MM: Season of Giving

We've been focusing a lot recently on why we give gifts at Christmas.

It's been really important to Grig and I that Kevin understands the purpose of Christmas. We really want him to know that it is supposed to be about Christ.

Don't get me wrong, I love Santa Claus. I think the whole tradition is a lot of fun and it's one of the things that I really look forward to at Christmas. I even dreamed that it was Christmas Eve last night and we were getting ready for everything.

However, I have also been realizing that it's up to us to make Christmas non-commercialized in our home. I never really felt like Christmas was all that commercialized. My parents didn't focus on Santa that much, and when Christmas came we were excited about our presents, but there were a lot of Christ-centered traditions that we also looked forward to and loved.

Christmas was about family and about the birth of our Savior. Each Christmas Eve we acted out the Nativity and read the story from the Bible. I loved playing the donkey and letting Mary ride on my back. (Usually a younger sibling played Mary.)

We would also read the story and place the pieces of my parents' olive wood Nativity set up on a shelf as we talked about each character. It was beautiful, and we always waited to put baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas Eve.

Grig and I are still new at this whole marriage business, and we're still figuring out our own traditions. This year has been especially exciting for me, because Kevin is really starting to understand what Christmas is all about and what is going to happen.

With that increased understanding, have come increased opportunities for teaching. We've been trying really hard to explain the reason that Santa Claus brings gifts on Christmas. We've tried to stress that we give and receive gifts on Christmas because the wise men gave gifts to the Savior, and the Savior himself was the greatest gift that we've ever received.

I don't know how much Kevin understands, but I know as we keep trying to help him understand that Santa is a symbol of Christ, that our home will be filled with the right kind of spirit each Christmas.

Speaking of the man in the red suit, Kevin went to visit him tonight. He was so excited to see him...until he actually saw him. Suddenly, he didn't want to let go of my leg. We did make him take a picture, but he wasn't very happy about it.

Poor Kevin. We've probably traumatized him for life. 

Santa was a good sport, and afterwards, Kevin thanked him and wished him a Merry Christmas. It ended up being a good experience.

It did make me think a bit however. I was thinking about how Kevin would have reacted if Christ had been sitting there instead of Santa. I really think that if it had been Christ sitting there, that Kevin wouldn't have been scared. I think he would have ran right up to him and climbed on his knee. I hope that I would also not be frightened or guilt-ridden, but that I would want to run up to him and hug him, or even just sit next to him and listen to him.

As the Christmas season has been upon us, I've really been trying to focus my studies on Christ. I feel like I don't know Him as well as I want to. I believe in Him, and I know with all my heart that He lives, but I don't feel as close to Him as I want to. I'm trying to rectify that.

The other night, someone rang our doorbell. We went to answer it, and we found that no one was there, but someone had left of box of food on our porch.

I have no idea who did that, but I feel so grateful to them. We aren't starving, and we've been blessed abundantly this holiday, but it means the world that someone thought about our family and wanted to do something nice for us. It really made me grateful for the wonderful area that we live in, and for the incredible people we know.

I know that Christmas can be about our Savior. I know that as we try to emulate Him this holiday season, that the spirit of Christ was permeate our homes and bring peace to our souls. I know that as we look for ways to serve others, that we will become more like Christ, and will be able to help others find peace and joy in their hearts as well.

Merry Christmas!

May you each have the kind of holiday that will give you pleasant memories for years to come.

Winter Adventures

Kevin sure loves to play with his uncles. We really enjoy having them around. He prays for them constantly, and gets super excited when they come home. When they're gone, he always asks me where they are. They get along really well with their nephew.

Arkhon was playing ball with us, and Grig started laughing. This is the face he showed me:

He's such a funny dog.

Last Saturday turned into quite the adventure.We had been planning for a few weeks to go see the temple lights with one of my mission companions and her family. However, the day before, we found out that one of Grig's friends had passed away. Her funeral was earlier Saturday morning, and so we decided to go down earlier and attend the funeral.

We were a little late, but we made it. They ended up feeding us lunch afterward, and it was really good to meet some of Grig's friends, even though it was for a sad reason.

Afterwards, we had a couple free hours, and we went shopping for a few more Christmas things. We had a pretty good time. We found a fun kid store and we had so much fun that we were a bit late meeting our friends.

Eventually, we managed to find them, and we had a great time. Here are some pictures from the Salt Lake Temple grounds.

Our family and the lights

I love this picture!

We were really impressed at the sheer number of lights. It would have taken forever to place them all!

This is a picture of the nativity and the temple. I really liked how this one turned out.

Afterward, we went up to the top of the Conference Center and saw the lights from above. Grig had never been on the roof of the Conference Center before, so it was really neat to look at the temple form that angle.

Monday, it snowed! Grig's brother helped us shovel, and then he played with Kevin in the snow for a bit. We have a bit of an incline in our front yard, and it makes a pretty good sledding hill for Kevin.

It was a lot of fun to finally have enough snow to play in.

Arkhon loves the snow! He likes to catch snowballs in his mouth and rip them apart. He had a great time playing outside with us too!

We are really blessed. I am so grateful for our home and our family. The picture below was taken last night. It reminded me of the dog poker painting.

Arkhon's a good sport.

Game time!

Decorating for Christmas

A week before Thanksgiving, I couldn't help myself.

I was too excited about Christmas, so I asked Grig if he would be alright if we set up our Christmas decorations the 23rd of November for Family Home Evening.

He's pretty cool, so he said yes.

So, we got out the decorations and had a great time. We listened to Christmas music and put up our tree and lights. Today's blog is going to be a little picture heavy, but it's been a long time since I've posted, so I think that's ok.

