12th day of Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! With our larger family this year, Christmas seemed all the more special. My dream has always been to have a large family & this felt so WONDERFUL. Well, until I had all the cleaning up to do with an OCD husband (but that's another story). Anyway, the kids all had a blessed day.

We went to Lonnie's Aunt Pat & Uncle Mike's house in the evening. They are the NICEST people. Every year the Grofts' meet at their house for dinner. Lonnie's lucky to have so many relatives close by. Mine all live far away. I wish we were closer to his family & saw them more often. I miss having aunts. They are such special people. I can tell his aunts are close. Lonnie's cousin, Joanna, brought her baby as well. I had never seen him. Oh my......beautiful, just beautiful. Angelia always thought Joanna was beautiful. When I told her how cute her baby was she was not surprised. "You know Mom, I always thought Joanna was gorgeous." What a nice thing to say. Anyway, we had a nice time as always.

11th day of Christmas

Every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember, my mom has gathered her children around the Christmas tree for treats & special family memories. This Christmas was the same. It never grows old, it never tires, it never fades in memory. The love you feel cannot be described or compared. The spirit is strong because the family that gathers there is strong. Some times we have a snacks and a light meal, but this year we had IT ALL!!! Mom's turkey & sausage stuffing & Brad's "clouds on a plate" (his amazing mashed potatoes!) were the hit of the night. I personally could not get enough of any of them. I am embarrassed to say that I was the last person up from the table because I had THREE servings. This is highly unusual for me. I mean, I'm always the last one at the table because I eat like a snail, but I rarely EVER have three servings. I just enjoyed it so much! To be honest, I am still craving it! Thank you MOM & BRAD!!!! (pics on their way)

10th day of Christmas

The Sunday before Christmas is always a special one. Our church has a wonderful music service where you can always feel the spirit. I especially enjoy it because I get to hear my friend, Maren, play the flute. I LOVE to hear her play.

A few years ago she went to a women's homeless shelter with me & my Mary Kay girlfriends. The women I went with all gave pampering treatments to the residents while Christmas stories were read & Maren played the flute. It was so special, & the spirit was so strong. We took gifts & treats & just had a beautiful time. Afterwards, a few of the little children staying there came out onto the porch as we were leaving & yelled, "We love you." It was all Maren & I could do to not cry. There are so many things we can do with our friends, but that is one that I will always cherish.

Last Christmas, Barry & Maren went with Lonnie & I for his first trip to the Temple to do family work. It was a magical memory for me because I have wanted to go to the Temple with Lonnie for a LONG time. To go with Barry & Maren made it all the more special. The gift of friendship is one of the very best at Christmas. Your friends are the gifts that Heavenly Father gives you. He knows who will understand you & all your trials & tribulations. He knows who will still love you after they know everything about you. Thanks Lord. I love my friends, & I know I have some of the very best.

9th day of Christmas

Our annual trip to the DC Temple & Visitor's Center with my parents is the highlight of the season for me. The kids always enjoy it & so do my parents.

This year we waited till the last minute to go & unfortunately, it was even busier than normal. We were not able to go to the musical performance because every seat was full. What a bummer. We always enjoy that.

Taking Kirsten & Aaron was a little challenging to say the least. When you take school age children who have not been exposed to church or areas of reverence it is a bit of a change for them. Anyway, they did enjoy the live nativity & the lights though.

































My stepdad, Brad, especially liked the family history area. I decided that I would make that one of his Christmas gifts this year: a family history or family tree book. Hope he likes it!
















This picture of Lonnie & I was my favorite. It's my dream to someday have this same picture taken after we have been sealed at the Temple. Someday.................

8th day of Christmas

Can you believe this is my first official day of Christmas shopping? I have NEVER waited this late, but have not had any choice in the matter. With Lonnie being gone every day from 5:30 a.m. till 9 or 10 p.m. I truly have not had the opportunity to go. I have picked up a few things for other family members when the kids & I have been out. Those things are wrapped & good to go, but I still had to shop for Lonnie & the kids. It's amazing how you can get so much done when you have a limited amount of time to do it. Shopping can be s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out if time allows. I guess I saved myself a lot of time this year!

7th day of Christmas!

