Christmas Vacation!

OK, so I've been L-A-Z-Y since Christmas. The kids have been off school and I don't have any agenda anymore so I've been busy doing absolutely nothing! So I figured since its the last day of the year, I would finish the Christmas decorations and show what I got surprised with this year. Let's just say that Santa was really good to me this year. I must have been really good or something!

So I'll start with the rest of my decorations:

Christmas Tree

Front door (new this year)

New sleigh for our tree

Our advent calender

Entry

Jordan's Simpson's village and train

And my nativity set (made out of pewter)

And now for my presents. This isn't everything, but it's the most memorable stuff:

Twilight poster/painting

My new china hutch (a huge surprise)

(look closely-it's signed to the right of Utah!)

And my Kyle Korver frame!*

*When I first opened and looked at this, I didn't notice that both the license plate (yes, its still on one of our cars) and the picture were personally signed by Korver himself. I hate to admit, but now that he knows that someone is actually crazy enough to have a plate that says 'KRVRLVR' on their car-I'm alittle embarrassed. At least Jordan drives that car most of the time!

I got a few other things like a blue tooth headset and a body pillow and a plug for my bathroom that lets me plug in both my hairdryer and iron at the same time and a new thermostat (I curse ours every time I have to reset the clock which is a couple times a day-don't ask!)

It was a very good Christmas filled with laughs, fun, family, and surprises. I will remember this for along time. The only down side came when I tried to use our camcorder and it ate all of the tapes-so this is the first Christmas that we don't have on video. But I'll get over that.

I hope that everyone had as good of a Christmas as we did and I wish everyone a

Very Happy New Year!

Christmas Decor

So I finally got around to doing this. I've been meaning to post some of my Christmas decorations for awhile, but just haven't gotten to it until now.

This is just my family room. My living room (entry and Christmas tree and such) will be up tomorrow.

This first picture (sorry it isn't very good) is of my whole mantle. This is probably my favorite part of my decorations. When it's dark outside and we turn the lights on, it is just so peaceful and pretty to look at. I've been told to leave it up all year, but I don't. I just don't think that I would enjoy it as much at Christmas if I did that.

This picture is something that is very special to me. My Grandma Larson ("Grandma Grace") gave these to us last year. She put these up on her mantle every year when I was little. Every time I'd go over there the first thing I would do is turn these on and watch/listen to them play some carols. She had them up a couple of years ago and Trae fell in love with them too, so she so kindly donated these to me and my family. I couldn't wait to put them up this year!

This is the fireplace. Every one of the decorations here mean something. I bought the holders when we were dirt pour and they went on clearance at Costco or $1.97. I couldn't pass them up then. We didn't even have a place to hang them because we were living in our condo, but I anticipated that we would one day. I also didn't have Elie yet, but I still bought 4 knowing that we would have another member of our family one day. I am really sad because this is probably our last year for them with the new addition coming. The stockings are all individualized. Starting from the left: Jordan's stocking that he had when he was a little boy, Mine that was given to me by the adoptive parents of my little boy (I just can't part with this), Traeden's is new this year-he chose this instead of an ornament (more about that tomorrow) and Elison's is one that I bought last 2 years ago-she had such a fascination with "Ho Ho" (aka Santa Clause) that I just had to get something so I could remember that.

This is the top left of the mantle. The tree on the right is one that I made at a Super Saturday this year. I was excited to display it. The moose are just something I picked up from a work book show about 8 years ago.

This is the right side of the mantle. The nutcracker is new. I bought that on clearance last year. The nativity scene was given to us by a very good friend a couple of years ago. This one seems to move around the most, but I really liked where it is now. I think it may have found a permanent home.

This is just some garland that I hang from our loft. I don't have a railing to display it on so I improvised. I added the ribbon around the poles this year just because I wanted to.

And the 2 tiles in this last picture are ones that I made at the same super Saturday. I really am glad that I made those too. The Christmas tree in the middle is one that my mom gave me last year for Christmas. She got it on her European cruise last year so she had to careful pack this around and bring it home with her all the way from Turkey. I really love and am excited to add it to my collection this year.

Tomorrow will be the rest of my decorations and even a little more traditions.

