And The Winner Is.......

We loved reading each of the entries but one stood out for the boyz. I had an idea they would like this one also.

The winner is JEN! Your Daffins Chocolate Covered Pretzels will be on the way shortly. Please email me with your mailing address - mumof3boyz-at-hotmail-dot-com.

The boyz loved her tradition so much that we are going to do it tomorrow at our New Year's Dinner. And then next year we will do it at both of our Christmas's.

Here are the entries that were received.

From Jen:

Our tradition has always been to have Christmas on Christmas Eve with my side of the family. We eat chili and soup and snacky-type foods at my parent's house. Then we open presents. It is a very casual get together.

The funnest part is that we all bring a "white elephant" gift and play a game where we can steal gifts from each other. It is hilarious to see what presents we fight over. (You can't unwrap the gifts until the timer goes off.) There are some nice gifts and some really dorky ones - there are no rules on what goes in the gift pile. It almost always ends up though, that people fight over something the looks nice on the outside of the package and ends up being something goofy like a can of corn or a roll of TP.

There you have it... our redneck Christmas tradition!

From Manda:

Our tradition was as follows: back when I was little & we were really hurting for money (we didn't have a car if that gives you any idea) my mom taped a lot of Christmas movies onto one VHS tape. This was our Christmas Tape. There were grainy lines across the screen, bits missing where the VCR had cut out or where "play" hadn't been hit quickly enough after commercials, etc.

We loved our Christmas Tape, though. My brother & I played it every December, watching one movie per week to make it last until Christmas. Years and years later, when the financial difficulties were a thing of the past, we still watched our Christmas Tape.

From Jean:

We have stockings that my mother has made, starting with my brother and me. She puts little miniatures on them when something important happens in that year.. like a baby when we had kids, a diploma when we graduated, a nurse when I graduated nursing school, an orange when I moved to Florida... you get the picture.. I'm going to post about them..

We also always open one present on Christmas Eve.. now only the kids do it.. and it's always Christmas pajamas.. We have lots of traditions.. they're fun.

From Becca:

Our tradition is that we do cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate every Christmas morning. It is one of those things that we have shared ever since we had our first Christmas together.

We also do one funny Christmas card and one sentimental card. I have no idea how that started but that is something that has stuck with us.

From Vonnie:

At our house my kids have stockings that my mother made for them as babies, we have knephla soup sometime during the hoiday, ( it's a German dish with potatoes, carrots, and dough dumplings), and many other once a year goodies. This yr the kids started something new and it was a hit! All four are grown, 2 married and the younger 2 in college. They and spouses draw names for gift giving.

This year they decided that the gifts have to start with the first letter of our last name, next year the second letter, etc...What a hoot! There was alot of creativity used too! ex: a Super Small Snazzy umbrella for a daughter in law who asked for a purse sized umbrella. It was fun and added a little more thought into gift giving this year.

We had such fun learning about everyone's different traditions and we got a lot of great ideas as well as learned a little more about you.

Thank you all for participating. Although Jen is the big winner, I have a little something for the rest of you also. Please email me with you mailing address when you get a chance.

Hope you are having a wonderful New Years!

Stacy

Christmas Part 2

We are home again. I love that we get to have 2 Christmas's every year. I know many people get to travel to several places on Christmas day or the days surrounding it, but it really feels like we get two Christmas's. I have to admit that I am a little spoiled. Ok, strike that, truth be told, I am a LOT spoiled.

I really wanted an MP3 player. So I got this:

What fun! It does so much besides play songs. I can put video's on it, pictures, it has an FM radio, and it is also a voice recorder. How cool. I have had a blast yesterday and today downloading music on to it.

Teen got some more Lego's which he so enjoys and this T-Shirt:

He loves shirts with funny sayings. And yes he will wear it to school. LOL

Tween wanted some Webkins and got these:

He was thrilled beyond happy with these.

And this about sums up Little S:

I can't wait for school to be back in so I can send him in this shirt.

Hubby wanted a heavy coat for work and a new Steelers Hat which he got. But this gift from my sister was such a crack up:

LOL LOL LOL LOL

The boys also got some games for their systems, clothes and many other things. And Little S got a learning laptop computer.

I got some blouses and many other things.

Can you say S*P*O*I*L*E*D? LOL

I hope that your Christmas was as wonderful as both of mine were. Don't forget about the contest. Tomorrow is the last day for submissions. I only have a few entries right now.

Stacy

Traveling Again

Today after work we are traveling to my Mum's for the weekend. This is another one of our Traditions.

Since my sister and I both live out of town from my Mum, we go for the weekend either right before or right after Christmas. Although it is sad that we can't spend Christmas Day with my family, going for the whole weekend, we get to spend more than just a few hours together.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday:

Yes Teen is 15, but he loves Lego's. So we got him several packages that he had put together in about 2 seconds.

