Christmas Eve & Morn

On Christmas Eve, my folks came with us to our church's candlelight service. Papa D & Gma Julie were at church, too, as they were staying with Trevor & Amy for Christmas this year. Then, after the service, my folks, my kids & I came back to our house for dinner & my folks brought stockings for all 4 of us to open! Nate was in the worship band so he came home a little later, but, was still able to enjoy the service & time with the family. The service was wonderful & the worship portion was lead by Amy & she did a beautiful job! We had a good dinner & a lot of fun visiting with my folks. Christmas morn we awoke & opened our gifts amongst our immediate family, then went down the street to the Doyle's house for yummy brunch & a good visit with the in-laws & cousins. The fun is ongoing as we are havin' Gma Julie stay with us for a couple of days (Papa D had to go back to work so traveled home yesterday to Huntington Beach) & on New Years we will celebrate Christmas, again, with more extended family...whew!:)

Christmas Eve with Papa Tom & Gma Kris

Chloe checkin' out her dollhouse with daddy on Christmas morn.

The kiddos dressin' up on Christmas morn in Eli's new play clothes.

Eli lovin' the step-stool & train table he got for Christmas.

Papa D takin' a snooze with the grand-kids after a lot of Christmas fun!

A Gift of A Bible

Sharing the Good News...awesome!

You're not supposed to eat baby Jesus!

Chloe: "You're not supposed to eat baby Jesus!"
Me: "Ummm...ok" (Is she serious?)
Chloe: "Luke ate baby Jesus...you're not supposed to eat baby Jesus!" (Luke is a friend of Chloe's.)
Me: "Oh..." (I am desperately trying to understand.)
Then she shows me what she made for us in Sunday school this am; a manger scene with a peanut as baby Jesus (see the photo below). Does this mean I can't eat anymore peanuts? I love peanuts!! But I love Jesus SO much more!! We have some great conversations.:)

Christmas Party

Chloe's class put on a great Christmas party this am. Good folks, good food, good music...& Santa came & gave each of the kids candy & a book. Chloe went right up & sat on Santa's lap...I was so excited that she wanted to see him & didn't get scared (last year there were tears) & I thought it was pretty stinkin' cute that she asked him for a giraffe for Christmas! Tonite, Chloe & I & another family/friends from Chloe's class are delivering presents & food to a family in need that Chloe's class adopted for Christmas. It is so awesome to give...we are so excited to be apart of something that is so much bigger than ourselves.

Chloe sitting with Santa.

The kids waiting patiently to see ol' St. Nick.

Yum, yum...

Chloe's class with Santa, including Teacher JoAnn (far right) & T.A. Tianna (behind Santa).

In her class, Chloe made Nate & I this candle for Christmas. It is made on a CD, with bent in votive candle holders around the outside, a whole votive candle in the center & glitter sprinkled all over the top...pretty neat; we love it!

Chloe also made us this Christmas tree in her class that we proudly display on our Christmas tree. I love all the homemade crafts!!:) Merry Christmas!!

Pretty as a Postcard!

Our yard was heavy with frost this am (it was 29 degrees...it would have snowed if it were raining). The first photo is looking out onto our house side yard & the duck pond. The second photo is the front/side yard near our garage. So beautiful!! We are feeling better from the flu bug that we had & are looking forward to caroling tonite with our church fam.

Rainy/Sick Day Activities

Chloe had her first sick day home from preschool, so far this year, today. Yesterday we began making this paper nativity & we completed it today. It doesn't look like much, but it took us A LONG TIME to make...it was shocking to me just how long (let's just say that my mad skillz did not help us & my 3 1/2 year old was having no trouble at all...I think I need to trade in my skillz!) Anywho, we are feeling much better & are looking forward to our Christmas party on Thursday!!:)

This project we did over a week ago. The kids helped make some paper reindeer (tracings of their hands & foot)...pretty cute! We plan on baking some fun holiday treats later this week (I have been meaning to for the better part of a week now so I better hop to it!)

Happy Holidays

We are lovin' the Christmas season. This week Chloe has her class Christmas party (Santa will be making a fun surprise visit!) & we will be helping to deliver presents to a family that Chloe's class adopted for Christmas this year. Our family has had a lot of fun shopping for this family in need & we are so glad to see that Chloe has been learning more about giving. I am so thankful that we serve a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Nate's B-day

We had a birthday brunch for Nate last weekend. It was a lot of fun. Lots of fam came to wish my awesome husband a very happy day...and it was a VERY happy day!:)

Yep, Nate is wearing a yamaka...his mom bought it for him while on a trip to Israel last month.

Chloe lovin' to dress up with her cousin, Hailey, & Eli havin' a blast at daddy's b-day party.

Such pretty girls!!

CHEESE!! I think that smile mighta hurt...:)

The fam

Happy Thanksgiving

I was remiss at photo taking at our thanksgiving festivities so this is the only photo we have. Grandpa was taking all the kiddos out for rides around the prop. We had a great time, with a great time of visiting & some wonderful food!! We are so thankful for our loved ones, our health, our many blessings & most thankful for our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. We are all decorated for Christmas & have completed all our Christmas shopping...now onto the wrapping. Tomorrow we celebrate Nate's birthday with a big birthday brunch...so more photos will soon follow.

