HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

In 2009, may we all learn to appreciate what's really important in our lives and live life thankful for what is, rather than what is not!

Christmas Day

We spent the afternoon on Christmas Day at Mark's parents home. It was great to see all the family. To bad Erickson's were sick and missed out. We had a lot of fun and great food as always. The good looking young ones (20+) in the pictures are our kids cousins. Wait, that one is Aunt Dana!! Oh this family is very fashionable.

Christmas was great!

We had a great Christmas this year. Our kids really enjoyed all aspects of the holiday this year. Scott and Annabelle enjoyed not only the decorating, baking, shopping for gifts, gathering with relatives (We missed you Ericksons!) but the gift giving this year. Yes, receiving items they wished for was great too, but they both had stated before Christmas that they had already gotten what they wanted this year, and that was Mojo. They only wanted a puppy and that's what they already had gotten. Aren't they sweet??

Mark and I are proud of both our kids. Despite there size, we have to remember they are only 9 and 11. They act pretty mature for there ages and they make us smile each and every day, even if that smile is really to hold our tongues!!

With all this said, the kids did get some pretty impressive gifts this year. Santa brought Annabelle a new bike! She thought for sure is was for Scott because it was so cool and because the rain melted all the snow, she has been actually able to ride it!!!

Scott got a Lego battery powered AT-AT (Star Wars). He built it in a day!

He was so excited he was able to do it on his own because the box says 14+. Mark and I had good Christmas' too. Mark got a Cry Baby!!! No, not me, it's a peddle that distorts the sounds on ones guitar. I got the biggest surprise. I got the IPHONE!!!!!!!! I was told no way and I was snookered into believing it was true. I'm so happy with it!!! I love technology - Oh, and Mark too!!!

Ice Storm

We did not get all the snow predicted and I have to say I was amazed that we did not have a snow day. The school only had one set of doors accessible - so instead of the call of no school, we got the call to have all students enter the school on the east side. The only no slope entrance! The kids were disappointed but it's not like they are at school learning today. It's an early dismissal day and holiday parties. I expressed to the kids, better to go and have fun today and not stay an extra day at the end of the school year!

Below are some pictures I took this morning taking the kids to school. The roads were slush!

The birch tree on our side yard was so heavy from all the ice that it's actually touching the ground. Let's hope it holds up and doesn't crack! I like this tree.

These are pictures from the tree in front of our house. I thought the branches were so pretty.

New Buffalo, Michigan for Christmas!

Busy weekend for the Pries family. We had Christmas dinner on Saturday night and headed out Michigan early Sunday to spend a little Christmas with my extended family. We saw my Aunts, Uncles, cousins and cousins kids from my Mom's side of the family. Oh, it's was Mother's weekend!!! (get it - first Mark's Mom's family and then my Mom's family) All of this is recorded in movies by my Uncle Bob. Of course, non of us have ever seen the final product of these tapings! Maybe someday???

Okay, so some of the family goes up on Saturday to stay at my Uncle Tony's second home in New Buffalo Michigan. They eat Mexican food and then start to prepare our annual meal of Chicken and home made dumplings. Then the rest of us come up on Sunday to eat and exchange gifts. Each child under the age of 18 gets gifts from their Great Aunts and Uncles. The rest gets to play the game!!!.

(kids: Seth (Steve and Mary's son); Kayla (Theresa and Bill's daughter) Riley in matching hat and gloves!(Paula and Mike's daughter) Peyton and Adam under the pile of gifts (Laura and Brad's boys) and Randy (Paula and Mike's son). Oh yeah -

my kids, Scott and Annabelle.

What game you ask? It's a game where you buy a $50 gift and wrap it. We draw numbers and the first person opens a gift from the pile. The next person can either steal the first gift or take a new gift from the pile. Then so on and so on. You get the idea. It's really fun! This year I got $50.00 worth of lottery scratch off tickets. Now the news all who were there are waiting for.....

I won!!!!!

$23.00 total.

Mark brought home a Shark vaccuum, an indoor/outdoor therometer with an alarm clock, and a Cuisinart hand blender! We've got some thrifty buyers out there! We had good food and company and a lot of laughs. Thanks to Uncle Tony for hosting again! Oh and Tony, the dinner tapoggle doesn't excuse you from next year... nice try!!!

Merichka's for the holidays!

We spent Saturday night with Mark's extended family. We saw Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, their kids, and their kids. Lots of cousins. We had a great turn out this year. Pictures are not great, sorry. But we had a good time and enjoyed the meal. I'm not sure but it appears we had 50+ people. It's a great annual event for Mark's Mom's side of the family.

Dog in snow to Harry Conick Jr.

http://www.dogwork.com/dogsnow/

Check out this video. It's great. It will make you smile!!!!

Home for the holidays

Welcome to our home for the holidays. I thought I would give you a climpse of our home at Christmas. It makes me feel joy inside driving home to this every evening.
Our home at night with our outside lights on. Nope, none on the roof line. I hang the lights and I'm afraid of heights! No climbing ladders for me. It's much prettier with snow on the ground but we had rain recently. This window box is on the walk up to the front door. (Oh, I think I need to paint our shutters this spring!) This pot of ornaments is on the front stoop. The pot is too heavy to move into the garage for winter, so I've decided to give it some holiday bling.
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This is what you see when you enter our home. It's a simple decor but we feel it's warm. The kids always help decorage the tree. We use to have an old fashion Santa on top but Annabelle wanted a star two years ago and picked this one out for us. It works great with our tree.

