We Survived!

Whew!!!!!!!!!!!

We made it through another Christmas!

Everyone had a good time and no one complained about what they got or didn't get. It was a little strange for J this year. Not much for him to open since there just wasn't any point to getting him things that he would just have to box up in a couple of months and store for two years. And since he hasn't put in his papers yet and we have no idea where he will be serving, we couldn't even get him things he will need soon. So cash it was. The other kids enjoyed opening their gifts, but I think the best thing was watching S opening his gifts. He still doesn't really understand what Christmas is all about, but he liked tearing the paper and playing with the toys he got. Guess he'll get to go through all that again, next week when he turns two.

We have had a relaxing week, nothing much going on, just hanging out at home together. We did take the kids and go bowling on Wed. J bowled his best game ever, 171. He really had his work cut out for him since his 13 yo girl cousin was breathing down his neck with a 153. Fun to watch them all interact and play.

I've been busy today trying to determine what to do with Singing time tomorrow. My brain hurts from thinking and pondering it and reading a bunch of ideas online.....OUCH! But I think what I have planned will be lots of fun. I hope the kids enjoy it. The learning curve for this calling is pretty steep, especially when a person has very little music experience and/or Primary experience. I haven't taught Primary for 18 years. I've been in Nursery and been an Activity Days leader, but haven't been in Sharing and Singing time for 18 years except for a few times when I've substituted. So much to learn!

Also been busy doing more reading to plan for the resuming of studying and learning at home, more TJEd info study and C and I have also been refining our plans for our addition, which now has a deadline to be finished. Hallelujah! We have about 90 days. Of course, the actual replacement of cabinets and such won't probably be done, but the rooms will be liveable and we can get the kids moved downstairs into their new room. Can't wait to have all that space in the new dining room. I'll post pictures as it comes together.

All Ready!!

Well, the shopping is finally all done and I'm ready for the big day and not a moment too soon. Sometimes it's very difficult to keep straight in my mind what we are doing gift-wise for each child and when I get to the store I simply can't remember what I went there for. So I wander around and hope that my faulty memory kicks in or that sudden inspiration strikes. Or, I just call my DH and pick his brain, which is usually nearly as faulty as my own, considering the fact that it's three years older than mine. But I think we got all that we planned to do done, now it just needs to be packaged appropriately and set under the tree. Whew!!!

We are in the middle of two family gatherings at the moment, so I thought I'd take a minute to post. My aunts and uncles on my mother's side always have a Christmas Eve lunch. They time it that way so that people can come, eat, visit and still get home in plenty of time for immediate family traditions. It used to be held at one uncle's home, but we have gotten so big as a family that we have had to hold it at a church for the last few years. I love going. It's the only time I see most of them, and I like being able to count on seeing them at least once a year. I love that my mom came from such a large family (10 kids). There is never a dull moment when they are all together and the love that they have for each other and for their parents is abundant and spills over to the rest of us. Having the dinner in the gym at the church is great. There is plenty of room for the kids to run and play. This year someone brought gym hockey sticks and balls and nets. It was a hit. H was the only casualty, getting konked on the head with a stick, leaving her with a bump and a small cut. We also played a fun word game where everyone wore a 'penny' with a letter on the front and a letter on the back and there were six teams. A word was called out and it was a race to see which team could spell it first. Fun trying to figure out who had which letters and whether they needed to face forward or backward to make the word correctly. In the final spelldown, the Welch family team won.

We are resting and waiting before heading off to the Welch family Christmas Eve tradition. My DH grew up in a large family as well, eight kids, and they never got to eat out as a family, except once a year. Their dad would take them out to a nice restaurant on Christmas Eve. So when Grandpa W is in town, he takes all Welch relatives in the area out to dinner. This year we are going to Carraba's. Pollo Rosa Maria, here I come. I HEART Carraba's. If you've never eaten there and get a chance to, DO! Yummy food.

