Video Games

My Mom bought Jimmy Wii Resorts and I really have been playing it for hours now, even days! Jim was playing Lego Rock Band yesterday  and Jimmy had friends over playing Lego Indiana Jones. I love this Wii! It was last years Christmas present for Jimmy from my Mom and we play it constantly. Santa brought Tony Hawk Ride & Band Hero for the PS3 (damn stores were all sold out for the Wii). I want to skateboard :(

Christmas!

Everything for our little girls was pink and Disney Princess, so cute! My brother and his girlfriend stayed until 4:30 AM helping with assembly of the My First Kennmore appliances and toy boxes, Jim and I were up even later. Jimmy got his new dirtbike, gear, Band Hero and loads of other games for his PS3, Wii, and DS. He played all day! The kids are all so happy, and it makes Jim and I so happy to see them surprised with what Santa had brought for them. We are thankful for our family this year.

Thanks Mom!!

Go ahead and laugh, but this giant mouse was my gift! From the time I was a little girl, I loved and adored Mickey Mouse and it was my dream to go to Walt Disney World to meet him. I went twice this year to visit him and now I am taking him home :)  All thanks to my mom.

Pittsburgh CLO

My parents took me to the Byham Theater to see The Christmas Carol today and it was amazing. They managed to transform the stage right in front of you from scene to scene and did an amazing job with the three ghosts of Christmas. The scene with Little Timmy brought tears to my eyes and Scrooge made me laugh.  If you have a chance to go, it is well worth seeing.
A Musical Christmas Carol

Hartwood Acres

Jimmy and I had went last year with my parents and I really wanted Jim to see the display so we took the kids and drove out there. It was beautiful and we didnt have to wait too long in line.

Visit to see Santa Claus

Ok so Olivia had the cutest pair of cream colored baby Uggs and she absolutely hates shoes! These just so happened to slip on and off so she managed to pull them off and screamed every time we put them back on her. So this year not only is she traumatized from Santa Claus, she looks like a bare footed homeless baby.  But at least Gianna didnt have a fit as well! We will chalk this one up as a good Santa photo.

Playing in the Snow!

Jimmys Trip to the Trainshow

This weekend

We are finally going to see Santa tomorrow (weather permitting) and I think going to see a light show. On Sunday, The Chrsitmas Carol with family. Then I am officially on school break! Get to catch up on Jimmy's work and hang out with my husband and children :)

Our Christmas Tree

Our tree has a fortress built around it this year to keep to the ornament throwers at bay!

Santa sent us letters!

Our Gingerbread House Part 3

Our Gingerbread House Part 2

Our Gingerbread House Part 1

Popcorn Garland!

Jesus! How scary

15-Year-Old Accidentally Shot In Liberty Borough

A 15-year-old boy is recovering after an accidental shooting in Liberty Borough.

An official with the Pennsylvania Game Commission says the boy was hunting with some friends when his 12-gauge shotgun went off.

The bullet entered near his lower right ribs and exited through his shoulder. His vital organs were not hit.

The boy was taken to Children's Hospital and he's said to be conscious and alert.

He is listed in serious condition.

Celebrate! Celebrate!

I have successfully completed yet another class with an A. Rock on! That is 12 credits for this school under my belt so far. DH has successfully completed his first class with an A as well. I start new classes tomorrow and he gets a week off. (lucky!)
 I must start to prepare my list of baking goods and square away some more Christmas shopping. I picked up DH's lay a way on Friday, bunch of cloths and guy stuff. Got it all wrapped and hidden away in the attic. Now I must finish the kids and my family. I will say that I will be ecstatic when I have everything payed off and bought. Sad that Christs birthday is such a consumer holiday, ruins everything.
 Now that DH is home from hunting and all finals are complete, I can actually shower and go to sleep before 3AM for the first time this week!! Tomorrow is the speech therapist and Jimmy's homework ((((sigh.....)))

Seriously!

I am so tired at this point, I mean really tired. Just a few hours of sleep, almost a whole half a pot of coffee down and I am ready to pass out. Finals will do this each at every time. Of course trying to write Jim's essays help Jim write his essays on top of my own is so tiring. Its the whole compiling thousands of words into a APA format over and over, on top of researching and outlining. Then there is Jimmy's work.
  Oh then Christmas shopping is a scary scary thing. We already spent so much and yet the list keeps growing somehow. How does this get so out of control? It goes from celebrating Jesus's birthday to bankrupting us.
  On an even crazier note, I read on my Yahoo homepage today that a couple paid a national forest for a Christmas tree. Not just a tree farm where you cut one of  their trees down and they take it back and wrap it up...no! They drove their Subura into the forest, attempted to hike to the top of a mountain to cut down a rare tree that is only found in high elevation and has not returned. So here's the part I found crazy. The same couple, did the exact thing last year and got lost. These people have 4 children and the wife is a diabetic. What in the hell are you thinking? Its Christmas assholes, what about your kids! You risk your lives over a Christmas tree?! What is going on in this place

