Mckenna's First Christmas Gift

...and she's starting to get it!!!

Christmas Eve & Day in Photos

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

To My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, expressed, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2012, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year


But seriously, I hope that everyone has a great time with their family over the next few days and enjoys this Christmas season. God bless.

If this doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit...

....nothing will :)

Merry Christmas 2010!!

I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Now go sip some hot chocolate, open up a present and hug someone that you love.

Thankful Thursday - Chocolate Chip Ovaries

We can't stress enough how important it is in our own lives to slow down when things seem to be getting "fast" and just think about the little things that we're thankful for. Many of you expressed a similar sentiment last week as 11 people joined forces with us and blogged about their own thankfulness. I have a little "Linky Tools" at the end of this post that you can use to join the party and link up your thankfulness post! Feel free to spread this around to anyone you know that may like to participate.

We all have GREAT things going on in our lives and sometimes it's just a matter of sitting down and putting it to paper before we realize how good we really have it.

Mandi's List:

I’m thankful for family and family time. My dad got into town yesterday afternoon. To say I’m a daddy’s girl is a bit of an understatement, so it was fantastic to get to see him! We were able to spend time as a family (me, Ronnie, my parents, my brother and sister-in-law). My mom cooked a wonderful meal and we all sat around enjoying each other….and best of all, ripping on each other. There’s nothing like knowing people so well that you know just how to poke fun at each other!

I’m thankful for fun doctor’s offices. We’ve been into the baby makin’ doc’s office quite a bit these last few weeks, and I tell you what, they sure make it fun. Typically doctor’s appointments and being poked and prodded isn’t fun, but the folks at our office are fun…I actually enjoy being there!

I’m thankful for Costco and Sams club. No where else in the world can you buy food in such large quantities! Something about gallon tubs of BBQ sauce, 5 lb boxes of candy and 100 toilet paper rolls per package is exciting. They seen to have everything there, and man am I so thankful to have access to food. Not only the necessities, but the stuff you don’t need and just want really bad (like a bucket of peppermint bark).

Ronnie's List:

I’m thankful that Mandi’s ovaries look like chocolate chip cookies. We went to the doctor today and had an ultrasound done, and on one ovary alone there were about 16 eggs, which is apparently a good thing (more on that tomorrow).

I’m thankful for our yard. Growing up in Arizona, I was often around gravel, zero-skapes and cactus so I never got to experience the change in seasons. Although it’s certainly a little late, we had fall this year in our back yard, as it was covered with orange leaves.

I’m thankful that Mandi’s dad is in town. We’ve already knocked out project number one: getting the sling box in good working order. I look forward to spending some quality time with him since I don’t see him too often (turns out China is really far away).

Rondi's List:

We are so thankful for Christmas. This time of year has such an incredible feeling! Not only is it a time to spend with friends and family, but it’s a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord and savior! We’re so thankful that God sent his son! T minus 2 days til Christmas – YIPPEE!!

My Favorite Things: Christmas Edition

Each year, Oprah has an AWESOME episode in which she lists her favorite things for the year, and people in the audience get all the stuff she talks about. This post won't be that awesome, and I won't be giving everyone the stuff I'm talking about...but I would recommend you incorporate some of this stuff into your week this week as you get ready for Christmas.

I am VERY excited for Christmas. Unfortunately, it doesn't get very chilly in AZ (it's in the 70s during the day), so we have to do things to help make it feel cozy and Christmassy! Some are things I've grown up with my whole life, some are new additions to the Christmas line-up.

Christmas-Scents - I have been doing everything I can to make our house smell like "Christmas". I have a few Cinnamon Spice candles I have been burning, but I have a new concoction that my mom showed me. You put water, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, and oranges in a pot on the stove, and let it simmer on the stovetop. This was the toned-down version, that she showed me how to make, with stuff I already had, but the real deal uses apple juice instead of water, and also uses apples, cloves, and pine as all. I'm planning to pick up some of that in the next few days so the house can smell even yummier.

Christmas Movies - If there is a Christmas movie on TV, I HAVE to watch it. There is nothing better than watching a Christmas movie with come hot chocolate and cookies! This year I've watched a lot of no name movies (that I have never seen before) and classics like Home Alone. The movie I haven't watched yet, but I will not allow Christmas to come and go without seeing it is Elf. So that is on my to do list this week!

