What a Busy Christmas Break!!

We have had such a busy Christmas break and it is just FLYIN' BY! We started it this way:

Oakley sang in a 4-6 grade Christmas Choir this year at the elementary. She LOVED it. (She is the one in red in the middle row.) You can't tell by the excitement on her face :) but she really did love it and they sounded SO GOOD! At their first performance I cried! I was so glad it was an outside....in the dark performance so no one could see what a baby I was!
This is our annual Hawkins FHE! We played "reindeer" games! This one was hilarious!! We also ate yummy food and had the kids dress-up to be in the Nativity.
We had a WONDERFUL Christmas full of presents, food and family! We always read the story of baby Jesus out of the bible on Christmas Eve and this year we followed it up with the Joy to the World DVD. The next morning we flew through the presents. Dallin especially....he wouldn't even get the paper completely off one before he would start on the next one. This was also the first year that Ry and I got to sit back and just watch. We have always had a baby that needed coaching in opening presents and Laiklie did her part beautifully this year!
We got to spend time a few days after Christmas with our VERY BEST FRIENDS (no photos to prove this happened) that came to visit from West Virginia.
We decided on a spur-of-the-moment decision Monday night to take our kids to SLC to see the lights at temple square. We, of course, did some swimming and hottubbing at the hotel. We got to see our Utah cousins, and we got to be "a little part" of moving Senovio (one of our workers that is fighting cancer) from the hospital to an apartment. The kids thought it was great to see him.

We spent time at the "I AM A CHILD OF GOD" exhibit in the Museum and got to see the giant Moroni that our kids love to see when we go to SLC. We also got to see the lights that we went to see. We had so much fun spending time as a family - even on such a quick trip.

We have had a great Christmas break so far and we are not looking forward to returning to school! It is always so fun to have the kids home and to spend time together reflecting of the reason we celebrate Christmas!!

My Christmas Craftiness

When I was little the thing that I HATED the very most was when my mom would give away HOMEMADE gifts, whether it be for birthdays or Christmas, I HATED it. After I got married I heard Ryan's mom make the comment once that she loved when her sisters family had their name for Christmas because she knew whatever she gave them would be homemade. Hmmmm!! It made me think about what exactly "homemade" was. Maybe my mom knew something I didn't know. I realized (as an adult) that homemade means so much more than just the "gift." When you receive something that has been homemade, alot of time, thought and love has gone into whatever it is you have been given. So, each year I like to do atleast a few homemade gifts. I really think about the person I am making for and try hard to decided what they need most, or what fits them best. Sometimes it is something simple - like a hooded towel, and sometimes it is more elaborate like a homemade boardgame (which by the way.....it SO FUN!). This year I have made just a few things - nothing hard, but as simple as it is it was made with LOVE!!

This magnet board is one I made for my sisters new house. We have her families name for Christmas - I figured Christmas/House warming gift.

These are the magnet boards I made for my nieces and nephew on Ryan's side. I thought they turned out SO CUTE! (It is hard to see in the pic how cute the colors and big foam letters really are!)

I have also sewn pillowcases and hooded towels. I have made a few vinyl signs and dehydrated a bunch of fruit to fill jars with. I have made some magnet nativities for some close friends and my VT ladies. Sometimes homemade takes a little extra time when Christmas is already so CRAZY, but I have never regretted making something with my own hands for someone I love.

And......Here is just a little something my kids made - thanks to grandma for the kit!!

Go Ahead and Share

So, alot of you have commented on my Dear Santa letter and want to copy it. You have also commented on my writing skills and abilities. Just so everyone knows I DID NOT WRITE THE SANTA LETTER!!! I am not talented at writing at all. I got it as an email last year and loved it so I kept it to post here. I didn't think anyone would assume I wrote it. I don't know who wrote it, but nobody has to give credit to me when you post it on your blogs!

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the pediatrician's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with a red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years. Here are my Christmas wishes: I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year, I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone. On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your sister," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog. If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a styrofoam container through a window in a bag with a clown on it. If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be to much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family. Well Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my daughter saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think she wants her crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.
Yours Always,
Mom
P.S. One more thing....you can cancel all of my requests if you can keep my children young enough to always believe in Santa!

What have I been up to?

So, I feel like I am behind in blogging.....so.....here is a little update. A few months ago I started babysitting my niece one day a week. It works out great that I pick her up from Kindergarten and then Rhett and Laiklie have a friend for the afternoon. A lady in my ward heard that I babysat and asked me to watch her baby 3 days a week also. Since she was willing to let me tote the baby along with me everywhere I go I decided it would be fun to have a baby in my house again.Introducing Jade! Jade is such a sweet little girl. She was born premature weighing a whoopin' 1 1/2 lbs. She will be one this month, but is still in 3/6 month clothes. She is so tiny and so much fun! You might notice the bump on her nose in the picture. It is a birthmark that the doc says will go away as she grows. They may have it removed with plastic surgery when she is older if it doesn't go away like they would like. She has the most beautiful black eyes and hair!
We have also had our family pictures taken recently. This one and the one on my sidebar are my favorites....well, atleast all 4 kids were looking in the right direction anyways.:) You mom's know how family pics go.
When we did our pictures I also had her take some of our hands so I could make this. I am going to have it printed really big to hang in my home. I LOVE IT!
We have been busy with getting ready for Christmas. We do have the tree up, but no pictures of it yet. I will post when I take some. We have 2 Christmas Choir recitals and a Christmas dance recital in the next few weeks. We have been busy, busy - like usual, and truthfully, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I LOVE this time of year. I love Fall. I love the Holidays. I love remembering to take the time to recognize my blessings. I love spending time with family and friends. I love the anticipation and excitement of Christmas. I love the feelings of once again becoming close with the Savior as we reflect on his birth and his life.

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Ryan's grandparents home. They just recently got home from their mission and so it was nice to be able to see them again. Just as we were about to leave Ry's grandma called and said that since our kids were the only great grandkids coming if they wanted to they could sit in the hot tub. So....ummmm....the vote was unanimous....it was a DEFINITE YES!!

How could you not have a good Thanksgiving spending it this way?

We also got to go to my parents new home for the evening - which is always fun! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and realize just how truly blessed we are!

The Outfit of Choice

Anybody that knows us knows that Laiklie is as stubborn as they come. She turned 3 about 2 months ago, but you would never know it by the way she acts. You would think I was dealing with a 15 year old!! She is very into clothes.....that is.....the clothes that she LIKES! She LOVES swimsuits as we all know. She LOVES dresses too. About 3 weeks ago I made all the swimsuits disappear for the winter. She has reverted to wearing dresses daily now because of it. The other day we fought for 30 minutes about wearing pants. She had on a tanktop dress and I told her that it was cold outside (20 degrees to be exact) and if she was going to wear a dress she had to wear pants or tights under it. I finally held her down and put on the tights, and she of course, ripped them off. So....she ended up wearing a pair of sweat pants, because those aren't levis. She has decided over the past couple days that any pants that aren't levis are okay. I knew there was going to be issues this morning when there were no more options but levis that were clean. So.....this is the outfit she chose to wear.

Yes, these are the exact tights that she fought me about for 30 minutes the other day. The hot pink and purple hearts look great with the cream and blue top, right?? We high 5'd this morning because she actually put something on her legs and it was no big deal, .....until.....I had to go to town. Ya, she wouldn't put a skirt over the tights, so EVERYONE in K-Mart got to see her pony panties right through the tights. How EMBARRASSING!! And this is just the fight about pants - you should hear some of the fights about her coat. :)