New Years And Nana's Classroom

We did not spend New Years in Nana's Classroom...but when you have this many posts to do, you gotta put some stuff together. ;)

New Years Eve...as eventful as it would have been at home...maybe more eventful actually  ;) We enjoyed some champagne and a couple of games of Yahtzee. :) I cracked up at the champagne top.

It snowed New Years Eve Day, but more on that in another post...we also enjoyed delicious soup and nice company New Years Day.

The next day we spent time in Nana's classroom. Was a great chance for the kids to get out as well as some de-Christmasafying and organizing for Mom. They loved seeing all the fun toys, as well as drawing on the chalk board, among many other fun things. :)

Visit To Amanda's Place

We headed to Canyon, TX to have a visit with Amanda, John and Sydney. (Plan A was to do this on the way home.) We had fun playing in their backyard and checking out the new toys in Sydney's playroom. We had a good time hanging out and also loved seeing Amanda's parents as well. I cannot resist picking up a consignment item for Sydney if the girls can match...so this year it was matching PJs. Makin said "Two of them." :) It also cracked me up how much he loved playing with their old cell phone. He even slept with it.
We enjoyed going out to Red Robin for lunch before heading back to my parent's house.

Some After-Christmas Fun

I feel the need for some explanation before I delve into these pictures and the fun we had...as you will notice Brad is missing in them.

With the promise of a new job (as in verbal offer but still waiting on official paper work) Brad and I had to make a few tough decisions this trip. We came a day late for him to work with someone out the OKC area and then he also was asked to drive to the OKC area the 26th in order to meet the owner of the company, who was in town. And no, the job is not in Oklahoma City...this is just the way it worked out this time. More on the job later (there sure better be after all this!) but long story short, Brad ended up spending very little time home with the Bohlmann family. The day after Christmas he had to drive to Norman, OK to meet the company owner, and then naturally ended up catching Lorelei's flu bug while there and then when he started to head home got slowed down by some snow so didn't get back till late Friday evening. On his way home that night he got a call from his current boss telling him that the entire team had put in letter's of resignation so he was needed ASAP to help get things straightened out in Frisco. Now if that wasn't complicated enough, it does get worse. After much debate, we decided that the kids and I would stay an extra few days and meet him half-way on Wednesday, as he was told he would be putting in a lot of extra hours. His boss said no problem to him having Wednesday off to meet up with us. Then as Wednesday rolled around, his boss changed his mind and decided he HAD to be at a certain meeting Wednesday. SO, the kids and I stayed an extra week at my parents, who then ended up driving us all the way to Dallas, as Brad got the flu for a second time around on Saturday. Yes, we need your prayers.

Now, back to the fun.

Oklahoma Snowy Sunrise

We cannot get enough of this bear...seriously. :)

We headed out for lunch Wednesday at The Hooker Grill. I had not been there recently and loved seeing how much character they have given it. This is the restaurant in town that is actually in my Dad's old pharmacy. We are even sitting right in front of the kitchen, which used to be the pharmacist counter! :) Back behind where I was sitting was the office where Heather and I spent many times coloring from coloring books stashed away in the cabinet. Anyway, was wonderful to see the restaurant doing so well in the small town.

Well, our snow-bunny could not resist getting out in the snow as much as possible. And man was it COLD, COLD, COLD. She always loves making a snow angel and we also had fun finding bunny tracks. She does not care how cold she is, she will stay out as long as you will let her. Makin, on the other hand, does not think cold is so nice. He decided to make another attempt at joining his sister...and you can see how he felt about it when I tried to take their picture together. And of course, we had to come in and have hot chocolate AND roasted marshmellows.

I was very thankful Uncle A.J. was around to take over snow-duty the next day.

Gotta Love Old Phones

Shows and Naptime Cuddles

Celebrating 31 Years Married!

Her Mother's Daughter...Ice Cream Even When Snowy Out

Boy Time

Yummy Donuts!

Our Merry Christmas

Going along with our theme of 2012, Christmas Eve did not go as planned. We made it to my parent's place Sunday evening only to find out in the wee hours the next morning that Lorelei had come down with the flu. So, Christmas Eve Day was spent taking care of her and still trying to enjoy some time with family. Oh...and finishing the felt mats with the help of my siblings! Thankful for our handy pharmacist Papa and helpful Nana especially, to at least make the day easier on all of us. Makin and I headed to the Christmas Eve service with the family (which was beautiful and I got to sing a lot as Aunt Heather entertained Makin wonderfully as she had no voice left to sing with, due to bronchitis-something-or-other) and Brad and Lorelei stayed home. The kids did open one present before bed and set out cookies and milk, but naturally not near the excitement. We grown ups exchanged our gifts after the kids were in bed, which worked out great.

We are so, SO thankful Lorelei was better for Christmas Day. Both kids up before the sun, naturally. :)

A Few Of Their Christmas Joys

After the present craziness we had a yummy breakfast, more play-time, and even got a bit of a White Christmas! :) Thankfully A.J. was the cool Uncle who took Lorelei out in the COLD. Makin got all bundled up and got one breath of that cold air and said, "Watch."

We had a delicious meal and Glenda Friesen (long time family friend who's hubby had to work clearing the snow most of the day) joined the group. We had intended to sing to Lorelei with the candle when we got back Christmas Eve, but she was so tired we had to wait, so sang Silent Night by candlelight for her at home that night.

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Lights

One activity I had been SO looking forward to was going to see Christmas lights. There is a house that has a lights show choreographed with music. This house is also located in a neighborhood that is known for its Christmas lights. We started with the lights show, as knew it would get more crowded as the night went on. We just waited a couple minutes and a car that was parked was on its way, and we got front row seats. The kids moved up front with us and we ate popcorn with a few Christmas M & M's mixed in. The kids had hot chocolate on the way and Brad and I some much-needed caffeine. :) The kid's reactions were priceless and precious. May post videos later but have to wait on Brad. The one picture posted is one of my favorite displays with the penguins. Its hard to see but they have puff balls as if they are having a snowball fight. :) One of many, many amazing displays we saw driving around this neighborhood.

Taking Part In A Live Nativity

Jerry and Joyce have an apartment ministry in Dallas. They live at this apartment complex and help host different activities for the people there, along with just building relationships with them over time. This week, they decided to have a live nativity for the kids to participate in. They invited us to come as well. They also had a few live animals. Of course, this thrilled my kids, especially the donkey - a new one for them close-up, but I was totally amazed as Joyce mentioned many of these families had never ever seen these animals, and many didn't even know which animals they were. If you don't get to read many books, go to the zoo, etc...just made me feel very appreciative for all I have and think of my kid's access to books...was so glad to get to join in with them and how many lives they touch.

Lorelei participated three times. She was a shepherd, a donkey, and then an angel. Makin said, "No. Watch." They did it a few times as the little one were there early and they wanted to do one then, and then again when the older children were all home from school. Of course, the main draw for them was free pizza and snacks. ;)

Gingerbread House

Gingerbread houses were not really something I grew up making, and I didn't really see much point in them...I mean why waste all that cookie and candy just for something to sit around your house? :) But, alas, had to try it out just for the family togetherness...or something. I knew Brad would enjoy putting one together with the kids, so we made sure to work on it Sunday when he was home. We wimped out and bought a kit this year to make it extra-easy. Next year maybe we will have more time and patience and try graham crackers and each child can have their own to decorate. :) The kids got a big kick out of putting all the candy on the house. Makin mostly wanted to lick the frosting off his fingers. :) Was a fun activity and we will see how it goes when they are older and can help more and more. :)