The holiday season is not complete without the annual tradition of candy making with my mom & sister, Amy. The kids were all there as well, but Angelia also decided to get involved. This was a first. I guess she's trying to domesticate herself since she's getting married in 7 months. Anyway, Flitch is the candy of choice. It's a wonderfully SWEET powdered sugar candy with layers of peanut butter! I had the most difficult job this year because I had to take care of TJ, my little nephew, while everyone else made the candy. Oh my.......it was a difficult job, but SOMEONE had to do it. (Totally kidding!!!) It seems like weeks since I have seen him. I told my mom & my sister at the beginning of the day that if the baby needed ANYTHING, I would be the one to do it!

6th day of Christmas!

It's time to get wrapping ladies! I typically like to wrap each gift as I purchase it so that when it's time to give away the gifts I am ready. This year that has not happened so tonight the kids & I are going to try & wrap some of the gifts that "can" be wrapped if you know what I mean. Some must be wrapped after little people go to bed. I love wrapping at night in front of the Christmas tree while I'm watching Christmas shows.

With Lonnie coaching basketball every year, the winter is a lonely time. We see him for a few minutes in the afternoon & then he doesn't get home till after the kids are in bed. We try to go to his local games, but my van is in the shop so we're stuck at home. My favorite part of the game is watching him talk to his players like in the picture below. Good luck with your game honey. You're the best!

5th day of Christmas!

For our 5th day of Christmas, Josh & I went to Aaron's school Christmas program. How precious. I would LOVE to show you the pics, but being a goof I forgot to put the card in my camera & now cannot get the pictures that are saved on the camera because my computer cannot read my camera without the card. Does that make sense & does anyone know how to get the saved pics on the camera onto the card? ANYWAY, it was delightful. Josh then spent the day with my parents, my sister Amy, & her son TJ. I am so jealous.

Kirsten, Aaron & I spent the afternoon at the dentist office. What kind of Christmas activity is that? It was the first time at that dentist office & TWO HOURS later we left. The kids were EXCELLENT. I must admit I was surprised. I felt like we were there forever. I thought I was going to start misbehaving. All of that time was pretty much spent back w/ the hygienists or dentist. Good news & bad news: Kirsten's teeth are great, but poor Aaron has FOUR CAVITIES. Two of them are so bad they have to have crowns! What!!?? My family doesn't get cavities. And why in the world is something so nasty called a CROWN??!! Crowns are a prize, a gift, a sign of privilege. At the very least they are something for frogs so they can become a prince. How in the world does 4 more separate office visits to either fill a cavity or get a crown sound like a gift, prize or privilege. AND, Aaron is definitely not a frog! I demand that a new name be given to this dental procedure! Oh my.......

On another whole separate note, my totally fun friend , Maren (who has an amazing blog as well) has this musical number on her site. I HAD to steal it. I loved it!!! You must turn off my music at the bottom of the blog to hear this. But DO IT because you will LOVE it too!

4th day of Christmas!

Today was a fun card day. Whenever we receive Christmas cards I hang them on a door in my house. I love to receive cards & to send cards, but with the price of postage it is almost painful. Anyway, I've been opening the cards thus far, but today when we received 3 cards in the mail I gave each one of the kids a card to open thinking it was not a big deal. Josh happily ripped his open & read the card. Kirsten & Aaron thought this was over the top. "WE get to open one!", they shouted. Kirsten ripped hers open, but Aaron seemed like he wanted to savor the moment. He did it so carefully, & was so excited to see it hanging on the door. Who would have thought? I guess it should not have been a surprise to me. Over a month ago, I wrote all the kids a little note that just said, "I love you" & their name. I signed it & put OXOXO. Aaron has carried that note in his pocket for a month. He carefully takes it out each night & sits it on his dresser & then places it back into his new pants the next morning. Even though he cannot read he knows what it says. It was after that first day of giving him the note that he started to kiss me on the cheek. I thought I would cry. When he pretends to read his little note you cannot understand a thing except for the little kiss sound he makes at the end. It's worth every tear I will cry when they go home. It's those little things that enable me to do this.

Anyway, here's the HILARIOUS little email card that we sent. We received it from a friend & then made our own today. The kids loved it!! The picture above was our photo Christmas card we sent to family & friends that we don't see often or that live far away.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1499914800

This is what I woke up to today!

Today started out MUCH BETTER than yesterday. My brother-in-law, Matt, sent me some pics of my adorable nephew TJ. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like the first two. How precious (and I'm not biased!)
























Amy & Matt


















We are of course, a football family.
















TJ's Christmas picture

















My sister, Amy, is also a dog person. She loves animals, & no family is complete without their canine friend.

