December Day to Day
Wednesday, December 1st
I worked on Christmas cards in the morning and then also Face-timed Mike and asked a few questions about my camera. He’s patient with me and does a great job explaining things!
When Chris got home from work we headed up to Denver for the evening. We were able to park and head to the Light the World Giving Machines. Each of us were able to pick out a charity/item to contribute to. Always a favorite Christmas tradition that helps remind us of how much we have and what so many around us do not. We gifted a months worth of fruits and vegetables, a blanket, personal care items,
Fun to walk through the festive lit streets — especially Larimar Square, which is always decorated with flags or lights. So fun!
I was so excited to see A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Seems like such a fun Christmasy thing to do and we’ve never seen it. Our friend, Megan led us to a $10 ticket sale several weeks earlier and Chris jumped on to help me purchase some right as they went on sale. The tickets were going SO fast that I grabbed two together and one single and Chris found two together and we decided that even though we had to sit separately, it was a good deal.
Megan and Luke found their seats. Matt and I found our seats and Dad volunteered to sit alone. We waited for the show to start but they postponed a few minutes for technical difficulties. As they called us back to our seats we decided to grab an otherwise empty row — and see if we could sit together. They were the PERFECT seats! The show was really fun and we all enjoyed it! Great choreography and fun characters. Such a fun event to start off our December!
Thursday, December 2nd
I got up and got straight to work on Christmas cards, and editing pictures. My typical morning routine is struggling these days because I wake up anxious to get to my long to-do list. At 10:00 I took my nativities over to the Stake Center and did some returns to Target. While in Target I realized that I felt really weak and was going to have to head home and lay down. I then remembered that I hadn’t eaten anything that morning and actually hadn’t eaten anything since my late lunch the day before at 2:30. I went nearly 22 1/2 hours fasting. When I talked to my parents later in the day I told them that I looked upward and said, “That fast counts for my Dad, Heavenly Father.” My Dad chuckled and said, “I’m sure Heavenly Father has a sense of humor.” I wasn’t joking. It counts!! haha. I ate some lunch, had a nap, called Katie, watched part of a Hallmark movie while making Taco Soup, did some Amazon returns online, talked to Ryan and then talked to my friend Emma… our December game night is cancelled because Emma has COVID. Glad to be able to check up on her and see how she’s doing.
Cassie had her wisdom teeth taken out today! Poor girl. She all of a sudden had immense tooth pain and got in to a dentist and learned that her wisdom needed to come out ASAP! Praying for Cassie today!
Katie had a ballroom dance class performance today and sent us a video! She was amazing!! Well done Kates!!
One of my favorite parts of today was texting my kids for LIGHT THE WORLD. Actually, Megan was the first to text me. Love that girl. Grateful for all of my kids and grateful for the hint to tell by big ones what I love about each of them.
Friday, December 3rd
I was home for most of the day today. I finished up cards, did laundry, edited some pictures for Terri’s new house, and talked for an hour or more with my dear friend, Monae. Love talking to her.
The boys tried out for Anglers today. A mid-season try out to arrange some more teams for Spring. Luke will stay on the 7-8th grade ANGLERS team but will have a new coach. And Matt will be with the 6-7th grade ANGLERS team with his same coach. It should be good for both of them, but we will miss them being able to play on the same team.
After tryouts Megan took Luke straight over to his Christmas Service Party at one of his friend’s houses. Such a fun group of friends.
Chris and I had a date night and went to Marigolds… one of our favorites… a fancy french restaurant. We love the Roquefort Blue Cheese Salad, the Beef Bourguignon and scalloped potatoes on the side. We talked about Wyoming options, how work is going, present ideas and more. Love having some one on one time with him.
At home we joined Megan watched the BYU Women’s soccer beat Santa Clara in the final four. They had 2 overtimes and then penalty kicks which were so nerve-wracking to watch, but concluded with an amazing win.
Emily had a fun Christmas Party with friends at Brynn’s apartment. She asked for suggestions on what to make and Luke suggested Squamish bars or M&M Hershey kiss pretzel bits and then she texted back… “Ooh that’s good. I no longer need suggestions.”
A new Santa mug from Anthropologie! And Buddy the Elf is still wandering around the house — which might be a surprise since we’re all up to speed on the magic of Christmas over here — but the boys still love finding him every morning. Thanks for keeping our house magical, Buddy.
My kitchen set up this year… I decided the nutcrackers are all upstairs this year, some in the kitchen and some in the hall and piano room. My white Magnolia platter was gifted to me last Christmas from my Mom. I love it! The plaid plates are a staple. The snowflake bowls are from Brian several years ago. : )
Saturday, December 4th
I woke up earlier than I would have liked but that seems to be happening more and more these days. I decided to start on the first layer for the 3 pans of Squamish Bars to gift to our neighbors and friends. We ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast - given to us by some friends - and then headed to the church to help with a service project called SOLES for SOULS. We guided traffic and collected and organized shoe donations and were able to talk with the Larsons, Nielsens and my good friend, Teresa. The kids loved being with friends and the weather was great. It was a fun couple of hours.
Chris and the kids and I worked in the yard for a good hour and a half doing some weeding and taking down the broken trampoline. A few friends were jumping on it during Luke’s 14th birthday party and it split right down the middle. We purchased this trampoline in Georgia when I was pregnant with Luke so it lasted a good 14 years. Definitely end of an era to take it down! Good to get the yard looking better and feels great to be outside.
