Christmas Party, Snow Day and Dance! 12/6

Our ward had the annual Christmas Party which turned out to be the best ward Christmas Party we have ever attended! Our ward is huge and EVERYONE came. They also had Santa come at the first, graham cracker house decorating, ornament making, delicious food, and a Nativity play. Charlie and Matthew were able to take part as shepherds. The beard Charlie was wearing was a surprise because he didn’t practice with it but found it in a box and put it on. I love the tradition of funeral potatoes, ham, and rolls at ward Christmas parties, nothing beats cheesy potatoes with cornflakes on top.

That next day (Sunday) we got our first major snow storm of the year! The kids were thrilled especially Conrad. With no memory of snow from last year he was completely mesmerized by it and laid on our dining room table looking out the window for over an hour. 

The view from our bedroom window was beautiful! We haven’t had much snow that last couple of years so I couldn’t keep myself from staring out the window all day.

The snow storm turned into an ice storm which led to the cancelling of school for the next day. They called a two hour delay for Government Employees so Seth was able to take his time. The kids all spent hours outside and went sledding with the neighbor kids. By the afternoon it had turned into rain but the snow was not over. It started snowing again in the middle of the night so school AND work for Seth was cancelled on Tuesday as well. I LOVE snow days. It’s like a surprise vacation/holiday. Besides playing in the snow we watched a marathon of Christmas movies. Watching my kid watch “Home Alone” was funnier than actually watching “Home Alone.”

We are keeping busy through December with our daily advent activity (we got a free dozen of Krispy Kremes on 12/12). The kids are also taking swimming lessons and loving it. This last Saturday (12/13)we had a birthday party, baptism, and Lucy’s first dance recital. Lucy has been taking her first dance class with Ms Beth the last nine weeks. She would ask me almost every morning if it was a dance day. The cute little 3-4 year olds put on a Christmas recital for their parents. It was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen!!

Charlie turns 9! 11/30

Wow!  Our Charlie is a nine year old which  is half way to the age he can leave on a mission!!! This kid is well on his way. When we went in for parent teacher conference Charlie’s teacher made an interesting observation about him. She said, “the thing I love about Charlie is that he loves and is excited about everything he does!” We really do love his positive attitude and the boys motivation. He still is a book worm but also loves his “screen time” for playing Skylanders. He has also gotten in on the rubber-band bracelet making band wagon and studies u-tube videos to learn more techniques.  He is a patient older brother to his siblings and a good example as well. We are so happy he is in our family.

In case anybody forgot how cute he was as a baby!

And now!

His birthday started off with a bang! Thanks to an awesome Amazon deal his birthday dreams came true. It was fun to watch how ecstatic he was opening up his presents.

 

 

He requested biscuits for his birthday breakfast and then spent much of the day playing Skylanders and making bracelets with his Rainbow Loom.

The evening of his birthday we got a babysitter for Lucy and Conrad and took Charlie, Matthew, and two of Charlie’s best buddies to Red Robin for dinner. We all came back to our home afterwards for cake and ice cream and then the boys were able to play more Skylanders. That night when I put him to bed he said, “this was the best birthday ever!”

“Looming instruction”

Austen, Matthew, Charlie, and Isaac with Charlie’s Birthday cake (it’s a “Portal of Power” from Skylander Swap Force).

Giving Thanks 11/28

Our Thanksgiving was very different this year. We ate our meal with just the six of us from our family. At first it seemed like a strange idea for us to just do it with ourselves but in the end it was wonderful! We picked out all the food we wanted to eat and ate like kings! We did make a turkey breast out of tradition but once and for all decided we were only cooking ham for future Thanksgivings.  I started the day early by doing a 9 1/2 mile run with my friend Erin. It was cold but once we got going I was fine and we didn’t see many people on Rockcreek trail. I didn’t think twice about what I ate the rest of the day which in the end I would regret (but I do every year)!!!

The kids got really into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which Seth and I found interesting because we have never watched it in years past. Matthew would run through the house screaming what balloon we were all missing out on seeing. Matthew also discovered he passionately loves stuffing. Our kids didn’t actually end up eating much which meant we had TONS of leftovers. It was great not cooking the whole weekend and Seth made up a delicious Turkey Soup for Sunday dinner.

I love Thanksgiving. There is nothing that makes life better than reflecting on all of the blessings we have been given. We had great talks in church on gratitude and I realized  that while I’m usually grateful for my blessings, I don’t always go out of my way to express it to people. Gratitude is an action.  I am thankful for a healthy children, a comfortable home and great family and friends who make the effort to stay connected to us.  I am grateful for a kind neighbor who has let herself become a stand-in grandma for my kids and is happy to babysit whenever we ask. I am grateful for wonderful teachers who work hard to help my kids succeed in school. I am grateful for a never-ending patient husband who is genuinely kind to everyone and is a hands-on dad.  I am most grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the peace that I have been blessed with from knowing that I have a Heavenly Father who knows and understands me and my struggles. Life is good.

We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving which has become a tradition. Last year we left this packed away and bought a real tree. I actually LOVE this tree and was happy to have it return. Part of the reason I love it so much is the memory that goes along with it. When I purchased it (back in January of 2008) I was with my great friend Natalie at the Target on Carpenter road. We just happened to be there on a day where all the Christmas stuff went on extreme clearance. The tree is 7ft with the lights already on it and was only 25 dollars. I did have two kids at the time but buying that tree made me feel like a real adult. I packed it away for 10 long months and was so excited to set it up for its first Christmas. We have also started a tradition in our family that whenever we go anywhere fun (that has a gift shop) we pick out an ornament for the tree as a souvenir. Thanks to our current location or collection has grown quickly. Cheers for Christmas!

The legs on our Joseph broke off so while the glue was setting on him I noticed there was a “stand-in.”

No Change.11/27

Seth didn’t get the job in Michigan. We were disappointed but not devastated. I was surprised how much peace I felt about the outcome after he told me. He will get a job and until then our set-up is great. The kids are happy to stay with their wonderful teachers and I have golden running partners.  We are blessed that Seth’s fellowship can go on for a few more years so while it would be nice to be permanently settled somewhere, we will continue to be blessed with where we are.

We are very grateful for our happy growing kids. We really love the phase Conrad is in right now. He loves life!  We finally did the inevitable and cut off his beautiful blonde hair. Seth was ready a while ago but I was still trying to hold on to my baby. At church on Sunday, an older gentlemen told me he enjoyed watching my “little girl” run around during sacrament meeting. It was time. My friend Andrea did the job and while I think it aged him a good 6 months, he is still very adorable. He was more cranky the few days after we cut his hair so now Seth has started calling him “Samson.”

Happy Conrad loading up his pals which include a dog, cat, and baby doll.

This was right before the cut! Check out the adorable pig tails.

A new little boy right after the cut(we picked up donuts to drop off at Charlie’s class). I was shocked how much he looks like Matthew did at this age.

Lucy enjoying her donut or at least the frosting.

Are your kids addicted to screens? We have limits but they love to push them.

With growing up comes the scaling of countertops. I’m grateful he dumped out the cheap salt and none of the other spices. Can anybody please help me organize my spice rack?!

Sometimes I get in the “zone” in the morning trying to get everyone ready and I do weird things like……put Lucy’s clothes on Conrad and not realize it until I was finished. I guess that was another sign we needed to cut his hair.