Monthly Archives: December 2012

Today was a very pivotal day in the life of the Halliday family.  We made the final decision that we are going to move.  I still have to talk to my Director and hopefully he’ll be good with it.  If so, we’ll put the house on the market in 2 weeks and look to move at the end of March or the first part of April!  Yikes!  It’s taken us about 5 years of thinking and praying about this to finally feel that now is the right time.

We told the kids today and they had mixed emotions.  They are excited (and Brittany has been the most excited in times past when we talked about it), but now Brittany has a “boyfriend” and she is bumming.  I’m sure she’ll be just fine.  The boys were REALLY exicted, Kirstyn was so-so, and Sarah was excited for us but a little mad because depending on when we move and when she gets her mission call, she may not have a farewell here!  😐

Exciting times!

Tonight we went with Carla’s and Scott’s family to the Lincoln park zoo to see animals and lights.  The kids really had a fun time!  It wasn’t near as cold as it was a couple of years ago when we went.

The lights were really beautiful.  We also saw ice carvers making their masterpieces which are always amazing to me!

When we got to the point that our faces had been frozen, thawed and then frozen again at least 10 times, we called it a night and came back home.  Carla and Scott leave tomorrow so the kids were kind-of bummed about that.  It’s been a great Christmas break so far!

Today was spent shopping and playing.  The girls went shopping and left the little ones with Scott and me.  We took them to the park by Still Middle School and they played outside until they couldn’t feel their faces.  We then took them back home and had some hot chocolate and once they were thawed out, they continued to play with their Christmas toys.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Today we had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas!  The kids were all so excited to have Christmas morning with their cousins!

… and they couldn’t wait to get downstairs to see what Santa had brought them.  It was hard enough to get the little ones to sit still for this picture!  🙂  The only one not in the picture is Ben.  He was SO tired and didn’t realize that it was Christmas Morning.  He wouldn’t get out of bed.  I wish that this would happen on all the other mornings when he is supposed to sleep in!  🙂

Everyone loved their presents and played to their heart’s content all day long.  We watched some movies, took naps, and just took it easy!

We probably ate too much junk food today as well, but that’s OK.  We enjoyed it and that’s what matters!  🙂

We had a GREAT Christmas Eve today!  Early in the day Scott and Carla and their family arrived to celebrate Christmas with us.  True to tradition, a bunch of us went over to the Oscarson’s home for dinner, went caroling, and then went to our house for the nativity play and dessert.  We had a wonderful time.  The food was great and the caroling is always fun!  We had to doctor up the nativity play yet again this year to accommodate for more parts!

Everyone had a great time!  It is so much fun to see everyone dressed up in their make-shift costumes.  It’s kind-of corny, but the spirit is there and every year has been memorable.  After dessert and everyone left, the kids went out to sprinkle reindeer food on the lawn and then go to bed!

Sarah came home for the Christmas break today!  Yea!  We picked her up from Midway airport and were so excited to see her!  The boys were especially excited.  They have missed her so much and have talked about her all the time.  It will be nice to be all together as a family for the next couple of weeks!  🙂

Ben has bad teeth!  Over the last 6 days, he has had 7 cavities filled!  🙁  We need to get him of the sweets!  We brush and floss his teeth really well, but it’s not helping.  🙁