Our holiday guest... Eddie the Elf

The other night, Janelle (Brian's sister) told me that she wanted to make sure that Santa got
help getting his little elf to our home. I told her we would LOVE to have an Elf stay at our house this Christmas season. I told Morgan & Jackson the next day, that we would be having a Christmas guest from the North Pole staying with us, and that we needed to be on our best behavior so he could report good things to Santa. Morgan & Jackson were so excited!
Last night, after dinner at Karen's house, the doorbell rang. Morgan was the first one to answer it and was a little confused until Jackson came to the door. He said, "Oh! It's Eddie the Elf! He's here!" Janelle said, "I bet Santa dropped him off!" Morgan got so excited and said, "Santa was here!" I gently placed Eddie (as we named him) on top of Grandma's window. All of us adults were VERY entertained as we heard the kids say things like,
" Hey, look- he moved his arm!" "He moved his legs!" "He moved his eyes!" However, none of the adults ever actually saw him move. The kids were very serious that he was moving. :)
We carefully brought Eddie home with us & put him on the piano so he could watch us. If we touch him, he looses his magic and isn't able to fly home to tell Santa about all the good things were doing. I am amazed at how well behaved the kids, especially Jackson have been with Eddie here. Today Jackson was crying because I told him he couldn't have a friend come over to play until after lunch. I said to him, "Oh, do you think Eddie can hear you crying?" Jackson said, "Oh, yeah, sorry Mom!" My favorite part was last night when Eddie was sitting on the piano and I was in the kitchen talking to Morgan. I could hear Jackson talking to Eddie. This is what he said, "Eddie, for Christmas I would really like a Criss-Cross Crash set & a Jack-in-the box, but if I can only have one thing, I would like the Criss-Cross Crash set this year, and the Jack in the box next time. Okay, thanks Eddie." Eddie is able to fly home at night & tell Santa what we would like. If you notice in the picture, there is a list that Morgan wrote down of things she would like for Eddie to take to Santa. Jackson was sweet enough to put the list by Eddie so he wouldn't forget. Jackson's best friend & our next door neighbor Makell has an elf also- Peter. Jackson thought it would be a great idea today if he and Makell could play together while Peter and Eddie play together, and then they can fly to the North Pole together tonight. :) Today after school, Morgan and her friend Mckenzie ran into the house so that Mckenzie could see Eddie. Morgan informed me that more of her friends would be coming over to see Eddie. I love the sweet innocence & magic of believing in this stage of life. There is something so magical & exciting about being a kid & the imagination of Santa & the North Pole. As for me & an experience long ago, I will always believe in Santa Claus & the North Pole. :)
 
 

Morgan's New Glasses

A couple of weeks ago, Morgan kept coming home from school and was so grouchy. She would get mad at all of us and blame us for her bad day at school. She didn't seem very happy & wasn't acting at all like herself. I went to help out one day in her class and when I went to leave she literally clung to me and wouldn't let me go. She was in tears and I felt terrible. I wondered what was wrong and asked her one night if someone was being a bully at school. She said that kids were saying that she reads slow, and walks slow, and moves slow. While talking to some friends the next night, one of them, who teaches at the same school, said that maybe I sould have her eyes checked. So, a couple of days before Thanksgiving, I took her to the Optomotrist & sure enough- she needed glasses to wear all the time. The doctor explained that she has something called Amblyopia, which she has had from birth. Amblyopia basically is when the brain does not stimulate properly to the eye to make it work. So, because of this, Morgan has never been able to see cleary since birth. The reason we noticed now is because she had gone up a level in reading & since the words are smaller, it was harder for her to read.I feel terrible that she's never been able to see clearly, but I am so happy we are finding out now instead of later. She is reading so much better & is actually able to see!
Morgan liked trying on all of the glasses and was really excited to show her friends. She didn't want to tell them she was getting glasses, she wanted to surprise them. When we went to pick them up, Jackson was kind of upset that he wasn't getting glasses as well. He started looking around the room as he shifted his eyes back and forth and said, "Mom, I can't see, I think I need glasses." :)I told him we would have to wait for a while and see. Afterall, these aren't cheap like a $5.00 pair of sunglasses- I wish! This morning Jackson found glasses that Brian & I had worn so he & Hallie tried them on. Morgan is very responsible, so I hope the glasses will be well taken care of--- I hope. :)
 
