It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

We are FINALLY getting ready for Christmas around here - it came so FAST this year!!! Here is a quick look at our last couple of week of Christmas preparations!

Matt and the kiddos decorating the tree...The finished product :)McKinley was very proud of her Christmas Star!McKinley and her friend Marley were very excited to see Santa at Thanksgiving Point!Mason was not so sure about the whole idea :) Santa told McKinley that she would get a doll for Christmas, and of course a truck for Mason!

A quick visit with Santa's reindeer - Rudolph was sleeping in the stables that night, he couldn't come out to play :)

In Defense of Santa Claus

I know that there are many 'non-believers' out there in this grown-up fast-paced cynical world, but as for me and my house, we believe. I ran across this short story several years ago, and have always liked it's meaning.

"The Story of Saint Nicholas" - An excerpt from the article by Cory W. Creek

"... In late November or early December of 1977, I attended a Stake Conference where Elder LeGrand Richards spoke...because of the time of year, he happened to address the issue of Santa Claus. I listened intently because I was almost due to deliver our first child. What he said surprised me. He said that he thought Santa Claus putting out gifts for our children was a great invention. He explained that the children didn't need him, they would do just fine without him, it was the parents he said that needed Santa Claus. He said that it was our opportunity to learn to give anonymously to our own children when we expected no thank you or praise - a time when our only thoughts were on making them happy..."

And of course, my favorite tribute to good Old Saint Nick, it definitely bears repeating. :)

"Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

VIRGINIA O'HANLON

115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. "

My mother always placed a statue on her piano at Christmastime. It depicted the Savior asleep in a manger with a humble Santa on bended knee bowing before his King with his hat over his heart in reverent worship. Believe what you may, but there is no denying the magic of the season; the desire to do something wonderful and kind annonymously for someone else JUST to make them happy. True, he has become commercialized, and can be over-used as bribery for misbehaving children, but what Santa truly represents is the spirit of giving. There may be one, there may be many, he may fly, run, crawl, or walk, but he is as we all should be, a humble servant of mankind, expecting nothing in return. Call me what you may, but even without the magic of presents or reindeer, I believe.

The Best Christmas Ever!

