MY FAVOITE CHRISTMAS THINGS...........

My Eclectic Christmas Tree!

I have hundreds of ornaments. Some belonged to my mother, my grandma and my great-grandma. Some I made as little girl and some I have gathered over the years. I am quite traditional when it comes to my Christmas tree. Each ornament has something to do with Christmas, or family. I love unwrapping each ornament each year and decorating the tree. It's one of my favorite things!

Making a Gingerbread House!
I look forward to making a gingerbread house each year with the kids. We always buy different versions, and I'm thinking that next year I might try and make it from scratch, MIGHT. Of course half the candies were eaten before they even made onto the house, but the kids had fun. For some reason this year we had a hard time getting the sides to stay together. This is a prime example of why it's nice to be married to a Mechanical Engineer. My hubby drilled small holes into each side and the roof, and inserted toothpicks to hold it together. Ingenious!

Fernwood Chocolate sandwiches...........
They are a UT special! Made in the great city of Salt Lake. The BEST combo of creamy milk chocolate and smooth mint. I treat myself once a year to a box of these delectable, yummy chocolates. I must admit that once they are opened, they will be gone within a couple days!

My Christmas Village...........
I've been collecting bits and pieces for years. Each year I find a couple things to add. I fear that I have come to the end of my collection....since I no longer have room to display!

THE 2ND DAY OF CHRISTMAS

Tonight we celebrated the 2nd day of Christmas by hanging the Wreath ornament.The Wreath symbolizes Sacrifice. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior during his crucifixion. It is in remembrance of His great love and sacrifice for each of us.
Also shaped in a circle, it represents everlasting life and the unending connection of love that Jesus Christ has for each of us.

As a family activity, we made a Christmas chain. We used strips of seasonal scrapbook paper and stapled them together.
Logan said, "Look mom, I'm Rapunzel."
Silas wanted to be "Sanna."
Logan made a Christmas hat.
In the end we hung the chain in the shape of a Wreath from the light above the kitchen table so we could be reminded every day of what it means.
We read the The Tale Of The Three Trees for our Christmas story.
This is such a simple, beautiful story about how each of us may feel at some point in our life that we have been forgotten, or we've lost our way, or we've given up our dreams. In truth, we are never alone. Heavenly Father is always there watching over us, and we are here for a reason, there is a plan for each of us. Through the love and example of our Savior Jesus Christ, if we are willing to turn our lives over to Him, He will make the most of who we are and what we can become. As it says in the book, "God's love had changed everything. It had made the first tree beautiful. It had made the second tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God."

THE LIGHTS AT TEMPLE SQUARE....

Saturday we took Trax into Salt Lake to see Temple Square. I'm so awful. Sometimes I just forget to take pictures! I didn't get one picture of the kids on the train.....what was I thinking? They had such a great time, and what a simple thing to do to make their day....a train ride. I'd like to go back to my childhood some days and be so easily pleased!

The weather was absolutely perfect. We never get 50 degree weather in December in Utah....I felt like I was in an alternate universe. This was the first year I've been to Temple Square where snow didn't cover the ground. I was completely prepared...just in case. We had a double stroller, blankets, an umbrella, boots, gloves, hats, snow pants...and of course not one drop of moisture. We made the trip with Jason's brother Dustin, and his family. We ate dinner at the Blue Iguana downtown. My Chile Verde Chimichanga was delicioso and I loved their salsa. Jason ate a 5 lb burrito. Yes, you read it correct, 5 lb. burrito! After 10 years of marriage I am still amazed at the amount of food he can put away.
Look out Man Vs. Food, you have an up and coming competitor in the making! He did get a free dessert
for all his effort. Silas didn't eat much. The first thing he did when his plate arrived was promptly grab a small piece of diced jalepeno that was sitting on top of the condiments at the side of the plate and pop it into his mouth. Before I had time to tell him no, he was instantly screaming! Ahhhh, the joys of eating out with children.

