December

I haven't blogged in a few weeks. Things have been kind of stressful around the house, but we've also had a lot of blessings and a lot of fun things have happened.

The first major thing that has happened is that my son turned four. It's been really hard to believe.

He was so little and cute!

For some reason, with the passing of my grandfather last month, I've had a lot of repressed sadness coming out. My son is really growing up, and the fact that he still doesn't have any siblings has been really hard this month. We are so grateful that Kevin is a part of our family. He makes us laugh and he has taught us a lot. I love being a mother, and it hurts so much that Kevin is still alone. Grig and I have to not only be his father and mother, but also his siblings. I grew up surrounded by siblings, and it is really hard for me to believe I still have an only child.

However, I also am aware that many people aren't even able to have one child, and I know how lucky we are to have our son. I just long for him to have siblings and I know that there are still children missing from my family.

On a less sad note, his birthday was awesome, and he was so excited! He told me exactly what he wanted for his cake, and I did my best.

The day after Thanksgiving, we put up our Christmas decorations. I was too excited to wait any longer.

Kevin had a great time with that too. I was super excited about Christmas until my grandfather passed away, and then it was  hard for me to get the excitement back, but around Christmas Eve, I started feeling it again.

The week before Christmas, Santa came to the library again, and Kevin was really brave. Before we went in, he told us that he was going to be brave and not cry. He also informed us that he was going to sit on Santa's lap.

He was very brave, and he sat in Santa's lap.

He told Santa that he wanted Justice League toys for Christmas, and Santa said, "I'll see what I can do." Kevin told everyone that was what Santa said. He was pretty excited.

Christmas Eve we had a party at my maternal grandparents' home where we reenacted the Nativity. It was a lot of fun. We left a little early so we could get Kevin to bed at a good hour. As we were leaving, it began to snow pretty hard.

We took a picture, and then we put Kevin to bed.

Christmas was on Sunday (as you are all probably aware). We woke up to over a foot of snow and it was still snowing. We looked at the presents that Santa had brought. Kevin got his Justice League toys, and he was thrilled! Then we ate breakfast and went to church. They only had Sacrament Meeting, so an hour later we came home. Allopex and Havelock came with us, which was nice, because later their church was cancelled.

We opened presents after we returned home. We were all pretty happy with what we received. Kevin got a lot of new books. I got some fun movies, and Grig got some things for a Halloween costume that he's pretty excited about.

The dogs enjoyed Christmas too, and they're pretty patient with us.

Allopex and Havelock are going to be moving out of our home this week. Hopefully, we're going to have our foster care paperwork all finished soon, and we'll have some more children join us.

2017 is going to be an interesting year.

The Cutest Conversations

Saturday morning, Grig had to work.

Kevin, who had randomly woken up at 4:20 a.m. said to me, in an imploring manner, "Why can't I go to work with Daddy?"

Which began one of the cutest conversations ever.

Kevin really loves his daddy.

Kevin: Why can't I go to work with Daddy?

Mom: Because Daddy's work is dangerous.

K: Oh. There's big rocks? And sharp knives?

M: Basically. You're too little, but Daddy is big and strong, so he's safer.

K: Big rocks can hurt your toes, and you shouldn't touch the ends of knives. They're sharp.

M: Yep. And there's also bright lights that can blind you. (Grig is a welder)

K: Oh.

M: Daddy uses the light to make two pieces of metal into one.

K: And he takes three pieces and makes four?

M: Maybe. If he's cutting them.

After that, the conversation kind of petered out, and we both fell asleep.

It was super cute.

Then, at church yesterday, we had just finished primary, and one of the primary kids was standing out in the hall when an older man came walking toward him.

The child was between four and five, and the old man had a long white beard and walked with a cane. As the child caught sight of the older gentleman, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "Santa!"

Without batting an eye, the older man asked, "Have you been good this year?"

The boy nodded eagerly and said, "Yes! Do you have presents with you?"

I didn't hear any more of that conversation, but I was left with the distinct impression that this older gentleman was the coolest person ever.

People can be pretty awesome.

Christmas Celebrations

We had a wonderful Christmas weekend.

It was super nice, because Christmas landed on Friday, so Grig ended up with a four day weekend after they decided to take Thursday off too.

We had a very busy day Thursday. We finished making and sending off our Christmas cards, and then we went around and delivered Christmas treats to our neighbors. We had a great time doing that. Grig pulled Kevin in a sled on top of the snow, and they both really enjoyed that.

Then, after we got home from that, Grig went and picked up Havelock from work. Once they returned, we packed a sleeping Kevin into the car (which promptly woke him up) and traveled to my grandmother's home for dinner and Christmas Eve celebrations.

