A Surprise Concert

The day after Christmas is my Dad's birthday and a few weeks later is my mom's!  On Dad's birthday we all went to his house for cake and ice cream then we all started to leave without explanation.  My parents were confused as my brother John blind folded them and drove them around aimlessly.  
The rest of us went to the church to set up for a surprise concert we had prepared for them!  Each family had prepared several musical numbers to share for a special birthday surprise for both of them. My parents were so surprised, and their eyes were filled with tears as they watched their children and grandchildren perform. 

We love you Mom and Dad~

Christmas Morning

This year we tried something new for Christmas. Dallan and I decided that in the tradition of the 3 wise men we would give 3 gifts to the boys and Santa would bring 1.  I loved this because it helped our boys to have reasonable expectations and it helped us carefully consider our purchases. Some of their gifts were bundled- for example one of Matthew's gifts was a music stand with a CD, and one of Mitchell's was a reading package with several books he'd been wishing for.  They were all delighted with their gifts, and our morning had a sweet feeling. 

We had a really mild December with very little snow. Our boys were praying their hearts out for a white Christmas.  On Christmas morning we opened our blinds to the most magical snowfall I have ever seen...and it snowed all day long!  I can just imagine Heavenly Father hearing the prayers of all of the sweet children in our area and not being able to resist sending a little bit of Christmas magic!

Christmas Eve With Caleb

One of my favorite Christmas Eve traditions is lighting candles at Caleb's grave.  It is a sweet sight to see flickering lights all around the cemetery as loved ones are remembered. 

"Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again because He came...May His precious Spirit be with us, and may He ever be the center of our celebrations and indeed of our very lives.”
Thomas S Monson

Chritmas Eve Nativity

On Christmas Eve we always act out the nativity story...It is so much fun to watch the kids chose their part and act it out. After we finish the nativity story we turn out the lights and light some candles around Grandma's wooden nativity set from Israel. Then we all take a turn saying what gift we'd like to give the Savior. I was especially touched by the gifts my boys chose to give. 

Dallan: The gift of living in the moment. 

April: The gift of more patience. 

Josh: The gift of more time spent with the family 

Matthew: The gift of forgiveness and not holding a grudge            
  Mitchell: The gift of keeping his baptismal covenants.

 

Karate Kid

Mitchell loved participating in a community Karate class this Winter.  He was anxious to show his "Karate kid" moves to his instructor who was not always amused with his antics.  One day his instructor even had me drop and do 20 push ups for wearing BYU gear!  Apparently he is not a fan. 

Dallan is 41!

Oh how I adore this boy! He is so good to me and our boys. 

I love him with all of my heart. HAPPY 41 Dallan!  He chose to go to Red Robin the the Day before (since his birthday is on Christmas Eve) and for his birthday cake he chose cheery cheese cake!

Mitchell's 8th Birthday

On December 19th Mitchell turned 8!  He has been so excited for his birthday and can't wait until he gets baptized!  For his birthday lunch I checked him out from school and he chose to go to Carl's Junior.  For his Birthday dinner he choose Taco soup, and he chose a score bar cake for his birthday cake.  He put all of the candles in one spot like a campfire so he could get the biggest flame possible.  That night he chose to go to the Movies as a family.  He has been counting down the days until Night at the Museum Part 3 was released, so you can imagine his excitement when he found out it was released on his birthday!

Oh how I love this merry little boy of mine.  His sparkle fills our family with light and laughter!

Another Snow Surprise

This December was unseasonably warm, but we did get another dusting of snow!  Mitchell and Matthew were so excited ,and were disappointed when it was all gone the next day.  They are using all of their wishes for snow on Christmas!

Matthew's 13th Birthday

Matthew turned 13 on December 5th! I can't believe we have another teenager! For his birthday he chose to go to out to eat as a family at Five Guys! After that we went to the Festival of Trees. His birthday extended to the weekend when we had Grandma, Grandpa, John and Alisa over for his birthday dinner. He chose to have lasagna, garlic bread and Caesar salad with score bar cake for his birthday cake! 

 Matthew is an outstanding young man! I love to watch him develop his talents and testimony. I love you Matty!