It took me months to complete all 8 of these boxes, but it was well worth it. They were gifts for my family. Everyone seemed to love them. I plan to send our favorite family recipes to the recipients every year to add to them. The top 4 were sent out west for Clayton's family and the bottom 4 were taken to my family in High Point. 
These toys came from Santa. The kids really lucked out because they got 2 stockings each this year. Their Grandma Christie had made them each one and stuffed them to the brim with wooden Thomas trains and Cars. The stockings that we had for them are not shown above because they are hanging up on the mantle. Also, the new train track that Santa brought for them is in the play room. You can see the box on the right side of the pic. It has a double-decker spiral in it. It's very cool.
Merry Christmas everyone!!! We are on our way to High Point to be with family and stuff ourselves silly at my Aunt's. I will update when we return later in the week.
One of Santa's elves brought us all some cool Christmas jammies. Aren't the boys cute?
Today is going to be a whirlwind of activities. I must go to the grocery store to pick up a few things. We are going to be making lots of treats today including mint truffles, sugar cookies, overnight blueberry french toast casserole, Chex mix, etc. Yum!
An elf will be delivering new Christmas jammies on our front porch this evening. That is always so much fun. The doorbell rings and Hayden answers the door to find a bag on the porch. The kids get a note telling them that Santa is on the way so they better get ready for bed. The elf is never seen. ;)
Also, we will be going on our Christmas Eve drive to see all the lights. We listen to Christmas music, pick up some hot cocoa from Starbucks and then drive around looking at all the decorations. I can't wait!
***Clayton wants me to mention that the pjs that Emerson was wearing in the Polar Express photos were not from Joanna. He wants full credit for picking them out, lol. It's funny, he made fun of me for buying expensive clothes from Gymboree, yet he could not pass up those alien jammies hanging in their window. :P
Shirley tagged me on her blog, so I will play along. Here ya go:
A - Available/Single? Married
B - Best Friend? Tracy
C - Cake or Pie? Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting
D - Drink Of Choice? Coca-Cola
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? my laptop
F - Favorite Color? pastel pink
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? sour gummy worms
H - Home or Homesick? Homesick
I - Indulgence? Chocolate-covered strawberries
J - January Or February? February-it's closer to Spring, lol
K - Kids & Their Names? Yes, two - Hayden and Emerson
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? family and friends
M - Marriage date? 12/15/99
N - Number Of Siblings? 0-I am an only
O - Oranges Or Apples? Oranges
P - Phobias/Fears? Heights and Spiders
Q - Favorite Quote? "There are only 3 colors, 10 digits, and 7 notes; its what we do with them that's important." -Jim Rohn
R - Reason to Smile? Having the best husband on the planet!
S - Season? Spring
T - Tag 3 or 4 people? Krista, Heather P. , Joanna, and Renae
U - Unknown Fact About Me? I can sew really well, but I never do it, lol.
V - Vegetable you do not like? Celery
W - Worst Habit? Not returning emails
X - X-rays You Have Had? ultrasounds, dental x-rays & I had some for a broken leg when I was 3
Y - Your Favorite Food? Crab Rangoons
Z - Zodiac Sign? Leo
As I sit here in my scrapbook room, I can hear the moving truck outside by the curb. My wonderful neighbors, Joanna and Mark, are moving out. Sigh... I could never ask for better neighbors than they were. When we first moved into our home, they showed up at our door with a yummy homemade lasagna. We we so appreciative as we had moved things on our own for 48 hours straight (I slept 2 hours and Clayton didn't at all) just the day before. I was over 8 months pregnant and exhausted. We were excited to have such nice people next door. It was also great that their son Cole was around the same age as Hayden. The 2 boys loved playing at the end of the cul-de-sac together. Joanna shares my love for scrapbooking and so we could always chat about the industry. I love that we have that in common. I have been lucky to be the recipient of lots of her extra scrapbooking supplies. She also liked to hand down Cole's clothes as he outgrew them. That has been extremely nice for us. If she had made her special chocolate chip cookies, she would gratefully share. Anytime that I needed something, whether it be an egg or some adhesive, they have always been there. Where, oh where, will I ever get another set of neighbors like them?? I don't think that things will ever be the same.
Joanna, you guys are already missed. I know that I didn't give you a proper good-bye, but that's just not in my nature. I stink at farewells. Good luck to you guys and I hope that your new home is everything that you hoped it would be. You both deserve it.
