Uh . . . Was that Christmas???

And Merry Christmas to anyone else who blinked and missed it. I guess I shouldn't say I missed it, but it sure came in a whirlwind. I thought that since I wasn't working anymore, things would be a lot calmer and relaxed. Not. However, I must admit my stress level has dropped drastically.

On December 8 I got to go to Phoenix to be with Chris, Shawn and family for the birth of new baby Emma on Dec 9. I wasn't at the birth, but I got to take Kaylee and Crew home for baths and dinner while Chris was at the hospital helping Shawn. When it came time to leave Crew came running down the driveway yelling "Grandma, I need you!". That just about did me in. All the way home I worried about how Shawn was going to handle a newborn and getting Kaylee to school, etc. Chris left for Sedona the next day. Hang in there guys!

I came home to find everyone survived without me. (maybe I should take off more often!) The twins handled everything fine.

The picture above is the twins on a hike the day after Christmas. Annie took them through some slots by Snow Canyon. They found some ice on a water puddle and and some fun with it.

All in all, I had a great Christmas. The food was too much. The family was big. (in a good way) The noise was thunderous at times. The gifts were thoughtful and much appreciated. Thank you one and all for all you have done. We are truly blessed. As we move into a new year, may we remember our lessons learned from the past and move forward with faith.

Lo! The mighty hunter!

In carrying on with the Syphus family tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree, we took to the hills the day after Thanksgiving. Along for the ride were Laura and Jesse and Family, Dave and Maddie (Annie had to work :( , Spencer and Taylor and Logan. It was a georgeous day and not too cold. Jesse brought his four-wheelers which made the hunt so much easier. We left the house at 9:00 a.m. and got home by 12:30 p.m. so we still had a whole afternoon to relax! The only downer was Jesse and Cooper took a spill on the four-wheeler, which is Laura's story so ask her.

I still haven't got this adding pictures thing straight, but you can see Logan and Taylor liked it too.

I am anxiously awaiting a call from Phoenix telling me that Shawn is in labor. I know she is way more anxious than I am, but I guess its just a girl thing. I have baby blankets all finished and ready to go. I almost have Christmas presents done to take down. I haven't planned any menus and food for Doug and the twins. Hopefully they won't die of starvation while I'm gone.