The baby Jesus

Stetson was sitting at the computer with me when I opened a link to a music video for a song called "Where's the line to see Jesus" that my aunt sent to me by e-mail.  He was very impressed with the pictures and words to the song, and kept talking about wanting to see the baby Jesus.  A few days later it was our ward Christmas party, and of course I was stressed out.  We were supposed to dress up, Kenny wasn't going to be back in time to go, and I was supposed to lead the music.  I got someone to lead for me so that I could just focus on my kids.  The kids ripped their costumes off as soon as we got there, Lucy because she HATES wearing anything extra, and Stetson because it wasn't cool (he is 4, and he noticed that his friend wasn't dressed up, so he took his costume off - seriously!).  The gym was decorated so cute with lots of Jerusalem-type booths to get your food and do activities.  Stetson was suddenly super shy and was holding on to my leg, and I had to carry Lucy so that she wasn't running wild among all the other families in my ward who were seated on blankets in the middle of the floor.  As you can imagine, this made it very difficult to get three plates of food from several different booths and carry it back to our blanket.  We finally got seated and Lucy dumped a full cup of water on our blanket/the floor.  I was cleaning that up when I looked over to see Stetson unloading the contents of his plate onto the blanket because it was "disgusting" - at least blankets are washable, right?  Lucy just wanted to run around, and when I tried to keep her at our blanket she started throwing a fit, which included throwing herself down on the floor.  Her head landed directly in the miracle whip salad that was supposed to be the inside of my pita pocket.  I finally ended up throwing the food away since the kids wouldn't eat it, and I clearly was not going to be able to.  I was embarassed and ready to just take the kids and go home, then the program started.  A couple in my ward that is expecting a baby in January played Mary and Joseph.  They walked to a life-size stable where they brought forth their first born son and laid him in a life-size manger.  The cries of the baby Jesus that they played over the sound system caught Stetson's attention, and he immediately wanted to go and see the baby Jesus.  I told him he had to wait until they finished the manger scene and the songs that followed, and he sat very quietly through it all.  When it was over I took the kids up to see the baby Jesus, just a simple baby doll wrapped in a white blanket.  Stetson's face was glowing as he looked over the edge of the manger to see the baby.  His eyes danced with excitement as he looked at me and said, "mom, this is the baby Jesus".  A feeling of peace flowed through me and tears welled up in my eyes.  The girl playing Mary gently handed the baby to Stetson, and he took him very tenderly and lovingly held him close.  He looked up again with a big smile on his face and said, "I love the baby Jesus!"  It was a moment I will never forget, and the picture of my sweet little boy holding his Savior will forever be engrained in my mind.  This is why we celebrate Christmas!  My heart was filled with gratitude, and I left with a much different attitude than I had come with.  I wish that everyone, old and young, could have the opportunity Stetson had that night, and pray that this magical spirit of Christmas will be with each of us this season and always!  Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving landed right on our anniversary - 11 years, can you believe it?  We went on a trip the week before to celebrate and spend some time together.  Thanks so much to Suzie for tending the kids!  They had a blast, and so did we!  Thanks again!!  I'm so grateful for Kenny and all that he does for our family.  I love you honey, and hope we have many more wonderful years together.

This year we spent Thanksgiving with my family, and it was fun!  My brothers came down and we were all together, except for Jesse, who is in California.  He did send us an e-mail though, and said that he had TWO Thanksgiving dinners, so I guess he was well taken care of.

We started the day with our traditional breakfast, and then watched some football, cooked some food, and just hung out for most of the day.  Kenny spent the day working, so he missed out on the fun and preparation, but he did make it in time for dinner, so I was grateful for that.  It was so nice for everyone to get together and make this delicious meal for us on our anniversary!

Ready to eat!

 Stetson got to sit at the "Big Boy" table with his cousins Zach and J.D. and his awesome uncle Jens.

What did you say?

 Lucy sat with the adults, and I think she threw more food than she ate (a bad habit we are trying to break).

Yeah, I'm big!

 The clear dishes and white tablecloths looked a little bland, so my mom and I made some place setters to liven up the tables a bit.  I think they turned out cute!

