It's cold in the ol' office.


Here's a pic I took of my Sadie in the snow yesterday..or maybe the day before. Yeah, that one. Hmm..actually I think it was on Saturday. Time is slipping away..

Isn't she precious :) She loves to pounce on, dig in and eat the snow. In this pic she had just gotten done digging and eating with her snout. The snow was up to her belly in certain areas of the yard this day. It was fun to see her galloping through it.

I can't remember when I last wrote but it was probably well before Christmas. Well, we had 6 Christmas' in all. Each lovely in their own way. Having every celebration separate was tiring but so much more enjoyable. Then we had Chris' birthday with his buds on Saturday night. The kiddos and I spent that night at Walmart so they could spend all their cash that they got from Christmas. They had a blast. Then we came back home, I made cakes for the next day. Sunday was Chris' family birthday party. The house was full, and we're good with that. Nice to have people over. Even though I usually find myself shoved into a corner somewhere b/c the noise starts to push me inward. But, I did pretty well and really enjoyed the time. Oh, and Chris did too :) Then after everyone left we went out and did some more shopping..came home, ate and collapsed.

Then Monday it was back to work for me and back to sleeping in for Chris and the kids. ;) My day was SOOOOOOOO busy. But, it went by fast. Today was pretty busy, too. I find myself very worn out. In the mornings I'm so tired I find the tears coming quickly to my eyes. But, I'm thankful for my job and for the home and food it provides. A few days of solid sleep would be swell :) Funny, whenever I get the chance to sleep in I can't. Danged inner clock never goes on snooze until the work days return.

Tomorrow is New Years Eve. I can hardly believe it. I'm just barely feeling that it's time for Thanksgiving! Wow am I behind. Anyway, after I get home from work we are goin over to some church friends' house who also happen to live a block down from us (my fellow jbq coach). Gonna play games and eat our hearts out and just enjoy a nice evening. Our kiddos all get along great and we don't have to worry about what they're hearing/seeing, etc. I'm just hoping I can stay up till midnight. I will do my best, scouts honor.

New Years Day will be our ONE day out of the entire Christmas vacation and Chris' vacation of which will belong solely to Chris, Sarah, Ashley and Jaden. It will be freaking marvelous. I am SO anticipating this special day. Then Friday I go back to work. Saturday we have my bro Jon's birthday and Sunday is always busy.

Oh, did I show you the awesome picture of my niece Monet with Santa? DeAnna took it and then I made it all fuzzy and glowy..

I gotta tell you, I am not a Santa fan in the least. But, this picture is priceless. He's the Santa that Terry & Lana (our friends who let my fam board their horses at their house, etc..) hire every year. He shows up towards the end of the Christmas get together and gives all the kiddos presents.

Yesterday was my Grandpa's birthday, as you know he's passed away. It's always strange to have that day without him. But, I'm sure he was up playing a round of golf in heaven ;)

Well, I guess I'll let you all get back to your lives now. Love you and thank you so much for the cards and gifts and time given over the Christmas holiday. Your presence blesses us. We are working on thank you cards, but until then remember we love you and appreciate you.

Nighty night

The blog is still showing up strangely to me. I thought maybe I just had too much stuff on there so I went and took almost all of my graphics down, etc. Still looks weird but less exciting :( I hope you folk can see what we're writing about. Cuz when I open the page I see pretty much nothing on the left hand side.

Anyway, it was a long week. I'm glad it's the weekend, not that it's brought any rest. But, it's the weekend regardless and that's nice. In the very near future I would really like a day where from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep there is not one place we have to go or one thing we have to do. Where all 4 of us are home. I NEED IT & I WANT IT. And, I'm fighting off throwing an infantile fit most of the time b/c I can't seem to have it. But, I'll try to put my big girl panties on and get over it.

