New Year's Resolutions

I contemplated even doing this. I am not going to actually tell you all of my resolutions for the up coming year, but after I thought about it, I thought I would tell you some of my past ones. Especially the ones in the past five years.

Every year, I always ask for a healthy year. For the past 5 years, either, Ryan, Ella or myself have been so sick that we should have been in the hospital, actually been in the hospital or visited the ER. So instead of asking for a healthy year, I'm hoping that we have a year with one less visit to the hospital or doctor. And I am almost certain I just jinxed myself on New Year's Eve. Here is for hoping!!

I also ask that we are more blessed each year. And we are. We are blessed by our friends, family and jobs. We have family and so many dear friends who we love and would do anything for. Please know that we will always be willing to lend a helping hand and each of you hold a special place in our hearts.

I ask for patience each year. I need patience more than anyone will ever know. I have to remind myself daily that Tanner is still a child, not small, but who I love and adore. Even though he is smart, he is still a kid. I need patience with my daughter who is very demanding of her mother. She wants me to hold her or hold her hand or sit with me. I love it dearly, for I know that one day that will all be gone. I have to remember that daily too. I ask for patience for me to deal with Ryan being impatient at times. I also ask for patience for my husband. He is terrible with patience. I ask for his patience to deal with me. I know I am not easy to deal with all the time. I know I always have a lot to do and not ever enough time with anyone. Hopefully, I will get better.

The last thing I want is love. Every year I have been extremely blessed with love. More so in the past 5 years. Until Ryan came along, my mom and I didn't have the best relationship. He helped me open my eyes and through him I have been blessed with more from my mother, my family, from him, his family, his friends, and our children. It feels great to know that there are so many special people who we love and adore.

I wish everyone a safe, healthy and Happy New Year! See everyone next year!!

My wish!!

My Christmas wish came true!! Everyone in the Mills' house was healthy and happy this Christmas. We had a great Christmas and everyone had a few surprises this holiday. Christmas Eve was not as long of a day as I had expected, but did end on a late note. We had family movie night, and put out cookies and milk for Santa. Finally crawled in bed around 12:30. To ensure we wouldn't be up at 4, Ryan, had a few beverages. Great idea, get to sleep til at least 6!!! I could not have been more wrong. Tanner, the one who always wants to sleep later than anyone else, was up at 3:30. 3:30!! He woke up and came into my room at 4 and says "Mom, Santa has been here!" I roll over and peek from underneath my heavy eyelids at him and tell him to come get me in 30 more minutes. 30 minutes on the dot, he is in my room telling me it had been 30 minutes and he cannot contain his excitement any longer. I roll over and punch Ryan and tell him it's time to get up. He asked what time it was and then proudly announces, "I want the record to show that I wasn't the first one up this year!" We go to the living room and he sees what Santa has brought. Tanner is so excited over his Nintendo DS he can barely stand it. He also got a Mega Spinosaurus to go with his Mega TRex. I'm trying to delay getting Ella up, but Tanner has started going through her stuff, so it's time to get her up. With her eyes closed, she tells me that she can't see. The boys start telling her what all Santa has brought and she is still saying she can't see, but then all of a sudden she jumps out of my lap with a huge smile on her face and heads straight for her baby doll and stroller. The best thing for me, was seeing the look on Ryan's face when he opened his last present. I wrapped an iTunes giftcard thinking he would know he was getting an iPod and when he opened the iTunes giftcard, I thought he would know right away that the iPod was next. Obviously, he didn't know why he got the giftcard. Priceless...he was so excited, I almost started crying. He kept saying, no way, this isn't real...no way! We were finished opening presents at 5:30 and I had to delay until everyone got up at Nesey's so we could go over there. Ryan didn't want to leave his iPod, but it had to charge. Of course, Ella crashed before we got to eat lunch and I did soon after lunch. That night we went to my mom and dad's and opened presents with them and then home to bed. Tanner was trying to argue that he could stay up for a movie. His day was not complete until he was able to watch a Godzilla movie, and he finally crashed.

Ella decided to see if she could fit her in baby doll playpen...looks like she can!

This one is of my nephew who is so sweet and happy...My great grandmother is holding him and he doesn't seem to mind.


This last one is of 5 generations on my dad's side. My great grandmother, my grandmother, my dad, my sister, myself and our kids. It amazes me that she has lived as long as she has and to have seen as much as she has. She is going to be the one who out lives us all.


I hope everyone had a great Christmas!!

Weekend Wrap-up

What a great weekend we had. I'm so excited that my sister and her family came up for us to do Christmas this past weekend. We had a great time. The kids played, we ate way too much food and I got to see my nephew who is so stinking cute!! Love his little round face. I will post pics later..promise. The kids were excited over their presents. I was really surprised that my older nephew enjoyed his Spy Gear stuff as much as he did. He wore his watch all day and dang it, I owe my sister some batteries...I didn't remember it all needing batteries! Oh well. Ella got some more dress up clothes, another purse, some baby bottles and diapers for her baby dolls, and her notepad with pens!! Loved every bit of it, she did. So much so, that she has been carrying ALL of her presents around for two days now. Anytime we go anywhere, we have to wait for her to put everything in her purse, grab her wings, her diapers, her notepad, all of it just so we can go. So funny!! Tanner played with Cason all weekend. No fussing, no arguing, no tattle telling. So nice. They played dinosaurs and what not. It was neat to see how much both of them have grown up and how well they played together and used their imaginations. Now for my littlest nephew Jake. So sweet, I wanted to just squeeze him and eat him up!! (not literally) He was always pretty happy and just wanted to be in the middle of it all. My brother-in-law was at our house Saturday night to watch the Cowboys. I loved his entertainment. He is a true die-hard Cowboys fan and he was yelling and cussing at the tv, like they could actually hear him. I do not think I have laughed that hard in a while. Ryan had more fun listening to him and my dad than he did watching the game!! Loved to see and visit my sister. I miss her, and I wish that we didn't live so far away. I do enjoy going to see her and her coming here. Just wish it wasn't so few and far between.