Christmas Traditions #5/Just for Fun Fridays

So here I am combining the 2. Is that legal?

Last year, I got introduced to this through http://www.officemax.com/. You can do this for free, and it is hilarious to watch. The only thing is that it takes time to add and crop the photos, but well worth it.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Traditions #4

Ok, so this one isn't really a tradition per say. It's probably more a necessity for just being a parent.

Yesterday, both our kids had performances at their schools. Elie's was a dance/preschool program, while Traeden's was a Christmas Carolin event at his school. Every grade sings 2 songs at 2 different locations. I got to attend both of them, and I absolutely loved them both.

I remember having all kinds of performances as kid that my parents would always come to just to support me. I'm sure that some of them were not that fun or entertaining, but they would always be there with video camera in hand. And they would always say how good I was when the performance was over.

I look at all these different groups that perform at the malls of the Festival of Trees and it brings back memories of when I would do that. It was always pretty hectic backstage, then you would go out and perform, and in just a few minutes the whole thing was over. But it sure was fun for me. So thank you to my mom and dad for supporting me the way you did. Now that I can look back and reflect and now that I'm experiencing it as a parent for myself, I see just how truly grateful I am to them.

So, to honor my kids, I chose 1 performance from each and here they are. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did (but you don't have too).

Christmas Traditions #3

Today I was thinking about what to do, when my kids were begging me to do something. It was really annoying and I kept telling them to hold on (in a not so nice way) when it dawned on me-this is what I could write about. So today, the tradition that I chose to share is the one that I did every year as a kid and are doing it with my kids. Its the annual chocolate advent calenders.

I'm sure that most of you know what I'm talking about...the cheap cardboard ones with the perforated windows that you open. There are 24 of them and behind every window hides a little piece of chocolate. They tend to have a little picture on them of something like a teddy bear or a soldier or a tree. The chocolate also isn't the very best, but when your a little kids, do you honestly know the difference?

Its a simple tradition this time, but one that I remember as a kid and now do it with my own kids. You can usually buy the calenders at the dollar store or most grocery stores so they aren't really that hard to find either. This is something that I'll keep doing, although Traeden informed me about 10 minutes ago that Elison can now have all his chocolates cause he doesn't like them anymore. So I guess only time will tell for him whether or not it will continue.

On a side note, today I had both Elie's preschool performance and Traeden's Deck the Halls at school and I just happened to record both. So I thought that I would post Traeden singing his Christmas song tonight and post one of Elie's dances tomorrow (with some decorations-I hope).

Christmas Traditions #2

So what does a box of Kellogg's Corn Pops have to do with a Christmas Tradition? I'll tell you...

Growing up we (me, my brothers, and sister) all lived on non-sugared cereal like Cheerios, Honey nut Cheerios, Chex, and Raisin Bran. So, Santa would bring each of us a box of sugared (usually Corn Pops) cereal and set it by our stocking.

We were all so grateful to have this yet we were all so stingy too. We would each take a black magic marker and write our name all over the box, followed by the words "Do Not Eat!!" To be honest, that never really stopped us (well, me anyways) from eating everyone Else's before our own.

When I got married and did the grocery shopping for us for the first time, I went on a sugared cereal shopping spree! And I loved it! I have since resorted back to my old ways though and really love the classic Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini Wheat's, and Cheerios (but it has to have a banana on it). I splurge more then my mom did on the cereal thing, but my kids like the classics too, so I don't worry too much about giving them cavities (they do a pretty good job at that despite the sugar cereal).

Christmas Traditions #1

Because this is the last full week before Christmas, I thought that I would post about some of my favorite Christmas Traditions.

The first tradition is now a memory. I don't think that I'll carry this one on with Elie, well, not all of it at least.

