Christmas 2009

We had a fun Christmas Eve with all of the family last Thursday evening. Jamie and Kelly came late because of other family parties and Melinda didn't get to come at all because she had bronchitis - we missed her. We tried our hand at fondue and decided we need a lot more practice - I over heated the chocolate and the cheese was stringy ... so they didn't look very pretty but they tasted good - and I MISSED the yummy artichoke dip that Da was going to bring. It was an interesting Christmas Eve - every year I work hard to find just the right story or program for our family Christmas Eve and then every year we have the Christmas Story done by the grandkids. Well this year I just plain couldn't think of anything to do program wise, so we decided that we would just get together and eat and visit and then do the reinactment of the nativity.

We waited for Jamie and Kelly to bring their babies so we would have a baby Jesus and then we decided not to do the nativity at all - we had a fun time visiting and eating and thought that would be sufficient. But we missed the nativity --- it isn't what you call spiritual because the kids don't practice it in advance or anything - but it is definitely one of our family traditions... and it was missed. It also is a break in the talking and eating and I missed the chance to stop and take a moment and appreciate the reason for the Season -- the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The evening felt incomplete because we didn't 'do' the spiritual part of it!

Another reason that the evening was incomplete was because we were missing Makae. We did get to see her though - a bunch of the family all headed down to North Salt Lake for a 2 pm visit with her. It was a wonderful chance to hug her and talk to her and watch her get excited over seeing many of the family that she hadn't seen for two months.

We also got to see Makae on the Tuesday before Christmas - her whole group put on a very fun musical program for us - This is Makae singing with the girls at Lifeline. She seems to enjoy the staff and the students and has adjusted to their routine very well. She is learning to make some good decisions with her life right now and she is in our every prayer.

It was so fun watching Shawn and Kristanne's boys lovingly hold their new little cousins. All three of them were so excited to be holding a baby. Of course the babies were the hit of the party with everyone - here we have Ethan and Cade holding Taylie and Brayden. Taylie even looks a little bit like Ethan!
Here's Cade - in his fancy new jammies which he LOVED!! With a sweet Brayden
Taylie and Brayden were held and held and held that whole Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - they had to be exhausted after having to entertain all their aunts and uncles and cousins and gramma's and granpas!!
Jace was really excited to try and hold Brayden. At first I held Jace as he held Brayden but it didn't take me long to realize he did a good job holding the babies. So we sat him on the floor and let him go solo. We had a fun evening with everyone - there is nothing I love more than spending time with my family. It gets a bit BUSY in my little house when all of us are there but there is no cure for that problem - its only going to get worse as the families get bigger. I am still waiting for my kids to buy me a bigger house!! ;-D


But we had a lovely evening and then the next day Ed and I got up early and were on the road to Lehi by 6:45 am so we could be there when Ben and Simon came down the stairs to see what Santa had brought.

This picture of Benjamin is priceless - the look on his face is exactly what Christmas morning is all about. The excitement and thrill of a new train set! One that he could make go all by himself!

this is our own version of Godzilla - as soon as Simon realized he could make his train go foward and back, he had to get in the middle of things - literally!
Here's Ben watching Da as she sets the train back on the track again - I bet Dirk and Da wish they had a nickle for every time they have had to do that in the last week!
Benji got a normal looking train and Simon got the 'front-runner'....it didn't take him long to figure out how to get the little person in the train out and then he discovered he could make the train go on the carpet as well as the track...the rest of the time we were there he was driving his train all over the carpet. We tried to get Ben and Simon interested in their gifts but nothing doing...all they could see was TRAIN!!

