My dear sweet hubby takes such good care of me. For Valentines day we both had to work, but we had some fun times anyway. We went to Tucanos YUM! They had a valentines day special, and it was fabulous food, beautiful flowers and linens and candles on the table. They also gave us chocolate covered strawberrys and a rose. The only problem was there was a three and a half hour wait. That ended up okay because we went to Boarders and read and look for books. It was the best valentines day I've ever had. You may ask what did my hubby get me for valentines day?? A dryer. I'm super stoked. It get's here on the 25th.
Since my birthday is so close to valumtimes day I thought I would post both at the same time. Today I worked. But my hubby made reservations and we went out to dinner and to see Confessions of a Shopaholic it was really fun. Since my DVD player caught on fire a few days ago, my sweet hubby got me a Blue Ray DVD player! WOO HOO! But he also got me a curling iron! I can do my hair yay! I just want to tell Adam, since he will read this, how much I love and appreciate how hard he works to make me feel so special. He is my knight in shining armor, and I love that he calls me his angel. Thank you Adam!!!
So this is love...or....Happy birthday to me...
RIght back where I started from...
So the previous post was my recent trip to California to see Becky and Hyrum's new baby blessed. It was an adventure filled with laughs and tears. The best way to recant this wild and crazy tale is a day by day recap. Lets start at the very beginning....
Thursday morning I got up bright and early, actually it was dark and early. I had to be at the airport by six thirty, which means a four thirty wake up call for Christy YAY! Smooth sailing until I got on the plane...then the ride got a little bumpy. There was a lot of turbulence, and if hadn't been so frightened myself I would have felt sorry for the young family flying with a baby, that cried the whole way. I left a freezing place and landed in paradise. It was a beautifully nice and war day...I couldn't have asked for anything more. I gathered my luggage and waited at the curb. With my flight being early and Becky running a little behind I was at the airport for...lets just say awhile. I had forgotten to send my flight plans ahead, and was starting to wonder if I had told her I would get there at 9 PM instead of 9 AM. This resulted in four collect calls to my dear sweet hubby, and 80 dollars in charges. YIPES! Won't do that again. Luckily Adam is good at correcting my mistakes, and we will only be paying 30 dollars of that. ANYWAY Becky drove around the loop three or four times, and each time she looped, I went inside to make a call. Finally she got out of the car and walked around...this wasn't good planning on my part, but it resulted in me getting a new cell phone he he he. So we stopped at a park and played around before headding out to Disneyland. By the time we got there we were all hungery and so we sat down to eat lunch. The kids were a little dissappointed and just wanted to go ride on the rides, especially Gager. He wanted none of it, in fact he said "You guys said we were going to Disneyland, but we are just eating!!" We had a good chuckle and then finsihed eating and ran far and long to play and stare at the wonder that is Disneyland. Lincoln and Shaunie are both big enough to ride on the grownup rides and so Golden and I took them on spacemountian and Indiana Jones. On space mountian I was afraid Shaunie grabbed onto my arm and held it tight the whole time, which I was totally okay with because she's so tiny I was afraid she was gonna fly out...worry wart Aunt Christy. This day actually made me realize how brave Lincoln is. He looks things he's afraid of in the eye and tackels them. He's a worrier like me, and he told me he needed to go on more scary rides so he wouldn't be so scared of them. On Indiana Jones both Lincoln and Shaunie kept their heads down...it's a pretty intense ride. We were all pretty tired so we only rode one or two more rides and then we packed it in and went home to watch amovie and eat dinner.
