MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The day of many things

Today was a day of so many things.  First we had Church.

The Primary sang in Sacrament Meeting ( I am the Chorister for Primary).  We sang For Unto Us a Child is Born.  It was beautiful the kids did a fantastic job.  The Bishop even cried.  I was so astounded with how well the kids learned it.  We are small in numbers, but they all worked hard and did a wonderful job.

After church we started doing more baking and wrapping presents.  We have been so busy that we decided to only do 2 dimensional Gingerbread to save time.  Usually we make houses for all of my side of the family to do on Christmas Eve.  This year it will be flat ones.

Last night I made some Carmels and so I had to cut and wrap them all up this afternoon.

The recipe was so easy and they taste so yummy!

We also wrapped about 70 presents today (and we still have lots more to wrap.)

We baked 4 more batches of cookies on top of the gingerbread and we gave out about 25 baskets of goodies to friends and neighbors.  It was a very busy day!!  Tomorrow will be crazy.  WE are going to my side of the family for the biggest gift exchange you've ever seen.  It takes hours to open gifts!!  I love the holidays, but right about now I am always feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I always run out of time to get it all done and end up exhausted.

I hope all of you are relaxing and enjoying your holiday!! I will certainly try to :)

Baking Day and Catching Up

Today was a Baking Day.  We made three kinds of cookies.  I made Dark Chocolate Bon Bon Cookies and CocoaDoodles and Dave made his famous, gooey Chocolate Chip cookies.  I still need to do some more baking tonight and tomorrow before I can deliver treats to my friends.  But I am a lot closer to being all finished.

We have been so busy lately that I havent taken the time to blog, so here is a recap.

Last week was the boys Christmas Program at school.  It was really cute. 430 Kindergarteners and 1st graders singing and dancing in the High School Gym.  The bleachers were packed with parents and grandparents and it was crazy!!

Here is Tayden.  He is toward the back in the gray argyle sweater vest.

And here is Kyler.  He is in the back in the black Argyle sweater vest.

They both did a GREAT job!

Last weekend Kyler and his cousin and my dad all celebrated their birthdays together.

My sister made the cake.  It was yummy! She made it look like a space ship that landed on Uranus and there were 2 aliens that had gotten out of the ship.  Kyler is really into space and planets right now. While we were there we enjoyed hearing Kyler tell us all about Uranus and we all had a good laugh making jokes.  Kyler doesn't know yet what other meaning there is with Uranus, so he just thought he was really funny.  My family is all about cheap humor.  :)

I hopr I will get a chance to blog again before Christmas, but if not, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and enjoy being with your families.

A Gift of Love

Yesterday Tayden came home from school with a present for me that he had made in art class.  It was supposed to be for Christmas.  He did a good job trying to keep it a secret for a while, then while we were at the restaurant eating dinner for Kyler's birthday he said something about the present he had made for me and that it was a secret.  He gave me some clues about it then spelled what it is.  It was so funny.  I said, "Oh, don't tell me.  It's a secret."  He was all surprised then smiled and said "Oops!"  Later when we got home he said he wanted to give it to me now, because it is too hard to wait.  I went ahead and opened it to spare him the waiting.  It was a cute little pot thing that he had lovingly molded and painted.  He wasnt sure what I could use it for, so I decided I could use it as a candle holder.  I love it!!

Here it is :)

This is how I decided to use it.  Isn't it cute?

As a side note, in the background is one of my other favorite decorations that I forgot to put in my blog about my favorite Christmas decorations.  Its a little painting of a Shepherd boy kneeling beside the Baby Jesus.  Dave's Mom painted it and gave it to us.  Its so sweet.  My mom loved it so much that I asked Dave's Mom if she could paint a few more (she makes lots of things like this)  She had 2 more that she had already made so I gave one to my Sister-in-Law, Beth too, because she really liked it as well.  My mother-in-law is so talented.  She has tried to teach me a bit.  Someday maybe I can have the time to do stuff like that too.

A Happy Birthday

 

Yesterday we celebrated Kyler's Birthday. Since this is such a busy month we are having his friends over later in the month when school is out. The party with my extended family will be this weekend, so yesterday was just us. It was nice and calm!

He was eager to open his presents, so we let him open them right after school. He had gotten 5 cards in the mail, so he opened those first. He was excited to get cash in some of them! He put it right into his piggy bank. He also opened a big present that Grandma Morgan sent. He was really thrilled when he opened it. It was a giant world map floor puzzle. Kyler loves maps and he loves puzzles, so it was perfect. Thanks Grandma Morgan. Ady picked out some GI Joe action figures for him. She was very insistent that that was what he needed (I think so he wont use her dolls as action figures). Tayden gave him some Easy Reader books about the Solar system. Kyler is obsessed with the Universe and the planets. Dave got Kyler a really neat computer game and I got him some drawing paper and pens (We go through the paper fast, he loves to draw).

After the presents we went out to eat. Kyler chose Chinese food. It was fun. Then we came home and had cake. He wanted an Alien Cake, so I did my best. My sister is making him another alien cake on Sunday at the family party, I am sure hers will be better.

