Ashley was due on Christmas day-and one week later she was admitted for induction on New Years Eve! They didn't get things rolling until the next day. I got to be there with her the entire time and it was an amazing experience. Im so thankful I was able to take photos for her so she can remeber that day forever. She was a trooper-and Im so proud of her. Her and baby had no complications! Everyone is healthy and at home resting. She is going to be such a good little mama. Enjoy the Photos!! He is sure a Cutie Pie!
Many of you know-I have a passion for photography! If you are around me often, you know I always have a camera handy. I started by taking lot's of photos of my nieces and nephews and everytime I would babysit Preslee-we'd have a little photo shoot. Leisha even had me take her Christmas pictures this year! I just have a little sony cybershot-which is great but for a while now-I have wanted something more. My neighbor is into photography also so I asked her about what camera she has and researched things a bit. Just before christmas my mom and dad bought me a early christmas present so I could use it for our family christmas! I got a Canon Rebel XTi. I LOVE it! I thought my old camera took great photos until I got this. I don't even have a good lense yet either! It's crazy learning all the settings and stuff-but it's fun to experiement and practice. I really want to get into this on the side! I want to take family photos and photos of children for a low cost and with fun settings and atmosphere. I would love to be a "second" photographer at wedding's-just taking candid shots the ones the photographer doens't always get to. This will never be a job to me because it's to fun! It's something I can do because I love it and I can help people make memories at the same time. Here are a few cool photos I have taken with it so far! Let me know if anyone needs photos! I need lot's of practice. 
We started off the month-finishing up all our Christmas shopping. I had done most of the decorating in the house before thanksgiving but I added a little more once december came. There is just something I love about a lit Christmas tree in our home-it almost makes it feel clean, not sure why, if thats the case why can't we have a lighted tree all year round?! Ha! 
Shortly into the month I threw two baby showers just 3 days apart from one another. First I had one for Ashley , My neice, it's was so fun and She was so appriciative of all everyone did for her. She made out great and alot of great necessities. The next shower was a joint one for Ashley and Leisha for work people. We had it at my mom's along with the other so most of the decor was able to be left up-just had to throw in some pink for Leisha-she's expecting a little girl. They both went off great and everyone enjoyed themselves. 
Which brings me to my next exciting news! We purchased a new car!!!!! We got a Chevy Trail Blazer-It is perfect. We love it. We didn't settle this time and were able to get an AMAZING deal on the exact car we wanted. I got leather and the best of all-Heated Seats again!!!!! Love it. Not to mention perfect timing for the crazy winter storm. I would have been stuck for weeks in the house if it wasn't for the 4 wheel drive.
We had a few crazy work days but we made it through with a full schedule for the most part. We ended with a Christmas party luncheon on Friday the 19th. We got some wonderful gifts from my parents-including my FaV-UGGS!!! And we had a really nice lunch together-minus Claudia who was snowed in all week at home.
Well then it was Christmas! Christmas eve we always spend at my mom and dad's. We had a yummy dinner! We did a smoked turkey and prime rib. Everyone loved the food! We opened gifts and hung out! It is so much fun watching the kids open their presents. I love to see the look on their face when they get that amazing thing they just never imagined they'd accually get! To Fun!!
We got home pretty late so after midnight Aaron and I had our little Christmas at home together. We had a really great time. My hubby spoiled me and Im so thankful!!! We stayed up way to late as usual so we of course slept in a bit on Christmas morning. 
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When we woke up we headed back to my parents for breakfast. We just lounged around and watched a movie. Later that night we headed to the airport to pick up Violet, Daniel & Riley-Aaron's sister and her family. We were so thrilled they were able to join us for Christmas!!! Since they arrived Christmas night-we went back to my inlaws house and all stayed the night. The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast and had Christmas! We opened gifts all day. We took a break to eat christmas dinner-and a little nap break. It was really fun to space it out and make it last. It was truly the perfect day as the whole time we were opening presents it was snowing so hard!!! We finally had a white christmas. I took some great photos with my new camera on auto of the family in the snow!
I pretty much had two weeks off work-so we spend most of our days hanging out with Violet and Daniel- and soaking up every moment we could get with our beautiful neice Riley-since they are here from Arizona. We stayed up well into the morning hours almost everynight-trying to make 9 days into 18!! We all totally enjoyed ourselves!
Then it was almost 2009! We had a fun new years. We relaxed in the morning which was wonderful-then we headed over to my inlaws and all went to dinner at Kyoto! It's a Japanese grill where they cook at your table-like Bennihana. It was yummy food and really a fun experience. After that we went back to the homestead with the fam and played games. We watched a TON of firworks from the area and they were beautiful. It was like the 4th of July-everywhere and lasted a really long time. We stayed up till morning-then slept in a ton on New Years Day! :)Did that make you tired to read all about our month?! It was pretty busy but enjoyed every minute of the festivities!
