New Years Eve

We headed up to Papa and Mama's and had a ton of food and played games.It was fun to hang out and just chill for the night.  We keep it low key and I like it that way.  Jeron and Papa watched football while mama, Emma, JJ, and I played games will the littles ran wild. 

I don't know what happened but at one point Papa and Mama decided to chance each other around the kitchen table and tickle each other.  The kids thought it was hilarious.  I'll have to say I thought it was hilarious. 

Well the ball is about to drop the kids run and get mama and papa's pans and spoons so they can run outside and bang them.  They love to do that and it is such an easy tradition.  I just always hope when the ball drops that I will get a kiss from my lover.  This year did not disappoint. 

Year In Review 2011

This is a post that helps me to quickly find what has happened in the year.  If you are a regular on this blog then just skip it because it is stuff you already know, if not read on.
January we spent Lucy's first birthday with her at mama and papa's house and also papa turned 59.  Elsie and Lucy just love each other to bits and pieces.  Elsie is now saying the cutest things and weirdest things.  Love her.  Megan and Chris get hitched.  This is Jeron's oldest and first niece to get married.  Grandma Jan and Grandpa Gene took the littles so that Jeron and I could have a weekend together.  We went up to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival.  We saw Ross the Intern from Jay Leno and he came out and took pictures with us.  I have experienced my first bought with winter blues.  The kids had crazy hair day and crazy they looked.
February  We moved our TV room into the room over the garage.  This turned into our family cave and we hardly every came out.  Elsie had her first Valentine Party.  She loved getting so much candy.  The kids all had excellent report cards and we found out that Krispy Kreme and Tasty's give away free donuts for every "A".  The good graded paid off.  The kids love spending time with daddy, especially when he is a hoarse of course.  Ellie can get through any child lock we put on our pantry and it is really causing havoc for me.  Especially when she spills the eggs or the butter.  Emma and JJ made Valentine boxes for their classes.  JJ's was a robot and Emma's was a mailbox.  They were darling.  On Valentine's we showered the kids with love and they got spoiled by grandparents.  We had heart shaped food all day long.  LOVE!  JJ lost two teeth in one night.  JJ turns the big 11 this year.  Crazy to think he will soon be a Deacon. JJ had a family party and had a blast.  Ellie decides to give me a heart attack and wonders off.  She was missing for about 20 mins. before I realized it.  Our wonderful neighber found her and brought her back.  PURE TERROR.
March We had the dreaded "talk" with JJ.  Afterwards he sat for a minute and said "Do you think they will find a cure for that."  hahahaha I sure hope not.  We let JJ babysit and the girls wanted makeovers while we were gone.  They looked pretty crazy.  Emma turns 9 and is turning into a lady.  Elsie loves to help with the dishes but only does it with all her clothes off, except her undies.  Silly girl.  We have a family party for Elsie and Emma.  Elsie turns three...our baby is three. We took her and Ellie to build a bear.  Elsie loved all of her presents so much she put them in a circle in our living room for everyone to see.  Ellie and Emma get their hair chopped off.  They both look darling.  JJ has the best birthday party ever with friends.  He did the Amazing Race and it really was a blast.  Poor Elsie had to get shots and they HURT.  Emma had her friend party.  It was a trip around the world.  It was so much fun and last 6 hours.  Woosh.  Thanks to all who helped out on both parties.  Ellie had a paint day at school to paint the sets for her Opera.  She had a blast.  Elsie got pictures taken by my cute neighbor and I love them.  JJ is now officially a boy scout.  Elsie had playgroup here and she just loves having all her friends here...except maybe the sharing part. 
April I took the kids to temple square to see all the sights down there.  It was a wonderful day.  The sun decided to peak out for a minute so we went to the Lagoon trail and rode bikes and walked around.  Loved it.  So, I still am in love with my feet and pictures still pop up now and then of just my feet.  This time I wrote about it on someones blog.  JJ and Emma went to BYU for a Spanish Competition and did excellent.  Their school took second place.  Ellie had her opera.  She was a mermaid in it.  She knew every word and sang out with all she had.  DARLING.  We colored eggs as a family.  There are getting to be a lot of eggs.  We had a wonderful Easter spent with family.  I took pictures of Elsie at the park and you can see her mood change from happy to sad throughout the time.  Many moods for that one.  Emma had her school program and did a great job in Dreams Take Flight.  Jeron and I went to a murder mystery dinner.  We had a great time playing Lei'd to Rest hosted by Misty Hales.
