Happy SUPER Belated Holidays!

Boy was December a busy month....it went so fast and was filled with a ton of fun and excitement! We started off with my continued healing from my surgery. Each day has gotten me closer to normal which feels good and refreshing with a continued positive outlook on what this world has to offer. Our family has enjoyed the holiday season and all of the activities that go along with it.

Payton putting on the Star!

We started off with putting up the Christmas tree, decorating our house inside and out, and patiently awaiting the arrival of our annual visitor, Zeus. Zeus is our family elf on the shelf that comes to visit each year from the North Pole for the month of December to report to Santa nightly until Christmas Eve when he goes back to the North Pole. Zeus was into some mischief and the kids loved finding him each morning.
 

We also got some pictures ready for our annual Christmas card which turned out to be the laugh of the season....let's just say that the forgetful side effect from my Tamoxifin is in full effect. I ordered 100 cards from Walmart and sent my hubby off to pick them up for me. When he got home, he was looking over the cards and asked me, "who is John, Jane, Aiden, and Parker?" Immediately, I knew what I had done. When I ordered the cards, I sort of forgot to type our names in so the default names came printed on our card. Now that's funny...and I definitely earned the daily title for "Dork of the day". Luckily, Walmart has a great satisfaction guarantee policy...even when it is the customer that messes up. They gave us a full refund and printed another 100 cards with our appropriate monikers. Unfortunately, our card wasn't debuting a bald picture or my husbands beautiful face...that might be why the card turned out so great....the second time around.
 

The weekend prior to Winter Break, my little sister graduated from Black Hills State University, my alma mader. She got her bachelor's degree in Physical Education. It was crazy to think that it was 12 years ago that I was graduating from BH. I love that school and we are so proud of Rae Rae for finishing up and doing so well. It was great to get back to Spearfish and then to Gillette to catch up with some friends and family that I haven't seen for such a long time. 

The long awaited winter break finally got started when I got the opportunity to accompany my kids at their class holiday parties. There is nothing better than getting to be a mom and see my children enjoying themselves at school....might I add that their behavior is quite impressive compared to their acrobatic ways of getting down a flight of stairs at home. The parents that organized the parties did a great job in creating a ton of fun for the kids.
 

Our Christmas plans were very relaxed and stress free for the most part. For the first time, we were blessed to stay home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day....just our little family of four. It actually made me a little nervous because we have always been with family on these days, but it was so pleasant and easy going. Not that I don't thoroughly enjoy a house full, but every once in awhile it's kind of nice to enjoy ourselves. I still made my traditional family recipes for dinner and even experimented with cooking my first prime rib....it turned out pretty good. At least I didn't get any complaints.
  

This holiday season was also bittersweet because we were thoroughly spoiled by a Denver foundation that has adopted our family. The Doreen Katz Memorial Foundation adopted our family in October. This foundation does a tremendous job of supporting children who has a parent that has undergone treatment for cancer. We are so incredibly thankful for the number of ways that they have helped our family. To start, they are covering the cost of full day Kindergarten for Rylan. They will provide our family with counseling if necessary for our kids and as a family. 

 

This Christmas, Adam, the founder and president of the Katz Foundation, along with two of his board members, came to our house and unloaded a large SUV with mounds of gifts that were donated by a group of people. If only I could have the opportunity to give each and everyone of them a hug, I would jump at the opportunity. The amount of joy and care put into each gift was unbelievable. I was left completely speechless and tearful as they unloaded the gifts into my living room. Here I thought getting on stage with Keith Urban was so incredible, but I have to say that the amount of love my husband and I felt that day and still today will reside in our hearts forever. The smiles and joy that came from my children on Christmas morning was one that I will always remember.

The day after Christmas, we drove up to the "blue roof" in South Dakota to spend Christmas with my family.  Cabin Christmas is one of my favorite things to do.  I got to spend time with my Anner's and her family.  Grandpa and Daddy took the kids sledding, we swam at the pirate pool, watched movies and stayed nice and warm in the cabin.  Grandpa even finished the bathroom upstairs so now we have two bathrooms and two showers.....it was so nice!!  Well, that's all for now and here's to a happy and healthy 2014!!!! 

New Shower at the Cabin!