After we had spent 45 minutes at Dirk and Da's house we got back in the car and headed to Provo where Kecia had been waiting patiently (???) for us to arrive. She woke up Glenn when we pulled up (he was glad to get to sleep in an extra hour!)
this picture should be very last --- I had been taking pictures of Emma and her trucks - there she was running back and forth in her jammies and her high heels and watching the trucks go = she was sooooo excited. Then I looked over at her mommie... sitting there with her hat and scarf on, her stack of presents in front of her and holding up her new saute pan in HER jammies and with her new high heels on too! Like mother , like daughter!
Note princess Emma's glass slippers - she didn't want to have anything to do with her new princess dresses and jewelry and crowns but she put on her new high heels as she chased back and forth watching the trucks going.
She didn't touch the trucks or the tracks - she just ran back and forth and back and forth saying truck truck truck
Like Ben and Simon - Emma was so excited about her tracks and trucks she was not the least bit interested in the presents we brought or any of the other presents under the tree - she would look for a second and then back to the 'truck, truck, truck'.
This was what was waiting for Emma when she first came into the living room - a whole box full of princess dresses and high heels and crowns and jewelry ... NO THANK YOU, NOT INTERESTED.....TRUCK ......TRUCK.....TRUCK!


Thank you Kecia and Glenn and Dirk and Da for sharing Christmas morning with us. Ed just decided on Christmas eve that he wanted to watch the little ones and see and feel the excitement of Christmas morning. I wasn't too sure about it (after all, I didn't get to open my presents until 11 am when we got back home!!)

Christmas Day was a fantastic day as we got to spend it with the people we love, watching the excitement on their faces as they opened the gifts that we had lovingly picked out to give them. Christmas is such a special time - as we drove down South that morning we saw a cross walk above the freeway where someone had taken cups and created the message in the fence that said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS"

Mauri and Ira and their sweet kids got to our house about 12:30. Grandpa was anxious to give them all rides on the RZR but it was sooooo cold and his hopes of pulling them on their sleighs over behind the church house on the lawn there were dashed because of the ice mountain between the lawn and the parking lot. After they left I got a half an hour nap (which is a good nap for me) and then Shawn and Kristanne came with the three boys. While they were still here Jamie and Kelly and the twinners showed up. We had lots of good food all day long and again, lots of love and laughter. About five pm we followed Shawn and Kris down to Kelly and Terrie's house to see grandpa Merritt - All of Kelly's family were there plus Jeff and Teresa and Skye and Katie Jo - so again, we enjoyed the love and laughter of our wonderful family. Teresa and Jeff added so much fun to the group.

Ed and I were getting ready to leave when the phone rang and it was Chase calling from North Carolina. Kelly put the phone on speaker mode and we all sat around the table for an hour chatting with Elder Nielson. It was great - and it was a marvelous ending to a marvelous day. As he bore his testimony of Jesus and all that Christ did for us I couldn't help but feel an even closer tie to my Savior.

People complain about how commercialized Christmas is but I love it because it gives me a reason to put smiles on the faces of the people I love the very most. Christ is the reason - we ARE celebrating his birth day - Thank you Jesus for inviting us to such a wonderful birthday party!

Christmas Wishes

This holiday season has been very dear to my heart. I have had a chance to contemplate the birth of our Savior and all that He has done for me - and for you. This holy birth was the beginning of the most marvelous and wonderful life ever seen on this earth. The suffering, the crucifixion, the resurrection of Christ did happen and I am so thankful for it. I am thankful for a loving Father in Heaven that allowed his son to come to earth to teach us and show us a life of love and giving - and yes, even the pain and agony that came with his death. Both our Father in Heaven and our brother, Jesus, knew that there had to be a way to allow us to come back to Them in the end - and so the events unfolded. Everyone complains about the selfishness and the materialism of the Christmas Season - I don't look at it that way - I find that the Christmas Season allows me to think more of others - especially those I love. It gives me a chance for my heart to grow a little larger. I love the music, I love the lights, I love the gifts!! I even love it when someone wishes me a Happy Holiday - I simply thank them and wish THEM a Merry Christmas.


Take a moment and appreciate the beauty of the ecard that Ashland University has prepared. Let the Light of Christ feel your hearts this Christmas Season ... and all year long. I love you.

http://ecard.ashland.edu/index.php?ecardYear=2004adm

December Update

Last Sunday Dirk and Da invited Kecia and Glenn over for Sunday dinner (since they didn't get to see each other on Thanksgiving). They invited Ed and I too and we went down to Lehi for a delicious dinner (you should try her cinnamon lasagne!! DELICIOUS!!) Then we moved downstairs to visit. Pretty soon we found outselves in the playroom so the kids (??) could play.