May   I had an ah ha moment and was reminded that Christ loves me no matter what.  It takes a few spills and tears to remember sometimes.  I started a blog of just the crafts that I do so I no longer will have to take posts out if I ever decide to make a book of my blog.  We celebrated Mother's and had a great day.  We even talked to Uncle Michael. We had our final playgroup at our home for the school year.  We played grocery store one last time.  The YW asked me to disguise myself and go to the mall for the YW.  I will have to say I look a lot like Marj in her wig.  Ellie had her end of year program for Kindergarten.  We went to Farmington Trail and had a blast hanging out.  JJ, Daddy, and Emma worked really hard to get our kite up in the wind.  It sure was fun to watch.  David and me took the littles to the Tree House Museum.  They loved it. 
I have started taking Photo's of the Day.  It is 365 days in pictures of everyday things.  So far I love doing it.  The treadmill crashed down on Elsie and JJ.  It was so scary but everyone is okay.  POTD still going strong.  Elsie fell off of the bar stool in the kitchen and got a horrible black eye.  She still has a dimple from the trauma to her face.  JJ had a field trip to the Zoo with his 5th grade class and the little girls and I tagged along.  Emma was also their with her 3rd grade class.  We had a lot of fun.
June  Maren and Lucy are in town so we did a lot of fun things.  The first was Wheeler Farm.  The kids loved it but it was so windy.  Next we headed to Thanksgiving Point Gardens.  It was beautiful.  Then we went to the children's garden their.  It was a lot of fun for the kiddos.  Elsie loves to color the sidewalks.  Jeron and I took our kids to Ponds Park for some fishing.  It was quite and experience.  Paige and Elsie decided to put makeup ALL over their faces making them purple people eaters.  Elsie and Lucy put on lip gloss. It looks like they both share a love of "lips".  We took all the kiddos to Castle Park.  It was a bit hard with three littles.  I bought a swimming pool and the little girls including Lucy had a blast.  We did that a lot and the girls loved it.  The Clark's let us come and swim at their house.  It was really nice.  We threw a surprise shower for Maren while she was here with the Monson side.  We headed up to the Cabin and had an open cabin party.  You should have seen the creek.  It was crazy wicked.   Father's day was great.  Daddy got a candy gram.  Maren and I took the kids to Cherry Hill.  Mini golfing is not for the Meads' family.  The kids wanted a sleepover.  Where better than the cabin.  Daddy turns the big 3-5.  Emma keeps getting bloody noses.  For Jeron's birthday we played tennis at the park.  Ellie is going to summer school and gets to ride the bus.
July Grandma Jan and Grandpa Gene got a boat this year.  It felt so good to get back on the water.  We had a neighborhood get together shooting off fireworks.  It was a BLAST.  We had a great 4th of July with family.  We did the usual parade and Davis Fireworks. Baby Mac was born.  Wonderful addition to our family.   If you see Elsie you most likely will see Paige.  They are always together.  I had a night of dancing in the rain.  On 7-11 we went to 7-11 and got free Slurpee's.  Mmmmm.  Elsie loves to do my hair.  She is often found with a brush or comb coming towards my long mane.  JJ headed to DC with my parents to visit the Vogels.  We went to Harry Potter premier with miss Emma.  The little ladies, Brynn, and me went to the Drive in.  We went boating at Rockport.  It was a blast.  I turned 35...ouch.  We celebrate pioneer day and went to the cabin with family and friends.  We took the kids on a mini vacation to Lava Hot Springs and Park City.  It was great to get away. 
August  The little ladies made caterpillars with pom poms and played forever with them. We love heading up to Pineview.  We love just hanging out.  Ellie had to get her warts removed and it hurt her pretty bad.  Poor baby.  We made a slip 'n' slide with painters plastic.  The whole neighborhood had a blast.  We went to Pineview with our neighborhood friends.  Elsie and Ellie got new beds.  I just love the way their room looks now.  JJ is such an artist.  He did his first portrait and did amazing.  All during the summer Grandpa Gene would stop by and visit the kids on his way home from work.  They loved this.  The school posted up teachers and the kids got to find out who they had in their class.  Emma was so excited.  She was finally with Baylee again.  We received an unexpected surprise in the mail.  One of Uncle Carl's friends sent Ellie and the rest of the kids a package.  They were overjoyed.  We got the slip 'n' slide out so dad could see how fun it was.  It ended up calling all the BIG boys over to play.  Jeron and the neighborhood men had a blast.  We had our second annual back to school fashion show for the kids.  School is in session.  It is just Boo and me home now.  I miss my kiddos.  They are getting so old.  6th, 4th, and 1st.  Where has the time gone?  Our neighbors the Ottesons had us go with them Girls only to a Tea Party at Gardner Village.  It was a lot of fun for the little ladies. 