After a wonderful concert from my cousins, we ate dinner and then acted out the nativity. We had a great time, though half-way through the concert we realized that we forgot to eat lunch. Kevin was being pretty grumpy, and once we fed him a little bit, I realized why I was feeling so hungry too.

Whoops.

After the party, we went home and got Kevin ready for bed. We took a stocking picture with all the younger people in the house.

I love this picture

Then, Arkhon helped Kevin to fall asleep so that Santa could come. 

Grig's sister and brother-in-law came and joined us around 10:00 p.m., and we hung out with them for a while before bed. 

The next morning (around 7:30 a.m.), Kevin was kicking me in the face, so I decided it was time to wake up. I said, "Kevin, Santa brought you presents."

He had been laying there half-awake, but as soon as I said that, his bright blue eyes popped open and he said, "What?!"

It was pretty cute. He helped me wake his daddy up, and then we went and looked at presents. 

Everyone was excited by their Santa gifts. After we'd looked at them all, we opened one present and then made and ate breakfast. 

I also got to skype with my younger brother who is on a mission. That was a lot of fun, but it took a while for my sound to cut on, so I couldn't hear what was going on for a while. They could hear me though, so I'm sure they had a great time listening to me say, "I can't hear you!"

After we'd finished talking to my family and eating, we finished opening presents. It took a while, because we had some very generous people, and one particular friend from Texas, send us some wonderful gifts. 

We also skyped with Grig's parents, other siblings, and grandmother in Virginia. It was good to see everyone from there as well. 

Kevin may have been a little spoiled this Christmas. :)

He sure was excited about all his gifts

He was the most excited about gummy worms that Santa brought him, a little swimming fish that he received from my Texas friend, and a shield he got from his grandma.

Grig and I were also very spoiled this holiday. I got a number of things that I am quite excited about, including all three Lion King movies and a blender. I also got some really cute sweaters from my Texan friend. She's the sweetest lady ever!

There was a point this year, that we didn't think we were going to be able to have any Christmas at all. Not only were we blessed with a wonderful Christmas, but we were able to help some other people with Christmas as well. It's been a pretty wonderful holiday.

We spent the rest of the morning/afternoon spending time with family. Around 3ish, Grig's sister and husband left and we began to pack. Our goal was to leave for Idaho by 5, but we didn't get finished loading until after 6. We had a nice ride up though, and we spent the rest of the weekend with my family. 

Kevin received "Hungry, Hungry Hippos" from his cousin, and all of the little kids really enjoyed that.

Saturday, we went to my father's school and played in the gym. Here a purposefully blurry picture I took. (I try not to show clear pictures without permission). 

We had a lot of fun. We ate and spent time together, and then, at 7:00, we went and watched the new Star Wars movie. 

It was amazing. That's all I'm going to say about it.

When we got home, Kevin was pretty tired and beginning to act sick. He coughed a lot during the night, and by the next morning, we decided he should stay home from church. Grig and I traded off staying home with him, so that we were both able to go to part of church. 

Then, after a wonderful lunch, some games, and some baby-cuddling, we headed back to Utah. 

We got home at around 8 last night. We'd had a great time, but it was good to be home. Kevin has a bit of a fever today, but he's sleeping in, so I think he'll be just fine. 

I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas! It was really good to spend time with our family. That's really what makes the holiday season wonderful!

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.

Mormon Monday: Christ is the Gift

As you probably are all aware, this week is Christmas!

I love Christmas. I still get super excited about it, even though I'm grown up and not supposed to be a kid anymore.

Part of what makes Christmas so fun for me, is giving presents and preparing surprises for those that I love. Last year, my siblings all pitched in to surprise my father with a treadmill. He was definitely surprised, even though we managed to get him to drive it back to Idaho. That was a lot of fun.

Kevin and I have been watching some different Christmas movies together. Some of the movies we've watched are Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer (a couple of times), Frosty the Snowman, and Elf.

One thing that's been kind of bothering me as I've watched these movies, came to a head when I was watching Elf. I love that movie, and it cracks me up. Honestly, it's probably the only Will Ferrell movie that I like.

However, at one point in the movie, Santa Claus states that the Christmas spirit is believing in Santa Claus.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Santa is a wonderful tradition. However, he is not supposed to be what Christmas is about. In fact, he himself is symbolic of Christ.

Here's a video explaining some of the similarities and symbolism, if you're interested.

They showed this at our Ward Christmas party. I thought it was cute.

According to the dictionary, Christmas is defined as

the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25 in the Western Church. 