Blooper Blog

I thought it would be fun to share some of the pictures that would normally not make it to the blog. And for those of you who already got our Christmas card and wonder why the picture inside was not of the whole family, well this might help.

Mojo stay, stay, Annabelle smile, smile, Scott move closer to Mojo.
Thanks to Mom for trying.


So we decided to retake and only have the kids and Mojo. Note Mojo in the very bottom of this photo laying on his back waiting for a tummy rub!




When it comes to photographing our dog, Mojo, it often appears that he has laser vision!!! Scott drop the snowball! Mojo is melting it with his eyes.

December 1, 2008

Right on time - the snow has arrived the first day of December! Scott and Annabelle were very excited. So excited that yes they are out in their PJ's before getting showered for school this morning. A little too early for me to play in the snow.

We are not sure the date of Mojo's birth but we are pretty sure this is his first winter. He didn't seem like he liked going out until the kids joined him. Now he sees how much fun it is to play in the snow.

Invisible Mother

This is from an email I received. I like how it interprets motherhood. So I thought I would share. Forgive it's length, but I think it's worth the read.


The Invisible Mother......It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously, not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? & Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my daughter to tell the friend she's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want her to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to her friend , to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot see if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. Great Job, MOM!

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know...I just did. Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does. We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.

First Snow

We got our first snow of the season! Annabelle was so excited that she went out to pack a snowball. Mojo loved playing in the snow. We only ended up with a wet dusting but it was enough for some smiles.

Of course, Scott had homework so didn't get in on the fun outside.

Mojo, resting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for the kids to come down for dinner. He's such a good dog.

Scariest Costume

Okay, so he doesn't look so creepy here. But all night he acted creepy. Mark stared a my poor cousin Theresa all night and would say nothing. He also did this head tilt thing ... I shiver (not in a good way) just remembering it.

This is in front of Paula's house. Yes, it was decorated to the hill for Halloween! It made the party that much more fun!

Halloween II

Saturday night was party night for the kids and adults. Grandma took all 5 younger grandkids for a party and sleepover! While all us adults went to my sister Paula's home for a great Halloween party. Grandma had many fun activities planned for the kids. They had a blast!

Mark went to the party as Michael Myer from the movie Halloween. I don't have a picture at this time, (Paula please send!) but he won for scariest costume! Pretty cool, he got a trophy too! I was Lori from the movie. Not so scary, although the 70's hair and make-up did frighten me. There were a lot of great costumes and a lot of cleaver people.

Halloween

Halloween was fun this year. Friday night was Trick or Treating for the kids and Saturday night was Halloween parties! It was a whole weekend of sugar! Annabelle went as a Pirate and Scott as Darth Vader! The kids really got into character too. Thank goodness the weather was beautiful.

Scott and Annabelle both have gag reflexes when carving real pumpkins. So they carved artificial ones this year. They turned out really cool. We place flashlights inside to light them up.

Mojo was Rin Tin Tin!

FOR SALE!

We are selling our Broyhill pine tv cabinet. I actually posted it on Craig's list this morning. If you know anyone who might be interested, please pass this info along.

Solid Pine Broyhill tv cabinet (Shaker style), large enough to hold 30" to 32" tv and components. Glass door over side shelving and wood pockets doors to hide tv. Three lower drawers great for storing cds, dvds, etc. Asking $300.00

Oktoberfest

Do you know this man on the left???

If you guessed Denny Hastert then you are correct. The company I work for had our annual Oktoberfest this past weekend. Denny is close acquaintances of upper management. He was kind enough to have his photo taken with us. This was my first time meeting him. He was very friendly. Mark has met him many times, even has golfed with the man. If you don't know who he is, that's okay, I've attached a fact sheet to give you a little insight! It's great to meet someone in person whom my children and future generations will read about in there history or government classes. WOW - I'm getting old!

John Dennis "Denny" Hastert (born January 2, 1942) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing Illinois's 14th congressional district, and served as Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007.
Originally elevated to the Speakership on January 6, 1999, he surpassed Joseph Gurney Cannon as the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history on June 1, 2006. Hastert was reelected to an eleventh term in Congress in the 2006 general election, defeating former United States Navy intelligence analyst John Laesch. However, the Republican Party lost its majority in the House and Hastert did not seek a leadership position in the 110th Congress.[1] He resigned his seat mid-session on November 26, 2007.[2][3][4] Hastert had endorsed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination before he withdrew from the race.

Back SPLASH!!!

This is my Mom's kitchen before - Blah walls as a back splash. She could not decide what color to paint, so for her birthday I told her Mark and I would give her a backsplash. I know we give weird gifts in our family. I picked out a basic tile to match the floor tile and she picked out her insert. She really likes the black glossy tile she picked out. The pictures don't show it, but she has black lettered words above her cabinets and the tile ties everything together.


Although I still need to caulk - it turned out pretty good and it really didn't take a lot of time. (Thank you brother-in-law, Mike for cutting the tiles for me!) My Mom is very pleased. I am too!