Christmas 2009

Another Christmas has come and gone. It is hard to believe that it is over already. This was my first Christmas ever without my parents and brother so it didn't really feel quite like it should. We did have a good Christmas eve dinner with grandma Christal across the street, and the Hill family. I am so grateful for these friendships that made the evening special. After we had dinner we went to the botanical garden in Boise to see all the Christmas lights- it was beautiful, but not as beautiful as temple square. Next year hopefully we will be able to take a trip to Salt Lake. Christmas eve we got the call that mom and dad accepted an offer on their house and they will need to be out in a month. We are praying all goes well with the closing, but the news was the BEST Christmas gift ever. My kids are so excited they can hardly stand it. Hopefully this news is the beginning of good things for our family. It has been quite a year- not one I want to relive , but I am thankful for the lessons I have learned and hopefully have grown from. I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

sledding for the first time!

Sledding!

Today was the first time that the kids had ever experienced that magical feeling of flying, as they glided over the hard packed snowy hill. What fun we had once we finally got the hang of it. We searched garage sales all summer in search of snow sleds until we each had one of our own. Turns out only Travis has a really good sled, so next time I am taking the tubes we used to use in Kelly springs. I knew they would come in handy again some day! All was going well until I collided head first -going backwards- into Brayden. Turns out a made a HUGE mistake by not going over rules before we started sledding. Brayden got tired climbing back up the hill and decided to just sit down and take a rest in the middle of the track. Once I came too, it was time to go home. Next time we take helmets, NO MATTER WHAT! Even with a splitting headache, the day was magical. Can't wait until Saturday...

Lots of free fun!

Friday the kids were both delighted that they were allowed to celebrate Christmas in school. As I stepped out of the van which I had parked across the street from the school, I heard a loud chorous of singing. I followed the music into the school cafeteria where I discovered the whole school participating in a sing a long. It was such a beautiful sound, I felt I was listening to a choir from heaven. I stood in the back of the gym with tears silently rolling down my cheeks, completely overcome with emotion. This is why we moved to Idaho. So my kids can grow up with the traditions of my childhood and without the world catering to the politically correct. Since Saturday was the official start of Christmas vacation, Travis and I decided to do something out of the ordinary. We told the kids we were going furniture shopping at RCWilley, when really we were just going for the free hotdogs at lunch time and so the kids could talk to Santa again. Kind of a funny place to see Santa, but he was such a kind man. He took time to really listen to each kid and engaged in real conversations with them. It was a successful outing and lots of fun!
That evening we took our neighbor Christal with us to a walk through Bethlehem. It was the 15th year a ward in Eagle has put it on, and it was pretty spectacular. After a hay wagon had picked us up at our car, it drove us to a beautiful farm overlooking the valley. The young men and women all memorized scripture as they led us through the farm to finally see the Christ child. What an amazing group of youth and adult participation. I can't wait to go again next year. It was a fantastic night even with freezing temps!

Santa came on a firetruck

This afternoon Santa arrived in our neighborhood courtesy of the Star fire department. I hauled the kids down the street to take a picture- since this was free and the mall wasn't- Kaity had a great time with her friends but Brayden was acting strange. The minute we entered the house, he threw up- again. "sigh" He is constantly sick here. He has already missed 10 days of school due to the swine flu and most recently a stomach bug. Looks like here we go again. Of course he has to be sick on the night of the only Christmas party I am invited to this year. "sigh again" I think we have a looong winter ahead of us.

Loving the holidays

I love lazy Sunday afternoons when the only thing on my agenda is a nap, maybe some baking and a board game or two. Today I had a turkey in the oven, a cake cooling on the counter and Christmas music on while snuggling under my electric blanket ready to doze into dreamland. As I was about to drift off, I noticed the snow falling. Suddenly the nap was forgotten and out into a winter wonderland we went. The kids were so excited that it was sticking, and that it wasn't the middle of the night. It was one of those perfect afternoons that I wish I could make last forever. We had our dear neighbor Christal over for dinner tonight and it was the perfect ending to a beautiful day. I am so thankful for the holiday season we are enjoying. I am still getting the homesick bug every now and then that will hit out of the blue and stop me in my tracks for a few minutes, but I am grateful for days like today that remind me that we made the right decision to move here. We LOVE living in Star. We were meant to be here. I am grateful for a Heavenly Father that loves us and has a plan for us. As I look back over the struggles of this past year, I can now see that we weren't forgotten, but needed to be patient while the pieces were put into motion for where we are right now. If only I could master that patience thing- but I don't think it is in the genes! and if I could just move some people I love here... :)