week started out with the new camera but little did I know that the software to upload the pictures onto my computer would not be compatible. Therefore, that is the reason for no new pictures this week. I even bought a RAM memory card, opened up my computer and put it in, only to have my computer not be able to read it. Being computer illiterate, I do not know what to do next. I didn't think I would ever get my new pictures on until my sis-in-law said to just put the memory card in my old camera and upload them that way and voila (thanks Melissa). Here are a couple of the first pics I took:
On Monday Alaina came home from School early with a fever and upset stomach. On the way home she yelled, "pull over, pull over!" As soon as I stopped the car (on the highway) she whipped open the door and threw up all over! Cars were passing us and everything-It was a little embarrassing but I was so grateful she didn't puke in the car!! She stayed home the next day, too but felt better in the afternoon. Here is a picture of when she was sick (: I should have taken the picture in color because she was so pale and her lips were so red-she looked like a doll (:
I am grateful no one else got the same sickness as her. Sawyer was running a temp on Thurs. and has had a cough but nothing serious and it hasn't amounted to anything.




Friday, Sawyer and I went to Alaina's songfest. They sang songs about America and it was really good! Alaina is the one in the middle wearing red in the front row. We were sitting really far back, obviously, and I have to figure out my zoom better!


We also celebrated Jon's 35th birthday on Friday. Alaina and Jon made him a chocolate cake the night before and I bought him a new coffee maker and the kids bought him "Evan Almighty." The cake was delicious and he enjoyed the gifts. We had his parents over for cake and ice cream that night.

On Saturday we went to the Holidazzle parade. It was cold, but we found a spot next the hospital that had a large vent that was blowing out hot air, so it was really toasty and warm. The kids loved it and I thought it was fun, too. Sawyer got sooo excited over all the lights and he especially loved the fire trucks. After the parade we out for dinner to celebrate Jon's birthday and then went home and stayed up late and watched "Evan Almighty" with the kids. Great movie and we all loved it!!On Sunday we celebrated my Mother-in-law's birthday and went out for brunch with my all the Swansons. So that is our week-the condensed version! Hope yours was good, as well!

Seven Random Things.....

So, I have been tagged and need to come up with seven random things about me. Some you may already know about me, some you may not (:

1. I am the biggest procrastinator I know. They is always later, or tomorrow, or next week to do things. That is the reason I am always late-I wait until the last minute to do anything then I am running around like crazy, mad at myself because I didn't get things done sooner and I am late. So, sorry everyone who waits for me, it is not me being disrespectful it is that I have once again been procrastinating. You would think that since I am aware of this it would change, but then maybe I'll start trying tomorrow (:

2. I have a really hard time with mouth saliva. That is on other people (not babies). I literally lose my appetite for hours or the whole day if I see anyone with drool running down their mouth. I am not proud of this fact because those that tend to have the drool are those that can't help or prevent it, but it still makes me gag.....

3. I love animals-all kinds and I could read books and watch shows about any kind of animal and love it! I miss working at the vet clinic because I miss all the animals! I especially love dogs and kissing their soft snouts (my favorite part). When I didn't have kids, my dogs were everything to me and I know when my kids are grown, I will be the crazy dog lady again (:

4. I cry at everything. That is nothing new to those that know me, but my heart aches for those that are struggling or are in pain. I sometimes can't sleep if I have watched something sad or read about something and think of all the people in pain in the world. That is partly why I would love to be a foster parent someday and the reason I have to hold myself back from the Humane Society. I also cry at happy moments, too. Especially if my children do something sweet or accomplish something or I just well up with love for them at times (:

5. I hate shopping! I get physically sick if I am in the mall too long. Some think that is weird, but I am happy doing all my shopping online (: Except Target, I enjoy going there....

6. Not a workaholic(even though I married one). I am just as happy as the kids when there is a snow day or I take off work when they are sick. I do like my job, but I am just as happy being at home with the kids (: Part of this is the fact that I am not a morning person and any chance I can get to sleep in later, I am all for it!!

7. I sing at home all the time-even though I am horrible and would be mortified if anybody but my family heard me. I sing anything from Opera (the kids favorite-haha) to country. Not only do I sing to everything, but I have to include some dancing along with it-I always grab a kid or two. Even though they roll their eyes at times, I know they love it! Jonnie is a lot like me and will just break into song-I love it!!

Well, there you have it. I am supposed to tag other people, but I really don't know who to tag!

I'm in love....

With my new camera!! I am having so much fun figuring everything out and there are so many cool features on it. I ended up getting a Canon Powershot and I love it! So watch out, you might be bombarded with pictures for awhile (:
Well....as soon as I figure everything out-I think it is now time to get a new computer (:

Friday Night Fun!

Last weekend Alaina made Brownies at Grandma Karen's house all by herself. So I was giddy for her to start baking at our house! So here she is making Brownies all by herself tonight. I didn't have to help her at all (: Well, maybe just once to take them out of the oven.


She is so careful making sure to get it all right. I hope she loves to bake as she gets older so she can help her mother in that department (:

Meanwhile, while Alaina was baking and I was on the phone, Sawyer decided to help himself to a snack....



He poured the box of Kix all over the floor and proceded to play and dance in it. Since it was all over the floor anyway, I let him have a little fun before I cleaned it up.



Here he is being a puppy dog and licking them off the floor.....




He is having a blast and totally full of it (:


Time to clean up! He had even more fun cleaning them up!

We have no weekend plans except tomorrow I am in search of a new camera-I am having a lot of trouble with this one and quality is getting worse as you can tell in the pictures. I don't even have a clue what is a great camera and trying to research them is so hard because there are so many!! Any advice would be welcome (:

Have a GREAT weekend!!