Christmas 2010

Here it is, February 1st, and I'm just getting around to blogging about Christmas! WOW... and to think I'm putting off other projects to do this too... =)



Just a quick note - for the sake of time, there will be a small sampling of pictures... not all the ones I might otherwise have done!

This was the year for family to come up - although I guess I don't know for sure that it happens every other year being that we've only been her through two Christmases anyway. Marie's family wisely choose to stay put - or at least not to drive over the mountains with the crazed drivers that often appear around such holidays! But, we did miss them - the kids were forever telling me how it wasn't fair that their cousins we're here. (I think they were afraid they wouldn't have any fun without them). And Julie and Jeff didn't make the drive up either - so it was only part of the big family.

Never the less, the kids had a wonderful time. They got to play games, work on puzzles (are at least pretend to), go to the park and just have a wonderful time with a couple Aunts and Uncles. I did not go along (the baby was pretty sick that weekend) so I don't have pictures of most of those events - although I've seen a couple and they were great. The kids really love the time with extended family!

As I mentioned, baby Jacob was sick - a nasty cold that kept getting worse - or so it seemed. I was pretty sure he had croup - which would make my first (of five) baby to get it. It was miserable and I was certainly worried about him - I spent weeks up at random hours with him because he'd wake up and would be so miserable and having a hard time breathing that he wouldn't want to go back to sleep. So we'd be up for an hour or two and then back up first thing in the morning. He pulled through that just fine, but during that time we decided that his "rash" was truly not just a a common "I'm sick rash" which all except one of our kids get - they are all fair skinned except her. It was obviously a contact allergy rash - plus his poor little face was getting drier and drier... we're talking red prune.... but that's a whole other story for a whole other post....

You'll see pictures of the family homemade gifts - every year we choose a name and have to make something for that person. It's an old family tradition that we had growing up (by we, I mean my family) and which I loved and started with our own little family. The kids really enjoy it and are eager to be involved... of course, right now, there is still a lot of "parent" help. But they are growing and while there is parent help, they are also learning skills! Jacob was not in the mix this year since he was too small to even help - but Peter sat on my lap and helped to sew him a Thomas pillow so he'd have something special and homemade.


Anyway... Gabi made Jeremy a stool (he can now get stuff out of his closet without help)! Jeremy made an apron for Bob. Bob... oh yeah, didn't make anything! We'll let him off this year because he's been crazy busy with his master's class in addition to normal life and service and all that... but he did get me an external hard drive (which I've been wanting for a very long time and all these years I've been hoping our rather old computer wouldn't die before we had everything better backed up)! I made Gabi an apron... the one my sister made for her years ago was too small and Gabi is always wanting to bake or make something! Gabi... oh right, I told you what she did.... I guess we need to jump over to Beth, she made Peter and fabric 3-D Thomas the Tank Engine Puppet. And Peter had Beth so he made her so beautiful jewelry - a necklace fit for even church and a bracelet full of jingle bells.

Of course, I was working on those sweaters for all those months. I got them all done... okay... I got all the pieces done. Jacob's, I must confess, is still just in pieces - it's on my list of things to do today - but he'd been sick and certainly wasn't going to be wearing it any time soon. But the other kids... I got such a kick out of them. That was the one thing they each knew they were getting and yet, every single one of them, was so "surprised" and so "excited" to get their sweater... if I hadn't known better, I would have thought they'd forgotten they were getting them! It was great for me. They love to wear their sweaters nearly all the time... after I get Jacob's put together and make a quick fix to Gabi's then I'll get a picture of all of them together.

Jacob loved the wrapping paper... ever so often he'd get a little excited about a gift, but mostly he just liked the paper. And it took us awhile to get him to figure out what a stocking was - actually, he didn't do his stocking until the next day - and he loved his cup and everything else he could chew on.


I love this picture of Great Grandma and Jacob. It was so good to have her come again this Christmas. I often think about my own grandparents and I love when they get to spend time with my kids, but Great Grandma Sylvia (Bob's grandma) hasn't had much time with our children. This has been very special - and we hope these memories not only bring her joy, but bring our children joy for years to come.



Many meals (all of which were yummy yummy - Dad doesn't know how to make anything that isn't yummy yummy)! And we made tons of treats... what's Christmas without treats? The kids made sugar cookies and gingerbread men. I made Baklava and (with Bob's help) Danishes. Such sweet treats were well enjoyed.. not to mention all the other goodies other people had brought or made. One of Gabi's favorites was the homemade croutons that Aunt Cheri and Great Grandma made together!