18 mos Check-up, New Glasses, & Fieldtrip

We have been busy. On Monday, Chloe got her new glasses, Eli had his 18 month check-up, both kids got shots (just the flu shot for Chloe, Eli had the flu shot & the 3 other shots that come with an 18 month well-baby check up), we played with family & ran errands. Tuesday we went to Indian Grinding Rock with Chloe's class & began the thanksgiving day cooking, & today we have been working around the house. Eli's 18 month check was great! He is now 27 pounds & is almost 3 feet tall...whew...and the doc was very pleased with his growth & development. Enjoy the photos!!

Eli loves to drive all his cars & trains...in fact he loves to say "Eli goooo......" or "car gooooo....." & then runs through the house like a crazy boy (usually carrying one of his cars or trains with him). It is pretty stinkin' cute!!:)

Chloe with her new barbie glasses...again, pretty stinkin' cute!:)

The Indian teepee's at Indian Grinding Rock.

You guessed it...the Grinding Rock....

Chloe with some of her buddies...

Soaring Bird

The kids have been learning all about Indians & Thanksgiving at preschool. We brought pillow cases, shoe boxes, & paper towel rolls to school & the kids made Indian dresses with headdresses out of the pillow cases, rain sticks out of the paper towel rolls, a drum out of the shoe boxes & then they made necklaces, too! Each child was given an Indian name; Chloe is Soaring Bird. If it is not raining next week, we will be taking a fieldtrip to Indian Grinding Rock. Also, I had my first parent-teacher conference with Chloe's teacher last Tuesday and Chloe is doing great!! She has practically mastered all her reading readiness & has improved so much on being social that it is astounding! She does good at following directions & her coloring is much more than scribbling. Well, I could go on & on about Chloe & her awesome report but it boils down to this: the report Chloe's teacher does is a pretty comprehensive report, a Kindergarten readiness report, and it states that she is almost at Kindergarten entry level and she is only 3.5 years old!! We are so proud of our bear cub...way to go Chlo-meister!!:)

Makin' Memories

We are havin' some friends over for dinner tonite & Chloe wanted to help daddy make dinner. Yes, she is wearing her princess dress pj's & snow cap at 2pm at home when it is 75 degrees out (just before this outfit she came out of rest time wearing her red tights, bloomers, pink t-shirt & white Easter hat...go figure...she keeps us laughin')!

A Loss

I am just posting some words this morning. It is always hard to lose people, and I thank the good Lord that my family is alive & well. But yesterday afternoon a deputy sheriff lost his life in the line of duty. He was part of the Rancho Cordova police department motor unit (riding on a motorcycle) and was tragically struck down during routine traffic enforcement (as far as I know). We did not know him, but, being a law enforcement family, it hits close to home & it hurts. He was a 43 year old man who is survived by a wife & 2 boys...and I think, what if I am that wife? How will I go on? How would I react to the news that my husband will no longer come home, no longer hug me & tell me that he loves me? and our kids? what about them? I have & will pray for this family as I do with all law enforcement...and I thank God that we have a personal relationship with Jesus. I know our place is in Heaven with the Father. If you are a believer, please join me in a prayer that God's will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. For all that we do & for ALL that we love & are yet to love & for those that we will not ever know but are called to love & for those that are hard to love but we must love anyways. Afterall, as Christians, this is our comission, to go & tell of the good news & to love our neighbor as ourselves (one of the most repeated commands in the bible). And if you do not believe in Jesus, know that I love you & I am praying for you.

Happy Halloween!!

We had a lot of Halloween fun this year. The kiddos got to trick or treat at Chloe's preschool (my folks came with Nate, me & the kiddos to see the Halloween fun there). Papa D & Gma Julie came later that day for a visit & it was a lot of fun! We went out trick or treating on Halloween nite with Papa D, Gma Julie, Auntie Amy, Uncle Trevor, Aidan, me & my kiddos (we missed daddy as he had to work Halloween nite.)

Trick or treating around Chloe's preschool.

Gettin' some treats from Papa Tom

More treats...

Halloween nite & gettin' ready to go out trick or treating.

Me & my adorable kiddos...they are the best!!

Papa D & Gma Julie with the grandkiddos.

A fun bunch in front of a festive house!:)

The princess, Gma & the chicken

Sharin' the loot.

Masquerade Ball

Chloe's preschool hosted a Masquerade Ball last nite. Team Traxler was cheering for the LA Dodgers!! We missed daddy as he had to work (sniff). But, my folks came. Thanks Dad & Mom, for all your help last nite...we love you guys & had so much fun with you!!

Chloe...the cuttest li'l Dodgers cheerleader...ever....

LA

Dodgers...the cuttest boy in Dodgers warm up gear....ever...

Me & my kiddos...I know, not very original being in my pj's but I am telling you that I got more positive feedback on it!! People just looked at me & said "I wish I had on my jammies...you look so comfy!" I didn't win any contests, but, that is perfectly fine with me because I was lovin' the comfort. :)

The cowboy, pumpkin, & cheerleader

...& the boy, too!!

Chloe & her buddy Kate

My girl, bustin' some cool moves on the dance floor with her friends..."you go girl!"

Chloe with her buddy Megan

Chloe & Eli bustin' more cool moves with Gma on the dance floor...I was well worn out when we got home last nite.