R is for Ronnebeck!

Wow! What a crazy year it’s been for the Ronnebeck household! I have been racking my brain to remember all that we’ve done this year so I can post a Ronnebeck Recap, we’re nearing the end of the year, and I still haven’t found the perfect words, so I’ll just go with it; I figured Random musings would probably be more fitting for me any ways. ♥ Our vacation this year was in Seattle, I took a week off from work and we spent the week exploring our city! It was so much fun to be able to be a tourist. We went to the Market, the EMP, the Aquarium & other fun destinations in Seattle. At the EMP I got to meet my lifetime hero’s … at the wonderful world of Jim Henson. When I walked in the door Kermit the frog was sitting on a log under a glass case, it was all I could do to keep the tears from running, it sounds weird, but I remember watching them growing up and it was truly like meeting a long lost friend and a celebrity all at the same time. Rowlf, Bert & Earnie were all part of the e...

This was by far the gift I expected the least, and the one that touched me the most, and brought me to tears. Mom had been telling me that Grandma sent a gift to me in the mail. It hadn't gotten here yet, and she was really worried about it, and I didn't think much of it thinking it will eventually come, or if it got lost we can replace it. It wasn't until I opened the box I realized how irreplaceable each and every item in the box was. It was more than ornaments from my Grandma for Christmas, It was the ornaments that I remember hanging on her tree as a child, it's our version of heirlooms. Growing up my siblings always had more ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree than I did; they were amongst the first of the grandchildren, and they had been in school and Sunday school making ornaments like crazy. To help ease my sadness Grandma started me my own collection of ornaments to hang on her tree, every time I would stay with her around Christmas time she would buy...

I have been slacking on posting recently, so I guess I'll make up for it with three posts in one day! Watch out world! Here's our Christmas day in a nutshell, with a few pictures, but mostly just random thoughts of a wonderful day. Aquaman opened his gift with help from me. It was a Snuggie... Check it out HERE. The Gift that was most surprising and exciting... my Owly Hat! Seen freaking out about it ... HERE!!! Check out this link to see what/Who Owly is :). As tradition goes, Eric and I love to go look at Christmas lights on Christmas Day Eve. Here's a house we frequent... Love the old timey Manger scene. Gracie was done with it all by the time we got back to Des Moines... Perhaps she doesn't love the back window like she used to. After looking at Christmas lights, We came home and played with our gift from Santa, the Christmas Story Version of Monopoly... I was still smiling in this picture because Eric hadn't set up death row yet... Death Row... Rolled a 6...

Ho Ho Ho … who would ’t go? Christmas season is such a blessed occasion around the Ronnebeck household, I can’t say enough about our traditions that we’ ve created as a couple, and the love that is poured into everything we do during the holiday season. Wednesday evening (as previously mentioned) we built our gingerbread house. Normally we build it out of sugar cookie brought to you by Toll house or Pillsbury but this year we got a nice big roll of gingerbread cookies from Pillsbury so we made an actual gingerbread house. It turned out pretty good! Gingerbread was actually a lot easier to work with, and tasty too! So I think we’ll probably go this route in the years to come. We almost didn ’t get around to it, and at the last minute we squeezed it in! Thursday was a crazy day at work, we squeezed in an 8 hour day in 6 hours. Eric came to pick me up at 2 (when I got off) and we headed to Uwajimaya to pick up his Christmas Day feast which was still swimming in a tank. Once we picke...

Okay, So our internet at home was being a bugger this weekend, and I never got many Christmas things posted, but I promise as soon as it cooperates I will have quite a few pictures up along with some good stories of a wonderful Christmas. Wednesday evening after work, Eric and I went to work on our 4th annual gingerbread house, which came together rather nicely considering we didn't have any sort of a plan for it. It wasn't our best artistically, but it was tasty! It's a Christmas tradition I love.... Friday Morning we opened gifts, and Aquaman got a snuggie... more on the whole Christmas expierence later... but we thought it would be fun to pose him in a few pictures just like the snuggie box... now he can have his hands free while surfing the new cable Eric got for Christmas.

