Santa Came..

Christmas morning came and went and my two little gals were lucky enough to have had Santa swing by. He left quite a snowy mess near the fireplace but it was a sure sign that he had made his grande entrance when delivering those great gifts!

Mara received the karoake machine and video camera she asked for and Gracelyn was over the moon with her Barbie Dream House and Lallaloopsy doll.

The girls were spoiled rotten and I enjoyed every shred of wrapping paper, giggle and smile on their faces.

Merry Christmas!

SANTA!!!!















Mara got this for Juju as a joke. What a good sport ELF!!

Tacoma City Ballet - Nutcracker

The girls and I along with my boss attended the Nutcracker Wednesday afternoon. There is nothing like the Nutcracker to get you in the holiday spirit!! The girls were glued to the performance and I must say so was I. Seeing the Nutcracker every year makes me remember all the years that I danced. Nutcracker was always by far the best performance to be a part of. Mara did it for a while but it just ws not her thing. However Gracelyn has finally made noise about ballet. Yay, maybe I will finally have a little dancer after all. we start in January!!!!

Therapy

Gracelyn got to have a special therapy session last week. When we arrived Mary informed us that we got to go downstairs and that there was a special surprise waiting for us. When we arrived it was Santa! i am do thankful this little gal is nto afraid of him because as you can see we interacted with him a lot this holiday season! It was a relly nice time because there were no other children around. Gracelyn got lots of one on one time, received special little gifts and really got to emphasize to him how BADLY she wants the Barbie Dream House for Christmas. Yes, I said barbie dream house.

Santa told her she was not on the naughty list so there was a good chance! We will see what he brings Christmas morning!!!

Cookies with Teenie

Gracelyn got to go over to Auntie Teenie's house to bake Christmas cookies. This girl was covered from head to toe in flower, powdered sugar and frosting. The cookies were delicious and super cute!

Christmas Party 2010

This year we celebrated yet another wonderful kid party at the Marstons house. Our special guest Santa(aka Eddie) also joined us for some Christmas fun this year. We ate, decorated cookies, colored, exchanged gifts and told Santa all our special secrets that we wanted for Christmas. The house was loud, full of wrapping paper, sweets, presents and of course fun!

Job Carr Tree Lighting

Last week I took the girls to the annual tree lighting at the Job Carr museum. There were furry friends, candy canes, hot chocolate and best of all SANTA.

Santa??

Can you believe that Santa arrived early at our house... We must have been really good this year :)

Tangled

The Meisberger girls and the Norris girls set out for pizza and a movie. Hanging out with them is so fun because our kids are the same ages. Tangled was the feature film for us and boy was it good. I just loved and it and the kids were glued to the screen. Who doesn't enjoy a good Disney Love story! Another princess to add to our collection!!! Hope your holidays are going great and you are having as much fun as we are!!

Oh Christmas Tree

This year we kept the fake tree in the box and headed out to cut down our own fresh one. This year we took the drive down to Rainier, Washington to my friend Shelly's tree farm. It was the most amazing place and the girls and I didn't want to leave. We played in the fields, investigated many trees and then finally decided on the best one. Note to self.. Trees on farms are larger then they appear! Luckily I have vaulted ceilings so it fits fine but WOW it's big. I really feel the Christmas Spirit this year and I am loving it!

Pics from Festival

Me and my Gala Co-Chair- Jennifer Nino..
Thanks Jen. I love doing these events with you!

The Tables, Decor, Etc.

Messages of Hope from Festival..

Here were just a handful of of messages of hope that were from Festival...

"Hope is what I am holding on to while I sit here thinking about my newborn baby up in the hospital. I look for it everywhere; in the sun coming through the clouds, in the smiles of the nurses and in every shallow breath my daughter takes while she is in my arms. Hope follows me around even when it doesn't feel like it's three and hope is what will see me through this tough time."

"I hope I am hileing (healing)."

"Hope to me is the little miracles coming together to make your big miracles come true. I have been hoping and praying for a baby for years and by having that hope my miracles are coming true."

Hope is:
"When I found out my little brother gets to come home."
"When the doctor says I'm not sick anymore."
"My daughter."
"The thought of going home."

Festival is Here!!

Give the Gift of Hope!

The 2010 Festival of Trees event is finally here. I can't believe it has been a year since we did this last year. The crew moves into the convention center today and over the course of the next few days will transform the building from plain convention center walls to winter wonderland amazement!

Tuesday is designer day where the designers spend their entire day putting their ideas to work and creating beautiful trees and Wednesday the doors open. Thursday we have the 2ND annual(sold out) Ladies Night Out, Friday is Gala, Saturday during the day is Public Day followed by the Jingle Bell Jam Saturday Night and Sunday is for the Public again. Our attendance in reservations has already surpassed last years and we have good vibes heading our way in hopes of raising a lot of money.

Thank you for supporting Festival! It is because of events like these that help families and friends in times of need when they otherwise may not be able to afford care.

The theme this year was Give the Gift of Hope. I had this idea to go throughout the hospital and ask families, nurses and kids what HOPE meant to them. The answers were overwhelming and very touching. Some were elaborate and some were as simple as Hope to me is knowing that tomorrow will come".

I challenge you to take a moment to think about what Hope means to you. Feel free to share it with me and I will put your meaning on the trees for Festival. I focused my centerpieces this year on those very meanings. The words will hang off of cards on my centerpieces from every table inside the convention center (65 of them).

Here we go.. GIVE THE GIFT OF HOPE

Chickens

Are baby chickens have now emerged into CHICKENS!! They are getting ready to move outside to their pens and hopefully begin to lay some eggs. These guys are fast, funny and very fluffy!!! Stay tuned for local egg updates. So far our two adult chickens Lucille and May have yet to lay!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was wonderful as always. I always spend my mornings serving the needy which really gives me and my family a greater appreciation for all that we have. A few years back I went to go volunteer for the EFN and I was turned away. I ended up driving around downtown Tacoma until I found this church. Since that day this is where I have returned. I have never in my life felt more love, graciousness and appreciation for life then I do inside those 4 walls. The church is predominately black and a lot of the time when we are there we are singing and praising the lord.

Last year as well as this year after we prepared the meals at the church we were outsourced to local shelters. The last two years I have been sent to Nativity House. I love returning here because this is the place I used to serve in high school. Many of the same faces are still walking thru those doors. The building has changed and is much bigger then it used to be but the help and need however have not!

It seems like with the hustle and bustle of life we tend to forget that there are others in need and that are way worse off then us. Handing someone a hot plate of food can completely turn their day around. Sitting down to play a game of chess or to just say "how are you"? can make them feel worth something. They are not scary and they really truly appreciate the smallest of things. A pair of gloves, a hat or a hot cup of coffee. Our local shelters are in dire need of items for this winter. Last weeks weather was a small indicator of what we are in for over the next few months. 10 degrees is cold when you are on the streets and have no shelter. When you are cleaning out those drawers and making your goodwill bags. Drop them at a shelter instead. People are lined up to receive such small items to make their lives a little better off.

A small thing I have been doing lately is buying coffee cards with little amounts on them. When I am walking to get coffee near my office and am hit up for change I hand them these cards to the local Cutters Point. That way they can have $2 to get hot coffee or a pastry. A little amount to me but a huge deal to them!

Anyways I am coming off my soap box now. Thanksgiving was wonderful and I am so thankful for all the wonderful things and people in my life!