Merry Christmas from the Hansen Family!

Christmas 2008 at the Hansen Household started this morning with Graden and I getting up and making Cinnamon rolls (not from scratch, just the Pillsbury kind!). About 10:15 we finally woke the kids up and convinced them it was time to get up and open presents!

The kids got up, ate a roll and then dug into their gifts!

Dayne got:

• A new robe
• New boots (from Santa)
• A parrot Webkin
• A bead necklace kit
• Lipstick and Nail polish (that smells like Pixie Stix!)
• iTunes gift card

Hunter got:

• Ed Hardy cologne
• iTunes gift card
• Gum (I have to explain ... whenever Hunter gets money, he buys loads of gum! I didn't want him to waste his birthday and Christmas money on gum!)
• iTouch docking station / alarm clock

The kids really seemed to enjoy their gifts! Graden and I got each other a new clothes dryer! I jinxed our dryer about 3 months ago when I made the comment that I was so surprised that our washer and dryer had lasted as long as they have (we got them as a wedding gift from my parents) and that we hadn't had ANY problems with them. Literally about 20 minutes later is started making a noise like a bowling ball was in the dryer. It's a nice dryer and dries fast!

Oh yeah ... Our "Family Guy" also got some new Family Guy underpants! Graden and Hunter love that show.

After we opened gifts we all just piddled around the house, cleaning up before our guests came.

Gretchen, the kids and Donna arrived about 8:00 Christmas night ... and we opened MORE gifts!

T.J. and Oz

Kylie

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We had Christmas with Papa, Susan and Katie a bit after Christmas ... but never want to turn down an opportunity to celebrate or be with family!

Papa got an outfit from The Gap, Susan got pieces to match her new Holiday Pfalzgraph dining set and Katie got a bug zapper (she loves to kill flies!), bath soaps and a picture of all of us on the tractor!

Christmas in the Park @ Longview Lake!

Each year some of our local businesses put together an awesome Christmas light display!

There are over 300,000 lights on display and 175 animated figures! It is quite impressive! The Hansen family ventured out on Christmas Eve after dinner to go see the lights.

After we got home, we followed our family tradition and allowed the kids to open one gift each!

Nature is all around us!

One of our favorite things is the view off our back porch. There is a pond about 100 yards from our deck (not our pond, though) that we watch geese come and go; we have deer in the back yard (there is a bean field just behind our house) and we put up a bird feeder so it's like all the birdies in some movie that I can't think of the name right now.

Here are some pictures of our back yard wildlife!

Need a laugh?

This is one of my favorite commercials! Watch it for a chuckle!

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Hunter's 4th Basketball Game

Hunter's 4th game of the season was this afternoon - and they won! 45-37!

Hunter played most of the game and I think it was one of his best games so far this season! He had a lot of rebounds, a few assists and 12 points!

Sequence shot of Hunter going for two points!

Hunter is #5 ... he got the rebound and is now going for the shot!

Going for the shot - he made it!

We have quite a while before the next game - January 10th!

Game 3 - Dayne

Both of the kids a basketball game today!

Dayne's game was at 9am: They won 33-27! They remain undefeated! Today's win was especially cool because they played the team who got 2nd place overall in last year's performance!

An area Dayne needs to improve in is her lack of aggressiveness, so I told her that she needs to foul at least once per game; to get her some idea of what is 'legal' and to gain some confidence in her ability to get control of the ball, or at the very least - make it harder for her opponent. (Truthfully, I think this lesson expands to her in many ways - not just basketball. She needs to stand up for herself and not let ANYONE walk all over her!)

Below is a video of her fouling (is it weird that I am proud of her fouling!??!?); to the left is a still shot of the actual moment she fouled:

Today's Writing Prompt: Weather

Write about how the weather affects you emotionally, or recall a weather-related memory.



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I hate being cold. I hate it when it is so cold that when you first step outside you swear the alveoli in your lungs (the little bubble looking things) just froze solid and it hurts to breathe. Or when you first sit down on leather seats and it's so cold you swear the leather is frozen and it just cracked when you sat down.

Today's Writing Prompt: Reality TV

Would you ever be a cast member or contestant in a reality television show?

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No. (Don't think that took me a minute to decide!)

Today's Writing Prompt: Influence

Write about the one or two most influential people in your life thus far.

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Graden: keeps me grounded; puts me in my place; breaks my heart to think of a time without him in my life. Over half my life I have spent with him; I can't imagine it any other way. Graden's "sticktoitivness" is just amazing - - I wish I had half of it! He never settles for less than what he wants.