Hot Chocolate - This is a Christmas must-have. We always had hot chocolate as kids, after playing in the snow. We'd sip some hot chocolate and dip a candy cane in it - we'd even add whipped cream on a really good day! Ronnie's mom has spiced up the tradition as she made us home made chocolate goodness to make our hot chocolate out of. You can find the recipe here. It tastes like heaven in a mug...I can't get enough.

Family Time - This is a bit of a no brainer, but family in town makes it start to feel like the holidays. With my mom in town already, and my dad getting here in Wednesday (I CAN'T WAIT) it really feels like Christmas is close. I love having my folks in town and spending time together as a family. I can't wait for Wednesday when the whole family is finally together, and we're kicking things off with a family dinner.

Cookies - Ahhh Christmas cookies. What is Christmas without cookies? This year I made me favorite Christmas cookies for the first time. These cookies always show up at cookie exchanges and holiday parties, but I've never made them myself. This weekend, with my momma, I made them, and they were just as good as I remember. "What cookies??" you ask. Peanut Blossom cookies. These are the ones we made!

Christmas Music - I love me some Christmas music. I of course like the classics, but I have one all time favorite, and that is Amy Grant's Christmas album. As long as I remember, Amy Grant was the soundtrack to my family's Christmas's and I associate such feelings of warmth and joy with her songs. If you don't own Amy Grant's Christmas album, I recommend you buy it!

Ugly Christmas Sweaters - I'm sure many of you have heard of ugly sweater parties. I was reminded of their goodness this weekend at our neighbor's ugly sweater party. But what I really was reminded of, is the awesomeness of tacky Christmas sweaters. The sweatshirt I bought for the party I'd actually consider wearing again this week!

Well that's it! I hope this week brings a lot of excitement, joy, and Christmas spirit! It is truly the most wonderful time of the year. What are some of your favorite things that you'll be incorporating into your week as you gear up for the big day?

'Tis the Season!

First things first - Thank you guys soooo much for all of your love, comments, and prayers with my carrier test. We couldn't be more thrilled that I am not a carrier and that we can possibly make "Rondi" babies!! We'll keep you posted once there's actually news to report. For now, we are just thankful for our options and we'll continue moving the ball forward. We scheduled a December 21st appointment with a doc to start discussing options. But I'm bracing myself for the long road ahead. I think the fact that the earliest appointment available was December 21st is a good indicator that it will be a LONG process! We'll keep you posted!

Now onto current events - As you saw in Ronnie's post on Saturday, we had an awesome Thanksgiving! His family does holidays up right. All 30+ of them get together at either his mom's house or one of his aunt's houses, and there's always a lot of food, a lot of games and a lot of fun. This Thanksgiving was no exception. There were kids all over (even a baby that most people couldn't pry from my arms), so much food I couldn't even think of eating a little of each (and I went into the meal with my game face on and an empty stomach...still no go), and the annual cousin bake off (in which each cousin brings a dessert and then all the desserts are judged...winner gets to take the traveling trophy home) went really well. We came in second - a shame, but perhaps next year we'll have to focus on looks AND taste. Our dessert looked awesome, but tasted not so awesome.

Thanksgiving got me into the holiday spirit. I had told myself that I couldn't decorate for Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving, and it didn't take me very many hours into Friday to start getting the itch to decorate. So Friday night we went to Hobby Lobby (does anyone else have a Hobby Lobby by them? It's the best store EVER) to buy Christmas decorations. I kicked off the holiday decorations by making my first ever wreath...that's right, watch out Martha, this girl is getting domestic!! It turned out pretty well (said while patting myself on the back)...I may or may not have had my mom on video chat walking me through the process, but hey, you gotta start somewhere! I also set up a little tree on our kitchen island (we are doing a big tree too, but we won't do it until the end of this week). After the wreath and mini tree, I had run out of decorations, so I wrapped up my decorating for the night. But I got an early start Saturday morning with a another trip to Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx and Walmart. I came home with a car full of Christmas cheer! After a full day of letting my creative juices flow, our house was turned into a winter wonderland...with only one tiny hitch - we bought about 1/4 of the lights required for our house...so right now we have the most pitiful looking Christmas lights outside, covering the side of our house, and the garage. The lights we need we couldn't find at any of the 15 stores I went to today. So that will be Ronnie's job tomorrow :)

