Thistle Hair The Christmas Bear

So ya, the only thing the title of this post has in common with this post is that it's a Christmas song and this is my Christmas post. It's actually one of my favorite Christmas songs. It's done by Alabama. I love their whole Christmas album.

What a wonderful Christmas it was. Our holiday started with me driving our 4 girls along with Rocky to Koosharem. What an adventure that was. (Jim had to work and was flying to SLC on Christmas Eve). The girls actually did really well. We ended up stopping in Ely to stay the night. Word of advice....Don't try to go to a fast food restaurant for dinner in Ely. We tried three different places and were very frustrated with the service. We settled for going to the grocery store and finding some food. Lucky for us the motel room had a microwave. I was so worried about someone stealing our luggage carriers off the roof of my car though that I didn't get much sleep. We made it to Koosharem on the 21st.

It was so good to be home for a few days. It was cold and snowy and wonderful! Dad always had a fire going in the fireplace. Mom made yummy food and candy. The girls played with cousins and even got to see Santa at the elementary school program. Mom had some things planned for the girls. One was building a gingerbread house. Each girl did a side then disappeared leaving Mom and I to do the roof. Good thing Dad was around to help out!

Here is Mom showing the girls the Raggedy Ann doll she had made. She is making them each one. They all fell in love with her and are excited to have one.

Lexie enjoying part of her Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Norman

We left Koosharem in plenty of time on Christmas Eve to get to the airport on time for Jim. We got to Jim's parents' late evening and right away started preparing for Santa to come. Karissa and I had made cookie dough in Koosharem, so I hurried and baked it for Santa. We wrapped a few family gifts which included the jammies I made for the girls. Jim shared the Christmas story of Baby Jesus then we let the girls open their jammies and head to bed. It was so fun seeing the excitement the girls had knowing Santa was coming. They were tracking him on the computer and knew just where he was. Karissa was especially excited. She struggled sleeping the whole night and said she had heard bells and had seen Santa in the night. Sure enough, Christmas morning we found that Santa had been there! I didn't get any pictures Christmas morning...we did video instead. It was very magical. I even heard one of my girls say, "This is the best Christmas ever! I got just what I wanted!"

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Lexie admiring the jewelery box Grandma Norman gave her. She played the music over and over. I had put it back in the box while Lexie was asleep. Lexie woke up to go the bathroom then went on a hunt for her jewelery box. When she found it she cuddled up on the couch and went back to sleep with it.

One of the hardest parts about visiting family is Samantha being a "Mommies Girl". They all want to see her and hug her, but she is not a happy girl when mommy hands her off. Well, here is a moment we tried to enjoy. She actually hung with Uncle Rich for about 20 minutes! She did play with Grandma Norman for a few minutes before we left Koosharem and also fell asleep while Grandma Rowley was holding her before we left Logan.

Jim's family did their Christmas party the day after Christmas. Boyd and Connie went down to SLC that morning and picked up Grandma Perry so she could spend a few days. It was fun having her there with us. And I can't leave out the yummy food! Homemade Taco Time crisp meat burritos! Sweet Pork! Thanks Ron!

The kids making music.

Opening presents from Grandma and Grandpa Rowley.

I love this little girl. She has blessed our lives so much.

Brindley, Karissa and Lexie all got to play with their friends in Hyrum for a few hours also. I think I miss their friends as much as they do. It was so good to be back home for a few days. We miss Utah so much, but we have truly been blessed this last year. We have such wonderful friends and family back home and we are making wonderful friends here in Carson City. We love you all and hope your Christmas was wonderful! Thanks for being a part of our lives. May God bless you in the New Year!

Christmas Programs

If your just not feeling in the mood for Christmas....attend your child's school Christmas program.

Karissa is on the left side on the front row. There are 4 or 5 2nd grade classes at our elem. school. They each sang two songs, then did a grand finale with all of them. I was so impressed with how well the students knew every word to every song. I was very proud of Karissa.

