"You're nothing short of my everything": Finally Updating!

It's been over a month since I have updated my blog, and I even took some really fun pictures over Christmas break of our playing, but I have been really tired and have a long bout of the feeling in the dumps. So nothing but the needed got accomplished over the last several weeks. No more though, I can't let myself get in these funks anymore. I finally sat down to the computer to go through the hundreds of pictures I took over the holidays, so even though Christmas is long time past you get to see all about the McAllisters through the many pictures I have just posted. I did at least put them in collages, so that it wouldn't take days to look through them all. Christmas break was fun and we played most of it, but I was ready for life to get back on schedule.

Christmas Eve has always been a time where we get together with my side of the family. We have a big dinner that night instead of on Christmas Day. Then we have a Christ Cake to remember Christ. This is a tradition that started in my mom's family and has been going on for 50 years or so. Then several years ago my mom made Santa and Mrs. Clause Costumes and began coming to the party as well to give out the grand kid presents, this has turned into my little Downs brother doing it. He won't have a little family of his own, so he loves dressing up as Santa Clause and giving his Nephews and Nieces the presents.

This year AJ (my baby brother, and Santa) has learned how to make hats on the circle looms, he took him awhile before he was able to get the concept, but now he jams on them. He decided to make everyone a hat for Christmas. The kids, siblings, in-laws, parents and Grandmother all got them. 35 hats, you go AJ!!!

This is Christmas morning, we started at our house and then finished up Christmas over at the lodge at Camperworld. That is where Santa came this year.

Christmas day and all but to off the days following Christmas during the break we went up to Camperworld to 4-wheel, sled, tube, snowboard and drink lots of hot Chocolate. The kids had a blast and we got a ton of fun pictures. Most of the days we had friend and/or family with us. The next several collages are a mix of us and everyone else, and all the fun we had.

Also during the break I took some family and single picture of friends and families. I have been able to edit all but my brothers family so far. I'm working on his, but I needed a break from editing, so I decided to blog instead. His pictures will probably get done in the next day or so.

Aren't these girls adorable. I love taking pictures of them.

Stephy and her friend Nate. And no they aren't dating they are just Best Friends.

I've taken Family pictures of Mindy's family already, but my kids got a hold of my camera and were playing with the setting and I didn't realize that the mega pixels were low. So I took all of their picture on 2 something mega pixels, so not good. These aren't Mindy's favorites, the boys weren't playing nice, so we are going to give in one more try in a couple of weeks. I still think it's a cute picture though.

Mindy and her girls, CUTE!!

When I took Carry's family pictures we forgot to take pictures of the 6 kids together, so here is one of the shots.

So that was break. Since then we have just been trying to get back into life. I have been busy trying to get my Massage business going. Wish me Luck on that! It is slowly picking up. Also we are trying to do better with FHE and journal writing. These are 2 of our family goals for the year. So the first activity of the year was to make journal, well at least decorate them. These are what we came up with. The kids had great fun creating them and bringing out their personalities.

Knightin's, Kelten's, Todd's on the Top. TJ's is the big picture. Then on the bottom is Ki's, Mine, and then Taylar.

I've seen this Family Home Evening Board a few places now, but when I first saw it several months ago, I told Todd that is the one I needed. We like are other one, but it wasn't cute enough for me to hang in my living room, so it was in our Kitchen. The babies destroyed it! We had a little money left over after fixing our cars so I got all the pieces and put it together a few days ago. I love it and the kids think it is totally cool.

One thing I didn't like on the ones I've seen is that the just had simple nails in them to hold the name tags, so I went on a search to find cute but inexpensive hooks. I found these hooks on Amazon. They are little handmade iron hooks, and only $0.50 a piece, which still added up for such a tiny thing, but hooks at least fun cute hooks get expensive, so this was a great deal. I finished it off with upholstery nails. I just ended up getting plain round black ones, because those little sucker were more expensive then the hooks (the fancy one). So there you have are little update and picture of what we have been working on since Christmas.

Here are a couple of picture of me from Christmas Eve and and Camperworld. They aren't that great, but it proves that I do get in front of the camera once in awhile, even if not by choice. Todd steals the pictures of me!