mErRy cHriStMaS!

Here are a few pictures from Christmas day. I forgot my camera as we went from house to house so these are the pics that I got from our house. We had a great day. And as always, at the end of the day we felt overwhelmed with gratitude for all that we had received. We are spoiled.

Cookies for Santa...

Every year Kaylee insists we make our own cookies for Santa. So this year we did the cheater version, but I don't think she realized that. I bought the prepackaged cookie dough that is already rolled out in a sheet for you. The kids were able to use their cookie cutters. We threw them in the oven for 10 minutes and wha-lah! Their ya have it Santa, homemade goodness! They had fun decorating them afterwards. Kade really just had fun eating them though.

So Chritmas Eve they laid out their cookies and milk. And their friend Brock had brought them the cutest poem with some reindeer food. Since it had snowed so much I had to put on my snow boots and take the reindeer food and go out and sprinkle it on the lawn for them. They were so anxious to go to bed and await Santa. Mike and I still had a lot of wrapping to do, so it was good that they all went right to bed.

I did it...

Many of you have been following my progress on the quilt, wondering if I was going to get it done on time for Christmas. And for the record, I was able to get it all done except for the binding on the edges. I had to wait until after Christmas to post the pictures In case Sonia logged on and saw them. So here it is. This is just the top piece before we tied it.
I took all of Bill's t-shirts and turned them into a quilt for Sonia. And since I have very little sewing experience I found a website that gave me step by step instruction on how to make it.
One night a sweet lady from my ward came and help me set the quilt up on the quilting frames and tied with me for a little while as well. And yes, when it got down to crunch time, I taught Mike how to tie the quilt. I think he actually enjoyed himself. I felt bad I wasn't able to get it all finished up before Christmas but since I'm so inexperienced it took me longer then I had planned. Maybe I can recruit somebody to finish it for me. I'm glad I did it, I think she enjoyed it for the few minutes she got to see it:)

Dear Toothfairy....

After much bribery and persistence we finally talked Brayden into pulling out his tooth. It has literally been dangling in his mouth for about three weeks. He has been so nervous to pull it out (Even though this isn't his first tooth to lose.) I told him Santa wasn't coming if his tooth was still in his mouth. So yesterday he woke up and before anybody else had woken up he came running in my room yelling, "Mom, I pulled out my tooth." It was so loose it didn't even bleed. The problem was though, he set in on the counter and I didn't know it. So when I cleaned up, Mom must have thrown it away. So Brayden wrote the tooth fairy a note and put it under his pillow. He was so concerned he wasn't going to get any money cause he didn't have a tooth to leave. He was so upset. We told him the tooth fairy had X-ray tooth vision and she would be able to look for it when she came to visit him. Here is the note he left her.

He was so excited when he woke up this morning. The tooth fairy had come and left him a note in return and some money. The note said.

Brayden,
I am so proud of you for pulling out your own tooth.
I found your tooth in the garbage can last night. I
took your tooth with me and I'm going to turn it into
a special shining star.

Love the Tooth Fairy.
PS Thanks for the Note.

Bah-hum-bug! and Changing My Attitude...

The post for this should say Sunday Dec. 23. But I can't figure out how to fix it. Sorry it's driving me crazy!

"All the Whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not. The Grinch hated Christmas - the whole Christmas season. Oh, please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. Or maybe his head wasn't screwed on just right. But I think that the best reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small. "

I have had a really hard time this year getting into the Christmas spirit. I usually am crazy about all the Christmas festivities, and all their is to do. But this year I haven't wanted to do anything. I keep thinking about what I need to do different for next year. What was my problem this year? And I really think I've had too much on my plate to enjoy anything. I've brought on too many projects that need to be finished before Christmas and it's now the 23rd at 10:30 and I'm still trying to wrap them up. I guess that's what Dallin H. Oaks was talking about in his Conference talk:

Recognize the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.(Dallin H. Oaks)

The past couple of days have been good for me. My friend Brandi held a Gratitude luncheon at her home on Thursday. It was a good afternoon without kids and yummy food. She had everybody bring an item that represented something they were grateful for in 2007. It was great to hear the many different things that my friends and neighbors are appreciative of. Some of the things we sometimes take for granted everyday. It was a great time to stop and reflect.

Then today we had a great sacrament meeting program we lots of pretty songs. But in Primary is were I really was touched today (And when that happens I am REALLY grateful for it!) A class in senior primary had sharing time, and towards the end all the kids shared something that they had learned throughout the year. It was so touching to hear their thoughts and testimonies. Sundays are SO hard sometimes and hearing them bear testimony just makes it all worth it.

Then after church we went with Mikes family to the cemetery to visit his dad and take a wreath to his grave. It was nice to be their with his whole family. The kids like to go their a lot and sing Christmas carols to him and talk with him. But it was nice being there with everybody. In fact we had gone their earlier that morning and the kids sat and sang songs to him and then they each talked to him for a little while. Brayden said, "All I want for Christmas if for you to come home." And Kaylee said, "Mom, when is Jesus gonna let him come back? I don't know why he would take him away from us right before Christmas" It's so hard explaining and comforting them. But a fond memory Brayden has with his Grandpa was going to Temple square. We were able to go tonight with Brooks and Lindsay. It was a lot of fun, really cold though. Another great way to get me into the Christmas spirit. I still have a few things to do tomorrow, other then that. I think I'm ready. I truly am greatful for this Christmas season. But I am SO looking forward to the week after Christmas (Mike will be home!)

