Loving papa

Have I ever mentioned that I love to cook? I really do love it! It feels so good to cook a meal while drinking a glass of wine with a little music in the background, then of course tasting my newest dish. I am not much of a recipe person in the kitchen, but I have been wanting to try this pizza recipe I found on the net for some time now. I have never actually made pizza dough from scratch, so I had no idea where to start, and pizza is not really one of those "just throw it together" kinda dishes. Anyway, Chris and I went out to dinner a few months ago to a restaurant called BJ's. We ordered a pizza and it was soooooo good. One of the best pizzas I have had in a really long time. I searched in the internet for a copy cat recipe and finally found one. The pizza was delicious and I can't wait to try it again!!

Christmas

The kids and I have been really sick these last few weeks and blogging has not been a priority. Funny thing is, I was so excited for my semester to end so I could catch up on the all the small odds and ends projects around the house, including my blog!

Anyway, Christmas was great. The kids really seemed to get it this year. The twins kept talking about Santa and baby Jesus (maybe church school is really teaching them something!), all three of them were all excited to put cookies out for Santa, and they absolutely loved opening presents on Christmas Day. Chris had to work on Christmas eve, which meant that he wouldn't be home until about 8:30 am on Christmas day. But, the wonderful Captain that was coming in to relieve him that day came in at 6:00 am so Chris would be able to come home before the girls woke up. :) It was such a wonderful treat to have him home in the morning like that.

Here are some fun pictures of the kids from the days before Christmas and Christmas day.

Today was a good day!

These great days are so few and far between. I think with the twins being so grumpy more than half the time, it makes it such a special treat when things go well. Anyway, we decided to go cut down a Christmas tree today. This is a tradition we have done every year, with the exception of the last two years b/c it was just so hard with the twins. In fact, the year that the twins were born we actually went and bought a fake tree because we just had no time or energy to go cut down a real one! So we now have two trees, a big fake one and a smaller real one. ;)

After we got our Christmas Tree we visited one of Chris' friends that works for the fire department and also sells bamboo since we needed more bamboo to complete our koi pond project. The girls had a blast running around in the bamboo groves.

When we got home we hung Christmas lights outside, ate a wonderful home made dinner, decorated our two trees by the fire, and ate cookies while listening to some wonderful Christmas music. It really is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

An early Christmas present

Chris and I had decided we would get a new puppy when Ginger started getting really sick with her seizures. The girls just loved playing with her so much, I would hate for them not to have that companionship with a dog. I always grew up with a fun loving dog, so I am sure my emotions play a huge role in how they feel too. Anyway, Daisy is not really a kid dog, so we decided to get a Boston Terrier for the girls, and me too. ;)

When we brought the puppy home on Sunday night, despite the fact that she was supposed to come home on Christmas day, I have never in my life seen all three kids so excited at the same time. It was priceless! There was continuous laughter, happiness and excitement for at least 15 minutes. The puppy seemed to really enjoy her first meeting with the kids too. She was licking them and playing with them and jumping all over them. (the pictures here just don't do the moment any justice) Unfortunately in all the excitement Lucy tripped on the puppy and landed on the puppy's foot. She has been limping ever since that night and not really using her left front paw. She has a vet appointment today, I just hope it is not broken!

Oh, the girls named the dog Piper! So, welcome to our home Piper!

We told the girls that we had a surprise for them and they

were to to wait on the floor in the family room and cover

their eyes. Looks like Maddie and Ava complied... No

surprise that Lucy would peek!

I LOVE this Tree!!

Silly Ava

I found Ava in this doll crib the other day. It was so funny... I think she actually wanted to nap there!

My SIL's mom and my dad
My brother

My mom and my MIL

The three have been buddies since they were born!
My niece Kaitlyn, and Our friend Gavin.

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving. I didn't really get a chance to take a bunch of pictures since I was busy cooking! :) I accidentally deleted one of my favorite pictures... It was of Chris and Maddie swinging on the swing set.

This picture just cracks me up. Chris was outside with the girls while I was cooking dinner. I went outside to let them know it was time to eat. But where were Chris and the girls? I looked all around, and way down at the end of the street I can see Chris running. Weird, I was thinking that he must have taken the girls for a quick jog around the neighborhood in the stroller? But where is Maddie? She can't fit on the stroller too? That my got me wondering, so I wait for them to come back, and he is pushing something that I can't really make out. As they get closer and closer I just started LOL. Chris is running while pushing all three girls in the wheelbarrow! Oh my gosh.. this was just to funny. This girls thought it was pretty fun too. :)

Maddie having fun in the leaves. Isn't she so cute?