Here's Brindley singing one of her solo's.

Brindley's class did a play. Brindley had the main solo singing parts. Yes, I'm going to brag. She did awesome. I knew she could sing, but hearing her on the stage was amazing. That was my daughter up there. I was so proud of her. She worked so hard to get this part. She practiced her lines and went early to school for two weeks prior to the program.

Both Brindley and Karissa amaze me. They have adapted well to being in a new school. They work very hard to please their teachers. Keep it up girls! I love you!

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving and being able to spend time with family. Thank you Jim for making it possible for me to see my family and friends over Thanksgiving.

We left for Koosharem around 6:00 p.m. Wednesday night. Kids were in their jammies and Rocky was settled in in his kennel ready for the long ride. By the time we got to Ely, I was ready for sleep. I didn't want Jim driving while everyone else was asleep so we stayed at a motel. The night went fast and by 5:00 a.m. we were up and loading back into the car to finish the drive to Koosharem. We made a quick stop to Julianne's for potty breaks then on down the road arriving at Mom's just in time to put my salads together and clean up a bit.

Dad got the tables all arranged and everyone else pitched in carrying food from the kitchen to the addition. There was alot of food.

The people attending Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's this year were: Mom and Dad, Ryan, Shannon with 5 kids, Jim and I with 4 kids, Suzanne and her friend Ryan, Uncle Don and Aunt Melinda, Charles and Joan Sager (they bought G&G Rueben's house).

Doesn't Mom look great! It was so fun having Thanksgiving with her and reflecting on how different things were a year ago. So Thankful Mom is here with us. So Thankful she fixed yummy Thanksgiving dinner for us! :)

The girls had fun playing with their cousins.

After dinner football game.

Somehow I planned just right and misssed out on the cleanup!

We had a fun evening playing "To Tell the Truth". There are a good bunch of liars in the family.

After an enjoyable day and a half in Koosharem we headed to Logan to see Jim's family. It was a bittersweet feeling as we drove into Cache Valley. It was so good to be home, but sad to know we couldn't stay. I even cried as we drove by Macey's. I miss Macey's sooo much and the employee's there that are so friendly.

On Saturday afternoon Connie, Maria, Jessica, Mindy and I went to Novemberfest. Lot's of fun stuff to see, but even better were all the people I got to see. It just made my day to see you all. I was even able to get a cute dress for Samantha that Amber made. Thanks Amber!

Jim's Mom did the December birthday dinner on Saturday night so they could include me. Thank you so much. I miss all of the get togethers. I miss all of my nieces and nephews.

I love you all.

More cousins to play with and we finally got to meet baby Allie.

We had a great time being in Logan. I was able to go to breakfast with Holly, Dana, and Becky. So good to catch up with them. I also got to visit with Jess. I'm ready for another strawberry shake! One of the funnest parts was going to our ward in Hyrum. Not many people knew we were going to be there. It was so fun surprising them. Our bench was even waiting for us. I loved seeing my girls' friends and the looks on their faces. I wish we could have spent more time with all of you. We love and miss you all. Thanks for loving us and helping is feel so welcome.

The last two pics are of the Thanksgiving dinner I fixed when we got back to Carson City. You have to have leftovers, so I cooked our turkey and made all of the fixings on Monday after we got home.

Samantha at 9 months old.

Samantha is in the cream shirt.

I know she is almost 10 months, but I wanted to post her stats from her 9 month checkup.

I have been bad at taking pictures of her lately. This pic was from Thanksgiving. Sharing a not so happy moment with her cousin Jessica and Grandma.

At 9 months Samantha weighed 15 lbs 12 oz. She is 27" long with a head circumference of 17.5". She is one of my biggest babies, but once again (just like my other kids) I was told while at the Doc. that I needed to get some more calories in her. She is healthy and developing well, just small for her age.

