What did YOU get for Christmas?

Here's the re-cap:
Justin: couple of hoodies, cell phone, XBOX games, Dark Knight Movie, sports stuff,
Hannah: IPOD Nano, sewing machine, purse (not coach), makeup, PJ's, Wii Fit
Adam: Several Nerf Guns, Spongebob sheets and comforter, shoes, PJ's, XBox games, WallE Movie...

Me: who cares...boring
Bob: new watch, Nose hair clippers (he asked for them ?!?)

All in all it was a really great Christmas. I was stressing it pretty hard but it turned out just fine. We finally saw all the relatives as of Saturday evening. I feel like I have gained about 20 lbs with all the eating we've been doing. Low key day yesterday spent taking down the tree!! (my favorite thing about Christmas) Switched the seating arrangement around in the living room. I do that about 2x's a year just to change things up. Threw out a bunch of outdated Christmas stuff and sent a huge pile of old clothes to Goodwill. My OCD side was really happy about it too.

I'm posting some really poor quality pictures for some reason our camera is acting up or maybe it's just the person taking the pictures :)


Justin's homeplate shaped clock


Hannah's new purse (no cows harmed in creating it)


Tommy 20 Gun, not MY favorite toy :p


Wall-E


Pink NANO


Hannah getting her first sewing lesson from grandma, who also gave her the machine


CAT boots for Justin


I did not get a picture of Bob opening the nose hair clippers, maybe I can get one when they are put to use!! HAHAHA

It's Over

Christmas is over WOOO HOOO!!! One week left to de-stress before I go back to school. I'm taking the tree down tomorrow and doing a thorough house cleaning and re-organization/throw out stuff that we don't need or use anymore.

Our holiday was nice, I will post pics and the re-cap later. I, for one am just really glad it's over!!

Updates Abound

My father in law's cancer has not spread to any other parts of his body but it is in his skull and brain as the surgeon previously told us. He will undergo chemo and radiation beginning in January. This somewhat good news and he is in much better spirits today.

I have ALL the shopping finished and everything (except 2 last minute gifts that my dad bought my mom but I have to wrap) wrapped. I mean everything!! Yippee. The tree is up, the stockings are hung, WE are ready for Christmas!!

Looking forward to see my mother's side of the family tomorrow evening, my in-laws for brunch on Christmas day, my father's side of the family Christmas evening and Bob's extended family on the 27th. Yeah, these next few days will be BUSY!!

My previous post was a copy of our annual newsletter. I did not have time to mail it before Christmas so I emailed it and posted it on my blog. (I know, I know, HI TECH!!) I'll mail out a few to far away friends and relatives later this week.

But we do wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and blessed holiday season!

Copy of our Christmas Newsletter

Season’s Greetings from our family to yours. This past year we have seen a lot of changes in the Nixon home. First off, we finally moved to Affton in March. Four days later our basement proceeded to flood. After a three month process of installing a sump pump, drainage system and restoring the living spaces down there, we had the house complete. It’s a small 4 bedroom 2 bath ranch in an older section of Affton. But with the finished family room and other areas in our basement, we are making it work.

In June, I left my job in the St. Louis Public School District to teach 8th grade in the Mehlville School District at Buerkle Middle. It was tough leaving all my wonderful co-workers but the much needed change has worked out well. Bob also changed police departments in August. He left Crestwood after 7 years to take a job with the Kirkwood Police. So far, Bob reports that Kirkwood is extremely busy but he enjoys the change of pace.

Our kids are still doing well in the Affton Schools. Justin is in 8th grade at Rogers Middle. He and the Junior Cougars Football team had a winning season this year. He’s currently playing floor hockey for the Stealth and doing well with his monster hard shot from the point. It’s hard to believe but we just attended high school orientation with Justin in early December. As we toured the school that was our alma mater, we couldn’t believe how quickly the years have flown by since we were there.

Hannah is in 7th grade at Rogers also. She is still excelling on the softball field and holding her own on the floor hockey team with Justin and the 10 other boys. Just last week Hannah got her first hockey penalty for tripping. She doesn’t take anything off those older bigger boys. She’s also gearing up for another great basketball season. Both Justin and Hannah made the Honor Roll again this year.