I had never heard of Bakugan until a few days before Christmas, but Tween wanted them so badly and has been having a ball with them.

Little S loves taking a bath and playing in the tub so Santa brought him a soap factory.

I hope that each of you had a lovely holiday.

As far as the prize for the contest we have decided on a bag of Oops from Daffins Candy. If you have never had Daffins candy you have no idea what you are missing. This is the absolute best chocolate in the world. I know there are several of you out there that can attest to that statement.

So get on over to this post (December 24th) and share your favorite Tradition with us. (Mum that means you also)

Stacy

Happy Birthday Jesus!

As you celebrate today, please remember the reason that we have this season!



Luke 2: 10-12

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. "

Merry Christmas to All of You & God Bless you!

From all of us here:

Stacy, Hubby, Teen, Tween & Little S

Happy Christmas Eve! and a Contest!

The stockings were hung by the chim......Um.....On the wall with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.



My mum had these stockings made for each of the boys as they were born. I absolutely love them. Christmas just wouldn't be the same without them. Little S waited all day for Daddy to get home from work to hang them. Does your family have stockings?

A while back Dory asked what our Thanksgiving traditions were. We really didn't have any. But we have several for Christmas. Our stockings are one of them.

Now for our contest answer this:

What are some of the traditions that you and your family share for Christmas?

The winner will be selected by "The Boyz" from all submissions received by December 30th. The winner will be notified here on December 31st. The prize is yet to be determined. Submissions can be by comment or by email (mumof3boyz@hotmail.com). Please leave a link to your blog if you have one.

Stacy

Happy Birthday Little S!

Little S's official birthday was the 17th, but we had his party yesterday. He had a blast.

He loves trains so naturally his cake was Thomas the Tank:

One of his favorite presents was from his "girlfriend" S. S is a Sr at the high school and just adores him as much as he does her. These are two of her Sr pictures.

The funniest part of this is that her real boyfriends name is "S" and they have been dating for about 5 years. I wish I would have gotten a picture of his eye's when he saw her picture. They were seriously as big as saucers. Her picture is now next to his bed.

This is a picture of his other "girlfriend" L. She is also the lifeguard here in the summer and a teacher at the high school.

She also keeps him for us on occasion. He calls them "dates". What a card that kid is! He went with her today to her parents house to see her dad's train room. He told me all about it when he got home.

She brought him a Bob the Builder movie and a new tool box so he can go to work with daddy.

Notice the expression on his face. I swear as soon as he sees the camera he makes silly faces. I can hardly ever get just a picture of him without a silly face. lol

The present he got from us was not the one we had planned to give him. We were at the mall the other day and saw that K*B Toy's had some really good deals so we picked something up for him that we thought he would love.

Well it was in the back of the car. (see where this is going?) He and I were going somewhere the other day and as I got there Laurel and I were on the phone. It was pouring down rain so I parked the car and finished talking to her. As we were sitting there someone started wondering around the car and saw the present. So this is what he got from us:

Again with the silly face.

Last night Tween and Little S and I went to see the play "The Gospel According to Scrooge" at a local church. It was a great production. I was amazed at all of the special effects that they had. It was almost like an off-Broadway production. Scrooge and the Angels (instead of ghosts) flew out of hi bedroom window and into the next set. There was strobe lights, a fog machine, professional lighting and even snow at one point. I am so glad that we were able to go.

Teen didn't go with us as he opted for Cosmic Bowling with some of his friends at the local lanes. It was from 11pm - 2 am. He had a blast. I am glad that one of the kids he went with has been driving for several years now and the weather was clear so he was able to ride with them. Doesn't mean I wasn't nervous, but I have to give him a little leeway at times.

Today was just a lazy kind of day. Laying around and catching up. I have had a cold since I started the new job almost 6 weeks ago. I was off Friday so I have been taking it easy this weekend hoping to get a little better. Now if those sick kids would just stay home, I might get better.

Have a great week!

Stacy

Answer

So yesterday I asked about a "bat in the cave". For those who don't know, it means there is a (for lack of a better term) booger hanging in your nostril.

We were actually in training on Friday when this very scenario took place. I ignored it. I get embarrassed way too easy to ever say something. The other girl I am training with let it go for about 10 minutes and then she finally stopped class and told him.

I am not sure who was more embarrassed the Dr or me. I was about 10 shades of red. Yes it was bothering me, but I just couldn't bring myself to say anything.

Had it been a patient day, I might have said something to stop him from embarrassing himself, but probably not. I probably would have said something to someone else to tell him.