Yesterday in Relief Society we had a wonderful Christmas lesson. At one point during the lesson, we were asked to think about the best Christmas we ever had. I LOVE Christmas, and there have been many wonderful Christmases that I love to reflect on. I loved the magic of childhood Christmases, the intense awe of my first Christmas as a mother as I really felt what Mary felt as she held her newborn baby (and gave birth in a stable??? No epidural??? Pretty amazing! :). However, the Christmas that stands out from all the rest was a very simple one. There was nothing amazing, wonderful, or awe-inspiring about it - at least to anyone on the outside. It was my first year of college. I was in Provo, UT, experiencing my first actual winter (with SNOW!), I had no car, so I walked or took a bus everywhere that I went, I worked 3 jobs just to pay rent and save money for school, and I was far away from family or the traditions I had always known. I had no money to go home for Christmas, and besides I had to work on the 23rd and 26th, two days off was not enough time to go all the way home anyway. I had a wonderful room-mate from New York, who was in a similar situation and was not going home for Christmas. All of our other room-mates made their holiday plans and left for the Christmas break. So, it was my first time away from home and it was going to be just Shelly and I alone for Christmas. We decided that we didn't want to spend the holiday in our dirty old apartment, so we planned a quick (last-minute) camping trip to Moab. I had never been to Moab, but had heard it was a cool place to go. Shelly had been several times and just LOVED it. So, we loaded up our tent, Walmart sleeping bags, coats, Christmas Music tapes, and headed off to Moab early in the morning on December 24th. As we drove, we talked about everything under the sun, we listened to Christmas music (and some John Denver and The Eagles :), and began our adventure. I will admit that as we drove I couldn't help but think that this really wasn't Christmas at all. There were no presents (neither of us could afford to get each other gifts, we could barely afford the gas to get to Moab and back). There were no family parties. No lights, Christmas trees, sugar cookies, nothing that had always made Christmas seem, well, Christmasy. On the way down we stopped at a really cool frozen waterfall to climb around on it and take pictures (see photo below, sorry, these are old scanned photos, but you get the idea). Now, this should have been an indication that it was pretty cold, but we didn't really pick up on that. :) We arrived in Moab and went straight to the little market to buy food for our Christmas Eve dinner (the market was to be closed on Christmas Day, so we wanted to make sure that we could buy food and firewood). We walked the aisles planning our campfire delicacies - Mac & Cheese (the GOOD kind, we splurged and got the Velveeta rather than the usual Kraft Mac), cantaloupe, firewood, some Mrs. Fields' individually packaged chocolate chip cookies and oranges (we joked that this was so we would have something to open on Christmas), a bottle of Martinelli's, and of course some oatmeal for Christmas Morning breakfast. We made our purchases, loaded them into Shelly's little Toyota Corolla along with our meager camping gear, then headed to Arches National Park for a little bit of hiking. That Christmas Eve we hiked to the Delicate Arch (the famous one that is on the Utah license plates :) laughing and joking the whole way. When we arrived at the arch, there were (surprisingly :) not many people there, so we took our pictures, then found a quiet spot with a beautiful view of the landscape, and pulled out our scriptures and the oranges we had purchased that afternoon. In the solace of that quiet spot we read the Christmas story together. I have never before, and never since, felt the spirit of the Christmas story quite like that. I felt for Mary and Joseph, about to give birth to their first child on that Christmas Eve many centuries ago. They were in a strange place without the comforts of home, no friends or family to share the event, there were no twinkling lights save one special star to mark His birth, there were no ribbons, no Christmas parties, no shiny Christmas gifts. As I reflected then on all of the Christmases past, I realized that all of those things were wonderful, but also so distracting. The reason for the season IS the birth of the Savior of the World. He was born in a humble stable, with his loving parents and the guests' animals as the only witnesses to this miracle. We finished our orange slices and hiked back in silence as we pondered the events of the day. We arrived at our car near dark and began the drive out to Shelly's 'perfect spot' along the Green River. During our drive we began to realize just how cold it was, much colder that we had prepared for. We eventually decided to turn around and spend Christmas Eve in Moab's 'finest' (aka - cheapest) Super-8 Motel. We ate dinner at Denny's (since we didn't have a campfire) as we considered the situations of the families around us. We awoke Christmas Morning, wished each other a Merry Christmas, microwaved our oatmeal in the motel lobby, and headed out for a day of hiking. We hiked Canyonlands all Christmas Day together enjoying the beauty of nature and the wonderful gifts that have been put here on this earth for us to enjoy. Early that evening we drove out to our original camping spot, built a fire, and made our Mac & Cheese and cantaloupe Christmas Dinner - we opened our cookies for dessert - then drove home together to return to our usual routine of work, school, and sleep. There had been nothing that day to signify our traditional Christmases, but we both agreed that it had been the best Christmas ever. We have both gone on to have families, houses, and Christmas traditions of our own. I talked to her on the phone the other day for an hour as we discussed what we were planning to buy and do for Christmas this year. After we hung up, my mind wandered back to that Christmas that we spend together. I realized that I had again become distracted, that I often become consumed by the tree, decorations, lights, the perfect gift, treats, parties, and all of the traditions that - although wonderful - are not what Christmas is really about. When I really take the time to stop among the hustle and bustle of the season and reflect on what would make this Christmas perfect, I often wish that I could pack my family up without gifts, without distractions, and head to Moab for a simple Christmas together as a family to remember the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To this day I can't remember what I received for Christmas on any given year, but I will never forget that Christmas that I truly felt the spirit of Christmas in my heart. To quote Dr. Seuss' the How the Grinch Stole Christmas, "And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!

If you have done it unto one of the least of these...

If you know me, you know that I LOVE Christmas! I love the traditions, and being part of Matt's family and their traditions has been so much fun! Traditionally, we all draw names among the adults for Christmas gifts so that each person buys for one other person (and there is a set spending limit :). We exchange gifts at the Christmas Eve party and watch each person open their gifts. It has always been a fun tradition, but this year it came early, and was even BETTER! Kim had the great idea to take the money that we would have spent on the name-drawing gifts and put it towards a service project. We all put in our money, then Kim used it to purchase fabric to make blankets to donate to Primary Children's Hospital. We all gathered together tonight to cut and tie blankets which we will deliver to the hospital before Christmas. Not only was this a better use of the money (we really didn't need anything this year), but it was a great opportunity to teach our children about service, and for them to realize and appreciate how blessed they are. As an added benefit, it gave us another excuse to spend time together as a family (which is always full of fun and laughs!). We all enjoyed it so much that we decided to make it a new family tradition! Thanks for organizing Kim! This is something that we will look forward to every year! The finished products - we can't wait to deliver them!