We spent the afternoon watching football and then BYU basketball with a nap in there too. Luke doesn’t usually fall asleep on the couch or during the day so I had to take a picture. Megan, on the other hand, is a seasoned couch napper. Then…
Luke headed with the Teachers up to the temple to do baptisms and get pizza and had a great time.
Dad and Matt headed to the Soccer Haus for an indoor soccer game.
Megan went with friends to go watch a Christmas Movie
and I got the Squamish Bars all plated and wrapped up. Nice to have that all organized.
Sunday, December 5th
It was fast Sunday and I fasted for my Dad again. We had church at 10:00 and a great Come Follow Me family lesson afterwards. After dinner Chris and the kids and I jumped in the van together to go deliver Squamish bars to friends and neighbors. We ended up delivering about 23 plates this year. It was cold and pretty windy with a snowstorm coming in later that night, but it was fun to do together. We received a lot of thank you texts from friends. Our neighbors call Squamish Bars: ‘Christmas Crack’. haha. Everyone loves them!
Back at home Chris quickly loaded his car and drove up to Wyoming for his second two week shift. He’ll be working from Dec 6-10th, come home on Friday night and head back Sunday night to work Dec 13-17th.
Meanwhile the kids and I ate some peppermint ice cream and watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.
Monday, December 6th
Chris is working in Wyoming.
Monday started with the boys discovering that St. Nicholas had loaded up their empty shoes with bags of treats and dollar bills. A fun German tradition that we do every year. And yes, Matt sometimes wear shorts to school in December.
Later in the day, my German friend, Yvonne, dropped off a present to help celebrate St. Nicholas Day. It’s a beautiful hand cut nativity done by a mutual friend. What a treasure! I love it!
I helped a friend clean her house as she puts it on the market. Then on to the notary to get something notarized for Megan’s upcoming Humanitarian XP, to Target to get treats for our Advent Study, lunch and half a hallmark movie while I set up the Advent, a few more things and then spent a little while journaling about November. After dinner Matt and I headed to Piano. : )
A cute text Katie sent to the family with pictures from Christmas 2009!
A few more pictures of decor here and there. Love my nutcrackers.
Multiply Goodness Nativity Study
In November I bought a book from MULTIPLY GOODNESS, a group of women devoted to many different churches who come together to study Christ, to study the nativity. Each day has a person, place or thing from the nativity story with a set of scriptures to read and written words to study. I taped up additional subject cards to the dining room wall and each night - or every couple nights - we’d gather around the table in the dining room to read and talk about each new part of the Nativity. I liked the book a lot. Gorgeous photography, great typography and beautifully written text. To go with it, I had a basket with treats tagged for each day. Just an added thing to keep the kids engaged. It was great to read Luke 2 and additional scriptures and ponder some new insights.
Tuesday, December 7th
Chris is working in Wyoming.
This morning was kind of a hard day. At noon I got a text from a friend asking if Tiffany, or Megan or I had heard anything about the Middle school. She had received word from a friend’s son at the School talking about a potential shooting. I hadn’t heard anything but within a few minutes received a text from Luke: “Apparently there is some rumor about something with like a gun or something and tons of people are being picked up from school. It’s crazy.” With a few more texts back and forth Luke told me that teachers were reassuring the students that there is NO THREAT. Minutes later we received an email from the school principal and he again reassured us that everything was fine and that there was no threat to students and they had been working with the police to make sure. I let Luke and Matthew stay at school but so many parents headed to the school to pick up their students that the line went up and around the side of the school. Luke continued to text me that the teachers were being really chill and allowing kids to text more since they might be feeling a mix of emotions. I texted with him for a little while and with my group of friends. I wasn’t at all worried and definitely felt reassured with the details the principal had shared with more information about the non-threat and it’s origins, but I still had a moment of emotion with how scary that kind of situation would be and the power of moms coming together with concern for their kids and each other.
That night we had the scheduled Choir Concert at the middle school… beautifully titled A CHOIR CONCERT OF PEACE. Much needed. Luke was part of the 8th grade choir and sang Carol of the Bells, In Winter, Hine ma Toy, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Be a Candle of Hope, Children, Go Where I Send Thee, This is Me (from The Greatest showman) and A Holiday Road of Carols. Great songs. They did such a great job and everyone was entertained… especially because of several cute down syndrome girls front and center singing loud and adding some dance moves and a poor little boy who fainted in the middle of one of the last songs. Poor guy. The choir continued on as the conductor and Principal stepped in to help. Love hearing Christmas music sung this time of year!! Megan and Matthew came to support, which was fun.
Wednesday, December 8th
Chris is working in Wyoming.
I did some shopping today for Chris’ big Christmas present — a new golf bag. I texted Brian, Jared and Doug and they were such a help and led me to a great brand, and added details about his favorite golf balls. Nice to have that done!
I dropped it off at Megan’s house and chatted with her in her kitchen for an hour as she got all of her neighbor gifts wrapped. Fun to catch up.
After Megan’s indoor soccer practice she met the boys and I at The Shops of Briargate to eat at Panera Bread and do some Christmas shopping. We wandered through a bunch of stores and had a great evening. I love the festive decor and lights at this cute outdoor mall. It just feels so Christmasy!
Thursday, December 9th
Chris is working in Wyoming.
Katie sent us a text saying… “Just finished my last class and my last shift at work!” She just finished teaching at the Kindergarten on Campus. She liked it and always had fun stories about the cute kids but decided to switch her major to EXPERIENCE DESIGN and so will look for a different job on campus next semester. She’s going to be a PEER MENTOR Counselor for incoming Freshman. Another great job for her!!
