HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

We celebrated Mike's 27th birthday on Monday instead of Tuesday because he has his work Christmas party. I made my very first cake from scratch. It was devils food cake with cream cheese frosting. It was pretty good for my first time. My friend Nicole I have heard is an excellent cake maker and I will have to hit her up for some tips. I have decided however that I am too impatient for cake making. I don't want to wait for it to cool to put the frosting on. When we went to cut into my 2 layer cake the frosting came oozing out the sides of the cake. It still tasted yummy though.

This week is super busy. We have Mike's birthday and 3 Christmas parties. It will be a fun week but a busy one. Plus I am still trying to get our Christmas cards out. I hope I get them out in time. Send us an email with your addresses if you think we don't have it and I will be sure to send you a card. I don't want to miss anyone.

Have a great week!

I can't believe it's already Wednesday...

Everyday I wake up and think, today I will write a blog entry. Then I get going about my day waiting for some magical moment to come along that is either picture or story worthy. I hope for both and at the end of the day when my life is neither I feel disappointed. I guess not everyday has to be full of something exciting.

Thank you for those of you who called to check on Mike after his oral surgery. He is recovering fine. It is slow but he is going to make it. He is bummed because his post op. is on his birthday as well as his office Christmas party. I wish he had just one year where he could have a good birthday. I don't think that has happened since the first year we were married, maybe next year hun.

I don't know if any of you have been following the family who was stranded on a back road in Oregon for over a week. They found the wife and 2 kids and they are fine but the Dad is still missing. I can't stop thinking about it. I keep checking the web for updates. I can't imagine. They are in my prayers today.

Hope you all are having a great week!

Mike's surgery....

So Mike was scheduled to have oral surgery yesterday. It was his first surgery. He took yesterday and today off and was a little nervous but glad to have the time off from work which is becoming very stressful for him. He did manage to sneak into work early in the morning and then sneak back home before his surgery. The doctor put Mike under sedation but he wasn't completely unconscious, awake but non-apprehensive was the term they used. I of course had every bad though that could exist about how his surgery could go. His surgery went really well and his recovery is going great.

Today, is just a lazy day while we let Mike relax and recover. I am going to get my hair cut, hopefully clean the house (never ending) and go workout. I am trying to get back into my routine after being gone. That's funny though because the holiday season is the worst time to try to have a routine of any kind. We have 3 Christmas parties the week of Mike's Birthday. His work Christmas Dinner is on his birthday, as well as his post op. We were supposed to be in Maui this year but we had to change our plans after my Grandma passed away. He feels like his birthday is doomed to be bad. Poor guy.

I don't have any current pictures but here's a couple cuties from when Duke was just a little guy or as Ethan called him. "Little Duke. " Look at those guilty paws.

James Family Presents..... OUR CHRISTMAS TREE!

Anyone interested in seeing "Mammoth tree" live and in person is welcome to stop by anytime for a peak. I am bias but I think she is a beauty.

Mike wanted to pose with the tree he is standing on a half wall next to the tree.

Bad Blogger...

So, no I haven't updated my blog for a day or so. But it has been a rough week so far. Not only did it start out cold but Mike had to make, what has become daily, his commute to Moscow. He calls me early each morning when he gets in to let me know that he had made it safely. Unfortunately, he got pulled over and given a ticket right outside of Colfax the other day. The police officer was sitting right before the speed changes from 45MPH to 60MPH. Mike had a long drive since it was cold and everyone was being cautious and the roads were finally clear so he could speed up. He was very upset. I was going to be Super wife this week and have the house clean, finish the tree and cook dinner when I got a migraine on Monday night. I have fully recovered now but the house is a pit and the tree isn't done. Hopefully, tonight.

My brother is now living with us. Things didn't work out in Moscow so he is going to try his luck up here. I am very impressed with him though. He wants to get a job, a car and a place of his own by March. Aggressive but I think he is a determined hard working individual and is very capable of making that happen. He has been a real help with the dogs and is very willing to pitch in around the house so he is a welcome addition to our home while he transitions into Spokane.

Well, that is it for now hopefully I will have a picture of the finished Christmas tree up on the blog tomorrow.

O' Christmas Tree...

This is a picture of David

with our Christmas tree.

Yesterday, we all went to a Christmas tree farm in the valley where they will cut the tree for you right there. It was pretty funny how we bounced from one tree to the next commenting on each ones beauty and imperfections until we found "the one." It looked so much smaller before we tried to put it on top of the car. As we drove home proudly with our tree on the top of our car we were amazed and delighted at the looks, laughs and waves we received on our drive home. We laughed and waved proudly at our spectators as though we were in a parade.

On our way home we passed our friends Courtney, Greg, Vic and Sharon as they were getting into their cars after choosing their tree from a neighboring nursery. I called Courtney right away to see if she had seen us. I asked "Did you see us waving as we drove by with our tree on top?" Courtney said " No, but I saw a car go by with a tree on top."

None of could foresee the obstacles that would follow buying such a large tree. When we got home we discovered that our tree stand wasn't big enough to hold our mammoth tree so we had to go to home depot and buy one that would. Now, we face a few other obstacles. There is no room under the tree to place presents. I suppose we could just place them next to the tree but there isn't much room for that now that the tree consumes 1/4 of our living room. The next obstacle decorating it, none of us were up for that last night after hoisting the tree up on top of the Jeep and then lowering it back down and finally shoving it (literally) through the back slider door of the house, and making a trip to home depot for the new enlarged tree stand. And our final obstacle I don't believe that I have enough lights or ornaments to decorate our mammoth tree. Every time I walk past the living room and see our mammoth tree I just giggle, O' Christmas tree.

Meet Mammoth tree. I don't think this picture

does its size any justice.

I apologize for not posting to my blog recently. On October 26, 2006 my Grandma passed away. I am grateful that I had the chance to go to Maui to be there with my family for the service. I have to say that losing my Grandma would have to be one of the hardest things I have been through to date. She was very special to me. She always said I was a little root of her and her little butterfly wings (meaning always on the move loving to be traveling and out and about). I always felt connected to my Grandma in a special way. I miss her terribly and probably will for a while. I appreciate all of the love and support from friends and family.