Christmas with the WHOLE clan!!

It was a wonderful Christmas! For the first time in almost 7 years our entire family (Hopewell's, Lewis's and Tyler's) were together again. Our house is a little small for such a big group, but it was great to have everyone at our home for a change!

Another exciting piece of news....Katie's here!! Craig went to pick her up from the airport and they're at Grandma's right now. As soon as they get here, I'll put a picture up for everyone!

Can you believe this kid is a COLLEGE GRADUATE!!!

Found this pic of Craig and just had to share!

"Stars were gleaming, Shepherds dreaming and the night was dark and chill"

Hey everyone! Last night we had our ward Christmas party and of course the primary children put on a live nativity. Christian was an amazing shepherd.

Here's a short video for your amusement....well, it was amusing to us anway!!

I'll probably steal Jeni's thunder, but Ryley and Maddie were in the nativity too and Ryley had us all laughing because during the last song he couldn't see the audience due to a much larger child standing in front of him. He kept trying to push the kid out of his way to no avail. He was so frustrated and you could just see the tears and the anger!! The kid never did move! Poor Ryley!

Can you tell which kid is the one who caused his distress???

Gratitude and then some!

After reading all of your blogs, I felt like I needed to join in too. So here's my Top Ten list of things for which I'm most grateful:
10. Sleeping in on Sunday mornings (Allen 4th starts at 1pm) because it's the only day I have off from the Santa Set.
9. That the Allen Eagles made it to the playoffs and that HS Football is over for the year!
8. My job with Santa! I get to work with Roxi, Big Bruce, Jordan, Ashley, Austin, Todd and sometimes my own husband. I am blessed!
7. Unemployment. How can that be? Well, if Bruce was working full time, there wouldn't be anyone here for Christian when he gets home from school. What a great blessing! It also makes us appreciate Army life even more than before!
6. Our country. The last 22 years were a wonderful adventure and I'm so thankful that Bruce was able to serve in the army and that we got to see first hand the sacrifices that so many troops make so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have here.
5. Extended Family: My mom! The entire Hopewell Clan. Ira, Nancy & Todd
4. My Children! Craig - smart, funny, stubborn as a bull, but really going places (like to the temple!) and strengthening his testimony along the way. Ashley - what will I do without her when she heads back to Rexburg? She's always been the stalwart in our family setting an example to be followed and obviously knowing exactly what she wants! Austin - makes me laugh, strong willed and sometimes (often) annoying!! He keeps us on our knees and blesses our lives! Sarah - already grown up at 12 and making us all crazy! Her singing in the shower, and around the house is truly music to our ears (maybe not to Austin's though!) Christian - smart, silly, and what a stinker! He always reminds us to have Family Home Evening and to make it fun! Wants to be just like his brothers....scary, huh!!
3. A husband who plays the role of "Stay at Home Dad" to perfection making housework, homework, & cooking seem so easy! I love him with all my heart and am so thankful that he doesn't just put up with me, but loves me no matter what!!
2. The Gospel. It seems cliche, but it must be said: The gospel, the way it's taught and all of the programs of the chuch are the same no matter where in the world you go. It is true! Without the restoration of the gospel, we wouldn't have the priesthood to bless our lives and I've personally needed the comfort a priesthood blessing brings in just the last week. I'm thankful that the men in our family honor their priesthood!
1. The Savior. Just knowing that He knows me and understands everything that I've ever gone through and that I'm going though....that's all I need. You know how it feels when you talk to a close friend about a problem and they totally get it because they've gone through something similar? Well, that's how it is with Christ. He is that friend that gets it because He felt it. He suffered through it all in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knows. I am so thankful for Him. I truly "stand all amazed..."

Halloween

So, Halloween was fairly uneventful except for the egging we got after we turned out the lights! Luckily it was only one egg...but I must note that it's Sunday night and it's still on the window! EEWWW! Anyway, Christian surprised us this year. He didn't want to go trick-or-treating! He finally consented to going to about 10 houses and then he was done! At about 8pm we convinced him that he just had to go to Ira & Nancy's and then to Roxi & Bruce's...you'd have thought we were punishing him! Jeni thought he must not be feeling well! Here are a few picures to amuse you. Christian carving up a Jack-o-lantern alone...and then with some help from Grandma....

