A Service Christmas

So, my family decided that we would give as Christmas gifts this year, gifts of service. We started on Monday with my grandparents down in Tucson. We went to visit and asked my aunt, grandma and grandpa what they would like as their service.

My grandma asked my mom to dust her books and bookshelves:

It can be tough work!

She asked Angela and I to dust her china cabinet and all of the items in it.

It was great because she would tell us about each piece as we were cleaning it. Some of it had great history and some of it made us nervous because of the wonderful sentimental value it had.

Angela, mom and I also raked out grandma and grandpa's walkway rocks to smooth them out and sort the rocks that didn't belong there.


Nathaniel gave his gift to my aunt. He cleaned out her engine bay. She was very happy and said that her mechanic would want to hug him.

On Tuesday, Mom and I got our gifts from our family. They came to our classrooms and helped us for a few hours. I am amazed at what 4 people can get done in a classroom in just 2 hours!

On Wednesday, we went over to my in-laws to give Nathaniel his gift. He wanted us to help do yard work for his parents. So we chopped cactus, pruned a tree and hula hoed their yard.

The finished product:

This little guy was wondering what we were doing and a little upset... he didn't want us to ruin his home of fairy duster.

Still to come is my mom and dad's gift of cleaning their front room. Nathaniel is going to bring our carpet cleaner and do their carpets.

The gift for my sister will be mom and I giving her recipes and making some of our favorite dishes with her.


This was all wonderful because we got to spend time together during the holiday season and serve one another. Plus, it didn't cost anything.

GoDaddy Party 2008

Well, GoDaddy wasn't going to let a little economy downturn ruin their fun. They spent over $2 million dollars on their company party. They even flew in the employees from Colorado and Iowa for this one.

Our centerpieces.

It was held at Chase Field (I call it BOB still) and we were all on the field. We got a table and Nathaniel found some of his friends so we had a good group to sit with.

Bob Parsons (GoDaddy's CEO and founder)

never does anything small. Of course he gave away money (with the help of Danika Patrick)

and he had a comedian...

Sinbad... He was hilarious and very quick witted. He kept making comments to the audience and asking the women what the wondered about men so he could straighten us out...

There were 2 bands:

38 Special and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. I had heard some of (ok 1) Joan Jett's songs but not too much from 38 special.

There were also games and RC cars, of course Nathaniel was happy. We ate dinner and had a great time. Nathaniel and his friend Christine:

kept bugging our server for Dr. Pepper all night. She was a good sport and even posed with Iggy at the end of the night.

Then at the end there was a laser show and they let off fireworks inside of Bank One Ballpark.

Never a dull moment with GoDaddy.

'Tis the Season

So as soon as we got back from Thanksgiving with Grandma, I had Nathaniel take me to our storage unit to get our or Christmas decorations! I couldn't wait to get everything up! The thing I was the most excited about was our new nativity that we bought up in Sedona this summer. We had been searching for the longest time for a nativity that suited us. Finally, we found one. I think you can see why...

It is made from a Century Aloe plant and made in the Phillipeans.

Then we also put lights on our house. Just a simple strand around the eaves of our roof. Then we added a strand around our windows. We spiced it up a little with a penguin above our garage...

And a reindeer in our yard (just added today)