Christmas..

We had a great Christmas, and it's not over yet. X-mas eve we went to Mick's Grandma's house and had dinner and opened presents w/ her and Mick's Aunt and cousins.. It was nice, the kids recieved new clothes, which is always appreiciated. We finally put the kids to bed around 10 or so, and they were both so excited about Santa coming. ** Now Clay does and doesn't belive in Santa, sometimes he says he doesn't and that he knows it is Mick and I, and then when I talk "Santa" up he starts to believe in him again, so it's kind of a catch 22 with a 10 1/2 yr old buy**

Anyhow, so we wait till about 11 before we go to the barn and get Sis' big present to bring into the house, and then we start filling the stockings. 11:30 and Michayla is up and going to the bathroom and not wanting to go back to bed... AHH, I paniced when she started towards the living room. I detoured her to her room. We waited till a little after midnight and decided we were good to go to bed. I don't know how many times thru the night that those two came into our rooms saying "Santa came, can we open our presents?" Umm, I looked at the clock it was 1am, 3:30, 4:30 and finally at 6am a sleep deprived mother got up. Of course I remembered that the camera was in the truck from the trip to Grandma Betty's so I went to get it and decided I better just feed the horses while I was out there..
Anyhow, came back in and they both opened their stockings first and then onto the presents. Sis was so excited that she got a new dresser from Santa and Clay almost passed out when he opened his new hunting coat! Along with all their other gifts they had a great time opening presents.
My parents and Amanda and family showed up. Mick made scrambled eggs and sausage, I made cinnamon rolls and Amanda brought pull-aparts. It was a nice gathering.. Opened gifts again. Clay got a new sling for his 22 that he bought with his pig earnings. Michayla got a new desk and chair and some necklace making kits. My mom was nice enough to buy me new dishes, I so needed them. Two years ago she bought me new silverware, so my kitchen attire is rather nice now.. Mick of course got Cabelas gift cert. and some new outdoor shoes.
Then my folk's took the kids and we went to see Marley & Me. I read the book a couple years ago and I just loved it. The movie was really well done, it compared to the book rather well. Then to Mom's for dinner and home to put all of Sis' things together. Clay spent the night at mom and dad's so he could go hunting w/ Dad on Friday and Snowmobiling on Sat. Maybe I'll get him back on Sunday.

Sunday night we go to Mick's folk's house to exchange gifts with them. We usually spred X-mas out over 3 days just so we don't have to do so much running around in one day..
I am putting together a photo slide to post, but will wait to post till after Sunday. Hope everyone had a great Christmas with their families...

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!! Take care, god bless...

X-mas card thank you's..

I just want to say thank you for all of the great Christmas cards we have gotten this year. We have recieved a ton and I really appreciate all the pictures and traditonal cards, they are all great!!

The winner for the Scentsy Bar drawing is Melissa!! More than likely Amanda may be dropping it off to you, but I will try to do it myself.. :)

It was a very busy weekend, but I need to get to bed so that I can go to work tomorrow, I work 10 hr days for the next 2 days, so I might not get to post about Michayla doing a terrific job in her Christmas singing Program at Amanda's church today until X-mas eve!! It was great, she really wants to be a singer when she grows up, too cute!

Till then......

Missing..

Doesn't it just drive you crazy when you have something, then go to look for it and it is missing? I have 3 bamboo pampered chef spoons, and now I can't find any of them. Clay's chore is to unload/load the dishwasher. I asked him where they were and he says he doesn't know, Mick and Michayla have the same answer. Where could they have gone?? It's not like a sock in the dryer, I don't think that my dishwasher ate them, but I searched every drawer and cupboard and can't find them anywhere... They have to be around here someplace, I guess I will continue to keep looking...

**A Christmas give-away**
Leave a comment about something bizzare that has gone missing at your house. You'll be in a drawing for a Scentsy Bar, just perfect for this time of year. I will draw the name on Friday, and get the bar to you before X-mas!! Good luck... :)

Busy weekend..

My weekend started early on Thursday. Mick had been sick since last Sunday, it was pretty bad for about 3 days, then Clay woke up Thursday morning and had a fever and a terrible cough. Mick has not been working but 1-2 days a week, and of course the one day he is called to work, is the day that Clay is sick. I was scheduled to work 10 hours that day so I couldn't really call in sick. Clay went to work with Mick, he was fixing some things so Clay just hung out in the truck. After I got to work we looked at the schedule, it wasn't busy and almost all of us were there due to it being a Surgery day so I was able to go to Nampa and take Clay home.