Some fun facts to remember:

Samantha started rolling over between 5 and 6 months. She started sitting up on her own at 7 months and was crawling at 8 months. She will pull herself up to anything so she can stand. She got her first tooth at 9 months and is working on several others. :) She is eating most baby fruits and veggies and some baby dinner foods. She prefers to eat what Mom is eating and loves to eat townhouse crackers. Yes, she is picky with her crackers. She also already knows the best part to eat in the lucky charms cereal. She is a "mommies girl" and prefers to be held by mom most of the time. She has recently started to let her dad rock her to sleep at night. She is fascinated with faces and is always grabbing at them. Samantha loves to sing, dance and listen to music. She can say Ma Ma and Dadda. She loves her sisters and is always giggling at them. She loves to sit on mom and dad's bed and bounce. She will also let me snuggle with her.

Samantha I love being your mom. You light up my day in so many ways. I love you!

Two Years down many more to go!

Just over two years ago while teacing a lesson in Relief Society I shared with the sisters how my little family hasn't done well with daily scripture study. After the lesson I had several sisters come up to me and tell me what worked for them in their families. Feeling a little awkward with them all telling me how to do it, I decided for myself that our family was going to have daily scripture time.

Like I said, it has been just over two years and we just finished reading the Book of Mormon as a family for the second time. It has taken alot of discipline and not always have we been in the best of mood when we got woke up so early. There were alot of times in the last year that we would share scripture time with Jim over the phone when he was gone for work. It was also very hard for me while I was pregnant with Samantha to get out of bed. Brindley and Karissa kept me going though. They have set such a good example. Many times I have told myself that if they can sit up and listen during scriptures then I can too. We have grown closer as a family and understand the scriptures alot better. I love to hear my girls grasp a hold of something from the scriptures and remember it then talk about it again later.

Something new we added to our scripture study time a few months ago was reciting the Articles of Faith. I'm so amazed at how fast Brindley and Karissa picked them up.

As we finished this morning Brindley made the comment about how when we get to Heaven Moroni will be sitting at a table doing a book signing. We all thought this was a pretty cool idea so we added on by saying Nephi, Lehi, and all those that contributed to the Book of Mormon will all be sitting in a row along a table signing Books of Mormon. Joseph Smith will be there along with the Urim and Thummim and other items on display. Kind of a neat thing to think about.

Here's to another many years reading the scriptures as a family.

Family Pictures

I think my camera is paying for itself! We did family pictures the other day and I am pleased with how they turned out.

I love this one with Jim and most of the girls. Not really posing for the camera. We were just trying to position the camera and I snapped a shot. Wish Samantha was in it.

For pushing the button then running to get in the picture, I think they look good.

Thanks to my family for being patient and cooperating. It was cold, but fun!

Yes, that was my child.

I think every year most Moms look forward to watching their children participate in the primary program. I remember the first few years being able to watch Brindley and Karissa do their parts and listening to them sing. I always ended up with tears in my eyes. They always sit so reverent and sing the best they can and try very hard to keep their part in their mind so they can give it by memory. Yes, I am one of those proud moms. And then Lexie became a Sunbeam!!!!! I was so excited to have all three participate. They all had their parts memorized. Lexie was the very first to give her part in the program. She did great! She said it just like we had practiced. Brindley and Karissa also gave their parts perfect. I was all smiles! No tears! Then came the time when I started shaking my head and remembering that my 4 year old has a mind of her own. I happend to look over at the bishop's wife who was motioning to her sunbeam to sit still. I glanced back up to the stand just intime to see this little girl point at Lexie and mouth, "It's her." Sure enough, my precious little girl was the one putting on the show this time. Yes, that was my child....shouting the words to the song so everyone knew she knew the words, that was my child bothering your child, that was my child pulling faces at me. As Jim said, "Her hands were everywhere but folded." After the program was over Lexie came to me and said, "Did you see me Mom? I was pulling faces at you!"

Yes, I am still a proud Mom! I love my girls and love how different each one is. This is what makes life an adventure!