Mom has hung these little lovebirds on her Christmas tree as long as I can remember. It is just a part of all of us. It resembles how much love there can be. Through good times and bad times these little lovebirds have hung and clung to each other. I love my family as much as these two old little lovebirds love each other.
Special Thanks to Syringa for letting me use her idea.
Special Thanks to Syringa for letting me use her idea.
This is my favorite sign up at my mom's house.
Mom and Dad's living room is very small, so they cleaned out the garage, put carpet down and decorated. It made a really nice big family room for Christmas. McCarty did pretty good on a lot of the decorations too. Mom waited to decorate the tree until we all got here. She wanted all the little one's to be able to decorate it; so they felt it was their tree too. We did one neat thing. We put all of the names that Christ goes by on glass bulbs and hung them. I was surprised at how many we came up with. Jesus, Christ, Messiah, Savior, God, Counseler, Wonderful, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, Emanuel, and several others.
Dad took big cardboard boxes and put together an "igloo" for the kids. He even painted it white. They absolutely loved it!
We played games together, of course.
Mom cooked traditional "chicken cordon bleu" for Christmas Eve.
Mom, Greg, and I posing for the camera. I forget how tall Greg is.
I caught McCarty off guard. She decorated the wall behind her with family pictures.
We have another tradition that we sometimes do. We do $5 gifts. Before Christmas Eve, we all go to Wal-Mart or somewhere together. We each get only $5. We draw names and then pick a gift for that person for only $5. These are fun gifts and we open them on Christmas Eve. I got Trujillo a Beta Fish. McCarty received a Beta Fish from my mom too and we didn't plan it. I can't remember what everyone got, but it was fun.
Denim was so excited for her gift from Greg that she asked him what he had gotten her for two days solid. She was not disapointed with the my pretty pony.
Darlin loved all the boxes and wrap. I wore a head mistletoe for 3 days. I get the best stuff from magazines. I did all my shopping that way this year.
On Christmas Eve we also did the Nativity. Since Sierra is pregnant she got to be Mary and Preston was the donkey.
This was Christmas morning. With 17 people it was a good thing we moved it to the garage. Santa sure treated us well. Denim got a real mermaid tail, Blazen got a train, and Darlin got pop up tents with a tunnel.
We hung the stockings from the garage door openers.
Tradition is everyone picks their own cold cereal, and we eat cold cereal and cream all day.
Denim and Ralayna are playing with Ralayna's tea set.
Granny got Blazen a bike that you hook up to the T.V. and ride in different programs. Abe just loved it.
Nathan is getting so big. "Want a cheese stick."
We had Nathan's name for Christmas. We got him a tent to play in.
Ace got me a camera. A Nikon D40. Ebay. I LOVE IT, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!
Ace also got me an i-touch. I am embarrassed to have received so much from everyone, but am thankful. I had to mention the i-touch because Syringa and Greg worked very hard and put tons of music and video on it for me prior to Christmas. A BIG BIG thanks to them for all of the hours to make that gift special.
A fun thing was all of these really cool hair deals that all of the girls got.
We also got matching jammies from Dad. Don't we look FABULOUSLY SEXY!!!
I got some really fun gifts this year. I got mom a cassarole dish that says, "Dixie's kickassarole." She is wondering if she can take it to relief society church functions. What do you think? I think the ladies might have heart failure. I gifted Preston a T-shirt that says, "Here I am, now what are your other 2 wishes." I gifted Ace a T-shirt that says, "I'm wonderful, just ask my mother." I gifted Greg his church clothes that he left at my house in September that I failed to mail to him, and I gifted my dad this most awesome shirt that he will love to use around Steve Gilbert.
Sierra was ultra creative and perserverant and made mom and dad this really neat gift. She crossed stitched the whole thing. It is a family chart. Each of mom and dad's children, with their families. Marriage dates and birth dates. She left several blanks to fill it in as the families grow. So cool.
Denim lived in her mermaid tail for days and days. We finally had to take her swimming. I was surprised at how well she swims in it. She actually swims just as good if not better in it than without. The monofin at the bottom almost helps her float, and when she swims with it, she goes super fast under water. It is hilarious, she dives deep and splashes everyone with it. Abraham, THE WHOLE TIME, kept catching Denim. He said, "I just have to catch that mermaid, I am a mermaid catcher." My dad said, "Well, I guess I know what I will be buying 12 of next year. All of my sisters want one. Dad put the goggles, snorkel, and flippers on Blazen and he stayed under the water for a very very long time. I was so surprised and proud of him. He has never put his face under for long at all.