I finished editing our Cancun pics, picked up a few things for the ‘boys weekend at home’, and started and finished packing for our trip to Texas. At 5:00 Megan and I headed up to Denver, parked and shuttled to the airport and then flew to Dallas. Our first Mom and Megan only trip! Love that girl! At midnight Amy picked us up from the airport and drove us back to her house. It just worked out so well to be able to stay at her house — which is only 10 minutes away from the tournament fields. Great to be able to visit with the Silvas and support Megan and her team.
Meanwhile Luke and Matt headed over to the Larson’s house to sleep overnight. (On Friday they went to school and then headed to the Ward Christmas Party with the Larsons. When Chris finished with work he headed back to Colorado Springs and had a fun 48 hours eating Costa Vida and watching movies, going to a soccer game, heading to church and playing games.)
Friday, December 10th - TEXAS TRIP
Chris is working in Wyoming. After work he headed back home to be with the boys.
After we were showered and ready we headed down to Waco, Texas. Because of Chris’ flexible Friday situation he was able to join Amy, Sam, Megan and I. We walked through the main store and I picked out a few bottle brush trees and a felt Garland. Just love the whole shop. We wandered the grounds while Chris, Sam and Megan played a little soccer of the grass and then decided on a food truck for lunch. Grilled cheese for me and then ended with a glorified Oreo pop tart with salted caramel ice cream. It was pretty divine. We then checked out a few more store by the cute church and then the furniture store. Then pictures with Santa. The whole Magnolia complex is quite magical, especially with twinkling lights in the trees and snow machines blowing a little bit of magic into the air. It was a beautiful 80 degrees but really not too hot. Overcast skies and a little breeze made it just perfect.
Cute Sammy warming up to Megan playing with him from a distance.
A sweet treat at Maggie’s Sweet shoppe… a glorified oreo pop tart with salted caramel ice cream. Yum!
Meeting Santa Claus at Magnolia
Sam was so nervous to meet Santa Claus but after being bribed by mom with a few candies he decided to give it a try. At one point he may have been clutching on the the side of the chair but he still broke out into a cute smile when Santa talked to him. So cute.
The worst part of the day was when Megan dropped her phone and it literally cracked and died. Lines running up and down the screen and some areas where it’s impossible to press on will make using it tricky. Even Santa won’t bring you a new phone, Megan. So sad.
It was fun to have good talks on the way there and back about kids sports, Christmas presents, upcoming trips and Chris’ experience up in Wyoming and what the future holds.
It was fun to see the kids when they got home from school and Megan gave them their little Christmas pez.
Amy and Chris made steak salads for dinner, which were great. At 6:30 I took Megan to the hotel to meet up with her team. She took her stuff upstairs to her room and I stayed in the lobby and chatted with Soph’s parents for awhile - who were also in Waco today. Then all of the girls headed to a secret team bonding activity — AX THROWING — and I headed back to Amy and Chris’ house. They taught me how to play a new game and then we talked until midnight. Good to be here!!
{ Rest of the Family: Emily spent the night in her dorm room studying : ( Chris headed back from Wyoming to be home for the weekend with the boys. Picture of snowy Wyoming to the right. Luke and Matt went to the Cordera Ward Christmas Party and then hung out at home until Dad got there. Katie went on a fun date and then had her Roommate Christmas gift exchange. Katie got all of her roommates cute mugs with different sayings on them. For Annie: it’s official, you’re awesome. Abbey: love ya, mean it. Dallie: best person ever. Natalie: let the adventures begin. and got one for herself and Lauren too. Super cute!! Annie gave Katie a thoughtful UNO TRIO tour shirt: when the Christoffersons came to visit us in Georgia for Thanksgiving one year then the one christofferson girl and the three johnson girls formed a band and lip synced taylor swift and one direction songs. Such a cute gift!! Then they played a game where they voted on their top personality traits. Katie ended up with: “Just needs 5 more minutes”, “Somehow knows everyone” and “Is Completely shocked by every fact you tell them” }
Saturday, December 11th - TEXAS TRIP
Chris and the boys at home.
Megan’s first game was at noon. We enjoyed the morning at home and then Chris, Amy and the kids and I bundled up and headed to the park to watch Megan play. So much cooler today with the wind. Megan’s team dominated play and ended up winning 4-1. A fun game.
After the game Megan went with her team out to lunch and to hang out back at the hotel while the Silvas and I headed up to a German Christmas Market in Arlington.
It was especially fun that they had a Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas store. Fun to wander and admire all of the Christmas treasures… especially the nutcrackers.
We ate corn tacos for dinner and then I headed back to the soccer fields to watch Megan’s second game. Megan (and Charlee) didn’t get much playing time. Megan came bouncing back across the field and joked… ‘Did you see me just sitting on the bench the whole game? Haha’. Other players weren’t quite so chipper and came across the field sobbing. They lost 2-1. I don’t remember the drama of why some girls didn’t play as much but it was an emotional game and the players weren’t too happy with coach.
Back at the Silvas we watched THE HOLIDAY after the kids went to bed. A favorite of mine, and Chris and Amy hadn’t seen it.
Sunday, December 12th - TEXAS TRIP
Chris and the boys at home. Chris headed up to Wyoming on Sunday night.
