Elves

We had some fun little elves drop by our house this Christmas season. I found banana bread outside the door and a cute little box of Andes mints tucked in the wreath. The neighbors brought treats and my Korean neighbor makes the BEST egg rolls every year. The person that does Joe's books gave the kids veggie tales movies and us a lovely restaurant card! My boss sent a fun package including this strange pillow that is the perfect thing for laying on the couch and watching TV and for me being a side sleeper. It looks just like a giant goldfish cracker and I had to wrestle several family members to keep it. We always get the left over swag from the conference and Jacob snagged the portfolio and Catherine grabbed the bag. Aaron, who arrived late on the scene asked about his early Christmas gift. I told him he got the bubble wrap and Cora got the box. They both had a great time. I also learned that Amazon doesn't just sell books. HaHa thanks Catherine (boss lady Catherine that is) I now have a beautiful marble rolling pin that I used tonight and several other little goodies :)

Of all the elves, the one named Bob really out did himself. He went up to visit family in Wisconsin and found this great grocery store that lets you build your own baskets. Yummy Wisconsin cheeses, fresh fruit, this amazing pretzel dip and he knows me - dark chocolate melt aways. Then being a man he tossed in some meat. An enormous ham and the biggest shrimp I've ever seen. But if you give meat to Joe (I just thought of that commercial, 'maybe it is a box of meat') you have to balance that with none other than this................

Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. I ate one piece and I think I became a diabetic. It is good and very very very rich. Luckily it freezes well!

Thanks elves and Merry Christmas!

Christmas- Some of the highlights

This isn't what you would see in a typical Christmas post, but we are not a typical family. Jacob got a Spiderman costume from a friend for his birthday and he liked it so much that I cleaned out the store at the after Halloween sales. He got 7 Halloween costumes and when he open the first one he ran up stairs to change. He came down dressed like this and though not 'normal' it is one of my favorite Christmas photos from this year.

Jacob had a great Christmas, he gave Catherine a cat mask, his dad some frango mints, and Aaron some Origami paper. He gave me some of my favorite conditioner, I haven't bought it in a few months because it is so dang expensive. My silly body decided to develop an allergy and now a can't use it. Oh how sad! Well at least I'm not pining for it anymore. Thanks Jakey!

Jacob also made this awesome wreath at school. He got out the package it was in and started to open it. I said, "Isn't that for the family." He said, "Yes, and I'm helping you open it!"
Jacob also received a dump truck he named Dumpy he talks about it in a very affectionate manner, its cute.

Sybil and Dick stopped by and we had fun opening gifts with them. I love this picture of them with Catherine. I really do think that if Sybil had another kid it would have been Catherine. They are like two peas in a pod.


My little Chef got this very cute chef's hat and apron from Grandma T. Most of those giving her gifts fed her passion for cooking with cupcake pans, cake mixes, cookbooks, and a neat cupcake holder. She is planning on making cupcakes tonight for Family Home Evening tomorrow. She also received the game Cadoo. It is a lot of fun.


This is Catherine helping to make sediment. We made a goody plate for Bob and he said his feelings wouldn't be hurt if some more of that "coconut stuff" showed up. After the cheesecake how could any request be denied. When I posted this picture I thought from the thumbnail view Catherine was making Layered Mexican Dip for an appetizer on Christmas. The thing is......... I invited Joe's family and all the adopted grandparents over for soup, snacks, and games. Well, Syb and Dick had to come an hour early because of other commitments, and then everyone arrived and that silly soup didn't make itself. So we all enjoyed the appetizers and yummy sandwiches that Grandma T brought. We had homemade bread from Donna and deserts from April and Sybil, so by the time the soup got made no one was hungry. I don't think anyone missed it with the amount of food we had and I fulfilled my goal of being stress free on Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa brought some soup home and we had leftovers the next day. Perfect.
Grandma Donna got Cora this doll and if you know Donna she couldn't help but to make a little quilt to go with it. Do you think Cora is happy?
The only problem is this doll came with a bottle. Every time you feed it and then take the bottle out of its mouth it cries and Cora gets VERY concerned. Needless to say we have 'lost' the bottle and everyone is happier for it! I told Joe in a year or two we can 'find' the bottle and see how she reacts, but for now the baby stress is just too much for her.

Cora mainly received clothes from us. She was so happy. She had to try each one on. Off goes the purple one on with the turquoise. In the end, the purple was her favorite. To give you an idea about how crazy she is for clothes, we were shopping and she was done with it. I needed a few more minutes so I took her to the toy section and gave her something to hold as we went through the store. She dropped it as we went past the little people clothes and grabbed a shirt. When she would accidentally drop the shirt she would say, "Pretty, pretty" until I got it for her. It bought me the time I needed and ended up being one of her gifts. Cora didn't give gifts other than hugs and smiles this year. She received books from Catherine and Jacob.



Aaron made cool origami mobiles for the girls and Jacob. (those are the Christmas lights hanging in the background, they kind of take away from the effect, but you get the idea) The mobiles turned out really well and everyone loves them. This year Aaron found a guy on u-tube that teaches origami. He watched and taught himself how to make all sorts of figures. He received a calendar with different origami instruction for each day. He also got a small video camera and has had fun playing with that. He got the game Mancala and we have all learned to play. It is fun and takes a lot of strategic thinking.
This is Aaron opening his Christmas tree ornament. They each get a new one every year. this year Aaron's was a clear glass ball with thin filaments of glass going every which way inside. I picked it for him because he likes looking at the way things are made and the interplay of lines. It looks great when the lights from the tree shine through it.







On Bob's suggestion, Joe received one of his gifts in a giant sour cream container. This was the chocolate from Jacob. I got Joe Jeff Dunham tickets and this year I didn't ask for the popcorn popper that I have asked for for the last 5 years and he got it for me! Whoo-hoo. I'm seriously so happy. I also received some things I wanted for the kitchen, some fun money, and lots of hugs and smiles and love.

All in all it was a really great Christmas. The basement was a little worse for wear, but that was part of the fun!



We enjoyed both giving and receiving, visiting with family and dear friends. We never forgot that the greatest gift of all was given by our Heavenly Father in allowing His son to sacrifice Himself for us and by Jesus Christ for being willing and able to do so, that we may return to live with Them and our families forever.

New Christmas Tradition

I think we have started a new tradition. Our kids, especially Aaron, get up so early on Christmas morning. We don't mind this, but 1 or 2 am is a little much. So Christmas Eve, we packed a picnic and headed over to the church. We brought a bag of all types of soccer balls, basketballs, playground balls. We ran and played! It turned into a game of soccer. The family verses Aaron. I think Cora was on his team because Joe and I were constantly scooping her up for her safety. I'm pretty sure Aaron won that game. Though last Monday when we were 'cleaning the church' (just an excuse to play when we are done with work!), Joe took him out. It is hard to win a soccer game when you are limping. But all is fair in love and family sports!

All this exercise worked. The kids slept in until 7:00, well Aaron got up at 3:00, went downstairs, unpacked his stocking, laid everything out in a nice row that was protected by Cora's teeter-totter. He then went back to bed.

All in all a successful outing!