It was another wonderful Christmas.

A Little Snowy Fun

We've not gotten much snow this year, but they kids have had some fun sledding anyway. In fact, the first real snow we had (that we were here for) was a nice wet snow which made for a very slick hill - even if the hill was more of a very short slope.



Gabi's favorite thing was to hit a certain part of the hill and kind of jump shoot herself into the bushes. She got quite the chuckle with that.


Of course you'll notice the helmets on Jeremy and Peter - and the lack of snow gear. They insisted they were only going to ride their bikes in the front yard. I have to admit that even though I told them they really needed to put on snow gear, that I got a kick out of them in their helmets coming down that short little hill. (And sometimes it's just nice to be able to say "I told you so" so they'll learn that maybe mom and dad actually know something... like when they came in with their pants soaking wet... after all, when there is snow here, it's still very sunny and it melts fast!)


Beth has really grown into the little "dare devil" of sorts... fortunately it's still pretty mild. But she had a blast finding the fastest route down the short hill, starting the sled, running and jumping on so she was kneeling and would throw her hands up in the air! It was so funny (probably because it really wasn't that dangerous... thank goodness... I have no idea what I'll do when she graduates to more dangerous adventures).


It was so much fun to see them all playing together - I love moments like that. Of course, it was also tons of fun to see them start throwing snow balls at the sliding glass door while Jacob was watching them from the safety of the house. He kept laughing and laughing. Every time a ball would hit, he'd erupt into more laughter!

Christmas Outfits

Lynne made dresses for the girls for Christmas and had picked up outfits for the boys... this, of course, led to a mini photo shoot one Sunday morning.



You'll note our Family picture on the side of the Blog... and if you scroll down some, you'll see one of Bob and I together (This never happens... or so it seems, so I love this picture and will treasure it because it's likely to be nearly ten more years before we get a "posed" picture of just us that comes our half way decent)... although that one is also in this post along with one with us and grandparents.

We took two sets of Jacob because he was so cute in his little hat (that's Marie). We love that hat! Of course, Jacob loves hats... that is except the one hat I try to make him wear to keep the sun out of his face.... strange...


These same dresses and little outfit (for Jeremy) were worn to the kids' Christmas Concert. I had Bob video tape the different sections the kids were in - but I'm only posting Jeremy's, his was a dance... Gabi's was a play and Beth's class did poems. The 4th grade was also tons of fun, but I had no idea and I don't have a kid in that class this year, so we didn't record that one. It was a wonderful concert! Make sure you watch the movie... it's so darn cute!

O Christmas Tree

Bob went out to get our tree the weekend before we left on vacation... good thing too, because the mountains got snowed under and so the good places were no longer available by the time we returned. Still, it was kind of funny to think we had a tree before Thanksgiving....

We left it outside while we traveled and put it up December 4th.

My favorite part....

Bob is the pickiest tree hunter I know of (probably less so than some others, but he's picky enough that when he finds the tree we all agree). The last two years it's only be Bob to get the tree because he goes with a friend and his Dad in a truck.... I do admit that I miss taking the kids out with us with at least a little dusting of snow - traditions are are to change... but it's nice to know that we get our tree before it's not possible to cut your own anymore due to too much snow.

Anyway... Bob got a tree and then "fixed" the tree..... this is actually a family trait being passed down - as I understand it, Bob's grandfather would "fix" the tree every year. By "fix" I mean that he takes of branches in one place and drills holes and reaffixes the branches in other places. I've seen him drill a hole before and probably even seen him "fix" a tree before. But it's not common. So this year, having heard the story of his ancestor, I got quite the chuckle out of this procedure!


The kids were able to decorate - I was actually the lifter for the few this year. It's always been Bob... so there are actually a few pictures of me... not that I'm posting them... after all, I have a lot of catching up to do... so just a few pictures for you all.


The kids always have fun - and I love the age where the baby can enjoy the wonder of it all. Jacob would sit for long periods of time playing with the tree branches and lights. It made for some wonderful calming moments (we were dealing with some allergy issues... I'll address those in a different post).

Our Thanksgiving Adventures

So I mentioned a trip... well, my father got married over Thanksgiving break; so our whole family went out to visit. With my family being spread out, but all back that general direction, we took the whole week and visited both my Dad's family and my Mom's family. This meant a lot to me as we'd not been back since the move and I was really missing my own family. It was especially good to be able to have the whole family go, instead of just me and Jacob - which is what we had been planning for later on.