 Our nephew Zach got baptized the day after Thanksgiving, and our cousin Colby got married the next day, so we enjoyed lots of time with family, and lots of good food!!!  We also enjoyed spending some time outside, enjoying the last few days of nice weather before winter sets in.

Lucy played with the dogs

Stetson did backwards Bob down the sidewalk (note the safety glasses, just in case he crashed)

and we all played some baseball

 This is what Kenny spent Thanksgiving day doing . . . setting up a pen and a water source for our colts, now we have new neighbors!  The kids were super excited!

Our new neighbors

I have so much to be thankful for!  My family, my home, my freedom, and the gospel top the list, but I could go on forever!  How wonderful it is that we have a day set aside to celebrate and remember the blessings we enjoy each day!  THANKS!!!

Being Home

So, it has been a little over a month now, since my official "last day" of work . . . kind of crazy!  The first day on my new "full-time mom" job, I was super sick . . . not a good way to start!  Thanks so much to my awesome sister Candice for taking the kids so I didn't have an audience in the bathroom, and I was able to get some rest.  After that we went out of town for a few days, so it didn't really seem any different to me or the kids.  The next week I filled in for one of the office replacements while he went to a training, so it was the same old, full-time schedule.  The next week, as soon as my insurance ran out, my kids both got strep.  Yes, two doctor visits and two shots - good initiation to the no insurance life huh?  After about a week they were finally feeling better, and I was able to get some sleep!

Since then I have gone in to work here and there to help out as needed, but mostly I have just been home with the kids.  I have to say that the best part so far is not having to worry about what to do with the kids, or what to do about work, when the kids are sick, I can just stay home and take care of them . . . it has been great!  It is definately going to be an adjustment for me, as I feel like I have not accmplished anything at the end of the day, and that is a little frustrating.  It seems like the kids are getting used to having me around more, and are starting to be a little less clingy, which is nice.  I think it has also been nice for Kenny to be able to call me and have me do things for him during the day.  It is different, and a little challenging some days, but I love being able to spend more time with my kids.  They are worth EVERY sacrifice!

Man, I love these guys!

Cross Country

So many of the people I love, love to run, and they are actually good at it.  It makes me wonder, if I were to put forth a little effort in that direction, would I enjoy it too . . . or even be good at it?  Maybe someday.  In the meantime, I LOVE to watch these guys run - they are truely amazing!

This year I was able to attend five races; okay, it was really only four, since one of them was cancelled, but we still traveled all the way there, with Stetson sick almost the entire way, anyway. . .

MONTICELLO, UTAH



My beautiful baby sister McKady, getting ready for the first race of the season



How can you not be good with that kind of determination at the starting line?  McKady is the blue runner on the far left.

One of the things I like about the Monticello race is that they run around a beautiful lake, and you can watch them throughout most of the race.

Okay, so the races get a little boring for the kids, but they usually find some way to entertain themselves . . . like filling the cones that line the track with rocks, fun huh?

J.D. - Stetson - Aspen - Lucy

And there he is, the senior team captain, and the first place runner on his team, my handsome brother Jade with his signature yellow bandanna and sunglasses.

For Jade, getting ready for a race is SERIOUS business!

The San Juan Broncos at the starting line

And then the battery on my camera died!  So I have no pictures of Jade's amazing first place finish - or my niece Brielle's second place finish.  It was awesome though, and I was grateful that I was able to be there!

BLANDING, UTAH

The ARL Girls, ready to run

Here comes McKady, running hard all the way to the finish line

Typical teenager - "Don't take a picture of me, I'm all sweaty!"

At this race, we also got to watch my niece Katie, running with the ARL Middle School Girls and my nephew Derek, who ran with the ARL Middle School Boys - Good Job guys!!!

Some of the cousins, just enjoyin' the race
Dodger - Bronx - Trace - Stetson - Lucy - Derek

Jade and the boys, warming up for the race

At the end of the race, Jade gave it all he had and almost beat this guy from Moab.  In fact, the finish was so close that they both had the same time, the Moab guy was just hundreths of a second in front of Jade.



Closing in the gap

And there's Brielle and the San Juan High girls cross country team at the starting line.

Brielle is the blue runner on the right

The top five runners in the High School Boys race - Jade took 2nd

The ARL girls took 1st place!!!

