Christmas blessings

Christmas was amazing as always. Good food, good times with people that I love

Santa and family members were very generous this year, a lot of them gift cards. I will definitely have some shopping to do. My Christmas started on Sunday when Tyrel and I went to Sweet home to his grandmothers house. Tuesday was actually Christmas and it started with an early morning phone call from a very excited 10 year old to open presents. Afterwards of course we went home and I took a nap. Then we went back to my parents house for dinner. This year we had a full house with both sets of grandparents all the kids plus mine and sister's +1. Below are some of the items I received

My present from Santa :)

My day of the week socks

My warm hat I've been wearing everyday

My awesome glasses that make Christmas lights look like snowflakes!!

Lots of lots of candy!

This year for Christmas Tyrel gave me the best Christmas gift a girl could ask for. Definitively a good way to end the year!

Tyrel also gave me these awesome fuzzy warm slippers too

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas crafts

Note: I meant to post this weeks ago and in fact thought I had but it never got published. These are numerous crafts I did with the kids in my classroom

These were made with their shoe print and hands :)

Engaged!

Yes you read that right.Yesterday my boyfriend finally popped the question and made him officially my fiance! It started with a nice trip to Eugene for a walk around the mall and then a nice movie and dinner date. On our way we stopped to get dessert and then went home. While at home I sat on the couch to take my shoes off and Tyrel pours me a glass of my favorite wine. And that's when he pulls out the ring!

I was in shock at first and it took me awhile to answer, but of course I said yes. So the day has finally come! I get to finally plan my wedding! Well, officially I guess. Tyrel and I have been talking about it for awhile but it wasn't actually official. It's going to be very non traditional, barefoot on the beach. A time where friends and family gather to watch us exchange rings and then have fun afterwards. Would like to do it towards the end of the summer if all goes well.

If you are wondering why it's blue, it's because that's my favorite color. It's a ring that I actually picked out. Why have a colorless diamond when you can get blue topaz? :)

Wordless Wednesday: snow!

A ladder and a wet driveway: Don't mix the two!

One week ago today my dad and brother were putting up Christmas lights on the house along the roof. Everything was going fine, until the ladder slipped from underneath him as he was climbing, causing him to fall 6 feet from the air, and land on his elbow. I wasn't there when this happened but everyone else in my family was, including my grandma and my mom's friend and her kids. My grandma then called me to tell me my mom was taking my dad to the ER. I was later sent a graphic picture of his arm.....

Having no idea is was that bad, I got a little worried. The x-rays later showed that he had broken humorous bone that snapped completely off and a shattered elbow.

I know it's hard to tell, but if you look at the elbow you can see small pieces of bones that broke off...

You see that line between the arm and elbow? That's where the bone broke completely off cutting through his arm

You can compare these x rays to what a normal x ray would look like of someone's arm: One and Two

My dad ended up staying the night at the hospital and the next day he was prepped for surgery. It took 4 hours of surgery, 2 plates, 9 screws, a wire and a repaired tricep muscle before my dad was finally wheeled out of the OR! Some of the bones in his elbow was not savable due to it being shattered. For the most part the procedure went really well.

Because there was no bone to reattach his elbow they had to use the big long screw and a wire to attach it. In about a year he can have the long screw and wire taken out, but everything stays. In about 3 weeks he can get out of the sling so he can start moving it so it doesn't stiffen up. At the most, he may not be able to straighten his arm all the way, but that's about it. Everything should heal nicely.

I'm so thankful that my dad is ok and that he did no spine damage and was able to walk after this fall. This year for Christmas I'm truly grateful my dad can still join us for Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas lights!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I've been meaning to post this sooner but I've been so busy with work I never got around to it. By now you all know that I love Christmas. You could also say that I'm a little obsessed with it. Well this year I was especially excited about it. Mostly because I have an awesome co worker who also happens to love Christmas as much as I do! So As soon as December 1st came around I put my Christmas decorations all around the apartment

Last night Tyrel and I finally got our Christmas tree!

Up next on the list: Christmas lights! I don't have a house to put lights on, so we spread them all over the apartment. More pictures to come later of course :)