Every year on Christmas Eve my mom would buy tickets at the ZCMI Center ZCMI (which now no longer exists). She would find out when the tickets would go on sell, which always seemed to be earlier and earlier, and every year we would drag our butts out of bed and into the mall by 7:30 am. They never did reserve seating so we had to get there early to get a half-way descent seat. We did this faithfully every year too. The breakfast was always the same. Scrambled eggs, bacon, a pancake and orange juice or milk. We really didn't care about the food, we were always too busy filling out our lists for Santa to care about eating. Then, they would have the entertainment come out and perform for about 45minutes. I really don't remember any of the acts except for one. I was like 8 and they had a brother (really cute) and sister singing all the traditional Christmas songs. They started singing the song "Last Christmas." I just about died because I swear he was singing right to me. I could literally feel my heart skip a beat too. Then with the blink of an eye, it was over for us. He pulled another girl (who was sitting closer then me) up on the stage and was singing to her instead. I was totally crushed! And I still remember this! Then, after the entertainment was done, Santa would come in and visit every table and hand out a candy cane to every kid. After the whole program was over, they always had Santa sitting in a big red chair right outside the doors so that we could sit on his lap and personally hand him our Christmas list.

After we finally made it through the 2 hour line, we would shop around for a few last minute things at the mall, look at the ZCMI candy windows (I really miss those), and then my mom, my sister, and me would all walk over to the Capital Theater to watch the Nutcracker. I was always fascinated by the ballerinas and the mice and the soldiers, and the nutcracker, but I don't think I ever really understood the story.

We would make it home just in time to change and make a visit to our annual Christmas Eve party at our neighbors house. And then we would make a run over to my Aunt's house for some more Christmas Eve partying.

By the time we got home, us kids were so exhausted we always went to bed right away.

And that was our usual Christmas Eve.

I am still trying to carry on the tradition of the Breakfast with Santa, but it gets harder and harder every year to find places that do it. The last couple of years we have gone to Wheeler Farm, and except for the big debacle that happened last year, it has gone pretty good. It isn't the ZCMI, but I doubt I will ever find something that matches my memories of that. The Nutcracker tradition is the one that I don't think I can carry on. I tried to sit through that performance a couple of years ago and I had to leave because it was just too boring for me. I really don't know how my mom sat through that for so many years. I will try to take Elie, and possibly Trae, once, but that is about all that I can do I'm afraid.

This year, Jordan is going to work and we still go to my Aunt's house, but we do the breakfast with Santa the Saturday before. So we are going to just play it easy, which it never ends up being easy.

So what are your Christmas Eve traditions?

Just for Fun Friday

What Religion is your bra?

This makes it perfectly clear.---

Do you need a laugh??

What Religion is Your Bra?

A man walked into the Ladies Department of a Macy's and shyly walked up to the woman behind the counter and said,"I'd like to buy a bra for my wife.

" "What type of bra?" asked the clerk.

" Type?" inquires the man, "There's more than one type?"

" Look around," said the saleslady, as she showed a sea of bras in every shape, size, color and material imaginable.

"Actually, even with all of this variety, there are really only four types of bras to choose from ."

Relieved, the man asked about the types.

The saleslady replied: "There are the Catholic, the Salvation Army, the Presbyterian, and the Baptist types. Which one would you prefer?"

Now totally befuddled, the man asked about the differences between them.

The Saleslady responded, "It is all really quite simple. ....

The Catholic type supports the masses;

The Salvation Army type lifts the fallen;

The Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright;

and The Baptist makes mountains out of mole hills."

Have you ever wondered why A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, G, and H are the letters used to define bra sizes?

If you have wondered why, but couldn't figure out what the letters stood for, it is about time you became informed!

(A} Almost Boobs... {B} Barely there... {C} Can't Complain!... {D} Dang!... {DD} Double dang!... {E} Enormous!... {F} Fake... {G} Get a Reduction... {H} Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up!...

They forgot the German bra. Holtzemfromfloppen

Dilema-PLEASE HELP!

This issue is creating havoc in my marriage and I don't know how to make it so everyone is happy. That is why I'm seeking help.

The problem is: On Monday I have a Doctors appointment. I will be 20 weeks. That means 2 things-1) He will do an ultrasound and possibly find out the sex of the baby and 2) My big ultrasound will be scheduled which means that I could find out then too. So the problem lies in that Jordan doesn't want to find out the sex and I do. Not only does Jordan not want to find out, but he doesn't want me to find out either. He says that that is all part of it-being surprised together.

