Christmas 2008

This year for the first time since we have lived in this house Paul put up Christmas lights outside on the house! Do you see him way up on top the of the house? I was just praying that he would be safe and live. Grandma/pa Ramsey sent the kids a little package in the mail (new Christmas pillow cases) we wrapped them up and sent the kids on a treasure hunt!

Vivian's snow globe from her primary teacher.
Vivian is prying candy off her gingerbread house.
Everyday after breakfast the kids ate a chocolate out of their advent calendar - Vivian would ask throughout the day "is it a new day yet?" - she couldn't wait to eat another chocolate.


Above:
I have a few nativity sets sitting by the fireplace that the kids play with and rearrange.
We are enjoying Christmas Eve with lots of good food and later fondue!
Porter made the glittery snowflake at scouts.
We have a family picture before we go downstairs to open presents.


Olivia leaves a note for Santa Claus "Santa, I love you. I put the candy out for you to eat. From Olivia"
The kids patiently wait upstairs for mom to get ready....and then they line up to go downstairs.
For breakfast we enjoy Ebelskeivers filled with lemon curd, a family tradition. For dinner we enjoy a ham dinner.

Everyone enjoys their gifts! Corbin loves his new camera, Vivian really wanted a "talking dog", Olivia had to have a "fluffed animal", and Porter has fun with his new building set.

Sledding at Eagle Island State Park

We have snow - get out the sleds! We all bundled up in our snow gear and hit Eagle Island State Park, not far from home. After paying a $4 admission, we played in the snow. The hill was a very gentle slope- which means it was totally safe by my standards! The hike back to the top was very short - which is always nice. The Jensens joined us - notice cute little Haley and Vivian (they also attend preschool together). After the fun, we went back to the van and sipped on hot chocolate.

Gingerbread Houses and Friends

We really get into gingerbread houses. It all starts with me baking gingerbread and assemblying houses together. We each decorate our own house. The kids try to glue on as much candy as possible so they have something to nibble on later. By the end of Christmas break, the houses are bare! We decorated houses with the Richaels at their home. Just a note, frosting bags and kids don't work well together. Porter had frosting all over the place! After all the sugary fun, the kids re-enacted the nativity scene at the top of the Richael's stairs- it was pretty cute.

The Nutcracker Ballet

For the first time, the girls and I attended "The Nutcracker" performed by Ballet Idaho. It was a beautiful performance, they just got a little restless towards the end. They really loved the dancing mice - Vivian was hoping they would return to the stage.

The Christmas Sweater

Okay, most of you know that I am a huge Glenn Beck fan. I love what he has to say and that he has the guts to do it. When his new book, The Christmas Sweater came out - I just had to have it. Paul and I both enjoyed it and then we shared the copy with several other people to read. We were also able to attend his live performance of the Christmas Sweater. I even saw him at a book signing. I didn't get to say "hi" to him because I already had the book and they would only let you in the line if you bought a book from that store (stink- especially after waiting outside the the freezing cold for a long time). Stay tuned to him on Fox News coming really soon and check him out on the radio!

Tree Lighting

This was our second year to attend the Meridian tree lighting ceremony. We bundled up and enjoyed hot chocolate as we waited for the lights. We saw Rudolph along with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus arrive on a horse drawn sleigh! Vivian kept sneaking up to Rudolph, but was too scared to stand too close to him.

My Birthday

My birthday this past December happened to be my all time favorite! Paul made my day very special from start to finish. He waited on my hand and foot. He took care of all the children's needs. They weren't supposed to ask me for any assistance, only to ask dad. He took care of breakfast, treated me to a very delicious lunch at a Ono Hawaiian Cafe (very good food), went swim suit shopping with me (I trapped him in the dressing room to get his opinion because I couldn't try it on and come out with my garments hanging out!), and he also shopped with me at the LOFT (I found a sweater and shirt). Then we took the kids with us to dinner at Carinos - for their first time. They really enjoyed the food and look forward to going back. The crazy thing is that now I can't remember if we ended the night watching a movie or if we had dessert (I am writing this a month later). Oh well, I just remember that I was very happy! Thank you for your love everyone!