It was a VERY Merry CHRISTmas!

It was such a new experience for our family to be in our own home on Christmas morning. Even though we have lived away from "HOME" for 5 years, we have always managed to make it home for Christmas. You can only imagine how we did not miss packing up all the presents to take them there, only to pack them up a few days later and bring them home. It was glorious! But if I were being honest, it didn't quite feel the same not being at my parents home. I have only spent one Christmas not in there home and that was when they were on a mission for our church. But if I wasn't going to spend Christmas in my parents home, there is no other place I would want it to be then in our own home...with my parents there. It was a lovely Christmas morning, but it is lucky my parents showed up or we might not have gotten up. My kids were so hyped up the night before, they zonked the next morning. But once they were awake, they could not be contained for long.

Noah's wish list

1. Rip stick

2. DS game

3. Clue board game

Micah wish list

1. Nintendo DS

2. MP3 player

3. 3 musketeers singing barbie

Deeken wish list

1. Stuffed Santa Clause

2. Batman and Joker set(?)

Josie's wish

1. To stay in bed

They were pretty good kids this year, so they got a lot of what they wanted and probably some not so wanted things too. Let's face it, they were spoiled. They loved it, and we loved watching them open it, but I hope to turn it down a little bit next year. It's hard when your kids are opening a bunch of presents, to remember the true meaning of Christmas. I felt like we did a great job focusing on it right up until that morning. We said a prayer, and thanked our Father for thee best Present of all, His son. After that, it seems to get lost in the unwrapping moments. How can I change that... well at least I have a whole year to think about it.

HIGHLIGHTS!

• Talking about Christ and His Birth everyday for a whole month
• Noah learning Jolly Old St. Nicolas on the Piano
• Micah learning a Hymn on the guitar
• Josie saying "WOW" everytime she opened a present. (It was adorable)
• Watching my parents cry when they opened a picture of my whole family. (We haven't all been together in 6 years...I'll explain later)
• Getting a HOME for Christmas...and Valentines, and my Birthday, and my anniversary...you get the point. It was all I wanted.
• Getting two beautiful mini quilts for my daughters room to go on their wall...they were made by my wonderful mother.
• Being done with too many projects to name!!!

  It was a wonderful CHRISTmas!

  PS we did see my wonderful in-laws on the 26th at their Christmas party, but I was in no mood to take picture. If you want to know the details, ask John. On second thought, don't ask,...don't ask, don't question, when your wife has told you she has planned an over nighter for the two of you for your 30th birthday, just go. Oh nevermind, please don't ask!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Merry CHRISTmas to ALL and to ALL a GOOD NIGHT!

The-Christmas-Spirit

Josie's first snip-snip!

I like this beginning picture. I am fully aware most of her head is cut off, but I was trying to video tape and take pictures at the same time. This can be very frustrating!!! I love that her shoulder is up and that she is turning away from JOHN in this picture. Yes people, John is the one who cut Josie's hair. and this is why...

Since I was multi-tasking at the beginning of the hair cut, I forgot to get a great picture, so I went back to Halloween. Josie basically had a mullet with an under shave. Not the cutest thing.

It was getting kind of nappy and stringy, and we decided it was time to give the rest of her hair a chance to grow out with it.

Josie did pretty well, I gotta say....her parents not so well. John and I had a few colorful words to say to each other. See John cuts my boys hair...they have never had anyone else cut their hair. He does an AMAZING job I might add. I know he gave Micah her first hair cut, but I can't remember it specifically. Let's just say we should have gone in with a better game plan.

She is still a beauty, but looks a lot more like a boy. Maybe it is the buzzing he did. Maybe the hair line trim on her neck that occurred. Or maybe the cutting over the ears. John is a WIZ with my boys hair...I think I'll let him stick to my boys hair.

Jo kept giving me this funny look. Maybe she was mirring the look that all the people who saw us out that day gave her. They were trying hard to figure out, boy or girl. Most lost the guess. Sorry Jo...it will grow. My new montra!

PS Josie's nose was hurt in a minor accident while her cousins were here the day before. I am not sure what happened. I was very worried her nose was broken, but it was fine...I was informed by doctor John. It was just swollen and had scratch like marks on either side. Oh well, at least she looks like a tough boy!

A friend. A thought. An Answer.

I have a friend from Oregon, who is not the same religion as me. I love her and her husband. John and I have always thought of them as a super amazing couple. I was on her blog today, and at the top it said,

Be filled with wonder

Be touched with peace

BELIEVE in the MIRACLE

May the splendor of this season remind you of Him who is worthy of all our praise.

