Christmas

So Christmas is over with now which makes me a little sad. I love Christmas time and all the good things that happen around Christmas. Christmas week was really busy since we had 5 family Christmas party's to go to this year. Saturday we went to my g-ma Nelson's to eat lunch and we had such a great time. We did not do any gift giving which was perfectly fine with me, but the kids did get a little gift though. It was good to see my cousins, aunts, uncles and g-ma of course:)

Saturday for supper we went to Jarod's g-ma (Hoover) Chrismas dinner. Let me tell you....that family is huge! I don't even know how many people were there or where to even start. But I do love playing the secret santa with the Hoover girls. It takes a long time but it is really fun....and there are always such cute gifts. Usually there are a couple gifts that get stolen and go round and round and round. Sunday we went to my mom and dad's for lunch. It was just me and Jarod and my mom and dad but I love going over there. We played games, ate, opened gifts and talked. My mom even got a Coldstone ice-cream cake for the dessert. I LOVE Coldstone! It was soo good. I got a Chi straightner which are one of the greatest things ever. I have always wanted one but never have bought one. I also got Elf the movie (one of my fav. movies), Coldstone gift card (hehe) and money. Jarod got money and a remote control car. My dad has ton and has given Jarod a couple already. Boys and there toys! Tuesday and Wednesday I had to work:(

Then on Thursday.....Christmas Day!! Jarod and I made breakfast....we started this tradition last year on our first Chrismas as the Knepps. I love making breakfast with him...well I just love him all together!! We ate and then opened the gifts. I got a Kitchen aid mixer. I already knew what I was getting but haddened opened it....was waiting till Christmas day:) I got Jarod a ladder, pants (wasn't his favorite gift.haha) and Starbucks coffee sampler. He has become such a coffee drinker....every morning he has a cup of coffee. I drink coffee occasionally but not all the time. Neither one of used to like coffee but it seems to have grown on us! When we were making breakfast I kept telling Jarod just to make cappuchino b/c I knew when he opened his gift he could make the coffee I got him!

For lunch we went to my mom's side (Schroering). Both of my grandparents are passed away but we still get together for all the holidays. We ate and played bingo. Yes bingo. I haden't played in forever but it was a lot of fun. Christmas night Jarod and I just layed on the couch together and watched a little tv. Then it came to our last Christmas party friday with the Knepps. It is amazing how much all three of the little boys have grown. Ashton, Aidan and Dru are such characters. We always eat, exchange presents and play pictionary. I would have to say I think that is one my favorite games!

It is hard to imagine another Christmas has past. Time just goes too fast. I just hope everyone else had a great Christmas!

Blog Award

So I just found out that Jessica at The Gingerich Family and Desiree at The Knepps nominated me for a blogging award!! This is my very first blogging award. woo hoo! I am so glad these girls nominated me. I love reading Jessica's blogs and hopefully one day we can get together with our husbands (since they are friends) and get to know one another better. Maybe a blog date and maybe even with other bloggers. haha. Just a thought. I also love to hear about Desiree's blogs about Dru. He such a little boy...and oh so much like his daddy. lol

Here are the rules to receiving this award:
1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

I'm going to nominate...

1. Chelsa at The Knepps-Ryan, Chelsa, Brycen and Andon. She is such a sweet girl that always has a positive comment to add to any post. She is such a great mommy and I love hearing about her little boy Brycen. There is going to be lucky girl out there when he gets bigger:) Can't wait to hear more about Andon when he gets here.

2. Leah at The Robinson Family. She is a GREAT photographer and I love looking at her pictures. I am so happy that her hobby is turning into more for her. I also love her virtual yard sale....I would have never thought of that in a million years! Go Leah.

3. Sarah at The Swartzentruber Family. I know her sister Crystal but I had never really known Sarah until I started blogging. Well, she is such a supportive mom of her two little kiddos. I am so impressed that she home schools her little boy Austin! I know how much of a challenge that can probably be for her at times.

4. Desiree at The Knepps. I have to nominat her...she is my sister in law! I am so happy for her now that she is an RN and working somewhere she has always dreamed about. She finished nursing school even with a little toddler running around. She is a hard worker that is driven.

5. Abbie at Rise to find the sun. She always has an inspiring word(s) to offer. This girl is very strong and is always looking at the positve side of everything or trying to find a good reason why something happens. I do not know her very well. Only by blogging. But after reading her blogs I know she has been put up to many challenges and is willing to let others know. It seems her little boy Max is her little shining star that gives her her little push. He is such a cutie!

Now to let you know my 5 addictions (well, things I like)...

1. My husband Jarod. I love him to death and can't get enough of him. He is such a great guy and am so lucky to have found him. We always have such a great time together.
2. Family, friends and Khloe! I know it is more than one but I love them all. My friends are kinda like family and Khloe is family. I would not know what to do without them and feel so blessed to have all of them in my life. I do miss my sister Lindsey Rochelle Nelson but know she is with us each and everyday. I will love that day when we meet again and our family is joined. There is not a day we don't think about her.
3. Sweets! I like all sweets but LOVE chocolate!
4. Traveling. I know, I know it is very expensive. But it is something I love to do and am so happy Jarod does too. I love to see what is out there. So many places...so little time:)
5. Crafty stuff. I love to look and see how other people decorate and get ideas, scrapbook, and make flower arrangements. I know most people don't know this but I always thought it would be neat to have my own little buisness. Don't know if that will ever happen....but have thought about it. I neen more practice anyway. haha.
P.S there is this website called Etsy, kinda like Ebay, but everything is hand made. They have some really cute things. Check it out they have a little bit of everything!