Grandpa Ed is the designer and builder of the fancy towers seen in the foreground of this picture.


Here's Simon enjoying all the attention!!
Ben and Glenn were fascinated with the dinosaur puzzle - they played with it for a good 30 minutes!



Emma is enjoying the family party too - (take note of the cute outfit - how many babies do you know that wear satin onesies!!

I gave Kecia her birthday present that night since I had already given Kelly his and we wouldn't be having a birthday party per se for them until Christmas eve.

Now we are back in Layton - this is my tree this year... and who needs Santa to come with this load already under the tree!

We bought this cute display after Christmas in 2006 and then in 2007, since we were in New York for ten days from the 10th through the 20th of December we didn't set up our outside decorations. So this year we had a NEW decoration to our front yard !! And it is sooooo CUTE!! The picture doesn't really give you the full effect. They are much brighter and more sparkly in person.


Here is my cute snowball - sad to say it doesn't blow the snow too well anymore but its still cute.

Here is a full view of our yard this year.

And finally - last but not least - here is what it looks like all together.

Merry Christmas

Christmas came early!!

I mentioned to a couple of you that the new Deseret Industries was opening in Layton this week. It is a wonderful place. It has the bishops storehouse; the Dry Pack Food Storage; the employment services; the social services; the distribution center; the DI; and it will have the humanitarian workshop also soon. It is the first consolidated services building in the church. They have been telling us for weeks that the new building was going to open on the 15-16-17 of October. I guess they had a special dedicatory meeting last night and this morning at ten am it opened to the public. AND THE PUBLIC CAME!!!! Cheryl and I got there after a quick morning walk - about 10:05 and there was NO place to park!! It was packed. People were driving around and around and around hoping that someone would come OUT of the store and let them have their parking space. NOT... Cheryl let me off to run in and see if there were any scout shirts as she needed a blue one and a tan one for some of her cubs. Then she drove over to Sams Club and parked!! And walked back across the street.

I got inside and found the shirts she needed. Then I wandered over to the infants wear - didn't see anything I really liked in Simon's size and then I spotted the little girls dresses ... oh dear! I only bought one. There was a peach colored fluffy dress that I would have loved to buy but another lady got it first and I didn't think it was proper to knock her down and grab it out of her hands- it being a church owned building and all. BUT only $4!!! I wanted that dress!

Then I headed back to the costumes and they had some great ones - there was the cutest spider costume that would have fit Simon or Emma but I didn't have my cell phone with me and so I didn't dare buy it. I looked for donkey costumes for Emma and there weren't any.

I had been told that they had saved all the good donations from all of the DI's across Utah to put in this store for its grand opening. And they had some goooooood stuff. They had some really nice quilted vests - brand new - for $25.

Then I wandered over to the furniture department, because, as you know, I had decided my table was way too big for just the two of us and I've been looking for a smaller table. Since our family has gotten so big we never use the table to feed the whole family. We end up all over the house.

And I found it!!! Its is perfect... a round table in woods that match my china hutch with four light blue padded chairs...perfect match for my kitchen.


It was only $80 for the whole set!! and it looks brand new! feels good too. That will be this weeks grocery money and since Ed will be out of town again - I won't need many groceries!
Mauri is going to take my old set - her chairs are wearing out and my old set had six chairs - so there will be a chair for every one in their family!! Fun!! I guess I will have to give her my long tableclothes too since they will be too big for this one. Gee - I will actually have something I want to buy in Mexico when we go this winter!

Sad day!! A naked tree

I'm taking my Christmas tree down today and that is always a sad day for me!! Usually it doesn't come down until the 15th or later but since that is the day I am scheduled to have my incisional hernia repaired I figured it needed to come down this week. I love a Christmas tree. I wouldn't mind putting one up and leaving it there all year just changing to ornaments to Valentines Day and then St Patrick's Day and then Easter, etc. I love the soft glow at night when all the other lights are off and I can just enjoy.

