Home Again

i feel like the bigger our kids get the more cramped we are in one room for christmas. it was so nice to sleep in our bed...we were on an air mattress for a week and my back was killing me... and shower in our shower. i am also excited to get my pictures off my camera and onto my blog. christmas vacations are nice but oh how i love coming home. we walked into our house after and cold and snowy day and it was warm and toasty and smelled of fresh pine. in our mailbox were lots more christmas letters and pictures from friends across the country. oh how i love that tradition. i look forward to it all year long. i have lots of ideas for my 2008 christmas cards now. love it.

the little ones had a few more gifts to open under our tree. b helped get the kids unpacked and toys in their rooms this morning. a asked, ' where am i going to put all my new toys?' 'in your closet with the rest of them', b replied. 'there's no room', a said. we laughed and thought...next year we should give all their toys away so they have room for their new ones.

as we came home from church it was so nice outside we couldn't believe it was december 30th. there was NO snow on the ground last night and the forecast was calling for 4 inches in this area. i think it all stayed in the mountains or will come tomorrow. the warm before the storm kind of thing. it was so nice. i love it.

HOLIDAY happenings...

tubbing and snowboarding

christmas cookies...i was sad because this was the first year grandma creswell didn't help the kids. that's tradition!

watched lots of movies...pirates 3, die hard 3, transformers, HSM2 over and over and over...love it, stardust, alvin and the chipmunks, enchanted







girls night out with blogger friends...already posted.

living out of a suitcase and going to excel...gold's gym now. yuk!

playing racquette ball with leah! thanks for the passes melissa! so fun!

AND spending christmas eve with emily at Del Sol! she had to man the phones...that never rang. we got to pig out on all the snack foods in the break room, play ping pong, pool, and miniture golf, watch tv, and rest in the hammock. there were so many snacks! they had tons of snack foods, drinks, and frozen dinner/lunches. we were in food heaven.

all in all we had a good christmas. thanks to all of you who sent us cards and pics. we love you all and hope you have a wonderful new year.

girls night out

oh how i love friends. and getting together while i was in town was so great! i love that they all came to the cheesecake factory with me. becky was here from alaska and it was so neat to hear about her new adventures! we missed those who were unable to come but we'll get you next time. we had yummy food, cheesecake, and did what girls do best...talk! if anyone has a pic of the whole group let me know so i can post it. let's do vegas in april. i'll check reservations. i love you all so much!

late

we had a wonderful christmas. i will post pics when i get home. k got her ipod and idog...adam got his transformers...m got her littlest pet shop and much more...and f got his basketball hoop. b got his odyessy putter..and i got my camera flash, lens, and willowtree nativity.

we had a wonderful christmas eve program. thank you leah! k played silent night, tatiana played away in a manger, and a played deck the halls, all on the piano. lots of singing and a history of germany's christmas traditions.

1 Main Reason for the Season

Christ's birth.

2 Tired Parents

i can't get the pic off my camera because my inlaws don't have my software. darn it. but after all the last minute shopping we were exhausted. and i still forgot b's stocking stuffers. luckily i could put his ipod and earphones. lots of candy and oranges. i love being a parent and shopping for my kids. so fun.

3 Teachers Gifts

the kids made holiday magnets for their teachers this year. they loved them!

4 Excited Kids

i took a really cute one of the kids by the tree and i can't get it off my camera. my in laws don't have my compatible software on their computer. darn it.

5 Suitcases Packed

mom gets to pack all the suitcases and dad gets to pack his own!

love my kids

every mom has her good days and her bad days. the bad ones consists of questioning ourselves on whether or not we are really making a difference...of good...in our childrens lives. and the good days when others show us we are.

every year the high school puts on a christmas party for underpriviledged kids. sitting on santa's lap, games, crafts, food...well this year all the school counselors got together and thought that there were enough charity organizations that they were giving too so this christmas party was going to be for the 'good' students in all the 3 elementary schools and the middle school. each teacher was to pick 2 students from her class that showed respect, politeness, and good citizenship to those around them.

each one of my school aged children were picked. i was so proud of them. and they had so much fun at the christmas party.

i was told once by a wise woman that if you children behave in public but not at home...you're doing something right. it's when they don't behave in either situation that you have to worry. thank you k, a, and m for being such good students and choosing the right. i love you all.

6 Homemade Ornaments

when i was young, my mom tried to give us a new ornament each christmas that was a symbol of something that happened that year. for instance, a house ornament would remind us of a move to a new home. i have tried to do the same with my family with my own little twist. i like to make them something. and so this year i made these ornaments for all of us. i love homemade gifts. they mean so much more because i believe they come from the heart.

7 Gold Pieces

When the wisemen came to see the baby Jesus, they brought gifts fit for a king. Frankincense, Mrryh, and Gold.

8 Red Ornaments

Red is the first color of christmas. It was first used by faithful people to remind them of the blood which was shed for all of us by the Savior. Red is deep, intense, vivid, it is the greatest color of all. It is the symbol of the gift of God.

Santa's 9 Reindeer

you know dasher

and dancer



and prancer and vixen



comet



and cupid



and donner and blitzen



but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all...



rudolph the red nosed reindeer!