My camera could never due the lights justice, so I downloaded a few pics from off the internet.

He is a family picture.Notice the nice picture! Logan is barely smiling, and Silas is making the goofiest face........here's a close up.

REALLY! We have one picture and this is what we get. Jason calls him our special needs child from this picture. He is just like his uncle Matt, who always made faces at this age!

Here are Dustin with Hatcher on his shoulders, Taska, Zailee and Emmi in the stroller. Emmi's looked so cute in her little pink beret.
Here are the kids at the main fountain/pond in front of the Temple.
Quite a beautiful nativity with the lights in the background and the reflection off the water.
I am always amazed at how beautiful the trees look all lit up. It's like a twinkling, magical Christmas garden. Every single branch of every tree is covered with lights. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of time and work that must take. It was a great family night for a stroll and an uplifting Christmas experience!

THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS.....

Tonight is the beginning of the 12 days of Christmas. We have several yearly traditions that we do for each night counting down to Christmas. First, we hang a traditional Christmas ornament on the tree and we discuss the meaning behind it and what the symbol truly represents at Christmastime. Next we do a family craft/activity, then we open the treat hidden in the advent calendar and we all gather around the Christmas tree and read a Christmas story by candlelight. Tonight, we hung the Snowflake ornament.

The Snowflake represents Individuality. We talked about how each of us have been created by Heavenly Father to be unique, different and special in our own way, just as each snowflake is different. Each of us have been born with specific talents, and strengths, and each of us have a purpose on this earth. After we talked about the meaning of the Snowflake, we made many different snowflakes and hung them on the patio door.
Once they were up, it was easy for the boys to see that no two snowflakes were the same. Every one we made may have started out the same size, but as we opened them, they saw that as we cut and shaped them, each once had a unique and distinct pattern. Next, we colored some snowflakes. Here are Logan's snowflakes. He made them each a little different as well.
After we finished the snowflakes, we opened our treats from the advent calendar and we all sat down by candlelight to read
The Little Match Girl.

Half way through the story, I had the boys take off their socks and we stepped outside and walked around in the dark on the cold patio. I asked them to imagine a life where they had no shoes, or coat, or warm house to live in. After five minutes, we happily returned to the warmth and comfort of our cozy living room. Although the story of the Little Match Girl is sad, there are two beautiful lessons in this story. The first is to recognize all our blessings and to be grateful for what we have. The second lesson is that families are forever and there is most definitely a life after our earthly existence. As Hans Christian Andersen says, "She lifted the little girl up in her arms, and they soared in a halo of light and joy, far, far above the earth, where there was no more cold, no hunger, and no pain-for they were with God."

9/18/2010 RECAP OF THE BOYS CAMPING TRIP...

CAMPING 9/18/2010

WHAT WAS THAT!

OUCH, that really hurt! What on earth did I just step on.....................

Oh, of course! Silas' hidden parking lot for his "Lighting Naqueen" cars.

THE INFAMOUS SLIP N SLIDE

In Alpine, there is a hill....an infamous hill. It is located in a triangle area between Aunt Jen's house on the left, my dad's house on the right, and Aunt Nita's house at the bottom of the hill. It has been the center of many glorious childhood memories. It is the perfect hill for sledding in the winter........and, of course, for a 100 ft. "slip n slide" in the summer. We have had many accidents, and broken bones on this hill over the years, but we are slowly adjusting. In fact, it used to be a 120 ft. slide, until someone flew off the slide, skidded across the sidewalk and hit Nita's brick house! Yes, it did happen. Now the slide is shorter, and there is a large vinyl covered styrofoam pad in front of the house when the slip n' slide is resurrected!

Here is Logan, puttering down the slide.

At the bottom, heheheheh, "wipe-out".....

Here is Jason with the boys making a train.

Surfing.....luckily he didn't fall, no broken bones or visits to the E.R. this year.