We also had Ralayna's name. We got her ballet slippers and a little outfit. She loves to dance. Here she is throwing some moves.
One big thing on Christmas morning was these nurf guns. Almost everyone got one. There was a huge war. I was getting hit left and right. My dad conjured this one up. He regretted only one thing.......not getting a monster gun for himself alone.
Preston getting ready to unload the bullets.
Trujillo having a conversation with me.
Dad is showing off his "Oh so muscular bod."
Ace, playing with Blazen.
I just love laughter. That is the best part of Christmas. It was especially nice to see Sierra laughing as she was sick a lot of the time with morning sickness plus the flu.
Ace and Charlotte apparently are having a deep conversation.
Darlin passed a big milestone. Can you guess what it was?
That's right. We started walking. It was amazing! Just one evening she did it. She had really been eying Nathan and I guess she just realized that she could walk too. She took off, and since then we can't stop the child. YEAH DARLIN!
McCarty is always so fun for the little girls, teaching them dances and what not.
She put Denim's hair up in new curlers that Grandma got her.
They are the spiral type, pretty hu!
Syringa had to help a bit.
Extras:
*We all passed the flu around.
*Ace brought our little miniature horse for the kids to play on.
*It was mom and dad's anniversary.
*It was Charlotte and Trujillo's anniversary.
*I got Ace a big down coat and elbow water gloves to fix floats.
*Did I mention that we were all spoiled beyond disbelief.
*Church was nice all together.
*Family is simply the best, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
On the way home we had pretty bad, ok, VERY BAD roads most of the way. Very snowy. It took us 12 hours to make the 8 1/2 hr trip. Lot's of books, movies, and naps.
I also got to play with my new camera a little bit.
These are pictures taken at Lake Powell.
The rest of these are just different areas from Utah to Pie Town. Most of the drive is a lot of wide open spaces. A very vast land. A lot of which is Indian Reservation. Canyon land.
What a wonderful vacation. I just must be so greatful for my husband, children, our families and friends. I am greatful for modern technologies and vehicles. I am greatful to God for giving me so many experiences in life, and for allowing me the opportunity to stay home and shape my children's souls.
Mom and Dad's living room is very small, so they cleaned out the garage, put carpet down and decorated. It made a really nice big family room for Christmas. McCarty did pretty good on a lot of the decorations too. Mom waited to decorate the tree until we all got here. She wanted all the little one's to be able to decorate it; so they felt it was their tree too. We did one neat thing. We put all of the names that Christ goes by on glass bulbs and hung them. I was surprised at how many we came up with. Jesus, Christ, Messiah, Savior, God, Counseler, Wonderful, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, Emanuel, and several others.
Dad took big cardboard boxes and put together an "igloo" for the kids. He even painted it white. They absolutely loved it!
We played games together, of course.
Mom cooked traditional "chicken cordon bleu" for Christmas Eve.
Mom, Greg, and I posing for the camera. I forget how tall Greg is.
I caught McCarty off guard. She decorated the wall behind her with family pictures.
We have another tradition that we sometimes do. We do $5 gifts. Before Christmas Eve, we all go to Wal-Mart or somewhere together. We each get only $5. We draw names and then pick a gift for that person for only $5. These are fun gifts and we open them on Christmas Eve. I got Trujillo a Beta Fish. McCarty received a Beta Fish from my mom too and we didn't plan it. I can't remember what everyone got, but it was fun.
Denim was so excited for her gift from Greg that she asked him what he had gotten her for two days solid. She was not disapointed with the my pretty pony.
Darlin loved all the boxes and wrap. I wore a head mistletoe for 3 days. I get the best stuff from magazines. I did all my shopping that way this year.
On Christmas Eve we also did the Nativity. Since Sierra is pregnant she got to be Mary and Preston was the donkey.
This was Christmas morning. With 17 people it was a good thing we moved it to the garage. Santa sure treated us well. Denim got a real mermaid tail, Blazen got a train, and Darlin got pop up tents with a tunnel.
We hung the stockings from the garage door openers.
Tradition is everyone picks their own cold cereal, and we eat cold cereal and cream all day.
Denim and Ralayna are playing with Ralayna's tea set.
