2009 Christmas Recap

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Christmas Eve day we went up in the morning to my parents' house. Wes and I went shopping for a few last minute things while the boys stayed with grandma and grandpa. Mel and Jacob came down for Christmas Eve and it was fun to see them and their adorable kiddos. Dessie and Andrew are such happy cute kids that we all have fun with them. And of course all the uncles were there, and the boys LOVE that.

We had an amazing dinner and then did our Christmas Eve program. I took wonderful pictures of everything. Christmas morning after we were almost finished opening presents, we discovered that the card wasn't in all the way. No pictures of Christmas Eve. No pictures of kids seeing what Santa brought them. No pictures of the stockings being unloaded. No pictures of the happiness on their faces when they opened their gifts. Dang it all!!

We took a few pictures afterward, but it's just not the same. Oh well. Wes had a great idea this year to have the boys make gifts for each other. It was a little stressful because we started late, but they all had fun. We will definitely be making it a yearly tradition. Here are the gifts they made for each other:

Brandon made Justin a bank:

Spencer made Tyler a frame for his favorite poster:

Tyler made Spencer an over the door basketball hoop:

Justin made Brandon a pencil holder that was filled with Oreos that he dipped in chocolate:

They all loved their gifts and it was fun to see how excited each one was to watch the brother open the gift that they had made. Loved it!!

We hope that all of you had a very Merry Christmas. We hope that 2010 is a fabulous year for each of you!!!

Counting down to Christmas

It seems very strange that Christmas is only 5 days away. Usually by this time I am totally stressed out, but I am feeling relaxed this year. We have almost everything ready; I should be able to finish the last of it tomorrow or the next day.

We delivered the gifts to our Sub for Santa family last night. That is always one of my favorite things every Christmas. This year we got a family with two girls ages 8 and 6. Their mom had a baby 7 weeks early and he is still in the NICU. It was so much fun to shop for girls and a new baby! I think even the boys enjoy it, but they don't let on. ;)

The mother was so appreciative. She has moved in with a relative who lives closer to the hospital, and they made us a plate of goodies as a thank you. They were delicious! I'm sure the boys will remember this year for a long time. It is such a good feeling to make a difference in someone's life.

We made and delivered more of our neighbor gifts today. I did things a little differently this year. Usually I give everyone the same thing, and by the time I'm done putting together 50-70 plates, I am really sick of that treat. This year I had a lot of recipes I wanted to try, so every day I would make up a batch of something and deliver it to a few people. It has been a lot less stressful, and a lot more fun for me. So far we have tried Gooey Cornflake Treats, Gumdrop Cookies, Andes mint cookies, Cake Bites, and Gingersnap White Chocolate Blondies. We still have several friends left on our list, so I will be experimenting again tomorrow. Yum!

Brandon's Busy Day

Brandon had quite the full schedule today. He stayed after school for basketball. I was finally able to go to one of his games. They played their rival school, and ended up winning. I think the final score was 42-35. It was so fun to watch him play!!

After the game we raced home. He showered while I made dinner. We all ate, then Wes and I took him back down to the school for his band concert. What an evening!

The sad thing is that I forgot to take a camera. Both times. What a dork I am. :(

Getting into the Christmas spirit

I am really excited for Christmas this year. I'm not sure why, but I feel more relaxed this year. Maybe online shopping has helped with that. ;)

We started a new tradition this year and we are really enjoying it. I made an advent calendar with activities. You can see the details here. So far we have been able to do something together as a family every night but one. It has been so nice to just relax and be together. Tonight Spencer taught us all how to make 3-D snowflakes. They are beautiful. I was having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures. Ooops.

Last week we put up the Christmas tree and the boys slept under it that night.

We went to the ward Christmas party on Friday and they got to see Santa.

And Brandon, Spencer, and Tyler had their Christmas piano recital. (Wes and I of course enjoy this activity way more than they do.) They all did a great job though.


Brandon played "Were You There?"

Spencer played "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer":

Tyler played "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

We had stake conference this weekend and it was wonderful and uplifting. Our stake president told a story that really touched me. He said when his kids were little his wife was struggling with having them pick up after themselves and keep the house clean. His 4 year old daughter was the worst offender. He said he planned a family home evening lesson about the importance of having a clean house. He talked about the temple and how it is always beautiful and clean, because it is a house of God. He talked about how our homes should be the same way, that they should be a place that Jesus would feel welcome. Then he said he looked right at the 4 year old and asked, "If Jesus came to our door right now, would he like it here?" He told us that her eyes got as big as saucers, and she exclaimed, "Oh yes daddy, he would love it here! We would sit on his lap and give him hugs and kisses. And if he was hungry we would give him something to eat."

Wow. Kids really have a way of teaching us, don't they. I need to try harder to focus on the spirit in our home, and not just the way it looks.


My boys' favorite part of conference was a story that Elder Gonzales from the Presidency of the 70 told. He said he had always loved singing, but didn't have a very good voice. He said a few years ago he was sitting next to the bishop during sacrament meeting and of course singing all the songs. At the end of the meeting, the bishop turned to him and told him he would like him to sing at his funeral. He was kind of surprised, and asked the bishop if he was having health problems. The bishop replied, "No, I'm fine. I just want you to sing at my funeral so that my wife will know there are some things worse than death."
It was a great meeting!! :)