Merry Christmas!

Doug and I will be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning here at our place in Madison. I'll be cooking all morning and then Christmas mid-day we'll be headed down to my brother's house in Rockton, IL for the Tinkler family Christmas shin dig at 2 pm. My oldest brother Mark's family will be driving in from Virginia- so the whole family will be together! Yay! Really late that night, we'll be headed to my parents' in Huntley, IL, then the next day we're getting a family portrait taken in Beloit, WI and celebrating my niece's 12th birthday at a pizza place around there. Then we'll be relaxing the 27th through 1st with Doug's family in Batavia, IL. His brother Matt's family & his brother Jeff's family all get in to town on the 27th- it's an inlaws year for Christmas ;) So hopefully if you're a Batavian, give us a jingle and we can meet up.

We hope everyone has an awesome and safe Holiday Season!!!

The Five Love Lanugages

The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Ok, so I picked this book up, put it down, picked it up, and took me 6 months to finish because it's the kind of book you think & ponder about a lot. Definitely you should read this with your spouse. I really appreciated the insights towards the end on loving your children in their own love language- I liked that application of the principle. Definite must read for everybody.


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Ender's Game

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Turns out this was the favorite book of pretty much everyone who saw me reading it ;) I had never heard of it before, though! I really enjoyed the book. It's one of those thought-provoking looks into what drastic steps a futuristic humankind will take to "control" and "preserve" their way of life. I felt about 3 stars all the way up until the last quarter of the book, which was GREAT! 4 stars overall :)


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Old Couple's Car Careens into Tree, Instant Deaths

So, just thought I'd share my latest laugh. I've been so stressed out lately, that I haven't had enough laughs, and this one from my adorable husband today made me laugh so hard just now I cried. Doug's at the DMV express this afternoon standing in line with our checkbook and registration card, waiting to renew the registration on one of our cars. THIS little kiosk is EXPRESS mind you, supposed to be for only renewals, quick in & out kind of things. So I get the following series of text messages from Doug:

"One old person always [screws] this process up. DMV express, hahahaha...."

"I am going to pull us into a tree before we get this bad for the world's sake."

5 Little Nieces

Doug and I have 5 nieces & 5 nephews on my side of the family, and 2 little baby nieces on his side of the family. I just finished the diaries for my 5 nieces last night when I went to Archiver's Scrap Mania with some friends and I'm so excited- wanted to show them off!


^Britney is almost 12, plays basketball, and is going on 17 :)


^Jordan is 10, and just got her black belt in Tae Kwon Do


^Breanna is 8, a little girl scout, very girly but intelligent


^Alaina is 5 and a girly girl and snuggle bug


^Jazlyn is 2 and a total beach baby. This will be more of a doodle book for her :) Got the bigger journals for the oldest 3 girls since they have the most drama to write about :)

Now, just gotta figure out 5 little nephews' presents....obviously nothing crafty, but I'm thinking of buying books? Any good suggestions? They're 9, 6, 6, 5, & 3 I believe.....

A Weight Family Thanksgiving

The morning after Thanksgiving, Doug had a surprise for me and wouldn't tell me what it was. With his dad, the 3 of us pulled up to the Aurora Sportsmen's Club and the surprise was that I'd be shooting for the first time! Gulp! I've never before held a gun let alone shot one. The guns were all Doug's dad's. And he's got more where these come from. So yes, a warm-hearted, touching, Hallmarky holiday for sure :) jk


^ AK 47

^AK 47

^AR16 (M16)

^ .45 Glock

^ .22 Pistol


Actual Thanksgiving day was great. That morning Doug, his dad, and his brother Matt went to the ward's annual Turkey Bowl and played football, laying out some rowdy deacons :) Some kid ran up and tried to plow Doug but bounced right off of Doug and flew into Matt and then ricocheted right to the ground. Wish I coulda seen it! Boys only, though :) Muddy muddy fun.

Then Thanksgiving afternoon my parents came over to Doug's parents in Batavia for the big dinner. It was interesting having both sets of parents there, but YUMMY yummy yummy was the food. The best thing was the roasted sweet potato, cranberry, & apple side dish :)

The afternoon the day after Thanksgiving we went to my parents' in Huntley for another yummy dinner with my brother Adam and my brother Brian & his family. Watched a few movies and hung out, then came home that night.

Our holiday just consisted of 2 days so we were busy, and no crazy shopping at 4 am :) Ya lunatics! It was a great time, though. Good to see family. Hope you all had a great holiday!

Have a good belly laugh!

This video is from a few weeks ago when we had some friends over & their son Chase thought Frank & his plastic water bottle (his favorite toy out of the plethera) were hilarious. So cute!

Must Read!

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was a slow go because of the digestion required and my own reflection. It wavered from 5 to 4 to 3 and back to 5 stars for me. This book, written by a female phsychologist in hte 90's, has some really great insight and analysis on what adolescent girls are faced with in our culture, reaching out to them, understanding them, loving them, parenting them, and about a hundred case studies of too much, too little, just right, horror stories, good adjustment stories, etc. It talks about girls not liking their bodies, peer pressure, bulimia, anorexia, alochol and drug abuse, sexual abuse/rape, acting out, depression, self-mutilation, withdrawing, racial tensions, etc. It will make you stop and think about your own adolescence, dichotomous values, decisions on where you stand with your boundaries in life, comfort in your own skin, etc. The whole premise of her book has to deal with how our modern culture pressures girls who are fun-loving and confident 10 and 11-year-olds to change when they become adolescents, splitting into two selves: one true and authentic self, one fake and false self. They face social pressure to put aside their true selves and display only a small portion of their gifts. They reject their true selves and "disown" themselves, thereby decreasing their self-confidence. I don't know, it probably doesn't make much sense unless you delve into the whole book! It's a deep read, but I think anyone with a daugher NEEDS to read it as part of a well-rounded parental research.


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