Christmas

Grandma Alert!!! Here are some video clips from the significant things that happened this Christmas. As I watched this I feel so blessed and thankful for my kids and the magic that they bring to Christmas. Isaac's Kindergarten had their annual Christmas Tea where they pass out punch and cookies to the parents and then treat us to some very cute Christmas songs... I included just a few of those in the video... too cute.

Also, we had a small miracle on Christmas Eve when we suddenly got some pretty good snow flurries...Isaac yelled "Somebody slap me! I think I'm dreaming!" The kids were able to gather up a few handfuls of snow off of the trampoline... and were very excited and thankful for their early Christmas gift.

Christmas Eve was comical. My friend Allison and her daughter Madison came over because her husband was working. She graciously played Mary and Madison played the angel in the nativity... or rather the Christmas Eve comedy hour. I hope she'll forgive me for posting a little portion of it.

Christmas morning was so classic! Mason's reaction to his gifts was priceless and hilarious! I'm so glad we captured it on video so we can embarrass him later on in life.

Shane was also home from Wednesday until Sunday, which was wonderful! We just played with the kids all weekend... building legos, a marble rollercoaster, playing chess and wii... basically doing nothing. Perfect.

Pikachu update

After paying $17 dollars for shipping.. Pikachu still hasn't arrived, and I don't think he's going to. If you're wondering what I'm talking about-- see previous post. I'm writing a scathing letter to Ebay about how my son nearly thought he was on the Medium list because of their low-class vendors that charge for 2 day shipping and never sent me the product.

Thankfully we had ourselves a Christmas miracle. It was Christmas Eve and I still didn't know what I was going to do about the Pikachu that hadn't arrived. We took the boys to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and on the way out of the Mall we walked by an Arcade. Front and center we spotted it... the Claw Machine with a Pikachu staring straight at us. We looked at each other and devised a plan...Shane told me to take the kids to the car and he pretended like he needed to go to the restroom.

We waited for a while... I wondered how long it was going to take him to win that thing. Thankfully he was smart enough to ask the kid working there if he could buy it from him.

" Look, this is the ONLY thing my son has asked for, for Christmas. Can you PLEASE let me buy it?" He begged. He pleaded. And the kid gave into him. Only he wouldn't let Shane buy it because the manager wasn't there and he wasn't sure how much it cost, and just handed it to him. "Tell your kid have a Merry Christmas." I guess we need to go back when the manager is there and pay for the stolen Pikachu.

The boys were getting worried. "Maybe Dad's really sick!"

Finally he came out with the Pikachu stuffed under his jacket.

Isaac has been sleeping with Pikachu every night since. He finally believes he's made it from the MEDIUM list to the GOOD list. :)

The 100th post

I just realized that this is my 100th post. I'm not sure I have much to say that is worthy of a 100th post ... but here goes.

I've been a little jaded this week by the whole Christmas craziness. I started out strong... and then lost a little of the Christmas spirit as I'm getting down to the wire with my shopping, and started forgetting the simplest of tasks... like laundry. I think the boys had to dig a few pair of pants out of the laundry pile this week... apparently they have grown out of nearly every pair that I bought them at the beginning of the school year... 3 months ago. Shane has been working unimaginable hours and every weekend since the day after Thanksgiving. So it has been up to me to get the shopping done.

Because I have been on my own so much, for so long, I have also been really homesick for the snowy mountains of Utah. I miss the temple lights, and the feeling that I always got as a child as I ascended the spiral ramp in the visitor center to see the large statue of the Christus. I'm sad that my children have never seen this, or the lights (at least not that they can remember)... and hoping that someday they will. To me, this is the epitome of Christmas celebrations. I am homesick... after 8 and a half years of being away.

Thankfully, I have my kids to lighten my spirits.

Earlier on in the week Isaac said to me, "Mom, I think I'm on the MEDIUM list."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Well, I'm kind of naughty... and last year I really wanted a Pokemon play set and I got a skate board. I really appreciated it ( no kidding he said "appreciated"), but it wasn't what I wanted."

"Well, maybe Santa didn't have a clue that you wanted a pokemon set?" (What the heck is that anyway? ) "Well what do you really want this year?"

"A Pikachu stuffed animal. I tried to win one in one of those claw machines, but I couldn't"

"Let me tell you a secret Isaac, No one EVER on the face of the earth has ever won anything out of the stuffed animal machine."

Later that night... I shopped Ebay for the first time. Ebay is an experience. Do you know that people are selling McDonalds happy meal toys on Ebay? My goodness, people will buy anything, and Ebay proves it. There I was choking down my $3.99 bid and praying that no one else was looking for this random, pointless toy for Christmas... but I was determined not to let my little guy down. Finally the day came and I won the bid. Yipee (insert sarcasam here)

I checked out and found out how the vendors really make their money. 17 dollars for shipping... What the heck!? I was tempted to go try my luck with the claw machine... which I might end up doing on Christmas Eve if the thing doesn't show up by Thursday. I can just picture it now... some desperate lady, shoving quarters down the claw machine for hours in the hope that she can get her son the toy he is dreaming of. He better really love this thing. I can't have my poor little Isaac thinking he's on the medium list.