As for Adam, he has grudgingly entered the 3rd grade at Gotsch Intermediate. He hates the early mornings but was happy to have his best buddy in class with him again this year. While Adam does get good grades, he will happily tell you that his favorite class is lunch! Again this year, Bob is coaching Adam’s floor hockey team the Mohawks. It’s been a tough season for them so far but they still have fun. Adam is also still actively involved in Cub Scouts. He even placed third in the Pinewood Derby last February.

Life has begun to slow down after the hectic pace we had during the spring, summer, and fall. We did manage to get to the Lake of the Ozarks a few times and went on a trip to Branson in late July. Recently we hosted 20 family members for Thanksgiving for the first time. All in all it was a successful holiday. In closing we ask that you keep Bob’s father, Richard, in your thoughts and prayers as he battles cancer. Don’t forget to catch us on the web at http://nixonfamilynews.blogspot.com.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
The Nixon’s

Prayers for Bob's Dad

Tomorrow my father-in-law goes in for a cat scan to see how far his cancer has spread. Richard was diagnosed with cancer of the parotid gland in November which had spread from squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer. He had surgery about 2 weeks ago to remove the cancer on the side of his face and neck. It was an extensive surgery requiring a large skin graft. The doctor told us then that the cancer had spread to the skull bones and possibly beyond to the brain. Tomorrow Richard will undergo the tests needed to evaluate how extensive the cancer has spread. We are quietly optimistic that it hasn't spread too far although the surgeon did state that she gave Grandpa about a 5 year survival rate at this point. But she would further adjust that depending on how far it has spread.

With my mother-in-law having just recovered from knee surgery in October, Barbara and Richard were planning on doing more traveling this year. The cancer diagnosis coming this close to Christmas has really zapped our spirits. I ask that you keep them in your prayers tomorrow as they find out the results from the tests.

Adam's Birthday part 3 and 4

(the birthday boys, ages 9 and 5)

We celebrated Adam's actual birthday by going to Chris' Restaurant. We've been going there for years. He received an XBOX game and a Nintendo DS game from the Geiler grandparents. He's all about the video games!! Then Saturday night I had extended family over to celebrate his birthday and my 5 year old cousin Nick's birthday. We had fun eating pizza and playing games like Pictionary Man.

(We also snuck in a visit to Culvers Friday night which is Adam's favorite place)

Where I'm From

Here's another poem that was created in my writing class. It's based on a poem of the same name. This is a teaching technique when you have kids copy the style of a poem but sub their own words.

Where I'm From

I am from acorns
and apple butter on a crisp fall day
I'm from the cub cadet tractor
parked under grandpa's carport
from Vine Avenue
and metal swimming pools
that glistened in the sun

I'm from 3 Eds and a Vicki
and grandma's dumplings
I'm from 5 hour car rides to Cloud Nine Ranch
with Pinkie the bear
and a station wagon with no air
I'm from Atari, VCR's and MTV
from the 82 World Series
and the Challenger Explosion
from the smell of money
on trips to AB
to see where dad worked hard

I'm from softball and hockey
and basketball and more
from sprained ankles, broken fingers
and trips to the sporting goods store
I'm from "You can do better."
to "Have another plate."
From "take care of your brother"
to "I Do" in the blink of eye
I'm from little girl to woman
how time flies.

They Will Never Know

Did I mention that I am taking a writing class as part of ongoing professional development? I think I did! So we have been working on creating a body of work in that class. Last time we were asked to take a group of words and write a story, a memory or a poem with those words. I chose these words: car, chrome, polish, grandpa, smile, treasure.

As I sat and looked at the words, I remembered that as of January 25th my beloved grandfather Ed Reidel passed away 20 years ago. I was just 16. This got me to thinking about my much younger cousins who never knew their grandpa and how he never met his 5 great-grandchildren. So this poem, while not totally true and will probably make my mom and Aunt Sandy cry, is my recollections of truly memorable character!


They will never know
his goofy smile,
through the unfiltered cigarette
that seemed to stretch out a mile

They will never know
his love of rusty tractors,
that seemed to shine
like an old protector

They will never know
how he polished up my bike,
so I could ride down hill
and didn't have to hike

They will never know
his big old boxy car,
with two chrome exhaust pipes
that never went far.

