TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE

Thanks for checking back to see the "truths" of our Christmas card. Hopefully they were obvious. If they weren't, we need to spend more time together!

Rory: (3) is false. He loves his job with Qwest. His hours are long, but he enjoys what he's doing and even had a chance to go to Denver a couple of times this year.

Angie: (2) is false. Okay, so it's not uncommon for us to announce a pregnancy (with 5 kids in 8 years it's not a big stretch). But thankfully, we've found that washing our underwear separately prevents more pregnancy!






Miranda: (2) is false. While she still loves reptiles, she is pursuing her interests here in Hyrum.

Arianna: (1) is false. She loves all things girl, pink, princess and barbies.












Jacob: (3) is false. At this point, opera is only for mocking. He seldom sits still, and while he is growing up in so many ways, he still loves to sleep in mom and dad's room after midnight.









Sabrina: (3) is false. Okay, that one was obvious. But with her determination she could do it all.











Kalista: (1) is false. She is still searching and destroying most everything she can get her cute little hands on.




We'd love to hear from you! Have a wondeful New Year!

We Believe!

Waiting to See What Santa Brought

Could Christmas be any better with 5 Santa believers in our home? This is what Christmas is all about. The kids have been counting down Christmas for about 45 days. By Christmas Eve day they could hardly stay in their skin. Sabrina said,"When is that Christmas guy coming?" Needless to say, not a lot of sleeping went on the night of the 24th. The older 3 were anxiously listening for the jingle of Santa's bells, but Sabrina on the other hand hadn't quite caught the magic (Santa had visited her at preschool - she didn't want anything to do with him). Here is a little of our conversation as I was tucking her into bed.

Mom: "Go right to sleep tonight so Santa can come and leave you presents"

Sabrina: "Santa's coming to our house?"

Mom: "Yes!" (I'm excited that she gets it)

Sabrina: "Mom" (she says in a scared voice) "Don't let him come in my room"

Mom: "He won't let you see him, he'll stay downstairs."

Sabrina: (still scared)"Don't let him go on the stairs".

Mom: (losing hope that she's excited) "I promise, he'll just stay downstairs and leave the presents down there."

Sabrina: "Mom, you sleep by me tonight?"

In spite of the anticipation and the fear, the jolly old man left plenty to keep us busy over Christmas break. How grateful I am for the time we get to spend together over the next week. And I'm even more grateful for the believers in my life that keep me believing too.

Family Pictures

My beautiful, sweet, talented sister Brianna took our family photos. We thought it would be fun to post some of our favorite pictures she took.

Two weeks before Christmas my true love gave to me...

(feel free to sing along)
6 with pink eye
5 sore throats
4 people coughing
3 with stomach flu
2 with strep throat (and 2 ear infections)
and one sinus infection for me!

This wasn't the carol we wanted to be singing two weeks before Christmas, but it hit us hard. We are still in amazement that the illnesses just kept coming. Just when we thought the colds and strep throat were about to leave, the stomach flu hit. Each night we would dread going to sleep wondering what was going to happen that night. I felt like we needed to fumigate the house with Lysol! Thankfully we'd already bought the kid's presents, but everything else was put off until the Friday before Christmas. If we had to look at the two week trial and learn from it I would say my lessons were:

1. All the fluff of Christmas is just fluff.
2. The Priesthood is one of God's greatest gifts.
3. Christmas miracles exist.
4. When Mom is sick, the house falls apart.
5. Good health is priceless.

Here's to a HEALTHY New Year!!

Watch out Broadway, here comes Ari

On December 15th Arianna had a TaVaci Christmas performance. She loved singing and dancing. We are grateful we found an outlet for her performing passion. She and her friend Alyssa did a wonderful job!

Double Digits!

On December 13th Miranda turned a long awaited ten year's old. She was so excited to become a "pre-teen" she could hardly stand it. We celebrated on her birthday by opening presents, eating cake and ice cream, and playing with her best-friend Ariel. She and Ari had a piano recital that night, so her activity got bumped to the 15th. On Saturday we took her, Ari, and Ariel to a Voice Mail concert. She loved it and also enjoyed spreading her birthday longer than just one day.

At the age of 10 Miranda never ceases to amaze me. She loves learning and life. She is enjoying being challenged in her 4th/5th grade split class. Her favorite day is Tuesday when she's able to go to art lessons. Her favorite color is aqua, and her best friend is Ariel. She loves reading, tolerates piano lessons, and dislikes spelling. Miranda likes to build and create whether it's art or Legos or clay. She is so humble and constantly thinking of others. It is wonderful to watch her as she is growing into a beautiful young lady. We love you, Miranda!

A New Tradition

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we had a fun girl's day out. We went to the Sugar Plum Fairy tea. The girls were able to meet the Nutcracker Dancers and have a "tea" party. Then we went out for lunch at the Blue Bird Restaurant and then back for the Nutcracker Ballet. They were mesmerized from start to finish. Everything is better watching it through the eyes of your children. When the closing curtain fell, Sabrina immediately asked to see it again and Miranda decided we should make a tradition of it. I think it's a great idea!