Garage Update...

I haven't posted any recent pics of the garage. It is getting close to being done though. The inside is all sheet rocked, just needs to have the taping and mudding finished. The door was installed before Christmas and looks great. Right now, in the 39 degree temps, Rick is outside putting up the siding. Scott came over to help this morning and a good friend Bob stopped by to make sure they were going in the right direction. Bob builds houses so he is big time help. Of course they are working him to death now :-) Just thought I would post a few pics of what they are up to. Hopefully by tomorrow it will mostly be done. The side wall, shown in the pics, is what is going to take the extra hands. Each of those boards are like 16 feet long so there is no way Rick could do that by himself. And I'm not thinking I would be too much help, way too cold for me!

One Last Bit of Christmas Cheer!

he was so pushing her out of the way here....

We hope you had a Merry Christmas. Looking forward to happy New Year!

Christmas Dinner...

After a nice relaxing day, we had Kathie, Peggy, Amee, Mitch, Kristin, Scott and my parents over for dinner. Rick fried a couple of turkeys and Amee and I made a ham. Dinner came out great. We exchanged gifts with Grammie and GG (Kathie and Peggy). The kids got kareoke machines so they entertained us with their singing talents. Uncle Scott put together more of kids goodies. Amee got an assortment of reindeer gifts that will keep her decked out for many Christmas' to come. We said our good-bye's to Amee and Mitch and tried to figure out where all these new treasures were going to go. We had such a wonderful Christmas. We are so blessed to have so many loved ones to share our time with.

Christmas Morning...

Kaitlyn woke up at 6:30 on Christmas morning ready to see if Santa had came. We made her go back to bed until 7:30 but by then there was no way she was staying in her room any longer. Rick went and woke Trace up, who was not happy until he heard Santa had visited. He then wanted to see him and kept asking how he got in. We had a nice quiet morning with gifts and breakfast. The kids loved everything and were so fun to watch as they opened stuff.

Christmas Eve at the Thompson/Derryberry's

After finishing up at my parents we came home for a quick rest and then off to Rick's Dad and Sue's. Five of the six kids, spouses and children were able to make it. Kaitlyn and Carson (who had rebounded from an allergy attack the day before and ended up in the hospital!) had gone shopping with Sue to buy gifts for everyone at the dollar store. They started off the gift giving by passing out each of their gifts. It was quite the hit! I think Grandma Sue enjoyed this new tradition as much if not more than the kids did. We had some real laughs! We had a great dinner of prime rib, opened our crackers and compared gifts and all put on our crowns, and then spent the night opening gifts, doing a white elephant gift exchange and visiting. We also got to celebrate the engagement of my neice Sara to Ryan. Very exciting night and definately LOTS of celebrating.

Christmas Eve at the Peterson's

We started our Christmas festivities on Christmas Eve at my parents for lunch. My mom made a big ham. Kristin and Scott came over and it was a nice way to kick things off. My dad got my mom a basketball hoop so I'm sure there will be LOTS of games to look forward to.

Tis the Season...

Just thought I would take a few minutes to breath before the craziness of the holiday festivities set in. Its so easy these days to get wrapped up in the shopping and buying and getting. Its nice to take a step back and remember what the Christmas celebration truely is about. I'm hoping I will be able to take the kids to the Living Nativity tomorrow night. It is a wonderfully done program at a church in Richland. Kaitlyn is so fortunate to be getting a faith based education. She knows the story and is able to celebrate it at school. In a day and age where saying Merry Christmas isn't always acceptable, its a pretty special thing to know that she can go to school and celebrate the birth of Jesus openly and with her friends.

Rick's sister Amee (and Mitch) will be arriving shortly. They are going to stay at my sister's, a little quieter for them! Tonight Kristin and I are having a girls night with all of Rick's sisters and Sue. I think the boys are going to head to Bern's (the big tavern in Prosser, wahoo!) for a little boys bonding. Kathie, Rick's mom, is taking Kaitlyn, Trace and our neice Meredith for the night. They are working on some Christmas projects and then having a sleep over. She is one brave woman! Tomorrow Rick is hoping the weather will cooperate enough so he can get the wrap on the outside of the new garage. The door was installed on Tuesday so it is now ready for siding. He has taken next week off of work so he is hoping he can get all the siding up and the taping and mudding done so we can get the final inspection. Its so close to being complete!

Christmas Eve is our busy day. We'll spend lunch time at my parents and dinner at Rick's Dad and Sue's. Christmas day his Mom, Grandma, Amee and Mitch and my family will all come to our house for dinner. We are blessed to have family so close. Through all running, cooking, eating and opening I hope we can all just take time to enjoy the time together. There are so many in our country that are missing their loved ones who are over Seas protecting our freedoms. We are so very thankful for our Service men and women and will be thinking of all of them, including my cousin Lori's husband Tim. I pray for many happy reunions, SOON!

I hope all of you will have a very blessed and Merry Christmas. We thank all of you for being in our lifes and if we will not be seeing you over these next few days we will be thinking of you! If you are traveling, be safe! Merry Christmas!

Rick and Trace's Morning Hunt...

Rick and Trace got up early this morning to go get a little duck hunting in. Of course Trace was in heaven!