Christmas!!

I love Christmas and all of the sights, smells, excitement and food that goes a long with the holiday. We had a great holiday and being with loved ones and family was the best!!

Hope all of you had a great Christmas as well.

Merry Christmas!!!

Twas the night before the night before

Just some pictures of our home in celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas. May all your wishes and dreams come true in this coming year.

more activities

For Ryan's birthday we went to Salt Lake and went to the Christmas concert at the conference center. We stayed overnight and before the concert we ate at Little America. Ryan had a big juicy steak and if you can see the picture below he must have really been enjoying it because his eyes are closed. He was savoring the delectable morsel.
We then walked the 5 blocks to temple square and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the season.
The lights were beautiful and even though the night air was very frigid, the sights all around warmed us through and through. (well not really, it still was cold.)

The concert was tremendous and listening to the choir sing was quite heavenly. It was a memorable night.

December's activities

The month has flown by but we have had some very fun activities. During the first week of December we were in the Stake youth Christmas Cantata. We have been practicing with the youth since September every Sunday afternoon. The music was beautiful and we even had an orchestra from youth in the stake to accompany us. I had a horrible cough which started in November and I thought I wouldn't be able to sing but during the performance I didn't cough until the very last note.( I think I was blessed.) The youth in our stake are amazing and did a great job. At the Stake Center they had the cultural hall full of beautiful nativities and creche's from people in the stake,
I was so inspired by all of the different nativities that I went home and decided I needed more in my house. I will have to show you later the ones that I have acquired.

Aren't they great and they were all displayed so beautifully.

I especially liked the one from Africa and decided I must have one like that one as well. I am awaiting it's arrival. I can't imagine anything that brought the spirit of Christmas more than to start out December with beautiful music and Nativities representing our Savior from all over the world.

Happy Birthday Mac!

Today is my Christmas baby's birthday. We came home on Christmas eve and enjoyed what it was like to have our very own little one for Christmas.
Have a very Happy Birthday!
We love you Mac!

Santa has been busy!!!

It seems like this month has just zipped by. Then I thought of all that I have been doing and then it seems like maybe I have accomplished something. I brought a hat into someone at work and one hat led to the next and the next and etc.
So, then I knew why the month has zipped by.

It's almost over! I just have two more to do, unless of course someone else wants one.

What is Thanksgiving?

Is it the Food?

After thinking about that question I came to the conclusion that it is all about the family. If you were to eat your Thanksgiving meal all by yourself it wouldn't mean very much. But sharing it with those you love makes all the difference.

We had a great day on turkey day this year because every last one of our family was here to celebrate. Our house was full but oh, it was so fun! Even my Mom and Dad came up to be with us and we are so grateful for Grandma and Grandpa Great!

Our family has grown over the years and the more we get, the funnier our family pictures have become. Have you ever tried to take a picture with 10 kids under the age of 8? I actually thought they turned out great and the weather cooperated and Mary's Dad was able to come and snap some great shots! By the time we got to the grand kid pictures though they had just about had enough and were ready to go in and eat!

So, is Thanks giving about the food? We spend all of that time preparing those foods that remind us of the holiday but I think even without the food, just being together would be enough.

We had many helping hands so our food was terrific! Even the smells coming from the kitchen were enough to fill you up.

The turkey, the ham, the stuffed mushrooms, the stuffing, the potatoes and gravy, the rolls and the pies. We had enough to last several days and it was good that we had enough people to eat all of the leftovers.

I had a great helper in the kitchen this year, her name is Livy and she wanted to help with everything I did. She actually did a great job and was a very good assistant. Sometimes I wish I could sit on the counter with my bare feet and underwear and cook to my hearts content.

So Grandma with her feet ice cold in the snow,

Stood puzzling and puzzling:

"How could it be so?"

Thanksgiving came without ribbons! It

came without tags!
It came without packages,

boxes or bags!"

And she puzzled three hours, till

her puzzler was sore.

Then Grandma thought of

something she hadn't before!

"Maybe Thanksgiving,"

she thought, "Doesn't come from a

store.

Maybe

Thanksgiving... perhaps...means a

little bit more.