I went to Sacrament meeting with Amy and family and then used Chris’ car to head over to the fields to pick up Megan after her last game. They lost again - but just barely. Megan said she got a lot more playing time and when Coach put her in he said, “I need you to play like Megan: controlled, thinking through passes, even… and then when I tell you… I need you to go BOB: aggressive and fast.’ Well, not only did she ‘go bob’, she went ‘full bob’ and related that she was just angry out on the field and made some aggressive moves. When she later apologized to coach, he said, “What are you apologizing for?” She said, “Well, I was a little extra out there.” and he responded, “you just went ‘full Bob’ when I didn’t need you to. It was such a funny story hearing Megan share it with full emotion. I had never realized that she played like two separate people. So funny.
After a couple hours relaxing with Amy and Chris then Amy took us to the airport and we flew home. Such a fun December weekend playing soccer and visiting family.
Monday, December 13th
Chris working in Wyoming.
Monday morning I reached out to the kids and asked how everyone’s weekend went and to tell me 3 things they loved about their weekend. It was a fun series of texts. Here’s a list from everyone in the order they responded:
Lisa
Going to Magnolia and trying glorified Oreo pop tart with salted caramel ice cream.
Watching Megan play soccer and being her travel buddy. #besties.
Good talks with Amy and Chris about parenting and playing with Alice and Sam.
Luke
Watching Gladiator with Dad and Matt
Watching the Matrix with Dad
Watching Batman Begins
Emily
Brynn’s Christmas party
My Missionary boyfriend emailing me back
Dinner at Grandma’s and Grandpas house with Brynn and Abby
Katie
Roommate Christmas gift giving
Watching all of the Spider Man’s to prepare for Thursday!
Seeing Abbey’s new house and visiting her family in Idaho.
Cassie
City Creek shopping and Cheesecake Factory for dinner with Spencer and Brinnley
Christmas Morning with Spencer and Brinnley
Going up to Granny J’s for dinner
Ryan
The egg roll sampler at Cheesecake Factory
Watching the third Hobbit movie with my wife.
Doing Old Testament study to prepare for next years Come Follow Me.
Chris
Gladiator with Matt and Luke.
Quality time with the boys and hearing all the details about their girl situations.
Spending 30 minutes with President Lovejoy in between sacrament meetings.
It was a fun way to connect. My family likes lists or mini assignments I guess. So much chatter about Emily’s missionary boyfriends, the Spider Man movie coming out, loving Gladiator and the Hobbit. A fun day of texting.
Love my new Magnolia bottle brush trees for my mantle. The perfect Magnolia souvenir!
I met Jen Wyeth, Mindy, Saralyn, Tiffany, Amy, Amy’s sister and a few other friends for lunch at Torchy’s to celebrate Jen’s birthday. It was such a nice day that we sat outside and ate tacos and talked for two hours. Then as we walked out to our cars Tiffany, Mindy and I talked for another hour. Lunch with friends really fills my soul and often answers my prayers with insight, parenting ideas, understanding, or empathy, and I walk away ready to tackle the rest of my week. Grateful for these ladies.
Even though it was 3:00 when we parted I headed straight for Costco. We were really out of food so I made a big purchase and even stopped by Trader Joe’s checking for more chocolate covered Jo-Jo’s - there were none. : (
At 7:00 Matt and I headed for Piano Lessons. The first couple of times I drove him to piano, Matt reminisced about Emily taking him so we would call her to talk for a minute. Now it’s become a tradition that we call one of the kids. We tried Ryan and Katie but they both didn’t answer. Turns out they were both up at the Riverwoods with Scott and family, Grandma and Grandpa, Mike and Carly and Brian celebrating Scott’s birthday. When they were on their way home Ryan and Cassie gave me a call and I talked to them while I waited for Matt.
Tuesday, December 14th
Chris working in Wyoming. I made an appointment for my Covid Booster at 10:00. It was an easy stay-in-my-van process. I did some looking at Old Navy and Dick’s afterwards but didn’t get much accomplished.
Megan took her a final and was home the rest of the day. I made a comment that launched us into a good conversation about physical intimacy in marriage. It made her cringe a little bit - haha - but helped her understand the importance and frequency of physical intimacy in marriage. She asked some good questions and then openly shared some info about close friends. It was a good talk. One of the highlights of the day, actually.
By the end of the night my arm was so sore! Right after dinner, Matt and I played a game of DUEL with his new expansion and even though I thought I was set up to win, Matt ended up winning. Matt went with Ian to Deacons and I took Luke over to his YM presidency meeting. Then Dad and I talked for over an hour doing some finalizing of Christmas presents and a little online shopping. We got some good stuff done but by 10:00 I was achy all over and ready for bed.
I really love my bedroom all decked out for Christmas! My new ‘Santa’s Favorite’ pennant is new and I love it!
Wednesday, December 15th
Chris working in Wyoming.
It was a rough night sleep. My body ached just to turn over and one area of teeth seemed to be throbbing with pain. I took some more medicine, threw on my robe, headed in to the boys room to see them up and ready and then made my way to the couch downstairs to watch as they finished up and left for the day, wishing me well as they left. I laid there for awhile before moving. I eventually had a hot bath, which used up all remaining energy. Within an hour or two my achy body was 80 percent better but my toothache was 80 perfect worse. So bad that I had to take another dose of ibuprofen and then some Tylenol and it was still hours before it finally was under control. I took a second bath about 1:00pm and then headed to bed for a few hours while Megan’s friends, Max and Tessa, came over and watched the newish cartoon Grinch movie as their study break. When I woke Matthew and I played a game of Kingdomino while I held my mouth and complained way too much. I HATE tooth pain. Weirdest covid vaccination side-effect ever! So crazy.
