CoLEmaN = cUtE!!

Christmas Eve

This was a wonderful Christmas Eve. We have the tradition of acting out the Nativity, and with my sister's family here and my brother's we were not lacking characters, it was great. There isn't much reverence, I mean we try, but they are kids and with all the stage prompts it gets a little crazy but I am hoping they will have fond memories of doing this with their cousins when they grow up.
Eden played the angel, Baylie was Mary and was so sweet with the baby, I had so many pics of her because she did such a good job with her role. Lakai was Joseph, Jaya a Shepard, Kree a wise man, Kale a Shepard, and Coleman and Keller, well let's just say they participated!



My dad was kept busy by recording the whole thing...


Things got a little crazy when the broom fell on the baby....


After all the cousins left we opened up our 1 present for Christmas Eve, which happened to be new pajamas for all of us, YEA!

Results from gaining a downstairs

In our new house we have a downstairs and we have put the tv down there. The majority of our bedrooms are upstairs and so when we lay the kids down to sleep and we watch tv we will hear running and jumping with all sorts of noises above. Typically I just ignore it and let them run their course and they are generally asleep by the time we come up.
Now what we find when we come up is a whole other story. This was what I found the other night. Look at the wreckage that occurred while they were unattended. I love that his bed sheet is hanging off, cracks me up!

Deck the halls

We have a Christmas tradition of caroling and making treats for friends and family in our area. This year our friends area has expanded with the move and our treat making and delivering turned into 3 nights of dipping goodies in chocolate, driving around the town in our van singing carols, and late night bedtimes. It is so much work but I love it so much, it just wouldn't be Christmas without this tradition.
A few years back I was busy with photos and so Darrin took over the job of selecting what goodies we will make and purchasing all the supplies (I know, right? I am so lucky) and this has continued even though I am now more in control of my schedule. Anyway this year we were so effective and worked so well together that I decided it was time to bring up my new business idea for Darrin and I. So here it is...Caterers! Brilliant right? Well apparently Darrin still thinks professional rollerblading should still be on the list and catering off. Oh well, I will keep trying.


Baylie begged and begged to put the star on the tree, insisting she hasn't gotten to do it in the past. So after we got her up and she placed it on the tree, she started giggling. When I asked her why she was laughing she said, she has gotten to do the star the last 3 years and we always forget who did it and so she begs and says she hasn't...you sneaky girl! I am writing this down so maybe Eden will get a chance.


Once the Santa hat was found in our Christmas box, the kids insisted on each getting their picture taken with it on. Kale was forced into it, but still complied.

boredom

I think I have mentioned before that Eden gets bored when she has a day off from preschool. Not wanting to be far from my side, the other day as I was working on the computer, she decided to bathe in the sink! After she got in and got all ready, water, dish soap and wash clothes, she was like "look at me mom, I'm taking a bath!" AWESOME...I have got to get this girl some friends.

Home Sweet Desert

I grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado, as a child and young adult I never appreciated it's beauty. I thought it was brown, gray and tumbleweeds. Grated now being adult the habitat and landscape of this area has not changed but I think my eyes have. A few years ago it just hit me, what a beautiful place I live. No, there are not lots of lush green trees, but the colors of the rocks and the sunsets make up for it. The hiking is amazing,the trail running is phenomenal, and the mountain biking is awesome. I love my desert!

Here are my views on our way back home from our mini-trip to Utah...

Lakai

My nephew Lakai, got baptized this December. Because his dad lives in Sandy Utah my sister decided it would be easier for us to go there for the baptism. I was grateful, it was a good excuse for us to fit in a mini holiday before Christmas. The whole event turned out wonderful. It was with other kids that we didn't know, but we were assigned a room after the baptism, that all those that were there to see Lakai could meet together after and share our thoughts and love with him, and of course our testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ. It was beautiful, my sister shared a beautiful testimony and I am so proud of Lakai and his decision to be baptized.

This is a scripture case my sister made for him, the CTR stands for Choose The Right, so fitting.

My brother, and his wife Jessica and little baby Coleman came from over from Idaho.

Later that night we took our kids to Salt Lake City to see the lights that were displayed at Temple Square. I haven't done this for quite a few years, but I have great memories of looking at these when Darrin and I were living in Utah. It was fun to show the kids, it's always PACKED with people, but I was still able to get a few fun shots of the lights with a wide angle lens! We ended the night with hot chocolate and chilly bodies.

Nativity

Darrin served a church mission in the Philippines, certain parts of the country are populated with people who carve wood. Darrin was in one of these areas and brought home the most beautiful nativity. I have loved opening up that box and setting it up throughout our married years. Apparently I am not the only one in our family who enjoys pulling out the wooden characters and assembling them on our piano.

After it was all set up, I caught three of my children looking intently at the sacred scene.

I just love Christmas.