Christmas Part Two

On Christmas Day, Chris and I got to sleep in a bit. It was wonderful. I remember the days when I would wake up at 5:00 am with my brother and sisters and we would be anxiously awaiting the time when we could start jumping off of the top bunk bed to wake our parents up who were sleeping down below. Now, I am anxiously trying to go back to sleep to get just a few more minutes of rest. My how life changes. Ü

After having a delicious breakfast (Chris is an excellent cook) we headed up to my parents house. We had been a little concerned that 'Nara wouldn't be feeling well enough to go and we didn't want to leave her alone on Christmas Day. Luckily, she was a tough girl and came with us. When we got there we jumped right in to our stockings and presents. My sister Shian gave me my favorite present of the year (even beating out the sweater that Chris gave me that I want to wear ALL the time)! She made me this blanket. In case you can't see it clearly, it is a nativity. She embroidered (is that the term?) all the white squares. Baby Jesus, Mary, a camel, an angel.... It is amazing. Then Tom's mom (who is a major quilter) put it together and Shian did the binding. She started it in September. Wow! I am so impressed with her. Thanks, Banana. I love it and you. Ü
*** I must make a correction. Shian actually chose the fabric, cut it, and pieced the quilt herself. Tom's mom used her machine to do the actual quilting, but Shian did just about everything. I'm so proud of her. ***

While out shopping with his sister a few days before, Chris came across a big dinosaur that he thought Gavin would love. He was right. At one point I heard Gav whisper to his T-Rex, "I love you." It was so cute.It's good to know that Chris and 'Nara almost got kicked out of a Toys R Us for a good cause (seriously, Chris called me while they were at the toy store and they were being crazy. I love them when they get together. I think they both revert back to middle-schoolers Ü).

Santa knew that we were going up to my parents house and so he delivered a special gift just for Chris. If you remember when Chris blogged about going elk hunting with my dad, he mentioned that he had lost his Pocahontas Barbie. Well, Santa got him a new one. Pocahontas Gone Wild! For ages 30 and up. Now many of you are thinking that I was this secret Santa. Nope. It was Ryan. Well done. It was hilarious when he opened it. Ü I also really liked when Dad got his Iron Man mask and gloves (very cool) and when Gordon received his "American Eagle" pants. He got some great clothes this year.

In the afternoon, Chris helped shovel the driveway with the other sons-in-law. But there weren't enough shovels so he had to use one of his Barbie's purple lounge chairs. I think it made a big impact on the snow.

Later that day some of us went caroling. It was snowing really hard and the specific people we were going to carol for weren't home. So instead, we just walked around a few blocks in snow past our ankles and sang as loud as we could. It was so much fun. It was very cold and very windy (as our entire week seemed to be) and so we were extremely bundled up. For the most part only our faces were visible. This proved to tragic for our makeup and hair. When we got home we looked like this...
>Yikes! Shian even had mascara on her nose. Ü Mom washed hers off before we could get a picture and (lucky for them) Gordon and Gavin didn't have any makeup on. Once we got home I was feeling really child-like so I played in the snow for a bit longer.

When it was time for bed it took Chris and 'Nara quite a while to fall asleep. Since we were all in the same room (sleeping on some comfortable cots, I might add) those two started joking around and sending text messages to each other. Like I said, middle-schoolers. I fell asleep to the sound of their whispers, "I won!"

The day after Christmas we went to the Hardware Ranch for a sleigh ride through the elk herd that comes to winter there every year. It was a fun experience although shorter than I thought it would be. Here are a bunch of pictures from the drive up and the Ranch.






Robyn and Gordon

Mom and Dad

Shian, Tom and Gavin

Mom and Dad

Chris, me and 'Nara in front of the horses that pulled our sleigh. The one on the left was named Clif (just like my brother) and he was scared of people. Whenever we would get too close his legs would just shake and shake like he was cold. It was really cute (just like my brother, again Ü)

Unfortunately, after the Ranch, we had to hurry back to Mom and Dad's, pack up our stuff and head home. Chris was having an X-box party later that night. The drive took twice as long as normal because of all the snow. But in the end we made it safe and sound.

It was such a great Christmas season. I love getting to spend so much time with family. I love the way everyone is especially nice to everyone else. I love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful we get to celebrate His birth every year.