It was such a windy day. Our outdoor furniture was all over the lawn and I had to go gather a few things that flew into the Egberts lawn by their back fence. I guess there were some bad accidents on the freeway because of semi’s toppling over in the wind. Crazy Colorado!
I made quesadillas for the boys for dinner. Megan didn’t want anything and I just ate granola. The kids helped me clean the kitchen and Luke cleaned the downstairs. At 6:00 Luke’s friends came over for a mini Christmas party. They hung out downstairs mostly and then came up for ice cream. I suggested the bringing a wrapped box of cereal game to Luke but he said, “no, that’s more of Matt’s age thing” which is funny since it seems like they’re so close in age. So no party games… “just hanging out like Megan and her friends do” he said.
I was on the phone with Chris for at least an hour talking through our Christmas week schedule and finalizing plans. We both love making a plan. It’s going to be a great couple of weeks.
Thursday, December 16th
Chris working in Wyoming.
It was such a good day today. I woke up with energy and no teeth pain which was so wonderful. I’m baffled that that pain is a part of my covid vaccination side-effects but not that it’s happened twice, I’m convinced they are correlated. Chris is fascinated and mentioned he should write up a report for a Medical journal. Anyway, feeling energized and grateful I happily began my morning routine with a smile. I folded the boys laundry while they finished up in their rooms and then headed down with them to get them out the door. Matthew, on time, as always, and Luke running late just a bit. I cleaned the kitchen, swept, continued with laundry, made myself a breakfast of hash browns and eggs, sent off some soccer pictures to Megan who needed them for a project, and got a few random Christmas cards ready to send.
When Megan got home from her one final we had fun chatting and she helped me put up some colored Christmas lights on the front bushes. Boy do I love that Megan girl. We have the best talks and the best relationship. I’m convinced that she thinks I’m a goofball but hopefully she likes me too. She is great about opening up to me and telling me whats going on in her life and the lives of her friends.
I headed to Target for a mid-day excursion hoping to finish up some small last minute things and came away with something extra for Megan that I think she’ll like. I also picked up some greenery and decided to decorate the upstairs loft. It’s not a space I usually decorate so it was fun to work on and I love seeing it all together as I head up the stairs every day.
This is the year of Amy’s beautiful Nativity watercolor. She sells it on THE DIGITAL PEACH on Etsy and it has been hugely popular this year. Early on she showed us several different renditions and I decided I would gift it to some close friends. Just a beautiful and simple piece.
I’m feeling pretty fairly ready for the next two weeks and grateful to be able to really enjoy every minute. I’m excited to see Chris tomorrow night and Katie and Emily, who he’ll be picking up from the airport as he drives home from Wyoming. We haven’t seen each other for 12 days but it’s been ok.
Home from Target I checked on Megan who was studying, gave her a good head rub (and then another one when I went to leave and she moaned in sadness) and then announced that I was headed to BLOG. Then I excitedly walked to my computer and ended up working on a cute CHRISTMAS MEMORIES printable that we’re going to all work on and add to my Mary Englebreit Christmas Journal collection this year. So definitely not blogging — but also a very fun project to work on. I sent the questions to my parents and Shelley and my Dad emailed his answers back within the hour. Love that. Now the pages are designed, printed and trimmed ready to be filled out and added to our books. … aaaaaand Megan convinced me that I need to order one more Mary Englebreit Christmas Journal so that I can document my final 5 Christmas’ with kids at home. (insert fake sobbing here.)
When Luke got home from school he told me the funniest story. It was ugly Christmas Sweater Day at the Middle School and since he and a classmate forgot to dress up they had the idea to head into the library and ask the librarian if she’d take their pictures and print them out so they could wear each other’s picture on their sweatshirts. The librarian eagerly said yes and then went the extra mile by finding tacky Christmas bows to add as well. First of all, who even thinks of an idea like that and second of all, what librarian totally agrees to it. They ended up with pictures of each other on their shirts and then — the librarian’s idea — another picture of both of them together wearing each other on their shirts. What fun!
Matthew made himself some cup-o-noodles, I made Luke a red pepper jelly grilled cheese sandwich and Megan had avocado toast. Then Ian came over and I made him a regular grilled cheese sandwich. Now that I’m thinking about it, I didn’t really eat dinner myself. Without Dad here our meals are pretty low key and I actually love it — although I don’t eat consistently. Luke’s been anxious to watch THE HOBBIT lately so I said sure and we watched it while the kids ate and I made Squamish bars — my fourth pan since I made three pans for neighbors and friends — but this is the first pan for us.
Megan talked to Dad last night and discussed how many puzzles we have to do before Christmas so she got one out and we started it while we watched.
I talked to Chris for a bit about a certain big surprise and then signed off to gather the kids for Devotional. We discussed Shepherds, the ones who wondered, and Mary. Great discussions and opportunity to bear testimony. I was able to express appreciation for Megan sharing spiritual thoughts with me the power of sharing testimony. It was good. At the end, midway through the boys distracted faces, interruptions and noisy chairs I reached my hand across the table and grabbed Megan’s hand. She reached back with understanding in her eyes. ‘I got you’ she mouthed and we smiled. Love that girl. We prayed, ate another Squamish Bar and then everyone went off to bed. And now here I am, journaling about my fantastic December day.
