Christmas-2008

Christmas is always a special time in our house, especially when we get to spend it with family. We were glad to have my mom (of course...she lives with us), my sister Crystal and her children, Shailee, Alexa, and Braydn at our house for the festivities! We had lots of fun opening gifts and just being with each other. I'll let the pictures tell the story :)


Here's what the house looked like just as the kids went to bed. The tree looked beautiful all lit up with presents under it. We set out cookies and milk for Santa on our special "snow flake" plate that we use each year. All of the stockings were hung along the wall (seeing how we don't have a fireplace) just waiting to be stuffed by Santa!



I wish I had a better picture of this tree, at least with it's lights on but I don't...bummer. It's our special "kid's tree". The kids get to decorate it all by themselves, though Daddy does put the lights on it, and most of the decorations have been made by them, which makes the decorating that much more meaningful. Hannah likes to ask about each ornament and the story that goes along with it. It's a wonderful way to reminisce and to create lasting memories. Hannah made sure that most of her gifts from us were put under her special tree (Santa brings the kids one big gift from him. All the other gifts come from good ol' mom and dad...oh, plus he stuffs the stockings!).


Gabers in his gift from Santa. He calls it his "fire station!!!" He absolutley LOVED it!!! Doesn't he look so handsome in his Santa hat?!?


I made the kids put on the Santa hats (which is a family tradition on Christmas, along with going to the movies on Christmas evening. This year we went and saw "The Tail of Desperaux", which I would not recommend to anyone, needless to say) so I could get a photo of them all. As you can see, Gabe wouldn't cooperate with me. (L-R) Hannah, Shailee, Alexa, and Braydn


Cute little Hannah in her "Princess" Santa hat! Can you tell she's excited?!?

Buddy got lots of wooden toy airplanes & cars & trains in his stocking. Santa sure must know him REALLY well!! He LOVED them...especially the propellers and wheels!!

From Santa, Hannah received the whole "Fairy Land" Playmobil series, which she was thrilled about. Our family is a big fan of Playmobil toys!

Little Gabers opening up his Thomas the Train toy from Grandpa Matthew. He loves Thomas the Train, which I'm beginning to feel that all little boys his age does. I like the videos because I think they teach good values and the importance of accepting others for who they are and learning how to get along with other personality types. Good stuff!

Here's little Gabe checking out Daddy's big job as video-er (is that a word? Don't think so but I'm not sure what it would be...ummm...vidoetographer, which I don't think is a work either...oh, well, I'm sure you know what I mean) We'll just call him "Video Man". Gabe loves to see the images on the screen. He's fascinated by it! And I'm all about it if it keeps him entertained for a few minutes ;)

I made my mother a "Father" plate for Christmas. It was a lot of fun and I think they turned out pretty cool! She got tears in her eyes. She really seemed to like it. I was really happy that it touched her heart. And I must say that Mom's lookin' rather hot with all those bows on her head!!

Here I am with some of my gifts...clothes, clothes, a fun new purse, new pots & pans, and more clothes!!! I made out like a bandit! Greg definitely spoiled me, which I loved!

Here's a picture of Crystal with one of the gifts we gave her. It's a Christmas platter, which I loved and I'm hoping she loved it too. It reads..."May the Spirit of Christmas be Forever in your Hearts"

Gregor and his stash of gifts. He got tons of clothes as well. He's so handsome!

A Christmas morning tradition we have is that Gregor makes everyone breakfast burritos, with all the toppings! Yummy, yummy!!

I took a picture of Grandma with all of her grandkids (except Tsamanda, because she lives in Arizona). It's amazing how big our little family is growing! (L-R) Shailee, Grandma, Alexa, Gabriel, Braydn, and Hannah

So, another Christmas came and left. It seems like there's so much preparation for the special day and that it doesn't last long enough. But before we know it (presently 6 months...Yikes!!) Christmas will be here again!

Christmas Eve-2008

Our tradition for Christmas Eve, is to allow the kids to open a couple gifts specifically purchased for that evening. In the past, I have just given new pajamas to the children but this year I decided to add an additional gift to the pile. So, not only did they receive their traditional pajamas and slippers but they also received a "Christmas" book. Every year there are several new books released to help us, as individuals, realize the true meaning of Christmas. I thought it would be a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas Eve. Hannah received "The Christmas Orange" and Gabe received "A Christmas Bell for Anya".

This year, we were happy to have Crystal and her kids at our house for our Christmas Eve celebration. We all gathered around and Greg read the Christmas story out of the Bible. Then I read each of the children's new "Christmas" books aloud (blubbering through both of them) and the feeling created was wonderful! The Spirit was so strong! I was immediately grateful and excited that I expanded our tradition to include the wonderful books.

I know this will continue to be a family tradition for years to come.



Hannah opening her new pajamas and slippers


Gabers opening his new pajamas and slippers


Gabers in his new jammies!


Hannah in her new jammies! She was very excited that her pajamas came with a robe as well...BONUS!!! She had been asking for one for quite a while. She was very happy that it was so soft!! She's such a texture girl...she loves all the soft fabrics!


I was completely THRILLED to find a pair of "airplane" pajamas! I almost couldn't wait until Christmas Eve to give them to Gabe. I was so happy that he loved them as much as I thought he would. Here he is acting like an "air-pwain". I will not be surprised if he ends up being a pilot when he's older.


I wonder if our new tradition will be handed down to future generations? I sure hope so!