In another Christmas related incident. After some tears of coercion from Mason ... I went to the boy's school Christmas parties this week. Nightmare. Trying to wrangle a two year old girl who really needed a nap... while attempting to help with crafts, and pass out the snacks and cupcakes... does not put me in the Christmas spirit. I had to laugh, hardly any of the kids ate a bite of their food. They had just eaten lunch and here we were shoving even more food in their faces. One of the kids said, "if I have to eat another thing I'm going to puke!"

It was fun to learn what these kids wanted for Christmas. quite a few of them were asking for iPhones. I just laughed. Good grief, what ever happened to wanting a doll, a basketball, a bike? I just wish these kids weren't in such a hurry to grow up and be strapped to a phone. Take it easy kids! Have fun! Enjoy life a little!

After running around to three different classrooms I was packing up to go and Jackson's teacher caught me in the hall.

"I have a funny story for you." She said. "Oh no, what did they say this time" I thought.

--Earlier in the day they had been making gingerbread houses as a reward for passing off their times tables. I donated a huge bag of m&m's for the project earlier in the week. After they were finished, Mason was circling the table of left-over goodies. Ms. Langford came over to clean up the treats when Mason says, "My MOM said to tell you that SHE REALLY wants the left overs."

At that moment I died of laughter...Yes... I want all of the frosting that has had a 40 different licked knives in it, and all of the m&m's that have been shuffled around by germ-infested hands. I chuckled when I opened Mason's back pack and there was a zip loc bag full of cootie- encrusted M&M's.

And Today...

Getting the crew ready for church plus all of the lesson preparations gets harder and harder. Today we got all packed up the car, I put all of the accessories for my Christmas lesson in the back and we took off... church is about a 15 minute drive away and when we got there Mason yelled from the back seat "Isaac doesn't have his shoes!!"I wasn't sure which would be more embarrassing, walking into church with a shoe-less child, or being late. I sat there silent... sigh, turned around and drove home to get his shoes. When it was time for my lesson the video and lesson plan that I had built up in my mind to be an amazing experience for the girls didn't work out. The dvd player didn't work, and I was a little frazzled the rest of the lesson.

On a lighter note... on my way out of church I heard many rave reviews of Isaac's closing prayer in primary. Apparently he prayed that the "army men and army women would be safe in Iraq" and that "the bad guys will read their scriptures and turn into good guys". Love that kid, even if he is as scatterbrained as I am.

Thank you Isaac, for helping me to remember that there are those who won't have their loved ones this Christmas at all, for one reason or another. I'm feeling especially thankful for those families who's husbands, wifes, fathers, sisters or brothers won't be home for Christmas because of their deployment. Thank you for your unimaginable sacrifices. Because of you, I have the freedom to shop for my children in relative safety and peace. Because of you I can worship how, where and what I may. Because of you I can live in a warm home with food on the table. Thank you. I can't say it enough.

Thank you Isaac, for reminding me of the Savior, and his unconditional love for each of us... no matter how imperfect we are... even if we are lacking in Christmas sprit, late for church every week, and forget our shoes. He doesn't care, He just wants our hearts to be turned towards Him.

I heard a quote yesterday from a wonderful woman... Marjorie Hinkley...that has become my new mantra for life:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

To me.... That exemplifies the spirit of Christ-mas.

I hope you all have a peaceful and happy Christmas.

Jingle Bun Run 2009

It's that time of year again... time to run off those calories in the Jingle Bun Run (it's sponsered by Schlotzky's... therefore the "Bun" replaces the "Bell") That... and there is a lot of jingle or jiggle, in the buns this time of year. I love this race. It's short 5K, it's local, fairly small and Santa Claus makes his grand appearance.

Also, Jackson wanted to run it with me this year, I couldn't convince Mason he wanted to do it. Not sure why an 8 year old would want to stay home in a nice warm house and play video games when he could be outside freezing his little bottom off, running until he's sick to his stomach... I'll tell you why, Mason is no dummy.

As my friend Allison said when we got to the race and saw many runners in shorts and short sleeves in 40 degree weather, she explained to her friend, "runners are just wierd". I'm sure I fit into the wierd category not so much the runner category, but that statement is sooo true. I also wish I would have taken some pictures of the great elf costumes some people were wearing... which make the race all the more fun... but again, wierd.

Jackson did great... we ran part walked part. Allison and I tried to warn him... "Don't take off too fast at the start, or you'll really regret it later on"... so what did he do? Took off like a bullet for the first half mile.... the rest of the race he was quite uncomfortable.. but I guess it's a good lesson to learn early in your running life. There was also a about a half mile of mud that was a pea gravel path until the rain soaked it the night before... we had to trudge through it which REALLY bogged down our shoes. Jackson was exhausted, but he didn't give up and did a great job! I'm so proud of him!

Jackson and I, after the race... He looks way impressed with Santa, don't you think?! And... my hands were a little full after rading the snack stand (the best part about running a race, hands down).


Me and my running pal Allison... love her!



The picture below just makes me laugh... my hat hair for one... and the poor unsuspecting lady behind me bending over to tie her shoes... It really makes me wonder how many people have accidently captured me in some unflattering moments in the back ground of their pictures.



Great job on your first 5K Jackson! I'm proud of you!