Christmas at Home & A New Year!

Twas the night before Christmas...

We were actually able to be at home on Christmas Eve this year.  It was special to get to leave cookies and milk for Santa and read The Night Before Christmas to the kids before they went to sleep.  They were SO excited and all smiles!  Poor Lincoln was in good spirits even though he was running a fever.

Kris read to them in Hannah's bed before we tucked them in.  They were engrossed in the book.

Here was the loot waiting for them Christmas morning!

This is how I left it when I went to bed somewhere around midnight or so.

The next morning I heard Hannah get up and start down the hall.  I thought she was already in the living room and so I quickly got up.  When I looked in the room, I saw something that wasn't there the night before--A life size cardboard cut out of Mr. Bean.

As I said in my last post, my husband is a goober.  He thought this would be funny for the kids (and me I am sure) and I must say, it was hilarious.  I seriously did a double take when I looked in the room.  So, I took a picture really quick because I realized Hannah wasn't in there.  She had gotten half way down the hall and decided she wasn't sure if she was supposed to get up yet or not, so she went and got back in bed!  Ha!  I found her in her bed, wide awake, just waiting with a big smile on her face.  She was so excited!  We woke the boys up and they ran to the living room!

The first thing Layton saw was his train set.

Then, he noticed Mr. Bean, pointed, and screamed "Mr. Bean!"

He found his stocking and decided to check it out.  They also all got suitcases.  Layton has hauled that thing all over the house.  He loves to pull it.

Hannah had written Santa a note and left it with the milk and cookies.  I wish I would have taken a picture of it because it was so cute.  It said something about it being okay if he didn't get her the American Girl doll because she had enough money now to buy it, but it was okay too if he did get it.  Santa wrote her a note back.

She was thrilled to get Julie!!!

She loves her hobo bag that she can decorate herself.  She actually decided that she would take it to school instead of her back pack.  ;)

Lincoln got a big house Lego set.  It has over 500 pieces.  We put it together one afternoon over Christmas break.  He started off great but then got off just a bit and asked for help.  We ended up completing it together and it was so fun!

Kris wanted to get the big kids 2013 Kansas City Royals Blue Crew packets.  It came with a Royals jersey, a hat, 2 free tickets to a game, and a few other things.  They loved this!

Hannah got her diary with a lock.  She has written and written in it!

The boys got wrench sets for their tool boxes.  They have got quite the set of tools going--thanks to their daddy!

More trains for Layt!

They also got the LeapPad2 which Lincoln LOVES!!

Hannah and Lincoln were excited to hand out the gifts they got the family from the Penquin Patch at school.

I got a notepad!

Kris got a Christmas tie.  Ha!

We had to take a picture of the kids with Mr. Bean!

After all the opening, Hannah got right to work on her hobo bag.

Of course, Lincoln wanted to play the LeapPad.

We had homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  It was my first try at The Pioneer Woman's recipe.  I made some for the kids' teachers too, but wasn't able to give them to them until after the holidays because I got the flu the day before school let out.  

After breakfast, we just played!

That night around 9:00 the electricity went off.  So, we ended up just all going to bed.  I slept with Hannah and Kris slept with Lincoln.  This helped to keep them warm.  It got pretty cold in the back of the house.  The next day the electricity was still out so Kris kept the fire going in the living room.  It really helped.  I used the morning to take down all my Christmas decor.  Then, we all played Lincoln's Lego Pirate game while Layton napped.  It was really fun!

That afternoon I decided to go ahead and head to Texarkana with the kids because I was afraid it would be super icey the next morning when I originally planned on leaving.  We had planned to go back and spend till Sunday or Monday with Mom and Dad to just hang out and play.  I was also getting my haircut on Friday.

So, we loaded up the car and left.  The roads were pretty clear and we got home before dark.  When we got there, I realized that Layton had fever.  My parents weren't feeling well either.  I was afraid that Layton had the flu and so I decided to take him to the doctor in Texarkana the next morning.  They said that he had the flu and gave him an antibiotic, cough medicine, and steroid medicine to treat all the sinus stuff too.  My mom just still wasn't feeling well and I was feeling so bad for us all being there.  So, Friday morning I went and got my haircut by my cousin, Amy, and then the kids and I went on back home.

By this time, Hannah had started to run a fever which was another reason I went on home.  I took her to the Saturday clinic at our pediatrician's office which was way cheaper than the $75 Urgent copay that I had to pay for Layton in Texarkana.  We have spent a fortune on doctor visits and medicines lately!!  Anyway, the doctor said Hannah probably had the flu too but didn't even bother to test her because it was too late for Tamiflu.  She prescribed an antibiotic for her.

Needless to say, our Christmas holiday wasn't all that merry.  I kept a cough for forever and then last Wednesday (the 2nd) I had to go to my doctor because I came down with pinkeye!!!  I despise pinkeye!!!  She gave me a nasal spray to help with my sinus stuff too.  I am finally feeling back to normal!!!  Most everyone else is too except for Layton.  I had to take him to the doctor yesterday because he was saying his ear hurt.  He had an ear infection and is on a 10 day antibiotic.

What a CRAZY last few weeks we have had!  Not quite how I thought our new year would start.  After about 5 or 6 weeks of having a broken washing machine, it FINALLY got fixed today.  I have gone to the laundromat 3 or 4 times, gone to my brother's once, and taken clothes home to my parents' house twice.  It has been so frustrating!  Anyway, maybe things are looking up!!

2012 may not have ended on a great note, but it was a pretty good year.  The kids have been pretty healthy, we took a great vacation to the beach, we have enjoyed our families, the kids are doing well in school, we have made new friends, we have found a great Life Group to be involved with, and Kris has done well at work.  We have truly been blessed and give God all the glory!!