3rd day of Christmas

Today was very eventful. It all started last night with a loud BANG! It sent me sitting straight up in my bed from a deep sleep. My dear husband was barely phased by it. I couldn't for the life of me figure it out. "Could it be Santa & his reindeer? Is he confused about the date? Has Santa come early? Am I confused about the date?" Lonnie said it was thunder so I went back to sleep.















A while later another noise not as loud as the first woke me up again. I figured it was more thunder & went back to sleep. Well, the morning had many surprises for us. The noises were large, heavy, ice-laden tree limbs that hit the house, ripped the electric box off & pulled the corner of the house off at the same time. There were branches everywhere, an electric line down strung across the yard & driveway, & sadly squirrels running around in a frantic search for their home. Of all the mess that the ice left, the squirrels were the saddest part. If a squirrel can be in a panic, these squirrels were. Honestly, there was one in particular that was making a noise I have never heard. This place is squirrel central, but this was a noise I have never heard. If a squirrel could cry I swear that's what it was. It was the saddest sound. The birds were chirping like crazy as if they were all talking about it. It was wild to say the least. But anyway, as of now, 9 p.m. the electric company still has not removed the live wire from our driveway. It's an insulated wire, but they said, "DON'T TOUCH IT & STAY AWAY FROM IT." It's been over 12 hours since we reported it. They are so busy right now. What a mess this ice storm left. The additional winds have now added other large limbs to our disarray of a yard. A very LARGE one came flying out of no where & almost landed on the porch as Brent & Leah were coming in the house. Ooh, scary!

On a good note, we could not let the day go by without doing something for Christmas. So we decorated some salt-dough ornaments & had a great, colorful, sparkly time. Everything Aaron & Kirsten do is a "first" for them, & brings so much enjoyment for the rest of us. We all took these simple things for granted before. Now we are doing them with all new eyes.












To finish the night off I painted Kirsten's nails in red & white like little candy canes. She sat there so happily & said, "I love you Mommy." You can tell she really does appreciate the littlest of things.

2nd day of Christmas

The 2nd day of Christmas took us to Grammy & Pappy's house. They had been away for a trip to Tennessee & were very missed!! We had dinner there & then proceeded to make cookies.











Aaron & Josh helping Grammy


While the kids & Grammy & I baked, the guys did their usual bonding. giggle. Grandma & I baked A LOT OF COOKIES. As usual everyone had a fun & YUMMY time! Thanks Grammy & Pappy! Now I'm just waiting to make our favorite treat, Flitch, with my sister Amy & my mom.

1st day of Christmas

We started our 12 days of Christmas with a trip to see our favorite waitress, Angelia, at Pizza Hut for lunch. The day was to get worse after a 3-hour visit to the garage to find out how badly I had damaged my car from my little accident last week. I wanted to brace myself with some pizza happiness before I got my bad news.



By the time I was finished at the garage it was time to go to the ward Christmas party. Lonnie had to coach so I took the kids myself.


Needless to say, Abbie Hodson did a FABULOUS job putting it together. They put together a beautiful musical number as well. You could really feel the spirit, & it was a lovely evening.




The kids had a great time too. The three younger ones all sat with Santa although I missed seeing Josh! I did manage to get a picture of Kirsten & Aaron. It was so very special because this was the first time they had ever sat on Santa's lap. They kept going back. They just couldn't get enough of him.









Josh & Gage









Kirsten & Becca











Aaron & Casey


Kirsten & Aaron have made their own friends at church too.That is such a nice feeling for me knowing they are welcomed by everyone. Josh, of course, did his normal carrying on. I told him there would be no running around the church so he decided to give horseback rides instead. Oh my.

Good-bye missionaries

Elder Peterson & Elder Christianson


Last night I went to a departing missionary fireside. Every six weeks the missionaries that are done with their two year commitment get to go home. We went to say good-bye to Elder Christianson & Elder Boyd who are both going home. I had been to other firesides before, and always, they are amazing. The spirit is so strong with all of those missionaries being there. It's a powerful experience. I made the decision last night that from now on, Josh was going with me. He had planned on going & then decided not to. I was okay with it till I realized how much he would have benefited from it now that he is older.

A wonderful family from church, The Sherfey's, have three children, but their sons both went on missions & are amazing. I asked them one day what they thought really helped their children. Brother Sherfey told me they had the missionaries at their house a lot. That was all I needed to hear. Now we have the missionaries come to our home every Tuesday night for dinner. The whole family looks forward to it. Our goal is for them to feel so welcome that they are comfortable helping themselves to anything they need. I want them to feel like they are home. Josh doesn't have an older brother, so I'm hoping that these young men will serve as wonderful examples to him. And hopefully, when Josh goes on a mission, the families will take good care of him. We love the missionaries!