By definition, Christmas is a Christian festival. Yet, so many "Christmas" movies avoid any mention the Savior. It is easier to pretend that Christmas is about Santa, then to possibly offend someone who doesn't believe in Christ.

However, if you're celebrating Christmas, shouldn't you believe in Christ?

Link to Source

The spirit of Christmas is about becoming more like Christ. We give gifts because Christ gave us the greatest gift of all: the opportunity to return to our Heavenly Father. His gift didn't cost a lot of money, but it was expensive nonetheless. His gift took a lifetime to prepare, it cost Him His life, and it is applicable to all of us. Any one can partake of Christ's gift if they choose to.

I am so grateful for the gift of the Savior. I've been trying really hard this year to maintain my focus on him and his life throughout this Christmas season. To that end, we are trying to establish a family tradition. We taped a box shut, and cut an opening in the top. Then we wrapped the box up, except for the opening. This became our gift for the Savior. Throughout the month of December, we've been trying to do service, and when we do, we've been trying to remember to write down what we've done on a slip of paper, and place it into the present for Christ. Some days, we've forgotten all about our box and even when we've done service, we haven't remembered to put it in.

Though we haven't been perfect everyday about following through, I like the idea, and it has been fun to see that present sitting there. (Kevin wants to unwrap it though, and it makes him sad when we don't let him.)

On  Christmas, we're planning on opening the present and reading some of the service that we have done. As our children grow older, we are also planning on drawing names daily for someone to do a service for the person that they've picked, and then writing what they did on a slip of paper and placing it in the box.

We hope to make this an annual Christmas tradition.

The hope and peace that the Savior brings into my life is incomparable. I wish that everyone could feel the same comfort and love that I do. It is to this intent that we try to share the gift of the Savior. We don't want to push our beliefs on others, but we do want to give everyone the opportunity to accept them if they are interested. If we don't do our best to share the wonderful gift we have received from the Savior, then aren't we being selfish?

I believe in Christ and I know He wants all of His brothers and sisters to return to live with Heavenly Father. I want to be able to live with everyone too. Heaven wouldn't be heaven without my friends and family there.

I know that Christ was born in a stable and that He lives today. He did die, and He was resurrected. His birth was only important because of the choices that He made during his life. I want to live my life in a way that will bring my Savior joy.

I know these things are true, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Christmas!

As you all know, yesterday was Christmas!

Stocking picture

We went to bed pretty late Christmas Eve.  We were over at my grandparent's home for a while to do a nativity and eat dinner.  Then, when we came home we took customary stocking pictures, and then after Kevin went to bed, Havelock, Grig, and I stayed up late to play games and enjoy their night off. 

Then, Christmas morning, we woke up at the early hour of 9:30 a.m. Kevin was a little bit sad when he woke up, but before he started to cry, I said, "Look!  Daddy!"

Kevin saw his dad sleeping in the bed, and he instantly became the happiest boy you've ever seen.  Most mornings, Grig wakes up long before Kevin, so it was very unusual for Grig to still be in the bed when Kevin woke up.  It made Kevin so excited!  We got dressed, took the dog out, changed Kevin's diaper, and then we went out to see what Santa had brought us.

Dakota's presents, including a new bed!

Kevin received some toy dinosaurs, a stuffed cow, and some candy.  He really enjoyed pulling things out of his stocking one at a time.  We'll try to post a video this weekend, but we're going to be out of town, so it may not happen.

Kevin enjoying his Christmas candy

After that, we talked to Grig's family over Skype until Havelock woke up.  Then we made breakfast.  We had eggs, pancakes, bacon, and sausage.  Oh, yeah!  And eggnog.  You can't forget the eggnog.

It was delicious.  Then, after breakfast, we opened presents.  We got some fantastic gifts.  Some of the presents I received were House of Hades and Man of Steel!  I also got a new saucepan and some River Monster videos.

Grig received a few books, some dvds (including John Carter!) and a knife sharpener.

Kevin's presents

Kevin got some of those huge legos, some wood blocks, a puzzle, a nativity set, a pop-up book with sounds, and the complete Walking with Dinosaurs series.  He also got a singing key chain and refrigerator magnets.

We then went to lunch with my grandparents and opened a few more gifts. 

Kevin was so tired.  He didn't take a nap all day until we came home at 4:30.  He went to straight to a late nap.

We had a great day! Kevin loves unwrapping presents. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas too!     

Merry Christmas!

My Thoughts on the Santa Claus Thing *Age Restricted to Unbelieving Adults*

I'm writing this post with the knowledge that this is every individual's choice to make, and it's none of my business what you decided to do with your Christmas holiday.  