The kids were great for both flights - the way out was amazing! The way back required some reminders, but they were great! Even Jacob did really well. We flew out, rented a van for the first night to complete the first leg of the trip. After the wedding we rented another van to get us from one family to the next. We had help from friends and family with the remaining travel needs. I did not take many pictures of the actual traveling - I should have taken
pictures of the kids and their excitement at watching the airplanes come in. But I do have a few of the kids completely zonked out in the middle of the night in the van. That as interesting.....

I was just getting sick on the way out... and it, of course, hit hardest while out on our trip. Not only that, but I had not driven that particular route in a long time. So I gathered directions from my mother and tried to follow them... but there was one snag - the exit we took was one too high and we ended up on the road an extra hour...whoops!


The kids had a lot of fun outside at my Dad's. They also enjoyed watching a few movies. Since they had recently learned about Popeye (from the cartoon) I thought it would be fun to watch the actual movie! It was funny and they seemed to enjoy it. We also watched a few others with Robin William's in them that same day. The kids also discovered that they love the game LIFE.... where you get L -I -F-E cards...



It was really neat to go to the DC Temple - I'd never actually been insides it. It was huge! I only wish we'd had time to go through for a session - but time constraints being what they were (and a nursing baby waiting on the outside) prohibited such an adventure this time around. However, we're now toying around with the idea of going through each Temple in the US before our mission - but that will be many years away!



I loved being at the sealing. I loved listening to what the sealer had to say and the reminder of what convenants we made when we were married. What a great opportunity to mentally renew! And it was so good to be in the Temple with my dear husband again - it's been a long times...
nearly a year due to pregnancy and new baby!




We had a Thanksgiving meal at my Dad's the night before the wedding. And then we had another one at my Mom's on Thanksgiving day. It was nice to be with family for both those mini celebrations - normally we just stay home and do our own thing.


Gabi and Beth were each able to help Grami Cretia make pumpkin pies. They had a lot of fun doing it, and while taking turns, they also colored and cut out place markers for everyone. This was all done while waiting for my sister and her two little girls to arrive!

Her little ones are really very cute - and since our family rotates names for presents at Christmas time, we had them this year. The little ones opened their gift before they left so my kids could see them. They loved it.. especially the flower clips! (Even Braeden, my nephew, wanted one for his own hair, until he actually was wearing it and decided it wasn't all that exciting after all).


My brother and his family and my other sister and her boyfriend also came - but that was on Thanksgiving day. It was nearly, but not quite, complete as there was one sister who was unable to make it out... so almost all my family in one trip!


The girls were tickled to have nails painted - a combination of Tia, Grami and Mommy working on their nails and even doing a little nail art. Kind of fun to do - although it takes an amazingly steady hand and someone who is really good at doing tiny little figures on tiny little nails! It was a special thing that the girls don't get to do very often.



Before we left my mom's house, we got a few pictures of her with my kids - okay... with my kids and Braeden. I suppose if we'd been on top of things we would have done those pictures the day my sister and her kids were there so my mother would have had a copy of a picture of all "her" grandchildren (not including her's by marriage). Oh well... it was still nice. In addition to that, we also got a picture of my and my mother together - it will eventually go on my wall. (I so have to get organized there).

We spent one day with my grandparents (thanks, of course, to Uncle Bill and Aunt Carolyn). They live right beside my grandparents - so we spent the night with them, spent the day with grandparents - my cousins coming over to play and watch movies and eat dinner too. I stayed up way too late talk with Aunt Carolyn - but it had been so long and we were waiting for Uncle to return from work (which we all were disappointed that he had had to do that).


The time there was much to short... much to short every where - and yet we were grateful to return home! Because regardless of where you live and where your family is, your home is the place where there is routine... and it was good to return to that routine. And though the kids were very happy to be able to see Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen again, they were also missing Grami Cretia - I love the bonds that connect our children to their grandparents.

I have felt much more at peace and much more calm about being here again. It's so good to know that visiting is an option - that it is possible. Maybe not as often as we might like or even for as long, but it was good to know it is indeed possible. Sometimes I feel I leave things behind never to be able to return to them. This was a healing trip for me. A huge blessing. One I will always treasure (even though I was sick).