Friday morning I started hearing the kids bright and early, and when I pulled the blanket from off my face, there were two little eyes peeking over the edge of the couch. Timmy thought I had enough of sleeping, how sweet of him! We decided to forgo Disneyland until Saturday when Mom and Dad could go with us and head to the Zoo. On the way we decided to get subway sandwiches. I got a Turkey with EVERYTHING but jalapanios (this is important because of what follows) it even had avacados. It was SOOOOOO good. The kids were hungery and so we sat down to eat as soon as we got there. The kids had a plain ham and cheese sandwich. Well Little Miss Lacie took one bite and decided mine looked WAY better. She put her's down and looked at me expectantly and said "bite". So, silly me, I thought, one bite and she will not like it with onions and everything. The little monkey ate four inches of my footlong! She even picked out an onion and ate it! She loved it! The girl has good taste...what can I say. :) We had a lot of fun while at the zoo. :) At one point Becky went to go feed Ellie and left me with Dewy and Timmy, who by the way when going up and down hills throw their hands up in the air and scream, pretneding they are going on a roller coaster, it's really cute. ANYWAY we decided to chill with the giraffes, because they were chillin right by the fences. Well Timmy saw one eating and thought he should feed it....his brand new shoes. Luckily he is not that tough, being only two. We all had a good laugh and Golden had the good senses to use one of the strollers to fish it out. After Becky rejoined us we went to watch the chimps yell at each other (the monkeys not the kids) and eat snacks. We then played on the playground for a few minutes and then it was one more stop and then we were outta there. Lincoln wanted to see the parrot and so we stopped at a little bird enclave. On the way out Gage decided it was his turn to push Lacie, and someone had gotten sick and he stepped right over it despite multiple warnings. About 20 seconds later he stops dead in his tracks, his eyes pops wide open and says "Wait a minute, did I just step in throw up??" After assuring him he didn't, I tossed him up on my shoulders (Timmy was back in the stroller) and Kendra took over pushing Lacie. On the way out I asked Gage if he wanted to stay with the monkeys. He said no and I asked him why not he said "people would say, 'why is there a little boy in there with the monkeys?' I laughed for like five minutes. When we got home, the adults, minus me, went grocery shopping while I played with the kids on a slip n slide (yes in January. A side note about that, Becky gave me the cutest swimsuit for my birthday! Yay! The kids stayed in the water until their lips were blue and the sun went down. There was much wrapping in blankets, and warm jammies after that. They had so much fun. The older two, Lincoln and Shaunie and I stayed up later to watch a movie while the couples went out to dinner (a date AND a babysitter???) FYI if you haven't figured out by this point, I was flying solo. Adam had to work. Lacie woke up, and decided she deffinately did not need to go to bed. She watched the movie a little bit, and then I pulled her into my lap, and asked her if she wanted to go to Disneyland the next morning. Of couse she said yes, and so I reminded her that she needed to go to sleep first. I have never seen a kiddo so eager to go to sleep. Mom and Dad got there and shared their room with me, so I could get some sleep. Mom and Dad had requested a rollaway and the left A sheet. One sheet. Mom and I went to the office to obtain a second sheet and the lady there looked at me like I was crazy. "You need more than one?" oy...My reply was to giggle and say "usually." Mom had a little better tact and said "one for the top and one for the bottom." Yeah....Friday was a fun day :).
Saturday We got an early start so that we could play the WHOLE day at Disneland. Dad, Mom and I went over to becky's place to see if we could all fin into two cars, but there are just too many of us now. We got separated driving, and it took us a while to get regathred. Once we did though, the first thing we did was SPLASH MOUNTAIN!!! Even Gager was tall enough to ride! It was so fun. Gage said it was "super awesome" and subsequently tried, unsucessfully to convince Dewy that it's not scary, it's really fun. We rode pirates of the carribean a couple of times, and space mountian again. We also went on Start Tours. By the end of the day we were all pretty tired by then so we headed home. We helped Becky a little then went back to the Hotel so we could get some sleep for the blessing on Sunday.
Sundy: The day was engulfed with the Blessing and visiting. It was a beautifull blessing and there was really good food and four dozen Krispy Kreme involved. After the Johnsons left, Dewy and Timmy were excited that attention was all theirs. I took some video of Dewing doing somer salts and Dewy and Timmy singing. It was hilarious. That evening we got to hear Sister Julie B Beck speak, and it was beautiful and inspiring. The best part of that was when she shook Mom's hand and Mom about cried. She also commented on Ellie and how beautiful she is. Mom, Dad and I stayed at Becky's house again, and I slept on thier floofy couch.
Monday morning I again woke to two little eyes peering over the side of the couch. I Growled at Timmy and he giggled and ran away. Mom Becky and I took the kiddos and went shopping to get out of Dad's hair while he studied. Shortly after that it was time for me to fly home to my honey!!! It was a happy reunion.