Yesterday I had to work for a few hours, it was nice and quiet. Not even one phone call! The kids went with me and Chris went out to exchange a few gifts we had bought for the kids. He came back and helped by labeling things. Aww what a sweetie :) Then we went to Mom n Dad's to put our Christmas ornaments up and ate lots of yummy lunch. Then we laid around and chatted for awhile by the fire. Then it was time to go to my Gramma's house to get all the info from Uncle Don about the CAR HE JUST GAVE ME!!! Can you believe that? He said that families with children need 2 cars and that he was giving me his. WOW. Thank you Jesus was all I could think. We don't need 2 cars 90% of the time but there are those times when only having one car creates problems. Also, not having to come all the way out and pick the rest of the family up b4 we go somewhere will be nice. Now we can just meet if need be. Will also save me lots of gas once winter's over b/c then I can drive it to work and get great gas mileage. It was a total blessing, we are just so very thankful. Anyhoo, then we came home, I squeezed in a 30 min nap (which as u know only makes a person MORE tired) and then got up and ready and went to Terry & Lana's for the annual Christmas party. It was fun. Loud. But fun. By that time I was soo overstimulated, I just wanted to go home. Everything inside of me was begging to go home. I looked at Chris and he said, "Are you ready?" YES. I told him I just wanted to go home, to be at my home. And, of course, my eyes start flooding. He tells me to turn off the waterworks, he'll go round up the kids. haha About 30 min later we got to go home. I can't tell you how much I LOVE BEING AT HOME. You probably know this already. As soon as I get here it's like all the weight comes off and I can just "be".

This morning we got up to snowy conditions. Nothing too bad. An inch or two. Went off to church and had a nice time. It started snowing while we were there and is still snowing now. But, the roads are good, and even I have to admit that it's pretty. Chris will take Ash back over later for her TBQ practice and then join her this evening for his/her drama practice. J and I will just hang out at home and relax. :) I have a project to work on for one of Chris' Christmas presents so this will be a good time to do that.

Tomorrow starts another week, it's supposed to snow all week long. But with it staying so cold it's really made my drives great. No slipping or slush or filthy streets. Everyone seems to be doing well, at least on our end of town. I pray it stays that way.

Christmas is in just a few short days and then Chris' birthday is in just a few short(ER) days after that! Then we'll have Jon's, Ashley's, DeAnna's and Dave's Birthdays in January as well, oh and Barbara's birthday is on Chris' birthday (or vice versa). I'm probably forgetting someone elses, forgive me. Ash has a big 2 days planned for her 13th birthday. Chris is planning a night with his buddies and then cake n ice cream with family the next day. Not sure what anyone else has planned. But, rest assured, we will be happy to show up for cake! :) We like cake.

Well, I'm gonna cut this "short" (haha). Have a wonderful rest of your weekend. Find time to rest and time to smile and time to enjoy. Love you :)

Happy Saturday :)

We just got home from the TBQ match. WOW, LONG DAY. Didn't make it to Gabe's party. Considering it ended at 4, we would have only been able to get to the last 10 minutes of it, if we were lucky! Oh well, I'm sure he had a fabulous time.

The meet was great, Ash got THREE, count 'em, THREE quiz outs!!! We were all so excited. I was working the buzzer machine (the thing that counts all the time and such) so I couldn't be outwardly excited. Had to bite my lip to keep from smiling. She's still there now. Meridian invited our team (and I think the other ones, too) to stay after and have root beer floats and play board games. What a fun way to end the day!

I got my "wish" and my fam IS coming over for lunch after church tomorrow!!! Makes my heart happy. Well, actually, I haven't heard back from Matt & Laura yet. But Mom n Dad and Jon n DeAnna & Monet are coming! I'm making chicken enchiladas. Mom's bringin over some homemade guac and chips n salsa. Can hardly wait to eat! I guess I better get the chicken in the pot tonight so all I have to do tomorrow is assemble and put it in the oven. I'd assemble tonight but then the tortillas get soggy and that's just gross.

I've been grinding my teeth at night, which is why my jaw is in such pain. I had suspected as much, but it was confirmed the other night when Chris woke me up and said, "Honey, I think you're starting to grind your teeth!" It was an exciting moment. We've got an answer!! LOL Anyhoo, I think maybe in grinding I've knocked part of my filling loose or that there was a little extra filling "stuff" on the side of my tooth b/c there's an edge to it. Feels like there's a popcorn kernel there, but there isn't! I took a nail file to it today on the way home. It didn't do anything but rub my poor lip raw. LOL Chris knocked the file out of my hand and told me to quit it. Sheesh. Pushy, pushy. We swung by to see if Dr. Haws was still at the office but he was gone already. I'm not in any pain so I can't see calling him for an "emergency". Will just go in on Monday. In the mean time I've got to stop grinding my teeth! And in order to do that, life needs to slow down. haha, right.

