Well, thanks for that...

My daughter Hannah has become quite the fashionista....

Yesterday, as I was ready to fly out the door to begin my hour and a half of shuffling kids to and fro (I loathe the first Wednesday of the month...) Hannah looks at me with what I detected to be a bit of disgust and says, "Mommy, your hair is FUNKY!"

Well, first of all, THANKS... and second- "funky?" Where does she get this stuff?

A few days before this, she came into my bathroom as I was getting ready and said, "Oh, mommy, your hair is beautiful!" As I was about to thank her for her generous compliment, she followed up with, "But put some makeup on. You look prettier with makeup."

Again, thanks. :)

Happy New Year!

We had so much fun this Christmas, and it would take me hours to write about it all! The highlight would be the time we were able to spend with our extended family, especially Joe's sister Theresa, her husband Eric and their girls Katelyn and Bethany. Kaylee and Hannah were in heaven with constant playmates. Though the girls hadn't been together for two years, (Eric & Theresa live in Alaska) they picked up right where they left off. We never heard a single argument out of them, which made it heavenly for all of us. :)
Our sweet niece Juliette was also here from Virginia. We were blessed to celebrate her 13th birthday with her on Christmas day. She is a charming young lady and we enjoy her so much.
We shared hosting responsibilities with Joe's parents- they hosted Christmas Eve and we hosted Christmas day. Joe's brother Kenny and his wife Celia were also here (the kids love Uncle Kenny- he spent Saturday with them at the park and a comic store!) as was Annette, Joe's younger sister who lives in Tucson, and Joe's grandmother "Gaga" (Merle) who is 96 and lives in Sun City. It was full, fun, busy, loud, and wonderful. Joe's parents also treated us to a night of theater...we saw "Annie" at Gammage Auditorium. So many fabulous memories!
We also had some very funny moments. Here are some funnies overheard in our home over the holidays:

• When I tore the edge of the wrapping paper on my last gift, and I saw the word "Dyson" I screamed. Nathan, who had known all along what was in the package, watched me jump up and down shrieking, and said, "I don't think she knows it's a vacuum."
• Hannah, enjoying pulling gifts from her stocking and marveling at the candy and goodies, asked, "What else do I have in my mitten?"
• After a particularly rough episode with Hannah, Brad noticed I was a bit ruffled and said, "Mom, I think you need a vacation."
• Kaylee, not realizing the reason behind our limiting video game time, had just finished her 30 minutes on her Gameboy. She pulled out a 10-piece puzzle, dumped it over, hurriedly put all the pieces back in and said, "Okay, I played with toys that don't turn on. Now can I play Xbox?"
• Lindsay, in a moment of political aloofness, asks, "Mom, who is the president of California?"

We wish you a most wonderful 2008!