Happy New Year!

I am sure there are hundreds of blog posts with that title tonight.  Seems pretty obvious and unoriginal anyway.  Oh well.  I really do wish everyone a Happy New Year! It's been pretty uneventful here, which is perfectly fine by me.
 

I have had my niece here since last night babysitting here, which is always wonderful! I love getting to snuggle a baby! She's 5 months old already, crazy! Seems like she was just born!
 

Anyway, I'm not sure what time it started snowing this morning, but wow we got a good amount of snow! It was that perfect snow man making, snow ball fighting, sled riding kind of snow.  Too bad we don't have any decent sled riding areas where we live, but we did the next best things.  Created a giant snowman in the back yard and made snow angels and had a snowball fight.  We were going to make snow ice cream but I didn't set a bowl out last night to catch any snow, and it didn't get filled up at all once I finally got around to setting it up, so maybe it'll snow again some time and I can make some. 
 










My Mother in Law bought the kids some fun little confetti poppers and party hats and noise makers  to use tonight at midnight (if they can stay awake that long, and with the way they've been staying up super late....yeh they'll be up till midnight I'm sure, if not longer!) The boys have been giving me MEGA issues with bedtimes lately.  I'm so tired.  I hope I don't crash out before midnight...
 
They have managed to completely trash the living room, but that's ok won't take long to clear that up, and atleast they've had a fun time, that's what matters!
 
Looking back at 2012, I can honestly say...I don't really remember much of it!

 

1. January, I absolutely do not remember last January...that's how boring it was apparently?
2. February I was photographing dogs for a friend who was trying to help them find homes. 
3. March, I started helping the local animal shelter photographing dogs in need.
4. April my sons turned 3 and had an awesome dinosaur birthday party, and they also had a great Easter.  My nephew Freddy also turned 4. Also Kams got her ears pierced!
5. May....was the end of pre school for my daughter for summer break. Again...nothing that jumps out at me...And I created the Facebook page for our local shelter (and it's now reached over 1,100 page likes!)
6. I took pregnancy photos for my sister in law in June and we spent some time at my Mother in laws house, and Keegan participated in another Relay For Life event in our community.
7. My niece was born in July, and I got to see her and hold her at 2 hours old, was so glad I got to be there right after she was born. We also visited my Mother for a week which was WONDERFUL! The kids got first place in the 4th of July Children's parade in the pet category for cutest pet (they walked my Mothers dog in the parade together), and we also spent time at my mother in laws house in July as well.
8. The boys started their first year of Preschool in August, and Kams started her last year of preschool. 
9. September my husband turned 28 and Kams turned 5, and it was Childhood Cancer Awareness month. We also did our first ever Line of Hope Event for Childhood Cancer! That was amazing and wonderful! Can't wait to do it again this next year. My daughter also got a hamster for her 5th birthday and we got our beta fish...
10. In October I turned 28 and my husband and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, and we had a fun Halloween.
11. November brought Keegan's scans and the scary news that showed up in his CT that he might have relapsed, and the next scan thankfully showed everything was FINE, and we got to celebrate a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Oh and survived the great "death of the Twinkie"
12. December....we survived the "end of the world" and had a fantastic Christmas.  My Mother in law also spent a lot of time in the hospital this month, and we still aren't sure if she's going to have to have surgery or not.  AND we also had a VERY "interesting" visit at a hotel the weekend before Christmas with some "long lost" family of my husband's.  It was INSANE.  So we survived that too.

 

It's official...I have a pretty boring...exceptionally boring life.  BUT it's my life and I love it and wouldn't have it any other way!

 

What are we looking forward to in 2013?

 

1. Well, in January we find out if my mother in law has surgery on her gall bladder, we also find out if my niece Faith has surgery to correct her hands or not.  Faith also turns 6 months old this month.  My dog Karmen also celebrates her 2nd doggy birthday!
2. February....brings Valentines Day? Oh and Keegan does have his next scans in February and we are praying that they look good still, and the kids have a dental appointment in February, uuuh.....other than that?  I draw a blank. (Well besides me celebrating a year of photographing dogs and helping them find homes). 
3. March...St. Patrick's Day and Easter.  (Yep Easter is in March this year! That's the way it was the year the twins were born too if I remember correctly...)
4. April...my sons turn 4 years old! OH MY! My nephew turns 5 years old.
5. May...my little sister graduates HIGH SCHOOL!! What!? Also it will be 1 year since I created the Facebook page for the local animal shelter.  Tobi our cat, turns a year old. 
6. June...another Relay For Life event for Keegan, this will be his 4th year participating. Marshall hits the 3 year mark on being diagnosed with Complex Partial Seizures.   Our dog Molly also turns 3 years old.  Severus, our other cat turns a year old.
7. July...will be another 4th of July (Hopefully spent at my Mother's again?) Also helping to plan my niece's first birthday at the lake! Also 4 years since Keegan's cancer diagnosis.
8. August...Kams will start KINDERGARTEN!!! And my little sister will start her first year of college.  (Wherever she decides to go to College, she keeps changing her mind!)
9. September...my husband turns 29 (but don't tell him), Kamilah turns 6 years old. Also look forward to do another LINE OF HOPE Event for Childhood Cancer Awareness (and I would LIKE to shave my head for St. Baldrick's this year but not sure if I will get to or not, if I don't get to, I would still like to cut my hair short and donate it to Wigs for Kids).  Our hamster will have been with us for a year as will our fish. 
10. October....I turn *faint* 29, and my husband and I celebrate 7 years of marriage. Also 4 years since Keegan's big surgery to remove tumor from his back.
11. November....the husband and I celebrate 12 years of being together. 4 years since Keegan started his very first cycle of chemo.
12. December....not sure yet, other than Christmas.

