Christmas 2012

So we had a nice Christmas.  We did one gift from Santa and one gift from each member of the family.  It was nice to have it not be so overwhelming.  And the kids seemed happy.

Here they are in the pajamas I made for them this year.  It was fun to have them match on Christmas morning and they loved that they looked like Christmas presents.

 I made my son a big boy quilt for his new twin size bed.  He was so excited to see it had Thomas on it.

 This is one of the best moments was seeing them say thank you to each other for the gifts they gave.

 So our oldest told me that she wanted Real Fairy stuff this year.  She would tell us what she would do and all the wishes of others and her own that she would grant.  When we told her that Santa may not be able to get her Real Fairy stuff but he could give her stuff that looked real.  But she felt that was inexcusable because since Santa is a magical being it only made sense that he could get magical stuff to give to her.  Well we were at the store one day and she saw these Princess art/craft packs and said she wanted them more than anything.  I asked her if she wanted them more than Real Fairy stuff and she said yes.  SCORE!  So we got them because it saved us from disappointing her.  On a side note she has asked me the Santa question.  We have discussed it.  I told her that he is as real as she believes he is.  That if you stop believing in him he stops bringing you gifts.  Which is what my mom told me.  I asked my daughter what she thought and she thinks it is us.  But she still talks about him as if she believes in him and well that is ok.  I feel this is something she will understand more and more as she gets older and she will process it in her own way.  And when she talks to me I will never lie to her.  Childhood passes to quickly I don't want to make her worry about all the grown up things yet.  Everyone has a way of experiencing, expressing and living magic in their lives.

 Baby girls first Christmas.  She got this from her big sister.

 This was a LED flashlight my son picked out for his Daddy.  My husband gives great reactions and my son ate it up knowing his Daddy loved the gift he gave him.

 This was the gift I got from my son.  I needed a new pair so this is AWESOME!

Isn't this cute!  She brings everything to her mouth.  But loved this glow worm.

 Another great reaction from my husband from for the gift from his daughter.

 Gift from us, a new scooter.

 His Santa gift.  Our son is funny he is learning how to pray.  In fact one day in November he started wanting to pray all the time.  Most of his prayers went a little something like this,  Please may I have Hiro, Spencer, Gordon, Harold, James, Percy, Rocky, Flin and Cranky.....Nourish and strengthen our bodies in the name of Jesus Christ...Amen.  Ya we have a little work on teaching him to pray and ask Heavenly Father to bless others in their trials and thanks him for his blessings.  But it is also a lesson to remember that we must also pray for the things which we would have the Lord bless us with.  Their is a reason our Savior asked us to be as little children.  To be so trusting that the Lord will bless us with our needs and some wants.  We will try to help him expand his prayers but I hope that he will never lose the ability to turn to his Father in Heaven and ask for blessings in his life.

 My gift from my daughter.  This is great for a busy mom who has little time to take care of herself.  Now I can make a smoothie and have breakfast no matter how busy my morning is.

 Checking out her stocking.  I think it is funny that my husband looks more interested than her.  Oh well.  There is always next year.

November

 Another blog that just takes care of one month.  Since I know that you my few readers would like me to get to more current things.

So in November my husband invited us to his works Open house to come check out the new building that they had moved to.  It made us a little sad to have him work further away because he used to come home for an hour during lunch and spend time with us in the middle of the day.  We were spoiled and we loved it.  But that time is over since gas would make that not a practical option all the time.   Yes we could move closer; however, it is not what we feel is right for us.  However it was fun for the kids and I to see the nice new building with lots more room and a much better situation for them to grow.  We had fun seeing Grandpa come check it out as well.  My husband loves the company he works for and believes in their product.  He is so excited for this change and loves to involve anyone he can in what they feel is a great opportunity for them.  The coworker in charge of food and doing most of the arrangements did a fantastic job and the food was amazing.

 Just a couple fun pictures of me with the girls.  My oldest loves having only girl.

 Also now that my husbands arm had healed enough he finished our fence.  Even the picket fence in the front yard.  It looks so nice to have no holes in any fence line we have.