Donna: my "rock"!!! How blessed am I that on days when I want to rip Graden's head off (luckily, not that often!) she is there to listen to me ... and still love him! She is such a patient woman and such a giving woman. Anyone who has ever worked with Donna in any capacity knows this first hand! She gives so much to all around her - from her kids and grandkids to the families she has worked with over her many years in the education system.

Honorable mentions: Gretchen (wow ... all that she has overcome (and overcoming!) in her life and established such independance!); My mom, Nancy: a woman who also went through a lot in her life (from growing up to a divorce after 25 years of marriage) and established an independance and managed to find new love through it all; my step-mom, Susan: another woman with an enourmous amount of patience! She has done such a great job raising Katie, my step sister who has Autism. She fought many school systems and policies to get Katie what she deserved.

An evening at the Boss's House

Matt, my boss, invited us all to his home for dinner tonight! We all arrived a little after 3:00 and stayed until just past 7:00! We had a great time telling stories, reminiscing about team members who have left, scaring our newest team members with said stories!, playing pool (I think Beth is a pool hustler on the side!) and then enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner from Jack Stack BBQ.

Our team is such a great one - - we all get along so well. I feel very fortunate to work with such great people! I wish I could combine my old work friends with my "new" work friends!

That's Terry (our financial analyst)

That's Martin (our WorkForce manager) and Beth.

That's David (one of our newest team members) and Crisha. They are both my peers!

This is Beth, pool sharkin' us!!

This is Harold; he's been with us just a few weeks! (I think I may have frightened him a bit with all my "Tiffany wants to know ...")

Today's Writing Prompt: One Minute

If you could have just one perfect minute today, what would it consist of?

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(This wasn't really today's prompt (this is an outdated one), but today's prompt was dumb. So I elected a different topic!)

My one minute would be cuddling with Graden! One of the reasons I love being able to sleep in and be leisurely in the morning is because those are the mornings he rolls over and wraps his arms around me and we snuggle! Or I will roll over to him and snuggle him up! MMMMMmmmmmmm ...

The Plaza Fountains, Flat Stanley and wow! did it get cold!

Kansas City is second only to Rome for having the most fountains. Above is The Fountain of Bacchus (it caught our eye because it's in front of The Cheesecake Factory!)

The kids and I went to The Plaza tonight to get Hunter's iPod exchanged (again, but boy am I impressed with Apple's customer service!!) and for Dayne to help her friend, Jilllian, with her Flat Stanley project. Below is Dayne posing with Stanley, showing where he has traveled!

On another note ... when I woke up this morning it was 60 degrees. I had the back door open while Dayne and I were baking, letting in fresh air. When we left the house just a little ove an hour later ... it was 45 degrees. Within 10 minutes it was 33 degrees! How about a gradual adjustment to this blustering weather, Mother Nature!!?!??!

Now, I know it's still warmer than in Waterloo, but still too cold for our liking! And our forecast doesn't offer much hope!

Today's Writing Prompt: Nuts

In what way are you a little (or more than a little) crazy?

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I have an addictive personality. I get obsessed with something for a short time, then lose interest in it. Reading, updating my blog, scrapbooking ... just to name a few. I still enjoy all of them, but just don't stay consistent with them! I really hate it about myself!

Another thing that I do that makes me wonder if I am a little cuckoo is that I am constantly thinking about something, most times reliving conversations in my head. Stupid ones, too! Like an interaction I had with the cashier at the grocery store! Sometimes I tell my self to "shut it down" (referring to my brain). Most times that doesn't really help though!

Who wants to confess their craziness now that I have come clean!?!? : )

Game 3 - Hunter

Hunter's team played their 3rd game of the season this afternoon.

Hunter had a really great block, a couple good shots, a couple free throws ... but since I forgot my camera I wasn't able to capture the moment! Boooohoooo!

Thanks to modern technology, since I had my PHONE I was able to TAKE A PHOTO (what would Alexander Graham Bell think of that statement?!?). So the photos shown below are small and crappy because I only had my phone!

Final score: 31-15 (our team lost)

Today's Writing Prompt: Do Over

If you had a "do over" button, what one event in your life would you like to have a second chance at doing better?

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After pondering this topic for a while .... I got nothin'. All the decisions I have made in my life have led me to where I am. I feel like having a baby at such a young age actually saved my life in a lot of ways. I think if I wouldn't have had another person (Hunter) depending on me to make wise choices, act responsibly, etc. I would have misbehaved and certainly would not have landed where I am - - in a very happy place with a successful family and career.

I thank Graden, too, for saving me before I had a chance to screw up my life. He's always been my "rock"... and continues to be every day!

Game 2 - Dayne's Basketball

Dayne had a basketball game tonight at 8:30 and the girls remain undefeated!

