Traditions- Christmas!

At about 6:45am we heard little voices. Brice woke up and went to get Brianna, Brian and I laid in bed smiling at eachother and listening to the two of them find their gifts from Santa and could hear the excitement in their voices. They found the cookie crums, bites taken out of the carrots and the fire place screen moved & train toppled over, Santa sure is clumsy! Brianna has asked several times, "I just don't know how he does it, how did he know I wanted a red furberry? Do you think he saw them on TV?" Brice was thrilled with his chainsaw and jackhammer!

The stockings were filled to the brim with all kinds of goodies!

We got to have a relaxing morning and play with all of our gifts. We alternate where we go on Christmas Day and this year we went to Brian's Aunt and Uncle's house. We had a wonderful dinner over there and got to visit with family.

Brianna got to pose on Uncle Rick's toy Mo Mo

Traditions - Christmas Eve

Every year after Christmas, I think that the next one wont be able to top it, and every year I am wrong. With Brianna almost 5 and Brice 2 they are the perfect age for all that Christmas has to offer. We started off the Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve with Brian's immediate family. We had a wonderful night and I think everyone got just what they wanted!

I baked a Ham and had all the works with it. Brice and Brianna got in their Christmas best and anticipated the arrival of Grams, Papa and Aunt Angie. They were so excited when they arrived, as you can see from the picture above, we all got spoiled!

Brice had to wear his baseball cap, then wanted Brian to put one of his hats on too. I am so glad that the kids tolerate all of the pictures I want to take of them. These turned out so great!

As tradition goes, the youngest gets to open the first gift then next youngest and so on until the oldest goes. Both Brice and Brianna were patient & grateful for everything they got. They were excited to watch everyone else open gifts and were even more excited to give the gifts they participated in making, buying, etc. I was so proud every time I heard, "Thank you!"

The boys really got spoiled and both were surprised and very happy with their gifts. Papa opened a bag with pictures of Coal in it and Brian opened a box with reindeer the kids had made and put clues on the back. Brianna thought both gifts that they actually opened were SOOO funny!

Love the towels that Great Grandma and Great Grandpa got for them!

Once all the gift wrap was picked up and the presents put together, it was time for jammies and getting ready for Santa. We read Roudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer while Brian was tracking where Santa was. After we heard that he was in Mexico, we hurried to get the cookies on the plate for Santa and Carrots for the Reindeer. We put the plate in the perfect place, brushed teeth and went to bed. The kids were so excited. I remember being a kid and feeling the anticipation, not being able to sleep, thinking I heard the reindeer hoofs on the roof & waking up early. It is a wonderful feeling to provide that same thing for our children.

LET IT SNOW!

I love the snow! When I think of winter, I think of playing outside in the snow, making snowmen, drinking hot cocoa, making cookies and cuddling in blankets. The week before Christmas made this dream come true, without having to drive anywhere. We woke up and it was white. I got a few days off of work, Hip Hip Hooray! and the kids and I really got to enjoy all that our Winter Wonderland had to offer.

We bundled up and headed out for our adventures!

We got several inches of snow & it was so fun to play in. Up a little north of us they got up to 15 inches of snow! The ice and snow kept us cooped up for a few days but was a lot of fun.

We pulled each other around on the sled. Laughter and squeals filled the air!

Brianna became an expert snowball maker!

Our snowmen fell over almost as soon as we had completed them. I wasn't able to get a picture of Brianna's & she was devastated. Hot cocoa, cookies, blankets and watching Frosty The Snowman made it better. The icing on the cake for her was looking out the window and watching Brice's snowman topple over.

Story Book Land

With all of the crazy weather and the busy Holiday week, I missed a few events that were a part of our holiday traditions. Going to Story Book Land is one of them...

Both Brian and I remember going as little kids and staring in awe at all of the magic. We have gone every year since we have been married and are thankful that we can share this with our children. Seeing things through a child's eyes is exciting and rewarding.

Give me a Silly Face!

Brianna asked Santa for a Furberry and a peeing doll. She peeked and saw the doll so Santa had to get a little creative. Brice asked for a Noisy Chain Saw. Santa told them both that they needed to work hard to keep thier rooms clean in the weeks leading up to Christmas and that he would be sure to stop by.

HERO

When I looked up the word Hero, several definitions came up; this is closest to what I would say my definition of a Hero is:

• A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.

There is however, much more to it, it can't be just a simple definition there is heart & emotion that goes into it. In order to be a hero in my opinion, one must not think twice about their actions. It is more of a calling, a natural reaction to a situation.

There is a quote that hangs up in my garage, next to random things that my husband has put up in "his area". It says: "Here am I, Send me" this really sums up who he is and who many of the wonderful men he works with are. They are ready and willing to go in to any situation to respond, react and ultimately make this world safer. They serve relentlessly to protect everyone in our community. This all comes to mind now as I think about this past week. We all tend to take Police Officers for granted, myself included. Each and every day, each and every call out, each and every drive to a situation is thoughtless. It is a duty that needs to be completed and until it is completed there is no holding back, no sleep, no stopping.

One week ago today the lives of 2 police officers were taken away. All are remembering them for the Heroic acts they did over their years of service. We are mourning the loss of two outstanding men and the severe injury to another. We need not take the ones we love for granted, we need not take those who serve and protect us from danger for granted. I am thankful for the sacrifices we make as a family, I am thankful for the other men and women who work with Brian and mostly I am thankful for my husband and the man that he is.

Many people ask, "How do you do it, doesn't it scare you?" Of course it is a little scary but I don't really think about that. It is just a way of life, it is thoughtless. He rides off to work and comes home, a call comes in and I know he needs to go, it is a calling, it is instinct. It is not something that he or the people he works with really think about as heroic acts and that is the true beauty of being a Hero.

Frazzini Family Tree!

This is by far my favorite time of the year. There are so many fun things going on and so many things for the kids to do and experience. We are all a little "under the weather" especially Brice who could only talk in a whisper most of the day, but that didn't stop us. For me, it is not Christmas without a real tree, and not one that you buy from a stand. We have to go and cut ours down. We got all bundled up, gathered our supplies and headed to the Christmas Tree Farm. We have gone to cut our tree down for the last 7 years. Brianna remembers and knew what to expect, it was all new again this year for Brice.

After a nice tractor ride to the trees, Brianna and I searched for the perfect one. The one that would look just right in our home.

There were so many beautiful trees to choose from.. we finally narrowed it down and picked the perfect Nobel.

Brian and Brice got their saws ready as the girls stood back and cheered them on. This was a stubborn tree and didn't want to be cut down. After lots of hard work, we finally got it and were able to carry it back to the tractor.

Brice was a great helper and was so proud!

As the tree was getting all of the dead needles shaken out of it and placed on our tree stand, we went into the warm area and got hot cocoa, cookies and popcorn. Once home we put the Christmas music on, positioned it and started decorating. Here is the finished product.

Alumni Swim Meet

Brian graduated college over 8 years ago. A majority of his experience at Willamette was dominated by swimming. Today many of the past swim team members went back to their old swimming pool for a friendly competition against the current athletes. It was nice for Brian to see old team mates and catch up.

The Alumni members did pretty good for being rusty!

Brianna and Brice were a big hit among everyone. Brianna got to press the start button before each heat.

Brian had a big cheering crowd. It was fun to watch him swim again and the kids thought he did the best! We were very proud of him.

After the Meet we all went to the Ram to eat and visit some more. Although it has been many years since most of the swimmers had been in a pool, they all had a great time and enjoyed seeing eachother.