Christmas

Sadly, I forgot to bring our camera (and new video camera) on our trip for Christmas, but we had a lot of fun. True to form, we didn't really get to celebrate our anniversary like we had planned (lasting consequences of getting married so close to Christmas), but we hung out with my family, avoided sick relatives (although Clayton got sick anyway), ate WAY too much food, were extremely lazy, and tried to enjoy our short time all together. I think it was just novel and fun for the kids and I to spend so much time with Clayton. The kids didn't have a huge Christmas, but that's how we like it. They got several things, like an easel, musical instruments, a Tag reader from G&G Hall, and a few other things. Luke got a baseball glove, and Audrey got dress-up shoes. One of the highlights was the I-Spy quilts my mom made for the kids, with over 200 cartoon characters on each for them to find. They love looking at everything, and I know my mom spent countless hours putting them together.

Let's just say it was a nice, relaxed Christmas. Except for not having some family with us, we couldn't have asked for anything more.

Joy School at Christmas

My initiation into Joy School teaching was the two weeks before Christmas. It was a lot of work, and it was so much fun. I helped the kids put together a Christmas program, complete with costumes, decorations, a Nativity play, and lots of songs. We performed it at a nursing home in town as well as for the parents at the Joy School Christmas Party that night. Here are a few pictures of the group (with a few siblings added in).



I was especially proud of our shy little Luke, who was the innkeeper (behind the door) and the Wise Man (holding the present). He did his parts perfectly and sang all the songs at the top of his lungs. He was really sad that Clay missed it since they kept him late at work, but we showed him lots of pictures and videos.


You can even catch a glimpse of me (the narrator). I would rather not call attention to myself or my body, but I have to point out my theory that worn-out knees on so many of my pairs of jeans is a sign that I'm not such a terrible mom after all. These are signs of hours crawling across the floor playing car races, lego jet races, etc.


Here are the kids lined up to sing their songs. So cute!

Funnies

It's been a while since I posted funny sayings from the kids. I guess today I just felt like sharing.

I'm not sure where he got these phrases, but Luke has been busting out: "What? It's not workin' for ya?" and "Fo'get about it." [in his best mobster accent] quite regularly. He calls a ladle a super (or soup-er), which I think is hilarious. Every Monday night he has a "plan" for Family Home Evening. His plans always include a few sentences about how Heavenly Father and Jesus love us, some type of race and some type of game. He really hates when we insist that one of us have planned F.H.E. that night. "But Mom, I already planned it!"

It cracks me up how Audrey takes care of her baby dolls so affectionately, and then tosses them aside or runs them over with the baby buggy as soon as she's done. Funny girl. She's obsessed with dress-up shoes and glasses, and she will wear both for hours on end - with real lenses or without. I think Christmas is going to be golden for her this year. She calls every light in the house her "night-light". She has called me "Gramma" since we got home from Thanksgiving vacation at my parents' house, even though I insist every time that "I'm not grandma, silly. I'm mommy." She always replies, "I'm Audrey," and then two seconds later, "Here ya go, gramma. I need help, gramma. Need more drink of water, gramma?" I think she and my mom have a special bond, and she just can't let it go that she's not hanging out with grandma anymore. Good thing Christmas break is coming up fast!

Speaking of Christmas, here are a few pictures of the kids decorating the tree - one of my favorite times of the season.





I love these kids.

Embarrassing

I am usually a very conscientious grocery-shopper. I spend lots of time scanning store ads for deals, planning menus, and making a detailed shopping list, organized by how I walk through the store. What I don't know is, how do I stock our house with endless gobs of food and always forget the toilet paper? It happens every now and then - always on a Sunday of all days. Someone is in the bathroom yelling that they need toilet paper. I run down to the stash in the basement to find a large and empty bag. Maybe the Costo bags are so big that I don't notice we're out? Who knows. Once when we lived right by the University, Clayton and I went there to use the bathroom on a Sunday like the one I've described, carrying wads of the precious stuff home in our pockets to get us through the day. I'd rather not go into what we've done the other times. So embarrassing. I've got to do better at remembering the t.p.

Thanksgiving in Missouri

It's the first time in a long while that we've gone anywhere for Thanksgiving, and we felt lucky that Clayton got that week off this year. Having my whole family together was great, the weather was perfect, and the food was unimaginably good. I know my mom put a lot of effort into it, but it seemed almost like all of our favorite dishes magically appeared out of thin air. I didn't really take many pictures, as I was too busy having fun. There was lots of fabulous shopping with my mom, bonfire cookouts, trips to our favorite restaurants in the area (did I mention I gained 5 pounds?), tennis, playing outside with the kids, and just hanging out with loved ones. Clayton even did a little bit of research at the hospital regarding an upcoming job, and we went to a few open houses with my parents. Exciting and very surreal. I actually found myself saying that houses 3 times the size of what we are in now will just be too small. I may be crazy. Unfortunately, Clayton threw out his back for the second vacation in a row of the year after a family basketball game, and he was miserable for the last three days and the long drive home. He is on the mend now, with big plans on how to avoid further injuries. We had a blast, but it was also so nice to return to our own tiny, drafty, wonderful home. As I stepped into the door, I had an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness come over me for the plentiful blessings which I daily enjoy. I had to stop and, once again, give thanks.