Advent

Do you see anything wrong with these pictures?  I think we have a little lack of Christmas excitement going on around here.  It's December 17 and it would appear that somebody forgot to update the advent calendars.  I guess we have finally hit the time in our household where we are just a little too old for advent calendars and the Christmas countdowns.  Sad, but true.  I remember the days well when the little ones would wait patiently for their turn to pick something out of the calendar pocket.  With four children it had to be spread out to be fair.  Easton has all the calendars to himself this year, he doesn't even have to share.  He gets to pick out of the pocket everyday but it's just not happening.  Here's my theory....when you're too old and cool to keep up the Christmas countdown calendar then you're probably too old for Santa to come visit.  Grateful for the advent calendar memories over the years but I suppose I have one less thing to take out of the decoration box next Christmas.

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing" was the theme of our Relief Society Christmas social this year.  What a beautiful and inspiring evening we had with the sisters in our ward.  I'm grateful to have such an amazing group of ladies who work with me on the committee who helped make this evening so special and memorable.  As we planned around our theme we focused on the angels among us in our lives who make a difference, who act with the true Christmas spirit and give of themselves.  We prepared a dinner of "angel" hair pasta with either a red sauce(homemade by an awesome Italian guy in our ward who brewed his famous recipe all day long) or a creamy homemade alfredo sauce.  The ladies could choose from grilled chicken or meatballs. A fresh spinach salad with strawberries and poppy seed dressing and buttery breadsticks was a delicious addition to their plates. The ladies were each given a menu at the beginning of the evening where they were able to select their menu items and then one of our committee members plated their food in the kitchen and served it.  The meal was absolutely delicious and it was enjoyed by all.  After dinner we were treated to an amazing program where different ladies shared Christmas stories with examples of "angels" who helped and served others in need at Christmas time.  The experiences shared were uplifting and touching and the spirit of Christmas was definitely felt.  After each shared story we all joined in singing different Christmas hymns.  At the end of the program we were blessed to hear a "Silent Night" cello/flute duet shared and we were able to sing with them.  What a beautiful way to end the evening.  A strawberry angel food cake dessert topped with whipped cream was served at the end and the sisters seemed to linger a little longer than usual, enjoying each others company and the feelings of Christ like love and compassion that had been felt throughout the evening.

These are the angels in the process of being made for the centerpieces.

Nine short angels competed!

And nine tall angels finished!

These sweet, little angels were made for each sister who came as their little party favor!  They turned out so cute!

A small, angelic children's choir started our program by singing "Away in a Manger." So sweet!

The program and menu choice card

Camping

Can I just say how much I appreciate Scout leaders?  They take a rowdy group of boys on an overnight event, leaving their families and the comforts of home.  As a mother I appreciate the effort they put forth to make these campouts fun, exciting and educational at the same time.  Easton went on a campout this past weekend to Ruby Falls, Georgia in the rain, I might add, and had a great time.  They woke up to rain and wet tents.  I love the bits of information from Easton about the weekend.  I don't get much when I ask him about it.  He complained that he had to go to the bathroom in the rain.  He didn't like the scrambled eggs because they didn't have any flavor.  We usually add sour cream to our eggs and by golly, they didn't do that on the campout!  They did go on a caving adventure that kept them out of the rain for the most part that was pretty cool.  It was fun and definitely an adventure for Easton.  He was super grateful for his hot shower when he got home and his nice cozy sweats that he spent the evening in just relaxing!

Here We Go Again!

Um...it seems like we just had Thanksgiving.  Well, we did ya know.  I always have a hard time gearing up for Christmas on the years that we don't have a week between Thanksgiving and December 1.  It just really catches me off guard and then I feel like a race horse being released from the gates.  FRANTIC!!!

This year has been no different.  I'm still finishing up the decorating and doing that in between all of the other obligations, parties, etc that I have my hands in.  

Last Friday night we had our Ward Christmas party and the Relief Society was in charge of the decorations.  The theme was "Believe", kind of a whole Polar Express thing.  As a presidency we worked hard to create a magnificent setting where you could be transformed into a different place.

This is what we had on each table as the centerpieces.  The children (and adults) loved the jingle bells and they were heard ringing all night long!