My doctor did an ultrasound last time, but wasn't quite able to tell. That was at 15 or 16 weeks though and they say that up until the baby is 18 to 20 weeks they have what is called ambiguous genitalia. That means that boys look like girls and girls look like boys. At first we had a compromise to have the doctor seal the results and we would open it on Christmas with all the other stuff. Now Jordan has reneged on that idea. He doesn't want to know at all. I, on the other hand, want/need to find out. Maybe it is just the OCD in me, but I want to plan for it. I feel like I need to plan for it. I will be the one in labor and pushing the thing out, so to me, as long as it makes it there, that's all I care about. Labor is much to stressful/painful for me to really relish in the sup rise of it all. Besides that, if it's a girl (which Elie is adamant it is) then I want to make the blessing dress. I just don't want it to be like my sisters or my sister-in-laws where I had a month to do it. It wasn't fun for me and haven't made one since because of the stress it caused. And (call me stupid/emotional) I don't want to just make one 'just in case' because I don't feel connected to it at all. I have to have a meaning or reason to make something otherwise my heart just isn't in it. Plus I know me, and I could not rest if I knew that I could have found out and I didn't. The surprise at the end just doesn't matter to me. To some it does, but not to me. It could just be my controlling nature, I guess.

So what do I do? I've suggested that I could find out and keep my mouth shut so that Jordan doesn't know. But Jordan doesn't like that idea because he doesn't want me to know. It wouldn't be the same to him. I've tried to talk about this with him, but he doesn't want to talk about it because it usually leads to an argument of some sort.

But now the time is fast approaching and I don't have a clue on a compromise that would make everyone happy. Please help! It could possibly save my marriage!

I have also put 2 polls on just for fun!

Oh What do you do in the Wintertime...

When all the skies are snowy?

I woke up this morning to snow.
Not alittle snow either, but alot. And it kept coming all day.
I took Elie to preschool and my monday morning run to Costco before the roads got really bad and then I decided that it was just a great day to stay in and clean and finish the very last of the Christmas decorations (it was just a few small things-most of the big stuff was done weeks ago)! I'll have to post pictures later of my clean kitchen, my organized pantry, and all the Christmas stuff we did this year.

My kids on the other hand decided to dress up as Jazz players and play basketball down in the basement. Traeden even let Elie wear some of his Jazz shorts too (he won't let anyone wear his Jazz stuff. Can we say he's very, very protective of it?). It was so cute I just had to take some pictures.

So to everyone in Northern Utah-Happy Snow Day!

Our first official Christmas Party.

Last night was our ward Christmas Party. I was somewhat excited to go, but thought that it was kind of bother at the same time. I had been out Thursday with Traeden and his first Jr. Jazz practice, Friday night was spent with my friend Leslie at our work Christmas party, and Saturday afternoon we had a baptism that we went to. So by the time Saturday night rolled around, I was exhausted and really just wanted to stay home and do well, nothing. Let alone attend our ward party that began with a speaker in the chapel that I would have to get all dressed up for-again.

Jordan knew the speaker and was excited to be able to listen to him again. Apparently this person spoke on his mission 10 years ago and it still has an imprint on him. So to support him and set a good example for my kids, I went. I have to admit that I was tired, sick with a cold, and had a bad tummy ache (probably from something I had eaten earlier) so my spirit was not in the right mood.

The speaker is a member of the 70, his name is Elder John B. Dickson. Never really heard of him, but there are alot of Elders that I haven't heard of so that didn't mean anything. We arrived at the church at the same time as him, and right from the get-go he was the most kind-spirited person I have ever met. He walked up to us and reached out his left hand (he only has a left arm) for all of us to shake. He talked with Jordan for a minute about Ventura and his wife (who was in Cincinnati with a daughter that has been very sick). He asked Traeden "How are you young man? Are you going to serve a mission too?" Which to our horror, Traeden answered "No!" It was all alright after Elie chimed in "I'm going to go" and we all laughed a little.

We made our way in to the chapel which wasn't crowded yet because we were there 20 minutes early. I'm glad that we went early though because it gave me time to think and observe. I thought Elder Dickson would shake a few hands and make his way up to the stand and sit there until the meeting had begun. He didn't. He walked around and greeted everyone that was already there. Then he walked around and greeted people as they came in. It wasn't just a 'Hi, how are you' either. He actually stopped and talked and asked personal questions to everyone. He didn't make his way to the stand until we were about to say the opening prayer. As I watched him, my whole demeanor changed. I saw how this man had made everyone in that chapel feel important by simply saying a few things to them. He had the attention of everyone because of the small acts of kindness that he performed.