 
 
 

One of the best dates ever! :)

Brian's Dad gave us tickets to the BYU basketball game at the Energy Solutions Arena. (Delta Center) I was a little nervous about leaving the kids for 6 hours, but after getting 2 great babysitters to babysit for 3 hours each, we were ready. We had a hard time finding parking in Salt Lake & once we finally did we had to walk a little ways. While we were walking, Brian noticed a man in front of us and said, "I think that's Elder Holland, does it look like him?"

Now, here's a background story--- While I was younger, my family would come to Utah every summer, and we would always stop at Temple Square in Salt Lake. We would stop and take a picture by the temple with our whole family, because for my parents this is where their little family began. I have always had tender & fond memories of the Salt Lake Temple because of this. Usually on our visits, we would always go to the Church Office building because my Dad had to meet with someone & then we would go to the Joseph Smith building. I remember being younger and sitting in the chairs of the Joseph Smith building and watching the elevators looking for either the prophet or one of the 12 apostles while we waited. There were so many men in suits, and I was always scanning my eyes looking for a familiar face that I had seen while watching conference back in Texas or Nebraska. However, even though I tried my hardest to see someone, I never did.

So, when Brian said he thought it was Elder Holland, I immediatly looked and sure enough it was. I told Brian we needed to walk faster so we could keep up with him & we were going in the same direction. (We were all kind of in a rush, trying to get to the game before the tip off) Elder Holland was with his son & 2 of his grandsons & was right in front of us. We all stopped at the cross walk & I said, "Is this a generation outing?" Elder Holland said very pleasantly, "Yes, it is." I then reached out my hand to shake his and said, "How are you doing?" And he replied, "Good, thank you." And then we were all off as quickly as we could to watch the game. Elder Holland continued to stay in front of us & while watching him I was amazed that he acted the exact same way as he does in front of the camera for General Conference. The same man that I have loved hearing since a little girl was in front of me smiling, speaking kindly, & being friendly to anyone that spoke to him. I didn't think he would be different, but it showed me that he and the other apostles don't act a certain way just because they are being filmed, but it is how they live their everyday lives. They are true embassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ- they represent Him & live as He did. I have always loved the powerful messages that Elder Holland gives & it was a blessing & a privelage to see him and watch him in person, to see that he practices what he preaches so to say. This experience also taught me that we are constantly being watched, not only by those around us, but by the Savior himself- who hopes that we are living as He did as we take His name upon us.

The game itself was so much fun, and definatly one of my favorite dates. (Seeing Elder Holland was an added bonus)The first quarter of the game I was a little distracted. I kept asking questions to Brian & he told me it was a lot different watching a game with guys who are quiet the whole time. :) I did ask Brian if he would take a picture of me and the BYU Cougar-Cozmo, but he said that was for kids, so this was the best picture I could take. However, later on I noticed a girl my age taking a picture with Cozmo- maybe Brian wanted to avoid the embarrasment. :) We had a really fun time watching the game & afterwards went out to dinner. It was so nice being with Brian and being able to talk & enjoy ourselves with out any little interuptions. We loved seeing the all the Christmas lights & just being together & it was really one of the best dates.

  
  

Festival of Trees

Thursday night I went with Karen, Janelle, Brittany, & Jayden to the Festival of Trees. The trees were beautiful & it was so neat seeing how many different ideas people had. My favorite tree looked like it had just been freshly cut from the mountains- it even looked like it still had snow on it. It was also neat seeing how the majority of the trees were in honor of someone who had passed away- very tender & sweet. Brittany found some things that she would like for Christmas and modeled for us. :) The gingerbread houses were amazing & I couldn't believe the time that people had spent on both the trees & the gingerbread houses. We had such a fun time & it was a great holiday activity.
  