They will never know
how he treasured Sunday fun,
when grandpa's creaky voice
said there's my favorite one.

Snow Day>> that's right people!!

You heard it, the first official SNOW day of the year. It's a teacher's second favorite day of the year with the last day of school being the best!

Not sure why school was called off but I am wondering if those meteorologists aren't getting a kick back from the teacher's unions. You know kind of like the Blagoveich scandal. Who will pay the most for a a really nasty forecast??

Thanks a lot to those meteorologists who did predict tons of ice when in actuality we got very little.

I did manage to just about finish my shopping, do about 10 loads of laundry and bake cookies! Yippee!

Adam's Birthday part 1 & 2

Adam has a December birthday which if you ask me should be outlawed. It's really not fair because you get lumped all in there with Christmas. I've tried to convince him for the last two years to pick a different month to celebrate it but he says that would be cheating. SO I can't really argue with that logic. But I do have him convinced to celebrate it a week or two earlier than his actual birthday.

Last Sunday, December 7th, we went to dinner at Happy Joes with the Nixon grandparents. That is our normal family tradition. Adam received boots and money and a nerf gun blaster. We also gave him Kung Fu Panda the movie and XBox game. Then yesterday he had his friends over for his kid birthday party. I had a scavenger hunt and a treasure hunt all planned for them along with pizza, cake and Kung Fu Panda viewing. The party was a big success.

Adam's actually birthday is the 18th when we plan to go to Culvers, his favorite restaurant. Then on The 20th we are having the Geiler grandparents, great grandparents, and other extended family over for pizza and games to celebrate Adam and his cousin Nick's birthdays. So Adam actually gets a 4 part birthday. But I think it's only fair for December babies.







(note the Christmas tree in the bcakground, it did get put up)

Holy crap it's mid December already.........

When did this happen? How did December sweep in and already get to the 11th? Wow, I need to get in gear. My OCD side is starting to really panic/FREAK out. I still haven't gotten our Christmas newsletter/card started let alone printed, addressed, and mailed. (New Years newsletters are okay right?) I have not wrapped ONE gift yet. (Gifts stuffed in Target bags are just fine under the tree, RIGHT?) I'm still not finished shopping. (Is there anyone that I won't see until after Christmas?) And to top it all off we still haven't put up a tree or decorated other than to put some crappy icicle lights on the house. Just talking about how behind I am is making my skin crawl.

OKAY< that's it tomorrow evening we WILL put up the tree and the other decorations. I have pretty good coupon for JC Penney that's only good on Saturday so hopefully that will help finish off the shopping. We are having Adam's birthday party Sunday afternoon so that is yet another thing to check off my ever growing to do list.

Did I mention that I also have to give a final exam at school and then grade it plus an essay that I assigned. too, much, can't breathe, need a chill pill..... (do they really make chill pills and where can I get one?)


There, I feel a little better now, time to watch ER. (yes it's really terrible this season but it's the last and i have been a loyal fan for 15 years so i must watch)

Thanksgiving came and went

I forgot to blog about Thanksgiving. So here goes, it was fine. I cooked my turkey and stuffing and they were really good. It was tight in my house with 20 people though and everyone wanting to be in the kitchen at the exact time I was putting out the food. My turkey was finished by 2:30 but my mom's turkey breast wasn't finished until about 3:30 so there was a little lapse in time in which I felt like the rest of the food was getting cold while she ran home to get her turkey breast. Then when I said time to eat, everyone was kind of hem hawing around not wanting to be the first to eat. Bob said I sort of got a little stressed out about it :) He said he felt like it was D-Day and I was yelling go, eat, sit. WHATEVER!! But after that things settled down while everyone ate. The food was delicious! We had another little glitch when cleaning up. I was running the garbage disposal and it shook the pipe loose on the drain and caused water to pour out from under the sink AND drip down the basement wall in the utility room. Thankfully we were able to catch it in time and fix without too much damage and mess.

The rest of the evening we played charades and ate pie. All in all it was a nice day. Don't know if I will want to do it again next year but we'll see.