September   We spent labor day weekend up at the cabin with mama and papa.  It was a great time.  We headed to Park City for our Anniversary.  This year is lucky 13 and lucky it was.  Little did we know a new addition to our family  began that weekend.  It really was a great weekend.  Emma and I went to see Mary Poppins.  It was practically perfect in every way.  We had a wonderful time.  Jana and I realized we could actually get together this year because for the first time we don't have conflicting schedules due to weird school issues.  Plus, I get to spend one on one time with boo which I love.  We made our first outing to Gardner Village.  We lucked out because the witches were out.  This was the first byu vs UTAH game that was played in September in my lifetime.  It felt very weird.  I felt like I should be getting Christmas out soon.  Yet it was only September.  Utah slaughtered byu to put it mildly.  JJ has been taking Ellie to school in the bike trailer.  He is such a good big brother.  In 6th grade the kids get to launch rockets.  This year JJ did his.  It was pretty spectacular.  We all went to watch.  It was an awesome show.  JJ's even hit a house. 
October  Miss Ellie turns 7.  She is getting so old.  The Vogel's and us welcomed a new little baby boy into the family.  I flew out to meet my nephew Benjamin.  He is a cutie.  I was so sick though I wasn't much use to Maren.  I have horrible morning sickness.  The school finally did a parade at school for Halloween.  We took the kids to Pack's Pumpkin Patch.  Then we created our amazing Jack-o-lanterns.  Halloween was a blast.  JJ was a mad scientist.  Emma was Mary Poppins.  Ellie was a witch.  Elsie was a cheerleader.  Cute kiddos.  Mama and papa had amazing costumes again.  They looked great as Little Red Riding Hood and The big bad wolf.
November  Emma and JJ brought home perfect report cards again.  They really do excel in school.  Jeron and I are very fortunate to have such smarty pants.  My friend and I are doing personal year books in Ellie's class.  They are turning out so cute.  The problem is I am so sick it is hard to want to go and do them.  Emma's bestest friend in this world Baylee Bouck is moving to Idaho.  It is a sad day for our little miss.  Ellie burned her arm trying to get dinner out of the oven.  That was a close call.  Elsie and Paige are so cute to see together.  I did my annual Thanksgiving post and Diet Coke was replaced by glorious MILK.  We had a very small gathering but delicious meal at Mama and Papa's for Thanksgiving.  It was a great time.  We took the kids to see a movie and when we came out we headed to Santa's village to see Santa.  We got our Christmas tree up.  This year I don't have a lot in me so the family did it without me moving off the couch.  Ellie decided to walk home from school during the middle of the day.  Scared me too death. 
December  We survived our first natural disaster.  A wicked hurricane type wind wiped through Davis County at 100+mph.  It tore up trees, broke homes, ripped down fences, bent basketball stands in half.  It was insane.  The little girls could often be found under the tree playing with the nativity.  We had our cookie party with Mama and Papa and made awesome ginger bread houses.  The guilt has set in on how much TV poor boo is watching due to me being so sick.  JJ did his play DIG IT and did a great job.  I threw my back out lifting Ellie.  Miserable.  We went and saw A Christmas Carol with mama and papa.  It was amazing.  We had our first baking party with The Snow women.  It was really fun.  Grandpa John turns 69 and we have a party for him at Julie's.  The extended Meads family had our annual Christmas get together.  It was nice to see everyone.  We have been doing A Christ Centered Christmas in our home and love the difference it makes in December.  We went and saw the temple square lights. We did our first Minivan Express and it was a ton of fun.  The kids loved it.  We did a baking night also.  We had a lot of family fun.  On Christmas Eve we talked to Uncle MIchael and then David came over.  Then Grandpa and Tara, Jeff, and Mac came over.  We had our Christmas party with all of them.  Christmas was wonderful.  The kids were so excited.  They loved it all.  We spent time with Mama and Papa and with Grandma and Grandpa.  It was all magical.  We just love Christmas time.