It’s Mike’s birthday today. The Waltons gathered at Mike’s house for dinner but because of a big snowstorm and bad roads, Ryan, Cassie, Katie and Emily didn’t drive over. All four ended up seeing SPIDERMAN tonight and loved it. Now Katie and Emily are headed up to Grandma Johnson’s house to stay the night. Katie will go to the temple to be with Maggie as she goes through for the first time and then head to the airport to fly home. I pray they get their safely and everything goes ok.
Friday, December 17th - Chris, Katie and Emily coming Home
Chris working in Wyoming.
The kids headed off to school for their LAST day before Christmas and LAST finals for Megan. I cleaned the kitchen, deep cleaned my bathroom, worked on editing some December pics and then had the best conversation with my dad. I pried some Christmas memories out of him and it was fun to hear him recall things and chuckle about checking out his presents in the attic. I added a few of his memories to his Christmas write-up ready for my book.
Katie and Ally Cook joined Maggie at the Draper Temple for a 10:00 endowment. So glad she could be there! Then Grandma J drove Emily and Katie to the airport to catch their flight!
Megan was so excited to finish finals. She spent the afternoon doing the puzzle, cleaning her room and watching TV. Then Romney came over and the two of them hung out and then went to Target to buy stuff for their White Elephant Gift Exchange at Brynnley’s Christmas party.
The two of them picked out some funny stuff and were so excited about it! This wrapping job made me laugh!! Then off they went to their party. Love these two!
Luke brought Everett home after school and they hung out for a couple hours. Luke headed to Ian’s house straight after school… like normal. They ate dinner over there and then walked over just in time for Matthew to host a Christmas hang out with his friends. Paige, Preslee, Trey, Ian, Kate, Thane, Paige, Kylee and Cade. They hung out downstairs, played ping pong, ate treats, listened to music and made SO MUCH noise! Love this group of kids. At 9:00 I had them come upstairs to do their Cereal Box White Elephant Exchange. It was pretty funny. At first the kids each picked up a present from the middle and did no stealing. But then the stealing got intense. Even though most of them were seemingly desirable sugar cereals, they all had their personal favorites and were repulsed at others. Lots of helping each other out too. It was fun to watch. Cade was so embarrassed that his Dad bought him a no-name brand frosted flakes and he kept telling everyone NOT to pick it, saying, “You are going to regret it. I promise you are going to regret it.” It was pretty funny.
Dad, Katie and Emily got home in time to see Matt’s party in full swing just before parents came to pick them up. Then Katie and Emily, who had both seen the last SPIDERMAN just 28 hours before, convinced us to watch recaps on the ‘Toby’ Spidermans and then watch the first ‘Andrew’ Spiderman downstairs together as a family and to buy tickets to SPIDERMAN for the whole family for Saturday night. Fun to have the girls home!
Saturday, December 18th
We got up and with Katie’s suggestion decided to work out together. We ate a late breakfast/lunch and decided to watch the second ‘Andrew’ Spiderman while we worked on a puzzle. At 5:00 Matthew left to go to Torchy’s for dinner and then Spiderman No Way Home with his friends. We decided to go as well and booked tickets for the largest screen in Colorado at our nearby Movie Theater. Romney came with us. We REALLY loved it. So fun to be in a huge theater with so many Spiderman fans who were excited about specific things happening and felt the weight of emotion in certain scenes. It was great. Glad Emily and Katie had us prepped for this movie! It was a fun 24 hours of Spiderman fun!
A cute wooden Santa puzzle from the Jacksons.
Sunday, December 19th
We had a really beautiful Christmas program. Lots of Christmas hymns and musical numbers. In Primary the kids played a fun SINGO game and we handed out M&M candy canes for the kids and Ghirardelli chocolates for the leaders.
It’s fun to have the girls home and coming to church with us. After church we took a few pictures and then gathered to have our Come Follow Me family lesson.
We ate Salmon and vegetables for dinner and then Chris headed to the Colorado Springs airport to pick up Grandma Johnson from the airport. After she ate then we gathered to have a little Nativity devotional around the kitchen table and then headed to the living room for our mini-Christmas with Grandma. She gave the girls ‘a shopping trip to pick out something they wanted’, and Portland bags. She gave Luke a BYU Sweatshirt and a book and Matt a 49ers Sweatshirt and book. She thought for sure Chris was a 49ers fan! haha. She made Chris a pillow from one of Del’s old shirts. What a cute present. The tag on it says… “ This is a shirt I used to wear. Whenever you hold it know I am there. Love Dad”. Chris loved it! We also got some money and haven’t decided what we’re going to do with it yet. It will be fun to pick something out! As a bonus present she handed the kids each a FLYING MONKEY. It screeches when it flies through the room. My goodness. So funny!! The girls picked up a few presents for Grandma - lotion and a candle, and we gave her a print of Amy’s nativity in a cute little frame. Her main Christmas present is tickets to each of the plays presented at the Hale Center Theater for 2022. She’ll get it on Christmas Day and I think she’ll love it!
Monday, December 20th
It was a great day. I was able to sleep in a little bit. The house was so quiet - no kids that wake up early these days and even though Matt sometimes wakes up early, he’s quiet in his room. Matt jumped at the chance to go toCostco with me. The two of us had fun shopping with a crowd full of other Monday morning shoppers and filled our cart for the coming week. He ordered a chocolate sundae to eat on the way home and we listened to ColdPlay Christmas. I dropped Matt and the groceries off at home and then headed out to catch up with Grandma and the girls who were already shopping at the mall. Grandma bought Katie jeans and a NIKE sweatshirt, Emily new black NIKE high tops, and Megan grey soccer shorts and a green sweater. Good stuff. Megan drove home to get ready for her soccer game and the rest of us went to lunch at Mod Pizza and then watched Megan’s indoor soccer game at Soccer Haus. Her HS team won 9-1.
