Christmas 2010

The Winter in New Mexico was pleasantly warm this year unlike last year.  It was so nice to be able to walk outside without a jacket.  Leading up to Christmas we celebrated Jesse's 36th birthday!  I got a cake from a restaurant here in town called "The Rendezvous" and the owner is a pastry chef.  He made this choc cake that was so rich and mouth watering with 2 giant strawberries dipped in choc. and a huge chunk of white choc in the side that spelled Happy Birthday Jesse written in more choc.  I'll try to get the pictures off of Jesse's phone. 

 The week before Christmas the kids and I drove to Hobbs to visit my sister and then make it down through Artesia to see more of my family.  It was a short trip, but we managed to squeeze in some football watching and a Christmas Show from Chad's Church.  I'm always glad to make the trip to see everyone. 

                                       Just about ready to camp out in our room for Christmas Eve.

                               Bella was soooo excited to get some Yo Gabba Gabba underwear
                    (it's such a dumb show, but she loves it)  She wore it like that at least until lunch time. :)

December was such a whirlwind of events that I really don't know where to start. I'll just jump to Christmas. It was quiet this year due to everyone being out of town except for Jesse's parents and I have to admit that I'm not used to having it so quiet. I guess I always picture Christmas with a house full of family and enjoying each other, but it was probably for the best since I came down with a horrible cold Christmas eve and spent most of Christmas afternoon just laying on the couch (I'm still fighting that cold).

My favorite thing that the kids (it was mostly for the girls though) was that we bought them two little bunnies. They were dwarf bunnies with just the cutest little faces and their fur is sooo soft. They're very sweet and let us hold them whenever we want. Cameron said that he never thought he'd love a little bunny so much. I was really surprised that Bella wasn't trying to hold them all the time, but she gave them their distance and I think Claire was the one who mothered them the most. I'd go outside and she'd be sitting in her chair in the clubhouse just singing to her little black and white bunny. Bandit sure took an interest in them, but didn't attack them which also surprised me. Here are some snap shots of the little cuties.



                 Here's Claire's little bunny.  It had blue eyes and I think she ended up calling it Cinna.

           Here's a little action shot of snowflake or snowball.  Don't know her name, but heard those.   She was the most adventurous, but still would let you hold her in your lap.

 You may be wondering why I'm speaking in past tense about our bunnies.  Well, I'm very sad to say that they both died.  I came outside last Sunday and saw the white bunny dead and just couldn't believe it!  I felt so bad because I thought it was my fault for forgetting to put them back in the Garage where it wasn't as cold.  Later I heard that baby bunnies who are together (which they were) can withstand temperatures as low as 10 degrees.  So, I didn't know what happened.  Then a few days later I went to check on Cinna's water and her and noticed that she wasn't a perky as she normally was and when I picked her up she had a seizure and only wanted to lay on her side.  I tried to feed her some water, but sadly she died in my arms that night.  It was soooo sad to watch her take her last breath. 

I've never watched anything die before.  I've also never felt so awful about losing a pet before.  Luckily Claire got to say goodbye to Cinna before she passed away and we said a little prayer for her.  It was sweet to watch Claire care for something so much.  Anyways, it turns out that the grass that these bunnies were playing in could've been the very thing that killed them.  We're thinking that they must have eaten some weeds that didn't set well.  It was fun while it lasted.  At first we thought we'd get some more bunnies, but maybe it isn't wise to have something so delicate. 

For New Years Connie and the kids came down from Utah and we all had a good time.  It's always nonstop cousin play/sleepovers and games.  We're all exhausted by the end of our visits, but try to make the most of them.  Anyhow, I'm always glad to start with a fresh new start after the new year.  This year our main focus is getting Jesses' practice up and running, keep up with the kids/house and their needs while trying to build my own Shelf Reliance business.  Jes and I are going to try to squeeze in a 10 yr anniversary trip for just the two of us. It should be another eventful year!  Happy New Year everyone!!