Happy New Year!...I am so far behind with blogging. We had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. I have a lot of pictures to post once I get them downloaded(with the new camera John got me for Christmas). But besides Christmas, we have enjoyed spending time with the kittens (who are now 2 1/2 weeks old...so cute), Jacob and Julia each had their first sleepovers during Christmas break, Julia lost her first tooth, and John and I went with our friends, Kristen and Steve, to watch OSU play in the Cotton Bowl. Very fun and the new Dallas Cowboy stadium is very cool. However, the game sucketh. That is putting it mildly. Good thing our tickets were free...ha!

Anyway, kids went back to school on Monday and I started a temp job yesterday that is supposed to last at least the next 3 weeks. Maybe it'll turn into something more permanent. That would be great! And I've lost 4 lbs in the last week and a half since I started Jenny Craig. So, keep us in your prayers and we'll do the same. May your 2010 be wonderful!

Sweetie and Family...Our stray cat, Sweetie, had 4 baby kittens over the weekend. She is a great mama and so sweet (hence the name) and doesn't care how many times a day we come in to look at the sweet kittens. They were born sometime during the night between Friday and Saturday. This was our surprise as we brought her food the next morning. As you can imagine, the kids (and the adults) are excited about this sweet new family just in time for Christmas when we celebrate the most wonderful baby of all. Thank you, Jesus, for all your blessings.

Daddy Daughter Day...This week has been a catch up/get back into the routine for us. And I finally got the house fairly clean...yea! That feels good. Here are a couple of pictures from John and Julia's last Daddy/Daughter Day. So cute! She does love her make up! So funny. I just love that sweet face.

Christmas is zooming in fast. But other than the Christmas tree, the inside and outside is decorated. And after school today, John and the kids are heading out to get the Christmas tree. Tonight will be a fa-la-la-la-la tree decorating extravaganza at the Elliott house. Will post pictures of the completed product. Tomorrow night John is taking us all the see the Nutcracker. Now that Julia is in ballet/tap, I think she will really love seeing all those dancers. Can't wait!

Halle's Bday Party...Last Sunday I took the kid's to their friend, Halle's, birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese in N. Richland Hills. The key word in this sentence is N. Richland Hills. Why you ask? Because I looked at the invitation and since in was on Grapevine Pkwy, I mistakenly thought it was the location at Grapevine Mills Mall. I was WRONG! So, my poor children arrived at the party 45 minutes late. I felt like such a tool so I bought more game tokens and we stayed later than the party to play more games.

The kids have been out of school all we for Thanksgiving break so we've managed 2 trips to Oklahoma to see Grandma and Big Daddy. We had a wonderful, relaxed Thanksgiving meal at home on Wednesday and now we are just trying to relax and get the house cleaned up so we can decorate for Christmas. Have I mentioned that cleaning is not fun? Oh well.

Merry Christmas! Can't believe it is now time to say that! Ha! Have a great week!

More pics from Arboretum...

Storybook Houses 11 thru 13 plus the straw horse from House 4...

Storybook Houses 6 thru 10...