As I undecorate it though (as when I set it up), I take a minute to enjoy the ornaments I have. Every time we go someplace new I buy an ornament for my tree!! I have a sailboat and a lighthouse from Portland Head,Connecticut, a gorgeous butterfly and hummel figurine from a little German village on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River where it runs past Cincinnati, An ornament from the Statue of Liberty and a big apple that says Empire State Building, New York. I have a mannequin head in silver brocade and an actor's masque in purple and gold and green from New Orleans. I have an old fashioned Santa that I bought at the Old Post Office in Washington DC. I have a seashell from one of my trips to Hawaii and a wooden nativity cut-out and and a gold metal cut-out that says "the Cradle of Liberty" from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I have a Lennox china snowflake from San Marcos that I bought at the factory outlet stores just South of town. I have a blown glass hummingbird and a birdfeeder that reminds me of my mama and several trains that remind me of my dad.

I have a metal Cinderella Castle that Dirk and Da brought me back from their Honeymoon to Walt Disney World. I have ornaments that Ed brought me back from Germany and I have a beautiful glass ball full of sand from the Cayman Islands that Kelly and Jamie brought me from their cruise in November. I have other ornaments that Mauri and Kecia have given me through the years. Mauri gave me some darling glass snowmen that will remind me of our fun mom and daughter dates. I am also crediting Mauri with some cute red metal ornaments that look like a tricycle and a childs rocking chair with adorable bears sitting on or in them. Kecia gave me a cute snowman from California while on her mission. And Kris and Shawn have given me some wooden ornaments with pictures of my grandkids in them. I also have one of Adrie Anna when she was about a year old. Then there are the jewel like ornaments that I think Kris helped Mickey make. And then there is the crystal heart she gave me the year my mother died - with the heart came a beautiful poem that tells me she is waiting for me on the other side - and that she still loves me. I have snowflakes that I saved from my sister Merrilee's ornaments - and little tiny nutcrackers that remind me of my growing up years. I have a counted cross stitch ornament that I myself made about 25 years ago! I have a crystal that hangs on a thin wire and catches the lights as they glow. I THINK I bought it in Arizona but I am not sure. One of my close friends gave me a gingerbread man in a brown paper sack that is sooo cute; Even the pink sparkly [:-)] poinsetta flowers are a memory because they were part of a whole bunch of corsages I made for our Ward Christmas Choir the year I sang in it... and ended up with pneumonia!!

What I am saying, in my wordy over much way is that it is a tree of memories. Each time I look at the different ornaments I am taken back to a place or time in my life where I have happy memories. Ed and I have had a lot of fun traveling to a lot of different places here in the US of A and each of these ornaments reminds me of those different trips. This is just one of the reasons that I love Christmas so very much - and why I hate to take my tree down as the season comes to a close. I gave Kecia my big tree last year and got me a tall thin one that I love (and it doesn't take up so much room), but the tree is getting more crowded each year. I keep thinking that I need to stop buying memories...but I enjoy them so much I just can't.

Fun Day

Merry Christmas to Mom from Mauri!

Mauri gave me a day out with her for Christmas and we had fun! We went the morning of New Years Eve...we hit the movie theatre first and watched National Treasure - Book of Secrets. Good movie. We both learned something though - DON'T buy the large drinks - 44 0z - we both had to run out a couple of times during the movie to the ladies room!! Bummer!! Trying to figure out a slow time during the movie when we wouldn't miss too much - not fun!!

After the movie we went to Marie Callendar's for lunch. We talked and visited and ate and had a good time. Then we shared a slice of their caramel cheesecake apple pie! YUMM!! Thanks for the fun time Mauri, I love you.