All this decorating really got me into the Christmas spirit. I went around all weekend, singing my thoughts in the form of christmas carols (awesome for me, terrible for everyone else). I just can't help but be merry! I love this time of year. Everything has a warm and cozy feel. Everyone's more friendly. Everywhere you look there's something "jolly" feeling. Everywhere you are there is Christmas music playing. Everything is buzzing. I absolutely love it. But my favorite part is to come: My parents will be coming home from Shanghai (where they are currently living), so we'll get to spend a ton of time with them; everyone will be taking time off of work to just sit around and enjoy each other; we'll head down to Tucson so celebrate another Christmas just like we did Thanksgiving with Ronnie's HUGE, awesome family. I LOVE this time of year.

Here are some pictures of the decorations we have so far:

The pot is always there - so I just tweaked it to make it Christmasy

On the right and left are glass jars will cranberries and candles. In the middle is just a bowl of ornaments - quick and easy!

A grapevine wreath that I stuck berry-type things in. On the right and left are glass jars with cranberries and candles again..you'll notice a running theme.

A mini Christmas tree on the far end, and a cluster of glass things with cranberries and candles (told you there was a running theme!)

The wreath I made...super proud of the bow (thanks mom for walking me throw how to make a bow like that out of ribbon!!)

A glass jar with bead-like things stuck in it...same as what's stuck in the grapevine wreath. Wish I knew what they were actually called!

And now that I've shared how we're getting in the Christmas spirit, leave a comment to let me know how you are. It's our first Christmas living together, so we're starting all new traditions...I'm working overtime to make my hubby feel like his home is set for Christmas. So hook me up with some tips of what you do around your home - so I can steal your ideas and maybe get a wifey of the year award for my outstanding holiday performance :)

Awkward Christmas Gift????

This is the photo I gave my now father-in-law for his Christmas present this year...it's become quite the tradition:

Top Ten Gifts I Wanted for Christmas

I actually wrote down the list of stuff that I could use or would want a couple days (December 21st in fact) before Christmas cause I thought it would be fun to see what I did or didn't get. Keep in mind, I actually didn't ask for any of this stuff. The only way anybody would have known would be through casual conversation or because they saw holes in my underwear :)

This list is in no particular order (gifts I received are highlighted):

Underwear- What do you know, I got underwear for Christmas! It's actually pretty funny why I received new chonies (can guys use that word?) as a gift. Mandi and her mom (Nancy) were folding laundry one day and Nancy held up a pair of my boxer briefs that had a baseball sized hole in the back and said, "Well, I know what I'm getting him for Christmas!" As they made it through the rest of the laundry it became pretty apparent that I needed some as I don't think I owned a pair without holes. Ventilation, right guys??

Germ Guardian- I've been using a baby bottle sterilizer to clean my nebs, but I was getting annoyed with how long they would take to dry. More than a couple of CFers have suggested the Germ Guardian (uses dry heat to clean baby toys) to me as a way to speed up the drying process. Guess what? I got one for Christmas!!!

Fizzy NAC- I've heard too many good things about Fizzy NAC not to give it a shot. I did not get any for Christmas, which would have been a complete shock if I had, so I will be ordering some sooner rather than later.

Hair clippers- Having a shaved head is one the the easiest hair styles around, but it still requires some up keep. My hair grows super fast so I really should be shaving it once a month. Problem is, I'm too cheap to pay 15 bucks a month to get my head shaved. We tried using a shaver that Mandi has, but I ended up having long hair, short hair and everything in between :)

Brita Water thingamajig- This is one of those things that every time I pass one in the store, I think to myself, boy, that would be nice to have. But again, cheap ol' me doesn't want to give up the 30 bucks to get one. I actually did end up getting one for my brother though as a present :)

Pots and Pans Set- Mandi and I like to cook (although we need to start doing it more) so we know that we're going to need some good pots and pans for down the road. Nancy and Eric (Mandi's parents) got her a nice Iron Clad set for Christmas!!! Nancy uses a website that carries imperfect sets for a fraction of the cost. We sent a couple back because the coating looked a little off, but they'll send us replacements shortly!!