Merry Christmas!

A Day In The Life Of Kade...

I thought it would be funny to document my terror child, Kade for a day. I am always telling people how naughty he is, but here's proof. I snapped a photo of all the places he shouldn't be. The places he snuck away to when I wasn't looking. He emptied out my pots and pans and was laying down in the drawer. This one I can deal with, at least he wasn't in danger.
When Kade is either hungry or thirsty he helps himself to the dishwasher. He usually empties the dishwasher whether it's clean or dirty and throws all the dishes on the floor. The knifes can't go in the dishwasher anymore because who knows when Kade is going to get into it.
Kade LOVES the toilet. He loves throwing things in it. He loves getting the toilet brush and cleaning it. He loves splashing in it. At least when I caught him in there today he was just staring at it and getting ready to get on it.
Kade thinks he knows how to use the toilet. He goes to the bathroom in his diaper then tells me he went poop, then makes me put him on the toilet to wipe his bum. If he could just figure out you actually go to the bathroom in the toilet, my life would be a lot easier. This time apparently he just wanted to sit up there, clothes and all.
Kade loves that we have a water spout on our fridge. He is usually filling up his own cup of water. Unfortunately today he pushed the chair over to the fridge and just held down the water button. To bad you can't see the big puddle of water underneath him on the floor.

This was a new one today. I'm not sure what he wanted with the stove. I'm not thinking it's very safe though.
This is Kade's absolute favorite spot. I probably get him down from here 100 times every day. He pushes the chair over and he climbs on the counter to either get to the telephone or to get into the cupboard. I tell ya, I don't know what to do with this kid. He is hilarious. I promise I do watch him, I just cannot turn my back from him or else he is into something. Hopefully it's just a phase:)

The War is On

So awhile ago I brought up the idea to use my blog to embaress my brothers. Well I have found the perfect opportunity to do so. I'm not sure you will find the same humor I did. But my brothers are not impressed with me, they said the war is on now. The thing they don't understand is the war started along time ago when they would endlessly torment me. I've had shaving cream put on my pillow just before I would crawl into bed so when I would lay down, my face would slap down in it. When I would babysit they would crawl on the roof so I wouldn't know where they were. I've been stabbed with a pencil, choked, chased, peed on. You name it, they have done it. I just haven't ever had a way to pay them back besides by tattling and making them clean toilets when I was babysitting. The problem is it isn't a fair war...there is only one of me. They get together and plot against me. But yet they are mad about this silly little dance. They told me to "elf myself." I still think it's funny:)
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1222615351

Gender Confusion, Crazy Kids, and What Do I Do?

Mike is gonna love it that I am posting this picture. Look at this poor kid, I think he is so confused about his gender. He is wearing a dress, a cape and carrying a sword. He hangs out with Kaylee all day who wants to play Barbie's and dress-up and then Brayden gets home from school and wants to play cars, ball and swords with him. So I'm at a loss, what do I do. I don't know what to buy the poor kid for Christmas. Do I buy him a Barbie and some high heels? Or do I buy him some cars and sword. The sad thing is I think he might be more excited for a Barbie. Sorry Mike.

He has started to develop his own little personality. Some days he's the devil himself and other days he is just so sweet. I love that he is starting to talk and wanting to do things just like the big kids. He is so fun. I just went to get his pictures taken and they turned out so cute. It just reminded me that maybe he's not turning out to be the devil that I think he is. It just reminds me I need to step back and enjoy more of the "little" moments. I like this quote that was given at conference time:

Remember that it takes a lot of patience to raise a child. As precious as they are, children can be exasperating, frustrating, and sometimes even naughty. It takes a tremendous amount of patience and restraint in order to avoid doing or saying things we will later regret. Sometimes parents need to put themselves in “time-out” in order to avoid making serious mistakes. Removing yourself from the room for a minute in order to regain control is often very helpful.(Barbara Thompson)

I just thought this was a funny picture of the kids. It truly shows their personalities. They had put on our Christmas stockings for shoes and were walking around the house. Crazy Kids!
So now what to do with my little Kaylee. I need suggestions, I need feedback. She is like the Tasmanian devil when it comes to her bedroom. We can clean it spotless, organize it, cleared it out and within seconds...it's destroyed. I DO NOT know what to do. I have threatened her, Santa Claus is not coming! I have grounded her, but ya know "she is only 4 years older and 4 year old girls can't clean rooms." As a matter of fact her friend just walked into her room as I'm writing this and said "Boy Kaylee your room sure is messy." She said, "Sure is. I'll just wait my mom will probably clean it. If not maybe my Grandma will come clean it." That little brat! She knows exactly what she's doing! Santa Claus has to come to our house so I have to fix this problem I just don't know what to do. Any suggestions? Why can't parenting come with a manual?

Children are generally very accepting of their parents and the mistakes parents make. They often forgive, forget, and move on much more quickly than adults do. Don’t feel guilty. Apologize when you have made a mistake. Seek the child’s forgiveness. Change your ways and move on.(Barbara Thompson)