The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas wasn't just a day of fun- it was an entire week of fun! On Monday, we made our traditional gingerbread houses. The kids each made their own and had a great time. (For all my blogger friends and family whose houses fell apart- you got to do it from scratch. I'm a believer now.)

On Tuesday, we went to see the Nutcracker. Tyler had seen it in the 4th grade and was the most excited to go again. However, he was the only one who said he'd rather not go again. The rest of us loved it- including Randy who discovered a fear of heights from our seats in the balcony. (Sorry- no pictures.)

Wednesday was a baking and cleaning day. (Again, no pictures, but that's a good thing.)

Thursday was our Christmas Eve celebration. Santa got pie instead of cookies. I recommend that since he was verrrrry good to us this year.

My favorite new tradition this year was making- rather than buying- family gifts. Lucy made Tyler a "treasure box." (Grandma made all the kids "Snuggies." That's what they are wearing in these pictures. They love them and I'm jealous I didn't get one!)

Randy gave me a coupon book. He will try a new food, learn a new game and do extra chores. He warned me not to "waste" the coupons. I don't plan to!

Emily made Jason figures for a game. This picture doesn't do justice to all the work she did.

Tyler made Randy a rubber- band maze game.

I made Lucy a bracelet and Jason made Emily a beautiful shadowbox to show off all of her creations.

Helping the kids make their projects was a lot of extra work for me and Jason, but I think this was worth doing and I'd like to do it again next year.

We have another week off from work and school and then on to start 2010! Hope you had as wonderful a Christmas as we did.

Snow Day!

Dec. 4th brought us some winter weather- at least Houston's version of it. We actually saw a couple of inches of snow in our back-yard before it melted all away. Of course, Houston shut down for the day- Jason's office closed and the kids got sent home from school early. (OK, all my Utah friends, you can stop snickering.) We spent the afternoon watching movies next to the fire-place. While we haven't seen snow again, this has been the chilliest December I've ever remembered. We had four days of fog, and lots of rain and wind. Yes, we've had a few of those lovely warm and sunny days. But for the most part I've been able to insist that the kids wear their jackets to school. Which is the way it should be in December.

Caption My Photo

This gem of a photo was hiding on our camera. I didn't know it was there until I downloaded them to the computer. It's a picture just begging for a witty caption. I don't have any prizes, but I'm sure you could come up with something to make me grin.

Giving Thanks

Tyler and Jason home teach Bro. and Sis. Ott. While visiting last week, Sis. Ott asked about our Thanksgiving. Jason said he wanted to deck Tyler when he nonchalantly said we had "You know, the usual... cranberry sauce, turkey, pie..." Jason was quick to give me credit for cooking all that stuff from scratch. When Jay shared this story, I replied that I was glad Tyler took for granted my cooking. We may have spoiled him though. And may I brag a little bit? I baked the "Best. Cherry. Pie. Ever." We'll have an encore pie for Christmas. Anyone who doesn't think I can back up that claim is invited over to try some.

But Sis. Ott could beat Tyler's story. She is also Lucy's Primary teacher. She said when asked about her Thanksgiving, Lucy said we ate "pretzels, popcorn, jelly beans and toast." And we did. Inspired by Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving feast, we served that as their pre-feast snack. It was a hit. I'm surprised Lucy remembered all the courses and we'll do it again next year.

Sis. Ott was confused by Lucy's answer (It's probably been a while since she's seen the Thanksgiving special.) She asked Lucy if we ate turkey or pie for Thanksgiving. When Lucy said we didn't, Sis. Ott was worried that something drastic had happened to us, that we couldn't afford a traditional feast. I figured that she should know Lucy a little better after being her teacher for over a year!

Jason took the entire week off for Thanksgiving. We had the lights up and the house decorated by the time he returned to work. It was a great Thanksgiving and we're happily headed to Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Emily!

As shocking as it is to come to terms with Randy turning 10, and Tyler becoming a Teacher, I'm absolutely flabbergasted (such a great word) that Emily is now in Young Women's! She chose to celebrate her birthday in true teen-aged fashion. All she wanted was her best friend over for 24 hours, cash, and a trip to the mall. Teya was happy to comply with her part, and I must admit, I was happy to fulfill the rest.

A little back-ground, we were stumped as to what to give Tyler for his 14th birthday. The things he wanted- expensive stuff like a cell phone or an iPod Touch- weren't going to happen this year. So we copped out and gave him money. But we asked Emily to wrap it up for us. She started with a pretty large box...

... which got smaller and smaller. Ty had to unwrap about 12 boxes to get to his gift. He had no clue what it was, especially when the final box was teeny-tiny. It was great to watch him try to figure out what he was getting.

So Ty had to get a little revenge. I gave Emily's cash to him and he created an elaborate scavenger hunt around the house for her to find her present. They both had a good time giving and getting their birthday presents and I'm sure this tradition will continue. These two have such an amazing relationship. I've never seen a brother and sister that delight in each others' joy like Tyler and Emily. I hope that never disappears.

Emily, Teya and I got up early on a Saturday morning to start shopping. We hit two malls and Michael's- which turned into about 6 hours of shopping. Not bad. When Emily added her birthday money from us and her grandparents, as well as her allowance and money she'd earned and saved, she had over $130 to spend. She came home with about $3. Here's some of her spoils.

We had a great time. I was so glad that I got to be included in her birthday shopping fun. Emily says that she wants this to be the birthday present she gets from now on. I hope she never changes her mind!

Randy's Birthday

I can't believe Randy is 10 now. A couple of people congratulated him on reaching "double digits," but it was obvious he didn't understand what they were talking about. After it was explained to him, he told everyone he met that he was now "double-digited."

One of the best things about Randy is his unbridled joy. Watching him unwrap gifts is as fun as getting gifts yourself. This is his reaction to getting inserts for his Pokemon binder. Don't you wish everyone reacted to your gifts this way?

Randy had a "big" birthday party this year. He invited his buddies from church and we played those silly party games at our house. Of course, Randy had a blast and I think his friends did too.

This crazy kid brings joy, frustrations and surprises into my life every day- sometimes one emotion followed by the other within seconds. I've learned so much about true Christ-like love and reliance on the Lord from him and from being around him. I'm so thankful he's my son and hope that a part of him is always 10 years old.