Christmas Eve

Even though Trish and Jacob were in Lebanon for Christmas, we still pulled off the traditional Udell Christmas Eve soup dinner. Trish always fixes potato soup and oyster stew. Well, Jack and I fixed our own version of the potato and oyster soups. They turned out pretty good.
Master Pumpkin Pie Maker, Josh made mini pumpkin pies for everyone to have at their place settings. I think Eden had two! It all turned out great. We will be looking forward to having Trish and Jacob back with us next year for the soup tradition though.

Gift Exchanges

We got the Narnia fully dramatized audio books for Matthew and Kirsten for Christmas. Matthew is the King of audio books. He also did an awesome painting for me of a beautiful Japanese painting that I love at Josh's grandparents' house. The funniest exchange that day was Nathan giving The Three Amigos DVD to Josh, and then immediately following that I opened the exact same thing from Matthew. Twins really do think alike.

Poor Man's Christmas

Nathan's New Camera

Nathan was really surprised when the whole family went in on a digital camera for his Christmas present. It was wrapped at the very center of a large package. Before he got to the "real goods" he opened multiple boxes including Cheez-its, Hamburger Helper, candy, and old movies. He thought he was just getting a pour man's care package until the final unwrapping. It's a great camera. Don't Drop It, Nate!

Mom's surprise from Dad

"Hey, what is this? It's big and in a box. I just got a flat screen computer monitor for our anniversary. Why did he get me another one?"

"Oh, It's a new flat screen t.v. for my bedroom. Now I get it! Thanks, this is awesome! Who knows how to hook it up for me?"

Ipod Junkies

There's nothing like curling up with an Ipod and relaxing on the couch! Since Josh is wearing his Arkansas hat, he must be snoozing in Hog Heaven.
Anna and Lydia are mesmerized by Lydia's new Nano Ipod. Each person only gets one earbud to listen. Aww... look at them sharing.

To Donate, or Not To Donate?

I wanted to share a funny little story with you. I'm sure that many of you have heard of donating plasma to make little money. You are not only helping others who need plasma, but also getting compensated for it. You can read a book, listen to music, take a nap, or get on a laptop while donating. My brother, Matthew, does it and makes $60 each week for donating. Now he had only one bad experience with giving plasma, so I thought I would give it a try. I was a little nervous, but I made my appointment for 7:30am on Saturday morning so I would be able to get in before it got busy. Last Thursday, (Matthew donated that morning) he had a second bad experience donating. It just happened to be the exact same bad experience.
When you give plasma, they take out your blood, separate the plasma, and then put your red blood cells back into your vein with a coagulate to replace the plasma. Well, Matthew's bad experiences involved putting the red blood cells back into his vein. He was laying there reading and started to feel pressure where the red cells were going in. He looked over and saw that the needle had slipped from his vein and was leaking underneath his skin. This created a red ballooning effect on his arm. Now this traumatic red blood cell balloon on your arm might deter some from going back to donate, but Matthew seems to like it or something because he has had it happen twice and still goes back! No, he's just after the money, I think.
After hearing Matthew's 2nd experience, I started to get really nervous for my Saturday appointment. But I was going to try if for myself and be brave. So I picked up Matthew at 7:10 am and we went. I woke up so early and then found out that I didn't even drink enough water before I went, so I could not give that day. They told me to come back in a week. That's another week to think of the horrific things that might happen to my precious vein when I donate. So Matthew and I didn't leave from there until 11:00 am because it took 2 hours to take his plasma. They said that he has very small veins and had to go slowly. Well, I'd rather that they take it slowly than have another ballooning arm experience. So will I make it back next week? We will see...............

Pumkin Pie, Anyone?

Isn't he cute! Josh made pumpkin pies for the first time and he was so proud of his creation. They were delicious too! Hey, Josh, maybe you should exchange that ballcap for a chef's hat.

Then

Five Years of Udells

A lot has changed in the last five years for the Udell family. Trish had the quirky idea for this year's family picture to pose just like we did 5 years ago. So here is a quick update. Jacob is now in college at Ozark, Anna just turned sweet 16 and got her braces off, Lydia just turned 12, and Eden is 6 now. Josh and I have been married for 4 and a half years and have both graduated from college. We have been reading a chapter every morning together out of the book of Matthew. That has been a really good study for us to do together. Josh has also been doing a lot of writing. He was recently published in the UNL paper.
http://www.dailynebraskan.com/media/storage/paper857/news/2006/12/11/Opinion/Letters.To.The.Editor-2531669.shtml?norewrite200612110929&sourcedomain=www.dailynebraskan.com
Jack, the head of this crazy bunch, has developed a new love for biking over the last few years. Trish works with the international students at MSSU and is developing a lot of neat relationships with them. In the latest news, Trish and Jacob are getting ready to leave for the Middle East to help give relief work to those who have been rebuilding after the war with Hezbollah. Who knows what we'll be doing 5 years from now? Whatever it is, we'll always have the "Udell family photo pose."

Now

Jacob, Anna, Lydia, Trish, Jack, Eden, Lindsay, and Josh Udell

I Can't Wait For Christmas!

I was so excited to get out our Christmas decorations and put them up. I got an awesome new blinking snowflake to put out on our balcony and a neat little nativity set for display in the living room. And of course... my wreaths. For the last 3 years I have taken what tinsy bit of craftiness that I have and decorated Christmas wreaths. I have no clue how many I have made, but it's a lot. Anyway, I have made 10 this year and they are the best ones ever, if I do say so myself. I enjoy making them and it gets me into the holiday spirit. Interested parties can score one for $25. Just let me know. Merry wreath-filled Christmas!

Ooh! Christmas Wreaths