I have no idea what she specifically meant by it in her own blog...perhaps talking about how we get too caught up in Christmas, that we give more praise and honor to the things of the world than Him. I am only saying that is perhaps what it meant. To me, it took me back two years to when I was in the Relief Society Presidency in our Oregon ward. They brought out the new teaching manual for the next two years. It was teachings from the prophet Joseph Smith. I warned my teachers that I felt strongly that we needed to emphasize Christ, that we needed to make sure that we named him by name at least a few times through out the lesson. It wasn't so much that I didn't believe that Joseph Smith's teaching wouldn't talk of Christ, how could they not, when he is His chosen servant. It was that I worried visitors to our church, would come in, see the book, and believe what the world thinks about Mormons. That being, that we are not Christians that we worship a man named Joseph Smith.

It was kind of a needless worry, when like I said before, of course the prophet Joseph Smith would be teaching about Christ. He saw him in the flesh, he knew he was here to do Christ's work, and even though times were terribly hard for this man, He never denied what he knew. He knew that a restoration of Christ's church had to come forward...he couldn't deny it. In his words, "I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God and come under condemnation."

I know that to people not of my faith, it may seem like we speak of Joseph Smith a lot. The way I look at it, it is partially because it is what makes us different from other Christians. I remember talking to a woman about the church and she said, "It sounds like you believe exactly what I believe." I then reminded her of the Book of Mormon and of living prophets. It does make us different and I believe we are supposed to be different.

I was looking at mormon.org a few weeks back and saw a clip of a woman speaking about how we honor Joseph Smith, it made a lot of sense to me. In essence, she says that we honor Joseph Smith like the early Christians honored Paul. Both were given the responsibility to carry on Christ's Church. Not in their way, but in His. They were men chosen by God and therefore we should reverence their names. You can see the clip here if you would like to.

I am grateful for my friend, who makes me think often about Christ. She is a great exampler of a follower of Christ. Always bearing witness of His divine mission here on earth. He is a WONDER. He is PEACE. He is a MIRACLE yesterday, today and forever. His hand is still in His work. He is still working many wonders, giving peace and performing miracles. I believe it with all my heart. He has not forgotten us, we are written on His heart.

Oh come let us adore and give praise to the One who deserves and is worthy of ALL of our praise.

Time keeps on slipping into the future...

I hadn't posted in a while, and not that I have anything profound to say, but i just wanted to write a few things down for journal sake? So I can get them out of my head sake? To entertain the ever bored blog stalkers sake? I don't know, just want to...it's my blog so I am going to do it.

I watched "My Sister's Keeper." Man am I ever so glad I did not see it in the theater. Let me tell you there were some major water works going on at my house. I had to go and give all of my sleeping children very tight hugs, and thank my Father in Heaven I have them...that they are all healthy...that they love one another...that they have survived my mothering...and so on and so forth. It made me wonder with all the bad things that could happen to them in this world, should I really think that my family should be exempt from ALL of them? and Yes, that is what I hope for.

I have so often thought about one of my children leaving me too early in this life in a horrible accident or kidnapping....I don't want that trial. I have thought of having one of them getting cancer, or some other horrific disease...I don't want that trial. Other things too, like drugs, alcohol, pornography, homosexuality (yes I said it), turning away from the gospel of Christ...I do not want these trials. Even the seemingly little things like lack of friends for my kids, or even bad friends...I know it is silly but I don't want those trials. But with knowing what the world is like, knowing that we are here to have trials so we can learn, am I really naive in thinking I will be able to skip out on all or even any of them?

I find I am really enjoying being a mother right now, my kids are in hard but fun stages. Josie is just barely getting the walking thing down. She can tell you NO! She gives amazingly tight and wonderful hugs around the neck. She loves playing a baby style of hide and go seek with me. Deeken is hitting the terrible twos late. He loves his little sister, but enjoys pushing her down when he thinks no one is looking. He is impish and funny. He can talk back very well and doesn't like time outs at all. Micah is beautiful. She amazes me sometimes how beautiful she is. I catch myself just looking at her and staring, like I remember my mom doing when I was little. She says she doesn't have any friends at school...that no one likes her, well, except Quinton(thank you Q!) It breaks my heart. I want to shield her from all the hurt that I know is still coming from friends and relationships of all kinds, but I know that wouldn't be right. She is strong and amazing, and I know she will do amazing things. Noah is becoming quite the young man. He went and shoveled our neighbors drive this afternoon just cause he wanted to. He has always been a kind hearted soul in his wants to serve. I love that about him. I think he is doing better with friends and learning to control his emotions. I really am proud of him. I don't think it would be easy on any kid to change schools 3 times in 3 years. I am sure that has effected him even more than I know.

I LOVE MY KIDS SOOOO MUCH!

Life is to good right now. Where are the trials? What is coming my way that I can not see? Lord, give me strength. I am so glad I have Him... so glad I have Him

Natasha

I get the priviledge of working with the Young Woman in our ward in the Sports program. Natasha is one of the amazing girls in our ward and she asked me to take a few senior pictures for her. I think they turned out pretty good. We were only out in the cold weather about 20 minutes, but we got some good ones.

PS I swore I would never use this place to take picture, it is overly used here...but I needed something to fit her outfit, so I gave in.