 

This was our dog for one month.  We adopted him right before Halloween and loved him.  It was the hardest decision to let him go.  I had been thinking about a dog for a while.  I knew what my husband wanted should we get one and he was the perfect dog for us.  Except I am allergic to him and we have a small house and no garage.  It gets too cold in the winter here and when everything was weighed in the balance an amazing dog like this deserved a home where he could be warm and comfortable without any resentment from his owner over something he had no control over.  It broke our hearts and my son thought he had a brother in this dog.  We felt he belonged in our family.  We were not able to take him back to a shelter.  That seemed cruel and we didn't want just anyone to adopt him so we talked to our friends and family and found him a home with someone who loves him has no allergies to him and can take care of him.  We miss him so much and I still feel like a failure as a mother and human being for having to give him away.  A hard decision I never thought I would have to make.

October

Ok I am going to do this whole month all at once.  Mostly because it is easier and it will give me a chance to catch up faster.  October was a lot of fun.  We went to the pumpkin patch, the Shopping Center's Halloween party close by, made a couple costumes and Trick or Treating.

The Pumpkin Patch the kids picked their own pumpkins.

 

 They tried to push the cart together because they think they are big and strong now.

 They played in the straw maze with Daddy who looks very pregnant with our baby staying warm inside the giant coat he is wearing.

 I even got a picture of me with the kids.

 Some pictures of the Merida costume I made inspired by the movie Brave.  We bought the wig at Target but the rest was all my design.  This wig made me think Little Orphan Annie more than Brave though.

 Here she is pretending to have a bow.

 Love this action shot of her running with her pink socks.  The best part was knowing that she was happy and loved the costume.  It was fun to make a modest Princess dress for once.  When my daughter wants to be a Princess I either have to alter the style of the dress or I have a limited few to choose from.  So whether you are a fan of Brave or not just know I appreciated a modest Princess.

 My sons favorite game with his Dad is stealing his hat and wearing it or hiding it.  

 And he look all too cute being a little punk. :0)

  Here the Kids are doing a craft at the Shopping Centers Party.  They had a Costume Contest for the kids.  Just so you know they didn't even take a second look at any of the costumes my kids wore.  They looked more at Harry and Ron costumes that stood by my Merida costume.  Oh well there is still satisfaction in knowing that in my daughters eyes the costume was perfect.

 Talking with Cinderella

 Here is the little bumble bee costume I made for my baby.  Seriously how cute is she?!

 On Halloween we got together with the neighbors and we ate soup and then went Trick or Treating.

 As you can see my son was Thomas the Train again this year.  I had plans to take him to the local Train Park and get pictures with him on their unused tracks but I failed to do so.  I had hope to make him something but when he wants to be the same thing as last year you just go with it.

 Some Trick or Treating action.

Fire Station Open House

In October we went to the Fire Station Open House.  They had popcorn, scones, balloons, and firetruck rides with a donation of canned food.  So we took our children and they had fun.  The line for the Firetruck rides was very long so most our time was spent waiting in line but they didn't mind.  They did get to see the Life-light Helicopter take off.  It is amazing how much debris goes flying when a helicopter is taking off.  While my husband stood in line with the kids I got in line to get some popcorn for the kids to eat.  That is one of their favorite snacks so that helped them wait patiently.  Here are a couple pictures.

My husband and I.

The boys!  Actually my son was being a turkey and was trying to not get his picture taken.

Me and my girl.  Here we are riding the firetruck.

The kids happy after a fun night.

Baby Blessing and Family

Here are a couple pictures of our babies Blessing Day.  It was a very nice day.  We had family there who supported us both who shared our faith and some who did not.  We felt very loved and hope that this little girl ours will know how very loved she is all her life.

After our Sacrament meeting was over we went outside and took a few pictures.  I actually was not very good at getting any other pictures.  I wish I had. I didn't even get a picture of her on this day in the dress that I made for her.  I did get a picture of our baby with her daddy and the family that stood in the circle with my husband. 

I saw my oldest with her cousins and felt it was very cute so I had to get a picture.

So even though I missed taking a picture of her on her blessing day.  I did get some pictures done at Target in her blessing dress.

   

 This has nothing to do with the blessing but I felt it was a cute picture of her with her Great Grandma.  And since this post is about her day felt it still fit.

 

Cute Kids

Here are some fun pictures of the kids during the month of September.

At my daughters Fall School Fair.

 

Other side of that cute hug.

 

Enjoying his cupcake from the cake walk.

 

 Hi Mom!