My Favorite Things

On Saturday I went to a fun party called "My Favorite Things". My new friend Lucy had invited me & I was so HAPPY to go. When you're the one always having the gatherings like I do with my business, it is so NICE to be on the other end. This was not a party to purchase something. Ten people were invited & each person had to bring 9 items to share with the group. It was to be one of your favorite things. Everyone went home with 9 new things. It was so FUN! I met so many of her friends from her old ward. LDS women are precious, no matter what ward they're in. She has wonderful friends. Thanks Lucy for a great night! (My favorite gift was that turban-hair-thingy!)

(above) Lucy & her baby, Laila. She was modeling Lucy's favorite thing.


Snacks are always a requirement for a good party! Loved those pumpkin things.










Okay, what would one of my favorite things be? Hmmm......in a PINK bag.

visit to the Harlans

On Friday we went to visit the Harlans. Chelsea & I both homeschool our kids, & it is such a comfort to talk with someone who knows the challenges & joys that come with homeschooling. It has been a HUGE challenge now that our family has grown. I know we didn't add six people to our family or anything, but Josh & I were so used to the house being quiet while he did his schoolwork. The added noise & distractions make things very difficult. I really needed some advice. Chelsea has four boys- two that she homeschools, & then two little ones. I KNOW she understands & would have some words of wisdom. The kids had way too much fun & so did I.




Kirsten loved holding Joel. I know it made her feel so special to be able to hold a baby.





Isaac, Joel & Kirsten












Most of my family & friends know that I have a terrible problem staying awake when I drive. It wasn't that late when we left, but I was tired. I don't know if Chelsea remembered how I am about driving. As I was driving home I was having a hard time staying awake. All the kids were asleep & the quiet was just too peaceful. Although I had just been at Chelsea's she called me on my cell phone. We talked the rest of my way home. Little did she know, her welcome voice helped me stay awake. Thanks Chelsea!

The first snow!

The kids were all so excited for the snow to come. Josh has practically become a meteorologist lately. He is constantly watching the Weather Channel & then reporting on "when the snow is coming". They had a blast with the very short-lived snow. Leah & Brent took the kids sledding, & they all had a wonderful time. The kids LOVED that Leah & Brent came out to play with them. Thanks guys!

Are these the last dances we will see?

Angelia has been dancing since she was 2 years old with just a couple of years of rest during that time. This year she decided to get back into dance again. Her asthma has made it much more of a challenge, but she is determined to do it with lots of help from her inhaler. She danced in the local Halloween parade a month ago. Then on Thanksgiving weekend she competed with her dance company. Her dance came in 2nd in two different categories. Congrats Leah! It was soooo good to watch her dance again.

My favorite performance had to be this past weekend though. She danced in Clara's Winter Wonderland. She was in six different dances as a Court Jester, a Toy Soldier, a shopper, a Spanish dancer, a Snowflake, & a flower. The amazing part was that she was not to be one of the jesters. The girl that was to be in that dance was hurt. Leah learned the dance the MORNING of the production. You would never have known it. She is amazing. I really hope she does something with dance when she's older. She is so good w/ kids . I think she should open her own dance studio somewhere. She would be great. Whatever she does I will be proud of her though. I love you Angelia!

The world of Thomas the Tank Engine

Ever since Josh was a little boy, trains of every size, shape & color have been a subject of interest. His grandparents got him started on the Thomas trains & all that entails. If we added up the price of all the trains, track & extras we would probably have enough money to send him to college.

It seemed that Thomas was getting a little "old" as of late. That is until Aaron & Kirsten came. Thomas & his friends are out in full swing again. Josh & I built a giant train track & then put Josh's little Christmas tree in the middle of it. That was Kirsten's suggestion, & it was a beautiful one. We put lights all through the little train village. What special memories with the kids. Thanks to all the family & friends who have added to Josh's train collection. It has made for many "mother-son" memories throughout the years. We have been building giant tracks for years.

A few years ago, Lonnie even went so far as to arrange through a friend for Josh to drive the engine that goes from Hanover to Gettysburg. (I'm quite sure this was not allowed, but somehow it all came to pass.) Anyway, Josh LOVED that experience. Josh's great-grandpa used to work on the railroad when he was younger. It's no wonder Josh is such a train freak. Thank you Pappy!