Gorgeous gift

Double click on the picture so you can see the detail

Last night was my Nielson family party and it was so fun to sit and visit with my Kelly and Terry and Jeff and my dad and Jill Pill - along with Shawn and Kris and Kelly and Jamie. I had to show off my newest decoration - made by Jeff!! Usually Teresa does a major part of the craft work but since she is in Idaho with Skye and Katie Jo at her parents home, Jeff put this one together for me, which surprisingly enough makes it even more special!! Teresa is so meticulous and makes sure that the lettering etc is done perfectly and she will be proud when she sees what a great job Jeff did with mine.

As you can see it is one of the new type of signs - a steel sign, with the Vinyl lettering. When I realized they had Ed and Susan (us) for Christmas I really really hoped that they would make me one of these gorgeous signs, but I had no idea what I wanted it to say! Jeff says that so far this is the only temple he has but will shortly have a lot more of the different temples. Lets see, I would need an Ogden Temple, a Bountiful Temple and a Mt Timpanogas Temple for the three of my four that were married in a temple. Kelly and Jamie were smart enough to get married in the SL temple in the first place. ;-)

When I opened this gift last night and saw that he had done the Salt Lake Temple for me I could have cried. Ed and I were married there in September of 1967 - 40 years ago...thus the

Willden
Established 1967

I am emailing a copy of this picture to Jeff so he can post it on his web site. You are welcome to go see all the fun stuff they have to offer. They attend ALOT of super saturdays in Northern Utah every fall helping ladies make their own favorite signs. You can be that I will be taking it to the next enrichment planning meeting we have to see if anyone wants to get together for a spring fling instead of a super saturday;...these would make marvelous mother's daygifts! Hey, Kristanne - here is an idea for you to use as Enrichment leader.

http://www.teresascustomcreations.com/

I just figured out how to link that web address to the actual site all by myself!! Amazing. Now if I could only figure out how to add my picture to my 'comments' on someone elses blog sites...

Anyway - this is a favorite gift. Along with all the other special things I received this year for Christmas (like the cute sign Jamie and Kelly gave me, and the pillows from Kecia & Glenn, and the 1 night stay at the Anniversary Inn(!!!) from Shawn and Kris, and the emergency water storage kit and gift card to Barnes and Noble from Dirk and Da. And I am sure I will do a whole blog on Mauri's gift - it is an afternoon for the two of us to go shopping together or to a movie and then out for lunch....FUN!! I AM SOOOO SPOILED!!

Grandkids and the Treehouse

Caleb, Jerod, Joshua and Adrie - precious grandchildren

I mentioned in my last blog about how fun it was to watch my grandkids's faces as they opened their Christmas gifts. Well - Mauri took her kids to spend a few hours at the Treehouse Museum in Ogden where they now had membership for a year (thanks to grandma susan :-) and it looks like they had lots of fun.



This is Caleb - one of Mauri's five year old twins. Looks like he is having tea!\













Here are a couple of WashingtonTerrace's finest firemen hard at work!! (Caleb and mom, Mauri)












And here we have Miss Adrie - the old (hee hee hee) schoolmarm
















and here we have Master Jerod doing the teaching with Joshua as a student.

Kids did you know that your grandma Merritt probably attended a class room much as this? He was telling the story at last nights party about being in the lower grade classroom (It was a two room schoolhouse with grades 1-4 in one class and grades 5-8 in the other classroom!) Grandpa is color blind but no one knew too much about it in those days and his teacher got sooooo mad at him for not coloring his picture with the proper colors. She thought he was just being a smart alecky kid!! Grandpa Merritt says that it wasn't until his induction physical on his 18th birthday that he was told he was color blind and they explained it to him!!!!! WOW!

Dear Santa

This came to me through the email and I thought I would post it for all of you moms who wonder if there is light at the end of the laundry basket!!


DEAR SANTA LETTER FOR MOMS!!!


I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor,
sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree
on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases,
since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back
of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple,
which I already have) .....and arms that don't hurt or flap in the
breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the
candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint
resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television
that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals;
and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes,
Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fightand three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning , or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the
house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an
organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave
crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always, a MOM...!