Fidlin Family Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Steve's family on the 25th. Steve has four brothers, with Steve being the oldest. Next in line is Brian, then Jason and last is Kevin. Brian and Jason are both married to "Kimberlys". Brian's Kimberly is Kimberly Manthey, as she kept her maiden name and Jason's Kimberly is a Fidlin like the rest of us crazies...ha-ha! Brian and Kimberly have two kids, Macnessa, who is 5 and Fergus, who turns 3 on New Year's Eve. Jason and Kimberly have one daughter, named Eva who is in junior high. She is becoming such a sweet young lady! It's been really neat seeing her "grow up"!

We had a fun day with Steve's family. Diane made a great meal, as always and then we enjoyed opening presents and spending time together. This year's highlight was a "hot sauce eating contest" between the brothers. Brian and Kimberly brought some hot sauces of varying "hotness" and the boys ate it off of spoons to see who had a "stomach of steel". Kimberly Manthey and I joined right in, but we were wimps...we tried ours on tortilla chips. With a family of four boys, Steve's family holidays are always full of "interesting" entertainment....but it's always a blast! I feel blessed to be a part of the family!!

Before the end of the day, bets were placed on who (of the boys) could lose the most weight by June 25th. Steve is determined to be the winner, but is not planning to start "taking the weight off" until six weeks prior to June 25th. YIKES!!

Merry Chinese Christmas Eve!

Tonight was our 9th annual Chinese Christmas Eve....this year it was complete with our little Chinese daughter!! Who would have guessed, nine years ago, what God had in store for us. It seems like coincidence or chance, but it was all a part of God's plan!

The year Noah was one, I had planned a great Christmas Eve dinner, just for Steve, baby and I. Well, Noah had this weird habit of sticking his fingers down his throat when his thoat hurt. Noah happened to be sick with an ear infection (one of many) and I am sure you can just about imagine what happened with all of that great Christmas dinner....it ended up coming back up all over his highchair tray....not a real appitizing thing. I ended up in tears and it was at that moment that we decided the next year for Christmas Eve we would order out, just to make things easier and less stressful.

So, every year since then, I spend Christmas Eve afternoon getting our table all "fancied up" with our wedding china and crystal, cloth napkins and pretty table decorations. We then go to our Christmas Eve church service and on the way home we pick up Chinese food from Hunan 1, our favorite Chinese take out place. Every year is a bit different, depending on who can join us, but we are always open to everyone and anyone from the family. The more the merrier!

This year we were joined by my mom and my step-dad, Rich. Steve, Emma and Caleb were all sick with colds, so they didn't join us for church. They all had such bad coughs, I didn't want them to be coughing on the people around us. It probably was good they didn't come, as Caleb fell asleep in the chair and ended up taking a pretty good nap while we were gone....and that is a sheer miracle in itself. The only way Caleb would EVER nap is if he didn't feel good.

My parents stayed for dinner and then we let the kids open their presents from us while they were here. We typically do our gifts on Christmas morning, but we need to head to School Hill for the Fidlin Family Christmas tomorrow morning.

We bought Noah the Pixar mini movie DVD, the Toby Mac Portable Sounds CD, a watch and Anime Studio, which is a comic/cartoon making computer program. Caleb got Lincoln Logs, a book about the human body and a skateboard/bike ramp. Emma got the Sonya Lee doll, Magneatos and a puzzle.

Future Burglar!

Finding the weapon....

First attempt at breaking and entering....

Second attempt....

Bummer...I know I'll get in one of these times. The snack cabinet has the best little treats for Spicy Burglar Girls!

Emma has watched the boys one too many times. We have rubber bands on a few cabinets as locks, but the snack cabinet has a regular plastic baby lock that even the grown-ups can't get opened unless armed with a fork, spoon or knife. Our big fingers don't quite fit to push the little lever down and open the lock. Emma has observed many times and is now attempting this on her own! She'll make a mighty fine burglar someday.

Making Cookies!

Here are some photos of my helpers. I took the easy way out for Christmas cookies this year. First of all, I haven't really made much the last couple of years, as we don't eat it up and I end up throwing a lot out. However, I always feel like I should have at least some cookies...and I want the boys to remember "decorating cookies" as a family Christmas thing. This year, I found pre-cut, fozen cut outs....all you do is bake and frost....and I bought the frosting, too! Talk about easy!! It made it more enjoyable for me, too, as I don't get as stressed out over trying to get "it all done". A happy momma makes a happy family!

Get that bat out, Noah!

I told Noah he would need to get his bat out to take with him for his Appleton Boychoir Concert last Sunday. He'd need it to beat off all of the girls that would be after him....he looked so handsome!! What a great looking boy, if I do say so myself. It makes me wonder what he'll look like in a few years. The best thing is that he has a super personality, too. Very kind and respectful...a great helper and friend.

We love the young man you are becoming, Noah!!

Grandpa's Projects

Here are some photos of my Grandpa. He is 87 years old....he never slows down! He has recently become one of Santa's elves.... He made this sleigh for my cousin's little boy, Sawyer, and the barn for my nephew, Braden, for Christmas. I only hope I have that much energy and talent when I am 87!!
We love you Grandpa!

Our Little Eskimo

I love this photo. Emma fell asleep on the 2 minute drive from the babysitter's house to our house. Doesn't she look like a little Eskimo girl?? Soooo cute!

Apple Girl!

Caleb was eating an apple for a snack after school yesterday....after just one bite, Emma decided she wanted it. A good 35 minutes later she had eaten almost all of the apple off the core. Ever need to occupy an 18 month old....just put her in the highchair and give her an apple....hours of fun!