Music City Bowl

If you have time and the Music City Bowl is airing in your area be on the look out for Eric and Ethan!! Eric got tickets through work and they will be on the 50 yard line in the FRONT ROW!! They are seated on Boston's side so keep your eyes open :)

Christmas... a bit delayed

Ok so I'm finally going to post about how Christmas went at the Joki house. Can you believe Mom and Dad woke up before the kids??? I know, strange right? Well we woke up and called for Ethan as we couldn't wait to see his face- and what does he give me- NOTHING!! I told him, look Santa came and he say "I know", silly boy. Well he came downstairs and took in all the presents and became more excited after that.


Here is what our house looked like first thing Christmas morning... pretty cozy right???



Well, we were expecting Papa and Cathy to show up any time but we could tell Ethan was excited so we let him go ahead and do this...







Which seemed to appease him a bit :) When Papa and Cathy finally arrived they brought with them donuts... bless them... and also lots more presents. This is what our house looked like after their arrival...

Then we proceeded with the unwrapping of gifts and all chaos broke out, just look...

Adalyn had more fun picking up the paper than unwrapping gifts...

We all got wonderful presents this year, and had a lovely day. After presents we were treated to pancakes and sausage courtesy of Papa and Cathy and spent a wonderful day together as family. Though we missed those that couldn't be here with us (Ryan and Emily and my whole family) it was a good day filled with happiness.

I hope you all were as lucky as us this Christmas.

Busy...

Sorry for the lack of posting... it has been a busy week! I plan to do a Christmas post as soon as I am able to sit at the computer long enough to do so. Till then, I hope everyone had a wonderful Chrismas... I know we did!

Happy New Year!!

Christmas Eve...

The children are nestled all snug in their beds...

The letters to Santa have all been written (for those that can't tell, Ethan has asked for a computer and love for Christmas)

The reindeer have all been fed... (oatmeal and glitter go a long way!)

Santa's cookies are out... (thanks Mom!)

and have been eaten...

The stockings are stuffed...

Santa has visited..

and the presents are under the tree...

Now Mommy is tired and headed to bed...

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Not Me Monday!

Ok so I'm finally going to jump on the bandwagon and join in Mckmama's blog carnival and tell you all about the things I most certainly did not do this week. Hop on over to Mckmama's blog and check out what others are not doing as well!

• I did not put Ethan to bed at his normal bedtime, even though he had earned the right to stay up half an hour late by doing all his chores, just so that I could have some peace and quiet to wrap presents... what kind of Mom would do that?


• I did not order a Christmas present for Eric online only to stress that when it arrived at our house he would see it an open it before Christmas. I also did not yell at him on the phone when he did indeed see the package arrive to not open it!! A smart person would have just had it delivered to her work address... right?


• I was not so busy this week that I realized on Friday that my daughter had not had a bath... all week long... ewwwwwwww!!! Of course, if I had done that I would have quickly rectified the situation...

• I also did not get all choked up about selling our house when our neighbors, who are really more like family than friends, came over with Christmas gifts. It also did not make the situation even worse that the gift that was given to me was a beautiful church that was taken from their personal collection so that "every year we will think of them when we put it out". How can we possibly move away from such lovely people- are we completely crazy! We love you Bud and Debbie!

So what have you not done this week???????

Teachable moment...

So this morning as I was driving the kids to daycare on my way to work, Ethan and I were listening to Christmas music. Well, Away In a Manger came on the radio. Here is the conversation that followed:

Me: Ethan, did you know this song is about the day Jesus was born. You know that is what Christmas is about right?

Ethan: Mom, Christmas is not allllll about God. (said in a "I know what I'm talking about way") What about Santa?

Me: No Ethan, Christmas IS all about God, it is the day Jesus was born and it's all about celebrating his birthday. The reason we give gifts on Christmas is to celebrate that. Santa just helps.

Ethan: Oh, ok. (and his mind was on to something else already!!)

Wordless Wednesday

BooMama Christmas Tour of Homes

So, this is my first attempt at doing a blog carnival but this one looked like so much fun I had to try. So, over at BooMama's blog she is hosting a Christmas Tour of Homes. Here is a peak at what we've done in our home!

The tree... I love our tree. I used to want the perfect tree, you know the one, all the ornaments match, everything is just so, and I had that tree for awhile. Mine was all red and gold with spiraling ribbon coming from a huge bow on top. I was great! Then I met Eric and we aquired this wonderful tree with it's colorful lights and it screamed fun not formal. So now we have ornaments of all shapes and sizes and most have a meaning- first Christmas ornaments and wedding ornanments and engagement ornaments- even a "parents-to-be" ornament. And without further ado, here is the tree...



And here is the fireplace. I can't take credit for the design as this is the same set-up that Eric's Mom had on her fireplace the last Christmas we had with her. Every time I look at it I think of her.



And the tinsel tree that used to be Eric's Mom's as well. It's really pretty as it rotates around with the different colors bouncing off the silver branches.

First with the flash...



And without...




And you must have a tree in the kitchen... right? Mine is decorated with gingerbread ornaments, too cute!




And the centerpiece on our table. I can't take credit for this either as it was given to me after a party for a dear friend as he graduated from police academy. I loved it and decided it needed to be on my table!



And the garland on our railing to the loft. Not the best picture but I couldn't get a good angle.




Well, I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Joki house. I had fun sharing! Now check out BooMamma's blog and share your own tour!

How could anyone not just love this face????

Check this out...

