Another Special Visitor

Today I dragged the kids to Stake Conference against their wills, but what a blessing we went. Elder Ballard was there! What a treat it was for my children to sit in the second row of our chapel and hear one of the twelve apostles speak. The kids couldn't have been any better and were fully alert and listening! His message was sweet and he completed a wonderful meeting.

We're Expecting a Visitor!

We have exciting news......Olivia lost her front tooth this morning.....Yeah! This is huge because she can't remember losing her first front tooth. When she was two, she got very angry with her brother Elijah and bite him on the nose. Although Elijah had a small mark on his nose, Olivia's tooth became darker and darker each day. The dentist pulled her tooth and she has had only one front tooth for the past four + years.....until today.

Needless to say, we are excited about a certain visitor tonight. Olivia asked me if I thought the tooth fairy would bring her $40,000 for one tooth, I said that if that was the case I am ready for dentures!

Tourist in Our Town

We had a wonderful weekend together. We spent every second together and it was great. We were able to take the kids to Old Town and explore. Surprisingly I have been there several times, but never took the time to look around. We visited the school house, the general store, the candy shop (of course where we bought salt water taffy), to a small compound, mineral and fossil store, and so much more. If you haven't been there, it is a definite must.

Ethan has been begging us to buy him a dinosaur fossil, and we just so happened to find a store in Old Town that sold a small collection of fossils. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. James told him that he had to pay for it himself and gave him his credit card. The lady at the counter asked him for a picture ID and he gave her James' drivers license. She said he looked so much older and he told her that when he gets old that is what he will look like and that he didn't mind. I thought that was so cute. These kids love their Dad so much, it's crazy to see their adoration towards him.

The Worst Phone Call in my Life!

I just have to vent, because I can't stop crying. I got a call (from an automated service) about 20 minutes ago from my kid's school saying that Ethan wasn't at school. I just freaked out and called the school and told them that he went to school this morning. They put me on hold for what seemed like eternity and came back on the line and told me that they were still checking! I told them that I couldn't wait and that I was on my way to the school, they told me to hold on, that it was best just to stay on the line. It took them awhile to come back and tell me that he was in the library with his class and that they had accidentally marked him absent. The teacher just called me and told me she was sorry. What a nice way to start the day.

Time to Catch Our Breath!!!

It's been awhile since our last post and much has been happening. Over the Christmas Break we have experienced many things from our pet fishing dying (yet another funeral), to going to New Mexico for nearly two weeks, to our latest the annual Pinewood derby. Here are a few of our pictures.......

This has to be one of the funniest, I'm sorry for saying it, but funniest stories of our New Mexico trip. Poor Ethan slept on my Grannie's sofa and woke up the next morning screaming. He has slept with his neck kinked and was screaming with pain. After yelling at him to stop yelling, it took me a couple of Tylenol and half an hour of rubbing his neck before he could partial move it. Later that night, we went to the mall and saw this little lady giving massages. James actually paid $20.00 for her to rub Ethan's neck for 10 minutes. What a great Dad....now if I can only complain of a back problem maybe he will get me a massage...I doubt it.James and Kevin took the kids sledding while we were in New Mex and although the snow was melting rather fast, they were able to get a couple of good runs, with some great crashes.

We had fun playing with the cousins and of course playing Guitar Hero...Olivia is a born rocker!The trip was great, but went way to fast. We can't wait to get out there again and soon. We came home to a house that needed much attention and many hours of man work. I, yes that is singular as in me, re stained the deck. It might not be up to James' approval, but I did it and I think that it turned out great!

And to finish this post, here are two last pictures from tonight's Pinewood Derby. I was way to busy talking to my friends Cara and Amy to take pictures......insert "Great Mother Award" here, but here they are.....

From what I gathered, in between breaths, Oliver came in 4th.....Ethan came in 8th. Thanks Poppy for helping Ethan with his car, we couldn't have done it without you......James has yet been able to do 1! We love you though James.

"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

I am so sorry to see Christmas Day end! We have had a wonderful time being together. I must admit that I was not quite in the Spirit of things, but it all came together so wonderfully starting last night.

We started out Christmas Eve Evening with a wonderful ham dinner. We set our table with our fine china, crystal and silverware. The kids always enjoy this, it isn't very often that we do this.

We prepared our Christmas baskets for the hospitals, and the Military Guards and set out to deliver them. We first went to Sharp Mary Birch Hospital where we have been going for the past 10 years. We let Elijah go in for the first time. It is there that 11 years ago he was in the intensive care unit. We appreciate so much all those nurses and doctors who have to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas! We bring them baskets of goodies to say thank you each year. P.S. Elijah came home on Christmas Day.....so Christmas is always extra special to us.

We went to Children's Hospital to drop off small presents to all the kids who have to go to the Emergency Room on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Ethan has spent many days at the Hospital and it's nice to say thank you to them as well.

We went by the Military base to drop off baskets at the Guard Gates. This is probably our families very favorite Christmas activity. Those cold guards are always so excited to get these baskets and we appreciate all our Military service.
After all our deliveries it was back to our house to prepare the cookies for Santa and to hit the sack!

Christmas morning was great! The children got the toys that they so desperately needed. We spent the day playing as a family with all their presents. Most of the day was spent at the "Ranch" with all the cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

We are grateful to celebrate our Savior's birth. How humble we feel when we think of him, and his life of service. It is wonderful to remember that the ultimate gift that we receive is the gift of his life. May we all live to fully appreciate and strive to live by his example!

It's sad to see it all end.....but there is always next year to look to!

FHE

We had a great Family Home Evening tonight. We first went to Costco to get James some new glasses....he is getting so old! We then went to deliver small presents to some neighbors and friends.
We came home and watched a movie together. It was a Christmas present from our friends the Larsen's in our ward. The movie is called The Ultimate Gift and we couldn't have watched it at a more perfect time. It's great to be reminded of the things that are truly important especially at Christmas time. We have been blessed beyond measure and we are grateful to our Father in Heaven for all of his blessings!