Fun Family Pics at Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas!

This picture was taken at Christmas last year. We spent it at OHSU holding Christian and putting on his very first stocking cap. And even though it wasn't the ideal Christmas it still was a miraculous one. It was full of hope and a future that was unknown but promising. AND............


I TOTALLY KNEW that things would get better and one day we would be like this:

The LEE Family Three

Christmas 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

NOTE TO SELF: DO NOT CHANGE STINKY DIAPERS WHILE WEARING A SCARF!!

Horn Family Christmas Gathering

Last Saturday we (My brothers Casey and Jamie, Esmeralda, Christian and I) bundled up and drove over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house~well Aunt Lillie and Uncle Curtis' house but Grandma lives there too! The roads were snowy and icy but Casey is an excellent driver and so we took our time and enjoyed the gorgeous views.My dad was meeting us in Elgin and this was a pretty special family gathering. Since my dad moved to Utah we have not been able to spend Christmas together or even see eachother during the holiday season. I think it has been 8 years. Anyway, Dad made the trip and we were so happy he did. Aunt Lillie made sure the whole family was there to celebrate and just be together as a family. We have not done that since we were little kids and I hope it turns into a Horn family tradition.

My little Grandma looked so pretty and she was snuggled in next to the tree just like Mrs. Claus. She made gifts for all her kids and grandkids and she had a special gift for Christian. My sweet and charming Grandpa Horn passed away last year just before Thanksgiving. It has been very difficult for our family as you can imagine, especially for my little Grandma.

GRANDPA HORN

Grandpa was a craftsman. He was always making things out of wood in his shop. He started making little trains out of wood and he called them "Stanley Steamers" (his name was Stanley) and he gave them to all the little grandchildren. Well this year, Christian received his Stanley Steamer that was made with love by his Great Grandpa Horn. Christian loves his new train!

Here are some pics I took of the family enjoying the afternoon:

Christian and Santa 2008

Wild Child

This picture makes me laugh. Do you think he is trying to tell me he is done posing for the camera???????

Jason has been working 12 hour days all week and will not have a day off till Christmas Eve. We have been blessed with this overtime job as Jason had been laid off since Thanksgiving. He does not complain about his long days even though they are actually 14 hour days when you consider 2 hours drive time. We know it is a blessing. I get up with him at 4:45 a.m. and it has taken a few days for me to adjust to getting up that early. In the first few days of the week, Christian was making his own adjustments in his sleep schedule. He was staying up very late at night and waking very early. We think it was because he wanted to meet and greet his daddy and see him before he went to work as well. Christian went to bed at a normal time on Friday night and did not see Jason until about 7:00 last night. He was soooooo excited when he saw his daddy that he was bouncing all around and jumping up and down. When Jason turned away from him to go to the kitchen to wash his hands, it broke Christian's heart and his bottom lip turned up and he had crocodile tears. When Jason returned to him he reached up for him and was full of smiles once he was in his daddy's arms. What a tender moment that was.
The other night my friend Tami came over to assist me in lowering the mattress in Christian's crib. Needless to say, she did all the work basically by herself because she is awesome. Plus when she pulled out the crib she found about 7 pacifiers that had gone astray. That was sooooo fantastic! Seems like we are always searching for binkis in this house.

This was taken before the mattress was lowered. Look how pleased he is with himself!

Christian pulls himself up to a standing position on everything now. I can't believe how small and fragile he was at this time last year. NOW he is a full-on, wild and curious, head bonkin', little tough guy. Of course he has always been those things only now he adds his mobility to it. We are so amazed at his intelligence and strength and energy. He is such a wild child and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Mommy and Daddy love you Toots MaGee!

Challenge

My girlfriend Lisa and I have the same problem. We both have areas in our kitchen that seem to be the catch all for all items under the sun. She challenged me earlier in the week with a goal to organize our space and create a filing system for all of our floating papers. She went one step further and threw rewards of coffee (and company) in the mix if we accomplished our set goal by Saturday (today). We agreed to take before and after pics as evidence that we were 1. In need of a SERIOUS kitchen-clutter-makeover and 2. that we actually did it.

So here goes!

Before:

After:

So Lisa~ I look forward to sharing that coffee with you! Looking forward to our next goal (after the 1st of the year!)

Our Weekend

Last weekend was jam packed with fun. Thursday morning my friend Misty took Christian and I to the Columbia Crest Winery so she could pick up some wine for a wedding she is in. And she has been telling me that they have the best wine she has ever tasted. So we went and I tasted it and actually liked it. I have never found a wine that I have liked before so I was very excited to find not one but 2 wines and bought a bottle of each. Maybe, since I am 29, my pallette has matured and I have finally developed a taste for it. I had to take tiny sips, while testing, because I am not a "drinker" and could already feel my head getting light.

The ladies that worked in the winery were so lovely. They doted on my little cutie (who wouldn't?) and told me that I reminded them of Drew Barrymore (I'll take that!) and that my beautiful friend Misty looked like Darrel Hannah??? I had to disagree on that one. When I think of Darrel Hannah (yes, I probably spelled her name wrong) I think of the Kill Bill movies and Misty looks nothing like that. Misty looks like Gweneth Paltrow~no joke. She is absolutely lovely. Anyway, I was also able to find some beautiful ornaments that I wanted to use for prizes for our Christmas Cookie Exchange Party.

Sabrina and Mason stayed with us on Thursday night. I made sure the guest bedroom was extracozy for them. They ate popcorn and watched The Santa Claus and then went to sleep.

Friday morning consisted of cartoons, hot cocoa, and LOTS of waffles. Sabrina and Mason love my waffles, which makes me feel pretty good. They played around until about 1 when their aunt Sherri picked them up to head to the theater.

This is how Emry feels about having company:

Once it was dark we all went to see the Festival of Lights in Hermiston. Wel love going to this each year and will probably go a few more times before the holiday season is over. We bundled up and I tried my best to take some pics of the lights and the kids but my camer (and skills) are lacking. We had fun though! Afterwards we went to Sherri's for hot cocoa and pie.


Look how lucky I am. He. Loves. Me. (dreamy sigh)

On Sunday, my mom and I hosted a Christmas Cookie Exchange Party that turned out to be a lot of fun. I made 6 dozen sugar cut-out cookies (from scratch) and they turned out pretty good (If I do say so myself). I was nervous because I had never made that particular kind of cookie before.

These are my sugar cookies.