Hey Santa!

Thanks for visiting us at Great Grandma Donna's!

We are enjoying our presents!

The Night Before Christmas . . .

The Wilson house was full of

  cousins and their spouses with Grandma

 Hold on, guys!

 Wilson Siblings with Grandma

 Aunt Angie read stories before bedtime, Marin and Olivia are very intrigued.

 Connor and Daddy had visions of video games in their heads!

GOOD MORNING!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 Marin, working on her Christmas spirit.

 BUSTED:  These two went downstairs at 0705 to see if Santa came, then came upstairs to report about the loot!

Waiting upstairs until they get the ofiicial go-ahead to see their presents!

Visions of Sugar

It isn't Christmas without the baking and goody making right?  This week Olivia and I have done our fair share of baking and goody making.  We didn't cross everything off the list but came awfully close. 

We discovered new things to dip in almond bark and chocolate: marshmallows & Bugles! (note to self: next year fill the Bugles with PB and then dip them!)

Dipped pretzel rods are a favorite and an easy canvas for Olivia to decorate with sprinkles.

The dogs are getting a sugar buzz from all the extra sugar and sprinkles flying around!  I tried to teach Olivia to use her fingers, but she preferred her hand or the bottle!

Part II:  Cookie decorating!

I cheated this year, I took Pilsbury sugar dough and plopped them on a cookie sheet.  Only a few turned out symmetrical, as for the other cookies well, they ran into each other and are rectangled or squared but make great canvases for our frosting!

My elves helped decorate after I piped the frosting!  They are great cookie artists and are so oblivious to the fact that I cheated and didn't use my Grandma's sugar cookie recipe, yet another year! 

However, Connor does know the true taste of a sugar cookie, he mentioned it the other night . . . I said that I love a sugar cookie that is soft and fluffy, almost cakey and he replied, "yeah, like how Aunt Paula makes them!"  He's onto me!

Nevermind the shape of the cookie, look at those designs! All sorts of yumminess piled on them!

My favorite is this smooshed cookie and an abstract Rudolph!

I guess Scotcharoos, Snickerdoodles, and cake pops will have to wait for another day or maybe Valentine's Day!

A Roberts' Christmas

Believe . . .

in joy!

 in laughter . . .

 in sweet memories.

 in Christmas Magic!

in love!

 in wonder.

 in contentment.

 in hope.

in pure happiness!

 in cheer!

and

Dream of . . .

Peace!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like . . .

CHRISTMAS!

(with the exception of snow!)

 Last Monday, the kids were on the mend and wanted to go to the Holiday Lights; and so we did in our PJ's, a cup of popcorn, and the coolest thing for them was sitting in the front seat of the car with no seatbelt!!

 Last night, all the girls went to see a favorite production at the community playhouse.  Thanks Grandma for the fun experience!  Now we have some new songs to belt out around the house!

Some miscellaneous pics of our December. . . frozen yogurt, a broken Chicago Bears ornament (oops!), Olivia's fancy-schmancy shoes she's been wearing with EVERYTHING, and an unusual picture of snow (something we haven't seen around here a whole heck of a lot).

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/dDYiMTghKXcF4qWJ

Click on the link above and it will explain what we have been up to lately ;)

Christmas from a Furry Kind of View

My human parents, brother, and sister are busy preparing themselves for Christmas so I decided to take over some of the blogging.  I've been eyeing my human Mom and I think I got a hang of this typing thing even though my paws are much too thick for the keyboard; it just seems to work!

I've noticed that Christmas is coming because I've been listening to my human family singing Christmas carols--out of the blue.  I've heard songs about a creature with a red nose, a snowman that comes to life, and some holly jolly, fa la la la la's.  Not to mention, my human Mom has been playing Christmas songs on the piano (she calls it plunking on the piano and I would have to agree)!

Two weekends ago, the family brought a tree in the house!  Can you believe it?!? A tree?!?  I've held my urge to urinate on it for I'm afraid they'd kick me out of the house and I really LOVE them all.  Anyways, they decorate this tree with all kinds of neat decorations that are as old as my human Mom and Dad!  Tatum and I really like the shiny balls, looking at them make us want to go outside and play some fetch! 

By the way, the tree smells fabulous!  We should know, we have great sniffers!