When we get back we will do our little traditional Christmas Eve activities. This year the girls and I will be doing a small program we 've worked on in school, reciting and acting out Luke 2 and singing appropriate Christmas hymns. I hope they are not too tired and grumpy from the day's festivities to do it. Then the kids will open their sibling gifts and we will hit the hay, hopefully leaving plenty of time for the jolly old guy to stop by.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

I'm Wondering What I've Done....

I got a new calling on Sunday. Any guesses???


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No, it's not RS president, or YW, or Gospel Doctrine, (thank goodness). I've been called as the Primary Chorister. I have no idea how to do this.

NONE!

I went to primary on Sunday just to observe and I'm wondering how in the world I will ever be creative enough to make it fun and educational and interesting to the kids. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



And it's only 6 days til Christmas.
Am I ready? No.
Am I almost ready? No.
Have I even really started? No.
Am I nervous or bothered by this? Slightly.

I really wanted to make this a fun holiday season for the kids and do fun things, but wow, it's really just flown by and we haven't done the stories and carols each night, we haven't looked at lights, we haven't made a big deal about the Advent Calendar. We did try to make candy and it was a bust. All but the meringues. I even ruined the hard tack/glass candy.
I seriously am ready for January to be here. Or, can I rewind December and start over?????

I'm hoping your Christmas celebrations are going better than ours. Regardless, we are thankful for this time of year and for the reason for the season. After all, without Him, there would be no reason to celebrate.

Have a terrific Christmas!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year..........

And the most tiring, I think. I can't seem to find any energy. Maybe it's just that age thing catching up with me.

We've had a busy week. C and J went to work in Nevada again for 3 days, which meant I had to do all the carpool driving that they usually help with. That really cuts into my homeschool time and everything else time. Thankfully, they were able to complete all they went to do and don't have to go back any time soon. C and I have been doing some Christmas planning and a bit of shopping. We got our present a little early. Last week we went to Costco and got a treadmill. A NordicTrak commercial one. It's really nice and I'm enjoying walking/jogging on it. It gives a good workout.

School has gone well with the girls this week. We started a unit study on the symbols of Christmas, with each girl making her own lapbook. We are also memorizing a passage of scripture to recite on Christmas Eve when we have our Family Home Evening. We will be making puppets to go with it. I asked C to be in charge of putting together some activities and a little lesson about the Dutch St. Nicholas tradition. It traditionally is celebrated on Dec 5/6 so we decided to do it on the 5th. She did a great job, giving them some information about it, copies of word finds, crossword puzzles, coloring pages, having St. Nick leave treats in their shoes in trade for a carrot for his donkey, and the part they enjoyed the most was making St. Nicholas' head out of Perler Beads. She found a pattern for it on the internet. After that, they got really creative and spent the better part of two days just creating and ironing things made from Perler Beads. C even started making her own Nativity set from beads, she currently has the Baby Jesus in the manger and Mary. We will need to get more beads for her to complete them, but I was so happy to see what they came up with. On Friday we had a fun opportunity to go to the TJFA Christmas Roller Skating Party in Orem. There were so many homeschooled kids there. The younger girls had never been roller-skating before, so we had a slow start, but by the time we left, they were doing much better. Mom, on the other hand, was walking out a bit slower and sorer than when she walked in. S and I got tangled up a couple of times, when some of those little kids on scooters would zip in front of us or stop in front of us. She got banged up knees, and I got a sore wrist and ankle. Combine that with the lovely bruise from 'slipping' down the stairs wearing my 'slippers' and I feel like I've been beaten up.

The Court of Honor for J's Eagle Award will be held tomorrow. It's only been about 10 months since he completed his project. It will be good to have an end to it. I have been asked to talk for a few minutes, and I hope I have something to say. As of right now, I don't have a clue.

We got about 4-6 inches of snow today. It's a wintry wonderland out there tonight. I love to watch those big, fat snowflakes drift lazily down. I never saw snow like that when I was growing up. At home, the wind was always howling and the snow was always moving in a horizontal fashion. That lovely white, snow-covered tree look was such an amazing thing to me. To imagine that snow can fall straight down so softly and stay on the branches of a tree.