Other December...

Thanks to many 3am shifts where I ended up being a 'sitter' for a sleeping patient, I've done a pretty good job of documenting this December (and the past few months)... but here's the rest of the month that didn't get a full post...

Bryson revised his Christmas list several times- this was the final cut...

Bryson's Christmas List

1. I really don't want enything on my list all I want is to do better.
2. In other word Nothing to 3 things.
P.S. If you exceded the limit that is ok but, No more present please.

Mmmmm-hmmmm.

I was very surprised (but all too happy to comply) when Hailee asked for a van for the dolls in her dollhouse as well as a bottle to feed her baby doll with for Christmas... even more surprising, she actually plays with them!!

Bryson has learned how to use the snow blower...

Playing in the snow...

Found this in the fridge...

Guess I can't get mad at *someone* for wasting an apple if they only eat 1/3rd of it but don't end up throwing it away!?!

The other night, we had a couple of quick things we had to do before we left home... so in an effort to get the kids attention, I fumbled what I thought was a quick "quiet coyote" hand gesture that I've seen their teachers do... Eli was quick to correct me, "Are you trying to do quiet coyote mom?  Because that's actually a peace sign..."  Mmmmmkay, apparently I'll just stick to the basics *sigh*.

Earlier in the month, Uncle Scott came for a quick visit and stayed with us overnight.  He astutely noticed that Jace was not represented on our Christmas tree.  I reasoned that it was because he's still in his 'probationary' period *wink*  BUT, I guess you could now say that Jace is now officially official...

 His nursery leaders said that this was the best picture they could get of him... he simply would NOT look at the camera- which is so funny because he loves to ham it up for me!

It dawned on us the last Sunday of December that not only was it Jace's last day of nursery, it was the last day we'd have a kid in nursery ever!  Wow!

A Christmas to Remember!

No doubt this Christmas was a memorable one.  It all started Christmas Eve...

My parents came over for dinner and a little Christmas program... the boys played some Christmas songs on the piano and we sang along, Nathan read from Luke 2, we talked about why we really celebrate Christmas.  The kids all opened one present, but Jace decided that he would rather go to bed than open a present (?!?).  Not sure what that was all about.  Regardless, the evening was very low key, but nice.

At bedtime, as my parents were leaving, the lights went out... and then they came back on, *phew* Aaaaaaand then they went back off again, this time for good.

I blame Nathan *wink*.  He had commented just a few hours prior that it would really be awful if we lost power because it would be such a pain to drag the big heavy generator through the drifts of snow to the side of the house where the generator plugs in. 

Apparently the combination of lots of heavy snow and weakened tree limbs from the big windstorm in November caused lots of downed lines throughout the area...

So we built a fire downstairs and set up beds for the kids and snuggled in for the night.  I was SO relieved that I'd had the time and motivation to wrap ALL the presents earlier in the day.  I am confident that it was the earliest we've ever been to bed on Christmas Eve since we've had kids 'of age'.

The kids slept well and respected the '7 am rule', checking the time on Dallin's tablet.  But alas, 7am came and 5 kids came bounding up the stairs and into our room*grin*

First we did stockings of course...

*hang on, I guess I need to turn the flash on...*

Poetically, Santa brought them all flashlights in their stockings...

 The night before, Hailee had been delighted when she opened her gift from Dallin... a sword.  It sure came in handy the next day as she used to to open most of her presents *grin*

 The kids in front of the {dark, un-lit} tree...

The first thing Jace could find with his name on it was a pair of 'Paw Patrol' jammies... he is in love with Paw Patrol right now and when he opened them, he apparently forgot the correct word for pajamas as he exclaimed, "PAW PATROL GHEE-HA'S!"... he promptly tore his other pj's off and donned his new pair... and then wore them for the next 48 hours straight *grin*

The next while was a flurry of excitement... all lit by flashlights...

And then came the playing... and the cleanup... and the getting-out of the generator so we could have some light and a hot shower... but mostly the playing *grin*

We had a lovely lunch at Perry and Sandy's and then came home and played some more.  It was actually kinda nice, because there were none of the usual distractions, so we just played games and enjoyed each other [in the basement where it was warm].  We even brought in the puppies so they could defrost- they mostly behaved *grin*

The next day we made sure to use the generator for only the absolute essentials...

It was Kentucky vs. Louisville!

The power is not expected to be back on until the 29th... assuming that lots more outages in higher priority areas don't occur in the meantime... I can't complain though, we're warm and have all the usual comforts, just in rationed amounts, rotated throughout the day.  Honestly, I am SO thankful for the windstorm in November that helped us be so much more prepared- it would have been a very different Christmas if it weren't for that!

