ending the year and starting a new one

Hooray for a healthy family on a holiday!!! We spent NYE hanging out as a family. We did some returns in SLC and then went to lunch as a family. The restaurant was empty and it was so nice because it took away the stress of trying to keep the kids quite and corralled. After lunch we headed to Ryan's parents house to relax. At least I relaxed, Ryan cleared the driveway that accumulated 4 inches of snow a few hours after his dad had already cleared it. It's just good practice for our new house, we've been spoiled having an HOA that clears the snow. So anyways, we hung out and played games with family. And pretended that 10 pm was midnight so we could get home and go to bed.

On New Years Day I was tired and just wanted a nap but the kids were stir crazy so I told them to get their snow clothes together and get ready to go up the mountains. We just drove up our local canyon and the city has trails and rentals available for snowshoeing and XC skiing so we rented some shoes and hiked around on a GORGEOUS day. I'd say we started the new year out right. I don't think I will take Charlotte with us next time, she was Hev-ee! And when she dozed off she was a dead weight big time.







Brody, Me, Charlie, Abbey, Cloe and my mom. This whole group cost $11, much cheaper than the movie I took them to over break!


and last year I made a goal to post a picture a day and I did it. It's only been 2 days but I kind of miss it.

can you think of the worst time of year to be sick?

How about on Christmas eve AND Christmas day. Yep, that was me and half my kids, kind of makes for an anti climatic holiday.

Ryan, Brody and Charlotte went up to the his parents house Christmas eve to celebrate with the Brown's and Cloe, Abbey and I stayed home sick. We laid in my bed and watched t.v. I did make a run to Wendy's to grab some food. I felt guilty making them work on Christmas eve but clearly not guilty enough to make PBJ sandwiches.

We were feeling pretty good Christmas day but I was still sick enough that it didn't quite feel like Christmas. No group shot in their new Christmas jammies, but it was still a fun day spent with family.

yay! I got a new camera!
First shot taken on said camera and the lovely mess of Christmas morning.
On Sunday we went to my moms house for Christmas. The kids loved playing Christmas BINGO.

"Santa! Santa Clause is coming!"

Isn't that what Buddy the Elf yells?

Well he did come to our house, 3 days before Christmas during our little Christmas party. (actually the Christmas party was a cover up for Santa showing up unexpectedly. Otherwise, the kids would've considered it a pretty lame party). First the kids all wrote letter to Santa and then they played some game that they kind of made up where they hid a stocking and then each other had to find it. I really had nothing planned except write a letter and then Santa so we had to kill time in between.

They were all pretty surprised when he showed up, he said "hello" and then had them all sit down for a story. Such a good book and I tried to find it but it is now out of print! $35 on amazon! They each got to sit on his lap, Charlotte was the first to hop up there and he gave them each a candy cane and a bell from his sleigh. Then it was time for him to get back to work.

Have a great Holiday!

service

I was talking to my cousin a few weeks ago and she gave me a great idea, her father in law gave each of the kids 5 envelopes with $100 in each envelope and then they needed to prayerfully find someone to give it to. So they went to Wal-Mart and some other places and found people they felt were in need of a little help and gave them the envelope saying "some guy over there told me to give this to you" and then walked away and watched their reaction. I thought that sounded so fun.

Recently I read on my friends blog about a similar idea, just not as expensive.

And then while watching CNN (gasp, I am a Utah mormon and get my news from something besides fox news!) I saw a story about a secret Santa that walked around handing out cards with $100 bills to people who he thought could use it this time of year.

So that is when I decided I just needed to do it. A painting recently sold this month, Christmas is paid for and all the bills have been paid so I can afford to give to a few people. But doesn't that sound like a fun way to do it? My kids would love it and it could be a great way to give them that feeling of service. I'll report back on how it goes and I was also wondering if you wanted to join in on the fun?

I'm starting to believe my children are accident prone.

Abbey bumped against a pot of boiling water and got 2nd degree burns on her arm. And these types of things always seem to happen on Sunday around our house. It always catches me off guard when my kids need to go to the doctor on a weekday and I am able to go somewhere besides the Instacare.

Charlotte is the only child that I had not yet had a chance to get ready for church. I'm never surprised to see her if anyone gets her ready besides me and I don't get a chance to give my "approval". Ryan gave Cloe credit for this outfit. She has dresses, doesn't it seem earlier for them to just put her in a dress? You can't go wrong and you don't have to worry about matching.

The Brown's Creche

I have a thing for nativity sets, I just think they're cool. I loved the variety I saw in Italy and they were all so different and usually expansive. This year I added a few more to the collection. I have a friend who's Mom collects nativities and she told me she doesn't mind buying her neat ones from different countries because she knows that someday she will get it back. I hope my kids figure that out when they are older and buy me cool ones.

