Christmas Snapshots

A sweet moment

If only we were all this excited!!

I still can't believe she got a laptop before me!!!
And it's PINK!!!
(Good thing I already know how to count and spell
or I'd be jealous!)

             She fits in Daddy's new backpack!             

All the girlies in Granny's jammies

Ella Bella Dancerella  
                              

Ella and Monika sing "Away in a Manger"
for Grandpa Harder

Growing up

 
I just had to blog this.  Ella wrote her name the other day.  All by herself.  
I didn't help her at all.  I think that's what makes me so proud.  

Walmart Ce Soir?

It was midnight.  The party had just finished.  Louise was 30 and the Gorgeous Gals were feeling adventurous.  I wasn't sure what the night would hold in store for us, but I knew it would be good.

We drove for a while.  There were lights shining against the black night;  A lonely Walmart.

We decided to stop and see what was going on.  A weird sight met us.  People.  Everywhere. Shopping.  It was other-worldly.  It seemed a fever had set in and no one could stop themselves from buying.


We wandered aimlessly, hoping to find something.


Louise couldn't stop herself from scanning.  Something about a lost dream of being a scanner-lady.  It was hopeless.  The pervading sense of silliness was closing in on us.  It was like we were being taken over by some strange phenomenon.  We were out of control.



The need to try on was inescapable.  We gave in.  



After what seemed like forever, we realized it was 2 a.m.  Our hunger and the coupons we had buring in our pockets beckoned to us.  We ate like there would be no tomorrow.



A strange thing happened.  Sexy food poses started cropping up.

















When we re-entered the store...it was empty.  The people had disappeared.  While we were otherwise distracted, sleep had stolen in like a thief in the night and carried them to their beds.  It was time to go.  We knew, but we didn't like it.  

We stopped one last time to capture the night.  It was a good night.  Too bad it had to end.

The End

Ode to my commenters

 I just thought that I would give a little verbal appreciation to those who take the time to comment on my obscure posts.  Makes me feel very appreciated.  Judy, Ruth, Becky, you guys are my faithfuls.  I look forward to your insight, encouragement and fun comments.  A shout out to a couple new ones, Esther, Carla, very tickled that you guys stopped by to say Hi!!!  And to all you others who have posted in the past, you are a bright spot in my day.  I look forward each day to seeing who has commented.  And to all those who have not commented, I hope you enjoy the blog and hope one day to hear from you (it's fun to hear your thoughts!!), and if not, keep enjoying.  

A Good Haircut's Worth A Thousand Words

 
What can I say about a great haircut?  I feel like a million bucks.  I mean look at
 me, I'm hot. Okay, maybe I'm carrying it a bit far, but the fact that I walked in
the door and like 45 seconds later Jer was taking these pictures maybe explains how I feel about it.

A day off for mommy...

Mommy's should get a manditory day off...every so often...just because...
We don't even get sick days!  Not that I'm complaining.  It just really hit home this week, when my lovely husband stayed home Monday and Tuesday with a bout of the flu, and there I was trying to take care of him and my 2 lovely handfuls.  Thankfully he wasn't throwing up.  And then Wednesday hit...off he went to work and my 2 lovely handfuls were doubled into 4 (I babysat on Wednesday morning), and low and behold, I got his flu (again, thankfully no puking!!!).  So now it's Thursday and he's out partying at his work Christmas party and I'm toughing it out trying to be a loving, compassionate mother (not really succeeding in that area) while sitting in the washroom, yelling from there about this and that.  My patience is worn out and I feel like I should be on a tv show about being a better mom.  Oh did I mention that I also made 2 desserts this morning for Jer's work party?  Oh yes, I'm definitely super mom...super tired mom!

A star in the making

 
Ella was very excited about the Christmas program at church.  Until we were on the way there and she realized mommy would not be coming on stage with her.  She had been practicing her beautiful songs every day (and night), and she found out at church the morning of the program that she would get to be an angel.  Oh what joy, what bliss.  She is obsessed with angels these days, ever since we put one on the tree.  So we got her in her costume and I snuck away hoping and praying that she would make it up to the stage without a scene.  But how surprised I was when she marched up there like a trooper and sang and did all the actions and even waved when it was all over.  

My family

 
I just wanted to show everyone what we look like together.  It's a rare occurance, even though we only live a few minutes apart.  It seems with all our busy schedules and everything, we don't get to be together very often.  We won't even be together at Christmas.  But all the same, when we are together, we have fun.  And this time Aidan didn't even cry at Kerry and Brady!  What progress.

These are the special times...

 
Every year it gets more fun to decorate the tree.  Ella is starting to be very excited about it.  This year she got a movie about "Alabaster" the angel on top of a tree.  After she saw it she informed me that "Daddy will lift me high up and I'll put the Alabaster angel on our tree".  So we put little Aidie-baby to bed (she was no help at all pulling the lights off the tree) and we put on some Christmas music and Ella decorated (and I redecorated).  When we were all done, we made popcorn, turned off all the lights, sat down with our snack and eggnog, and admired our handy work.  These are the traditions that will be special every year.

I Lost!!!

 
This is Jer savouring his victory.
A victory, I might add, that happened on the sly.  
Blame it on Mike.  Oh, he didn't know he wasn't supposed to drywall
over it.  But since it's done...

The Corner

I can hear what you're all thinking..."why would Erin post a picture of some 2x4's?"  
Well these sticks of wood  have been quite the source of contention in our household.  
I can't even count how many conversations have been had about this corner.  

She said "Let's invert that corner and make more space for toys"
He said "sounds like a good idea"

2 months later...

