Home Hockey Tournament

Today the boys had a hockey tournament. With today being my due date, I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it (and of course felt a little disappointed that babe hasn't arrived yet). Mr. Stannix wiped my tears, I put on some make-up and talked myself into leaving the house to watch the boys play. I endured all of the "I thought you were supposed to be having a baby this weekend!" comments and cheered hard for #5 and #11. 

After the game we took the boys to DQ for some lunch and ice cream. I learned that I can't fit into a booth with my big belly, so we had to move to the tables with the chairs. It was quite funny! 

The afternoon was spent out in the fresh air! I loved watching Hyrum play with these two and give his mamma a much needed break!

 

New Youth Theme

This morning we finally got around to setting some goals and introducing the new youth theme to the children. The theme for this year is “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ” (3Nephi 5:13). A disciple is someone who lives in such a way that the characteristics of Christ are woven into who they are and everything they do and say. We talked a lot about what it means to be a disciple and follower of Christ and how we can be a light and example to others of who He is. 

We set some goals for our family to accomplish this year, showed the children the video for the new youth theme, and gave them their goal setting sheets. They each filled in one goal for each physical, spiritual, social, and intellectual. They put things like "learn to make french toast" or "take swimming lessons" or "exercise for at least twenty minutes a day" or "learn about a different country". It's always interesting seeing what they write if they are willing to share and learning more about who they are.

 Our big goal as a family this year is for everyone to read The Book of Mormon every day (and hopefully finish by the end of the year). We grabbed some spare copies for the tiny ones and Lily was very excited to be just like the big kids (even though she can't read). The trick will be to stick with it daily and not get too far behind as the year goes along. So far everyone is pretty excited about it!

New Year, New Word

My word for this year is "CALM". My hope is to speak gently to the children, no matter how frustrated I may feel. To slow down more and to cherish. To pause and breathe deeply all that is good this year. To fill my heart with gratitude. To make time for the things that matter most and get rid of the things that aren't important and cause stress. To live more thoughtfully. To face trials and opposition with a calm faith. To immerse myself in the scriptures more and be blessed with the calming reassurance provided. To make our home a calm among the storms and chaos of life. And to be a calming influence for my children as they learn and grow. There will be lots of deep breaths and self mastery happening this year, and I'm looking forward to it!

New Years Eve

Our New Years eve was fairly quiet this year. My sister and her kiddos joined us and she whipped up a giant batch of donuts to celebrate! By the time we had finished frying and dipping, we estimated around 100 donuts were made. We ate until our tummies ached and then spent the rest of the evening playing games and visiting. It was so great! The big kids all stayed up to ring in the new year and it was fun to sit and visit with them around the table. 

Happy New Year!

 

Spruce Green

After a night filled with contractions every fifteen minutes, I woke quite tired this morning. While the children watched TV and raided the kitchen, I finished knitting the baby bonnet I began a few days ago. While I wouldn't mind if this babe waited until after the New Year to arrive, I am ready to not have a big belly in the way anymore. Now that this kiddo finally has something mamma made, maybe he will decide it's time to come. The spruce green color reminded me of New Years for some reason. It turned out beautifully.

 

Boxing Day

On Boxing Day we were able to sleep past 8:00am and it felt wonderful. We didn't get up to much. The children played with their toys and laughed together on the video game system. It was nice to have a lazy day, though our whole break has felt kind of slow. My brain is in baby waiting mode and I'm afraid a few traditions have slipped and I haven't been much of a planner these days.  

The full moon is set to rise tonight. It is the Cold Moon. It has been showering me with it's silver light for the past few nights as it's grown more full. Our entire room is illuminated for most of the night as I walk the aches from my legs in the middle of the night. 

 

Christmas Day

On Christmas morning we woke to the "chirping" of a smoke alarm low on battery. It was thankfully after 6:30am and not in the middle of the night. When I went to investigate, I could hear the children whispering downstairs. They had moved the bunk bed mattresses into the playroom and had a giant sleepover on Christmas eve (the chorus of snoring when I went to check on them will never be forgotten). Turns out the smoke alarm that needed it's batteries changed was literally the only one in the entire house high enough to need a ladder. So we listened to it go off every five minutes until we had finished gifts and breakfast. I'm sure when we watch the videos of Christmas morning in the future the sound of the smoke detector and the computerized woman's voice saying "low battery" will make us laugh. All in all, it was a pretty chill morning, and everyone had a great Christmas!

In the afternoon, I donned my apron to finish cooking Christmas dinner as I didn't want my new sweater to get stained. Lily saw me, scrunched her nose and said, "Mom, you look like a kitchen cleaner". 

We hosted my Uncle and the Sister Missionaries for Christmas dinner, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing, and listening to the children scream and giggle together over their new video game. It was nice to hear everyone getting along so well.

Here are some snippets from the morning...

Camilla and Hyrum both used their own money to buy each of their siblings a small gift. Lily was very grateful!

Camilla MADE me this beautiful cutting board with her own two hands and excitedly wrapped it and put it under the tree for me. She couldn't wait for me to open it. She did such a wonderful job. She burned the word "Homemade" in it because she and I always listen to that song by Jake Owen. It's so nice that I will likely never cut a thing on it, but it will make a great cheese and cracker board! 

And that's a wrap!

 

Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve Sunday we were blessed to attend a beautiful church service filled with wonderful messages and a gentle Spirit. Since Daddy didn't have to go to any Bishopric meetings, we were able to have the morning all together as a family. The night before I had mentioned to the children that I'd like a family picture, so they all came up ready to go by 9am. 

 

We all arrived home from church feeling a little bit more of that Christmas Spirit that we've been seeking.

 

In the mid-afternoon Daddy donned his Grinch onesie and began the hours of making Grampy's Tacos. He's become quite the pro at it now, and having two pans going at once made things so much quicker this year! The children love to watch him toss and flip them in the air. It's really the best part of the whole process!

Once they were all stuffed with meat and folded together with toothpicks, Daddy fried them once more on each side, making the edges nice and crispy.

Camilla and I set both ends of the table with taco toppings and our special drink for the evening.

And once Daddy had fried the entire double batch, we all sat down to eat.

There was lots of "cheers" going on!

Once dinner was all cleaned up we gathered around the tree to open our Christmas jammies! Everyone was pretty excited (except for one who shall not be named).

We snapped a few pictures, and then cozied up to watch The Polar Express. Lily was sooo into the entire movie as she had never seen it before. 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!