  

The best answer to a prayer...he's safe

Tuesday night after Young Womens, I came home & we had some friends come over to visit. When they left around 10 I went downstairs to kiss the kids goodnight. When I looked in the room, Morgan was sound asleep, and Jackson's bed was empty- he was gone. I thought maybe he had fallen asleep on the couch bed or in another room downstairs. I started looking around and couldn't find him anywhere. I asked Brian where Jackson was & Brian thought he was in his bed. We both started looking everywhere and couldn't find him. I was starting to panic- imagining the worst, and wondering how someone came and took him, or what if he was outside wondering around in the cold. I started thinking of how the next step, after we had searched our whole house, would be to call our next door neighbors and have them help. At that moment, I knelt down to say a prayer that we would be able to find Jackson. Meanwhile, upstairs, Brian also was having the same thoughts (although much more calmly) and he too stopped to say a prayer. (This is how worried we were) I decided to check once more upstairs, thinking that maybe he went under Landon's crib. While I was in Landon's room, Brian called out to me and told me he had found him. Jackson was supposed to be in bed, and didn't want Brian to hear him awake, so he hid behind a chair in our room & fell asleep in the corner. I was so grateful that night that he was safe & that we weren't spending the night looking all over outside for our sweet boy.
   
 

Hallie decided to come outside and help me shovel one morning. We got her all ready, and within 5 minutes of being outside she said her fingers were cold and that she wanted to go and watch a Moosie (Movie) :)

The Christmas tree is up

On Thursday night after our big Thanksgiving dinner, we all sat around & made a plan of what stores we were going to for the Black Friday specials. I went with my parents & my two sisters to Wal-Mart at 12:00a.m. Friday morning. It was insane, crazy, & a nightmare all wrapped into one. :) However, since it is a family tradition, we had to make it happen. We were grateful to get what we were looking for (without a fight -he he he) and overall we all save a lot of money & we had a good time. We didn't get home until 6:30 a.m. & were exhausted! I'm not sure if we'll do the all-nighter next year or not- I keep wondering "Was it worth it?" but, we did save a lot of money on things we were buying for Christmas anyway, so I think it was.
Since I was so tired, Brian & the kids wanted to surprise me and set up the Christmas tree. Brian got the tree & the lights ready and the kids went to town decorating. They did such a great job! Brian & I love the fact that all of the ornaments are in one section of the tree. They were so proud of their work! We started a new tradition from my friends family tradition. We sat by the Christmas tree with all the lights off in the house except the Christmas tree lights and drank egg nog to bring in the Christmas season. The kids loved it & afterwards they begged us to sleep under the tree so they could wait for Santa Claus. We told them that Christmas wasn't for another 25 days but they could take a nap under the tree on Sunday.
 
 
 
 

Getting ready for Thanksgiving!!!!

The day before Thanksgiving, I started getting food ready so I wouldn't be stressed on Thanksgiving day. It worked great! I had Morgan help with the cranberry sauce & she did such a great job. The cranberry sauce was a new recipe I was trying & it tasted DIVINE- plus it made my house smell yummy. It was so easy & was a big hit. Hallie and Jackson helped with the cornbread dressing & crumbled up all the corn bread for me- we crumbled it up a little too much & it didn't turn out as well as I had planned, but it was still fun having them help. Brian did a great job carving the turkey and we finally used the electric knife we got for our wedding almost 9 years ago. :)
On the day of Thanksgiving, we watched the parade on the computer while I finished cooking & the kids colored the name tags- that is one of my favorite memories- all of us being quiet in the kitchen while watching the parade, & seeing the kids excitement as they saw their favorite characters in the parade.