The San Juan High School boys with their trophy

MOAB, UTAH

This race was at the golf course

The weather was beautiful!

And we brought snacks!

McKady, second blue runner from the left, at the starting line

High School boys, getting ready to run

I LOVE to watch this guy run - he makes it look so easy . . . and fun!



Lucy and Grandpa, enjoyin' the race




Now THAT is comfort!



STATE CROSS COUNTRY

Salt Lake City, Utah

San Juan High and BYU - good combination!

The High School girls took 2nd place overall!  Good Job Ladies!

MaKenzie, Brittany, Kelly, Katrisa, Kendra, Kira, Brielle

They wouldn't let Jade wear his yellow bandana, but they did let him wear his sunglasses.

At the starting line for the San Juan Broncos

Look, he is running so fast, the picture is fuzzy:)

Jade finished 9th overall and won a medal!!!  He also won the honor of Academic All-State, along with his teammate Wheeler Heck - way to go guys!

The 2011 2A Cross Country Academic All-State  Team

The boys earned a third place finish overall.

Coach Steve Hiatt and the San Juan Broncos

Jade with some of his biggest fans . . .

Jordan, Mom, Jade, Stetson, Dad, Lucy, Amber

I couldn't pick better heros for my kids!

Stetson with is hero - Jade

Lucy with her hero - Brielle

And the highlight of the whole trip . . . Stetson got to ride on the bus all the way to Chuck-A-Rama for a yummy dinner - thanks Grandpa!

"Look at me mom!  Can I please ride the bus home?"

As much as I would have liked to let Stetson ride the bus home with Grandpa, I didn't, he rode home with me and Grandma.  It was a fun trip, and a fun season, and I am grateful that I was able to share these special moments with the ones I love!

Happy Halloween!

This year for Halloween we decided to do stickers instead of carving with a knife, and the kids loved it!  We didn't make a mess, and no one got cut, plus, these pumpkins will last longer!  The only drawback was that they didn't light up . . . no problem!  We purchased some little plastic pumpkins with a blinking light inside . . . problem solved!

Stetson decorated his pumpkin himself, and it is the scariest!

Daddy helped Lucy with hers; she just wanted to pull the stickers off

 We had a lot of fun preparing for our Halloween feast.  Stetson was a big helper, and made most of the mummies himself!

Bones and blood (breaksticks with sauce); Spider web cupcakes complete with the spiders; and little mummies

Monster mouths (made with apples and almond slivers), Eyeballs (made with carrots, cream cheese and olives, and swamp punch (made with apple cider and gummy worms)

 We also had Hawaiian Haystacks (Jade's request), and bloody fingers (lil' smokies in BBQ sauce) - I guess I forgot to get a picture of those.  After dinner we played some fun games.  First we got in two teams and made mummies - Jade and Jens were the victims.  Jade's team won, but I think they both turned out great!



The Grover Mummies

Then we sat in a circle and told a chain gang ghost story, each person took a turn holding a flashlight and telling their part of the story - it was pretty funny!  We went from trick-or-treaters getting eaten by goblins to three little pumpkins sitting in a tree.  It must have been a little too scary for Stetson though, because he had nightmares that night.  Sorry bud!

Then Jade got to open his presents.  I'm sad that you can't see the card Stetson made for Jade in this picture - it was super cute, and he was so proud of it!  I think uncle Jens has been teaching Stetson how to pose for a picture, as he kept trying to make this "hard" face.

Jerky and money - what more could an 18 year old boy want?

 And the best part of all . . . dressing up and going trick-or-treating, of course!

My handsome Green Dinosaur

 I had a hard time getting a picture of Lucy because she kept running away!




My quick little giraffe



The whole crew 

J.D. (pirate), Aspen (cow), Jens (???), Zach (ninja), Stetson (dinosaur), Paige (Cinderella), Lucy (giraffe), Jade (mountain man)

Jens didn't go trick-or-treating with us because he thought he might scare people away - yeah, that was probably a good move.  The rest of us went trick-or-treating and had a blast.  Thanks so much Jade for helping out with the kids - you are awesome!!!  I thought for sure Lucy would fall asleep in the middle of it because she didn't get a nap that day, but she stayed awake the whole time and loved every minute of it!