I'll be right back...

Oh how much fun CHRISTmas was this year! There was MANY a present unwrapped WAY before it's time! This Mama got quite the refresher course in ift wrapping this season! LOL! We had our good friend "Ollie the Elf" visiting us daily & not even his prescence curbed their mischievous ways! I begged, pleaded & even tried bribing them to behave. They just do NOT listen! One day I had all 4 of them help me load ALL the presents from under our tree to give to some more deserving children! Unfortunately they did NOT care! There they were, helping me load each & every package from under the tree into the back of our 'burb. This time they actually listened to me! Now if they would just behave I would be one HAPPY mama!

The week of CHRISTmas we had a Santa encounter. He actually took time out of his schedule to stop by our house for a visit. At first the tribe did not know what to do, when he walked inside they just stood & stared. The good thing was that they did NOT cry! Santa sat down & starting asking them if they had been listening to their Mama. {We all know that was not happening! LOL!} He reached into his bag & handed the first present to Camryn. As she opened her present which happened to be a Barbie purse with a cell phone, camera & sunglasses, Santa asked her if this is what she wanted.

Leave it to Camryn to speak her mind. She shook her head & replied, "No, I wanted a Dora Doll!". Well that right there shows you how my week was was going! hahah! Needless to say Santa brought 2 more of those purses for her sisters so no one would fight. Luckily Avery LOVED her purse! In fact I think they grew on each of them! He brought Brendan a Buzz Lightyear hand held toy. It is suppose to be educational but I think in the end it's just going to be another thing that makes NOISE! =]

This year I was actually wondering how we were going to "do" CHRISTmas. I know it is about the birth of Christ and not about giving or getting gifts but our tribe is young & they do not know any different. They definitely do not get a lot through out the year & especially not for CHRISTmas but this year was much harder. Finances have been rough. The economy is terrible & just like eveyone else we have been struggling. The tribe attends school which is really strapping us, actually it is putting us further in debt than we need to be. But that discussion will be for another day. Just last week I received the most wonderful call from my Aunt. She had been given MANY hand-me-downs from a mutual friend & wanted us to have them in time for CHRISTmas. Let me tell you how grateful I was for that! I have to say that 3/4th's of what the girls asked for was in those bags! She really made our CHRISTmas! So again I need to say "Thank you" to everyone that has helped our family survive! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Now let's fast forward to CHRISTmas morning. Avery came & crawled into bed with me like she normally does. She was partially awake but awake just enough to remember that she saw a baby stroller by the CHRISTmas tree. I turned to her & said "Santa brought you a stroller?!?". She looked at me with WIDE eyes & said...

I'll be right back...

the BEST gift ever!

We here in the Fulton home want to wish everyone a beautiful Christmas. Ours was a rainy one. It drizzled all night & during the day today. The sun is trying to break through the clouds to give us a bright & shiny day. This year Christmas was EXTRA fun! We started out having a house FULL of Fulton's for Christmas Eve dinner. Our 6 year old nephew Aidan, who came dressed as Santa, stopped playing for a moment to tell us this was his BEST holiday EVER! I wanted to make sure it was this Christmas or just Christmas in general. He said being here. What a WONDERFUL child! I was SO happy that we made his day! The only thing missing was Dustyn. He spent Christmas Eve with his mom so we missed out on having him with us. Everyone missed him. Maybe one day soon we can all be together. He joined us this morning & we all got to be together on Christmas. The babies eyes lit up when he walked in their room this morning. They all grinned from ear to ear & yelled out "Dustyn!". They just love him so! Oh what fun will we have as the years go on. They all filed out of their room & walked directly to the den where the Christmas tree is without any coaxing. I was AMAZED! I guess they really do notice "new" things. There in front of the tree was their presents & they each gravitated to the toys they liked. Santa did good & they loved it all! Dustyn made out too! CLOTHES! You all know how much kids LOVE getting that! hahah! No, he also got his router & wireless connection for his XBox 360. I know nothing about these sort of things but he LOVES it. I think the best gift God gave Michael & I would have to be these 5 happy healthy children. That is...

the BEST gift ever!

presents....

People have been asking me what Dustyn & the babies need or want for Christmas. I have put a lot of thought into this question. They do not lack for much. Even with our meager funds we seem to make do. They pretty much do not "need" for anything. We have been VERY fortunate to have some WONDERFUL people in our life that pass along their hand me downs for our children. So from time to time they get "newer" toys & clothes. Life is good. What they "need" is people, not "things". They need our time. Since there is only 2 of us and 5 of them things can get rough in the attention dept. I feel bad that Dustyn sort of gets the shaft at times. We have SO much going on that we can never accomplish every task. He puts up with a lot & hopefully things will get better. So that is why I now answer that question with the following response... That the BEST present they could ever receive is to have our presence in their lives. To be there in each moment & really pay attention. They crave it! Some days are better than others but mostly I just try my best. To be the best mommy I can be. Some days I feel they need more than I can give & that is when I need the help I rarely ask for. SO, to any person out there that knows us personally, PLEASE, stop by & visit our little munchkins & Dustyn. If you have any "free time" we'd love for you to come over to spread your love & attention. Remember that's one of the best...

presents...