Merry Christmas!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful Christmas. The girls were so cute. James last week wrote a letter to Santa and asked for a Swimming Baby Born. This was unexpected and I was totally unprepared. I already had presents and I had never heard of or seen this doll. She wouldn't drop it. So, with a last minute ditch effort I went to Target and it was on sale. I had to buy it. Jame's Christmas dreams came true with a doll that does the freestyle (it really does!) and we are still a Santa believing household. My mom helped me find a baby doll for Campbell that drinks, wets and makes baby noises. She has been carrying it around all day. We loved spending the day with Dad, Mom, Luke and Peter. We hope all is well with everyone. We greatly appreciate all of your friendships and love!

What's been going on around here.

Besides the regulars for this time of year (i.e. shopping for and wrapping presents) we were able to visit the Domes. It is great in the winter because the girls can run around and pretend it is summer. The sunlight is wonderful and all the plants just make you happy.













I have to toot my own horn for just a minute because I was so happy with how cute this baby present ended up. I made this hat for a friend of mine, she is having a boy in January.









Now back to serious stuff. James' preschool Christmas program. It was a hoot. First, James wouldn't wear the tail for the reindeer costume. It was somewhat essential because they did the Reindeer Poky where they put their hoofs in, they put their hoofs out, and antlers and tail. James was the tail-less reindeer, she also wouldn't put on the red nose, no surprise. The saddest part was that when they put their antlers in and out and that's what it's all about James accidentally ripped off one of her ears. Bill pointed out that the crying was genuine because if your ear was ripped off it would actually hurt. Her wonderful teacher Ms. Bova came by with some tape and all was better. James did great and was about a beat ahead of the teacher with all the motions (that is James favorite part).



Campbell is teething. Which for James was no big deal. We didn't even know she was getting teeth until we saw them already popped through her gums. Campbell it takes about a month of bad sleeping, fevers and drooling before it is all finished. This morning she was inconsolable and I asked if she was getting a new tooth. She said "yes, a big one". One night we found her asleep right by the door. She knows how to open doors, so she must have just found this place comfortable.

What day is it?

Wow, I feel like a scrooge this year because I have let the ball drop on so many traditions. Christmas cards will probably show up in the form of a email and I didn't even think about making a Christmas ornament for the sister exchange. I do have to report that the ward Christmas party went wonderfully! I haven't had one bad word said about it. I really wanted to have the party be in the true spirit of Christmas. I was told that it isn't a Christmas party without Santa. But I really don't think he was there when Christ was born. I found a program for "A Night in Bethlehem" online. We had coins for families to buy their dinner with. We signed the Census and had a Centurion (with a real British accent!). And we all sat on blankets on the floor to eat our dinner. We served lentil soup (a great recipe that I got from Rebekah), oranges, raisins, figs, cheese, olives, naan bread, white grape juice, baklava, and peasant pies. After most people had finished dinner (and the kids were starting to get crazy) we started the program. The narrator told the story of Mary and Joseph. We had actors for Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the shepherds, and the wise men (they were the young men and they did knock over a camel!) I was lucky because someone had a life size manger scene (with sheep, camels, and donkeys) that we borrowed. I was told that when the curtains opened all the children stopped and stared. They loved the animals (it was traumatic when the wise men knocked over the camels). From beginning to end it was one and a half hours. Perfect for all the children we have in our ward (75 under 2 yrs old). I wanted pictures, really I did, I even brought my camera but then I ended up running around like crazy the whole time that I didn't get any. :( It is a relief that it is over but I don't think my Christmas traditions can be salvaged for this year. Next year I will have to get those cards out before the party!

Cream Lentil Soup

2 T. butter

1 large onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

Sautee, until onions are translucent.

1 T. sweet curry

1 t. salt

½ t. pepper

1 lb. lentils (rinsed 3 times)

28 oz. can tomatoes

8 c. stock

Add ingredients to onion and celery simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour.

In a separate pan simmer 3 c. cream and 7 cloves of garlic for 20 minutes. Blend until smooth and add to the soup.