Having said that, I love the tradition of Santa Claus.  More and more of my peers nowadays are deciding not to have Santa Claus as a tradition in their homes.  One particular person I know has decided not to because they don't want to lie to their kids, so they have told them from the get go that Santa Claus doesn't come visit them on Christmas Eve.

Personally, I can understand, but I don't fully agree.  Again, it is every parent's choice, but I loved Santa Claus when I was a kid!  I loved the excitement and magic Christmas morning when presents appeared and it was fun to pretend that a big man in a red suit had brought them to our house.

I believed in Santa until I was eleven.  I'm sure there were kids at school who told me he wasn't real, but I didn't care.  I didn't really believe he came down the chimney, but I had a personal theory that he was like a catalog.  The parents ordered what they wanted from him, and Christmas Eve he drove around and brought the presents to all the houses, delivering them via the front door.  My Santa was unconventional and somewhat practical, but I still loved him.

When I was eleven, my parents pulled me into their room and told me that he didn't exist.

I cried.  I really did.

And then I got over it.  I enjoyed helping my parents stuff stockings for the younger kids after that and helping to make it magical for them.  The excitement of BEING Santa replaced the excitement of BELIEVING in Santa.  That kept him alive for me.

I love pretending, and in that sense, Santa is real. Santa is the joy of surprising your children and increasing anticipation.  It is the fun of imagination and trying to figure out a holiday tradition. Santa was a real person.  He once existed and the tradition of giving makes him very much alive in our homes today.  Santa definitely shouldn't replace Christ, but as a fun Christmas tradition, I don't have a problem with him.  

Finding out that Santa didn't really come to our house on Christmas didn't cause me to question everything else my parents had ever taught me.  Instead, it simply turned into a fun Christmas tradition for me.  It reemphasized the point that Christmas was about the REAL Savior, not a man from the North Pole.

For me personally, it was just a lot of fun.

However, I understand that for others, the realization that Santa wasn't real had a different impact on them, and I understand that.  Due to that, many parents have decided that they're not going to lie and pretend to their children.  They are going to be honest with them and tell them straight. 

However, before you tell your children that Santa isn't real, remember one thing.  There are a lot of other children that your child is going to make cry.  They may not do it on purpose, but a lot of other children out there are going to be believing in Santa, and your child is going to tell them that he is not real.  They will probably argue about it and it will probably cause a lot of hurt feelings.  Your child may also be hurt because their peers don't believe what they know to be true.  Other children will be hurt because it is fun to believe in Santa, and your child is removing some of the magic from their childhood.

I don't know what the right answer is.  Again, it's a very personal decision.  All I know is that what you decide does affect other children besides your own. Personally, I want my kids to enjoy Santa, at least for as long as they can. That's part of what made Christmas magical for me when I was a kid, and I want my kids to enjoy that too.  Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't it up to me and Grig to decide what we want for our children?  Just like it's up to you?

Do what you think is right for your family.

Merry Christmas to all those who decide to be Santa and for those who decide not to be.  Either way, it doesn't change the magic of the season.  As we celebrate and remember the Christ child, there is a magic to that to, and it is a magic that never goes away.

In fact, it only increases as you get older.

Buying Christmas Presents and Meeting Santa

I love getting people presents.  It is so exciting for me, and one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season.  I don't particularly like going shopping (except for books and other fun stuff, and even then, I can only take so much), but online shopping is easy and doesn't require me to leave my house. 

Ignoring Santa

This year we've been on a budget for Christmas.  We've actually done pretty well, but we're still learning.  We need to do some last minute shopping, but we're currently 90% done.

It's fun to have kids, because then you can buy them stuff that you like to play with.  I think Kevin will love his presents, but for a while, we might love them more.

We even got the dog a few presents.  She desperately needs a new bed, so we found one on sale at Petsmart the other day.  Poor girl has been sleeping in a cardboard box on some blankets.  Usually, she actually just sleeps on the carpet, but I think she'll like her new bed.

We were shopping at Petsmart when we found that you could take pictures with Santa there.  Kevin is usually very friendly, and he loves other people.  However, when Santa picked him up, Kevin didn't know what to think.  At first, his lower lip began to quiver, but he never quite cried.  He just studiously avoided looking at the bearded man and did his best to get away.

After the pictures were taken and Santa put him back in the cart he began to smile at him, but it took him a few minutes to feel entirely comfortable with the man.  Then they were friends.  Here are the pictures from Kevin's first encounter with Santa Clause.

At our church Christmas party, they wanted to make the program more about the Savior, so they did a live Nativity and Santa didn't come.  Which is great, but I missed having my son pose with Santa. I was glad that I had another opportunity to do so.

Trying to Escape