Granny got Blazen a bike that you hook up to the T.V. and ride in different programs. Abe just loved it.
Nathan is getting so big. "Want a cheese stick."
We had Nathan's name for Christmas. We got him a tent to play in.
Ace got me a camera. A Nikon D40. Ebay. I LOVE IT, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!
Ace also got me an i-touch. I am embarrassed to have received so much from everyone, but am thankful. I had to mention the i-touch because Syringa and Greg worked very hard and put tons of music and video on it for me prior to Christmas. A BIG BIG thanks to them for all of the hours to make that gift special.
A fun thing was all of these really cool hair deals that all of the girls got.
We also got matching jammies from Dad. Don't we look FABULOUSLY SEXY!!!
I got some really fun gifts this year. I got mom a cassarole dish that says, "Dixie's kickassarole." She is wondering if she can take it to relief society church functions. What do you think? I think the ladies might have heart failure. I gifted Preston a T-shirt that says, "Here I am, now what are your other 2 wishes." I gifted Ace a T-shirt that says, "I'm wonderful, just ask my mother." I gifted Greg his church clothes that he left at my house in September that I failed to mail to him, and I gifted my dad this most awesome shirt that he will love to use around Steve Gilbert.
Sierra was ultra creative and perserverant and made mom and dad this really neat gift. She crossed stitched the whole thing. It is a family chart. Each of mom and dad's children, with their families. Marriage dates and birth dates. She left several blanks to fill it in as the families grow. So cool.
Denim lived in her mermaid tail for days and days. We finally had to take her swimming. I was surprised at how well she swims in it. She actually swims just as good if not better in it than without. The monofin at the bottom almost helps her float, and when she swims with it, she goes super fast under water. It is hilarious, she dives deep and splashes everyone with it. Abraham, THE WHOLE TIME, kept catching Denim. He said, "I just have to catch that mermaid, I am a mermaid catcher." My dad said, "Well, I guess I know what I will be buying 12 of next year. All of my sisters want one. Dad put the goggles, snorkel, and flippers on Blazen and he stayed under the water for a very very long time. I was so surprised and proud of him. He has never put his face under for long at all.
We also had Ralayna's name. We got her ballet slippers and a little outfit. She loves to dance. Here she is throwing some moves.
One big thing on Christmas morning was these nurf guns. Almost everyone got one. There was a huge war. I was getting hit left and right. My dad conjured this one up. He regretted only one thing.......not getting a monster gun for himself alone.
Preston getting ready to unload the bullets.
Trujillo having a conversation with me.
Dad is showing off his "Oh so muscular bod."
Ace, playing with Blazen.
I just love laughter. That is the best part of Christmas. It was especially nice to see Sierra laughing as she was sick a lot of the time with morning sickness plus the flu.
Ace and Charlotte apparently are having a deep conversation.
Darlin passed a big milestone. Can you guess what it was?
That's right. We started walking. It was amazing! Just one evening she did it. She had really been eying Nathan and I guess she just realized that she could walk too. She took off, and since then we can't stop the child. YEAH DARLIN!
McCarty is always so fun for the little girls, teaching them dances and what not.
She put Denim's hair up in new curlers that Grandma got her.
They are the spiral type, pretty hu!
Syringa had to help a bit.
Extras:
*We all passed the flu around.
*Ace brought our little miniature horse for the kids to play on.
*It was mom and dad's anniversary.
*It was Charlotte and Trujillo's anniversary.
*I got Ace a big down coat and elbow water gloves to fix floats.
*Did I mention that we were all spoiled beyond disbelief.
*Church was nice all together.
*Family is simply the best, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
On the way home we had pretty bad, ok, VERY BAD roads most of the way. Very snowy. It took us 12 hours to make the 8 1/2 hr trip. Lot's of books, movies, and naps.
I also got to play with my new camera a little bit.
These are pictures taken at Lake Powell.
The rest of these are just different areas from Utah to Pie Town. Most of the drive is a lot of wide open spaces. A very vast land. A lot of which is Indian Reservation. Canyon land.
What a wonderful vacation. I just must be so greatful for my husband, children, our families and friends. I am greatful for modern technologies and vehicles. I am greatful to God for giving me so many experiences in life, and for allowing me the opportunity to stay home and shape my children's souls.
1 comment:
Char looks like she is in a TV Drama show.
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