Serve. Yields 12 cups

The original recipe calls for 2 T. rosemary & 1/8 t. cayenne instead of the curry. I also used whole milk instead of cream and it turned out great.

I had the flu yesterday, I am actually still getting over it. I don't like being sick, especially as a mother and with a household to run. Luckily Bill had taken the day off work because James had her preschool Christmas program (pictures to come soon), so I was able to rest and know that the girls were well taken care of. If Bill didn't have the day off I can only imagine what the house would look like (all the Christmas presents opened) and the things the girls would have eaten (cookies, m&m's, spilled milk and juice) because I felt like I had been hit by a truck and wouldn't have been able to really care for them at all. Of course this all comes with perfect timing, I am the Activities Committee Chair and our Christmas party is Saturday. I will count my blessings that it is not today, I still feel like crap. Since I haven't loaded our new pictures on the computer yet I will post some pictures from the other day when James got a hold of the camera. Yesterday she took 5 pictures of the entertainment system because that was where Freddie the imaginary frog she was babysitting was. She sure has an imagination!

Snow!

Snow

Snow

Snow
Snow

If you've seen the movie White Christmas then you know how the title should sound. We have some snow here and we should get some more. Today Bill and the girls went out to play.

The unsuspecting little munchkin didn't know her dad was part dog.

Here Bill was teaching the girls to make snowballs. The snow was a little too powdery.

Campbell came in early. Bill had James sit on the shovel and pulled her around the yard. She loves the snow.

This week was extraordinary. I was spoiled and was able to enjoy two movies in the movie theater. First I went to August Rush with my friend Laura, we had a great girls night where we stayed up way too late and talked way too much. It was wonderful. Then Saturday afternoon, the plans we had fell through, so Bill and I got a babysitter last minute and went to The Golden Compass. It wasn't as good as the book, but it made the book so real. We were lucky because it didn't make us lose our religion. Whew! Well, Campbell isn't sleeping so I gotta go be a mom.

Bits and pieces.

The other day Campbell brought her blanket to me and asked me to tie it to her like this:

She said that this is what a princess looks like. Isn't she beautiful?
James loves this hat that my friend Yohanna knit. She wears it to bed every night and calls it her nightcap. So cute!

Little Turkeys: We had the Hamilton's here for Thanksgiving and the kids made these cookie/candy turkeys. They liked eating them the most!

(a friend of mine said that Campbell looks like Victoria Beckham, it's the haircut.)


This is Campbell giving her fish and octopus a bath, while she is taking a bath.

Laurel asked for more pictures, so here you go.

Here is a picture of my beautiful girls. We told them that they could only stand on the pink mat so they wouldn't get all messy and everything. Here are my two beautiful girls shakin' their bums. One of their favorite past times. Here is a surprise hole that we found in the corner of our kitchen. Bill decided to fix it before we laid the cement board. Good idea! Here is the floor with the cement board down before we laid the tile. And the ceremonious first tile. Dad and I did this one together. Ahhh, so beautiful!

Life Changing Decisions

Long time coming but here it is finally! Like I said Bill took off Friday so we could work on the floor. Me, with my hopefulness, was expecting us to tear up the sub-floor, buy all the supplies, and lay the cement board on Friday and then do all the tiling on Saturday. Then it would be finished! Of course it didn't happen this way. Thursday night (Campbell's Birthday) my parents came over and after dinner Bill and dad started tearing up the floor. This is when we really measured how un-level the addition part of our kitchen floor was. It sloped a good inch. The sub-floor mostly was gone by the time we went to sleep on Friday. Saturday we finished preparing the floor for the self leveling mortar but before we could pour it we needed to fix some areas where we wanted the new floor to go. First we needed to change the walls by where our refrigerator was. When we moved into the house there was this full closet in the added on part of the kitchen. Like a bedroom closet. We took the doors off the closet and shoved the refrigerator in to it because then it wasn't taking up floor space. The future plans are to turn the closet space into a pantry around the refridge.