He said "Do I have to move that corner?  It's going to be a lot of work"
She said "You said!"

2 days later...
 
He said "Do you still want me to move that corner?"
She said "Yes, more space remember?"

2 days after that...
 
He said "Let's just leave that wall as it is and I can drywall it and it will be done."
She said "But I want the space!!!!"

another hour later...

He said "Please can I just leave it?"
She said "If you had spent all the time we have spent talking about this stupid 
                corner working on the stupid corner, it would be done already!"

As of today, we still have come to no final conclusion.  Maybe we should just 
move! 

Aidan Ventura

 
Aaallllllrighty then...

A Perfect Moment...

 
This is the sound of silence...
This is the picture of perfection...
They're not yelling, They're not fighting.
What a perfect, happy moment!

Chick Bands Rule!!!

 So I'm completely in love with chick rock, chick bands, whatever you want to call it.  A few new ones have recently come to my attention and I've found my soul music!!!  I just want to stand up and belt out the music from my core.  Which is really funny cause I'm totally paranoid about anyone hearing me sing.  Yet my longstanding joke is "hey Jer, we should start a band" to which he is SOOOO in favor of, but I'm just kidding.  Some of my new favorite bands are:  Plumb (not so new favorite, but worth the mention), Flyleaf, Fireflight, and Barlow Girl.  What these women are doing is so awesome.  They are making a name for themselves and giving girls an alternative to negative music which fuels the depression and giving them hope.  Plus they just rock...

Mommy, should we bake?

 
Lately, I hear "Mommy, should we go to Superstore?" so we go in my closet (which is the car) and we drive to Aidan's room (which is Superstore).  Or it's "Mommy, should we go to Las Vegas?" so we go in my closet (which is the airplane) and we fly there.  And most recently it's "Mommy, should we bake?"  This, I figured we could do for real.  So on Tuesday we made pancakes together and on Thursday we made soup and hamburgers and today we made cookies.  It's been a lot of fun and even though it takes twice as long, we're both happier people.  

Jammies by Granny

 
One of my favorite memories is the new pajamas my Grandma Harder used to make me almost every Christmas.  Always so cozy and pretty.  Now my girls are blessed to have new cozy jammies made especially for them by their Granny (my mom).  This morning when I went to get them from their rooms, it was so fun to see them in the newest creations looking so cute.  I think today is pajama day!

Nothing better than a fondue!

 Yesterday I had the immense pleasure of spending the evening with some wonderful girls (missing from picture: Rachel, Jamie, Susan).  I'm amazed how such a diverse group can have so
much fun.  Some of us had never met, but it was great to spend time with old friends, make some new ones and get to know everyone a little better.
 




We ate till we were sick (almost), but the journey was well worth the discomfort.  Besides, I think we laughed enough to burn off most of the cheese and chocolate!

My Snow Angels

I love the first big snow fall of the year. This is the first time Aidan has ever really played in the snow. It was kind of funny, this morning around 10, Ella says "Mommy, it's snowing, should we go play in the snow?" and I replied "There isn't really any snow on the ground yet, we'll wait till there's more." Well here they are, 6 hours later, there's LOTS of snow.

Viva Las Vegas!

What a wonderful trip. The city is a sight to behold, with not enough time in the day to see all you want to see. Maybe this is why it's the city that never sleeps. Although I have to admit, we were in bed at 10:20 the first night and by 12:30 the last 2 nights. When you cram every minute with sightseeing, shopping, shows, tours, there is no energy left at the end of the day. It was put profoundly by a friend..."you will be refreshed, but not rested!" Below is my sweet travelling buddy, Janice. She was so wonderful to travel with and we had a great time.


We spent the first day walking down the strip and in and out of every hotel (they are so big that we probably walked 9 miles in the 3 that it took to walk up and back). The second day we were at the Grand Canyon, but more on that later. Wednesday we spent by the pool for an hour (our only down time minus sleeping) and more sight-seeing and shopping. Then in the evening we went to Cirque du Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio. It was so fabulous, that I recommend everyone to go and see it. I can't even explain how thrilling it was, but Las Vegas is truly all about the shock factor. Thursday we went to an outlet mall and had planned a bit more sight-seeing, but alas it was Thanksgiving and the traffic was bad. So instead of it taking 10 minutes to get to the mall and 10 minutes back, it took 1 1/2 hours to get there and 1 hour to get back (this time included waiting for the bus). Then in the evening we went to the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. This was a really neat show! Jousting, horses, men in tights (who needs the Thunder from Down Under?), pyrotechnics, eating a whole pheasant with our hands...it was fun. Another recommendation by Erin.


So hopefully you'll enjoy my small repertoire of pictures I've posted (I took 170!).

The Digs...

We stayed in a huge pyramid, The Luxor and let me tell you, it was quite the experience. I know everything in Vegas is huge, but this was monstrous.

This is what you first see when you walk into the Luxor's lobby. There were beautiful statues everywhere in the hotel and it felt so grand. In fact, below are 3 friends I made: )



I think there is a line in a U2 song that says "welcome to a place called vertigo..." and that's exactly how I felt every time we opened our hotel room door. The pictures above and below were taken from the 22nd floor in the hallway outside our hotel room. Astounding! I've never felt so dizzy. To get a feel for how big it really is, look on the upper picture, there is a big black box structure on the left...that's an imax theatre! To get to our room we had to take what was called an "inclinator. In the four corners of the hotel there are elevators that go up at a 39 degree incline. Thank goodness you can't see out of them.