Christmas break goals review

Remember my Christmas break goals?
This is how they've gone:
1. Four appointments later - I have recovered from my root canal :)
2. We have rearranged 3 bedrooms, 1 living room, 2 closets and 1 entrance room - they are not complete, but much much better...the office is piles of stuff that we don't know what to do with/where to store. Overall I am so grateful for going through and 'purging' so many things we don't need or can give to someone/somewhere else (p.s. I am in love with organizing, so this wasn't really a chore to me but something fun!)
3. I didn't even touch our address book (this was totally my goal for LAST Christmas break too...whoops!)
4. I went above and beyond my reading goal!
5. We abandoned the day sleeping goal and focused on her night goal - post coming soon

I am so grateful for my 3 weeks of 'vacation' from school and internship responsibilities
I got some things done that I wanted to and also had lots of sleeping in and relaxing
I feel refreshed and ready to tackle my last semester!

a day in the life of Eme

Emerald Yeti Draper
Born March 20-something 2008
This is how she spends her days:
(note: we find her in any variation of being covered after we get out of bed...this is just one of the best ones we've captured)

(we call this pose 'lemur dog')

seriously?!

next on my reading list...

I had not been able to read a book for leisure since before Mylin's birth!
Before she arrived Joel and I reread Francine Rivers The Mark of the Lion series
The heroin is an amazing woman of Christ named Hadassah and we wanted to use it if our baby was a girl (hence Mylin Hadassah Draper)
6 loooooong months later I am deep into Francine Rivers latest saga, Marta's Legacy
I have finished Her Mother's Hope and am currently addicted to Her Daughter's Dream (more extensive review of this saga to come later)

Next on my reading list are 2 books my wonderful husband got me for Christmas:

The Busy Woman's Guide to a Balanced Life: quick and easy tips for managing the 10 most important areas of a woman's life: family, finances, friendship, health, hospitality, marriage, self, singles, spiritual life, and work (from Today's Christian Woman magazine)

Then comes my absolute favorite genre: historical fiction!
Journey to the Well by Diana Wallis Taylor

What have you been reading lately?

What historical fiction books can you recommend for me?!

Mylin's 1st Christmas! (in pictures)

First Christmas present on our 'Christmas Eve' from Grandma Karen - a gingerbread book! (kind of creepy overall, about baking and eating gingerbread babies and people....)

Our first 'Christmas morning' together!!! (out of all those presents, the 2 in front are the only ones for Mylin - the rest are for our extended family exchanges!)

Mylin with her gifts and stocking stuffers (and random Christmas stuffed animals from my own childhood)

Notre Dame chairs for the Draper babies! From Bushie and Jodgie

Mylin and Jace each got a rider/walker from Great Bushie and Great Jodgie - at such a young age they are so willing to share :)

Traditional Merkle Christmas morning picture - all the kids on the fireplace. Another tradition, one of them is wailing - this year, the winner is Andre! (from left to right, Cosi, Luke, Ethan holding Mylin, Glenn, Maddie, Hudson holding Andre)

Grandma Karen's homemade stocking for Mylin, a gingergirl!

What a blessed Christmas season for us!

Draper's 12 days of Christmas

12 games played (rage, rook, settlers of catan, quiddler, scrabble slam, euchre, blokus, mental block, wits and wagers, apples to apples, phase 10 twist, wii tennis)
11 days off work for Joel
10 new toys for Mylin (including a sweet rider/walker dinosaur and 2 sing-a-ma-jigs. have you guys seen these toys yet?! they rule!!!!!!!!)
9 siblings to laugh, talk, eat, snack, and play games with
8 nieces/nephews/cousins to enjoy (7 Merkles/ 1 Draper)
7 rooms reorganized
6 days of someone else's homemade cooking!!!
5 times waking up daddy the night mommy had the flu
4 Christmas "mornings"
3 new books to read!
2 new solid foods for Mylin (homemade squash and carrots!)
1 little tooth in Mylin's mouth!