It came and went...

Christmas came and went in under 20 minutes this year (I kept track). At our house, Christmas doesn't start until after 7 am. It's torture really but that's the rule. So at precisely that time I went downstairs to collect the kids (who were already awake of course and excitedly whispering amongst themselves). I made them shut their eyes as we walked through the kitchen "NO PEAKING!!" and sent them down the hall to wait so that I could go check to see if Santa had come.



I turned on the lights and saw that, yes indeed - Santa had come to our house! I almost forgot about the children as I noticed some lovely gifts with MY name on them...



Then I remembered that these people were anxiously awaiting the view as well. Don't you love the sleepy-excited look on their faces?



Searching all the presents for a "To: Christopher" tag on them.



Shanny


Ellie wearing her favorite hat that Grandma gave her and showing off her new things.




Shelby was mostly interested in bows and discarded candy canes.



Christopher models his new riding clothes.




Hat, earrings, scarf, shirt, bracelets, and toe socks.




Ellie is showing Shelby how to work her new toy. It was funny to watch Shelby try and figure this out. The first time she pushed it and it started rolling she didn't know how to control it. It kept going faster and faster and her poor little legs couldn't keep up. NOW she is an expert! She will push it along at her speed, moving to the side of the basket when she wants to stop. Aren't babies smart?



Cute legs honey! I think those are Shannon's slippers though...
(Matt thinks it's unconstitutional for me to post this picture. Says that I need his permission or something. Doesn't he know by now that "If you pose, it WILL be posted"?)



After all the presents were opened Matt and the kids layered up to go outside and play in the new snow.


Matt pulling Christopher and Shannon on the tube.



Matt, Shannon and Ellie just in from playing in the snow. They were soaking wet - head to toe but with smiles on their faces!

Ellie telling how she "hit her brain" while riding on the tube.

Family Christmas

We braved the snow and traffic and went down to see my family for a few days this past weekend. We had our Christmas party and opened lots of presents. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled all of us AGAIN!


The Furniss Family



Just so you know, my camera hates me lately. So ignore all the blurriness, red eyes and general lack-of-light in most of these pics.


Ellie and Madi in their new pj's




My mom's gift to Matt. It says, "My finger may be tiny but I can still wrap my daddy around it." Ain't THAT the truth!!




Me and Shelby. (Notice the football game on in the background? Thus, we did not get a lot of participation out of the menfolk.)




Ellie wearing the hat that Grandma and Grandpa gave her. The smile says it all!




Christopher, looking cool as always.




Shannon in her pj's AND the hoodie she got.



I was able to see some of my good friends on the way down.
Lunch at Macaroni Grill. Yumm, yummm, yummmmmmmmm.

Mishy, Dawn, Carey, Me and Ro. (**EDITED TO ADD: Thanks Michelle for fixing this! It looks TONS better now!!)(Oh, and BTW we were all supposed to pull a funny face for this photo... obviously Carey is the only cool one here. The rest of us are dorks!)



Dawn, Carey and I got together on Sunday night to sing some tunes. We used to sing together every week... I miss that so much!!!!



We drove home Monday in the worst snow storm!! But thanks to Matt (and 4-wheel drive) we made it home safe and sound. The girls jumped right into their snow suits and Matt pulled them on the tubes with the raptor. They had so much fun!! After a dose of hot chocolate, Shannon and Ellie went out again and built this....


Reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes snowman.

Christmas Party - Ugly Style

The gaggle (what you would call a group of girl friends who cackle alot) got together last week for a Christmas Party. Someone decided it would be fun to have everyone wear their ugliest sweater. Here are the samplings....


Left to Right: Amy - Christmas tree explosion, Amber - I think those were poinsettia leaves (it was all pretty and sparkly), Leslie - Ahoy-there-sweater (note the embroidered SEA HORSES on pockets), Kerri - Orange Puff.




Here we have Sarah - who ISN'T wearing her lovely sweater-vest at the moment (I have another one of her I'll put below), Deanna - you can't see it but this isn't just a sweater, it's a sweater-skirt and goes all the way to the floor (she won the ugliest sweater award btw.), and Cami - wearing a nice chocolate brown 80's flashback.




Here is Sarah (in the red) with her sweet and festive vest and Janna in her homemade blue snugly which we found was a nice substitute for a...



Flannel Board



And me(holding Richelle's babe).

I got hassled by my choice of attire. Apparently it wasn't ugly ENOUGH.

Babys can flirt too

Over the weekend, Matt, Shelby and I went to see our nephew, Brady get sealed in the Logan Temple. Afterwards the wedding party went to The Coppermill for lunch. Shelby was absolutely ENTRANCED with one of the groomsmen who sat across from us. She couldn't take her eyes off of him!! He in turn did everything he could to entertain her. It was so SWEET! This is a video (poor quality picture - SORRY!!!) of the two of them. So cute!

All she wants for Christmas this year

My oldest daughter, who is an absolute angel and never asks for anything EVER, said to me last night...

"Mom I know what I really want for Christmas."

I'm thinking, YEAH!! This is good! I have been inquiring, quizzing and interrogating her for the last 3 weeks and all I've gotten out of her is SNOW PANTS.


"Instead of snow pants or anything else all I want is just one thing."


"Yes?"


I can hardly wait to hear it! Seriously all she ever asks for is art stuff and I've just about exhausted my search for paints, pencils and paper.


"Well, all I really want is...."


Yes?? What would you like?? Hmmmmm?? My darling, sweet child???