Christmas Around the World

We had the wonderful opportunity this year to attend the BYU Folk Dance team's Christmas Around the World performance. My cute niece Amanda performed in a really cool dance from the Philippines. We had so much fun together enjoying celebrations from cultures around the world.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry, this one is late, I haven't downloaded pictures for awhile! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Kim and Darryl's - thanks for hosting! We had so much fun spending time with family and giving thanks for all that we have been blessed with, we truly do feel so blessed (if you don't believe me, click here! :)

McKinley and Mason REALLY enjoyed their Thanksgiving Dinner!I tried to get a good photo of my favorite 'little' blessings, but this is the best we could manage!The GirlsThe BoysThree generations of football fans - like fathers like sons!By the way, it's just bottled Root Beer - I promise! Mason LOVES it! And of course, he LOVES hanging out with Grandpa!McKinley loves to read stories with Grandma!Mason and McKinley being super-silly with Grandma :)

Am I growed up yet?

My little McKinley just turned four, and as 4-year-olds do, she says some pretty funny things. The other day she came to me and said "Mommy, since I'm four now, am I all growed up yet?" :) I explained to her that she was growing bigger every day, but she still has a lot more growing to do before she is a 'grown-up.' Again today, when I was trying to get her to take a nap, she asked "After my nap will I be growed up then?" We had just discussed that taking naps helps us to grow stronger - I guess she thought that meant faster. :) I tell you that little story to tell you another. This one's about me, so if you aren't interested in my 'deep thoughts,' feel free to stop reading, I really won't be offended :). I went to lunch today with my friend Meghan from high school. I haven't seen her really since we graduated (x years ago :), so I was excited to catch up with her. We both showed up 10 minutes late (traffic, kids, got lost, the usual 'mom' excuses) with our diaper bags, two kids (each) in tow, 'family' cars, carseats, and Shades shirts. Standard 'mom' gear, right? We caught up on old friends, talked about the boys we had crushes on in middle school and high school (I won't mention any of mine, since some of their wives read my blog ;), moved on to husbands and kids, and then life in general. During the course of our conversation, of course, there were faces to wipe, constant scanning the room (forget eye contact when you are constantly doing a head-count of your children), the occasional 'don't eat that off of the floor!', and so on. At one point in our conversation we agreed that we still both felt about 14-years-old, despite the 'obvious' signs that we were 'growing up'. That brings me to my point, when are you considered an official 'grown-up?' Maybe not 4-years-old, but is it when you can ride the 'big' rides at Disneyland? 18th Birthday? After high school? 21st Birthday? After college? Marriage? First baby? Fifth baby???? Maybe a career makes it more tangible, when you actually BECOME what you wanted to be when you grow up? Maybe not even then (especially if you aspired to be superman, only to find upon submitting resumes that the position has been filled). Is it when you watch your kids have kids? Where is that line? When do you know that the day that you became a 'grown-up' has come and gone? Did I miss it? I mean, I still listen to the same music that I did in high school, shop at the same stores, talk about some of the same things, I think I look pretty much the same (aside from the 20 extra pounds of 'life-weight' - FYI it can't be called baby weight now that my baby is 2 1/2, so I now attribute it to life in general :) Am I that lady walking through the grocery store in stilettos wearing too-tight not-age-appropriate clothes and enough makeup to make a rodeo clown jealous; you know the one ;) (If this is you, PLEASE don't take offense, this is just food for thought. If this IS me, please let me know ASAP! I DO wear high-heels to the grocery store, but that's only because I am short and my jeans are too long, really! ;) Anyway, she probably doesn't know that it doesn't fit her age, maybe I don't. Is it time for me to give up Charlotte Russe and Brass Plum for J.Jill and Coldwater Creek? Am I growed up yet? I guess I don't have an answer, just one of my many musings. Either way, I hope that I always feel 14-years-old on the inside (and hopefully manage a little 'class' on the outside :). Thanks for a fun lunch Meghan, and for the record, you don't look a day older than when I first met you in about the 7th grade! Here's to the perpetually young at heart!

