The end of November I was charged with the undertaking of our Ward Christmas Party. Under different circumstances (i.e. older kids, not being Primary Secretary, not helping out at Eli's school etc...) I probably would have really enjoyed this. As it was, it was, by and large, time consuming-time which I had little to share. At any rate, me, and two other ladies in the ward, pulled it off, spectacularly if I do say so myself! We chose to go with the theme Keeping Christ in Christmas, managed to feed over 300 people, and kept the program short and sweet while still meaningful by sharing the different meanings/legends of the Symbols of Christmas.
I was also busy with getting all the binders, class lists, birthday list, lesson schedules...(you get the idea) ready for the new year in Primary. Of course, it's never good enough for me to just print something off and call it good. I prefer to put some effort into it, make it look nice, and try to have things organized for the teachers. Whether I pulled that one off or not...well it's done I guess, so that's what counts at this point.
Eli had her typical month in school-she maintains 100% on all of her tests and her teacher has labeled her as one of the peacemakers in the class; she doesn't involve herself in the "girly drama" (yet). I'm pretty proud of her and how well she does! One of our big focuses, besides doing well scholastically, is being a friend to everyone, even those who cause trouble or those who struggle socially. Eliana is a special little girl who has a strong hold to the Iron Rod and typically has an easy time choosing the right. It's a blessing having her, especially as an older sister for Olivia.
Livi had a week longer in school than Eli and, for her, that was a real treat. She enjoyed going to school while Eli HAD to stay home. Livi has also been coming in to Primary as she is now one of the new Sunbeams-she LOVES primary! She's always been a little singer, so naturally singing time is her favorite time. 2 weeks ago the primary was singing her favorite song, I Am a Child of God, and when they were done the chorister got after the primary because ONE little girl was out singing ALL of them. Sister Jenkins asked if they knew who that ONE girl was and Livi raised her hand and said, "Me"! So she got to choose the next song (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). Of all the things Livi is, shy and quiet is not one of them. She managed to pick up Strep in the midst of everything this month, which led us to finding out she's allergic to penicillin, just like Eli and me. It only knocked her down for a couple of days and she's back to normal again. I enjoy watching the differences shine so bright between my girls, both have such amazing strengths!
Shad. Poor guy! He is such a rough teether. He's been working on his top two front teeth for a few weeks and they finally broke through the week of Christmas. With all that teething has come the fussing, crabby, no sleep, hold me baby. It makes the days (and nights) long more often than not but I just can't help but hold and love him. He's had a type of cold for a while and we finally took him in-turned out he had a double ear infection and sore throat to go with all his runny nose/wheezing stuff. After a few doses of breathing treatments and beginning a round of amoxicillin (let's hope he's not allergic) he's doing better. He turned 9 months on Christmas Day; he is a climber and can scale the stairs with ease (yikes!). He can also stand without any help and took his first step yesterday. Not long now and he'll be walking!
Christmas was highly anticipated this year by everyone here. Even though I felt like I hardly had time to sit I managed to decorate our house, which is one of my favorite things this time of year. I didn't get the time to do chocolates and fudge like normal though *sad face!* We sort of started a new tradition last year by letting the girls pick out the Christmas tree and decided we'd stick with it. They picked out a beautiful one! And the tree lot guy liked them so much he gave them their own 3 foot tree, too!
Christmas Week-We started it at my parent's house on the 22nd, having a fun night with everyone but the Johnson's :( . The next day we visited Sandy's grandparents, said goodbye to my folks when they left for WA to visit Lacy and Jer, then went to a cookie decorating party. Christmas Eve was spent with Sandy's side of the family (or rather, those that showed up). It's always so fun catching up with everyone! After dinner and visiting we drove home to spend Shad's first Christmas, and our 1st Christmas in our new home, at home. Sandy and I just barely beat the girls awake Christmas morning. Santa left his gifts out, unwrapped, which was thoughtful since we planned on going to church that day as well. So the girls and Shad got a little fun in that morning, we went to Sacrament meeting, came home and opened the rest of the presents. It was actually pretty fun doing it that way; it helped spread things out quite a bit. We were all spoiled and had an absolutely perfect day.
My birthday (the 26th)- was MUCH better than last year's "momentous" turning 30. Last year, being pregnant, sick, having a hurt back, moving, and the day landing on Sunday...let's just say there's been better birthdays. This year was great! I didn't do any of my primary stuff (yay!) got what I wanted (woohoo!) and Sandy even made my cake again this year.~~~He won't like me sharing this but I have to (remember, for my sake). He's made my cake for the past couple of years now and has gotten pretty good. I love german chocolate cakes and this particular recipe has frosting baked IN the batter...SO GOOD! This year he was so proud of himself for remembering to get the mix and frosting all by himself, he was a flurry in the kitchen only to have his first kitchen EPIC FAIL. The cake wasn't at all what he wanted it to be. Portions were still edible and honestly quite good but he plans to attempt it again. Why did I share that? I've never had a cake be so special!! It was probably my favorite thing that day simply because he tried so hard and felt SO BAD when it didn't turn out.
Our friends took the kids from us for the night and sent us out to dinner (awesome!) so we went and enjoyed delicious food at Jakers. SO-turning 31 was DEFINITELY better than turning 30.
We are now the proud owners of 2 Guinea Pigs, Blaster and Miss Tilly (thank you mom and dad!). While it's been a new experience, and we're learning along the way, the girls have absolutely loved their new pets and honestly, they're pretty cute and make some fun noise!
The kids got a sled for Christmas from their Aunt Kari and Uncle Corey. We have no snow; in fact it's been in the mid to upper 50's quite a bit! So what do you do with a sled and no snow? Well, my girls are not novices at this...you ride it down the stairs! And they do. Daily. Maybe I'll get my video posted. Maybe.
Well I think that pretty much wraps it up; I sure hope things are winding down now. Thanks for sticking with us! Now here's a few snapshots-
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