 

Here are some pictures of the day.

 

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Happy Birthday Kyler!!!

Today is Kyler's 7th birthday!!!  Kyler is such a smart, fun, responsible,outgoing and sweet boy.  I am so lucky to have such a great son! :)

 

Here is a look back at us when Kyler was a baby

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I have finally been able to put up my Nativities (there was a Nativity display at church last weekend, so I had loaned mine to that). I love to collect Nativities, so I have been anxious to put them up. My other decorating has mostly been stalled waiting to put the Nativities out first. Here are some of my favorites:

This is the Blossom Bucket Nativity. Its so cute! I love it.

I made this one a few years ago at the Super Saturday Craft day at church.

Some one gave this one to me. Its the biggest one that I have, so in the past I have had a hard time finding a place for it. this year I decided to put it on top of the China Cabinet in the Dining Room.

This cute little cloth one is one of my favorites. I had to put it up on top of the fridge because Ady thought it was a toy one since it is stuffed. I love it too much for it to be a toy.

This cute chunky one is new this year. I have it up on top of the Entertainment center in the family room.

I didn't take pictures of all of them, but we also have the Fisher Price one, which the kids LOVE! Dave's mom gave it to us a few years ago for Christmas. I have a little nesting one that Kyler loves to play with too. I also have a little "Pocket Nativity" that Ady decided to carry around everywhere. Its made of felt and is little finger puppets. It fits into a little felt envelope. My mom gave me another cloth one last year that is a bigger one and is a toy. It is made up of finger puppets as well and folds up nicely into a cloth stable.

Here are some of my other favorite Christmas decorations.

I saw my aunt do this last year. I hung ornaments from my chandelier in the Dining Room. I love how it looks!

I love these little snowmen that are cuddled up in a blanket. My Sister-in-law, Beth had one and I loved it, so my mom found one for me for Christmas a few years ago.

I love this Snowman that Dave's mom made. (have you noticed that I collect Snowmen?)

And lastly I wanted to show you the cute little trees we put up in the kids rooms. I got a 4 foot one for the boys room. Their window looks out to the street, so the tree lights in the window looks nice from the front of the house. We decorated it with paper chains that the boys made and we tied strings to their cars and trains and hung them from the tree as well. Kyler made a star for the top. It looks so cute. In Ady's room I put up a 3 foot tree and we used her necklaces as garland and tied strings to her stuffed animals and small toys. We also used some of her hair bows. I love how the lights glow in their rooms at night. Tayden made a star for the top of Ady's tree.

The boys tree

Ady's tree

The last favorite decoration that I want to mention is the train track Tayden has under the kids tree in the family room. He and Dave set up Tayden's Geo train under the tree and it looks so cute. I don't have a picture of it but I will add on later.

Christmas fun

Last night for Family Home Evening we had a lesson about Christmas. We sang Christmas songs and Dave read some from the New Testament about Jesus' birth. Then we talked about the rest of the story and why we get gifts and what gift we can "give" in return. Tayden said he would not get so frustrated, Kyler said he would work hard to study the scriptures to prepare for baptism next year, Ady said she would share more. I was glad that they had such ready answers and understood what we were telling them. After that we Wrote letters to Santa then colored pictures of the Nativity.

Later in the evening the kids wanted to make some ornaments with beads and pipe cleaners. They did a good job and we had fun.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We've been having snow every night for a few days now and the boys are LOVING it!  That makes me love it too since they are playing together after school WITHOUT fighting and I can actually get things done. Ady still isn't feeling all the way better, so she hasn't wanted to go out as much.  Last year she would go out all the time in the snow.  Maybe she will when she is more up to it.

The first day the boys went out in the snow, I knew their snow clothes had gotten too small, but I didn't realize just how small.  Kyler couldn't even get his snow pants on over his regular pants!  I thought they were like a 5/6 (he wears an 8 now) but I looked at the tag and they are a 4T! I dont know how, but without any pants underneath we squeezed him into them and zipped them up.  Somehow I have 3 pairs of size 4T snow pants.  Who knew a 6 1/2 year old, a 5 year old and a 3 year old could all go out wearing the same size!?! Ady is the only one they actually are comfortable on.   I think for Christmas Santa might just bring them all some new snow gear :)

 

First Christmas Card!

We got our first Christmas card in the mail today from our old neighbors, the Popcorn House!

Getting cards in the mail makes it really feel like Christmas is creeping up on us!

Thanks Daniel and Suzanne! :)

Homemade Ornaments

Every year I try to have the kids make Christmas Ornaments for all the Grandmas and Aunts and Uncles. We usually make Snowflakes, snowmen, or icicles. This year we are super busy, so I wanted something quick and easy. We ended up getting some Fimo Clay and cutting out snowflakes then decorating them with beads. Then we popped them in the oven for 15 minutes to harden them up. I had some regular clay too, in more colors so we thought we could use it as well, but when we put it in the oven it melted and ruined my cookie sheet. Oops!! Oh well, you learn something new every day! Here are some pictures of the fun.

