And a Very Merry Christmas to You

My delightful friend Amy designed these for us.  She is unbelievable when it comes to . . . well, pretty much anything she puts her hand to.  Anyway, I ran out of time a little bit and just had to give myself permission to not send Christmas cards this year.  I have them printed, though.  They are sitting on my kitchen counter.

So . . . maybe you'll see a New Year's card from us in a week or two.  Or perhaps even a Valentine's Day Card?  Who knows?  It'll be a surprise for everyone involved.  Just know that we had a lot of experiences this year, the kids are all alive and well, I survived another pregnancy and baby, Zach worked and worked, and that we love you all.  And I'll definitely get to a top ten for 2011--if I get around to it:-)

I would feel ungrateful if I didn't take a minute to recognize and thank all those around me for the service we received throughout the year during our bed rest, NICU, newborn, moving, broken bones, and surgery experiences.  President  Spencer W. Kimball said, “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.”  This, my friends, is sooooo true.

I have had a few experiences this past year that have solidified my knowledge that our Heavenly Father is very aware of each of us and our circumstances.  He loves me and He loves you.  He sent His Son for our benefit. Of this I am sure.  Merry Christmas!

Annnnnnd this is as close as we got for a family picture this year.

For some awesome Christmas cheer, check out some new Bible videos here.

15 Minutes of Conversation

If I'm going to be perfectly honest, and I am, I have to admit I tune out most of what comes out of Adam's mouth.  I shouldn't.  I know this.  But he just talks ALL of the time.  Still, in a 15 minute time span, he produced these gems:

1) Jesus is TOTALLY awesome!
2) I want to punch Isaac in the face.
3) I just can't stand it, that Eli because he's just so cute.

I should really run a wire on that kid.  I'd have blackmailing material for the rest of his life.

Lost in Translation

What I said: Isaac, please get your pj's so you can take a shower.

What he heard: Please sit on the couch reading the Pokemon book from the library and ignore your mother completely.

What I said: Isaac, please get off the couch and into the shower.

What he heard: Please keep sitting there reading the Pokemon book.

What I said: Isaac, you've now lost your opportunity to read Pokemon today.  Thank you for the book.

What he heard: Your mean, mean mother is going to ruin the rest of your life by taking your book from you.  It's time to get angry, stamp your feet all the way down the hallway while balling your hands into tight little fists, and holding your breath till your face gets red and you almost pass out.

Awesome.

One of Those Things I Never Thought I'd Hear Myself Say

Isaac, please get that pie dough off the wall!!

My Very First Blog Tutorial

I'm not much of a tutorial kind of person.  At least giving them.  I follow them often.  Or pretend that I'm going to.  So I decided if I was going to do a tutorial on my blog, it would need to be something near and dear to my heart.

Please note that I did NOT come up with this on my own.  It was shared with me by a fabulously creative Kathy Gardner.  But that's just between you and me.  I have assumed creative license here because well, I sadly do this so very often it has become mine.  And I'm tricky like that.  So, sit back, enjoy, and try it out for yourself.  You can thank me later.

The perfect way to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate

You must start out with a cookie.  (HaHA!  I bet you thought I was going to say hot chocolate there.  Unless you cheated and looked at the very obvious picture of the cookie below.)  Anyway, it's got to be a certain kind of a cookie:  Keebler's Grasshopper cookies, to be exact.

 Then you take a very small nibble out of one side, like so:

 Make a matching nibble on the other side directly across from the first nibble:

 Put it in your mouth so that one of the nibbles is between your lips, in this very attractive and specific position:

 Bring your hot chocolate to your mouth and use the cookie as a straw to suck it up.  The hot chocolate moves through the cookie and becomes delightfully minty when you taste it.

 Eventually you will notice the cookie start to implode a little bit with hot chocolatey goodness.  When you hit this stage, open your mouth and take the cookie in before it crumbles into your mug.

 As you can see, the whole process is a real winner.  It should have two thumbs up, but it is notoriously hard to give two thumbs up when you are holding a mug of hot chocolate.  So enjoy the cheesy photo, pausing to note that I apparently have a crooked smile.  Who knew?

You're welcome.

Pears

The first fruit I've given all of my kids is pears.  They have all loved it . . . until Eli:

 Try #2:

 Try #3:

 Swallowing:

 Whew!  It's gone.  He wouldn't take another bite after that.

 Deer in the headlights:

 Notice the yarfies on his sleeve.  It's a constant state of being for this kid.