Christmas Eve

We had a wonderful Christmas Holiday with Grandma Jerri Lynn, Grandpa Clayton, Trina, Wes and Kambree staying with us. On Christmas Eve we had our traditional fried shrimp and french fries for dinner. Then we had a not so spiritual reenactment of the nativity. Bella was very excited about being Mary and Samuel of course wanted to be the Wise Man, he also had to be Joseph because we are lacking in numbers, Isaac just wanted to sit by Bella with the baby and Kambree wanted the baby for herself. She managed to steal the baby from Bella who then started crying and at some point Isaac was also crying and Kambree just kept saying baby over and over again. Chuck recorded the whole ordeal and I haven't watched it, but I'm sure it makes for some great comedy!

We sang a few songs around the piano. Good thing for Chuck because he's the only one that can really sing very well.

Then we went outside to roast marshmallows and make smores.

We always let the kids open their PJ's and one game that we then play together. This year we got the kids a really fun game called "The Cat in the Hat, I Can Do That". It was funny watching the kids completing various tasks found in the game.

We always take a picture of our little family on Christmas Eve around the tree then I put the picture in an ornament that we hang on the tree. Each year when I get these ornaments out it brings back so many memories and the kids love seeing themselves when they were younger. Let's just say I've been pregnant in too many of these pictures!

December Happenings

A few days before Christmas we took the kids to see the lights at the Temple. This is one of my favorite December activities. It took us a solid ½ hour to get the kids all bundled up. (Can I just say how thankful I am it doesn't get that cold here - I just would hate to go through this ordeal every time we left the house!) By the time we finally got in the car Chuck wasn’t sure the outing was going to be worth all the effort.

But it was really fun to hear the kids talk about all the homes that were decorated on the way and when we got to the Temple Isaac kept saying, “Wow, lights!”. It was a little chilly outside, but we managed to watch the nativity and then went inside to look around and warm up.

We walked through the Reflections of Christ display which was really amazing. Samuel was very interested in the pictures and would ask me about each one. When we got to the pictures of Christ being taken by the Roman soldiers he said, “Why is Jesus covered with blood?”. I was trying not to shed tears as I told Samuel about this picture and the next one with Jesus on the cross. The pictures were so beautiful and the spirit was very strong, at least for Samuel and I. Chuck was trying to keep track of Bella and Isaac and Isaac was busy playing peek-a-boo with a Young Women’s Group right behind us.

One of the sweetest things was when we were looking at the statue of Christ in the lobby and there was a whole group of people listening to a Sister Missionary Isaac walked up to the statue and loudly said, "Jesus".



Making Gingerbread Cookies

This is the first year that I have made gingerbread cookies and I didn't make them from scratch I just bought the packet - I'm all about the easy route when it comes to cooking! The kids had a lot of fun cutting out the cookies. At times they were fighting over who had what color of cookie cutter – there was a boy and girl gingerbread cutter. Their favorite part was eating the gingerbread dough. After Isaac went down for a nap we decorated the cookies.

They were yummy!

Progress

This is what our basement currently looks like. It's getting close to being done! Paint and carpet should be finished within a week. The built in cabinets won't be done until the end of Jan., but that's okay because the toy closet will be finished and all the toys can go back downstairs!

In the meantime this is what I have been living with most days. Dust and little footprints everywhere, random people in and out of the house all day, not being able to leave because of all the guys coming and going, people saying they'll show up then not coming while I wait around for them (contractors can be annoying!). But it's almost done and I'm so excited!

Some days I do miss my privacy! Last week Isaac had a severe blow out and so I was trying to hoist this smelly, heavy naked child with poop all over him up to the kids bathtub. As I climbed the two concrete stairs in the above picture one of the guys working on the basement had just come up the stairs. The poor guy took one look at the situation and all he could say was, "Oooh"! My response, "One of the joys of Motherhood"!

Fat Baby Part 2

Today Bella was playing when she suddently asked me, "Mommy, what we going to name the baby?" Before I could say anything she said, "Oh yeah, Fat Baby". Then she said, "Can we name her Princess Fat Baby"?

I'm starting to think no matter what this little ones name is the kids are going to call her Fat Baby.

Fat Baby!

Tonight as I was putting the kids to bed Samuel, Bella and I were sitting on the couch in Samuel's room. I did our usual treasure hunt (back rub) then asked each of them what their favorite part of the day was. As we were talking the baby started moving so they were each feeling my belly, asking questions and getting really excited that the baby was awake.

I asked Samuel what we should name the baby. I ask him this every so often because he comes up with some pretty funny suggestions. Anyway he said, "We should name her Fat Baby". I then asked why should we name her that. He stretched both his little arms around my belly and said, "Because look at how Fat She Is!".

At least he thinks it's the baby that's fat not his mommy!

Gingerbread House

Tonight for FHE we had a great time decorating our gingerbread house. During the time it took to mix up the frosting Isaac was trying desperately to break into any package of candy he could. (Doesn't he look so cute in his little Ranger Hat)

And just look at my blossoming belly.

When we finally opened the packages of candy it was like a feeding frenzy the kids were going wild trying to stuff candy in their mouths as fast as they could. We had to quickly put a halt to that then they got down to the business of decorating.

Isaac would lick every piece of candy smile and then stick it on. Soon he had the other kids doing the same. Somehow something that's cute for the baby isn't quite as cute for the slightly older kids!

Once we finished, Samuel and Bella got down and were retrieving all the little pieces of candy that had fallen on the floor. At one point, Samuel started spitting and saying oh yuck. I asked him what was wrong and he had gotten a piece of hair with his candy. That's what happens when you eat off the floor!

The finished product.

The Sorry State of the Christmas Tree

So I really do feel bad that I didn't get a picture of the tree the first day we put it up because it really did look nice. But it's gone downhill quickly and I wonder how it will look by the time Christmas gets here. Now I know you can't decorate the bottom of a tree with a 19 month old, but I didn't realize he would drag things over to the tree so he could reach up higher and higher to remove more and more decorations. And everyday I look at the tree to find new and interesting things resting in the branches.

If you look closely at this picture you can see one of the ball ornaments flying at the tree. This is one of Isaac's favorite things to do. He will grab the "balls" as he calls them off the tree then stand back and try and throw them back on the tree.

As I said I've found some pretty interesting "decorations" in the tree. If you look closely you will notice a red and a green glove. They blend into the decor so who knows how long they were hanging there before I discovered them.

And I discovered Samuel's PJ's hanging on the back of the tree. I guess he figured throwing them on the tree was easier than putting them away in his closet.

Bella likes to add a few of her toys every now and then. Here is a princess and a pony. Today there were also a few stuffed animals.

I'm not sure how this is possible, but I caught Bella inside the tree actually trying to walk around - and of course she was in her swimsuit. I did buy the kids their own little tree where they could put all their decorations and arrange it as they liked, but apparently it's not as fun as the big tree!