Christmas Part One

Christmas was wonderful this year. I was surprised by this because leading up to it, I wasn't in a very Christmas-y mood. I didn't feel like decorating the house (although eventually, I got most of my decorations up), didn't feel like getting a tree and decorating it (in the end we decided it just wasn't worth it this year) and didn't feel like doing much to the outside of the house (I eventually got some lights put up).
Luckily, about two days before Christmas, the right spirit finally hit me and I was ready when Santa arrived.
Chris's sister 'Nara came to stay with us. It was great to have her out here, even though she was sick through so much of our time together (thanks, Charlie Ü). She stayed for about a week and got to go to all the family parties with us.
The night before Christmas Eve we went to Alex and Lacey's house for Chris's family party. It was great. The food was delicious (Lacey sure knows how to cook a turkey) and we got to use cute Christmas-y plates and goblets. I loved them. We opened presents and played with the kids. Chris, 'Nara and I slept over which was very nice. In the morning after french toast, we went sledding. It was a blast. The wind was freezing cold but I was surprisingly warm through it all. Some previous kids had made a jump that we were finally brave enough to go off. I'm happy to say that everyone survived without major injuries. Ü
We stayed through most of the afternoon. It was so nice to just sit and visit without feeling like we needed to be doing anything.
On the way home Chris had a "moment" with another driver who was tailgating him really bad. It ended with the other driver making a sign (yes, this went on long enough that his passenger made a sign, just for us) that said "Cowboys suck" in reference to the big Dallas Cowboys sticker on the back of our jeep. He held it up in his window as he passed us for the last time (I say last because there had been several passes and passing-agains). It had started out as annoying, moved on to Chris getting really upset and 'Nara and I trying not to laugh at Chris' anger, and ended with all three of us laughing at the other driver. Let me tell you, we were all feeling the Christmas spirit. Ü
For Christmas Eve we just stayed at the house, watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and did a puzzle. Chris is just learning that I am a big puzzler. He knew I liked them but didn't realize quite how much. We ended up doing two that night. It was a very nice relaxing night for us. We ended by drinking Russian Refresher (it's kind of like a wassail) and opening our presents from each other. Chris gave me two sweaters that I absolutely LOVE and want to wear all the time. In fact, I need to go throw them in the wash so that I can wear one of them tomorrow. Ü
On a side note, earlier in the month, I saw this is someone's front yard. I think it's hilarious. Ü

Merry Christmas!

Just as a side note, that last post where Chris and I are dancing like idiots was somehow posted by my sneaky sisters unbeknownst to me. So to all of you out there with sisters... BEWARE! And the third dancer that looks like an alien is actually my very cute nephew Gavin. Ü

Merry Christmas From Your Sisters!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

New Entry For My Journal

I need to add to my Grievous Wounds Journal

Date- December 16th. Grievous Wound- While making room for Chris to lay down in the bunk of the truck (ie: trying to lay flat against the wall on a twin sized bed) my right thumbnail was bent frighteningly far back. It broke the nail and bled a little. I couldn't go to sleep after that because it was throbbing so badly. I finally had to get up for a few minutes. Status- It's still tender and healing. I have keep a band-aid on it to prevent it from snagging on everything and to remind me to be gentle with it. Apparently I need a full body sized band-aid for that reminder...

(I did shout out "Woe is me for my hurt" over and over instead of other words that came to mind. I'm kind of proud of that.)

A Blessing On My Head

On Sunday, I received my Patriarchal blessing. It was such an amazing experience, one I've been wanting for a while. Chris went with me (of course) and my mom and dad braved the bad weather and drove down from Cache Valley early in the morning to be here for it, too. I felt so blessed to have them all be with me to share in the moment. It was a wonderful morning.

Once I decided to get my blessing, I was given some great advice by both my visiting teacher and my Bishop. When I jokingly said something to Katie about maybe finding out if I was ever going to be a mom she responded that the answer most likely would be yes because if I'm not a mother in this life then I will be one in the next. It was a great point and really fit in well with what the bishop told me later that night. He said I should try not to expect a specific answer because if I didn't get it he didn't want me to leave feeling disappointed. I really appreciated the advice and think it helped me enjoy my blessing more.

One of the things I was worried about was that during the blessing my mind would become fixed on something the Patriarch said and start to wander and then I'd miss what he said next. This wasn't a random fear since my mind is always wandering (as Chris can attest to) so to help me prepare for it, we went to the temple twice in two weeks, which in itself was great, and then I fasted on Friday. I really wanted to have my mind be open and able to really hear the entire blessing. My prayers were answered because my mind didn't wander once the entire time. For me, that was just another small bit of proof that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers no matter how trivial they might seem.

The blessing itself was another confirmation that our Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us as individuals with personal concerns and fears. I was given words of comfort that met specific worries I've had. They really moved me and I know they'll continue to give me strength through the years.

Of course, I got a little teary-eyed while I was being blessed but I seem to get teary-eyed over everything. I was truly overwhelmed at the incredible opportunity to have our Father speak directly to me. What a miracle it is.

No Candy!

Today marks my first month of no candy. My sister Robyn and I made a pact to forgo candy for one month but I think I'm going to go until the end of the year. Surprisingly (seriously, I'm very surprised) it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. I still get to eat cookies and pies and whatnot. I'm not crazy enough to think I can totally quit sugar, but I'm quite happy with myself. How are you doing, Robyn?

Halloween 2008

So, I'm a little slow getting this posted (since it's past Thanksgiving and I've added a Christmas background) but we had a great Halloween this year. First we had our ward party. There was a trunk-or-treat (which our Jeep went to but we didn't because we were still setting up inside) and then a carnival and spook alley. I think it was a big success. There were some great costumes, as well. Chris took pictures of most of them. And p.s. to everybody in our ward: if you want to look at your pictures go to www.photobucket.com/foxboro5halloween and you should be able to copy them to your own computer. Here is a sampling of what we had...

