Fun Times

Because I'm a teacher, I'm home for the holidays. I love being home and having time with my family. Lately, we've been doing a lot of chilling, which is a pastime I rarely have the opportunity to enjoy. We've been utilizing the convenience of Netflix and playing with new toys from Christmas. Kyson and Kris got glow-in-the-dark hats in their stocking, so I tool some pictures on night. It's difficult to get a good picture of stuff that glows in the dark, especially when your three-year-old doesn't want to hold still long enough for the picture to be taken. He wants to see the picture that hasn't been taken yet.

Today, Kyson and Kodi were playing a lot. It is so obvious that they love each other so much. I love

watching them together (as long as Kyson doesn't get too rough). Kodi idolizes her big brother and would do anything for him, while Kyson loves to make his little sister laugh. They're quite a pair. I'm so grateful for this time and look forward to the day when we have more time to spend together rather than working so much. Someday.

I Love Christmas

Every year for Christmas we fill the entire day and never really have a chance to just be. We decided to change things up this year by going to my parents' house on Christmas Eve, and then my parents can visit each family on Christmas day. I think it worked out a lot better.

Christmas Even started out with Subway that my parents ordered and we all chomped and chatted. Subway is always a nice meal for the holidays. Subway is a nice meal for any day. Then the real fun began. We played a game called Compatability and it was hilarious to play this with my sister and parents. I've wanted to since I played it last year for New Year's and now that it''s finally happened - it didn't disappoint. It was nice that my niece, Chelsie, dropped in for a shirt time as well. After games and lots of laughter came presents. Kyson was so well-behaved and grateful. He was saying thank you and giving hugs. He didn't always wait for his turn to open the present, but what can you expect from a three-year-old. The entire evening was wonderful and I hope we start a new family tradition with this.

Christmas morning was just as great. Kodi was the one to wake us first at 6:30am. I was really hoping to sleep until 7:30, but not this year. Apparently, Kodi was too excited to wait. We brought her into our bed to see if she's fall back asleep until Kyson woke up, but she was ready to go and played the entire time. Finally at 7ish, I took her downstairs until Kyson woke up. At 7:30, Kyson came downstairs and saw the presents under the tree. His first response was, "Wow." But when I asked him to go wake up Daddy, he said, No," and ran to play with a toy meant for Kodi.

When everyone came downstairs, Kyson started handing out the stockings and going through all of his nifty toys in there. He was so patient and nice. Even when we got to the actual presents, he would pause after each present to play with it. If only this angelic behavior would have lasted all day.

After presented we had cinnamon rolls and watched The Polar Express. Kyson watched the movie in his new play tent he got from Grandma and Grandpa Tinsch the night before. Then Grandma and Grandpa Tinsch came over. We had more presents and lunch. This year, I cooked my first "Christmas Dinner" and I think it turned out okay - I liked it anyway. Later that evening Jen, Bill, and Josh came over and boy that was a treat. Josh is such a good sport. He played with Kyson so much and I know Kyson just loved it. Kodi was too tired to care, but watching Kyson and Josh was so fun.

For the rest of the evening, Kris worked on setting up our new PS3, and Kyson sat in his "house." It was a wonderfully relaxing day and so nice not to be gone all day visiting everyone. I guess the stress will come tomorrow when I'm trying to clean up the house and de-clutter the old to make room for the new. I think I enjoyed this Christmas more than I have in a long time.

The Newsest Addition

On December 10th, we received a phone call from Rusty and Amy saying that we're getting a new nephew. That same day, the adoption agency called them up and asked them if they'd be interested in hearing about a

baby that was born the previous day. Typically they have a lot more information and notice when considering a child, but they decided to hear more about it. They seriously thought about the situation, and knew that he was meant for their family. They named him Eli Isaiah Hansen. He was born December 9, 2010 weighing 5 pounds and measuring 17 inches long. He was born at 32 weeks gestation and will be in the NICU about 6 weeks.

Eli is only 9 months younger than Drew, who was also a premie. I know that this will be a challenge, but they know they can make it work and are excited to have little Eli in the family. It will be fun when he can come home from the hospital. Did I mention how much I love December birthdays!

December Birthdays

I've never been a huge fan of December birthdays. I didn't want my children to have birthdays in

December because it's too close to Christmas. I

wasn't thinking of the financial piece, I was thinking about how it would suck for them. Well, I have the privilege of having two nephews and a brother-in-law with December birthdays - all from the same family. We went to Colin's birthday first and it was a lot of fun. Colin is a sweet, mellow little boy. I think Kyson had the

most fun being able to play with his little cousins. Amy was a good sport and was playing with all the little guys. I hope she knew what she was getting into. Well, still ahead is Rusty and Blake's birthday.