Do you remember...

ever wanting to win one of those over sized, stuffed with toys stockings that stores and organizations would give away....I do! Well--Clare put her name in to win such a stocking and went as far as telling us that we had to go back to Pizza Ranch (where said stocking giveaway was being held) the day before Christmas Eve...because "mom that is when they draw the name for the stocking". I tried to explain to Clare that--number one--even IF you do win they will call you and number two--that stocking will probably go to some girl or boy that really needs some toys at Christmas. Well so much for my speech about not getting everything you want,etc....because on Christmas Eve....she got the call--Clare you have WON the Pizza Ranch Stocking! I was at work when Clare called with the news....she was so excited--I dare say even more excited about this stocking than Santa? She did decide that she would gift some of the toys to her cousins (I know Meg is thanking me for the Shrek punching gloves :-) and then give some of the toys to kids that might not be having as great of a Christmas as she had. What can I say...the kid is lucky...next time any of you go to Vegas....you might want to take her with :-)

Clare and her new Pizza Ranch friend and a gigantic stocking!

Loading up the stocking--totally ridiculous I know!

Friends and Family

 While reading The Shack I came across this quote from Frederick Buechner from Telling the Truth:  The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale--

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.

As I continue to reconnect with so many people from the past on Facebook (don't get me started on this occupier of my time),Christmas cards continue to fill the mailbox, family get togethers and holiday parties are attended, I am reminded of how many people have come in to my life at one point or another--all playing different roles--some short stays some long--different personalities-- all important in one way or another-- shaping who I am and how I relate to things in this crazy world.  

Best Snow Day Movie...ever

The movie Beautiful Girls ranks right up there with the best movie to watch on a snow day or a snowy night (not for the kiddos of course!) I don't know why exactly I like it so much--it got average reviews back in 1996!!... Maybe it is because I am from a small town and can totally remember folks pulling into the Whiffle Tree with their snowmobiles and trucks with the snow plows attached...Maybe it is because there is a Neil Diamond Songfest at one point.... Maybe it is because I am reminded every time I see someone plow a driveway or lot how crazy with power they think they are..."watch out snow...I've got a plow and money to be made!)--whatever the case I rank this movie number one to watch on a snow filled day. What movies are your snow day/night movies?????

Crap...I have been tagged!!!

Not that I am not totally honored that Meg "tagged" me....it is that now I actually have to think of 6 interesting things about me...hmmm...

• In kindergarten I won a trophy in an all school art contest...I must say the picture was pretty darn good...it has gone down hill since then...I can barely draw a smiley face now!

• I once took a train from Gheorgheni,Romania to Budapest, Hungry all by myself....I was armed with 2 or 3 Hungarian phrases(what stop is this?,thank you? please?)... once I arrived in Budapest I snuck on a bus and by the grace of God made it to the airport.

• In college my nicknames were Rose (think Golden Girls and St. Olaf stories) and Coxie (get your minds out of the gutter...my maiden name was Wilcox.)

• I have a weird fear of falling downstairs and chipping a tooth...with the addition of children I now have a fear of one of them falling and doing the same thing.

• In grade school the neighborhood kids (all 4 of us) started a newspaper called the Burr Oak Beacon--we interviewed neighbors, sold advertising and wrote articles--a big thank you to all those neighbors who bought full year subscriptions as we only published 2 issues!

• In 2004--Chris and I sat on a grassy area of Alpe d'huez in France to watch the Tour de France time trial for 8+ hours with a 17 mos. old Clare--the night before we slept on the side of the road in a tent in order to get to Alpe d'huez to watch Lance and the other riders....whenever I feel like I might not be adventurous I pull from this story and my Romanian adventure....I have at least a little adventure in my blood!

Okay--so which one of you lucky readers gets to be tagged next!!! Meg has already tagged a few of my options so I will do my best--remember if I tag you...you must think of 6 things about you and then tag 6 more people!

The Gardners--you guys can make it a group project....only 3 per person!

Brenda--although you can't really post your tag on your blog you can think of them and share--maybe over coffee sometime at Bushel and Pecks.

Jennifer--I know you love a good list...and you have some great stories!

Jill and Kim--I know you are reading this....maybe someday you will have a blog--perhaps a Donahue Dental Blog or a Citzen's for Modern Transit Blog?!?!

**Only 5....well the Gardners count as 2!

Maybe we really did see Santa????

Have you ever wondered how Santa gets all his shopping done without being detected by the masses? Well...he shows up at the mall with his straw hat and jeans and goes to town---as Addie puts it...he looks like a cowboy! The girls really believe that they saw the "real" Santa last Saturday in St. Louis b/c he was in disguise as opposed to the "mall" Santa who was just "standing in" for Santa (while he shopped). Merry Christmas!

How we celebrated St. Nick's Day...

This year we happened to be in St. Louis on December 6th (St. Nick's Day)...all my college girlfriends celebrate St. Nick's Day--so the girls got their first experience of leaving their shoes out to see what St. Nick might bring. Here's a little history on St. Nick followed by a recap in pictures!

Like many ancient traditions, the history of St. Nick's is debated. Some say St. Nick's Day is a decidedly German observance. Others say it is Spanish or Dutch. What is known is that St. Nicholas lived in the fourth century. He was a Christian prelate and the patron saint of Russia. Nicholas was a native of Patara, in the ancient district of Lycia in Asia Minor (now Turkey). He became archbishop of the metropolitan church in Myra, Lycia.How he came to be so famous is a little bit of a saucy tale, not suitable for tender ears. Legend has it that he took pity on a poor man who was about to abandon his daughters to prostitution. The story goes that he left trinkets for the man in his chimney. From this came the custom of secret gifts on the eve of the feast day celebrating St. Nicholas. Because of the close proximity of dates, Christmas and St. Nicholas Day are now celebrated simultaneously in many countries.

Filled shoes on December 6th!!!

The girls getting ready for their special trip to Libby Lu!


All dolled up in Rocker and Sassy Princess looks!

Flip that house...Gingerbread style!

Last Saturday my mom and the girls started out on a little project--they were going to build a Gingerbread house. All was going well--the girls decorated the walls and were entertained for a bit of time--always a good thing...but as they started piecing the house together things began to go south. The final straw for the house was the roof....it collapsed. The girls were sad but also thought it was kind of funny that their Gingerbread house looked like it had gone through an earthquake.

But then we got the pictures via cell phone from my sister of JB's Gingerbread house extraordinaire from the Gingerbread House Event he went to at the Milwaukee Athletic Club....it made our house look even more pitiful. Well...Grandpa Jock would have none of the Gingerbread house failure...he went into full on Gingerbread house flip mode--googling the best frosting to keep a house together,etc.,etc. Then he made a stop at Farm and Fleet for some "more" decorations for the house....oh and also fashioned a chimney out of a piece of wood-which involved the use of a saw (you know he was serious)...the girls decorated the outside and voila they had successfully flipped our Gingerbread house.