OOPS!

Apparently Christmas morning was more exciting than I had anticipated.

I only took 8 pictures the whole day.  Mr. Finn must believe this to be a Christmas Miracle.

The Dude was so enraptured with his slinky.  Go figure that the cheapest things are the most beloved.

Well, at least until he opened the Nintendo DS from Mom and Dad.  (of course there isn't a picture because that would have been a keeper)  Then...

He really only had eyes for that gorgeous blue exterior.  I warned Mr. Finn to not give him that box first.  Oh well!  What can you do?

That big white tower thing is Miss Boo's doll house that Mr. Finn and I got her.  She was so happy about it.  I have never heard so many thank you's and how did you knows.  She was/is worth it.

 The Dude took his stocking by surprise.  Who knew what was going on in his mind.

 Once again with the slinky.  Santa gifted them well with Zhu Zhu pets this year.
Just enough to fill up her dollhouse.  Ha!

 And the dear old Christmas Tree gifted us with...

 You guessed it.  Apparently it couldn't hold it's water this year.

 ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

But doesn't this little guy put a smile on your face?  The Canadian Grandmas gave the kids these cats that are both named "Paws".

I love that they don't need a litter box and won't tear up the furniture.
Ironically, they still get underfoot.

Have a Happy New Year!

We are going to the Hockey game like we did last year.  A great family tradition.

Much love to all of you.

Merry Christmas

From our home to yours.

And remember...

It's not about the presents...

It's about Jesus' Birthday.

Thank you Miss Boo for reminding us what this season is really about.

Merry CHRISTmas from the Finn Family.

Happy Birthday MomE!

Many years ago the family I grew up with changed.  And with that change came MomE.  It took us while to forge through what our relationship was going to be and to my delight it turned out to be more than I ever imagined.

She is a Mother...  My Mother.  I grateful for her never ending kindness to me and patience.

 I love that she is a good Grandmother that will play snowball fight every time we visit and as often as they want.

 She has great joy and compassion.

She has strong family values and is steeped in respect and tradition.  I love that she spent the time to teach our children some of those things by cleaning up the grave sites on Memorial Day.

She is a good compliment to my Dad and I believe she is what he needs.  She has many qualities that shine in the darkness and through it they will conquer all.  She has had to assume a role this year that has been hard for her, but I have seen her rise to the challenge, become stronger and more focused on what is important and especially her relationship with her Heavenly Father.

You are such a good example to me.

I love you Mom.

A Princess faced with a Frog...

Once upon a time...

There was a beautiful Princess named Boo.

Who loved to dance.

She was an obedient girl that followed the wishes of her parents.

By refusing to wear lipstick in order to kiss the frog at a Princess Party with other Princesses as her peers.

Because...

In her own words...

"My Mommy says I can't wear makeup until I am 18 years old!"

I am a proud Mommy!

Play Date

How often does a Mother get invited to play "Owl vs Dino" wars with her very charming son?

Sadly, the truth is not that often.  I keep very busy during the day and leave him to his own devices, but he insisted.

And I had a BALL!  Thanks Dude.

Christmas Miracle

I bundled up the children in their "best" for the Ward Christmas Party.  We even brought along a Bush Baby as Christmas isn't the same without one.  Lots of Gingerbread Houses for centerpieces and go figure the Dude wasn't happy with any.  We looked at all 12 tables to find one that was acceptable.  p.s.  this wasn't it, but I changed tables for dessert because I didn't like sitting in the back like I was banished for being "naughty".

Dessert is always the big hit and boy did we have some good stuff to eat.

And then there was caroling by our sweet little offspring.

Pay no mind to the Dude.  He really didn't want to be part of it, but it meant he got to be on the stage and you know what that is for kids.  His friend Brodyn really got into the song though.

And after 2 hours of whiney kids.  The Dude smashed his thumb in the car door when we arrived which made for a bad combination.  We left.  Home we went and into our jammies.  Well, the Dude and I got into ours lickety split.  And then...

It started.

The crying.

The whining.

Because.

The Dude didn't get to see Santa.  Not that I didn't ask, but because he was in a bad mood and we left.  His sister does not do photos with Santa, so it wasn't even an option for her.

And the crying continued with such fortitude I knew it was going to be a bad night.

SO...

I put on my biggest and longest raincoat to hide my pajamas.

And off we went back to the church to see...

Santa Claus!

And then the MIRACLE!
The first picture in history of Miss Boo sitting on Santa's lap.

It was worth those smiles and the memories.

School Christmas Program

As you can see by the view of the camera we arrived too late to be seated with the rest of the folks.  We ended up in the balcony with those filming the Event for the first performance at 4 p.m.
The Dude was happy with this, but proved to be the undoing of my nerves.

And of a few others as well. I am sure the woman next to us was cursing my son as she was reviewing her taping the evening evert time she heard The Dude complain about having to pee or that he was bored or he wanted to do the make the video.  I'm sure it added to her Christmas memories.

(Miss Boo is in the back row, far left in the Shepherds costume.)

She had a part this year which totally cracked me up.
She had to speak as if she had spent too much time with her flock.
Baaaaaaa!

That staff almost put out a few eyes.
Just ask her teacher that is smiling behind her.
Don't worry we shortened it for the second showing.

She is the cutest shepherd ever!
I don't say that because I am her Mother.
Well, maybe a little.

But when it came to the singing...

OH MY!

She has been practicing every night for 2 months in bed.
This is the first year that she has thrown herself into the program and wasn't a bit shy.

Even my little boy was all about the show!

I wish I had a picture of her fall that happened right after this.
She is so wiggly and fidgety that she kept toppling over.
Totally made my night.

At this point the Dude had lost interest.  Thank heavens for that railing to prop him up.

As a Mom I am horrified that we left the house in such a rush I didn't notice how dirty he had gotten since we left Church.
OH MY!  AGAIN!
I just wish I knew what he had.
I'm guessing chocolate!

This picture is in here because this kid looked like this through the entire program.
I laughed out loud!
Several times.

The program was so enjoyable.  And the kids did a fantastic job.  So proud of my kids.  Now if I could just get the movie to download for you all to watch.
I know you are waiting for it.
It is totally funny and worth every second.
Take my word for it.

Big shout out to Mrs. P!  You rock!

Projects Completed

 I love Advent Calendars and have always wanted something a little more formal than what I had.  This one was a Super Saturday project and I loved it.  I found this framed at Michaels for less than $10 and well... what more can I say!  Look at that detail. Wow!

I learned that I can do new things with or without instruction.  The lady that was supposed to teach this class had to leave because her daughter had the flu.  She wrote down some things on a piece of paper on how to do it, but I don't read "crochet".  I went home and sat down with my crochet hook and yarn and to my delight, out of my happy accidents came these adorable head bands.

Miss Boo loves them and has put in an order for lots and lots of them in as many colors as she can think of.  It takes me less than an hour to finish one, so she may be in luck.

 We have always put the stockings down in the family room, but I believe they belong on the mantle.  I never knew how to get them to hang right without nailing them until I found this interesting box of suction cups with clamp looking things on them.  Perfect for hanging stockings.

 The Dude was responsible for picking out our Christmas tree this year and no matter how much I tried to change his mind we ended up with a 6 foot one.  I prefer them much taller and fuller, but when you are less than 4 foot tall this one is HUGE.

We are as ready as ever for Christmas and interestingly enough I opted to not do as much this year.  I am tired of decorating so much and then having to take it all down.  By myself.

If only I could get the attitudes of grumpy little children to change, it would be a wonderful Holiday Season.  For some reason the four year old has hit the terrible two's.

And... I am not liking it.  Not one single bit!