We have had an amazing year.  We kept things a little more low key but it was still filled with so many wonderful memories.  Here's to 2012.  May it bring us all much happiness.

Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa

The festivities on Christmas continued when we headed down to Grandpa Gene's and Grandma Jan's. There is always tons of family at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  It is fun to see everyone and hear what everyone got for Christmas.  Grandma always puts on a huge dinner.  We had roast, potatoes, veggies, salads, rolls, and it was all really good.  The kids played and had a great time.  Jeron and Jeff were not there the whole time because Grandpa Gene bought an XBox and Madden.  That is a dangerous combination with Snow Men.  Jeff and Jeron played Madden all night long.  They really did miss out on all the fun we were having downstairs.  Courtney and Kylie were our entertainers.  They played a ton of those "teenage" games where you have to figure out what the common thing is.  It was a lot of fun.  The broom dance had to be my favorite though.  Seeing everyone dance with the broom was hilarious.  Ellie especially loved it too.

After all the games we finally pried the fellas away from Madden to come and open presents.  The cousins exchanged gifts and that was a lot of fun for them.  Grandma and Grandpa went all out again with gifts.  JJ got Amazon gift cards, go figure that Santa would help Grandma get him what he needed.  Then Emma received Madame Alexander's Cowardly Lion.  He is absolutely adorable.  Emma loves him.  Ellie got her very own suitcase for her Barbie's and for when she comes to visit Grandma.  She was thrilled.  Elsie go a Minnie Mouse scooter.  She was in heaven.  It even lights up.  I will have to say it was a success.  The cousin gifts were all so fun and I am glad my kids had  little bit of what I grew ups with...cousin gifts. 

We always have a great time and we love when everyone can be their.  We really did miss Taylor who had to work.  We ended the night talking with Courtney and Kylie about high school, jr. high drama.  It was a great evening.

I can't believe Christmas is over.  It really was a special season this year.  I hope next year is just as wonderful.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. 

Christmas Morning with Mama and Papa

Christmas is always a very busy day for us. We wake up early, open presents, and hurry of to Mama and Papa's house for the celebration to continue. This year though was Christmas Sunday. (my favorite)  This makes for an even crazier day because then we have to get ready for church and go. I will have to say though that having Christmas on Sunday is my favorite. especially when we get to attend the amazing program that my mom puts on in her ward. This year did not disappoint. The choir sang like angels and all of the speakers did a great job. My favorite song had to be When Joseph Went to Bethlehem. They sang with such power and conviction. The organist/pianist plays amazingly, and he played with such power that you could feel it in your lungs. We really were spoiled with a concert that people would pay top dollar for. (only we got it for free)I always feel the spirit so strong through song, and this Christmas did not disappoint.  It truly was spectacular. 

After church we took our Christmas Pics in our Sunday best

Love these kids

Mama and Papa

After pictures it was time to eat and then presents.  This year was a bit different than normal.  Well, first off we were the only ones there.  WEIRD!  And, we were so hungry after church that we skipped presents and went straight to breakfast.  We love Christmas breakfast.  We have eggs, bacon, orange rolls, blue berry muffins, hash browns, orange juice, and it all just tastes so yummy.  It is because it is made with Christmas love.  Haha.  This year was amazing and there was plenty to go around.  I guess that is one bonus to it just being us.  We didn't have to fight over the last orange roll, or the last peace of bacon.  Okay, I'd rather the fight if it meant they could all be here.  Next we opened presents.  JJ got a rocket an launcher, and paint supplies.  He was thrilled.  I really need to ask my dad what to get him next year.  He seems to know what he wants because they both have the same kind of brain.  Emma got a darling outfit for her American Girl dolls and earrings.  This has become the tradition that they get her an amazing outfit for her doll.  Ellie got clothes and dolls for her Loving Family house.  She was thrilled.  Elsie got a baby doll that was so silly.  It laughed and laughed every time there was motion.  She also got two darling outfits.  All the kids seemed very excited to get what they got.  Jeron and I received our usual fat check that we so much appreciate.  Now it was time for Mama and Papa.  They had quite the presents for each other.  It is always funny to hear the weird names they write on each others cards.  My dad gave my mom the Little people nativity so a lot of his tags said From:  Your donkey

To:  My sheep

At first we were a bit nervous about the animal theme until we realized why they did it.  