Chris picked up the boys and then we met up at the Bowling Alley on the Academy. We love that you take pictures of each player from the score board and then it creates all these funny little video clips with our faces attached to different characters. It’s really so fun. We took turns bowling great and not so great. Chris’ best game was 150 and my best game was 147. Katie had a pretty great game too. We ended up playing 4 games each in our 2 hours.
Megan left early to get ready for her date with Colton. She, Colton, Gavin and Charlee decorated gingerbread houses and then watched a movie. The rest of us headed home for grilled cheese, and hot chocolate and then worked on the US map Holiday puzzle and watched 8-Bit Christmas. Super cute!! Love watching new Christmas movies. Then Chris, Grandma and the girls watched Miracle on 34th Street.
Tuesday, December 21st
Another totally quiet morning. I woke up at 7:30 and spent some relaxing time in bed reading and then having a hot bath. Around 9:30 I heard the kids stirring. We did ‘an hour of cleaning’ together and got the kitchen and living room cleaned, swept and vacuumed. Emily, Katie, Matt and I played a game of AZUL and then Matt and Emily and I headed over to piano lessons. Emily wanted to pop in and say hi to Gina and then received a See’s Candy Chocolate Santa in return. Once a piano student, always a piano student. While Matt was in his lesson then Emily and I wandered Barnes and Noble and found all kinds of fun things.
Back at home Katie, Megan and Shelley had started another puzzle and another Christmas movie.
When Chris got home at 3:45 we were gathered around the kitchen table doing the Christmas Memories Journal pages I had printed out last week and talking about favorite memories, traditions and movies. So fun to hear some of Shelley’s memories from when she was a child.
Matthew playing a little Switch before dinner.
We did two devotionals — the STAR, and the Wise Men — and then squished into one car to go to NaRai Thai for dinner. We went around answering questions like ‘Who do you most like to buy presents for?’ and ‘What is your favorite Christmas movie?’ and enjoyed our Massaman Curry, Yellow Curry and Sweet and Sour Chicken. Then off to the mall to kill some time until the movie started. Fun to wander Dicks and the game store together and we even managed a secret Emily birthday present purchase.
SIDE STORY was great. Almost identical to the original so Shelley loved it. Iconic music and dancing. It was fun. Megan, Luke and Matthew didn’t know the story so after the tragic ending they were like ‘What?? Why did we even watch that?’ Definitely sad.
Wednesday, December 22nd
A quiet morning again. Luke headed off with his friends to go see Spiderman No Way Home again. 3 of the 8 of them had already seen it. We played 3 or 4 games of Emily’s Disney Codenames and then Katie suggested we watch Into The Heights so we found it on HBO Max and headed downstairs to enjoy it. Emily and Grandma hadn’t seen it before. We ate nachos and homemade salsa for lunch, the kids went outside to play basketball, Emily helped me clean the kitchen, we finished the Sports puzzle and I talked to Chris on the phone and we made some decisions about last minute things for Christmas. Definitely feeling this quote right now!!
At 4:00 I took Shelley to the Colorado Springs airport and then took Matthew and Luke to their indoor soccer game. They’ve been put in a high school league so all of their games have been really hard but today they managed to pull out a 9-9 tie. Crazy. Luke loved the game and felt like he played so well. Fun to watch.
Elf Party Gifts
This year I gifted an ELF PARTY to Ryan and Cassie, Scott and Elisha and Rob and Lindsey. (Christmas tree plates from Crate and Barrel for Waltons and Grahams as well!) It was SO fun to put together. I included Maple Syrup with a BUDDY THE ELF Maple Syrup label, Candy Canes, Spaghetti, Pop Tarts, Gum Drops, Mini- Marshmallows, card stock ELF BINGO boards, an ELF QUIZ and an answer sheet, an ELF NAME activity and a page giving ideas for their elf party night. I hope everyone loved it! When I told Emily what I was doing {inspired from our last year’s ELF PARTY} then she said, “We ARE doing this again this year, right?” And so I printed out copies for us to do as well and purchased pop tarts and candy canes for us as well!
2nd Annual Elf Party
As soon as we got home we launched into our ELF PARTY! I had already set the table and made the sauce. Chris had Michael Bubble Christmas music playing and we danced around the living room for a bit, which was fun. We ate spaghetti and sauce and corn. Chris and Luke mixed theirs up with candy cane pieces, poptarts and syrup but the rest of us had poptarts on the side. We worked on our Elf Quiz while we ate, drank World’s Best Hot Chocolate, reviewed answers, watched a behind-the-scenes about the movie, did the dishes together, drew pictures for our ELF BINGO and then watched the movie. It was fun! We finished the ball puzzle and opened up a new one from Nikole and John and family — Christmas in London — which is so cute and looks HARD! Chris and Megan watched the BYU BASKETBALL game and then we played a game of AZUL with the girls and then headed to bed around 11:30. We’re getting to bed a little late these days!
This is year I added Buddy the Elf Bingo. It was fun to come up with specific ideas from the movie to draw. As we started watching the movie we ran back to put mini-marshmellows on our bingo board. I can’t remember who won but it was fun to draw!
