Merry Month of Blogging | Counting down to Christmas

Day Sixteen, Seventeen and Eighteen

Blogging every day in a month is hard work (I know I've already whined about this)! In theory it sounds like a great idea. In the real world, blogging ranks pretty low on my list of priorities when I've got tons of other stuff to do. Regardless, even if I haven't blogged every day this month, I have still enjoyed putting up the posts more regularly than I have this year.

Its officially one week until Christmas and I can't believe its come so fast! I started making my preparations in October for Christmas because I knew November and December would be a little rough because of my surgery(s). It's been fun to be in a Christmas mind a little longer this year since the month of December goes by so quickly!

I love Christmas. I love everything about it - the colors, the presents, the decorations, the music, the food, and most importantly, the hope and love it brings. I'm not a big fan of holidays designed to show one person love (Valentines = blech, Mother's Day = horrifying disappointment, ect...You get the drift.) But Christmas is different. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus (even though biblical scholars don't think it really happened in December, closer to Easter time - I think.)

With a 4-year old, the true meaning of Christmas can get a little muddled sometimes. Its so easy to loose sight of what is really important at this time of year. No, it isn't Candy Cane (our Elf on the Shelf) or Santa Claus. It isn't the Christmas presents under the tree, shopping or looking at lights. It's celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Christmas is just around the corner. In seven days, it will be done for this year. I am really sad about that. We love looking at Christmas lights as a family. It's something that James really likes and has helped Bridget love it as well. It's sad to think that in two weeks, most of the Christmas lights will be turned off. By New Year's, most people take their Christmas trees down. Two weeks from now, everything changes.

But this isn't meant to be a sad post, quite the contrary. This year we have much to be thankful for and much to celebrate. James has a job, I am healthy and cancer free and Bridget is a thriving 4-year old. That's just the abbreviated version of the Fisher Grateful List, it could go on for days. This year, Christmas has been truly merry and bright. It's been filled with giggles, beautiful lights, presents, singing, and most importantly, family.

Christmas is only a week away and I can't wait for it to get here. We're spending Christmas at our house this year and I can't wait to see the look on Bridget's face when she sees what Santa brought her. It's going to be an awesome day!

Merry Month of Blogging | Goodbye Aunt Eva

Day Fifteen

{Warm River - November 2008}

This summer I said good bye to one of the spiciest ladies I knew, my great aunt Eva Baker. Aunt Eva was a firecracker. She is my Grandma Ballou's sister and her polar opposit. Where Grandma Ballou was tomboyish, Eva was all girly girl. She always had a smile on her face and a big hug for you when you saw her.

She also has one of the sweetest love stories around. When she was a girl, she had a boyfriend name Chuck Baker. They were in love and would have gotten married but Great Grandma Egbert didn't approve because Chuck was Catholic and Eva was Mormon. They eventually broke up, married other people and had families of their own.

Fast forward about sixty or so years. They managed to meet up again - he was widowed and she was divorced. Their cute love story blossomed again and they were married for almost 15 years when she passed away in August. My grandma has been gone for three years now. Aunt Eva moved into the role of Grandma for us after Grandma Ballou died. I love her a lot and will always miss her.

Merry Month of Blogging | Missed days

Day twelve, thirteen and fourteen

Blogging every day is really hard! I missed a few days this week because I had my first deadline since I had my surgery and everything was a little crazy! But I'm back with some good pictures today. 

We have had such a rainy year this year. It has been fun and kept temperatures really cool, which has been good for me but not so good for gardens. What was great about it was that we had tons of warm summer rainstorms. Bridget had so much fun running around in the rain with her clothes on. Come to think of it, so did Tonya and I, but that's another story.

The water came down so fast during this storm that it filled the gutters and onto the street. It was a Sunday afternoon and very little traffic on the street which made it the perfect opportunity for Bridget to splash around in the makeshift swimming pool!

{She had so much fun that day!}

{Being the weirdo James is, he has his shoes in stomping in the puddles. So weird.}

{James and Bridget had fun splashing each other}

{Sometimes splashing around can make you so tired. Time for a 'noozer as Abby would say.}

Merry Month of Blogging | Bridget's first dance recital

Day Eleven

Earlier this year we decided to try Bridget in a dance class to see how she liked it. Although the studio was a complete disaster and we've since decided to pull her out, she had a great performance in June as a bumble bee.

Bridget has really taken to dance and was so cute during her performance. She was by far the best dancer up there and we were really proud of her! Jim, Cindy and Makensie were able to come and watch her and I know Bridget appreciated it. It's so nice that she is able to have family around to support her. We love it!

{I love ruffles on the butt!}

{Seriously, she was good. They put her on the front row.}

{We heart family support!}

Merry Month of Blogging | Random James craziness

Day Ten

James kind of gets the shaft on our family blog. He is usually working hard when we are doing fun things that make it on here and he gets very little recognition. Plus when you have a cute kid like Bridget, no one really wants to see pictures of the parents with a kid that cute, right? Right. 

{My handsome hubby at the Roof restaurant last year during my birthday dinner}

 I don't know what I would do with out James in my life. There are times when he drives me to the threshold of insanity and other times when he is so kind of compassionate it makes me cry. He has been so good while I've been dealing with my health issues this fall and I love him so much. He waited patiently in the hospital twice while I had surgery, gave me shots twice a day while I was recovering and has been an amazing help around the house. 

I love torturing James and one way I can do that is by taking his picture. Since I'm the one usually behind the camera, he has to pose in front of what ever we're looking at. After a bit of grumbling, James will always stand where I want him to no matter what. He's a good guy. 

Here are some random pictures I've taken of James over the last few years. They are all with my cell phone and they are pretty funny!

{Gotta love the Mexican wrestling masks. I tried to get him to try one on but he wasn't having it. Fun hater.}

{Brenda: Can I take your picture? James: Grrrrrrr.....}

{Yes, he is getting smacked with a sticky hand. He's a good daddy.}

{Taking a noozer with Logan}

{This is the James everyone knows - happy and always laughing}

{James and Bridget are two great cuddlers}

{James's big win at the casino in Vegas}

{Thumbs up to Beau Jo's pizza indeed}

{Classic James cheese}

{Epic fail on this pumpkin but he had fun carving it with Bridget}

Thanks for working so hard and being a great dad and husband James. Love you!

Merry Month of Blogging | Random craziness with Bridget and Paige

Bridget and Paige are crazy girls. They have so much fun together. These pictures were taken last year when Paige was visiting from New Mexico. These two are total nuts and when they get together its a total giggle fest. They are also best friends and we're lucky to have Paige living so close now. 

Merry Month of Blogging |

Merry Month of Blogging | Bees Game

Day Eight

This year we only made it to one Bees game, which is unheard of for us! We love going to the baseball games and Bridget loves cheering for the home team and eating ball park treats.

Bridget loves baseball a lot. We've taken her to the games since she was a little girl and she has always responded well. She wasn't a big fan of Buzby the bee mascot but she started warming up this year to him. Next year she might actually take a photo with him!

Next year we're going to try to make it to more games. We'll see if that actually happens. :)

{Looking very chic in my sunglasses and Bees hat}

{My little baseball fans}

{Bridget rocking the big sunglasses. She's such a pretty girl.}