Don't you love the railroad tracks on the walls???  They really added to the ambiance.

The polar express train ran across the front of the stage.  With the Christmas trees lit up for the evening it was awesome.

Brother Best finished the evening singing the theme song from the movie, The Polar Express.  It was the perfect ending to the wonderful evening.

December 1

 December 1 is here and I just can't believe it!  It's one of those years where you have Thanksgiving and then December starts right after.  I am scrambling to get the house decorated and moving into this glorious season.  So much to do and so little time to do it.  We had our traditional December 1 dinner this evening to kick off the season and invited Mama and Papa to join us.  They have become Sunday regulars in our home for dinners and we are so happy to have them.  You all know how I feel about empty seats....

 Easton opens up his ornament from Grandma and Grandpa...a little snowman with a cardinal on it's nose.  It's really cute and sparkley.

 After dinner everyone practiced making their crystal goblets rings, even Mama and Papa!  It was fun to experiment with the different tones that could be created depending on how much water was in each goblet.

 Dad reads our new Christmas book, Christmas from Heaven.

 Easton photo bombed this picture with our new Christmas CD of the Motab.

Here is a video of the beautiful sound we made with our crystal goblets.  You can hear Charlie whining.  He really was uncomfortable and didn't like it.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is always a day full of pondering and thinking of things we are grateful for.  I am always thankful that I don't have to do the dinner for the masses at my home.  Stephen's brother's graciously share their homes with us and we always have a great time.  This year we were hosted by Michael and Jeni in their beautiful, new home.  They literally moved in the week of Thanksgiving and still hadn't even slept in their home.  They had tables and chairs set up for the meal and some couches and chairs to sit on.  There were 41 of us this year...I know that sounds like a lot but we were seriously down in numbers this year.  I think our high one year was 54.  Ha!  The dinner was awesome with the basic favorites that we all know and love.  I brought my cranberry sauce and rolls, orange and regular.  I made two batches of regular and two batches of orange rolls so we would be sure to have enough.  I took home about a dozen of the regular rolls and 1 lonely orange roll.  When I walked into Michael and Jeni's house holding my rolls I was greeted with cheers!  "Yea!  The rolls are here!"  I didn't do my traditional craft this year, I just wasn't feeling it.  A few people asked why I didn't do a craft this year so I guess I will have to up my game, be more organized and do it for next year.  It was kind of a strange year for our little family because we just had Easton with us.  With Dallin in Brazil, Landon in Rexburg, and Ashton and Brandon in Provo we are just kind of spread all over the place.  My children were missed but I know this is all part of my little "empty nest" syndrome.  I'm grateful that they are all doing amazing things in their lives right now and I really wouldn't want it any other way.  As I think of what I am most grateful for, it is without a doubt my family!  I just love them and appreciate them so much.  I'm a blessed girl!

I took a lot of pictures of our Thanksgiving feast.  The food is arriving in the kitchen and it's almost time to eat.

The ladies are making their last-minute touches.

The masses are getting hungry and are ready to EAT!!!

Jeni gives directions on where we should sit and how to get through the food line.

Papa gives his traditional words of wisdom before we say prayer.

Everyone listens intently to the Papa's wise message on gratitude.

Dig in and fill up your plates!!!

Easton and Blaise check out the food choices.

My two good-looking guys, Easton and Stephen

The adult table

The "cool" teen-ager table!

Gene and Sandra/Mama and Papa

This is a picture of Michael and Jeni's backyard.  The kids had a ball playing football and running around.

I'm not sure why there was a roll of hay in the backyard but it was sure fun to play king of the mountain on.  Easton kind of won!

Stephen watches football with his nephew Zach.

Jeni and Shelby

Dessert time!

The obligatory picture of myself so you know that I was at Thanksgiving dinner!

Another successful Thanksgiving under our belts....who gets to host it next year???  Not I!!!

Catching Fire

We caught a movie with Easton during Thanksgiving break, "Catching Fire."  It's the second in a series.  We had seen the first one so of course we had to see the second one.  The story itself is a little strange and bizarre so the movie was a little odd as well.  It was very well done but had some violent and disturbing part.  It's always fun to be out with my guys.