Stacy

Question

So you are sitting in a meeting with your new boss. Learning lots of things that you need to know. Asking all the right questions. Taking notes and learning the ropes.

You stop to take a break. Get a drink, use the restroom, blow your nose.

After the break you get back to business and you notice a little something not right. There is a "bat in the boss's cave".

What do you do? Stop and tell him? Ignore it?

I'll let you know how it turned out after you tell me what you would do.

Stacy

M I A

Sorry for the delay in writing anything. I can't believe it has been over a week. I can't even tell you where the last week has gone.

We had a wonderful time at my mum's last weekend. There wasn't as much snow as we usually have so there wasn't any sled riding.

Little S had a great birthday party there.

His first present was from Great Mummum. A remote controlled tractor.

The next present was in a bag almost as big as him:

Always a goofy expression on his face.

He opened it and this was what was inside:

Are you catching the theme here? He loves tractors and diggers and such.

We went to the Community Church Saturday evening and it was a really nice service. As many years as we have been going there, we had never attended church there before. The people were really nice. They had just put on a new sanctuary and it was gorgeous.

I must admit though that I was a little nervous nelly when I let Litte S go to the nursery and childrens church.

We came home Sunday early afternoon as Tween and hubby had to practice for our Christmas program at church next Sunday.

Wednesday was my Mummum's birthday.

This week has been really busy at work. At least I am not bored anymore. And the long hours go by pretty fast as we are almost always busy.

Hope you have a great week.

Stacy

Classes and Travel

I took my CPR class today and passed with flying colors! I didn't miss one question. Yay Me! One class down and a million more to go...lol

We are packing up the car and heading out of town for a few days. The boyz and I are going to visit my Mum at her time share. We always have so much fun there.

We ride around through the resort and see a million deer. They are everywhere and you can get pretty close to them. I will try to take lots of pics.

There is also a sled riding hill so if there is snow, the boyz will be all over that. We have video from a few years ago that is so funny to watch. Hubby tried to go down the hill on a snow board and did not succeed. I wish I could transfer it onto the computer.

We are also celebrating Little S's birthday while we are there. He will be 5 on the 17th. We will have another party for him here later in the month. December really is all about Little S. One year it seemed everywhere we went he was getting a present for either his birthday or Christmas.

So have a nice weekend! Not sure I will make it on until Sunday evening!

Stacy

Happy Birthday Mum!

I have been blessed with a wonderful mother. She has always been supportive of us.

She had a hard life at times, but always made sure that my sister and I were taken care of.

She was a young widow, yet kept it together enough to take care of us.

When we fall apart she is there to help with the pieces.

She made sure that we were in church on Sundays, and at our Youth meetings. We were brought up to love God and trust Him.

She didn't always make it to all of our activities, but she was there for the important ones.

Thank you God for sending me to just the right mother for me.

Thank you Mum for the wonderful job you did raising us.

Stacy

When You Want....

Something done right, Do it Yourself.

This is one motto I am learning that I need to live by. I have tried delegating. I have tried asking. I have tried begging. Sometimes I get a response, but more times than not, I would have been better off had I done it myself.

Why is this such a hard lesson for me to learn?

And the saddest part of this is that I am talking about other adults. Not my children.

Stacy

Blessings & Real People

Can you believe it is December? Where did the year go? As I think back over the year, there have been a lot of changes here. If someone would have told me in January 08 that by the end of the year I would be working in an Orthodontic office and on patients not just in the office, I never would have believed them. Ever!

As much as I have felt drawn to a different profession in the past few years, I never thought I would actually make the change. I am all about comfort zones. And I was comfortable in an office. I knew what I was doing.

But I needed to learn something. If I could have, I would have loved to have been able to go back to school. I knew I wanted to work with people and I wanted it to be fast paced. I thought off and on about taking a class or two to become and EMT or Paramedic. I also considered working in a Nursing Home as a patient care assistant.

As I prayed, I would ask God to put me where he wanted me to be. I concentrated on Jeremiah 29:11 - 'I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

I sent out resume after resume. I interviewed and interviewed. And nothing came of any of it. So I started answering any kind of ad. Trusting that God would take care of it.

I can't even begin to express how much I am enjoying my new job. Many times when you start a new job, you are timid the first few weeks or months until you learn the ropes and figure out how you can fit in. From day one I have been comfortable. I am myself. I love the girls that I work with. They all love what they are doing and love working together.

God is truly a loving God. And when you cast your cares to Him, He will answer you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

I let go and let God and He provided for me. Thank you again God for all that you do for me in Your time, not mine.


*Today at work they actually let me work on people instead of the dummies. While we were training on the dummies, they would tell us how much easier it was on people. They were so right. I only worked on two patients today, but tomorrow, I will be doing the majority in the morning. I can hardly wait.

Stacy