We did some errands before coming home then Clay was banned to the cough and some medicine and eventually took a little nap. It definitely isn't like it was when he was little. Before you could give him some medicine and he'd be out, now it's a huge ordeal, he thinks he's to old to rest, but I got him to anyway.

Friday was Clay's X-mas Concert, he felt a little better that morning, he was excited about the concert so there was no keeping him home from school. Mick and I took the opportunity to go to Cabelas so we could finish Clay's x-mas shopping. It never fails that when we go there Mick just "happens" to find something in the bargain cave that he just has to have.. :)
Clay's concert was at 1, Amanda and the girls came and it was a nice concert. Some kids used the percussion instruments and sounded great. Afterwards we ran some Scentsy to my niece Shannon's teacher and then home.
I have been using my myspace to get a few friends' address for X-mas cards and had told our friends the Anderson's that if they were coming into town for the holidays to call. With apologies Shannon contacted me and wanted us to get together Friday night for drinks. We hadn't seen them both since right before the moved about 3 years ago. We met up at the Ram in Meridian, thank you Amanda for watching the kids on such short notice. It was nice seeing them, they really haven't changed.

Sat Mick got up early to go Goose/Duck hunting. My dad has a special membership to some blind in Nampa, the Geese always fly but have gotten smart and fly around the blind. Oh well they still came home with 6 ducks.
Sat night was both Mick and I's company X-mas parties. This being our first we wanted to go to them both. Of course they started at the same time. Mick's was in Meridian at the Golf course and mine was at our Dr.'s house in Star. We went to Mick's at 6-8 then mine 8:30-10:30.. It was nice to see all the guys that Mick talks about.
Sunday Mick and Clay and my dad got up and went goose hunting, the weather was perfect, a overcast and snowing, couldn't ask for better conditions. They got 3 Geese this time.. I dropped Sis off with Amanda and the girls at church and then went and sat with my Grannie for about 3 hours till church got out.
My Grannie is looking and doing wonderfully. Great news is that she gets to go home on Thursday! I am excited for her but bummed that she'll be back out in Homedale, it's so easy to see her here in Meridian. I guess that just means we'll be making more frequent trips out there. She is trying to make arrangements to move into Meridian, I hope all that pans out for them.
Then it was home to start laundry and all of that stuff for the work week preparations. Cass came by to get some Scentsy that she bought, she looked too cute in her little van. When I was saying goodbye, Ella (her wild child) was sitting in the passenger window, stradling it. She cracks me up. Always keeping Cassie on her toes.. Too fun, for her.. ;0)

I can't believe that X-mas is in a little over a week. And, in 1 month from today my baby turns 8 yrs old. Oh my goodness...

I believe that I have all my shopping done, I know there are a couple people that I still need to buy for, but for the most part, I am done. Hope all of you are too..

This next weekend Michayla is singing at church, she has a solo part in a song they are singing. I can't wait to go and watch. She loves to sing, and does a great job of it. She reminds me of myself when I was little. I always had the radio on and I knew all of the words to most every song. Can't wait, my mom bought her a beautiful winter dress and she will look just adorable in it. I'll post about that then..

X-mas a little early!!

My best friend Laura and I always buy X-mas gifts for each other, and we never wait till X-mas to give them to each other.. She and her husband Zach just bought their first house together and I am so glad that it is only 4 miles up the road from me. Thursday we both needed to get some more shopping done, and thought heck why not exchange our gifts to each other. I bought her tons of towels, washcloths, and kitchen rugs and pot holders. Although she has lived on her own for however long, she needed new and exciting things for the new place. I was shocked when she gave me this Ok so my gift doesn't really compare to hers but I am so thankful to her, I love it, it's brown suede and has pink crystals on it..

She didn't spend that much on my gift, but won't tell me how much she did spend. She said that she was tired of me always fixing my little crystal clips on my cheap purse that I bought off Ebay. While I love that purse and always got a ton of compliments on it, I am very appreciative to her buying that for me!

Laura is the kind of friend that you know is always going to be there. We can call each other at any time of the day or night or early early morning for that matter. She cocktails at a local bar and if something interesting or funny happens she thinks that at 3am is the time to call me and tell me about it. I love that we talk about 4 times a day, usually about nothing too important.

Laura is more than just a friend, she is more like family. We have been through so much together, she was right there for me during some really hard months a few years back and I too for her. We are ok with just sitting and watching TV not talking at all. She went camping with Mick and I and the kids for 5 days one summer.. Although she doesn't have her own kids I know she will be a great mother when that time comes!