I will have to say that my sibling were sorely missed, simply because we could use some buffering during the on slot of  gift giving between mom and dad.  It is cute how much they want to spoil each other but boy is it LONG.  I even napped during and still woke up to more unwrapping.

We sure missed everyone but we did have a fabulous day.  Mama and Papa always seem to make the day special.  Even in the absence of everyone it was wonderful.  We did skype with the Vogel's and it was fun to see the little munchkins faces.  Thanks goodness for skype.

Christmas Morning

At about 4:45 JJ came in so excited he couldn't stand it. We of course told him to get in our bed and go back to sleep. We asked him to just wait until the girls woke up. He was a bit bummed but Jeron and I didn't dose off until 2:00am. Well, this wasn't really the best plan because about 15 minutes later the little ladies came waltzing in.  Jeron and I had no power at this point. The Christmas magic was pulling us out of bed.  And the kids knew they had this to look forward too.

Every Christmas morning we get up and read Luke II.  This year we sang Joy to the World first, then read the scriptures, and talked about baby Jesus.  Then I gave Elsie the last piece to put in the manger.  She was so excited that she got to place baby Jesus in the manger.  We lined the kids up from youngest to oldest and then it is time to enter the magical world that Santa has made during the night. 

Each of the kids had a great time.  It was fun to watch them open their presents.  

JJ only had two presents from Santa but that didn't seem to matter at all.

As so as he opened his Kindle Fire that Santa brought you couldn't wipe the smile off of his face.

He later told me he almost cried he was so happy.

Elsie loved everything she opened but she had a bit of a hard time watching Ellie open her presents.

It just happened that Ellie opened everything first and so Elsie would say, "But I asked Santa for that." (spoiled much?)

She did settle down though and after realized that she got everything she wanted. 

Ellie was thrilled with everything.

She was so excited to get her Barbie's and couldn't wait for it to all be out off the box.

I love how easy it is to make her happy.

Emma was the most excited this year.

She opened her first present from Santa and you would have thought it was a million dollars

When really it was just a Taylor Swift CD

She brought the house down though when she opened her American Girl doll "Emily"

We love how much joy the kids have on Christmas morning.  We finished up around 6:30 so mommy headed back to bed for a little bit before we had to get ready for church.  I will have to say this morning was a success.  The kids were so excited.    There is nothing better than squealing of little kids when they see Santa came. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

The MIRACLE was a tiny baby.

The GIFT was perfect love.

The PROMISE is salvation.

Christmas Eve...the night of anticipaion.

Christmas Eve is one of the best nights of the year. This is the time that is just our family. During the holidays you are often being pulled this way and that way but on Christmas Eve we get to settle down and just hang out.

We start the festivities off with a family dinner. Jeron always is the one to pick the menu since this is his favorite part. This year we had ham, funeral potatoes, and rolls. (There was suppose to be a salad but I ran out of steam)

After dinner we head into the family room for our usual.  We turn on Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven and watch Luke II on silent.  The lyrics go perfect with the video and it is a very touching thing to watch.  After that we open our pajamas.  

I was so excited to find matching pajamas for everyone. 

They even had adult ones that next year I just might get.

The kids have a little photo shoot in front of the tree.

Then we do a family picture.  Love this pack.

Then we all get snuggled in on the couch and watch a Christmas movie.  This year it was A Christmas Story.  After the movie we read Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Usually during this moment a bell will ring and we know that Santa is near.

The kids rush to get their teeth brushed and hurry into bed.

They all sleep in the same room.

I love hearing all the giggles and squeals of delight.  

This year though, those squeals went on a little longer than normal.

Our kids had a really hard time falling asleep and it turns out JJ was keeping them all awake, so unfortunately JJ had to move back to his bed. 

The girls were asleep in a matter of minutes. 

Then it was prep time.

Jeron and I watch a movie, this year it was Christmas Vacation.

Love that show.  

We finally rolled into bed around 2am.