Ready to Roll!

Ady and Tayden Rolling

Kyler displaying some of his Ornaments

Oops!! Sadly most of the ones Ady made were on that pan! She wanted pink snowflakes and the pink all melted. After that she mostly lost interest. The other sad part is this was one of our favorite baking sheets for making gingerbread . :(

Finished Ornaments

I think they turned out pretty well

Here is a peek at what we have made in years past

Christmas Craziness

Ady has been really sick this week, so I haven't gotten a whole lot done. Each day I have done a little and finally its starting to look like Christmas around here, although I still have a lot to do. Yesterday I put up the Christmas trees and put lights on the porch, but we didn't have time to decorate the trees before bedtime. So as soon as the boys got home today we started decorating their tree. I have one tree in the family room that the kids get to decorate all by themselves. I put all the more colorful and non breakable ornaments in a box for the kids to use and on there tree they can use colored lights. Then I get to decorate my tree in the Living room by myself and have white lights and they aren't allowed to touch it. Last year we did this for the first time because we got a new tree and thought it would be fun to have two. It worked out so well to have the kids decorate their own tree. I can let go of my anxieties and let them do it however they want. And then I get to have complete control over my own tree. I am also planning to get two more trees, one in the office for me to decorate really nice, with all matching ornaments instead of the hodge podge of memento ornaments (although I love those too, thats why I need another tree!) and then a tree in the kids room upstairs decorated with toys and things. I had a tree in my room when I was a kid and I loved it. I love sitting in a room lit only by the Christmas lights on a cold winter night snuggled under a blanket. I will probably wait until after Christmas to get more trees when they are on sale. We will see.

The boys decorating their tree

Ady was so sick she didn't put too many ornaments on.

Here is their finished tree

(well, almost. It still needs the tree skirt and Tayden wants to build a train around it.)

The Family Tree. I mostly decorate it will snowflakes and snowmen, along with the ornaments my kids make each year and the ones my niece and nephew make. Also there are a few memento ornaments that have been given to us by loved ones.

The Miniature Tree in the Dining Room that Ady helped me decorate with the Mini ornaments. (There is a mirror behind it, so thats why you are seeing double.)

My Aunt gave us a Gingerbread Tree decorating kit, so we put it together tonight to be our Kitchen tree. Closer to Christmas we will bake gingerbread from scratch and make real gingerbread houses. Its a tradition that comes from Dave's family. But until then this was fun too. :)

Ady didn't participate in this either, she just layed her head down on the counter :(

Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

For Thanksgiving this year my side of the family all went to Ohio to my Aunt Debbie's House. We had a lot of fun. We all stayed in a Hotel and got to go swimming and the kids got to play with all the cousins. The moms had fun too, going shopping at 4 am on Friday. I got some really great doorbusters: a 7 qt Crock pot with a carrying case for $9.99 (this way I can make a roast and have enough room for lots of yummy vegetables.), I also got some other fun things for Dave for Christmas, so I won't mention them here since he might read it.

We played lots of games, did lots of shopping, ate lots of food, and had a really great time!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is orange and yellow,

Brown and red.

Thanksgiving sounds like families gathering,

laughing and talking.

Thanksgiving smells like savory herbs,

and hot fresh rolls.

It tastes like tender turkey,

Sweet pumpkin pie and tart cranberries.

Thanksgiving looks like families feasting on food and togetherness.

Thanksgiving feels like warm hugs,

Grandma's kisses and tender hearts.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends, near and far.

We miss you and love you and we are so grateful to know you.

Primary Program

 

Yesterday was our Primary Program at church.  I am the Primary Chorister, so it is a big relief to finally be finished with it.  All in all things went really well.  Kyler and Tayden both memorized their parts and did a great job when it was their turn to get up.  The nursery came up to sing one song with the Junior Primary and held up pictures of Jesus.  Ady sang along and stood their smiling the whole time.  I am so proud of them.

Over the past few weeks we have been having our practices, and those were a bit crazy, but the program came together really well.  We had a few kids who got up and said the wrong line, but for the most part they all did fine.  On one of the songs I had two girls singing solos and one of the girls (Courtney)  started crying during her solo.  I felt so sorry for her.  She said the part was too high, but she sounded great in practice so we thought it would be fine, but with her nerves her throat must have tightened up and made it harder so she got embarrassed.  It actually looked like she got choked up.  The verse she was singing was about mothers, so she easily could have been choked up by that.  Most people probably thought thats what was wrong.  The other girl, Briley, had a look on her face like "what should I do?" So I whispered to keep going.   Briley did really well and kept singing and at the end when they were supposed to sing together Briley did it by herself.  Oh well, whats the primary program without one glitch?  All the songs sounded great (even that one) and we got lots of compliments.  With that over now we can start learning a Christmas song and have some fun too.  The songs for 2008 are more familiar than the ones we were supposed to learn this year, so I am looking forward to that.  If anyone knows the song "I Am A Child of God" in any other languages, leave a comment for me.  I am hoping to do a few verses in a different language in January.