Painting toes and having fun!!!

Can you guess who toes belong to who? :) That's 30 little toes I have to paint btw!! :)

Every year our church participates in a program called Angel Tree. On a Christmas tree located in our sanctuary are angel cards that have a child's name, age and a desired gift written on it. The parents of these children are incarcerated, and the gifts are supposedly from them, but really from members of our church. Every year we participate in this event. This year we chose a six year old girl that wants pink pajamas and some art and craft stuff. I just can't even begin to imagine how sad this little girl must be to not have her parents around. Oh, and this year we have decided to volunteer our time to drop off the gifts to where ever the children are staying. We are going to bring Maddie with us so she can see that not all children are as fortunate as she is.

Every time I think my husband is just as sweet as I think he will ever be, he surprises me again! Recently he has been leaving me notes in my car to find... and the other day he gave me flowers for no reason.

But this was just to sweet. He gave Maddie flowers and all of the girls a card. Ahhh... it just melted my heart!

How is it that after 7 years of being married to my wonderful husband that I still get giddy and excited to do little things with him? The other day Chris said to me, " I can't wait for Christmas eve, so we can drink some wine by the fire, listen to some Christmas music, and put together the doll house for the girls." (We got the girls one of those really big doll houses for Christmas... shhhhh. :) Maybe since we spend so much time apart, the time we spend together is extra special. And to be completely honest, I don't think I could be married to a man that was home every night. I am so independent, I need my space. LOL It was really hard at home when Chris was always gone when the kids were younger, but now that they are getting older and playing together more, it is getting easier and easier.... Anyway, I am deviating from my original thought. So I had to break the bad news to Chris that he was working on Christmas eve, so, we are going to be putting together a doll house and drinking wine by the fire on December 23rd. :)

Our Trip to the Fish Hatchery

It was such a beautiful day today, so the girls and I decided to take a walk to the fish hatchery down by the American River. We didn't see very many salmon jumping, but we did see a few. These fish are just gorgeous! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch them jumping on my camera.

Chris and I had a date night last night and let me tell you, it is so nice to get out and be alone with my hubby! To take a break from the normal routine, to be able to have a conversation with out interruptions or jealousy, to finish a meal without whining and crying, and to just enjoy a few hours alone with my dear sweet husband. :)

Anyway, we have been hearing so many good things about the movie Fireproof that we had to go see it. People at Chris' work have mentioned it, my girlfriend mentioned it to me, our church talked a little about it, and even some of the people at the grocery store where we shop told us about it. So, we went on Sunday. The movie was great! The message was great and very true. I can't really explain it, it is just one of those movies that you have to see. It made me even more grateful for the wonderful relationship that Chris and I have together, and just like the movie suggests, we couldn't have the relationship that we have without Jesus Christ being in the center of our lives.

I am so impressed with myself! LOL I applied some of my chemistry knowledge to a real life situation. The twins had an aquarium mobile in their room that stopped working about 5 months ago. I had put it in a box and was going to throw it away, but it got left in the garage. I found it the other day and tried to make it work, but nope, it didn't work. So, Chris threw it away. Yesterday in Chemistry I learned that if the prongs where you put batteries are corroded, you just have to use some sandpaper to get the corrosion off the object will work again. Well, guess what? It did work!!! I was going to go spend $30.oo on a new one, but I just got this one to work again with a little sandpaper. :) Oh, and if the prong is broken, you can just fold up some aluminum foil and use that as a conductor! Isn't that sooooo cool??? :)

Ginger saying hi

I forgot to post this the other day.

The day after Ginger died, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise. Maddie quietly said, "Do you think that is Ginger's way of saying hi to us?" I couldn't believe the words that came out of her mouth, she is only six, yet she understands so much. I told her yes, it was, that Ginger was thinking of us and telling us that everything will be ok....

Happy Election day and Happy 7th Anniversary to us!

Wow, what a day it has been. The day started off with the excitement of sharing my 7th year being married to my wonderful husband, and the excitement of the election. Chris and I both proudly voted early that morning.

I have to say that I am SO disappointed in the results of the election. I had faith that America would choose the right leader, and they didn't in my opinion. The rest has been deleted....