We Climbed to the Top of the Mountain

Well, actually, we DROVE to the top of the mountain. And the mountain was Mt. Scott - part of the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. It's probably only called a mountain because they didn't know what else to call a mound of dirt more than 20 feet tall in Oklahoma. The mountain stands 2,464 feet tall and is really quite impressive to three little sets of eyes. The day was beautiful. The mountain hadn't changed much since the days when Tom and I used to hang out there, but the view had. The main difference was the large wind farm nearby. It was a very cool sight. The kids had great fun climbing around the rocks. I had fun watching my three little munchkins and remembering standing among those same rocks 10 years ago without a clue of what we would be doing now.

Wonderful Christmas

We had a terrific Christmas! Tom had to go to Arizona on the Thursday before Christmas. That means that I had to take Thursday and Friday off:) The kids and I enjoyed the two days by getting ready for company and spending time together. On Friday, my sister, Dezarae, and her two wonderful kids came into town. It was quite a drive from Colorado! Tom also returned home on Friday. On Saturday, Cookie/Tookie/Turkey arrived. After one crazy cookie decorating session, we were ready for Santa Claus!


The kids got lots of great stuff for Christmas. They have really enjoyed it all. The best part of that week, however, was time with the cousins. Gabe and Bea (and Dez) stayed until that next Thursday (when everyone but Tom headed to Abilene). We played lots of games, baked and decorated LOTS of cookies, went bowling, and just had an all-out good time. We hope to repeat it next year.

Thursday we headed to Abilene for the annual Merrell weekend-after-Christmas gathering. It was great to see almost the entire clan there (Erik, we missed you!). Christmas isn't Christmas without all the family fun. This year, we met at the gym of Southern Hills Church of Christ for our meal and stocking fiesta. I thought it worked out really well. The only bad thing was that I didn't get to see some of you for very long - I look forward to our next gathering in March (shhh!)!



I love Christmas - the meaning behind it, the family get-togethers. As for some of the rest of it - let's just say I'm glad it only comes once a year. We have managed to get the tree and all the decorations put away already. What a relief:)

Locks Of Love

After months of asking for short hair and one self-haircut, I finally took Merry to the hairdresser on December 16. After being asked "Are you sure?" several times, Merry said she was ready and the hair was cut. Yes, Mom shed some tears. However, what has been cut off is being donated to Locks Of Love - a wonderful organization that helps children who have lost their hair. Merry loves her haircut - and Mom loves that some other child will benefit from what was cut off (I like the haircut too).

Joy Turns 2

It's official. We no longer have a baby. Our precious Joy turned 2 on December 8. She had what is now the traditional Sawyer 2-year-old party -- Blue's Clues. Of course, the ball pit (also used when the other kids turned 2) was also revived. It took Joy a while to realize that the party was for her, but she had a great time.