I was asked today what we are doing on Christmas day. I didn't realize anyone cares, but you must! heehee And now I see on quite a few other blogs that folk are sharing their Christmas plans. So, I'll follow suit! Christmas Eve I have to work until at least 3 (unless I don't..which, I do) and then we'll go out to Caldwell for the annual tamale feed and time with Chris' Dads side of the family. Then we'll, after shoving our bellies full of goodness and laughter, drive home bleary eyed and cozy up in our beds. Then Thursday morning we will wake up and have our little family Christmas time together here at home, maybe have some toast n coffee/tea/hot chocolate..then get ready (which means put slippers on and brush teeth) and drive down to Mom n Dads. I say around 10 or 11..but if things happen as they usually do, we'll probably be up and opening gifts by 8 and out the door by 9. And, considering we have, I think, 8 gifts to open (which I'm NOT complaining about in the least, mind you!)..leaving at 9am is being generous! Anyhoo, then we get to spend the whole day/evening down there with them and my Gramma. Chris' Gramma Edens decided to celebrate with family on the day after Christmas so we won't be driving around everywhere on the 25th! We are excited to be able to have our own separate time with each part of the family..no rushing. Mendiolas...Mundys...Edens. ahhhh peace. So anyhoo, the day after Christmas I have to again work all day (till 5 unless I don't..which, I do) and then the Edens Grandparents are having a Christmas "Open House dinner" from 5-7. So we'll go over there and visit and exchange gifts. Chris' Aunt Teresa will be there, too, so we'll get to chat with her. I'm so excited! This will be the first year we aren't trying to cram everything into one day. We'll just get to relax. Then I think for the weekend we will just stay home and do nothing. I don't get any vacation time like Chris and the kids do, so it will really be our only family time during their break. Ok, so that's our day(s)! If you haven't already blogged about your festivities, please do! Now I'm all into knowing your business! HAHA

It's absolutely freezing here today and windy, too. If you walk outside you are instantly a popsicle and then when you get inside it takes a long time to warm back up again, even if you were only outside for 20 seconds! (which we did a lot of today, that's how I know!) It's snowing now, and has been for awhile but the flakes are soooo teensy weensy tiny winy that you can hardly see them!

Tomorrow is the kids' Christmas performances at church. YAY!! I know I've mentioned it probably one too many times so I won't mention it again..today.

Wow, I better get that chicken in the crockpot for tomorrow. Time is slipping away!!

Ok my brain just left my body. I was gonna tell you about something else and have no clue what it was. hmm Well, anyway, my buddy Kim's birthday was yesterday. She's livin in Texas now. Sure miss you Kim!! Hope you had a great day. Love you!

Thanks to all of you who have sent us Christmas cards. They are lovely, and so are you! I promise to get ours out soon. Maybe even this coming week!

Take care :)

Not sure why some of my blogs are shortened in the viewing area. Are they showing short for you, too? For instance, my last blog is only showin me a picture of Chris and J..nothing else. If I refresh the page then more of the blog shows up. Sometimes I have to refresh it 3 times!!


Oh well. It was another long busy week. Glad it's over. Realllly glad. I love my job but I love my home, too. We've got A's TBQ meet tomorrow and then have to go out to Nampa for Gabe's birthday party. Then on Sunday, we have the big drama performance on Sunday during church. I'm hoping to have my family over for lunch after church on Sunday but Mom's been sick so I don't know if she'll be up to it. I hope they can, I sure miss our "Mundy Family Dinners". We used to have them once a week but now with everyone's schedules (and how far away we live) we mostly just see eachother together on holidays. Lame. Anyhoo, we'll see how it goes. If they can't come over, fine. I'll just go take a nap instead! :)


J had his Christmas play on Wednesday. It was great. I couldn't help but think about Presley during the performance. How cute she would have been, and wondering what lines she would have had. Ash said she saw her Mom there (she has another daughter who goes to Crimson). Must be such a sad time for them. Anyway, J was a total ham and loved every second of the play. Here are a few pics for your viewing pleeeeeaaaasure.





And here are some pics from A's drama performance last week in Wilder! They are SO AMAZING!!!!! In case you can't tell, in the second picture the kids have created a human throne (the 3 girls on the bottom are not part of the throne) and Keeton is sitting in it. They do things like this all the time. In another part of one of their performances they create a human boat, barn, beds, chairs, cross, etc...





