December fun & Christmas

After my last post it's been a whirlwind to get Christmas ready to go here at our home! I hadn't done ANY shopping so Chan and I got busy! In the meantime Carter and Elle went to the Christmas dance and had a BLAST! They played in the snow for their day date, as well as made gingerbread houses, then they went home for a couple hours before donning their ugly sweaters for dinner and the dance. They had a blast and I enjoyed taking pictures of them before the dance. It was fun!

Our Ward party was also fun. The decorations turned out great and the food was awesome! It's also the night we choose to do our family tradition of "Santa Bombing" but we wended up doing it the following Monday night instead. This year we targeted the Ross family and it was Will, Brianne and I that went to do it. We were in the middle of tying off Santa when we were caught by their son Noah while taking out the trash! We scared him to death! But they enjoyed it and have enjoyed having him on their porch!

Another fun thing was the combined activity we did for December. We went to a nursing home in Draper and did a Christmas program for the people there. Carter was dressed in a full Santa suit and was the MC for the evening. Our youth sang Christmas songs as a group as well as a few solos and it was wonderful! One of the nurses grabbed Carter at one point and asked if he would please come with her to see an older woman who was bed ridden. She said she would LOVE to see him, so Carter grabbed me to come along and we went to see her in her room. The minute she laid eyes on Carter she yelled, "Santa" and was reaching out for him! He took her hand and she began to tell him over and over that, "she had been a good girl" and Carter said that he already knew but wanted to know what she wanted for Christmas. She told him she wanted a radio and he said he would get it for her. It was the sweetest moment! I was so proud of Carter for being so sweet and tender with her! We then walked the halls singing more before leaving to do some caroling in our neighborhood. We hit a few homes that the bishop asked us to see and then we were off to the mall! I had the idea to do a "Caroling mob" in the food court! So we all walked in separately and spread out in the food court until we heard Carter say out loud, "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear" and as soon as he said that we all put on our Santa hats and began to sing! I was sad that it wasn't packed with people, but the few who were there really enjoyed it! Carter even went into a store where a friend was working and sang to her with Dakota and Will! Pretty cute! It was a fun experience!

Brianne participated in her school choir again this year and even landed a solo in the Christmas program! She did an awesome job (as usual) and we really enjoyed the program. The ladies in charge always find some interesting songs! I will admit though I would have like a few more traditional ones! Anyway, it was fun and we were so proud of her! She also graduated from the NOVA program. (It's like DARE) She even received special recognition for the rocket she made for it! We were very proud!

While all these things were going on Chan and I were out shopping and got the kids their Christmas :) We really enjoy doing that and love to see their faces when they open them! But I also ended up doing some shopping for Kathy since she became very ill with pneumonia and couldn't do it herself. I was able to pick up the items for our kids as well as some for Brooke's kids. I was glad to do it!

My neighbor gifts this year were a canning jar with Twizzlers licorice inside and a note attached that said "Twiz the season"! It was a fun idea I found on Pinterest and the kids and I had fun delivering them :)

On the Sunday before Christmas Carter, Brianne and I sang in the Ward choir, Carter also had a small speaking part, Will sang with the Young Men and Brianne sang with Primary. The program they did was AMAZING! It was basically just music and scriptures were read in between. It was so good and the spirit was SO strong! The last song we sang as a choir I had to stare at my music or I would have just cried! I hope they do that every year because I loved it! Music is so powerful! After church that day we had Chan's family over for a turkey dinner. Annie & her family were in Oregon but the rest of the family was there and we had a great time! The food was so yummy, especially the gravy! It was a perfect day!

Christmas Eve we went over to Brooke's home. She made a beautiful meal that we all enjoyed and we loved visiting and spending time together. Chan's Grandpa had to go in for an emergency surgery that evening, but has since gotten much better and is recovering well. We ended the evening with our usual EVE gifts, but this year Brianne was the only one to get PJ's! My boys just don't wear them anymore so I decided to break the tradition and get them something they will actually USE! Carter got an Oregon shirt that said "Win the day" and Will got an under armour jacket that he had been eyeing since we were in Vegas! They loved it! Brianne loved hers too and especially liked the matching slippers!

Christmas Day for us began around 7:30am when we got up to put the Sausage Fondue (that Carter made this year!) into the oven. We then got the kids up and had them start with their stockings. I now wrap everything in the stockings too which makes it more fun for them! They were so cute and very pleased with all they got there! Including Chan who got some nifty kitchen gadgets! Then they opened their presents! I'll save you all the details but their big gifts from us were:
Brianne- a new ipod that has a camera so she can face time and a new mattress set
Will- an ipad mini
Carter- a Dr Dre"pill" speaker and some speakers for his car.
They are VERY happy kids and very blessed! Chan surprised me and got me a beautiful new coat (which I very badly needed) on top of the carpet cleaner that I asked for :) But the best part for me was the letter Carter wrote me and the amazing drawing of the Nativity Brianne made for me! Both were so thoughtful and meant so much!

We are so blessed!! I know I keep saying that, but it's really TRUE! We have such a wonderful family and I couldn't be happier right now! I am trying to stay positive every day and to focus on the things that matter and the things that make me happy! On this New Years Eve I can only hope that this year brings a lot of the same wonderful opportunities that have found us this year and that my family will continue to be healthy and happy!

Love to you all! Happy New year!!