I bought this in, you guessed it, Belize. It was one of our stops on our cruise back in April.
my mother in law gave me this one because she thought it looks like little kids, which I agree, and it reminds her of when all the grandkids do the nativity story on Christmas eve. Very cute.
And one of my favorites. I have been eyeing this one for 2 years now but have never bought it. I snagged it on sale at Target for $14.99. I love it. But baby Jesus gets misplaced often, I found him under the tree the other day, Charlotte loves babies.

there is hope, I found the joy in this time of year

"if there was a problem, yo I'll solve it......" and I did just that. When I have a problem, big or small, I pray. I wasn't really into being all joyful and Christmasy and I felt like my kids would miss out on such a special time of year. So I prayed after posting my last post. I prayed for my husband to forgive me for cutting a total 70's haircut and then I prayed for help and inspiration to feel the Christmas spirit. In my opinion, the Christmas spirit is remembering Christ and his life, spending time with family, serving and just having fun. I felt like I needed to read more Christmas stories to them especially pertaining to the Nativity. I know that sounds so simple but it has been fun to pick a new one from the library and then after we read it usually turns into a Christmas Q & A or just the kids talking and being excited and it does feel more like Christmas.

I had run out of excuses and had also stopped promising my kids we would "build the gingerbread houses today" because I was really looking like a liar and that I am not. Unless my husband asks me how much something cost. I don't consider it lying because if it were 75% off, it would've cost that much ;) I started assembling the houses and I had a total flashback of last years house assembling experience, I pretty much cursed the tradition. The houses are heavy and the frosting isn't that effective. I made the first house, a store bought kit, with the frosting and it worked. The second house was bought from the bountiful basket (which by the way is an awesome co-op if your family eats produce) and it was real gingerbread. Thick, heavy, flimsy and may I add, delicious. The frosting was just not going to cut it and I could feel green starting to flow through my veins. I was about to turn into the Hulk and then a thought occurred to me, "why don't I just use the hot glue gun?" And it worked like a charm and the decorating commenced.
The house from the bountiful basket came with powder, it wasn't sugar, and for some reason I assumed it was frosting so I continued to scoop it out with a butter knife to put in the frosting bags. It wasn't frosting. And this is a cashmere sweater that doesn't like to be washed.

Charlotte, I sure hope you are keeping track of how many carbs you are eating, because I'm not and I know those m&m's are loaded.






One of the few things I love about the freezing cold winter is the night. Of course the days when it warms up a little are my favorite thing about winter but I love to go outside at night in winter because the sky is so clear and the stars are so bright. It also smells really fresh and clean.

On the topic of Christmas, a couple weeks ago we went to a breakfast held for kids with diabetes. It was cool because all the food was labeled with the number of carbs it had and I was able to talk to some moms about tips for traveling, 72 hour kit, insulin pump and what not. But the most anticipated was the visit from Santa. He arrived while I was talking to a Mom and all the kids went to get in line, and for some reason, all in different spots. I don't get that. Charlotte came to me with a bear, apparently she walked right up to the front and hopped on Jolly old St. Nicks lap. Well I rounded them all up together (of course around the kid who was closest to the front) and he gave them each a present and Brody was certain this was the real Santa. We decided that the real Santa makes special visits to the hospital (that is where it was held) because kids in the hospital sometimes need Santa more than kids at the mall. It was all so magical to him and I started to get a little teary eyed seeing him so excited and so caught up in the magic of believing.

Charlotte sabotaged Abbey. She did all she could to get back on his lap.

debbie downer gets a haircut.

I got my hair cut, the hubby doesn't like it. But I've come to expect that. I wanted something different but didn't have the time it took for a color so I went for bangs. It's kind of fun to do something drastic, I kind of like that my kids tell me I don't look like me. I almost wrote something that didn't sound like something a mother should worry about, like when my kids are older I don't want them to sign me up for a makeover because they are dyeing to see me with a new hairdo. Of course I want to be remembered for being someone who serves, loves, etc etc, but I, okay maybe I should've kept that thought between me myself and I. It just sounds a little shallow in writing ;) Okay they were just bangs, it's not like a shaved my head, I'm acting like I'm so daring and crazy.

I could use a suggestion, it just doesn't feel quite like Christmas. Last year I made a December calendar and had all kinds of Christmas festivities throughout the month. This year, not so much. Maybe I"m too busy. This week in particular has felt crazy and I don't think it was avoidable. I promised my kids we would make gingerbread houses last Saturday, have you seen any pictures? That's because the candy and 3 packages of unassembled houses are still on my counter. Maybe because all my Christmas shopping was done in November? Maybe the lack of snow? But I'm thankful for that.

But we found a new house. We have out grown this one and need more room just in case another little brownie starts baking in the oven. That is not an announcement. We are moving to a city near by, I don't like to reveal to much info ya know, and I'm dreading the move, leaving my friends and I really like our ward. But our ward is also very transient so either I leave first or my friends do.
I am really trying to add something positive but...
I printed my Christmas cards before Thanksgiving and they made it in the envelopes but they still sit without addresses. I am really trying to think of something to balance this out, something I accomplished this week.

come one come all

My kids are participating in a local craft show. There are a lot of unique hand made stuff for sale and it's all pretty cool. They have a young crafters section that my kids will be selling bath bombs and fish-in-a-bag soap, so come check it out. We won't be there, we don't have to man a table or anything so don't come expecting to see us :) But do come to buy some fun bath products for Christmas gifts http://thebeehivebazaar.com/next-event/