17 February 2009
iPod giveaway
I subscribe to this awesome blog called "cent"sible sawyer. Finds all kinds of deals check it out for a chance to win an iPod touch here, and good luck!
09 February 2009
Sometimes you feel like a nut
Okay, so yesterday was one of those Alexanders no good very bad days, but today will be better. I want to blog about the two major events that happened since I last blogged. I will in chronological order...
YAY FOR CHRISTMAS!
We had plans to go and spend Christmas with my family, but that didn't happen because Adam and I were both too sick, and we didn't want to get my sisters brand new baby sick. So we had our own little Christmas by ourselves. Adam stayed up til 6 cleaning, then he woke me up to open presents because he couldn't wait anymore. Adam surprised me with Guitar Hero and a sewing machine! I am so excited. He got a bunch of little stuff like a foot massager, and uno attacks, becuase he refused to tell me what he wanted for Christmas. It was cute. As soon as we opened presents Adam went to bed and I played guitar hero. It was a good time, until I fell asleep playing, at which time I took a nap. Then I woke up and started dinner. I made my first ham! It was soooo good, but it was huge and we STILL have some left in the freezer.
P
J elf came to visit Christmas eve and this was the results.
This was my first attempt at a ham. turned out REALLY good. :D
THis is one of the ways that Adam let me know that he loves me.
New years eve was pretty much the same. We were planning on going to a party but it was cancelled at the last minute so I went to the store and got some treats and we celebrated our first new year together as a couple watching movies, playing games and I got my first new years kiss. It was very very pleasant Well I love you all and hope you are having a great new year!
20 January 2009
The Lasst Straw
This story was shared in the ward Christmas Program today...it was really touching.
By: Paula McDonald
To truly share this season of love and laughter, even a little boy must first discover Christmas in his heart....
Everyone, unfortunately, was cooped up in the house that typical gray winter afternoon. And, as usual, the four little McNeals were at it again, teasing each other, squabbling, bickering, and always fighting over their toys.
At times like this, Ellen was almost ready to believe that her children didn't love each other, even though she knew that wasn't true. All brothers and sisters fight sometimes, of course, but lately her lively little bunch had been particularly horrid to each other, especially Eric and Kelly, who were only a year apart. The two of them seemed determined to spend the whole long winter making each other miserable.
"Give me that. It's mine!" Kelly screamed, her voice shrill.
It is not! I had it first," Eric answered stubbornly.
Ellen sighed as she listened to the latest argument. With Christmas only a month away, the house seemed sadly lacking in Christmas spirit. This was supposed to be the season of sharing and love, of warm feelings and happy hearts. A home needed more than just pretty packages and twinkling lights on a tree to fill the holidays with joy.
Ellen had only one idea. Years ago, her grandmother had told her about an old custom that helped people discover the true meaning of Christmas. Perhaps it would work for her family this year. It was certainly worth a try.
She gathered the children together and lined them up on the couch, tallest to smallest - Eric, Kelly, Lisa and Mike.
"How would you kids like to start a new Christmas tradition this year?" she asked. "It's like a game, but it can only be played by people who can keep a secret. Can everyone here do that?
"I can!" shouted Eric.
"I can keep a secret better than him!" yelled Kelly.
"I can do it!" chimed in Lisa.
"Me too. Me too," squealed little Mike. "I'm big enough."
"Well then, this is how the game works," Ellen explained. "This year we're going to surprise Baby Jesus when He comes on Christmas Eve by making Him the softest bed in the world. We're going to fill a little crib with straw to make it comfortable. But here's the secret part. The straw we put in will measure the good deeds we've done, but we won't tell anyone who we're doing them for."
The children looked confused. "But how will Jesus know it's His bed!" Kelly asked.
"He'll know," said Ellen. "He'll recognize it by the love we put in to make it soft."
"But who will we do the good deed for?" asked Eric, still a little confused.
"We'll do them for each other. Once a week we'll put all of our names in a hat, Daddy's and mine too. Then we'll each pick out a different name. Whoever's name we draw, we'll do kind things for that person for a whole week. But you can't tell anyone else whose name you've chosen. We'll each try to do as many favors for our special person as we can without getting caught. And for every good deed we do, we'll put another straw in the crib."
"Like being a spy!" squealed Lisa.
