'Tis The Season

Well we had a great Christmas. The Saturday before Christmas, my Grandma had a BIG dinner with all her kids and grandkids. It was great to see some cousins that I hadn't seen for a few years. After that I had a Drill Team get-together at my house with the other 9 seniors I graduated with and of course, what is a Drill Team Party without Kittrell. It was a lot of fun, it was the first time we had all gotten together since we had graduated. There was a lot of stories, farts, and A LOT of laughs!! Typical drill teamers! Then Sunday evening, we went to Jeff's cousins house in Ephrata. It was a lot of fun too. We just had some appetizer type snacks and played a long gift exchange game...you know the one where you can either choose a present or steal someone elses. It was a lot of fun, and we came home with some pretty funny gifts ranging from a pack of toilet seat covers, to 80 hour energy spray, to Christmas Boxers with a "naughty side" and a "nice side". We did presents at our house Christmas morning with the girls and let the girls' mom come over to watch them open their presents. They all enjoyed their gifts and got pretty much everything they asked for. To both Jeff's and my surprise, "Santa" left a Dora Jeep on the porch for Shannon...the kind she can get in and drive. I guess it was too big to fit down the chimmney. We still don't know who "played Santa" for her, but whoever it was....THANKS!!!! We just relaxed the remainder of the day, until about 5:30 when we drove to Othello to get together at Scott's house with all of my siblings. All 6 of us kids were able to get together again this year. It's definately not the same without Mom here physically, I know she is here spiritually, but we do our best to do what she would have wanted. We continue to draw names and get together one night to exchange them. We ended up staying until after midnight playing games and enjoying each other's company. I absolutely LOVE this Holiday Season simply for the reason you get to be around everyone you love and cherish!
So I'm getting better at this blog thing. Actually learning how to put pictures, and links. I've put an archive of pictures on here, hope everyone enjoys them. Hope everyone's holidays were great!!

My New Job

So those of you who know, I have been looking for a job for about 1 1/2 years now, and it seemed like it was never going to happen. However, I got a phone call on one of the jobs that I applied for recently and they wanted to hire me. The position was for a Dental Assistant position in Warden. Now, I know that I have no dental assistant experience or schooling, but hey are willing to train me from scratch. Can't beat that!! I'm totally pumped. My first day was Dec. 5. I've been there 3 weeks and absolutely LOVE it! I can see myself doing this for the rest of life. The older 3 girls are in school all day of course, so we just had to find someone for Shannon. Luckily, and I thank God everyday for her, my Grandma stepped in and offered to help. She takes Shannon for us Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Jeff has Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off and I have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. So we keep her Thursday and Friday. I know a lot of things would be easier if Mom was still here. Sometimes when I here good or bad news my first thought is "I should call mom." Even after 5 years. But if she can't be here, there is no one else I would rather have step in and help than her mother. Thank You Grandma!!

This was taken on Halloween this year at Grandmas house. The kids had a lot of fun trick-or-treating. Courtney and Emily decided to be old women with big butts. They looked hilarious! Samantha was an ER surgeon and Shannon was Little Red Riding Hood. Their cousins looked great too! Tristan was a Red Power Ranger, and Bodie, a shark! Courtney was a Bride, Megan a Vampire, and Hazel a Princess. And you can't forget Miles, the cow. :)

Merry Christmas

Hello everyone! I'm new to the whole "blog" thing, so bare with me. I wanted to be able to brag about my family like everyone else and what better way to do that than here. We have just been getting ready for the Holidays. Jeff and I went Christmas shopping on Black Friday and got a bunch of good deals. We decided to put all the presents in our closet and told all the girls, including Shannon, not to go in there and if they do, they will get in trouble. We left it at that. The other night, Jeff was telling the girls again not to go in there, so they don't see their presents. Shannon just looked at him and said, "It's okay Daddy, I already know what I'm getting. I saw a teddy bear in there for me!" She decided she was going to be the first to snoop.