Then we tried to take a picture in the darkest room in the house...the bathroom....but the flash made it just as bright as the rest of the house. So instead of a creepy picture of a glowing jack-o-lantern, we got a pumking on the bathroom counter....weird, I know!

and Sarah looking soooo.........there just aren't words to describe!!

Saturday! Homecoming and a Halloween Party

It was quite a day yesterday. We began our Saturday by getting up at 5:30am to put out signs for our garage sale and get things set out. The bargain shoppers began arriving right on schedule at 7 and we had a pretty steady stream until around noon. Roxi and Bruce showed up at 1pm with a box of Halloween stuff that Bruce wanted to put in our sale. Turns out he had just purchased it at another yard sale and thought he'd try and turn a profit!!! No such luck....we closed early! Our grand total for the morning was a whoppin' $150 which was promptly spent by Austin to buy a black shirt and white tie for the Homecoming dance and dinner out for he and Melinda. Around 4:30 pm things got really hectic: 1. We almost forgot to pick up Austin's suit from the cleaners. 2. We discovered that Austin had purchased a shirt that required cufflinks and we don't own cufflinks! 3. Sarah didn't know what she was going to wear to the ward Halloween party. 4. The stew that I was supposed to make wasn't going to be ready in time. 5. Ashley gets off work at 4:30 and had to be picked up. 6. Sarah decided she wanted to go as a dead princess and needed a tiara. 7. We discovered Bruce hadn't taken Austin's suit pants to the cleaners....instead he took a pair of his own pants that were accidentally hanging in Austin's closet with Austin's jacket. 8. Bruce hadn't showered or shaved yet......we were running out of time!!

We had an hour and a half to get everything done! Sooo....I discovered that paper brads work well as cuff links, and Austin decided to wear Bruce's pants (a little big but still looked great!),

a toy tiara from CVS would have to suffice for Sarah, I turned up the heat on the stew, prayed it wouldn't scald and sent Bruce to get cleaned up. We were only a half hour late to the party, but that was okay since everyone was still eating when we got there. It was a fun night. Austin looked fabulous. Sarah looked like a princess with a bloody nose,

and Christian just looked like the coolest Captain Jack Sparrow!! Did I mention that we had to borrow Roxi's car to get our family to the Halloween party since Austin's Talon is in the shop. He got to drive the coolest minivan to Homecoming...nothin' says "sexy" like a minivan!!

I haven't heard the details of Austin's evening yet...I turned in early and of course he's still sleeping! All I know for sure is that Melinda forgot her school ID and they had to drive back to McKinney (20 minutes each way) to pick it up so they could get into the dance. Bummer!

Garage Sale in the morning!

How's that for a post, Big Bruce?

What do the Jonas Bros. & food poisoning have in common?

The State Fair of Texas!!
Sarah & I had a lot of fun being soaked by fire hoses while listening to the Jonas Brother's with 10,000+ preteens yesterday at the fair. She was thrilled to see the cutie on the left....I think it's Nick, but I'm not really sure! She was so cute...she spent extra time on her hair only to end up totally wet from head to toe! She was a good sport about it though and just laughed!

When we got home, I was sick from the Texas sized chicken fried steak served up at the fair....it was good, but what a mistake!! I'm still suffering the effects of that choice...I knew I should've gotten a corn dog!!

Look Who's 7!!

Christian turned 7 today! He had a great time with all of his friends this afternoon, and got a lot of great new toys to clutter up his room! After the kids left, I took a 4 hour nap....can you say, "exhaustion"?

Tyler kids!

Austin's 1st Car!

Here it is! A '93 Eagle Talon. It's a bit of a project, but Bruce & Austin are excited to work on it together!

A Car for Austin!