"But what if I pick someone's name that I don't like?" Kelly frowned.
Ellen thought about that for a minute. "Maybe you could use an extra fat piece of straw. And think how much faster the fat straws will fill up our crib. We'll use the cradle in the attic," she said. "And we can all go to the field behind the school for the straw."
Without a single argument, the children bundled into their wool hats and mittens, laughing and tumbling out of the house. The field had been covered with tall grass in summer, but now, dead and dried, the golden stalks looked just like real straw. They carefully selected handfuls and placed them in the large box they had carried with them.
"That's enough," Ellen laughed when the box was almost overflowing. "Remember it's only a small cradle."
So home they went to spread their straw carefully on a large tray Ellen never used. Eric, because he was the eldest, was given the responsibility of climbing into the attic and bringing down the cradle.
"We'll pick names as soon as Daddy comes home for dinner, Ellen said, unable to hide a smile at the thought of Mark's pleased reaction to the children's transformed faces and their voices, filled now with excited anticipation rather than annoyance.
At the supper table that night, six pieces of paper were folded, shuffled and shaken around in Mark's furry winter hat, and the drawing began. Kelly picked a name first and immediately started to giggle. Lisa reached into the hat next, trying hard to look like a serious spy. Mike couldn't read yet, so Mark whispered the name in his ear. Then Mike quickly ate his little wad of paper so no one would ever learn the identity of his secret person. Eric was the next to choose, and as he unfolded his scrap of paper, a frown creased his forehead. But he stuffed the name quickly into his pocket and said nothing. Ellen and Mark selected names and the family was ready to begin.
The week that followed was filled with surprises; it seemed the McNeal house had suddenly been invaded by an army of invisible elves. Kelly would walk into her room at bedtime to find her nightgown neatly laid out and her bed turned down. Someone cleaned up the sawdust under the workbench without being asked. The jelly blobs magically disappeared from the kitchen counter after lunch one day while Ellen was out getting the mail. And every morning, when Eric was brushing his teeth, someone crept quietly into his room and made the bed. It wasn't made perfectly, but it was made. That particular little elf must have had short arms because he couldn't seem to reach the middle.
"Where are my shoes?" Mark asked one morning. No one seemed to know, but suddenly, before he left for work, they were back in the closet again, freshly shined.
Ellen noticed other changes during that week too. The children weren't teasing or fighting as much. An argument would start, and then suddenly stop right in the middle for no apparent reason. Even Eric and Kelly seemed to be getting, along better and bickering less. In fact, there were times when all the children could be seen smiling secret smiles and giggling to themselves. And slowly, one by one, the first straws began to appear in the little crib. Just a few, then a few more each day. By the end of the first week, a little pile had accumulated.
Everyone was anxious to pick new names and this time there was more laughter and merriment than there had been the first time. Except for Eric. Once again, he unfolded his scrap of paper, glanced at it, and stuffed it in his pocket without a word.
The second week brought more astonishing events, and the little pile of straw in the manger grew higher and softer. There was more laughter, less teasing, and hardly any arguments could be heard around the house. Only Eric had been unusually quiet, and sometimes Ellen would catch him looking a little sad. But the straws in the manger continued to pile up.
At last, it was almost Christmas. They chose names for the final time on the night before Christmas Eve. As the sat around the table waiting for the last set of names to be shaken in the hat, the children smiled as they looked at their hefty pile of straws. They all knew it was comfortable and soft, but there was one day left and they could still make it a little deeper, a little softer, and they were going to try.
For the last time the hat was passed around the table. Mike Picked out a name, and again quickly ate the paper as he had done each week. Lisa unfolded hers carefully under the table, peeked at it and then hunched up her little shoulders, smiling. Kelly reached into the hat and grinned from ear to ear when she saw the name. Ellen and Mark each took their turn and handed the hat with the last name to Eric. As he unfolded the scrap of paper and glanced at it, his face crumpled and he seemed about to cry. Without a word, he turned and ran from the room.
Everyone immediately jumped up from the table, but Ellen stopped them. "No!" Stay where you are," she said firmly. "I'll go."
In his room, Eric was trying to pull on his coat with one hand while he picked up a small cardboard suitcase with the other.
