MeRrY cHrIsTmAs

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner at our house with Nic's parents and his brother (Craig) and family.  I couldn't wait to be the hostess at our new house. The tables all set and ready to go:

 How cute is this face?!

 I love my boy

 Everyone...almost, before dinner. L to R front row: Christa, Kole, Chase, Krew. L to R back row: Craig, Molly, Nic, Bob, Rita.

 Yours truly and Neeko

 The extent of Christmas decorations in our house was the wreath on my front door. No tree. No nothing. Thankfully my parents let us borrow their fake tree which definitely helped add some Christmas spirit in our home.

 The candles are lit. The drinks are poured. Let's eat!

 After dinner, we discussed the Nativity. Each kid opened a "present" (AKA pieces to the nativitiy) and then we discussed each piece. 

 Christmas Eve wouldn't be Christmas Eve without opening some presents

 My FIL hanging himself with the new tie we got him. He must have really liked it. haha

 My MIL Rita with her new scarf. (I was tempted to keep it for myself)

 We got Craig and Molly a frame that said something about Family on it. Super cute.

 This is who I like to call Harrison's foster mom, Jeanette. She raised Harrison and then we adopted him. She and her kids raise Guide Dogs. We got her a picture frame (included with a picture of Harrison) so she can put pictures of all of the Guide Dogs she raise. :) We wouldn't have our little guy without her.

Sunday was absolutely wonderful. I was in charge of the Sacrament meeting program and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. 

We headed up to my parent's house after church. Ate more food and opened up some presents. 

We hope you all had a Merry, Merry one as we did. 

30Th BiRtHdAy

Nic turned the big 3-0 this year and I wanted to do something special for him, so what did I do for him?

Throw him a surprise party of course!

With my parents help, I got him out of the house to set up while everyone showed up. :)

It turned out so well and I even kept it a secret for over a month.

This party came with a chocolate fountain with oh so many things to dip (i.e. bacon [yeah, that's right], cookies of all kinds, gummies, pretzels, and so much more).

We also played what I like to call "Nictionary." Played just like the good ol' regular Pictionary, but with clues about Nic. 

I think he had a great time - I fun planning and celebrating with friends and family.

After the party, the birthday boy opened presents.

This t-shirt had Nic written all over it - if only it said "Diet."

 Who doesn't like Reese's and Sharpie pens?

 Candied Pecans

 His own personal non-gluten-free food: chocolate chip cookie dough

 The Grill Master with a new grill set

Happy Birthday Neeko! Hope you had a happy one!

MrI

Where did I leave off with my back?...

I had an appointment with an ortho doc (Dr. Conaughty) and I really liked him. Discussed pain levels, movement, activities, etc. Got more X-Rays done. Scheduled me for a MRI for December 29.

It's a blessing and a curse to work at the hospital: you can look at the results of your tests.

I looked. Some things I knew, but unfortunately some things I didn't know.

Follow up with the ortho doc on...wait for it...January 31! That was the soonest I could get in - I am on a waiting list.

I will discuss with him the next course of action.

Until then. Trial of my patience.

It has been crazy busy here at the Phair household.

From anything to everything we have been busy painting, throwing a surprise birthday party and, of course, Christmas. It's time to settle down and ring in the New Year.

Pictures are in store for you lovely readers. Patience is heavenly.

WaLlPaPeR

I despise wallpaper. 

Thankfully it's only in the master bedroom and bathroom. 

This is one of the first projects we wanted to tackle before anything else.

The previous owners chose such beautiful wallpaper. NOT.

 They could have used a lot less glue.

 It's hard work scraping and scrubbing glue.

Who knew there was a white wall underneath all that glue?

All done. No more glue.

At least not in the bedroom.

There is that bathroom...