What I am thankful for

I am thankful for: (in no particular order then when they pop into my head)
1) My brother TJ and the greatness he turned out to be and his kind heart
2) My brother David. I am so incredibly thankful we made it another year and he is well
3) My precious babies are my heart and soul and the reason I live
4) For the fond, loving memories of my guardian angels, my grandparents
5) My parents for being the rock, heart and soul of the family
6) Jim for his dedicated partnership and unshaken love
7) My sister in law for her patience, kindness, and love she has showed my family
8) To have made it another year
9) My new found faith I found the day I lost my grandmother, it keeps me strong
10) To have the means to provide for my children
11) The soldiers who are away from home this holiday fighting to keep my children safe
12) My brother in law leaving that junkie bitch, may God guide him down the straight path
13) Reuniting with my Godfather
14) My cousin Jack making it another year and he is well
15) Having the opportunity to go to Disney World, not once, but twice this year!
16) For growing a year older and ten years wiser
17) And last but not least: The advice my grandmother gave me before she passed.

My prayers go out to:
Cancer victims (especially the little guys), soldiers, the homeless (humans and animals alike), children who will lose the dream of Christmas this year over this fucked up economy, my babies, Falco & Chet, David, people who lose their love ones, people who lose their homes and jobs, my aunt (for my uncles sake), and every single day of my life I pray to God for strength to keep going and to make it through

Happy Thanksgiving Be thankful for what you have

My family remembrance

Whether George Kelly was helping to raise his siblings, working to educate his children or fighting for his country, it was in keeping with the tenets of his Christian faith.

"Dad never did anything half-way," said his daughter, Janice Kugler. "His commitments were always 110 percent. It was part of his Methodist upbringing of reaching out to others."

George William Kelly, of White Oak, a member of the board of trustees of Wesley United Methodist Church in McKeesport, died Friday, June 16, 2006, in UPMC McKeesport. He was 81.

"Dad was one of 10 children," Kugler added. "My grandfather, Calvin Kelly, died when my father was 16. Dad dropped out of school and up until he entered the Army, he was helping to raise his younger brothers and sisters.

"He even volunteered to stay behind so one of his brothers, who had the opportunity to attend college, could attend.

"And even after my grandmother, Lillie, died, Dad continued to be the one his brothers and sisters could call up for help and advice."

In 1942, Mr. Kelly enlisted in the Army and as a member of the 4th Armored Division, he saw action at the Battle of the Bulge.

"Dad often recalled how proud he was to have participated in a war against oppression and tyranny," said his daughter. "He was a patriot who loved this country."

Following his discharge in 1945, Mr. Kelly was employed by U.S. Steel as a production scheduling supervisor. He retired in the late 1970s.

Kugler recalled her father's commitment to his Methodist faith as another milestone in his life.

"As a boy, Dad, along with his family, attended the Free Methodist Church in McKeesport, which is a very strict Methodist denomination," said his daughter. "It was here that he began his desire to serve an important tenet of his Christian faith -- that of reaching out to others."

In 1948, George Kelly married Doris Rebecca Oyler, a resident of McKeesport, who was employed in the offices of Westinghouse Air Brake Corp. in Wilmerding.

"Both Mom and Dad were active members of the Wesley United Methodist Church in McKeesport," recalled Kugler.

Mr. Kelly served on the building committee when the congregations of the Ballantyne and Coursin Methodist churches merged to become Wesley United Methodist Church and a new building was erected in 1968.

Mr. Kelly was also an active on the board of trustees of Wesley United Methodist and Wesley United Methodist Men.

"Dad understood the importance sports had in the development of young men and he coached the McKeesport Knights softball team, besides the softball and baseball teams at our church," said Kulger.

Mr. Kelly is survived by his wife, Doris Rebecca Oyler Kelly; children, Joyce Heady, of South Pasadena, Fla., Clifton Kelly, of Beavercreek, Ohio, and Janice Kugler, of White Oak; five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

He is also survived by his sisters, Annabelle Haidle-Tomak, of Dayton, Ohio, and Jeanne Carlson, of Milton, Del.

Mr. Kelly was preceded in death by his sisters, June Whitehead, Dorothy Stumme-Pishko and Lillie May Walsh and brothers Clifton, Calvin, Charles and Glenn Kelly.

Homemade Pecan Pie

Homemade Pumpkin Praline Pie

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Even though I was exhausted today, I'm still trying to keep on track. I have to say it turned out really really good too. My first homemade batch, proud of myself.

Festive decorations and table peices

Make A Wish