(I didn't really say that, but I did turn to her and smile while I waited for her answer.)


"All I want for Christmas is a puppy."


My smile freezes. My shoulders drop. Uhhhh, oh.


"PuhLeeEEEze???" (accompanied by this EXACT LOOK)




Crap.


My mind races no, no, No, NO! Don't ask for the one thing I CAN'T give!!!


You see, we have a "NO PETS ALLOWED" rule at our house. I'm allergic to cats and over time I have managed to convince my kids that I'm now allergic to ALL animals including fish. Matt goes along with this because even though he is a cat lover, he doesn't like having to deal with the mess that a pet can create. I just don't have time for a pet and I KNOW that after the novelty of a new pet wears off - I will be the one who has to take care of it.


"Shannon, we can't get a puppy."


"Pleeeze mom?! I'll take care of it! Pleeeeeze????" (still with the puppy dog eyes)


"I'm sorry but the answer is no." (I'm not exactly sure what I said but this sounds good.)


"But mommmmm.... why not??" (tears are ACTUALLY pooling up in her eyes!)


What do I do? What do I say? She's so sweet and good and nice and she DESERVES A PUPPY!!!!


"Because."


That's the best I could come up with.


I feel bad, but rules are RULES, right?? We don't break them um, ever, right?? Because that would be bad and set a precedence and then Ellie would want a hamster and a turtle and Christopher would want a snake or something really stinky and Shelby would surely want a cat and then we would have PROBLEMS. Right??

Giving in to puppy request = bad idea. Yes?? (Nod your heads if you agree with me.)

So what do you get a great kid that will be just as good as a puppy??

Nothin cuter

There's nothing cuter than watching your baby fall asleep while she's eating.

Things you want to know but are too shy to ask

I took a little Blogcation for awhile...(did you notice?) We had a fun Thanksgiving down in Payson with my family (it has been just tooooo much effort to get my memory card out of my camera and upload the pictures - thus the continued non-blogging. But I am working on that TODAY. At this VERY MOMENT.)

But anyway, in the mean time, whilst we wait for my wonderful pictures to upload, I decided to copy a fellow blogger friend's post (well, not really COPY, but steal the idea) of answering questions about her husband!


What's your husband's name?
Matthew Ferrin Lovell

How long have you guys been married?
It will be 2 years on December 22nd! (Happy almost Anniversary sweetie!)

How long did you date?
We met the first of March 2006....calculating....9 months! (yes, I actually went through each month and counted on my fingers to figure it out.)

How old is he?
He just turned 36 on Halloween

Who eats more sweets?
Um, that would probably (definitely) be me. I am a sweetaholic. He can out eat me with Reece's peanut butter cups and rice crispies though.

Who said "I love you" first?
He did. I made sure of that. (I wanted to but I was stubborn. I ALWAYS say it first!)

Who is taller?
Matt is. (How tall are you honey??)

I'm 5'6". I think He is 5'9".

Who is the better singer?
He would say that I am... but can I just tell you that Matt has quite the voice? Yep. In fact, he sang "Lonely Day" for me on our second date. We were sitting in his truck in front of my house after our date (it was probably midnight and the poor guy still had to drive 2 1/2 hours back to Logan that night) and this song came on. He turned it up and just belted it out. I was BLOWN AWAY. Seriously, it was one of the reasons I fell in love with him.


Who does the laundry?
I do. Matt would do it if he had time to. But I've seen how he does laundry (Bachelor style: it all goes in the same batch - undies, socks, jeans, towels, shirts...) and I'm a leeettle more picky about colds, warms, whites. You know?? I like white things to stay white and not turn...gray.

Who pays the bills?
Matt does the bills I do all the rest.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Matt does. Unless we are at my parents house, then he lets me sleep on the right next to the light so that I don't konk my head or stub my toe when I have to get up with Shelby.

Who mows the lawn?
When Christopher isn't available, Matt does. It takes 2 hours. Big lot = lots of grass.

Who cooks dinner?
I do. Matt grills the meat and will cook the crepes (rolo's) if I mix up a batch.

Who drives?
It depends. If we are in the truck, Matt does. If we are hauling the camper, trailer or jet skis, Matt does. If we are hauling kids in the Durango, I do. Matt loves to drive and I prefer to be the passenger.

Who's the first to admit they are wrong?
I don't understand the question?? We're both perfect and thus are never wrong.

Just kidding (stop rolling your eyes). Neither one of us has too much of a problem admitting if we are wrong. We aren't big disagree-ers though.

Who kissed who first?
I kissed him.

We had been dating about a month and were watching King Kong one night, sitting kinda close (*WARNING* ICKY ROMANTICAL STUFF AHEAD!!) and looking at each other... longingly. I knew that at any moment, he would reach over and kiss me.

I waited.

Patiently.

And. Nothing. Happened.

I couldn't take the suspense any more so I finally asked,

"Are you EVER going to kiss me?"

He looked shocked, surprised, nervous and said,

"NO!"

Wuh?

He stuttered his excuse,

"It's been a long time since I've kissed somebody!"

Okay then.

It's not that he didn't WANT to kiss me, just that he was a tiny bit scared to.

So I took matters into my own hands and kissed him.

Just for the record, he kissed me back.

A lot.

(*End Icky, Sappy Stuff*)


Who asked out who first?
We were set up on a blind date by mutual friends. But, Matt asked for the second date (a few days later).

Who wears the pants?
We share our clothes. (I have to wear a belt though and roll up the sleeves.)