Christmas

Aunt Kristin sits with the girls and Santa who showed up at Grandma's house on Christmas Eve. We had a yummy dinner with all the aunts, uncles and cousins. We also had a talent show where Shaunie and Heidi sang "Mary's Lullaby" while Grandma played the piano. It was a lot of fun.

Here is what Santa left for us. We tried to tone it down a bit this year but it still looks like a lot. Shaunie got a guitar, Sam and Leah got scooters and they all got a play kitchen and an art easel. I decided that less is the best. The kids seem to enjoy their individual presents more when there aren't a ton of them. Overall we had a fun Christmas. We spent most of Christmas day at Grandma and Grandpa Mangum's house.

Gingerbread Christmas

We had a fun time making Gingerbread houses with the McCoy Family. They turned out great and the kids had a lot of fun.

Sam's Christmas Program

Here I am dragging him to the front. We only made it to the side.

For the last song they sang Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and had cute antlers and noses to wear. This is me trying to coax Sam in to putting his nose on.

Here is Shaunie with Austin at the treat table. I decided that if they get married we could use this shot in their wedding video. Seriously, I think Shaunie has a little crush on Austin, but don't tell her I told you.

Well, Sam had his Christmas program last night. It went really well except that Sam absolutely refused to go up and take his place with his other classmates. We tried bribing him, threatening him (not really), urging him, carrying him, sitting with him, singing with him, EVERYTHING and he was just too scared. Miss Tina even said he could pick from the treasure box if he went up front and although he cracked a smile and was definitely thinking about it, he still refused to go up. Maybe next year. I will say that Miss Tina did a great job with the kids and they all adore her. Even Sam was very willing to go give her a hug and thank you after the program was over. She gave them cute presents and they made darling decorations and ornaments. Thanks so much Miss Tina for all you do. You are a great teacher!

magical forest

On Friday we went to the Magical Forest for Sam's preschool fieldtrip. We should have taken Shaunie because it was so much fun! It was freezing! We got to see Santa and everything. I hope you like the pictures.

Prayer

On Saturday I got lunch (mac'n'cheese) together for the kids, sat them down and then ran upstairs to put Troy down for a nap. I was only gone for about 30 seconds. I came downstairs and surprisingly interrupted Sam saying the prayer. All their little heads were bowed, eyes closed and their arms folded. It was so cute! When they were done I told them that I was glad they remembered to say the prayer. They told me that at first they had forgotten but then they remembered. I was so touched. I could just see them having the discussion that they needed to say the prayer and then deciding that Sam would say it. It made me feel like they are getting it. It was one of those proud mom moments.

Oh Christmas Tree!

I love Christmas! Here is our living room. I love walking in and seeing the Christmas tree shining. My kids make sure that it is always on. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Donuts

Our newest Christmas tradition is to make donuts. I don't know how I came to this conclusion, but I sure like it. We had so much fun on Thursday night making donuts. The kids made an assembly line with Shaunie and her friend, Brooke, doing the chocolate and vanilla glaze, and Sam and Leah doing the sprinkles. Everybody had tons of fun. We ended up giving the extras out to some friends in the ward. Shaunie made a special note to send where the receivers had to guess what was inside under the foil. She is cute. We love our newest tradition!

Smily Baby

Troy is smiling for the camera! It is so hard to get him to do it because he always stares at the camera like he's trying to figure it out. I finally got this shot while distracting him. He actually is a very smiley little boy. We love our Troy Boy.

Singing in the Rain

It never rains in Vegas so when a miracle takes place and the rain decides to sweep through the kids love to put on their "coats" and run around in it. Sam and Leah just couldn't stay inside while the drops fell down. My kids are such desert doodles!

Jeremy and the kids had fun about a week ago while I was gone doing a Modbe Party. They made dinner and had tons of fun doing it. They made "pigs in a blanket" and then made little faces out of the food on their plates. Jeremy said that Sam was very proud of his frowny face. What a nut head!

This is a little outdated, but I wanted to include it anyway. It was Sam's turn to take treats to preschool the day before Thanksgiving. We made these little turkeys. They were fun and the kids loved them. They were also very yummy.

DONE!

I am finally done! Well, I'm done with the December Enrichment. What a relief! It went really well. We had a progressive dinner. We started at one house and then had chips, salsa, and dip at my house and then at the next house we had some yummy Mexican food made by a sister in our ward. It was so authentic and soooooo delicious! At the end we met at another house and had cocoa and Krispy Kreem donuts. I read the story A Christmas Bell for Anya. It was a tear jerker! We gave out little packets of Christmas stories as a present from the presidency. It was nice and everyone seemed to have such a nice time. My only regret is that we didn't provide babysitting so some sisters were not able to come. I felt that the sisters really bonded with one another. We missed those who weren't there. I wish there was a way to get more sisters to come. Any suggestions? Thanks to all those who came and helped make it a wonderful evening.

Dots on my toes

Leah was helping me wrap presents yesterday when she took off her boot and told me that the dots on her foot were hurting her. She even showed me the dots. I didn't see them but I know what she was talking about. I've had dots hurt my feet before.

Musings...

I've decided that things are only as important as you make them. This means a couple things to me. First, when things are going wrong or not as you would like them you have all the power to decide that they are not that bad. You don't really have to be upset about anything unless you care about it. This means that the things that upset you or make you sad (or happy) are the things that you care about the most. Second, that life can be totally meaningless and boring unless you care about things. I remember my parents getting mad at me when I would tell them that I didn't care about something. This is probably why. Ultimately, we are in charge of our own happiness and we choose this happiness by the things we choose to care about. The depth and length of happiness in your life depends on the things you choose to care about. Also, the more I choose to care about only myself, the more difficult it is to be happy.

The First Noel

On Saturday I was invited to sing in our old ward...the Desert Sage ward. I took Jeremy's sisters along with me because I have a cold (cough cough sniff sniff). It was soooo good to see the old wardies. There were a lot missing, and I mean A LOT of people missing, but there was still good ole' Bishop Nolden, LaNell Lueck, and all the young women (just to name a few). I got to give them all hugs! It was like coming home. We sang "The First Noel". It is the song we sing every year. I love it and it is beautiful.