Thursday, December 23rd
Happy Christmas Adam! Can’t believe we’re already to this part of our Christmas celebration! Dad worked a half day and when he came home he and I headed out to do some last minute shopping. While we were gone he had Katie and Megan make some sugar cookie dough. It hadn’t been a must on my holiday ‘to-do’ list this year but when Katie brought it up as something that she wanted to do then he suggested she start it. I dropped all preconceived notions of perfect icing and a clean kitchen and just let them do it. Meanwhile I started working on sweet potatoes and raspberry jello for our Christmas Eve dinner and cream for our Christmas Eve brunch with friends. But what ensued was a rather humorous fit of boys fighting and girls feeling like I might be agitated and mad about the whole event while I was trying to get other things done. I wasn’t at all — I had already mentally let go of expectations so that it didn’t have to look a certain way. It kind of turned into a comedy of errors and it made me laugh out loud, to the surprise of my kids.
I remember reading a quote this year that said…
“If you have magical memories of Christmas as a child, it’s because you had a mom who worked her tail off.”
Amen. As a child I bounced in and out of different activities not really thinking about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ that went into each treat or present or activity. It’s not until you’re a mom that you realize how much your own mom willingly produced the magic. Thanks mom! soon realized that they needed just a little bit of help and attention. I gave them an icing recipe. Helped add some flour to the rolling pin and joined them for the decorating while we watched Home Alone. It was fun but it reinforced my feelings that you just can’t do everything every year — and be SANE! It’s always better for me to pick a handful of activities to focus on and let go of the rest.
For dinner the girls helped me prepare our new traditional Christmas Adam meal: crepes, nutella, special cream, and berries. Plus a few ham and cheese ones for Dad and a few of the kids. I can only eat one and go straight for the cream and berries. So good! After dinner we watched THE HOLIDAY while Dad and I wrapped a few presents.
Christmas Cards
Love receiving Christmas cards in the mail!
December 24th - Christmas Eve
Larsons hosted Christmas Eve Brunch this year and it was so fun. Love all these people. It was great to be able to spent a few hours talking with everyone and taking some time to enjoy being together. It feels like we haven’t seen each other in a while and it was fun to reconnect. Mindy made waffles and everyone else brought berries and toppings and juice and milk and other platters of food. It was delicious.
Love these friends. Megan, Amy, Mindy, and Tiffany. Missing Saralyn who left a bit early.
Most of the moms and most of the teens.
Gingerbread Houses
As soon as we got home we got straight into decorating Gingerbread houses. I bought individual ones this year (from Target) and bought the candy for it weeks ago with the plan to do it today. It was fun to put them together and then decorate our own little house! Love putting a candy board together too. Our favorites this year were the gummy lifesavers! Every house ended up super cute!
Fun to relax. We had thought about watching the new Disney movie at home (new to Disney + today) but decided to relax and watch some Christmas highlight videos and work on the latest puzzle instead. Love our home videos!!
This puzzle from John and Nikole of London is so cute, but SO HARD! Chris and Emily are determined to get it done.
Looks like I didn’t take any pictures of our Christmas Eve Dinner. But we enjoyed:
Roast
Potatoes and Gravy
Rolls
Sweet Potato Casserole
Creamed Corn
Raspberry Pretzel Jello
Sparkling Cider
Pretty much all my favorites. So good to eat the leftovers on Christmas Day!
Romney walked in right during our Christmas Eve dinner. He came over to give Megan her Christmas present - in a funny Happy Birthday bag. Megan ran to get her present to him… in a “At least it’s not a Dog” bag. Haha
We headed downstairs to enjoy a spiritual portion of our Christmas Eve. We watched THE SHEPHERD - the nativity story made by the people who made THE CHOSEN. It was SO good. We then watched this year’s CHOSEN Nativity Story with more details and back story of Mary and Joseph. I loved them both. It was absolutely my favorite part of the day! Grateful for my Savior, Jesus the Christ and grateful for this time of year to focus on his birth and life.
While we were still downstairs we decided to open presents from John and Nikole, which were under the downstairs tree. Chris got some Star Wars playing cards. I got a cute Europe travel book/coffee table book. Katie got a Journal Book of Mormon. Emily got a Harry Styles notebook. Megan got a lanyard. Luke got a magic trick thing. Matt got a little game. And we all got a London puzzle that we opened up a couple days earlier. Fun to open a few presents on Christmas Eve! Thanks John and Nikole!
Christmas Eve Pajama Pics
The kids decided to sleep together down in the guest room downstairs. They pulled mattresses onto the floor so all five of them could sleep together. Another Christmas Eve tradition. Chris and I worked quickly on a few things and then headed to bed right at midnight. : )
Saturday, December 25th
We had a wonderful Christmas. We slept until 8:00. Dad went and grabbed the kids and brought them into our room to wait until we were all ready.
We walked down in order to see Santa presents and stockings.
Then Christmas breakfast and grape juice.
Then slowly opening presents until about 1:30.
Relaxed and had a short nap.
Ate Christmas dinner leftovers about 3:00pm.
Watched two Wheel of Time episodes.
Chris, Em, Megan and Matt played Marvel Spendor.
I talked to my parents and then Whitney.
Chris Face-timed with his family.
Lots of cleaning and organizing.
Emily suggested we watch tick, tick, Boom! We watched it on VidAngel and we really enjoyed it. We’re on an ‘Andrew’ kick and he did a great job. We loved the music too!
And worked on the Florida puzzle. Love it since it’s a one-movie kind of puzzle.
Pictures of Christmas day coming on a separate post.
Face-timing with Ryan and Cassie some time after Christmas.