I've been wanting to write about our year, but I may wait until December 31st, so not to jinx myself!! I truly hope everyone has a great week with family and friends. Love to all and have a Merry Christmas!!

Practice

Well, I can defintely say I am not ready for this!! Ella gave me a little practice run for Christmas Eve/Christmas morning. I'm failing miserably right now. I can barely keep my eyes open.
My sweet, wonderful, beautiful little girl went to bed at normal time last night. She wakes up this morning, not knowing what time it was, and wants me to lay in bed with her. I lay down and fully expect her to go back to sleep. Nope, the next thing I know, I feel her little face in my face telling me she is ready to watch some tv. I said it's not time to get up yet, hoping she would lay back down and go back to sleep. Yea, that didn't happen. So after an hour of laying there and her talking she gets back in my face and asks where her daddy is. I told her he is in bed sleeping. By this time I thought well, it's almost 6 and the alarm will be going off soon. So, I pick her up and we go to mine and Ryan's bed. As I round the corner I look at the clock to see if the alarm is fixing to go off.....NOPE! It was 4:48 am!! I lay her in bed and tell her that her daddy is on the other side of the bed and to tell him good morning! He grunts and groans and wants to know why I brought her to our bed. I told him, she wanted her daddy!! After wrestling with her for 15 minutes she proclaims, I'm ready to watch Tigger and Pooh momma. Ryan, who is clearly exasperated says will you just get up and put it on. I roll out of bed and take Ella to the living room and turn on Tigger and Pooh. Thirty minutes later, she wants Mickey Mouse, 30 minutes later, I tell her daddy it is his turn so I can get 30 minutes of sleep before I have to jump in the shower and head off to work at 7. Hopefully, Christmas morning I will get more of an opportunity to sleep and it won't be a surprise!!

It's beginning to FEEL a lot like Christmas

This year has been different for me. This is the first time in a while that I can think of that I am actually looking forward to Christmas. I made myself start Christmas shopping back in September and therefore, I am not running around at the last minute looking for presents that will do simply because I waited too long. Ryan even asked me why I was so excited. I told him because I'm not stressing over what to buy and hoping I don't go over budget. The weather in the past few days has really put me in the Christmas mood. It has been cold, which I really don't like, but what is Christmas without cold or snow? I can also say that because I wasn't out much.
I have also decided this Christmas Eve, I am sleeping in what I plan on wearing Christmas day. I'm sure you are thinking that is CRAZY!! Let me explain. On Christmas Eve, Ryan is so wound up about what Santa will bring for him and the kids that he keeps me up until 2 or 3 and then we get up at 4 or 5 to see what Santa brought. I keep telling him Santa won't come if you are waiting for him. He will relent for about an hour or two and then he is ready to see. He wakes the kids up and we all, half asleep, have to open presents. So, to save me time and so I can get a quick nap later, I will sleep in my clothes for Christmas day.
I hope everyone is ready for Christmas!! I wish everyone a HEALTHY Christmas that is filled with love, peace, joy and no sickness!!

Christmas Tag

Here's to you Sharon!!

1) Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, more fun to open
2) Real or Artificial tree? Artificial, less mess
3) When do you put your tree up? The weekend after Thanksgiving, usually never soon enough.
4) When do you take your tree down? Usually,New Year's Day, depends on how much time I get to have off.
5) Do you like eggnog? No
6)Favorite gift received as a child? My Child Doll
7) Hardest person to buy for? My dad, father-in-law and brother-in-law!
8) Easiest person to buy for? Ryan
9) Do you have a nativity scene? No...maybe next year
10) Mail or e-mail Christmas Cards? Mail
11) Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can't think of one
12) Favorite Christmas Movie? Polar Express...great movie
13) When do you start shopping for Christmas? This year it was September...hopefully earlier next year.
14) Do you hang mistletoe? No.
15) Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? fudge and cinnamon candy-when my mom used to make it
16) Lights on tree? Yes
17) Favorite Christmas Song? Noel
18) Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home on Christmas day, it is too hard to travel with santa gifts and other ones too!!
19) Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph
20) Angel or Star on top of tree? Neither-Santa hat
21) Open the presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Christmas morning. We did Christmas Eve one year because Tanner was sick
22) Most annoying thing about this time of year? How wrapped up we all get with getting the perfect gift for someone.
23) Favorite ornament theme or color? My angels
24) Favorite for Christmas Dinner? Ryan's beef tenderloin...hopefully I won't be sick this year and really enjoy it
25) What do you want for Christmas this year? To see my family happy
26)Who do you tag? Jami, Sharalyn, Karin, Ryan, Casey

Random Post

Today I was downloading some pics off my camera and found some I wanted to post. My family always seems to be chaotic at times. Sometimes they are sweet, sometimes they are funny and sometime they are mad. But this picture is the one that really worries me...they are too calm and quiet...kind of like the calm before the storm!
See, I heard noise later, and this is what I walk in on...Ella standing on the bed telling me, actually she was yelling at me she is playing football with the boys mom!


I couldn't pass this one up. One of my favorites. I had help blowing out my birthday candles with my kids...good thing they did not put 30 individual candles on the cake...I had a hard enough time blowing those out!!

Ta Da!!!
Meet Lizzy!!! The kids enjoyed helping me put her up and the ornaments too!


And last but not least. My new bedding that I got an awesome deal on at 5 am at Wal-Mart. Yes, I was one of the crazies out that morning, but I got an awesome deal...Now to paint my bedroom...UGH!