Their coach is a great coach, very patient and very reassuring! .... but he's no pansy! He gets on them when they need it, too!

Dayne had possession of the ball once tonight; she seems very nervous and unsure of where she's supposed to be. This is the first year she's played basketball, and really the first time she's played sports (she played t-ball when she was 6, but I don't think that counts?).

Game tip off ...

Sadly, she gets her "skillz" from her mama!

Final Score

Post game words of wisdom by Coach Martin!

Birthday

Today's Writing Prompt: Birthday
Describe a memorable birthday (yours or another's.)

I spent my 6th birthday with my grandparents in Orlando, FL. The memory of their house, the "forest" of a back yard (they had alligators every so often wander into their yard), and the huge spider we came across one day - - all so clear to me still.

I can still remember the dress I was wearing: white, with colorful horizonal stripes, and thin straps that tied at the shoulders. I can remember sitting Indian style on the living room floor, with my cake in my lap, blowing out the candles. I wish I knew where the Poloroid picture is of that day ...

Most of my happiest memories come from those spent with my grandparents. When I think of birthdays, I think of them (I spent a lot of my birthdays with them).

One Minute Writer

Who's got the time to journal daily?

I do (should).
Here is how it works: My friend, Andrea (that's me with her!), has this on her blog page so I thought "If it's good enough for her, it's good enough for me! "

Each day on the One Minute Writer blog page (http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/) a topic is given and I am to spend a minute (or less) writing about that topic.

I'd love it if you commented with your own "one minute writing"!

Happy Holidays from Dayne's Braces!

Dayne is in the spirit of the holidays! She got green and red for her braces today!

** Warning: Not for the weak **

Icky. My nephew, TJ, somehow got his finger caught in the driver door on Sunday night. Luckily, he was wearing thick gloves and his finger tip was not lost!

He handled it pretty well ... scared and in pain, but who wouldn't be!?!? I talked to him today and he seemed fine and the pain was under control. I look at my hangnail and whine that it hurts . . . I can only imagine the pain he must have been in!

Hunter's Football Banquet

On Sunday evening we went to Hunter's football banquet. Each of the boys were recognized for their participation and the coaches said some nice things about the successes (and challenges) of the team.

Each of the boys got to walk across the stage to accept their letter (signed certificate for the Freshman, actual letters for their jackets for the older boys) and shake the hands of each of the coaches.

Dayne was not quite as entertained by the events; she was still recovering from her slumber party the night before!

While Dayne and I were decorating the Christmas tree she was singing Christmas Carols. My favorite was during "Holy Night" ... "Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virginia Mother and Child" he he he ... I guess she is more familiar with the state of Virginia - - and that's good at this age!!

Dayne also informed me that "it's the rule" that the first "instrument" (she confuses instrument and ornament) to be hung on the tree has to be the prettiest one. This is an ornament we received from my mom and step dad for Christmas last year.

It took a while to put the house back together, but it looks very nice! Sad to think we did all that work for only three weeks of enjoyment!

Here is a picture of our completed Christmas tree:

We're Playin' Bas-ket-balllllllllllll !!!

(you have to imagine me singing that like in the movie Space Jam for it to be funny)

Today was packed with excitement and things to do!

9:00am - Dayne had her first basketball game of the season. This is also her first year playing basketball, so she is still in the initial learning stages. She is having fun, though! She got to play quite a bit in today's game and made a great pass! With just seconds left in the game the score was 10-11 and they were able to win the game ... but just barely! The buzzer went off just nano-seconds before the other time took a shot - - and made it! Whew!

Dayne is #1 on her team and her knickname is "Leopard."

During a team time out

Dayne dribbling the ball, ready to make a pass.

Half time score

11:00 am: Hunter had his (2nd) basketball game. He played the majority of the game and played pretty good (we call him "The Great White Hype") but the team lost in OT by 4 points. The heat was on towards the end of the game and there was a bit of a scuffle - see the video below. Hunter is in the middle of the screen (black shorts, white shoes) ... watch him strut over there like he was about to put a hurtin' on somebody! Good to see he knows the spirit of team work!

Here is a sequence shot of Hunter's free throw. He made the first one, but not the 2nd one.

Down to the last minute and thirty five seconds of the game. Hunter was bummed he was on the bench.

After Hunter's game we came home for lunch then headed back out to get our Christmas tree. Sadly, that's where the family engagement ended as the boys left shortly after we got home. They went to check out a hunting site, so Dayne and I put up the tree and decorations.

Dayne has a slumber party tonight so we went shopping to get a birthday gift (Webkin) and a few other needed items. I had big plans of taking a nap today, but I was toooooo busy! Boooo!!!!

Looking forward to a calm, uneventful night tonight!