MERRY CHRISTMAS...from Minnesota!

Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday Jesus!

This year we are here in Minnesota spending Christmas with
the Shogren family. We left Des Moines at about noon and We arrived at my parents house at about 10:30 Thursday night. We were able to stop in St. Cloud and babysit Zakery for 2 hours while Phil and Heather headed to their Home Small group Bible Study! Zak was a great boy and VERY CUDDLY! He has a little cold and all weekend he ahs had a little trouble sleeping. Friday we finished up some Christmas shopping and then that night we surprised my mom with a 50th b-day party at Poncho and Lefty's. However, Mandy & Dan were late and Mom got there before everyone else, but we still caught her off GUARD and she was VERY HAPPY! We had balloons, silly hats and presents!
After dinner we all came home and crashed. Saturday Tim, Phil, Dan and Dad headed to the fish house to fish on the frozen lake. TIM was VERY NERVOUS and he had a great time. I asked him what he thought about ice fishing and this was his response, "I prefer summer fishing because it is more interactive and....it's WARMER!!!" The boys had a fun time throwing snowballs at the ice house (they made up some game), but there was a fatality...the ice fishing gaff fell straight down one of the holes after DAN beamed the side of the fishhouse! Heather also made it out there, whilewe watched Zak, and the boys loved making her jump. Tim threw a snowball at her car and about sent her through her roof! Saturday night, we went to church, & stopped by and visited Great-Grandma Shogren. In church, Morgie did her business and was very stinky and later Zak was doing his business and grunting VERY LOUDLY (all were laughing) and so Heather and Jonna were on Poop Patrol. grandma Shogren was supposed to have dinner nad the evening with us, but she wasn't feeling too well so we all stopped to visit her, give her presents and we took oodles of pictures! We got back to the house at about 8:00, finished up dinner, and Morgan went to bed...she had refused to nap earlier in the day...that was fun! After dinner we opened presents and then I went to bed at midnight. Maddie stayed up and danced a bit with her auntie Mandy and Tim played X-Box. Today we sisn't get up until 8:00-- opened more presents (the girls). The girls got a CD/cassette/radio player, Cinderella DVD, crayons, markers, coloring books, play jewelery, purses, play pink & purple cell phones, a huge magna doodle! can you say spoiled!!?????!!!! Tim and Dad headed out to the fishhouse again today and they didnt catch anything, bummer! Mom Shogren napped, the girls "rested," and I vegged out! The girls are now in bed and we are all eating snacks and watching the football games!

Tomorrow we head home and Praise the Lord it should be near 50 when we get home! Wa-hoo!!!! Tim is back to work and I am on "break" until all of the kids go back to school around Jan. 2nd!

Merry Christmas!!!
Jonna