Other preparations for Christmas include a snowflake dining room and stockings hanging up on the window.  Hey, I like it when they hang up my stocking; this guy, Santa, comes around and fills it up with chewies, bones, and toys!  Speaking of Santa; he is SO magical!  He knows when Tatum and I are naughty and nice and so far, he's stuffed our stockings with good stuff!  I think he knows how much we really LOVE our family.  AND for being a big, jolly fellow we have never heard him come into our house at night, now that IS something!  He really knows when we are sleeping!

So I heard a rumor that there are a few activities that the family want to do yet:  make Christmas cookies and goodies, see the Holly Jolliday Lights, send  out Christmas cards, go to "The Sound of Music" play, and visit family and friends.

Here's wishing you some Happy Howl-days and a Merry Christmas!

Love,
Indie

Dance As If No One is Watching!

Kick-over

 Reach up and kick back (there's a french term here that may start with an 'A' but I didn't catch it)

Olivia had her visitor's night at dance.  Half of the class is designated to ballet and the other half to tumbling.  She likes ballet more than tumbling; however, she tumbles more naturally than ballet.  These pictures didn't capture her jumping up and down and wiggling in between dance songs.  She has great potential when she executes her positions!  I like her motto which I have interpreted as:  "Dance as if no one is watching!"

Sitting in a circle and getting ready to stretch before class . . .

Walking around on her tippy toes



"We are Siamese if you Please"

She also did a cute little dance to "Up on the Housetop."  She taught me this dance at home and so now we both dance as if no one is watching!

Can You See What I See?

I see two kids who are excited about Christmas and I get to experience their joy through their eyes!

I see two kids who really do love each other, even though they disagree and argue frequently.

I see a noogie!

I see that someone is in desparate need of a hair cut!

I see a big brother who is a little embarassed to read to his sister but he does because then he gets to enjoy the books that he thinks he's too cool for . . .

I see Christmas Spirit in the making!

B-Ball Time!

Our boy likes him some basketball!

Every Saturday, we'll be cheering him on!

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Day 30: Blessings

So thankful for all the blessings in our life.  We have so much to be thankful for . . .

Speaking of Patience . . .

I finished Connor's Scout Cake in the nick of time!

With Connor and I brainstorming last night, I sketched something this morning

and bought the supplies this afternoon . . .

Title:  Boyscout Campout

 Now that's a giant wiener to roast, if I say so myself!

 The dad is reeling in his catch!

 Campsite by the river . . .

I mean, really . . . this looks like the life, doesn't it?

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Day 29: My Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday and I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful Mom.  She has taught me so much about life, raising kids (she should know she raised five of us), relationships, and faith in God.  I've learned a lot about patience and practicality from Mom.  If you want to meet a great friend, a great listener, a kind and caring person you need to meet my Mother. 

It's so amazing and true; I hear a lot of my Mother when I talk.  Not so much her voice but the content that pours out of my mouth.  How reassuring to know that she has instilled her wisdom and love deep in my veins.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I Love You

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Day 28: Our Furry Family Members

We love our d.o.g.s and are very thankful for their unconditional love and how they lighten up our days.  Despite their annoying shedding of hair and loud barking, they have a lot of love to give and are always up for a snuggle.

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Days 26 & 27: VWs

This one is weird unless you are in our family.  We love playing the VW game and it has become the ever so popular contest: how many VWs did you see, what color, and what kind?  This game is an advanced knock-off game that I used to play as a child, "Slug Bug!"  However, this game includes all makes of VWs and the player just calls out "red one!" without the punch in the arm.

I'm so thankful for VWs because they have become a fun family game that has connected us and brought us together.  I'm secretly excited to count all the VWs on the way to great Grandma's house and when we go up to the farm!

Now, just need to teach the family "Pa diddle!"

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Day 25:  Light

I'm really grateful for the light after darkness.  You can take this literally, metaphorically, or spiritually and I would say "Why yes, of course."

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Day 24:  The Ability to Relate with Others

As I worked yesterday, I was feeling honored that people (pure strangers) would allow and trust me to care for them.  Here they are in a vulnerable position; they are sick and not themselves, have to lose their modesty at times and furthermore lose their independence and allow dependence upon me and my coworkers.  There is nothing more raw and real than that. 

I am so thankful that I am a nurse and have the ability to relate to others of all creeds, races, cultures, ages, genders, and sexual orientations.  I believe that this is a God given gift for some people are just not cut out to be people-persons, let alone deal with bodily secretions in the same breath!!!

In today's age where technology is in full force and the real human touch and experience is slowly going to the wayside, I am thankful for the realness of my job.  I appreciate "engagement and connections" and believe this is the core of caring and compassion and an imperative component of nursing.

