Merry Christmas from our Family to Yours.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. Last night we spent the evening with my parents opening up presents. The kids made out like bandits. (of course)

This morning was spent with the kids opening up their presents here at home. They had a grand time ripping open boxes. We will be leaving in a few hours to head to my sister's house. They only live about 15 minutes away. My mom and dad will be there as well. We are just going to spend the day eating, watching movies, playing games, etc. Should be fun. We hope you have a great day with family. Take a little time to enjoy what this season is really about. The birth of Christ.

Love,

Aaron, Amy, Garrett, Donovan and Brynn Elizabeth

An update in our crazy life

I am so sorry that I haven't posted lately. These last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I have had to make 150 plus caramel apples dipped in chocolate, work, weddings, church plays, and the list goes on. Garrett had his Sunday School program this past Sunday. Last year when he said his part, he was very quiet. I mentioned to him that he might want to say it a little louder, so that people can hear him. So this year he decided to yell it into the microphone. It is a good thing that everyone got to hear him. Sunday night our children's choir put on their play. It was wonderful. My niece MacKenzie was a wonderful angel. Her song was beautiful. Looking forward to winding things down. I am hoping to just sit this week and enjoy the season reflecting on what Christmas means to me.

I thought I would post what my Wonderful Dear Husband wrote about me! It is nice to hear it, but it is much more special to see it and share with others!!! Thanks Honey.

13 things I love about my wife:

She put our kids ahead of her career interests when she left teaching to raise our three children.
She doesn’t complain about it when I cannot provide luxuries that others have.
She is thrifty as a shopper, and I have never met anyone who stretches a dollar as far as she can.
She is a beautiful woman, and she passed that beauty on to my daughter, Brynn.
She has a way with people that I don’t have; she makes them feel at ease, and children love her.
She is unselfish with her time, freely giving it to church and our family.
She gets up with the kids in the night, even though she is wearier than I am.
She is very talented at culinary arts, especially making gourmet candy.
She is always happy to see me, even when I only have been gone a little while.
I never have to worry about counseling her about modesty, as she is very conservative in her dress habits.
She has been a true friend and partner to me.
She is always thinking of me when she is out, and I end up with new things regularly because of it (always at a significant discount).
She lets me go hunting with my family every year, which means a great deal to me, even though she hates me being gone.

A little about my husband and best friend.

Well, I have been tagged by a good friend Jill to list 13 things I am thankful for in my husband. It will be hard to keep the list to 13 things. Here I go.

1. He is my best friend.
2. He plays with our kids even when he is tired.
3. He is a wonderful co-worker.
4. He comes up with new solutions to everyday problems.
5. He doesn't mind if dinner is a little late to the table because I have been at work.
6. He is a great 5th and 6th grade Sunday School Teacher.
7. He will play games with my family even though he doesn't enjoy it. (The Saunders family tends to get very competitive when playing games)
8. He does the laundry.
9. He also does the dishes too!!!!
10. He loves me unconditionally.
11. He allows me to grocery shop without the kids.
12. He enjoys serving the Lord.
13. He is still handsome even after 10 years of marriage.

I would love to tag someone else, but I don't know how. I need my husband here to help me. Jill if you read this, leave a message on how to do so! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and take a little time to enjoy the small stuff.

POTTY TRAINING!!!

I think that we (or should I say he) has finally conquered it! Donovan, our middle child and 3 years old, told me yesterday that diapers are for babies. This is the same child who told me 2 weeks ago that he wanted to say with his babysitter because he could wear a diaper. So yesterday I put him in big boy underwear and off to school he went. He only had 1 small accident last night. Yipee. Now I can start buying diapers for just one child.

A long week

Sorry about not posting sooner! We had one of those weeks. It started with a trip to a play and the fire station with Garrett's class, and ended with a trip to northern Wisconsin and the rota virus!!! Somewhere in between I managed to fit in Grandparent's Day at King's Kids, 4 days of work, and a CPR class. As I write this, Donovan our middle one is still sick with the virus. He has been throwing up since Sunday. It started in the car on the way back from WI. Not only were we getting ready to head through Chicago, but he gave no warning that anything was wrong. Minutes later the backseat, his car seat, clothes, etc were covered with you know what. YIKES!!! The other two kids seem OK. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Grandparent's Day

Today was Grandparent's Day at Garrett's school. He was so excited to show his Papa what he did in class & how his classroom looks. They were also going to put on a little program for the Grandparents. He was mostly excited about going out to lunch with Papa and his 2 cousins MacKenzie and Madison. He was also going home with Papa after the festivities were over. Garrett- I hope you had a wonderful day with your Papa!

"GO TIGERS!!!" For those of you who know our family, you already know that we are huge sports fans. (With the exception of Sara) :) We are thrilled that the Tigers are going to the World Series. World Series tickets went on sale yesterday at 10:00. So at 10:00 I was on the computer with my high speed internet access. For an hour, I allowed my computer to wait to see if I could even get a screen that said (you can purchase ___ tickets). But to no avail. I and my family are ticketless. So, I decided to go on E-bay. I have always been told that things sell cheap on E-bay. I found several tickets side by side. Cost? $2,500.00 YIKES!! There is a parking deck that we could park in for $20.00 and watch the game from there. So family, pack up your coolers!!! We are headed to the WORLD SERIES!

Here is a picture...

Here is an updated picture of the kids. It was taken at Nate's wedding in August.

They loved dressing up. The boys thought that they looked like their Papa in his Sunday preaching suit and tie.

A day in the life of...

Well, it is official. Our family has a blog. After months of reading others, I decided to join in.
For those of you viewing this, we are still in MI. We have 3 children. Garrett is 6 and is in K-5. He is our social butterfly. Donovan is 3 and is our sports minded child. Brynn is 1 1/2 and is our drama queen. I will post pictures later. I have to get the kids up to take Garrett to school. Have a great day.