The Gang is all geared up for tonight. You see my parents were out of town for Christmas and they returned home last night. They are hosting the family tonight for dinner and more presents. My kids can't wait and are very excited to see what Gram and Pa has gotten for them. We are also looking forward to giving Gram and Pa their gifts from us. One is homemade and one is somethng great that Gram is going to love. We're going to be having create your own sandwiches, maccaroni salad, and chips. Yummy!!! More on tonight later. :)
Well we survived the Christmas fun. Grandma and Pa are out of town and were unable to come for the Christmas gift unwrapping, but Auntie, Uncle, Emily and Ali were here. It was a huge surprise for the gang and they did not disappoint in the screaming and happiness department. Tom and I just kept looking at each other and smiling. The kids were so cute and happy with their gifts. It was a very joyous time. On Tuesday we will have another Christmas with Gram and Pa. I better get to finishing Pa's gift and get Grams wrapped. I tend to wait until the last minute on some things. We had a really nice day playing with our gifts and relasing as a family. Our dinner was yummy and we had great company to share it with. We did have a couple of items break on us. Of course Tom and I weren't surprised at the breakage. We live with a few destructo derbies. Today, I have taken back an item and bought Macie a pair boots to replace the pair she got for Christmas that she didn't want. Tom is off to return an item that broke and Macie's boots. Other than that we are relaxing and having fun as a family. The house is a disaster, but that is easily remedied.
If you are here reading about us, the Hay Gang, you more than likely received our Christmas card telling you to come here and find out what has happened to us this year. Thanks for checking in on us. We want you all to know how blessed we are to have such a great support system of family and friends. Our year has been full of family outings, kids accomplishing many things as they grow older, and lots of fun. In March we went with Pa up to the snow. We packed a lunch and made a day of it. What fun we had. With Auntie, Uncle, Emily, Ali, Ashley and Grandma we traveled to Six Flags for a day of fun in the sun. We left Henry home and made a day of it seeing all the animals, riding rides, and eating. We went on our second camping trip at the end of July. We swam, ate, played in the water, roasted marshmallows, and got very, very, dirty. The 3 older children were on the Loomis Basin Dolphin's Swim Team and participated in the Rocklin Little Thunder Basketball league. The other 2 were always there cheering on their big brother and sisters. If you're still reading then we are going to fill you in on how each child is doing. Macie who turned 10 this year is a very creative and talented girl. She loves to sing and is singing in the Parker Whitney School Choir, taking violin, swam on the 9/10 swim team, and played basketball. We also were able to watch her perform in the Parker Whitney talent show in May. She had a couple of lemonade stands this summer and has been given the money making job of co-recycler with Thomas. Macie says that the best thing about this year was going to Arcata to the HSU homecoming game where Pa was put into the Hall of Fame. She also said seeing her cousin Brad and meeting his girlfriend, Justine, was great as well. Thomas is a very bright and active 9 year old boy. He also was on the 9/10 swim team and played basketball. He has taken up the violin this year and sings in the Parker Whitney Choir. Thomas has earned his wolf and bear badge in cub scouts this year and will be moving onto Webelos when he turns 10. Tom is his cub leader and that has been very fun for the both of them. He loves his job as a recycler. Tom brings cans & bottles from work and Macie and Thomas sort them and I take them to get the money. Thomas says that the best thing about this year was spending time with my family. Julia is 6 and in the first grade. She has an Alternative, Augmentative, Communication device to help her speak. She is progressing very well. She is in Special Ed and is mainstreamed into Reg. Ed for all subjects except Language Arts. Julia loves all things pink and loves to play with barbies and dolls. Summer of 2009 was Julia's first season on the Loomis Swim Team. She swam for the 6 and under team and at the awards ceremony was awarded the most improved 6 and under girl and received a trophy which she proudly displays in her room. Julia says that the best thing about this year is being a first grader. Matthew is a 4 year old pre-schooler. He is having the time of his life at school. There is sand to explore, bars to climb, swings to ride, and slides to slide down. He also is learning a few things as well. Matthew is taking swim lessons so he can try out for the Loomis Swim team like the rest of the gang. He is doing so well at lessons the only problem is that he doesn't like going and screams the whole way there. He goes on Tuesdays and is very happy when he finds out it isn't a Tuesday. During the summer he took gymnastic lessons. It was right up his alley, and he was a great little climber. Matthew says that the best thing about this year was that he gets to go to school. Henry is 2 and into everything. One of his favorite things to do is watch Signing Time!. He will bring me the DVD's and keep at me until I put it in. Along with learning to sign he is also learning to speak better. He has qualified for speech therapy and sees a nice girl at JabberGym in Roseville. We are constantly amazed at how far he is progressing. He likes to play with cars, Julia's barbies, and loves to ride his stuffed pony. He is very funny and keeps us all laughing. Henry would say that the best thing about this year was that he got to see his cousins Ali and Emily, visit with Grandma and Auntie, but best of all going with Pa to get hair cuts and shop at the grocery store.
Wow! We can't believe what a year it has been. We love you all and wish you all a Happy Holiday Season and hope that you can find the true meaning of Christmas. Please check back with us here at the Hay House blog. You never know what you might find out about us. :) Here is a sweet video helping us to remember the true maning of Christmas. Enjoy
We here at the Hay House are officially in the Christmas Spirit. We have out tree up and that brings the Christmas season to us. We decorated the tree for family home evening last week. Of course, it wouldn't be a Hay House Christmas without something going wrong. I had bought 2 strings of lights at Costco and while hanging them on the tree we realize that we need more. I run to Costco with the girls and yes, you guessed it, they are completely out of what I needed. So the girls and I decide to go to K-Mart. I buy 4 more boxes, bring them home, and Tom hangs them. We have the tree lighting time and the lights are two different colors of white. Who knew that could happen. Then the kids got to stay up late and decorate. Once again this year we only put the kids ornaments on the tree. It is so pretty and they love seeing their ornaments on it. Saturday night we were in the Auburn Festival of Lights Parade. It was very cold and we got to ride on the Head Start School Bus singing songs, hanging out the windows yelling Merry Christmas. We did this because Matthew goes to Head Start. He loved that the night was all about him. Then on Sunday night we had snow. The gang couldn't believe it that it actually snowed in Rocklin. It has been very cold the last few nights. Things have frozen and some people are without power. We are busy getting everything ready for Christmas to come.
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