We love Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve with Elder Michael, David, and then Grandpa

Our Christmas Eve was filled with family. First we got to talk to Elder Meads for three hours. It was really nice to hear from him. I sure do miss that kid. He sounded great. The whole family was on the phone so it was nice to hear from everyone. Maren and I feel that our girl voices can't be heard above all the deep male voices in our family. It was crazy to hear David, Smitty, and Michael talk. It was hard to tell them apart. Elder Meads made a funny statement about the XBox and how his mission has made him miss it. hahahaha. He hasn't changed all that much. Then again, he has matured and you can hear it when he talks about the special parts of his mission.

Then David stopped by and dropped off our Christmas present. He got us a gift card and an awesome knife. I felt awful because I still hadn't gotten his present and didn't realize that he was coming by. I'll get on that. It was good to see him since we never do anymore.

We always get together with Grandpa on Christmas Eve day.  Sometimes it is at his house but in the last few years it has been at ours.  This year Jeff, Tara, and Mac came with him.  It was fun and made it feel more like a Christmas celebration.   The kids love it because they get to open an awesome present before Christmas.

JJ loved his watch.  Emma was excited with her new clothes.  Ellie couldn't be happier with her new Barbies and Elsie was so elated to have a Wedding Dress Barbie with the Groom.  It is fun to have baby Mac here.  Elsie just adores him, as do the rest of us. 

Baking Night

Jeron decided that we needed to have a baking night.  Since I have not had a very good relationship with food the last 3 months this was a bit of a daunting task for me.  Jeron tried to make it as easy as possible.  He brought up a chair for me to sit on while I made the food, which helped a lot.   We made Chex party mix, and sugar cookies to have on Christmas eve.  He helped out a lot at first but when it came time to make the sugar cookies he disappeared.  Hmmmm, whats that about.  The kids stuck with me to the bitter end though. 

Right when we put the first batch in I realized that Jeron was in the basement.  His Christmas present was hidden in the basement.  I FREAKED out, ran down stairs and it looked like he had maybe seen it.  I was so upset.  I knew that he would love his present and I finally got him something he didn't know about.  He swears he didn't see it...but I have my doubts.  Then after FREAKING out I remembered the cookies.  I slightly burned the first ones and yes, I might have cried a little bit over it.  There is nothing worse than making the dreaded sugar cookie and burning a batch of your hard efforts and work. 

The kids assured me that they would still eat them so I guess the tears were unneeded.  They are sweet to worry about my silly feelings. 

I am glad that Jeron suggested that we have a baking night.  I hope we continue this in the future. 

I wish we had a picture of Jeron but he really was MIA most of the time.  He did successfully clean the basement though. 

The Minivan Express

I found the cutest idea on Pinterest...or someone found it and I repinned it, anywho, It was to take the kids on a Polar Express minus the train. You simple make a ticket for each kid, place it on their bed while they are getting ready for bed.

Then you prepare Hot Chocolate, and popcorn and go put it in your van and start it so it is nice and warm for the kiddos.  Make sure there is Christmas music playing when they get in. 

It was so fun.  Jeron got them ready for bed and we said family prayers and then sent them off to bed.  They were so excited to find their tickets.  On the way done the stairs Elsie said "We are going on an adventure!"  That made it all worth it.  The kids got in the van, found their treats and more squeals of delight came. 

It really was a lot of fun.  We drove all over Farmington, Kaysville, and Fruit Heights and just looked at house lights.  We actually got lucky because FM100 was playing their 100 hours of Christmas Music and it started just an hour before we left.  Worked out perfect.  It  really was a great time, and best of all it was a wonderful memory that cost nothing.  Love it. 

Temple Square Lights

This year when we went to see the Temple lights we went with another idea in mind. We decided to seek out Christ just like the Wise Men did. So our first stop was the nativity. The kids loved watching it light up. They loved the star but most of all they loved the baby Jesus. We had great intentions of going up to see the Statue of Christ but the line was out of control so we just looked from the window. There really isn't a prettier place at Christmas time.  The lights were amazing. 

We almost bagged it when we couldn't find parking but I am really glad we held out.

The colors were amazing, and the kids love it.

Elsie asked if we could go inside the temple and see Jesus.  How sweet is she.

It is funny because every year we dread going and fighting the crowds and staying warm, but every year we walk away loving every minute of it.  This year we went up into the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to look out the windows.  It is spectacular from up there.  Now it feels a little more like Christmas.