Until next time take care!

Rate My Space

I know most of you have heard of Rate My Space on HGTV. Well I love that show and all the other shows on HGTV. I think it is because I love to decorate....even though our house needs a little more. Hopefully over time I will have it complete! A month or two ago I started a portfolio on the Rate My Space website just for fun and to see what others had to say about our house. Well, I didn't rate so high. haha. However, I got some great ideas from others and have made some changes...just haven't posted them yet. The website has a ton of pictures from other homes to check out. I did add some pictures of our Christmas decorations today to give a little tour for others if you wanted to have a little peek:) I seen another blogger add pictures of their Christmas decorations and loved the idea. Hope you enjoy them! Here is the link: http://www.athomewith.com/community/OurNest/portfolio.esi?userid=11331268

Long week

Last week was a crazy week for me and I am so glad I am on somewhat back to a normal week. To start off my week I worked three-12 hour shifts. After my last day I drove immediately to my parents house at 8. I showered and was ready to go. We were going to Florida....not for a vacation though! My dad has been looking for a handicap RV for a couple of months now. Well he found one that is little older but for a good deal. However, it happened to be 13 HOURS away. My dad had asked me if I would go with them so someone could drive their van back. I always try and help my parents no matter what...and even though I did not want to do this crazy trip I said, okay. So we left at 8 and I was going to try and sleep in the van on the way to Florida while my mom drove. I got like 5 hours of sleep because most of you know how hard it is to sleep in a vehicle. We met the RV guy around 1 and were looking the RV over. Everything looked like it ran good except the handicapp lift would NOT work. The guy said it had been working fine. He called a mechanic down the road to look at and finally got it to work. The reset button was half pushed in and that is why it would not work. I was so relieved! My dad tried the lift out and we had it go up and down a couple times. No problems since. This was just the start of some of the problems. We were at the RV place for over 3 hourse and we were just ready to stop at a rest area.

We did find a rest area to let my dad lay down for a bit and to get some sleep. My dad didn't know the exact measurements of the bed to all the walls and seats. I have told hime before to just go look at RV's to determine what would fit his situation best...he never did though. For some of you who may not know my dad is in a wheelchair and can not transfer himself. So my mom and I had my dad in the lift to transfer him from the wheelchair to the bed. Guess what? We needed atleast a foot to be able to get my dad on the bed since everything was too tight. I was like this can't be happening. We got my dad back in the wheelchair with some trouble. My dad and us don't like him sitting for long periods in the wheelchair b/c the probability of pressre sores happening. It had been already around 17 hours...too long. We didn't know what to do b/c almost all hotels don't have an opening under the beds to let the lift legs go under the bed. They have those boards blocking so nothing can go under the bed. We have had to deal with this before. I started crying and said lets just start driving straight back so we don't waist any other time with my dad in the wheelchair. It was awful and I was not feeling well b/c I didn't want my dad to get anything from this trip.

We ended up driving back and slept for 3 hours and positioned my dad in somewhat of a way to get him off his butt. After we slept we got gas. Guess what? Another obstacle we encountered. The RV would not start. I was about to break down. It was 4 in the morning and no place would be open until atleast 7-8. The guy working at the gas station tried to jump us...no results. He called a tow guy and he tried to jump us. The tow guy (Randy) found out the battery wires were really ceroded (if that is how you spell that). The RV ended up starting after about 2 hours at the gas station. I was just praying the whole time God please just let us get this thing running so we can make it home safe. After the gas station incident we did make it home safe but VERY tired. That was a trip I don't want to ever do again. We are going to have to make some modifications to the RV but things should be okay!

Well part of the reason I told you about this story is b/c It made me realize that you can go through all of these obstacles God may give you. But in the end God is always there and will always have a reason for everything. While we were at the gas station the guy working was so kind and it was as if God had planned our break down there. We could have broke down anywhere. Since we were at the gas station for some time we talked with the worker and found out he was in coma when he was 18 for 6 months. He said that was a life changing event and is so grateful now for what he has. As we were talking to him we found out he hosts a Christmas parade in their town and gives kids free carriage rides during their Christmas events. He owns a horse and cow farm and just absolutley loves animals. He told me he has around 14 dogs and 30 cats on his farm. He has rescued these animals through the years so they would have a home, food and a better life. I thought it was great he has helped that many animals. He said he tries to help anyone in need b/c that is what he loves to do. He is only around 25 years old. But has done and learned so much. When we were about to leave my parents were going to give him a little tip for helping us. He was out there with us the majority of the time since nobody was at the gas station while it was FREEZING. When my mom tried to give him the money he said the next time you see someone in need I just ask you to give this to them or help them out. I just absolutely loved that he said that. It is great there are people out there that are looking out for others. After we left the gas station we had gone through so many obstacles but I didn't want to think about what all had gone wrong but all the great things we have right now. So the next time you help someone just ask them in return to help the next person in need.

Sorry it was so long! Until next time take care!