Sarah Palin and John McCain


Butterflies and a catcher


An 80's Rock Band


Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Wendy and Tinkerbell


Me as Pippi Longstockings (making a really cute face, don't ya think?). We didn't get any pictures of Chris but he was a Dallas Cowboys player.


Then we had a party hosted by Brady & Gretchen and Stephenson & Katie. (This time I was a brunette Jessica Simpson and Chris was Tony Romo). It was a blast. We ate donuts on a string and bobbed for apples.


The cutest costume of the night was Hallie as Wonder Woman. Catherine made this costume. I think it turned out so great. I love her earrings.



And last we went to my mom's for her annual Halloween dinner. It was (as always) wonderful. My mom is so cute. She makes up a new menu every year. Usually we are able to figure out what some of the names mean (for instance a spoon will be "gravediggers shovel" or broccoli will be "haunted trees") but this year she did it so that none of the names matched. It was awesome. We invited Ryan, Tiffany and Jayden to go with us and they really enjoyed it too. I told Ryan that he had to dress up because if he didn't then my family would find something for him to wear once he got there and he probably wouldn't like what we have (envision a lamb suit for a kid that fits a 6'5" man, or a pumpkin that your legs stick out of and you wear tights underneath). We weren't too surprised when he chose to be a pirate with Tiff and Jayden. Ü

Once again, Chris was Tony Romo and I was Jessica Simpson (blonde this time).

Shian was a peppy cheerleader of some kind, Tom was my dad (hilarious) and Gavin was Batman.

Mom was a cat (not a witch this year Ü). Dad was a biker (big shocker there Ü).

Clif and Camey were soccer players (we had a sports theme going on), Spencer had changed out of his costume and I can't remember what he was, and Addelyn was the cutest cow I've ever seen.

We missed Robyn and Gordon this year (they've moved to Spokane) but when Shian and Tom went up to visit them a few weeks ago my mom had them take up everything they would need to have their own Halloween dinner. So sweet. Gordo and Bobyn were spooky dead ghosts. They really go all out for their costumes. I love it.

This is what Spencer would look like as Batman.

My mom's dinner is my favorite part of Halloween and it's my 2nd favorite holiday. I am already planning our costumes for next year...

Thanks Mom. It was fabulous. We love you.

Kathy's Talent

My sister-in-law is so talented. She is truly the most creative person I know. She is the one who did the flowers for our wedding and for that I will be forever grateful. I love you, Kathy.
I just wanted to show off a teeny tiny bit of that talent. For her job she was in charge of making some big decorations for Christmas. She drew them, cut them out of some kind of wood (I can't remember what kind) and then painted them. I'm always so impressed with her.


We got to see them when we went to Thanksgiving Point the day after Thanksgiving to see
I convinced Chris to go with us ladies (me, Mom, 'Nara, Kathy, and Lacey {who convinced her hubby to go, too}). There were some parts I liked better about the movie and some things that bugged me more but once again, I enjoyed it overall.

Thanksgiving With Family

For Thanksgiving this year we had Chris's side of the family come to our house. It was a great time. 'Nara drove up from L.A to Vegas and then rode with Dad, Mom and Grandma Riordan in their RV. They stayed for three days up here and it was so nice to spend time with them. Arnie, Kathy and the kids came and so did Alex and Lacey. I cooked my first turkey (at least I think it was my first, I don't remember cooking another one) and it turned out excellent if I do say so myself. We used a new cooking thermometer that Chris got from my mom and dad for Christmas last year. It's wireless and so helpful. I bought a bunch of stuffing that I forgot to cook but I don't think anyone missed it with all the rest of the food we had. Yum! We had a bunch of pie and I tried sweet potato pie for the first time. I was hesitant with the first bite but it tasted just like pumpkin pie to me so after that I chowed it down.
After dinner we made turkey hats. I got the idea and the pattern from Felicia when I went to a party she was having for some neighbor kids. (I invited myself to a party for kids when I have none. Is that bad? It was fun, nonetheless.) It took a bit of persuasion to get the adults to join in with me but we all had fun, I think.


All in all it was a great week off of work. I love spending time with family!

As a side note I would like to thank my mom who taught me to clean as I go and to make things ahead of time. Because of these lessons my kitchen looked like this...

instead of this...

Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful for my Heavenly Father. He has blessed me with so many things I could never make an adequate list of them all so I'll make a small list.

-*- My husband Chris
-*- My parents
-*- My sisters and brothers
-*- My nieces and nephews
-*- My job
-*- Living in the USA
-*- Being healthy and strong
-*- Having music in my life
-*- Modern transportation
-*- The Thanksgiving holiday
-*- Having the Gospel in my life
-*- The miracle of forgiveness
-*- The Atonement and Resurrection
-*- The Plan of Salvation

I am so grateful

Thankful

Today I am thankful for:

-- A beautiful house that protects me from the outside world


-- Air conditioning (actually, right now I'm more grateful for the heater)


-- An oh, so comfortable bed

-- Our soldiers who suffer through more than I can imagine


-- Thank you --