Snow Snow and More Snow

Every year, mid-December, my kids start talking about a white Christmas.  And most years, in Mid-December, when I look at the forecast leading up to the 25th, there is very little chance for snow... so, in an effort to prepare my kids for the disappointment of a brown Christmas, I tell them that it doesn't always snow on Christmas.  They don't believe me.  Ever.  Mostly because every year, despite the 0% chance of snow a week before Christmas, Mother Nature makes a liar out of me.  Every.single.year.  This Christmas was no exception.

I'm so thankful that this snow was not last winter when we were fresh in our house and completely unprepared!

Sunday, we were all impressed by the snow on the back deck...

It kinda swirls around in the corner where the dining room meets the family room and creates an extra big drift.  Since Nathan and I both worked Monday and Tuesday, we stayed at Mimi's Sunday night through Tuesday... (I actually stayed at the hospital between my shifts).  It snowed most of the day Monday and part of Tuesday, so when we got home Tuesday night, we had a solid 2 - 2 1/2 feet of snow!  The drift on the back deck was closer to 4 feet deep in places... 

And the icicles on the house... wow...

Our property is a winter wonderland *grin*

 Wednesday, while Bryson was snow blowing the front driveway, I sent Dallin and Eli out to shovel some of the snow off the back deck...

 They mostly just played... I can't blame them, it was awfully fun snow...

So in the end, I shoveled most of the deck and sheesh, I am getting old... I was so sore for the next several days... =/

Though most people on our road have plows, it is amazing how well the county maintains our {very remote} road... it's usually well plowed by 7am!

So.Much.Snow.

In other snow related news, the plow on the front of Nathan's truck broke!  Not great timing... and pretty ridiculous considering that he used it maybe 3 times last winter and only 3-4 times this year!  One bar completely snapped in half and the other is pretty bent... hopefully the company will stand behind their product *sigh*

Giving

This year, the three older boys have really spent a lot more time that years previous discussing the subject of giving- somewhat self-righteously, but still...

They sold some of their stuff on craigslist (I told them not to waste their money on Pokemon cards in the first place!) and did extra jobs to earn money because they wanted to buy gifts for each other this year.  It's been a pleasant surprise (and an early Christmas gift for me) that they've opened their eyes and looked for ways in which they could help... actually noticing that the dishwasher needs emptying or the counter needs wiping off... yes, they were doing it for money and not out of good will, but STILL!!  I only pay $.25 per job (minimum wage?  psh), and only if they initiate it- if I ask them to do the job, they don't get paid.

All combined, they earned quite a bit of money and were (as usual) very eager to go spend it.  So today we went to Target.  It took about 2 hours in all- first there was the initial excitement in general, because TOYS!  And then they wandered the toy department deciding what gifts they wanted to give.  I had assumed that since Bryson, Dallin and Eli were the ones buying gifts, that they would only want to buy gifts for each other, but I was wrong.  All three were adamant that they were buying gifts for all of their siblings, Hailee and Jace included. 

I was genuinely surprised by their generosity.

They didn't pick the cheapest things they could find, they picked items that they were confident would be liked.  One by one, I cleared the appropriate isles of their siblings so each boy could pick out their gifts in secret and then subsequently check out independently.  Neither Dallin nor Eli could find quite the right thing for Hailee, so rather than settling, we went to Toys R Us where they found just the right thing for her.  They both spent almost every penny that they had earned.  Bryson had earned quite a bit more money and had figured he'd have enough money left over to buy himself a lego set... when he went to check out, he found he didn't have quite enough and without hesitation put the lego set back.  I was really impressed by their selflessness and the spirit of giving.

When we got home, they all wrapped their presents, giddy with the anticipation of giving their gifts- it really has been a self taught lesson this year *grin*.

Caroling

While Nathan and Bryson went to see the new Star Wars movie (thanks Dr. Dabell!), I took the other kids Christmas caroling at a retirement home as part of a ward activity.  A few minutes into it, some little girls started dancing and twirling around in the front to the songs... Hailee watched them with some curiosity and then joined in... sort of... She marched around like a soldier, stoic and serious, none of that whimsy-floaty-dancey stuff for my girl!

Dallin and Eli sang along and, while they would have rather been at home playing video games (they just finally earned back the privilege the day before... since loosing tech-time in JULY!), they had good attitudes about it...

Jace on the other hand was bored.out.of.his.mind. 

He was constantly begging to leave, play my phone, go potty, ANYTHING to lure me out the door... how's that for Christmas spirit?!?  Since I had just come off two 16 hour shifts, I was rather tired and we split as soon as the caroling was done... hey, at least we participated!

Snow!

These puppies sure love to play in the snow!

We got about 6 inches last night- today is clear and beautiful- I love the view!

After we dropped of the other kids at school, Jace wanted to play in the snow- but did NOT want to wear his coat...

It took very little time (and no argument from me) for him to understand the wisdom of wearing a coat!