December Memories

Our December was filled with a flurry of activity beginning with the decorating of our home. Each year we select a tree from Uncle Ronnie's tree lot and this year the boys gave a lot of input. Carter walked up and down the aisles while Brady scurried to keep up. Jim held up each tree we were interested in until we selected the perfect live tree for our home. Carter was so excited to help decorate and couldn't help but stop to nibble on candy canes. It was such a fun day and it was the perfect tree.

Next, Mom and I took the boys to Lunch with Santa where we were successful in getting the Santa lap photo. Brady being 18 months old was afraid of the man in red but was comforted by Mrs. Claus and her candy cane. They had such a good time with the games and activities and the exquisite lunch of pizza and potato chips!

Once family began to arrive at the Derham household, the real festivities began. One of our favorite nights was attending Christmas in Loveland. We began the evening eating pizza at the Works and then we ventured out to take in all the holiday spirit. The boys got to ride in a train and we then listened to Pop as he led his Christmas choir. After Christmas in Loveland, Steph, Gerben, Jim, and I attended a reunioun at a local bar for those of in town for the holidays. And this was all the week BEFORE Christmas. More pics to come. Our love to all!

Thanksgiving 2008

The Thanksgiving festivities began with a trip to the Northwest. Yes, that's right, Mommy went solo. I was supposed to attend a New Kids on the Block concert (I can hear you laughing) but they cancelled their show. Not to worry, Steph, Doug, Gerben, Miki and I had more time together. We had our own Thanksgiving celebration complete with a smoked turkey courtesy of Gerben. If you haven't ever smoked a turkey, I highly recommend it. We each contributed to the cooking (and drinking) and it was a fantastic meal. The Northwest weather was the perfect fall experience and I had a wonderful time.

The next day, we welcomed some of the Lepperts, the Kidd Family, and Donnie and Desiree to our home for Thanksgiving. I utilized my new kitchen in every way. Each guest brought a dish and we served the dinner buffet-style. It was a wonderful day filled with food, family, and fun. Our love to all!

My New Kitchen

My favorite part by far is the microwave above the range. I hadn't realized how much space my counter top microwave was taking up until this renovation.

The half wall is my favorite feature here because it really creates the feeling of separation from the entry room. This half wall was the former entry way into the kitchen.

Well, we have one happy customer! Our love to all!