I created these recipe lunchboxes for some of our close relatives. Each Christmas afterward, I plan to send recipes to fill them up. It has taken me forever to complete all 8 of them (only 3 are shown), but they were well worth the effort. No 2 are alike as they were all made with different lines of scrapbook papers. I hope that they are well received. Here's what the divider cards look like for the top box in the above pic: 
Today is our 7th wedding anniversary and I love you more than ever before! You are the best hubby ever. :)
Clayton gave me some very unexpected flowers this morning. We are planning to go out tonight, but still haven't figured out where we want to go. It all depends on whether or not our babysitter can be here. The kids will be our determining factor.
Sorry about the blog hiatus. Life has been moving at such a rapid speed lately that I find myself struggling to keep up. Christmas is always so much fun, but it is definitely wearing me out this year. Here's what all has been going on over the past several days:
Today-12/14
Grandma and Grandpa Jacobsen purchased Polar Express tickets for us last week and we got to ride the train today. We departed from the train depot in Bryson City (about 1 1/2 hours west of Asheville). It was a little chilly, but the day was beautiful and the ride was peaceful. We were served hot chocolate and rice krispie treats. The kiddos loved it! We picked Santa up at the North Pole and he rode back to the train depot with us. He handed out bells for all the kids that "believe" and we sang carols all the way back. If you want to check out the website for the depot in Bryson City or Dillsboro (they are really close together), visit: The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad.
Clayton and Hayden being silly
Emerson and me
Hayden looking out for Santa
Santa wasn't supposed to really interact with the kids since he had to greet soooo many, but he did stop and ask to pick up Emerson. I couldn't believe that E didn't freak out. And yes, those are pajamas. Kids were told that they could wear their pjs on the train since that is what the kids in the movie wore. Hayden simply refused, lol. 
Both of the above layouts were created using part of the December kit from The ScrapRoom. The kits have already sold out, but be sure to check out the awesome idea gallery. Here's the link: http://www.thescraproom.net/ideas.htm :)
Brotherly Love (Yes, Hayden has a black eye, lol.)
Sorry the pics look a little bit washed out. I assume it's because I scanned them. They are much more vivid in person.
Hey all! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day. I am just sitting around contemplating the millions of things that I need to be doing. Ugh. I have some wonderful school pics of the boys to share with you, but I haven't scanned them in yet. I will do that sometime after lunch. They are so cute! They will show up at the top of my blog this afternoon. ;)
Does anyone like Grey's Anatomy? I have just started getting into that show and I am now officially hooked. I haven't watched any of the new season yet, but they are all DVRed. Disk 2 from season 2 just got sent back to Blockbuster and I can't wait to get the next one. That show really makes me want to go to med school. Well, we all know that I would never give up my domesticity to actually have a career though. LOL
My kids are going to be bombarded with so many gifts this year that we are going to get rid of everything that we have right now. I am serious. These kids are getting so much that we see no need in keeping everything that we already have. Check out their gift list. It contains gifts that I know are coming to them from us, Santa, grandparents, and other family members. Lord knows what else they will be getting that I don't already know about.
Here's the list so far:
-Elmo TMX
-HotWheels Criss Cross Crash
-Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
-the *ENTIRE* collection of all the diecast Disney Cars
-Power Rangers Solar Streak Megazord (my kids aren't into PR, but this thing is cool in that it is like a Trans Former-it can be changed from a big dude to a train)
-several board games like Chutes and Ladders/Candyland
-Tinkertoys (the real wooden ones)
-Little People Farm and the accessories
-Little People Amusement Park
-a new spiral track for our wooden Thomas train set
-a new table top for their train table since Hayden peeled up the design (sheesh!)
-Light Brite
-Thomas Aquadoodle mat (this thing is so neat-Thomas actually moves along a track that the kids draw)
-Elmo Aquadoodle mat
-lots of new Thomas trains
-DVDs (Curious George, Cars, and Elmo)
-projector that works with a book of stories
-puzzles
-Caterpillar construction vehicles
-large talking Lightning McQueen car
-LeapFrog alphabet spider
The bad thing is that I know there are things that I have bought, but can't remember what they are. Everything is already wrapped so it will be a surprise to me when they open them.