10 sneaky fingers

11 christmas questions

1. wrapping paper or gift bags?

wrapping paper! i love to wrap my presents!

2. real tree or artificial?

both! this is the first year we have had a real tree. i like the look of the full artificial trees but there is something special about the smell and look of a real tree. especially one that has been cut down by your husband. so much love.

3. do you like eggnog?

i use to love eggnog but now a days i have a couple sips and i'm done. i love my hot chocolate with a candy cane much better.

4. favorite gift received as a child.

i really don't remember gifts i got as a child...i do remember that one year my parents filled a huge box with stuffed animals and a cabbage patch tape player with headphones. i thought that was pretty cool.

5. white or colored lights?

white, white, and more white. i love white! it's clean and pretty. i love that the stars are white in the sky and so lots of white lights on the tree. b put colored lights on the house this year. blew a fuse and gave up. lol. i love him for trying.

6. favorite christmas song.

oh i love martina mcbride's 'o holy night'...motab's handal's messiah...'away in a manger'...children's songbook christmas songs (all of them make me cry)...jenny phillip's 'silent night' is my all time favorite if i had to choose!

7. can you name all of santa's reindeer?

no. dasher, dancer, prancer, vixen, comet, cupid, doner, blitzen, and rudolph...is that all of them?

8. angel or star on top of your tree?

neither. i can't reach that high.

9. open presents christmas eve or christmas morning?

we open our christmas pajamas on christmas eve and everything else christmas morning. we all get pajamas... even dad and mom.

10. 5 favorite christmas traditions.

readings or singing from our christmas advent book (as often as we remember), taking family pictures for and making our christmas cards, dad putting the tree up and mom decorating it, homemade gifts and ornaments, and opening one present on christmas eve.

11. what do i love most about christmas?

i love being with my kids and husband. i love sharing my testimony of the reason we celebrate christmas. i love shopping for the perfect gifts. i love putting gifts under the tree and seeing the kids get excited about the 'new one' i just placed there that day and who it's for. i love surprizing b...and one day i will shop for myself and act really surprized when i get a package that says 'To Staci From Santa'. of course i'll need someone else to write it because everyone knows my handwriting. i love everything about this season.

happy christmas to you one and all!

12 Days Till Christmas Advent...blogged

12 Day Advent Stockings

each sock has a little treat or reminder of why we celebrate christmas. today is the first day of the advent stockings and i am so excited for my kids to get excited about the real meaning of christmas.

our charlie brown christmas tree

saturday, b took k, a, and f to cut down our very first ever real christmas tree. i was at home with m who was throwing up. great fun for me. we got the kids all ready...outfitted the night before...and they looked so warm. especially f who was sporting his all blue byu gear! he's so cute.

they met up with some friends in the ward who were all going to cut down trees together. they hiked through thigh high snow, pulled little ones on sleds, all to find the perfect trees. a couple hours after they left i got a call from b asking me where i wanted my tree. i told him in the piano room. to which he replied...i don't think i will fit. and he was right. so we put the fake tree in our room and put the real one in the living room. it's the best charlie brown tree ever! i love it. thanks, hon! you and the kids did such a great job.

while they were gone m took a super long nap. and i got my christmas cans done. i don't know why but whenever i make something my first thought is...make them all match. and then something happens in the making process and i change my mind. i need to remember that i like them all to match! oh well. next time. i think they turned out really cute. i even made one for leah my sil. we have her for christmas and will fill it with lots of presents for her. i am excited. m is all better now and happy that she is feeling better.

last night for fhe we read from our christmas advent book. but before we read i gave all the kids their christmas pillowcases so they could lay on the floor by our tree and be comfy. they were so cute with their pillows. it made me happy. christmas makes me happy.

it's beginning to 'look' a lot like christmas...and tender mercies

oh what a day yesterday was. i am grateful that i lived and that my children lived and that it's a new day. last night i was grateful to go to the kids christmas concert. it was such a tender mercy that the lord knew i needed. as i sat listening to the festive music i was able to think of all the wonderful blessings i have. and even though it seems, at times, that those blessings bring me the most pain and heartache sometimes...i do love them. i do. and no matter what i am feeling at certain moments in the day...anger, rage, loss of control...and the thoughts that come with those moments...i love my blessings. thank you, b for reminding me of that.

the kids were so cute tonight. k, a, and m sang 3 songs each with their classes and i was so happy to see them smiling and waving to me in the audience. the kindergarteners sang away in a manger first.

they were so cute and all dressed up in their best christmas attire.

m loved singing and then eventually watching k and a.

a got to stand next to his best friend, timothy. they were so cute too.

and k had a duet with her best friend, marleah. she did so well!

they all made me teary eyed! what a wonderful way to end a very difficult day.

this morning we woke up to this.

SNOW? 'i thought i didn't snow in the desert?', one of the kids asked. me too! but here it is and i got to shovel the driveway. it's a lot bigger than the one in utah. i liked that one much better.

and this is the beautiful house we get to look at everytime we look out our front door. i love it.

now it's beginning to 'feel' a lot like christmas.