God bless us, every one!

I've watched four different versions of A Christmas Carol, read an illustrated version of the book to the boys, told the story with a really intricate pop-up book, and I am not reading the abridged version to the boys that was included with the pop-up book. Last year I read Jacob T. Marley, and it's been interesting to see different interpretations with the "Jacob T. Marley" explanation in the back of my mind. So don't be surprised that this post is entitled with a line from the book. :)

Welcome to Christmas.

Christmas Eve dinner is always appetizers.

Santa hats and a theme. This year was Mickey Mouse in honor of S since she loves Minnie and Mickey so much.

 (I swear those gray pants of mine have Mickey on them!)

Festival of Trees, NOT auction night...

So after auction night is over, there are four days of open doors. You pay a small fee to get in, but again, every penny goes to charity. It's tradition for us to take the kids and see all the trees, wreaths, performances, quilts, gingerbread houses, etc. They open up a kid section also, with crafts, little prizes, and a bubble machine! This is the kids' favorite area, of course. We always buy them elf wands (plastic sticks with a bunch of long tinsel on the end) and let them do the bubble machine, but they've never wanted to do a craft.

Kai didn't want to get in the bubble machine by himself, so I stepped in with him. It's fun being inside a bubble!

Festival of Trees

Last year we were at the Festival of Trees, as we are every year. It's a tradition. But last year, we had a fake tree that had been given to us by my uncle. It didn't come with a fake tree stand. So I'd had my father fashion a real tree stand so that it would hold our donated, fake tree. It worked for five years. Last year was year six, and it wasn't working anymore. At one point the kids had put something under the tree, and I had gone under the tree to retrieve it. I bumped the tree while I was under there, and the whole thing started to topple. I grabbed the "trunk" and held up this huge, heavy tree by just the base of the bar. The kids were so fascinated by what was happening that they wouldn't move away, and my fear was that I was going to drop the tree on one of them. So I held it. And held it. And held it. I don't know how long I was under that tree. It seemed like a long time. Jason was upstairs doing something and couldn't hear my pleas for help. By the time I was rescued, my arms and back were so sore! I swore I would never put that tree up again in my house. When we took it down at season's end, I gave it away. So at the Festival of Trees last year, we almost bought a tree because there were several still waiting to be purchased. We decided against it since none of the trees available were really calling to us. But then this year rolled around, and we didn't have a tree...

Everything breaks down.

Everything breaks at some point. Everything. And that's okay. It's hard, and there's no way to see the light at the end of the tunnel most of the time. And that's okay. Recently, both of the cars broke down, my computer just shut off and never turned back on, my phone died slowly, our router went out. We just replaced a TV and had to work on a computer. ETC. I'm sure there's more. Everything broke down at once. And that's okay.

But it means I haven't posted in a long while. I feel like I've let down a connection, one I can't pinpoint and don't know personally, but one I want to know. Maybe there is no one out there reading this, but maybe there is. Maybe that person is the biological parent of my future son or daughter. That's my hope. I hope the connection has been made already. Maybe... Please tell me you're still reading if you're out there. I would hate for a broken computer to sever such an important connection.

So I don't have my pictures on this new computer, and I don't  have any blogs written to post. I will do my best to get something up to date on this new computer so you can ACTUALLY know what's going on around here, though it's nothing too special: weeding, mowing, cleaning, organizing. Just the usual, which is how I like it. :)

A very spiritual day

My sister is amazing. I have one sister, and I couldn't have hand-picked a better one. She is wonderful. Did I mention how much I love her? After my husband and kids, she's my favorite person in the whole world, and that's saying something since one of my sons is named after Jason's grandma and after a couple of uncles. (I've never had a little girl to name after my sister. Not yet anyway.) Well, this fantastic woman is serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! There are many many things that need to happen to prepare missionaries before they head out, and I had the pleasure of being a part of some of her preparation.

Tooth Fairy!

Seth lost his first toooooooooooth!!!!! Right before we pulled it, Seth said, "Mama, do you want one last picture of my baby tooth?" OF COURSE I wanted one last picture! So here it is:

Zoo with Uncle K and Aunt E!

The Hogle Zoo just redid a large portion of their displays, and it's pretty awesome. So when my brother and his wife asked us to go to the zoo with them, we were really really excited. But mostly because I got to spend time with my brother and his wife. Yay! They live in another state so it seems like ages between visits, and it's compounded by how much their sweet baby girl grows every time I see her!

When the zoo remodeled, they brought back the LION FOUNTAINS!!!! :D :D :D Pictures with the lion fountain are tradition. I think I have pictures of ME at that age doing this exact same thing.