"I'll have to leave," he said quietly through his tears. "If I don't, I'll spoil Christmas."
"But why? And where are you going?"
"I can sleep in my snow fort for a couple of days. I'll come home right after Christmas. I promise."
Ellen started to say something about freezing and snow and no mittens or boots, but Mark, who had come up behind her, gently laid his hand on her arm and shook his head. The front door closed, and together they watched from the window as the little figure with the sadly slumped shoulders trudged across the street and sat down on a snow bank near the corner. It was dark outside, and cold, and a few flurries drifted down on the small boy and his suitcase.
"Give him a few minutes alone," said Mark quietly. I think he needs that. Then you can talk to him."
The huddled figure was already dusted with white when Ellen walked across the street and sat down beside him on the snow bank.
"What is it, Eric? You've been so good these last weeks, but I know something's been bothering you since we first started the crib. Can you tell me, honey?"
Ah, Mom . . . don't you see?" he sniffled. "I tried so hard, but I can't do to it anymore, and now I'm going to wreck Christmas for everybody. With that, he burst into sobs and threw himself into his mother s arms.
"Mom." The little boy choked. "You just don't know, I got Kelly's name every time! And I hate Kelly! I tried Mom. I really did. I snuck in her room every night and fixed her bed. I even laid out her crummy nightgown. I let her use my race car one day, but she smashed it right into the wall like always! Every week, when we picked names, I thought it would be over. Tonight,
when I got her name again, I knew I couldn't do it anymore. If I try, I'll probably punch her instead. If I stay home and beat Kelly up. I'll spoil Christmas for everyone."
The two of them sat there, together, quietly for a few minutes and then Ellen spoke softly. "Eric I'm so proud of you. Every good deed you did should count double because it was hard for you to be nice to Kelly for so long, but you did those good deeds anyway, one straw at a time. You gave your love when it wasn't easy to give. And maybe that's what the spirit of Christmas is really all about. And maybe it's the hard good deeds and the difficult straws that make that little crib special. You're the one who's probably added the most important straws this year." Ellen paused, stroking the head pressed tightly against her shoulder. "Now, how would you like a chance to earn a few easy straws like the rest of us? I still have the name I picked in my pocket, and I haven't looked at it yet. Why don't we switch, for the last day? And it will be our secret."
Eric lifted his head and looked into her face, his eyes wide. "That's not cheating?"
"It's not cheating." And together they dried the tears, brushed off the snow, and walked back to the house.
The next day, the whole family was busy, cooking and straightening up the house for Christmas Day, wrapping last minute presents and trying hard to keep from bursting with excitement. But even with all the activity and eagerness, a flurry of new straws piled up in the crib, and by nightfall the little manger was almost overflowing. At different times while passing by, each member of the family, big and small, would pause and look at the wondrous pile for a moment, then smile before going on. But . . . who could really know? One more straw still might make a difference.
For that reason, just before bedtime, Ellen tiptoed quietly to Kelly's room to lay out the little blue nightgown and turn down the bed. But she stopped in the doorway surprised. Someone had already been there. The nightgown was laid across the bed, and a small red race car had been placed next to it on the pillow.
The last straw was Eric's after all.
21 December 2008
Merry Christams
My hubby is so sweet. He went to shave his head the other day and came out and this is what he did
A heart because he loves me so much :) It was really sweet. He shaved it as soon as I took the picture so that he could look professional for work.
Another thing that happened this past week we started celebrating Christmas! Woo hoo! This past Saturday we went with the Gale family to see "Babes in toyland" and we went to dinner and then to the temple lights. It was really fun. I love to see the magic that Christmas brings, and the excitement on the kids face when they get to see Santa Clause is euqal only to when they see Disneyland :D.
That being said, I wrote a poem in church on Sundayand I wanted to share it. it's called Christmas
It's not about ribbons, it's not about bows,
It's not about snow that sticks on your nose.
It's not about toys, that make all the noise,
Or even 'bout Santa, or good girls and boys.
It IS about a babe, born long, long ago,
who saved our souls from being tossed to and fro.
It IS 'bout love, both gi'vn and recieved,
it is about heaven so don' be decieved;
When you lay your head down on that next Christmas night,
Remember what happened, to give us all light.
These pictures were all taken at Temple square after the play.