Beach Cruisers- Mandi and I had such a great time riding beach cruisers in California that I figured it would be nice to have a set here. Plus, I'll be able to sneak in some exercise without really thinking about it. At some point this year I'll have to spring for some.

New shower head- My shower head has been duct taped on for quite some time now :) It actually doesn't bother me at all so I don't plan on replacing it. That's the joys of not having a wife around, just duct tape it and it's fixed! Won't be able to do that much longer!!!

Video camera- I didn't expect to get this for Christmas, but it's definitely something I want. I love to put videos on the blog and we'll need a nice video camera for CysticLife stuff. Mandi and I have talked about getting one for each other (we didn't exchange gifts so we could save money) so we may be doing that early on this year.

Cold weather running shirt- It's getting a little chilly outside (Arizona standards) during my runs, so I figured that a cold weather running shirt would be nice. I prefer to run with no shirt at all, but I tried that the other day and the cold wind stung a bit :) Time for a shirt!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention one other gift that I got for Christmas. My mom and step-dad got me a single serve coffee maker. The type that you put little capsules in for a single cup of coffee. They both know how fanatical I am about coffee, so it was definitely the perfect gift!!!

Holiday Highlights

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope you all had a great holiday season. My mom left Saturday, my dad left Sunday, and today it's back to the grindstone for me. Before saying goodbye to my favorite time of year, I thought I'd relive some of my favorite moments with you all, in a photo montage I like to refer to as my holiday highlights...ENJOY!

A tradition started last year, Ronnie gives "suggestive" funny photos to my parents. This year, he was gifting himself to them as the newest addition to the family...ahh nothing says Merry Christmas like your future son-in-law pretending to be naked in a box!

I like to call this "scrapping paper". I "scrapped" most of my gifts this year. What is scrapping you ask? Take all the little random scraps left from cutting real sheets for other gifts and put them all together...Taaadaaa!

We realized on Christmas eve that we were short one stocking. Ronnie cheerfully said, "just give me a sock!" "NO WAY JOSE," I thought to myself, "EVERYONE NEEDS A STOCKING!" So 30 minutes later, he had one. Made for him by his very own little seamstress. **Please note the Christmas tree detailing with the fancy button on top!

Christmas morning! We have a photo of us sitting on a staircase EVERY year since we were born.

My parents gave me a BEAUTIFUL pearl ring to balance out my ring fingers...I think it was my dad's secret ploy to remain just as much the man in my life as Ronnie :)

Ronnie got a TON of games from his family for Christmas...but this one was my personal favorite!!! **Please note the cover of the box.

Not too long before 2010!! Ronnie was really excited about the new year ;-)

Seriously, Snow Stinks!!!

Here's what I was doing around Christmas time last year....

My Top Ten Christmas Movies

One thing you'll notice about my Top Ten Christmas movie list is that I don't really list any of the "classics" except for maybe the National Lampoon's flick and Charlie Brown. You won't see, A Miracle On 34th Street, A Christmas Carol or A Christmas Story, but I have a very good reason: I've never seen them. You'll also notice that many of these aren't really "Christmas movies", but I do promise that Christmas was part of the movie one way or another.

10. The Family Stone- Don't remember a whole lot about this movie other than I thought it was pretty entertaining.

9. Ernest Saves Christmas- One of those goof ball movies I loved when I was younger. Not nearly as good as Ernest Goes to Camp.

8. A Charlie Brown Christmas- Watched it many many many many times around the holiday season...although it seems to be coming on earlier and earlier in the year.

7. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- This is one of those movies you could watch everyday from now until the New Year and still get a good laugh from it.

6. Gremlins- I always wanted one of those little furry guys.

5. While You Were Sleeping- One of the best romantic comedies out there; full of cheesy and very predictable scenes.

4. Home Alone- I really shouldn't have to explain this one. I doubt that if you are reading this you'd question why. And if you are, please go rent it for the holidays.

3. Love Actually- This is actually one of my favorite movies ever (as well as #2 & #1). It had some questionable scenes, but it was a very fascinating movie.

2. Serendipity- My favorite romantic comedy ever. I've seen this movie 100 times (not really) and I still never really know if he'll get the girl.

1. Elf- If I were forced to watch this movie everyday until the day I died, I really don't think I'd be upset.

There you have it!! Alright, let's see your list! Let me know what I'm missing.