My Birthday

So, I turned 35yrs old. on my last birthday. I can't believe I'm that old already!! It just seems like yesterday that I turned 21yrs. Time flies too fast! I also can't believe that I'm now closer to 40 than 30! How can that be?!? Before I know it, I'm gonna be a great-grandmother, looking back on these blog entries, reminscing about the "good ol' days". Here's to the next 35 years!!


Me and my wonderful mom


You may wonder why I have such a BIG smile about the mop I received from Greg. Well, I'm not the type that gets offended by receiving practical gifts (from my husband or anyone else) that I need, for my birthday or Christmas. I love it when my husband spends money on items I need & that I want, items that help me save time, and in this situation, an item that helps reduce my back pain! GREAT choice Greg!! :)


Me and Buddy...I absolutely LOVE that orange sweater of his! He looks so handsome in it!

This little party was held at my cousins home in Syracuse, Utah, on my birthday, the 22nd of December.

FYI

Just to let everyone know what I am going to be doing during the next few days, I am going to go back to Dec 2008 and catch my blog up. Ever since I found out I can make my blog into an actual book, I want to make sure I get all the big events in it. So, please bare with me :)

Oquirrh Hills Temple Open House

Yesterday, my family and I, went to the Oquirrh Hills Temple Open House. It was a great experience to be there with most of my family. Infact, at the end of the tour, they took us all into a sealing room and talked about sealing families together forever. I glanced around the room and a sadness came over me because I'm only sealed to 3 people of the 18 present. I hope that the experience in the temple has softened a few of their hearts and that some day we WILL be sealed together forever.

What a wonderful and basic principle of our church, because we are the only church that teaches that families can be together forever. Most others think the family units we create here on earth are not exsistent in heaven, or that you may see someone who used to be your sister/child/husband/mother but they're not longer that. They're just another "angel" hanging out in heaven. That thought makes me so sad...so, so, sad!! Why would God create families, just to separate them for eternity? I know He wouldn't. Before the actual tour of the temple, we watched a video, in which one of the Apostles stated that "Heaven would not be Heaven if he wasn't with his family!" I took it as if he was saying it would be more like Hell, if he wasn't able to be surrounded and still apart of his family.

Another wonderful thing that has happened recently is...I got about 150 names, of my deceased relatives, ready for their temple work to be done, which means, 150 baptisms. I have told several of my family members about it and several have stated that they would like to be apart of doing the baptisms for the dead. Now, these members of my family are completely inactive and it touched my heart so much to see that, once again, the temple might bring us together! They are now saying that they want to return to church so that they can participate in the ordinance of baptism for our deceased relatives. I'm so happy and I can only hope that some of them will be able to make it and come participate in those baptisms.

These two recent events (temple open house & baptisms for the dead) have helped me see just how powerful the temple is, when it comes to families!! It's been able to stir up emotions in some who I thought had completely given up on having the gospel in their lives. It's just so amazing to me! But that's what the temple is all about!! Inspiring us and preparing us, as families, to be together forever!!

Here's a couple of photos of "the fam"...it was rainy, windy, and really cold so they're not the best pics. but they're still special to me. These are the only pics I have of so many members of my family, in front of the Temple of the Lord. (We had to swap out photographers, so each photo is different)


L-R (back row) Rachel, Patty, James, Crystal, Alexa, Jenny, Jennasie, Willis, JoAnn, Gabriel & Me.
L-R (front row) Ethan, Eolana, Hannah, Jocelyn & Braydn.


R-L (back row) Gabriel, Greg, Patty, Crystal, Alexa, Rachel, Jenny, Jennasie, Willis, Tamera & JoAnn
R-L (front row) Ethan, Eolana, Hannah, Jocelyn & Braydn.

"A Nother One Mommy"

Gabe told me today that he wants "a nother one mommy". I was getting him out of time-out and I was going over with him that he shouldn't hit me, he shouldn't scream at me, he should mind his mommy...and so on and so on...and he looked me right in the eye and without any hesitation, he matter-of-factly made his request for "a nother one mommy". I was shocked at first and I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly, so I said, "What?" The same response with the same matter-of-fact attitude..."I want a nother one mommy". I almost started to laugh because I couldn't believe what he had just said to me. But before I could react, Hannah went into "protect-mommy" mode and started telling Gabe that I was the best mommy ever and that he should never say those things about me! She was SO upset! It felt good that she was defending me, instead of backing him up, especially with the way it's been this past week or so. I had to calm Hannah down and explain to Gabe that I'm the only mommy he's got so he might just want to get used to it.

I thought it was going to be one of those days but actually, since then, it hasn't been too bad but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed!

Tough Times

My two adorable children are driving me crazy! I'm not sure why they both desided to enter a "phase" at the same time but it is really weighing on me. I keep crying and praying and having a pity party then crying and praying somemore. I just don't feel like I can make it through this. I've never felt like this before in my 8 1/2 years of being a mother so it's taken me off gaurd. Not sure what to do.

Gabe likes to hit, scream, and fight with his sister. Hannah likes to complain, whine, and fight with her brother. Not sure how an 8 1/2 year old can manage to fight with a 3 year old but it happens constantly!

Today Greg let me have the morning off so I could go get a massage and do a little shopping. The massage was amazing!!! I really needed it!!! And the shopping was fun, too...3 new pairs of shoes and 3 new shirts! :)

So, the next time you see me and I look like I'm completely frazzled and barely hanging onto reality, it's because I am!

These are the times when I am so grateful that I have the gospel in my life, that I have an eternal perspective to look toward. Without the support of my Savior and the strength I receive from reading the scriptures, I'm sure I'd be huddled in a corner, rocking back and forth. I keep telling myself, "This too shall pass...this too shall pass."