Creative Coupon Clipping

I have always had intentions of clipping coupons from the Sunday paper (and putting them into my nicely organized photo-album-coupon-book, thanks to Nicole at Being Frugal is Fabulous!), but time seems to escape me! I usually have laundry or work (or blogging :) or something pressing to do during precious nap-times, so it just doesn't happen. When the kids are awake, they want to 'help', and as much as I love them, sometimes it just doesn't help. I decided today to finally tackle my pile of Sunday ads WITH the kids awake, and here is how it worked: I cut coupons from a page, then put the 'scrap' in a pile for the kids. They each had their safety scissors and I instructed them to cut out the faces in the 'scrap' pictures. That kept them busy while I sorted and cut ads, and they didn't mess with the ones that I was using (scissor-time at our house is a novelty - after the many self haircuts, scissors are locked up tight :). When I was done clipping, I helped them cut some more faces, then we sorted them (today McKinley chose to sort by gender), and they each got a piece of paper and a glue-stick and glued their cut-out faces to make a collage (Mason used the boys' faces, McKinley used the girls' faces :) while I put my coupons in my handy coupon book. Sounds silly, but it was actually fun! I think we'll make this a weekly activity, there are so many things that they could cut out to change it up and teach my kids; animals, clothes, hands, cleaning products, hygiene products, I could go on (but I'll spare you :). Anyhow, I just thought I'd share in case anyone else has coupon clipping challenges. :) Have a wonderful weekend!They were so proud of their collages, they insisted on hanging them on the fridge right away! Hmmm... I wonder which one belongs to which child? :)

aLL tUcKeReD oUt!

Mason must be going through a growth spurt, he has been SOO tired lately! He missed his nap today, and I guess he decided he couldn't handle it anymore. He was in the basement watching football with Daddy, then Matt noticed that he was gone, and this is where he found him.

I'm guessing from the little blue stool that he brought that over to climb on :). He had climbed up on the pool table, curled up, and fell fast asleep (all without Matt noticing, of course :). Poor little guy! Of course, before I carried him up to his room I had to get pictures, it was TOTALLY blog-worthy :)I just love that sweet little sleeping face!

Date night... STRIKE!

We have a fun little date-night co-op (which if you haven't tried and you have kids, it's a MUST!). We rotate tending so that one couple tends all of the kids on a weekend night while all of the parents go out. We end up tending about once a month, but have all of the other weekends for a going-out night. We have LOVED it! Well, we decided to change up the usual dinner and a movie and go for something different. We do this now and then, and in the past is has been laser-tag (I know, we are boring parents trying to be 12-years-old!). This time we decided to go with bowling. Now, you must know that I haven't even attempted to bowl since college, and even then I was pretty pathetic at it. This night was no different, I didn't break 100 on either game, but it was a fun night! Hey, any night that ends in Cold Stone ice cream is okay with me! :) Thanks to the Bowen's and the Wright's for humoring us and joining in the fun! Yeah, that's my MAN!
YES! I finally hit one pin! (okay, just kidding, that was me, Janette did pretty well!)
Do you think I should have them lifted? :)

Somebody's 4!

Happy 4th Birthday McKinley! Also, a very Happy Birthday to cousin Stephen (currently serving in Taiwan) and Grandpa (my dad)! McKinley is so lucky to share her birthday with such wonderful people! She had such a fun day! She really wanted to have a Barbie party this year, but I had sworn to take a break from big birthday parties (only every other year!). Last minute, I decided to throw a little party with some of her girl friends. They dressed up like Barbie pincesses, enjoyed pizza and giant cupcakes, decorated wooden dolls, and played together all afternoon. Unfortunately, I was so busy with the party that I forgot to take ANY pictures! UGH! After dinner and pj's, Kinley opened her presents - lots of Barbie stuff (go figure :), and headed off to bed with her cute little brother. It was the perfect birthday for a sweet little 4-year-old. We LOVE you McKinley!

It all began with a mouse...

It's Disney on Ice! A group of friends and I decided to take our kiddos to Disney on Ice while it was in SLC. We went in the spring with just our older girls, and they LOVED it! The younger ones are a little older now, so we decided to venture out with all of the kids to see the show (thanks to Kristin for getting tickets!). The girls were thrilled to dress up in their princess best and have a night out with their favorite Disney characters. Mason was the only boy, but I didn't want him to miss out, so he came too. I think he would have preferred to stay home with his Daddy :). As soon as the lights went out and the first characters appeared on the ice, he started screaming "I want to go home!" He's not a huge fan of costumed characters :). He buried his head in my shoulder and clung to me for dear life for the first half of the show, but then he relaxed a little and sort-of enjoyed it. I asked him later what he thought, and he said it was scary. He may be slightly traumatized by the experience, but the girls had a ball! We'll have to do it again next time Disney on Ice is in town - maybe girls only next time! Mason in his Mickey ears - before the trauma began :)The kiddos after the show - Mason's still not sure what to think!

Family Photos 2008

I just got our family photos from our AWESOME photographer (thanks JENI!) I am so excited, she did an awesome job, and we got some really fun shots. Here is a little taste - sorry, this post is mostly photos, not much to say (that's a shocker!) :)
... and as if Jeni's photography skills weren't enough, she delivers her photo CD's in this cute little box! As Jeni says 'it's all about the presentation'. That's why we love her!