Hope that all of you are having a Christmas that is THIS exciting! Wish we could be together, but thinking of you all! Merry Christmas :)

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!!! We've been very busy this evening preparing for Santa, Christmas tradiations and above all, Jesus. We'll be headed to church here in about three hours and I can't wait to sing some Christmas carols and hear the story I've grown up with year after year. As for the Ronnebeck Household... Our stockings are hung on the wall with care..... Hopes that Santa will soon be near (thanks to Santa tracker we've been keeping our eye on him). And forcing the kids to take pictures by the tree is more of an act of GOD than anything else, Gracie was licking her wounds from the (below) family picture and was hiding behind the gifts just out of reach so I shoved Aquaman in the center and voila, our kids by the tree. Merry Christmas from the Ronnebeck Family! Lots of Love,

This is possibly the best App that Facebook has ever invented. You can just click on the picture and it searches your pictures stored on Facebook and it helps you create a Collage of your year. You will probably see a couple more of these... but for now... here's my first one. From Top to bottom Left to right... - Eric & I on our Seattle vacation at the Jimmi Hendrix Museum aka: EMP -Eric and Tim showing their brotherly Love on New years. -Kerri and I making a Lap at Relay for life -The Mexico Mission Team that Eric was a part of. - Eric and our kids! - Me picking Blackberries -Kat and I at the parade on the day after Thanksgiving - Eric and I on New Years Eve! - My siblings and I at my brothers Farm - My co-workers during our Ugly Christmas sweater last year - Tim, Kat, Eric and I playing trains on Thanksgiving Day - My sister and I playing on Spanky (long story). - My Best Friend's Wedding In Omaha (Love you Heids) - The Advisor crew at Lazy F. - Aquaman in all of his gl...

How wonderful is Christmas time? Eric came in after work yesterday and we got our meat and cheese for our cheese tray and then we bee bopped around and looked at the Christmas things we LOVE in Seattle! The Star of Macy's, the tree in Westlake, I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful these things are at Christmas time. The Market has little decorations everywhere, Trees and what not, and about 3 million people. I was getting a little clastrophobic. The trip downtown officially gave us both a case of Fa La La La La's, and we're happy to be together this holiday season, miss our families and are excited to continue traditions of our own.

I love Christmas time... I am starting to feel my Fa La La's as Eric is coming downtown tonight after work so we can go play and look at the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton like last year, and see all the lights of the City, I can't wait to post pictures later! Yesterday we recieved our first package in the mail and I am getting excited to open presents! Our Tree finally has something under it that I don't know what's inside the wrapping! Eric figured out his Christmas gift yesterday by no fault of his own, I won't go on and on about my feelings of the Comcast establishment, but let's just say It took a little wind out of my sails to know he knows, but I still have a surprise or two up my sleeve. Here we go... "Tis the season to be Jolly... Fa La La La La... LA LA LA LA!!!!!

Today something miraculous happened in the Ronnebeck house hold. The Cat and Dog called a truce as they joined forces in something bigger than the hatred they have against each other , the vacuum cleaner. I have been busy cleaning house this morning, and I finally got to the vacuum stage and once it was turned on the dog jumped up over the couch and ran to hide behind the cat who was wide eyed and hissing at the scary machine. Aquaman then jumped in front of Gracie and tried to protect her from the vacuum. I guess they do love each other after all. What a couple of dorks.

One more thing that's been weighing on my mind today... Today marks the one year anniversary my co-worker Cai took his own life. It is a day that none of us at KMS will ever forget, and something that has changed our lives forever; there's not a day that goes by that we don't think about him, miss him, or wish he was back in our lives. Here's his obiturary , please say an extra prayer for his family today.

Last night was our holiday party for work. We went downtown to the Hotel Andra and drank cocktails and ate some amazing food prepared by the Tom Douglas Catoring company, for thoes of you who don't know Tom, he's a big wig chef here in Seattle and his food is a-maz-ing. I actually completley Failed at taking any pictures last night, so you'll have to wait till my co-worker who did take all the pictures gets back from her Christmas vacation to see just how swanky this hotel was, and how wonderful my dress was! It was one of thoes surreal moments as we were crossing 5th avenue dressed to the 9's looking down the street at the lit up Space Needle that made me realize... wow... I really love living in Seattle. I have really great co-workers, so the night was fantastic, and it was hard to leave even though I was way past my bed time and quickly turning into a pumpkin. Today Laurel came over and we had lunch and then we finished up my Christmas shopping. It was so good to ...

Today at work was our 2 nd Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater day... It kind of turned into an Ugly Christmas (like) outfit day, but What a good looking group... right? Here's the staff that participated. I really Love my co- workers . And me, in the most UNFLATTERING Christmas Cat skirt EVER! But it was popular. I am So very happy with how it turned out. Hope to jump back on the blogging band wagon soon, but for now, enjoy the photos!