CHRISTMAS 2010!!!

WARNING:

LOTS OF PICTURES!!!

This has been such an incredibly busy season! The blog has been neglected. :( Here are some highlights!
Above is the delectable and coveted caramel corn that Rachael and I put together. Mmmmm.
She also made yumo cranberry salsa. I highly recommend this.

During the season Lance brought me some gorgeous Christmas roses. How blessed am I???

Here's Ella.

...And Mia...

Bri-bri too!

I had a crazy idea to throw a Santa-cookie decorating party for lil' ones. Above is Candace -my sister-in-law.

Here's my cute Melanie!

NOTE: there are lots of pix of this, but I uploaded everything for this entry, and don't want to mess with sticking them in the right spot!! (Someone tutor me on this so I can do things easier, eh???)

So you just get to see my friends and not kiddos with yummy sugar cookies! Sorry!

Christmas Eve was first spent at the Sortor's home. Here's Lance and Donny.

Chaedon and Donny.

I LOVE this picture! It's Mia and Grandma.

Here's a very excited Ella holding Sabrina!

Lancey-cakes.

Token self-shot. BAD lighting, fuzzy picture. Oh well!

Mia got a robot! She loves this toy!!

Santa Claus (Donny) came to see everyone that evening!

Sabrina got some fun toys.

Here's cute Chaedon with Santa! Love it!

Ella got some Leapster books with the pen to help her read.

On to the Nolan's home! Above is part of Mom's tree... It's the inspiration for my own. I have always loved her victorian tree. Sorry kids! Someday we'll have a 2nd tree with ugly ornaments, but this one is MINE.

Grinchy?

Dad read the Christmas story from The Bible and we sung carols.

Mom and my sister Sarah.

Lexie, Dave (my brother), and Grandmother (Dad's mom who was flown out for the holiday).

Kids and craziness... That's Mia, Tessa, Rachael, and Lily-bug.

Finally home. Here's our tree before we went to bed.

My tree.

Christmas morning mayhem.

YIKES!

Back to my parent's home for more gifts!

Fabulous Sarah.

Here's my VERY tired Sabrina, who was taken home early for a nap.

My Granny-loo.

We wound up at the Sortor's home after this session for a wonderful Christmas dinner -THANK YOU DONNY AND DEBBIE!

It was such a busy and beautiful day. I had it rougher, however, with a fever and a UTI at the end of the day. :( We made it through a very long and boring (if you ask Ella) Christmas break, and now after a quick round of a stomach/puke bug for all 3 little girls, our lives are starting to fall back into the grove of normalcy.

If you made it through this post, I'm VERY impressed! Sorry about the drought. I will get better.

Hey, who wants to take a pottery class with me?

Temple Square!

Temple Square in Salt Lake City is one of the most magical and amazing things kiddos can go see at Christmastime. I have memories from being a child going there (remember me pulling out the bulb from the huge red tree and having the whole thing go out, siblings o' mine? heh heh). Taking my children there is building beautiful memories for them, but even more incredible memories for me as an adult watching them...

Mia refused to wear a coat, but got along just fine. :)

Cute Ella at the ponds... She has like 5 loose teeth!

Lance and Ella! You can't see it well enough in this picture, but the tree was absolutely amazing! Not a branch unlit...

Lance jumped in one of my "token self shots", so here WE are!

Lance and Ella, with a glimpse of the coat (not Sabrina -as she preferred to walk, grrrrr!) stroller.

Lance and Chaedon!

Sabrina whined on the way home until she got a bum change. Oooooo, bad parent moment. Sorry, babe! Look at all the forgiveness in her little face!!!

I DROVE! Lance gave me a lil' payback from the bazillion pix of him driving I tend to take. How lucky would you have to BE to have this face steering the wheel?!

LOVE LOVE LOVE CHRISTMAS AT TEMPLE SQUARE.

The schedule

...As the schedule fills up, the time for family becomes more and more precious. This Christmas, I have already received what I want --my family is together.

The beautiful miracle of love is real as it ever was in my deepest hopes.

catch-me-up

First and foremost, HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY MIA!!!!

This little goober is such a joy (is the fact that I slipped and typed "job" first some Freudian thing?) to have in our little family!

Here are some Mia fun facts:

-Mia likes to say "Um, good" before someone asks how she is.

-She sings "haty bow-way" and pretends to serve up cake all the time.

-Mia is surprisingly good at puzzles, and not surprisingly good at yelling.

-Mia is taking her time with potty-training, (did with speech too, but we're good there) yet will announce her poop-a-doop and refuse to sit down until she's changed. ...Getting there. (Lord give me strength)

-She is our tender-heart and is always up in my face when I show any kind of stress.

-She is also our bully, and she can walk by Sabrina and casually shove her without remorse.

-Mia refuses to wear coats.

-Mia loves to copy and do everything Ella does.

My sweet Mia-

Today you're 3. I can't believe how slow the time has gone, since it feels like you've been around forever! It's a compliment! :) You were my easiest birth, you were my tummy-company when I worked in SLC away from Dad and Ella a week at a time. You are a light in our lives, and we are our little family only with you. I love you.

Okay, Thanksgiving!

It was a lovely Thanksgiving this year. Here's my beautiful Ella.

...And cute Mia!

...Funny lil' shot, but you gotta love it!

Car shot! WOO!

Yep, the token-self-shots are baaaaaack!

The day began at my parent's home, and ended at Lance's. The meal was incredible. L-R bottom: Mia, Debbie, Maksim, Donny, Chaston. L-R middle: Ella, Bri. L-R top: Lance, Me, Scott, Candace, Aneesa.

The bird.

Lance's famous jello-pretzel salad.

*Lack of pix on my family's side is not due to any slight on the meal. On the contrary, it was divine. However, there was more baby-wrangling, and less pic ops.

Therapy continues to progress well for me, and I had a VERY heavy day today with a lot to think about. Someday I may blog about it, but probably not. Thank God for research and for professionals willing to devote their careers to helping people. Thank God for my beautiful Mia (and all my children). Thank God for Thanksgiving, and the opportunity to step outside ourselves and actually take inventory on the incredible blessings in our lives.

More than anything, thank God for Lance. Thank God he is in my life and he still loves me.

untitled

Continuous effort -not strength or intelligence- is the key to unlocking our potential.

-Winston Churchill

(also the man who says something about never never never never giving up...)

:)

End

Great timing, right? Lance and I are calling it after almost 7 years of marriage. Happy holidays...