Wow, what a wonderful opportunity to try to win something great PLUS give to 3 great causes! Check out Mckmama's site for this great raffle and to learn more about the cause you could help.

Change of plans...

So we didn't end up going rock climbing after all. Eric had been having some trouble with his shoulder since playing softball last season and it is just beginning to feel better so he didn't want to risk reinjuring it so we changed our plans. Instead we headed off to the mall to see a movie. The choice of the evening????



It was very funny and Ethan had a blast sitting with Rachel and Skip through the movie. Adalyn was fussy at first but then she fell asleep and was conked out for the rest of the movie. After the movie was over it was off to dinner at Wasabi, a new Japanese grill they put in Providence. The kids were enthralled with the food being cooked in front of us and I didn't think Ethan was ever going to stop eating he enjoyed it so much! I forgot my camera but Rachel was kind enough to get some pictures so I'll post those as soon as she gets them to me.

Today Ethan spent the day with his Papa while Eric and I got some much needed Christmas shopping done. We have the kids all done- whohooooo!!! Only a few more things to get and we are done. I'm really excited about Christmas this year, Ethan really "gets" so it should be a lot of fun on Christmas morning!!!

Happy Thanksgiving... a day late!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! How was your turkey day? We had a wonderful day. We went to Cathy's (Eric's Dad's wife for those that don't know) daughter's (Kristy) house for dinner and we had a good time. It was good to spend the day with Dad and to get to know Cathy's family a little bit better. Ethan had a blast playing with Preston (Cathy's son's girlfriend's son) and they ran around causing havoc as only 4 and 5 year old boys can!! Adalyn was terrified of the dogs at first but by the end of the night she was going up and giving them hugs- of course at this point they were sleeping so they were much less intimidating!! Then it was off to home and all of us went to bed early- the Joki clan was exhausted!!

Thanksgiving always makes me think of the things I'm most thankful for- which I guess is good because well... that is what the whole day is about right? So I thought I'd share with you all what I am thankful for. First and foremost I am thankful for knowing that I have a God that loves me enough that he would send his only son to die for ME. I am not worthy of this love but I am thankful for it none the less. Next would be that this same God felt fit to put Eric in my life and then to go on and bless both of us with the most wonderful children two people could ever ask for. I am so lucky to have the wonderful family that I do and wouldn't change it for the whole world. Both Eric and I have also been blessed with wonderful families that are always supportive and always there if we need them but don't tell us how to run our lives. We are so blessed to have these wonderful people to call family. And last but not least are the friends we have. We know that we are not good at always keeping in touch with those friends that are far, or for that matter near, but it doesn't mean that we don't think of them often and miss them dearly. Know that all of you are loved and we are grateful that you are in our lives. (How's all that for mushy?????)

Speaking of blessings, today we get the pleasure of spending the day with our good friends Skip and Rachel. We have been so blessed by their friendship and don't get to spend time with them nearly as much as we would like too!! Skip is currently going to the Tennessee Highway Patrol Academy and will be graduating soon so hopefully once that is over we will get to see them more. Today's agenda will included rock climbing which I'm sure I will take lots of pictures of!!

Tune back in for news on whether any of us fell off the wall!!!!!

Mr. Mom

Well, tomorrow morning I leave to fly to St. Louis for a few days for work. Eric will be flying solo with the kids. I had a trip a few weeks ago as well and he and the kids did great while I was gone- he even had the house clean when I got home!! I'm sure they'll have a great time while I'm gone but I'm a little sad that I'll miss Eric's birthday on Thursday. Of course we can always celebrate on the weekend! Wish Eric luck this week... or should I say wish me luck, it's going to be a busy fews days.

Bad Start...

Wow, what a bad start to my blogging experience! I get excited and start this blog then go and get sick and not post again in forever. Well, here I am to correct that. I'm finally starting to feel human again, let me tell you strep is not your friend- ICK!

So new things in our house... hmmm... Adalyn now has a vocabulary of a grand total of... drumroll please... 5 whole words!! She can now say "uh-ohhhh", "Daddy", "dog", "mama" and "nana" (banana)- she learned them in that order. For a girl that is all about her Mommy she sure did put me pretty far down that list. I mean, come on, I'm after dog! And we don't even have a dog! Oh well, I'm just glad she is learning. She also had an appointment with the ENT. Our pediatrician was worried that the ear infections she's had and the continual fluid on her ears is effecting her speech so he referred us. The ENT has us in a "wait and see" pattern right now. If she gets another ear infection (she has one now) in the next 2 months then she goes in for tubes. I really don't like the idea of her having surgery but if it helps her then she'll be there. Guess we'll just wait and see... Oh and her 15 months stats- 22.3 lbs and 31 inches- my girl is growing up!!

Ethan is... well he's Ethan. He is just funny and goofy but can be so compassionate it kills me. And that boy loves his little sister... almost too much! He would be in her face non-stop if someone didn't tell him to let her breathe. I'm glad though, I want them to be close and to love each other. As for Adalyn, Ethan is the funniest thing on earth to her!

Here are some pictures for you for now. I promise I'll get better at this posting thing once I get the hang of it!!

I Did It!

I actually did it! I started a blog. Now the pressure begins- AHHHHHHHH!! So why, do you ask, did I decide to start a blog? Well you see, we have many family and friends that live so far away from us and well, I'm terrible at keeping in contact with them. My hope is that this blog will help to accomplish that. I hope to use this blog to update those we love on the ups and downs and ins and outs of life with the Jokis. So, pull up a seat, kick up your feet and join us for the ride!!