Kevin had a great time!

This year, Kevin could hang the ornaments on himself.

We added a new ornament this year, in memory of Dakota.

We bought a new Christmas star. Our one form last year broke.I think it looks pretty awesome!

Our family Christmas picture.

I know, it's a terrible thing to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. However, for some reason I've been especially excited this year. It's probably because it's our first Christmas in our new house, or maybe because Kevin is getting older and is really excited this year too. 

Maybe both.

We took some pictures with Arkhon and Kevin. Arkhon wasn't too excited about it, but he was pretty awesome about putting up with it anyway.

He was a good sport.

Kevin sure enjoyed himself

Arkhon wasn't too excited about it...until I brought out a hot dog for a treat! Then he was all smiles!

These two are awesome.

As you prepare for Christmas, enjoy yourselves. This is supposed to be a time of fun and joy and peace. We're trying to do the same!

Merry Christmas!

Kevin's Third Birthday

Among the many exciting things that happened in November, my son turned three!

We ended up having two birthday parties for him. We had a local one the weekend before his birthday, and then another party actually on his birthday. He had a lot of fun at both.

Before all of his friends and family came over for the local party, he and I built a cardboard castle. I was taping the walls together, but that didn't seem to be working so well, so I decided to sew them together instead. The castle is still standing. It has two towers that can be entered from the main area, and a drawbridge that goes up and down. It's closed in the above picture. 

I was pretty proud of it when we finished. Kevin was also pretty excited to show it to his friends. 

The local party was pretty low-key. We had a piñata, and the kids enjoyed swinging at it. Kevin got to go first since it was his party, and it wasn't broken until my cousin took a whack at it. They all seemed to enjoy themselves. 

It was a Darth Vader piñata. 

Afterward, we had cake and ice cream. Kevin had chosen the cake himself. It was blue velvet and it tasted pretty good. We had cream cheese frosting on top, and I drew a dinosaur. Our boy loves dinosaurs right now.

He got some pretty fun things this year from us (like underwear and bed sheets), and his friends and family brought him some fun things. He was pretty excited about all of his gifts. Mostly, I think he really enjoyed having everyone over to play. 

For his birthday, we promised him that we'd take him to watch The Good Dinosaur. So, the night before he actually turned three, we went and watched it (he was still free). 

He loved it. My dad took the following picture of us at the theater. He and my mom came with us too, and we all really enjoyed it. Kevin loved the movie and his theater experience. It got a little loud sometimes for him, but he only covered his ears during one scene. 

He loved the popcorn though. We had to fight him to get to eat any of it.

The next day on Kevin's birthday, we went to my dad's school to play at his indoor playground and in his ball pit. Kevin had a great time. At one point, he went out to use the restroom. When we exited the restroom, he could see everyone playing through a low window. He headed toward the window while I went toward the door. I thought he was just going to look through it at his cousins. Instead, I heard a loud boing, and I looked to find that he had ran straight into the window and bounced off. Evidently, he thought it was the door. 

He cried for a while, I laughed for a while, and later I took a picture of him with his window. 

I'm such a mean mother.

He recovered pretty quickly, and was soon back to playing. After they had their fill of the playground, we went to the ball pit. He had a great time there.

We all really did. 

After we returned to my parents' home, we had another birthday party for Kevin. He opened a few presents, we sang a few times, blew out some candles, and generally had a great time. 

The birthday boy opening his presents.(I think my dad took this picture too)

He loved his gummy cake that his grandma made him.

It's kind of crazy that my baby is now three-years-old. It's really hard to believe that so much time has passed. 

How did this guy

turn into this guy?

Sometimes, I really miss having a baby around, but it is really fun to see how much Kevin is learning and growing each day. He's my good friend, and I love him very much. It is so fun to see the way that he plays with his dad, his uncles, and his dog. He has so much love and personality. 

Happy birthday, my son. I waited my whole life for you to come, and I can't tell you how grateful I am that we have you in our lives. Our home would be empty without you.

NaNoWriMo Report

Many of you may have noticed that I was a little bit scarce on this blog during November.

Usually, it's because I was busy writing for my NaNoWriMo goal, but it was also because November ended up being a pretty crazy month.

I was really close. I knew if I didn't get most of my story written before Thanksgiving that it would be really difficult to finish while we were in Idaho with family. I did pretty well, but I didn't get as far as I wanted to.

It's hard to write when these two want your attention!

My cousin, who is very good at NaNoWriMo, came to visit during Thanksgiving weekend and we had a writing party. I'm grateful that she encouraged me, because I was able to get quite a bit of writing done last
Friday thanks to her.

By Saturday night, I was at 39,312. Since I don't write on Sundays, that meant I had to write 10,688 words on Monday (yesterday). I knew I was unlikely to finish, but I was going to do my best.

Yesterday, I typed a bit, played with Adam a bit and then wrote a bit more. By evening, I had written over 2,000 words. I had about three hours to write by the time Kevin went to bed.

I did my best, but I didn't quite make it. At 12:00 a.m., I had written 47,406. That means that yesterday, I wrote 8,094 words. So, I was pretty close, but I didn't quite make it.

There were times I could have written, and didn't, but generally when I wasn't writing, I was spending time with family. So I don't really regret the use of time.

However, as usual, NaNoWriMo has helped me do the most important thing. It has helped me establish a pattern of writing. The second draft of my story is going well, and I now have a goal to finish this draft before the end of the year.

I have a lot of blogging and catching up to do in the next week, but this post will suffice for today.

Thank you for those of you who checked up on me and asked me how the writing was going. I really appreciated the encouragement!

I'm hoping to write most days in December. A lot has been happening around here!