We are having A Christ Centered Christmas

Last year I was introduced to this book by my relief society president. She did an entire lesson on this book. After the lesson I was determined to go and get it. I didn't realize the impact it would have on our holiday traditions. It has helped change the atmosphere in our home at Christmas time.  We take every Monday night from Thanksgiving on talking about one person or persons in the nativity.  We only display the people we have talked about.  Mary was our first.  We talked about her and then we place her in the nativity and she sits alone for the whole week.  Then Joseph was next.  He gets added in and so on and so on until on Christmas we finally place the most important piece in our special nativity.  Jesus comes on Christmas. 

At first I kind of thought it was sad that Jesus isn't there the whole time.  I had to remind myself that we have two other nativities in the home that Jesus is in.  Then the magical moment came when I overheard Elsie telling her friend in the most excited tone "Come and see our nativity.  Do you know who isn't there?  Baby Jesus!  He comes on CHRISTMAS.  I can't wait until CHRISTMAS so JESUS can come." She didn't say I can't wait for Santa, she said she can't wait for JESUS.  Now don't get me wrong, we love Santa.  In fact two of Santa's elves live at our home all through the month of December.  I just really wanted the focus to shift ever so slightly.  Each one of my kids have asked me if can we have family night early so we can learn about the next person.  Each of our family nights have been so touching and have brought us closer together.  That is what Christmas should be about.  I love watching their testimonies of Him grow as we celebrate His birth.  Santa is just icing on the cake now.  Jesus is what we focus on and we are loving it. 

I too can't wait for Christmas so that Jesus can be placed in our nativity and we can learn the most important story of them all. 

Meads Christmas Party

It was fun to see everyone when we got to the part.  There is getting to be so many great grandchildren.  It is neat to see my Granddaddy and Nana's posterity getting so big.   We found out that we were an hour late and that everyone waited for us.  OOPS!  We thought it was at 6:00pm but it started at 5:30.  It was nice of them to wait for us.  After we were done eating a very yummy dinner we all headed down stairs.  We went around the circle and got caught up on everyone's life.  It was great to find out what everyone was up too. 

Hanging out with Mama.  At one point we sent Emma to go find Ellie because she was so quiet we didn't even notice her sitting on Mama's lap.

Look at all those great grandchildren!  JJ is the oldest great grandchild.

This is only the ones in Utah minus one.

There are 17 great grandchildren out of state, and three on the way...that I know of..

Awesome!

A memorable of the night happened to Emma.  She was eating a chewy caramel when she noticed something weird in her mouth.  Her loose tooth came out.  It was hilarious.  Here is Emma holding a tooth.

My poor dad was only feet away and missed getting to hear the crack that he loves so much.

Sorry Papa, better luck next time.

Missed all those that couldn't make it...especially ALL of my siblings.

Grandpa John turns 69

Tonight we celebrated Grandpa John's birthday. He is the BIG 69. Only a year until 70. Yikers. We had a great time.  It was fun to spend time with all the family.  It has been a long time since that happened.

The boys in the family.

Numbers are getting up there.

It is now seven girls to three boys.

Elsie with Mac.  She just loves this little guy.  Who can blame her, he is adorable.

All the cousins minus Taylor and Megan

Grandpa with his kiddos

Julie and Jennifer did a great job pulling off the party.  

Happy Birthday John.

Baking with the Ladies...and a few gents

Tara sent an email a few weeks ago asking to start a new family tradition of getting together to make goodies for the families. I thought it was a great idea. I have always wanted to do something like this. Good for her for implementing the idea. We all got together at her house to bake, bake, bake. Originally it was just going to be the girls but Mac and Brock really wanted in on the fun so they came too. The fellas all went and played basketball and hung out.

While they hung out we got our baking on.  We made a lot of treats some yummy and some, well, not.  I totally forgot to put salt in my cinnamon rolls so they tasted awful.  Everyone had a great time though.  That's what matters most...right!?! 

Elsie and Brock had a hay day in the flour.  Yikes, where are their parents.  I am still having guilt for letting her do it.  It was just too cute to see them playing together in the flour.  Poor Tara and her kitchen.  (I haven't forgotten that I owe you a bag of flour.)  All the girls pitched in and helped a ton.  Emma pretty much did the cinnamon rolls herself.  I felt bad that she put so much work into the cinnamon rolls and her prego momma forgot the salt. 

Here is what you get when the kids have had way too much sugar.

Still darling.

We can't wait until next year.

Aprons for sure!