Thank you "Laura Bell" for all that you do for me, I am a better person for our friendship!!

Things to look forward to in 2009

I can't believe that 2009 is only about 2 weeks away. This past year has just flown by. It feels like every year has just gone by faster and faster. Next year our family has so many things that we are planning on doing. I hope that on this list of things we will be able to get them all done. Some of them are just ideas, some of them are definitely planned and just waiting for the time to come.

* Go to Jackson Hole, WY and take a sleigh ride through the Elk Refuge with our family and the Chatterton's.

* Celebrate Michayla turning 8 years old

* Go to Disneyland with the Wagners, maybe I can get my sister and family to go too

* Celebrate 11 years of marriage to Mick

* Go to Reno with friends and family for Mick and I's 30th B-day's

* Go to Colorado to see my brother and sister-in-law

* Camping, Camping and more camping

* Go to Bear World in Eastern Idaho

* Celebrate Clay's 11th B-day

* Go to Vegas for the PBR

I love that we have a small family and will be able to afford to do just about everything on our list. Last year we really didn't do too much and I just want to take the kids out and show them more than this little valley. I think it is great to change up the pace of things and have adventures in life!!

Is it us??

Some of you have inquired if the picture header is the 4 of us Tully's. Well the answer is, of course! :) Amanda came over Friday afternoon and took various pictures of us for potential x-mas cards and this is one that she did. I love it!! She of course loves all these foot/feet pictures from when Andrea took her pictures this past summer. She can then put in this picture thing on her computer and "spruce" all of the pictures up.. Anyhow, thanks for all the complements on the picture, I appreciate it!!

Life..

I believe things happen for a reason.
People change so that you can learn to let go.
Things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they're right.
You believe lies, so you eventually start to trust no one but yourself.
Sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can come together!
~Marilyn Monroe~


Doesn't that say so much? I think it's very true. I appreciate things that have happened in the past, they definitely make me look to the better in the future. I know that people change, I hope that I have changed, I know I have. I believe that the things that have happened in the past have helped make me who I am today.

I have so much that I am proud of, so much that I am thankful for, and I have soo much to look forward to in the future. Next year will hold great things for my family!

Things that I love more with each passing year:

I love to see my kids turn another year older and all of the lessons I learn with each of my children. I love that my kids make me who I am.

I love that my husband is always supporting and encouraging me in everything I do. I appreciate him, for his effort and willingness to always provide for his family.

I love that I have a nice place to call home

I love that I have awesome family & friends, people who I can always count on at anytime, who don't judge and are always supportive.

I love that I am getting older. (Yes I did just say that) Most people don't like to get older, but I can't wait, in just 8 short, quick years it will be just Mick and I doing our thing together all the time and I can't wait!! We will be young parents of adults and I can't wait to get to explore this world with him..

I love that God has guided me in the right direction. I know that he is in control of my life rather I acknowledge it all the time, in my heart I know it. It's because of him that I am able to love all of these things in my life.

Elk x's 4!

All I have heard about the last couple days is how Mick can't wait for opening day of Elk again. We soo need meat in our freezer. This morning, Mick, Jason Dawson, Jason Hoodenpyle and my dad all got up around 3am and headed to their hunting spot. Of course Mick couldn't go without waking me, again... :)
Anyhow I had a good feeling for them today, I think things were in their favor... I told Mick to call me if the got some down today. About 9 or so my sister called my work and told me that they got 4 down!! Wow, I was so very excited. 4 Elk in one foul shot and they all had their tags filled. At first they could only find 4 of them, after searching all over on the way back to the truck they finally found the 4th one. I was so glad that they don't have to go back up there again. It's so much nicer then everyone gets them all at the same time.

So Mick being the Red Neck guy he can be at times, came home down Eagle Rd. with this look in our truck:



Can you imagine the looks they got with all of those people. Jason said there were people taking pictures with their cell phones. And of course they were pulled over by a sheriff. He congratulated them for the kill but also had to make sure everyone had there licenses and tags.
Amanda and the girls, Darcy and her kids, and my mom all met up at our house for pizza while the guys did the necessary things to take the Elk to Tackett's in Nampa to cut ant wrap it.

I know some of you aren't really into hunting, but you have no clue as to how much this helps out our family. I was raised on Elk, and it is soo much cheaper than going to the grocery store and buying beef. I can't wait to start cooking with it again. Our family ate all of last years Elk about 3 months ago, so we are definately excited. We now have a Pig and Elk to eat I couldn't ask for more at this time.

Thank you God for providing for not just 1 family but 4!!