Clayton's Mom and Jack bought us tickets to ride the Polar Express on the 14th. We are so excited! The kids get to wear their jammies and drink hot chocolate during the ride. They will meet Santa too. I will be sure to take lots of pics and post them to the blog afterward.
Speaking of meeting Santa, we went last weekend. Hayden couldn't wait to sit on his lap and Emerson didn't want to go near him, lol. I did buy a pic, but it is horrible. I didn't realize it until after we left. The camera focused on the background instead of H and Santa. I am going to scan the pic and see if I can photoshop it. We'll see. I am doubtful, but oh well. At least he got to give Santa his wishlist. ;)
The kiddos got to attend a fun bowling birthday party for Jack yesterday. They bowled and then got to have lunch together. We had a blast! It was a little crazy with 9 little kids, but it was worth it. They offered ball ramps so the little ones even got to bowl. The above photo is Emerson, Krista, Trevor and Kala.
Clayton and the boys put the tree up on Thanksgiving Day. I don't mind being the one to take it down, but I abhor putting it up. If it were up to me, the tree would have beautiful garland, white lights, glittery ornaments in a pretty color scheme and ribbons running all through it. Clayton insists that it be haphazard with lots of cheap tinsel and colored lights. I will let him win on this issue. He loves Christmas more than anyone in our household, so he can have what makes him happy. He's always singing to Christmas music and dreaming up ways to decorate the house. I love him for that. Thank the Lord that I have such a wonderfully fun hubby.
Clayton has been driving himself crazy trying to put up all of our decorations. He has done a wonderful job so far, don't ya think? Be sure to click on the photo to see a larger image. My hubby is well on his way to becoming Clark W. Griswold, lol.
And no, he still hasn't put the screen back in my scrapbook room window. Ugh.
I know I haven't talked about being a surrogate for a long while now. I just had to take a break and let things settle before beginning a new journey. Well, I have been talking to a really nice couple and we are going to meet on 12/9! I am anxious to see them in person and to hopefully get this thing going. They are going to fly here and we will go out for lunch. They do not have any children (yet!). Unfortunately, they have been through the infertility ringer. It is so sad what people must endure to become a family. I hope that I can change that for them. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. I would love for this to work out and to finally carry a child for a loving couple. :)
I would also like to give a shout out to my childhood friend and college roomie Laura. Her birthday is today. Happy birthday gal!!
Clayton turned the big 3-0 today. I can't believe that he is now a 30 year old. Egads! I gave him an XBox 360, a shirt, some holiday boxers, a cool Starbucks travel cup and a Santa mug. We went out to celebrate at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company for lunch.
I forgot to announce Leslie's birthday back on Thanksgiving. I hope you had a great one gal!
I am just quickly posting to wish everyone Happy Thanksgiving!! Our feast is in the works and my guests are on their way. I can't wait to chow down. I will update this post later with pics. :)
***Edited to add***
Well, I unfortunately didn't get any pics. I totally forgot to take some, lol. At least my meal rocked! I made roast turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato souffle, fruit salad, homemade baked macaroni, cranberry/apple casserole, yeast rolls, mulled apple cider and pumpkin/gingerbread trifle ala Paula Deen. It was all so yummy! My grandparents and my parents celebrated with us. It was an absolute wonderful day. :)
Here's a sneak peek at one of the four mini kits that The ScrapRoom will be offering for December. This has been my favorite kit so far. It is just beautiful! Mind you, this is just one of the featured lines. There are 3 other fabulous ones included. ;)
BTW-The photo was made to be grainy. I thought that it was a cool effect. Also, the word 'Joy' is made of clear rhinestones (Heidi Swapp Bling) and so it didn't scan very well.
This is what the corner of my living room looks like, lol.
Yee haw ya'll! I am so excited to see snow. I woke up this morning and saw it through the sunroom windows. It was beautiful!! If you click the pic above, it will enlarge it and you can see the flakes much better. Unfortunately, it didn't stick around, but I think that it is a good sign that we are seeing the white stuff so early this year. I hope that our Winter season will be filled with snow days.
Clayton had just started putting up the icicle lights this past weekend. Maybe we will have real icicles for Thanksgiving. :)
ETA-Just in case you are wondering why my scrapbook room window is missing a screen it is because hubby uses that window to access the roof and he isn't done putting the lights out.