I finally finished the Christmas newsletter last night and am almost done addressing envelopes. I kept forgetting folk who I wanted to send cards to until I was done with the ones I had! HAd to have Chis get another package of cards the other night.


Well, I'm gonna go relax and enjoy the evening with my family. Hope you do the same! Love you :)

J just had his JBQ meet, we took 2nd place!!  Ash has her meet this Saturday, I'll be sure to take lots of pics for ya. Also, tomorrow Jaden has his Christmas play at school, did I mention he's gonna be Santa? We're gonna video tape it. I don't have an external microphone so the sound most likely will leave a lot to be desired but hopefully not too horrible!

This last Sunday we travelled with the Drama team to Wilder to perform for the Crossroads Assembly church there. They did all 3 of their dramas and did an amazing job. I have a few pics from it, will post them later. Had the church in tears at points and up on their feet jumping & clapping at others! Sign of a good show if you ask me.

My right shift key isn't working when I try to use it in order to make an exclamation point. How annoying to try to retrain myself to use the left shift key!!! >:(

My jaw has been really hurtin for about 2 weeks now. Been awhile since this has happened. I think it was this summer the last time. Anyway it's painful, gets worse at night. I must be grinding my teeth again while I sleep. Told Chris to punch me if he hears me doing it. It's mostly annoying b/c it's interfering with my eating. ;)

Well, I'm sleepy and don't want to be on the computer anymore. So I'm gonna go for now. Have a great night. Love to you all.

((hugs))

FIRST BLOG OF DECEMBER! WOOHOO!!!!

I really thought that Sarah would have blogged by now but I guess we've both just been so gosh darn busy lately. Anyway, I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I'd toss one out there. Some of you may remember me from blogs back in the day. For those that don't know me I am that wonderful man that Sarah is always gushing about. :D

So I cannot believe its December already. Almost one week down. We are so completely busy this month its unreal. The holidays are always a bustling time for us but this year we've got the added joys of the kids' drama and bible quiz. They have a blast and its so fun to watch them practice and perform/compete. It definately adds to the schedule but we're happy to do it. I'm glad they both found some activities they enjoy that let them get more involved at church and help them meet some great new people.

This weekend (Saturday) is the JBQ match for Jaden and his goal is a quiz out. He is determined after coming so close last time and narrowly missing it due to an equipment malfunction. He's gonna do great. On Sunday we'll be heading out to Wilder for Ashley's drama team performance. This is an advance performance of the one they'll be putting on for our church on the 14th. They've all been working hard and I can tell you its looking really good. If you can make it out to Kuna on the 14th you definately should. If not there should be a video coming out with all the performances on it, but nothing beats seeing it live.

Sarah and I have both been completely busy with work lately. Sarah's job is in the middle of moving to a new building so there's been lots of transition lately. She worked super late on Monday to help them finish getting everything over but most of it should be done now. The new building is closer to us which is good and cuts down on her driving time. I've been working hard getting everything done before we shut down for the holidays. Lots of projects to wrap up and whatnot. Still going through yet another re-org as well which probably won't be finalized until sometime after the first of the year, but for the time being we all still have jobs and we're told there are no changes (aka layoffs) being planned for anytime in the near future so that's good. So far we've weathered everything pretty well and even managed to post the best earnings in years. Our organization in particular did very well and we're actually looking at getting some bonuses/raises for the first time in 8 years! Praise the Lord!!!

In the midst of all this busyness, Sarah and I managed to get all of our Christmas shopping done! We actually finished it last weekend so we were done BEFORE December! Feels good to have that finished and not have to fight crowds at the stores and rush to finish. We've even got all our decorations up and the tree out. Just need to wrap everything and get x-mas cards out and then we can relax the rest of the month....well, one less thing to worry about anyway.

Jaden and I got our haircuts yesterday, FINALLY! We were some seriously shaggy beasts. Our good friend Kristi jazzed us up real good though and now we're back to our dapper, well-groomed selves. Thanks again Kristi, you're the best!

Well, that's about it for now. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the season. We look forward to seeing as many of you as we can during the holidays and for those we don't see, know that you're always in our hearts and thoughts. Until next time, adios amigos!