Before /After









We also decided that we needed to get rid of the built in china hutch. I did really like it but since we are putting in more cabinets we don't really need it. This was fun because I got to rip it out. My first attempts were pathetic. Bill had to give me a lesson on destruction. After that I got the hang of it and it was therapeutic. Ha ha!

Before /After











The consequences of putting in a new floor are: now having a level floor (the refrigerator door doesn't shut on it's own anymore), no more china hutch (but now a place to hang our coats and put our shoes without them taking over the kitchen), and a more beautiful and spacious kitchen!
We love it. Now we just need to finish the cabinets and put the baseboards up!

My sister Maegan is the one who really loves Godiva. They make this amazing frozen chocolate drink that I got in the summer. I signed up to get coupons in the mail. Free chocolate is even better then just chocolate. In the last month I received two separate coupons. One was for a free Hot Chocolate canister ($10 value) the other for 2 free ganaches. If you have a Godiva store sign up!


This was my breakfast this morning (actually I ate 5 pieces of pumpkin bread.) I love the fall. Pumpkin bread and hot chocolate!

One of my favorite memories from Christmas is the See's candies. My grandparents live in San Diego and always sent See's Candies for Christmas. Since my grandfather passed away, and we have all grown up, we don't get the Christmas candy package anymore. My favorite was the Butterscotch suckers. The greatest thing now is that at the malls here in the Midwest around Christmastime See's candies sets up booths to sell their chocolates and they give out the suckers as samples. I get as many as I can whenever I go to the mall.




James had her Thanksgiving feast at preschool. Grandma was able to go and help out. I love these pictures. Hmm, that looks edible. Yep, it sure is!













Sunday Campbell was teething and she was a bear, to say the least. She wouldn't take a nap when she was supposed to. Then she started misbehaving because she was so tired. Eventually she was falling totally apart. I picked her up, cuddled her and she was asleep in about 45 seconds. It was nice because it felt like she was a little baby again!

p.s. the life changing decisions with remodeling the kitchen are coming up after thanksgiving!

Give Thanks!

I've seen so many lists of gratefulness on blogs and I was wondering when I would get a chance to work my list up. The time has come. I was tagged by Becky to list ten things I am thankful for. Here goes:
1. My husband. We were directed to each other through blind choices and it is truly "meant to be" that we are together. He is so grounded and me so out of control. Bill just has a way about him to dissipate anxieties, lighten the situation. (When I was introduced to the character Jasper, the description reminded me of Bill.)
2. My girls. Sometimes, most often, the littlest things can make me cry. It is because I try to see and understand the weight of things. I love them so dearly and want to be everything they need. They bring joy into my life everyday.
3. Family. I am such a people person, in the sense that I love learning about and understanding people. I love when family can get together, no matter how stressful it can be. I am grateful for all the wonderful people in my family that have taught me so much.
4. My spirituality. I have always had a deep understanding of things spiritual. I am thankful for the gifts I have been given of security in where I came from, why I am here and where we will go after this earth life.
5. Free long distance. Bill's work and all of my family's are out of the area code we live in. I love to talk and it is great that I get one flat phone bill every month. I would go crazy without it!
6. My talents. I find much serenity in the process of creating and I love to try new things. There are still so many things I want to learn to make and I am thankful that I have the skills to do most anything.
7. Hot Chocolate. It is getting cold here and one of my indulgent pleasures is nice hot chocolate.
8. Friends (that counts all my sisters!). I have some of the greatest friends. I am thankful for friends that I can call and whine to and that will help me figure things out. I always need a good sounding board.
9. Music. I have always loved the power of music. I also love that Bill and I have already passed on this love to our girls.
10. Books. This is another indulgent pleasure. I say that it is indulgent because there is always so many other things I could be doing. It keeps me sane to read and it is the only way I can fall asleep!
Now, I tag Heather, Emily, Laurel, Yohanna and Heather.

Comin' through!

Sunday night we were all sitting at the kitchen table. Or so I thought, until I heard Campbell call out "Comin' through". We turn to look and here is what we saw:
She is so cute. I think this is my favorite age so far, when they have enough words to express their imagination. Love it!