So, Bruce and Austin have spent the past three days shopping for Austin's 1st car. Let's just say that the pictures posted on craigslist don't tell the whole story! I'll put a few of them in the blog so you can get an idea of what Austin's looking for! Anyway, they've been around Allen, Plano, McKinney, Garland, Carrolton and as Ira tells it...all the way out to the "Middle of Othian!" otherwise known as Midlothian! So far there's only one prospect and that one's still a project! Any advice?

At the Airport

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home...
Glad as I can be....
Clap my hands and shout for joy....
Pat his cheeks & give him what?
Baby Noah....isn't he cute?!

Family

family

and more family!

Home at Last!

Finally! It was a LLLOOOONNNNGGGG 4 1/2 months, but it's over now and there won't be any more deployments or field exercises or TDY's!!! For the next week, I'm going to be completely selfish and keep him all to myself, but I'll share with the kids when they get home from school.

Most of the family greeted Bruce by waving small American flags as he came off the plane. He wasn't expecting to see such a large welcoming party, but he was thrilled be home and surrounded by the family. Then it was on to our new home for cake and ice cream with Ira, Nancy & Mom and the entire Hopewell clan sans the Bjorns & Jordan who were definately missed! If only Craig could've been here, it would've been perfect!

WooHoo!!

One more day til Bruce gets here! Feel the excitement??!! Ira's been busy at my house doing a lot of "honey do" stuff for me...I think he has an ulterior motive though. He's discovered the joys of running and working out and he figures the less Bruce has to do when he gets here, the more time he'll have to hit the gym with Ira!! Yesterday though was a comedy of errors for Ira. He offered to install a couple of shower heads for me in the upstairs bathrooms. He misunderstood which shower head went to which bathroom and ended up installing the head for the master in Austin's shower, knocking down the shower curtain and caddy and sending the condiments (his word for shampoo & conditioner) flying. Then he called me and found out he'd gone through all that only to have to uninstall it and reinstall it upstairs. After that, he installed Ashley's shower head and tightened it just one twist too many, cracking the whole head!! So, on to Target to get a replacement. I just wish I'd been home to witness the humor!!

Ashley turned 20 yesterday...no longer a teenager! We both got our hair done by a stylist extraordinaire...Nancy! After 4 hours at the salon, we both left feeling completely beautiful! I only wish I could figure out where to get my own personal "Nancy" to do my hair everyday!

School Days

It's been another hectic morning getting up at the crack of dawn to take Austin to seminary, me to the gym, making lunches, finishing homework (yes, I still do homework....isn't that what all moms do?), taking Ashley to work and getting the kids to school on time. I'm tired and just want to go back to bed! Can't do that though....only three more days until Bruce gets home and there's still so much to do! I'll get it done and then when Bruce gets here he can take over all the taxiing for a while.

On a side note though, my six year old makes me laugh! Yesterday, Aunt Roxi asked Christian what his favorite thing about school was. His first response was "lunch!" Second response, "leaving!" He told me not long ago in a very mature voice, "Mom, school is not my thing!" LOL Gotta love him!

Where oh where is the plumber?

So, a general handyman came today...not a plumber! Before he came, I only had a little problem. Now I have a kitchen sink full of water that won't drain! Apparently there is a really big clog somewhere under the house! Has the realtor gotten a plumber over here yet? NOPE!

Settling in...finally!

Well, we're finally moved in and enjoying being in our own place again after 4 months of homelessness! And I'm about unpacked...I only have to finish unpacking boxes in the kitchen, dining room, game room, Austin's room, Sarah's room, my room and the garage! No really it's not that much and hopefully it'll all be done before the weekend. Bruce comes home from Japan on Sunday...finally! We have missed him so much and I have a huge "honey-do" list for him! The first thing on the list is GET A JOB! You all know that he jokes about being a Walmart greeter, but I just don't think that'll bring home the bacon...maybe Spam, but definately not bacon! Well, I have tons to write about, but no time right now...the plumber's on his way to figure out the drain problem in the kitchen. So far in the three weeks that we've lived here, the washing machine has overflowed twice and the dishwasher three times! Oh joy!