We started the meeting with a prayer and then sang 5-6 Christmas songs from the hymn book. Then he spoke for about 30 minutes. He talked about the beginning of Christmas and what was asked of all the different parties involved and then related to us-here and now. He kept asking us if we could do what all these different people-the wise men, the Shepard's, Joseph and Mary-were asked to do. Then to close he read a story from the December 2006 Ensign written by Stephenie Meyer titled "Hero at the Grocery Store" (click here to be linked to it). I have to admit that I smiled a shy, little smile when he mentioned her name. It was a very short and simple talk, yet it was quite inspiring. It really was one of those talks that just made you think and I think most of the inspiration was because of who this message was coming from.

After the hour or so in the chapel we made our way to the annex at the church for the dinner part. Elder Dickson joined us for that part too. And he again went around to every table and every person to talk with them. We chatted with friends and neighbors and eat some really good food. Not to long after the food started all the kids ran for the stage. I must have missed the announcement or my kids must have esp because they knew when Santa was going to be there and they were all ready to go. This was the fun part of the night I guess. Me and Jordan stayed to help clean up and made it home with just enough time for me to crawl into bed before passing out.

Almost everyone at church today bore their testimony of the Christ-like behavior of this one man. So I didn't just imagine this. It only made me more aware of some of short comings and made me think of ways that I really need to learn and expand. I am so grateful that I met Elder Dickson and know that he really made an impression on me and most of the people around me. I also learned that this kind of party probably won't happen again because the brethren are counseled not to speak in wards other then their own. If any of you though ever have a chance to listen to Elder Dickson or any other General Authority (or such), then I would drop what ever might stand in your way and listen to them. Don't just listen with your heart but listen with your eyes too. I learned more in this one night then almost any other in my life.

P.S. You really should read the story by Stephenie Meyer. It brought tears to my eyes.

Just for Fun Fridays

I almost forgot that it's Friday today...

Everyone is in a hurry to scream "racism" these days!

"In what aisle could I find the Polish sausage?"

The clerk looks at him and says, "Are you Polish?"

The guy (clearly offended) says, "Well, yes I am. But let me ask you something. If I had asked for Italian sausage would you ask me if I was Italian? Or if I had asked for German bratwurst, would you ask me if I was German? Or if I asked for a kosher hot dog would you ask me if I was Jewish? Or if I had asked for a Taco would you ask if I was Mexican? Would you? Would you?"

The clerk says, "Well, no!"

"If I asked for some Irish whiskey, would you ask if I was Irish?"

"Well, I probably wouldn't!"

With deep self-righteous indignation, the guy says, "Well then, why did you ask me if I'm Polish because I asked for Polish sausage?"

The clerk replies,"Because you're in Home Depot."

Time to Celebrate!

Ok, the 'pity me' party is over-at least I hope it is.

I am officially off work until after the baby is born!

There have been some events that have happened over the last week that has made me really sit down and think about all the good things that I have in my life and how and what I am going to do to protect that. Last week, of friend of Jordan's suffered from a miscarriage. She was about 4 weeks further along then me and from what I've been told, one of the heart valves stop. This made me decide that I don't want to play with chance and decided to not go back to work when my vacation is over on Monday. There are some real negatives with this decision, but I feel it is what I need to be doing to protect me and my family. Hopefully I am making the right choice for us (I always worry!).

So to celebrate myself, I decided to clean my room. I am not going to post any pictures because it is really, really embarrassing. Hopefully by the end of today though, I will have it all clean and the back log of laundry done. Since we have pretty much finished our decorating (it was done on Monday-way ahead of schedule-Yeah!), I can get to the nitty-gritty stuff around the house. Not much of a way to really celebrate I know, but at least it will make me feel good when its done. And it will happen because I didn't have to go to work!

And a huge Thank You to all of you who called or sent me a sweet email to help me in my time of need. I am slowly coming around and it is all thanks to a few sweet souls.