Christmas Fun

In between studying and working the kids and I managed to make a little time for some fun holiday activities. We baked and decorated christmas cookies and we put together a few christmas crafts. We went to our first Sheridan 2nd ward dinner on the 16th. It was really fun! They had a chili cook-off and gingerbread house decorating contest. I made white chicken chili and won the chili with the most beans award! I got quite a laugh out of that but thought it was fitting because the chili did have nine cans of beans! We are so glad to be done with school for a couple weeks, especially me, and are looking forward to spending the holidays in Worland.

Here are the boys in front of our little tree.

Decorating cookies. They had a great time!

Caleb making a christmas card for our friends.

Caleb at the ward dinner with Santa (thanks Melissa for the picture!).

I found these holiday hand puppet crafts at Walmart and they turned out so cute!

This is my favorite picture! I gathered most of the crafts and other things Caleb and Ethan did at preschool and school throughout the month of December. I couldn't believe how much stuff we had! And this wasn't even all of it!

A Wonderful Quote

My family put together a "Love Chain" for me and the boys for Christmas. It was wonderful to see all of the fun "chains" and how each person decorated their's. Of course all of them were wonderful and had some really great messages, but my sister Jacque put a quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley that really touched me, so I would like to share it.

"Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. You are not destined to be a scrub. You are a child of God, of infinite capacity. Believe that you can do it-whatever it is that you set your heart on. Opportunities will unfold and open before you. The skies will clear when they have been dark with portent." Gordon B. Hinckley
President Hinckley's words, no matter what they were, always touched me. He was a remarkable President! Thank you, Jacque...and the rest of my family! You are the best family ever!

The Nativity

Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song) is one of my favorite christmas songs, so I have been anxious to pull out the christmas cd's and listen to it. Tonight I was talking to my sister about the video it goes with and she directed me to You Tube. I was ecstatic to find it and want to share it with you. It is such a beautiful reminder to us all of what the christmas season is for. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Fun

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanksgiving

Well I had a few minutes between class and work, so what better way to spend it than updating my blog! Plus, I need to blog about Thanksgiving before Christmas gets here or I'll be way behind! :)
We went to Worland for Thanksgiving. We showed up on Tuesday night and surprised my mom and dad, they weren't expecting us until wednesday afternoon. It was a pretty low-key week. We just hung out at my parent's, spent some time with Sara & her family, and then my brother and his boys came on friday and saturday. On saturday Sara, Kirstie, Amanda, & I escaped to Billings to do a little shopping. When I say a little I mean it. There were a lot of people and there is never enough time, or money, to do everything in one day. It was fun though.
Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Caleb filling his plate.
Ethan enjoying some good eats.
My mom serving up some delicious pie.
Me, Sara, and mom.
The coat pile! I love the coat pile, although it was mild because there were only 15 of us there.
Kirstie, Jason, & Dad enjoying post Thanksgiving reubens. Mmmm delicious!
Here is most of us getting ready for Worland's day-after-thanksgiving lighted parade.
Me, Caleb & Ethan before church (everyone's happy ;))

Ethan is 3 years old

Ethan's third birthday was yesterday, November 24th. We celebrated on sunday night with a delicious chocolate cake. I gave Ethan a little trike, which he loves and Papa & Grandma gave him some money (in $2 bills, which is a tradition of my dad's). Ethan is a very fun, lively child. He keeps us on our toes at all times. He loves balls of any kind and has a better swing than I do.



Our good friend Susan, who is our Bishop's wife and also Rhonda Christensen's sister, had the kids over monday afternoon and evening to celebrate Ethan's birthday. The kids absolutely love her and really enjoy going to her house. We are so thankful for her!

Fall Fun

With fall comes halloween...carving pumpkins and trick or treating. We always have fun but, like every other mom in the world, I am glad it only comes once a year. This year we carved a couple pumpkins, free-hand carving nothing fancy. As you can see there are no pictures of the pumpkins being cleaned out or carved, cause I did all that :) The kids loved the finished product and enjoyed lighting the pumpkins every night.



As for the trick or treating, we decided to check out the tri-ward carnival and trunk or treat instead of the school carnival. Caleb dressed up like Batman and also wore his vampire teeth, and Ethan was Buzz Light Year. We went to our good friend's house, who is also our Bishop, ate some dinner and headed to the church. Our Bishop and his wife, Susan, dressed up like Santa and Santa's helper. They were really cute!