Last Friday my friend/sister Heather called wondering about a weekend together. Jaron was most likely going to be called into work, and being a Philly would be a great excuse to not have to go it. Plus, it was a great excuse to spend the weekend together!
They got in fairly late Friday night, and all the kids bunked down in the room together. They all did surprisingly well considering six kids in one room. I think having their oldest, Emmy, there to crack the whip helped! The next morning we had a great breakfast. Check out those pancakes, aren't they cute! My mom got those pancake molds for my kids for Christmas, and they love them. A word to the wise though, if you get them, be sure to spray them well, AND get them nice and hot before pouring your batter in them. You'll be glad you did.
We loaded up and went took off to the aquarium. I just love the aquarium, I can't even tell you how many times I've been there, but I never get sick of it. The kids adore that place too, and they were all so well behaved.
Afterwards, we went to Chuck E. Cheese for some lunch and games. It was really busy, but so fun and the kids had a blast. Skyler, who I spent the majority of my time with, was so funny. He was so addicted to putting coins in the slots to make the games start, that he wasn't interested in doing anything else, including eat. He even went as far as to search your person for tokens when you weren't moving fast enough for him! Crazy kid.
After a few hours and pizza and games, we took our tuckered kids home. With the roads being bad, they ended up staying another night, and taking off the next morning, which meant celebrating with some Chinese food! It was a great weekend.
The majority of my Christmas pics are distributed among 4 or so camaras, none of which actually belong to me. As of now I am patiently waiting to get them so I can properly post about the holiday, but for now let me just say that I don't think our Christmas break could have been better, with the exception of not having Greg with us. We spent a wonderful week at my parent's house for Christmas, and then a fantastic week in Jackson, soaking up the town and each other. There were loads of food, laughter and love shared and I enjoyed every single second. Check back in about six months or so for pictures!
Eventually I am going to get our Christmas vacation posted. But since all of the pictures are divided among about four different cameras, it might take a while. In the meantime, I had to share this fabulous list of resolutions I found on this blog. It was so good and refreshing to read, I would love to feel like I have accomplished even half of these tasks. Here's to a healthy, happy and peaceful new year!
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.. 4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.3
9. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
I decided to host a gingerbread party again this year, and it was so fun that I really do hope it becomes an annual thing. I made a bunch of houses in advance (and some, not-so-in advance), and provided the piping supplies. Everyone else brought the candy, and boy did we get some great candy this year! My favorite was probably the red, green and white candy corns that looked so cute on everyone's house. I had a wonderful time with everyone, ate way too much food and stayed up way too late, but it was very worth it. Thanks everyone for making the night so memorable, I feel very lucky to be surrounded by such great gals!
Angela
Alissa, me and Lizzette
Lizzette, Maryann, Noelle and Stacey
Julie
Alissa, Maryann, Emily and Megan (I'm sorry I didn't get a pic with you and your house Em, you'll have to come next year! :-)
Noelle, Alissa, Emily and Angela
Debbie, Deborah and Tamar
Megan, Jordan and Tiffany