So again, I'm thankful for my job but I'm deeply thankful for the levels of experience it provides me.

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Days 21, 22 & 23:  Food, Nephews & Nieces, and Imaginations

I know, quite the spread of gratefulness for the first part of this week, huh?  FOOD:  Monday, I did  some hefty grocery shopping and am so thankful that we can afford the ever-inflating food prices.  I'm also thankful to do the light couponing that I do to save $20.55!  May I also add on a side note that I'm appreciating cooking and baking and I'm starting to really bond with my kitchen now!

Nephews & Nieces:  Tuesday, was my nephew Austin's 9th birthday and I thought about all of my  12 nephews & nieces and thought how lucky I am to be an aunt to all of them.  I love them ALL to pieces and they all brighten my day when I hear about what they are doing or saying.  I've been an aunt since I was 16 years old, so that's a long time of feeling love and pride for the kiddos!

Imaginations:  Our family is really thriving on our imaginations lately, probably more the kids than the adults but we are doing our fair share too!  I can never get enough of Olivia singing on the top of her lungs about fruit and vegetables, AND we've been playing "Thanksgiving Feast," "Grocery Store," & "House Inspector" a lot lately.  (House Inspector is the only way I can get her to clean without her knowing that she is cleaning {wink. wink}).

Connor never ceases to amaze us with his Lego creations, last one he did is a snow-covered park with a snowboarder and a house at the corner of the lot.  The two of them together play chess (I still don't know how to play and NOW my 5 year old is playing!)  However, they also play their own version of chess it is a lot more physical and noisy than the real game.  I love watching them make up their own games!

I've been wowing my imaginations by Pinterest and have actually followed through with some projects:  the paper projects that I showed from the weekend and I'm painting a crate to become a hanging shelf.  Paul is opening his mind by refining his Spanish.  He has been reading it, listening to it, studying it and maybe he'll be able to use some of it when we go to Mexico in February??? 

Anyways, being thankful for what we have because what we have is good enough!

A close up

Thought maybe you would want to see a preview of the floor, the other picture didn't really show it.  There are more gray tones that do not show up in this picture.  It's been seven years with the old floor and parts of the floorboard were showing through.   We tried to cover them up with rugs, but so glad we have a new floor to cover it all up!  Many thanks to Paul and Danny for their hard work on the floor.

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Day 19 & 20:  Rest

Yesterday, I was totally exhausted and so I rested and so I am thankful. Caught up on a lot of sleep, even napped a headache away. I can't say that all of us were resting and I intermittently feel a little guilty? well, anyways . . . I did manage to check off some paper crafts off my list yesterday . . .

This guy was able to balance out some Wii and reading . . .

Danny & Paul placed new flooring in our kitchen!!!  I can't stop looking at it (kinda like the orange paint).

Thursday, was Olivia's last day of swim lessons and she swam, bobbed, dipped, and floated to her heart's desire.

She surprised us all by passing level one!

Happy rest of the weekend everyone!

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Day 18:  God

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it"  Without God, I have nothing.  I am so glad that I have God in my life, providing me my purpose, and making sense of life.  A higher power and the promise of eternity is something that I am so grateful for in a sometimes chaotic life.  I will be glad in each day that God has given me and I will search for a little bit of heaven each day.  May God bless you.

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Day 16/17:  Gratitude

I am so thankful that I'm thankful.  I see too many ungrateful people in my life . . . you probably know those who thrive on problems, crises, complaining . . . ugh!  It just drains the life out of a person.  I'm grateful that I tend to gravitate towards people with positive, cheery, and pleasant attitudes.

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Day 15:  This Girl

 Check out the legs!  Passing the leg cross from one generation onto the next!

Olivia made my morning yesterday.  She primped and made herself beautiful adorning herself in a necklace, earrings, headband, dress, and tights.  She topped the outfit off with some of my chapstick (she calls it lipstick!)  I couldn't help but smile.  She has this way of making me laugh and smile and I love that about her.

This funny girl is also very smart and sweet.  I've written how I love spending time with her but I also just love her!  She is willing to sing at the top of her lungs about anything and everything, she doesn't worry about what others think of her (and I'm hoping to some extent that this will continue), and she goes after what she wants.  I'm so thankful to watch this little girl evolve into a bright woman of the future!

Yep, those darling earrings are stickers (a doggy and a kitty).  We lost them at Target yesterday but found them   in.   her.   hair!  That is Daddy's face isn't it?!?!