 
Yeh.  That's about it.  I'm sure there is other stuff going on, but my tired brain couldn't remember any of it if it's life depended on it right now. 
 
As far as New Years Resolutions?  I don't make any.  That way I'm not disappointed when I fail them miserably 3 months into the new year. 
 
I am looking forward to taking the kids to the indoor skate park this year! That way Keegan can learn how to use his skate board better and Marshall can learn how to use his scooter better, and Kams can learn how to roller blade better.  She is a little roller blader that's for sure! We have a large dining room and she roller blades all over the dining room all the time.  Keegan got a new skateboard for Christmas and Marshall got a new Skatboard for Christmas.  Also hoping Kams will start riding her bike with no training wheels this summer.  The boys will be getting new bikes for their 4th birthday so we can get rid of their old ones (Marshall and his little pink bike, he loves that bike, and Keegan and his delapadated Spiderman bike that he loves). 
 
 Yeh, that's about as exciting as it all is here!

The kids are fighting so bad right now I think it's time to let them do some confetti poppers and get them to bed anyway, sorry guys looks like you will NOT be up until midnight since you are fighting soo much. 

Happy New Year! See you next year everyone!

Mae

Wonderful Christmas Time

Hoping everyone had a fantastic Christmas.  I know ours was pretty nice! The kids were happy with everything they got.  They were pretty excited to know that Santa had stopped by.

On Christmas Eve they opened one present (books) and got their new Christmas ornament to put on the tree.





We had a nice visit from my Mother in Law and Sister in Law and little niece Faith.  This was Faith's first Christmas.  Watching her open presents was hilarious. Marshall helped her open her presents which was really cute.

The kids' Grandma brought them presents that they were so excited for! It was so cute.  She had been in the hospital for quite awhile so she was a bit late doing her shopping (and we weren't actually expecting her to have their presents and we weren't worried about it, having her with us was the best Christmas present)  But she suprised them with their presents.  They were unwrapped and they all knew exactly what belonged to who before anyone had a chance to tell them. She chose perfect gifts for them. 

Keegan got an awesome skateboard (The boy has always loved skateboards and when he was like 18 months old he would use the neighbor boys skateboard and actually knew how to use it!)  So to FINALLY have his own skateboard (after always asking me for one) it put a HUGE smile on his face. 



Marshall got his very own scooter, he's not much of a skateboard guy, he likes scooters.  So when Grandma gave him the Avengers scooter for Christmas he was over the moon happy.  My mother in law didn't think he'd know how to use it, but he showed her how he's a scooter pro. 

Kams got the Barbie Beach House and WOW.  She was one happy kid.  She had been asking for a new Barbie Doll house for quite some time.  It was fun putting it together with her and her Grandma.  She hasn't stopped playing with it since we put it together, in fact she tried to put it in her bed to sleep with Christmas night. 





Kams other top gift was her Innotab.  She knew she was getting that gift, it came from my husband and I.  She is always using my Kindle so we got her something just for her. She opened that gift before she opened anything from Santa!

Santa brought her a Barbie, and a Princess doll, some play make up, a Zhu Zhu pet toy, and numerous other items as well. 

















Marshall got a toy machine gun, and some lego's, lincoln logs, a fire station play set, some Zhu Zhu pet toys, some spiderman action figures, and numerous other items.









Keegan got some legos, a castle play set, some Zhu Zhu pet toys, a large Spiderman "doll" action figure, a laser gun and light saber set, lincoln logs and a few other items as well. 

We got my niece Faith some baby spoons, baby bowls, and a neat little toy to help her learn how to crawl. 

I got a wax warmer thingy that I love, 2 candles, a reuseable frosting bag with tips, a tin of creme de Pirouline wafers, and a set of cute salt and pepper shakers.

We had a nice dinner, that my husband actually cooked all by himself! I was very proud of him! He even baked like 3 pies.  Always nice to not be the one cooking.  Even though generally I do love to cook. 

Christmas day after the kids were in bed the husband and I took down the Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations, usually I wait until the day after Christmas but figured I might as well get it done while the kids were in bed that way I didn't have to take it down while chasing after them.

Been having a Dr. Who marathon today, always love me some Dr. Who!

My Mother in Law has an appointment in a few days to look at her gall bladder, they are still trying to decide if they want to do surgery or not.

The husband is down and out with a horrible ear infection, he's had a LOT of fluid built up on his neck for months and around his ear, the doctor's can't figure it out, and now it's built up so badly it's gotten an infection in his ear out of this world.  So he's super miserable tonight.

I don't think I ever shared any photos of Faith with Santa!