Merry Christmas!

I fugured I better write before Friday hits & the kids are home for 16 days. I am so excited for the break! I have all of my Christmas shopping done, so I can enjoy the time with my family. I think we will make cookies & play in the snow.Then, we will come in & drink hot cocoa & cuddle on the couch to read books. Sounds so relaxing......
I love this time of year. I love the snow (but if you know me, I hate driving in it). I love the peaceful spirit that warms our hearts & homes especially. This year I want my kids to truly understand the meaning of Christmas. It's so hard when they're little to teach them that it isn't only about the toys & Santa. So much is centered around that. We were watching a Christmas show the other day & the teacher was asking what Christmas meant to the students. Their answers were like: Giving, Santa, toys, trees & the Christmas spirit. Those are all nice, but not one mention of Jesus Christs' birth. The 'real' & only reason for the season. It's like we're getting ready for a big party, but we've forgotten who the party is for. Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Do we have a gift for Jesus this Christmas? We don't buy gifts for Him. We give Him gifts in other ways. We give to others to show our love for Him. Have you done something to better the lives of those around you? Have you been of service to those in need? I try every year to answer 'yes' to those questions, especially at Christmastime.
Every year we play "Secret Santa" to a family that we know who needs extra help of some kind. I love to secretly find out what the family is in need of, then deliver it to their door & hide so they can't see us. It's the best feeling. It's so nice to see our kids coming up with ideas to do for the family, picking out toys for the children of the family, making cookies for them or helping to wrap these things. They still remember families that we helped 4 or 5 years ago. One year, the family wasn't coming to the door so Craig opened the door a little & said "hello" The mother came to the door & my husband said ' we just came by to bring you these cookies, & all of this stuff was on your doorstop' She looked so confused! She said 'But I just got home & there was nothing on the doorstop. Brother Record, Did you do this!? I thought for sure we were found out, but he insisted it wasn't us. I still think to this day she knows it was us, but that will be our little secret. I know our kids are still little, but it's a lasting memory for them. They will always remember this & hopefully when they have their own little families they will do the same for others. I hope that this will teach them that receiving gifts is fun, but giving to those who otherwise might not receive anything is even better. Giving to others is the best gift the Savior could receive from us. Charity-The pure love of Christ. Merry Christmas!

Happy 12th Birthday Adam!

Ok, this is the last birthday, for a while. Are we crazy...or what? Tonight we celebrated Adam's birthday. It was actually on Wednesday, but this week was one of those weeks where every single night is taken by some activity. Crazy! So, tonight we had the family over for dinner & cake. He wanted Creamy chicken & rice and oreo cake. Click the link & it will take you to the recipes on my recipe blog.

He got a lot of nice things for his birthday. My kids are so hard to shop for for Christmas. They usually get so many fun things on their birthdays a few weeks before Christmas. Oh well.

Uncle Chad got him a PSP! He is very excited about it! He won't put it down! We'll have to set limits on that. Grandma & grandpa Hansen got him the same remote control car that Matt got. Grandma & Grandpa Record got him a magnifying wand that plugs into the TV & magnifies what ever you want & displays it on the TV. It's really cool to see what the hairs on your arm look like.

Dad decided now that he's 12 he should have his first real gun. So, he got a .22 from us. I'm not sure how I feel about this just yet, but he's proven to be very responsible & knows & follows the rules. So, he's ready to go kill some squirrels or something with dad. We also got him a Lego set.

Adam is very special to me. He is our firstborn child & he has a sense about him that makes him shine. He has the biggest smile ever! Everyone is surprised to know that he is so sensitive & such a loveable kid. Not that he's bad, he just comes across as a 'tough guy' most of the time, but he really is a very thoughtful & caring young man. (I can say that now that he will be getting the priesthood tomorrow! Wow, that is crazy! I feel old now.) He is so good with Emily. He will even sit & play with her & he really looks after her. He is such a good big brother. We love you Adam. Hapy Birthday!

Happy 7th Birthday Matthew!

Matthews birthday was last week also. You have to remember that I flew home Tuesday night, had Emily's birthday on Wednesday, Thanksgiving on Thursday & his party on Friday. So, we kept it 'low key'. He had a friend stay the night & we ordered pizza & I bought an ice cream cake. I usually make dinner for everyone & make some kind of elaborate cake. I feel like I took the easy way out, but it was nice to feel relaxed & enjoy HIS day. It was SO nice. He was given a lot of nice gifts. I didn't take many pics. My camera is still on the fritz. So, I need to get the pics from Mary (my MIL).

Grandma Hansen sent his gift home with me from Utah. It is a little remote control car that spins all around. It's crazy! He has to fight me for it. What? It's fun! I'll post a pic later.

Uncle Chad got him a Nintendo DS. Yes, his very own! He is so excited about it!

Eric, Adam, Sean & Matt

He also got some transformers & a nerf gun

(don't get the buzzsaw nerf gun, it's annoying.

I wish I would have known that before I bought it. lol)

Matt's ice cream cake

Matthew is such a sweet boy! I love my little Matthew so much. I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. The only child that I had without an epidural. So, I felt the most pain with him. I STILL love him! He makes my day brighter. I love his laugh & willingness to help me with anything I need. We love you Matt! Happy Birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday Emily!

Emily turned 3 last week. I feel like the slacker mom for not posting earlier, but come on, give me a break, 3 of our kids have birthdays this week AND I just got home from Utah last week. UGH. You can see my suitcase in the background of the pics. My camera's been acting up,(hint, hint Santa) so I just got the pics downloaded.

We had a great time at her party. We got her a toy puppy that walks & barks on a leash. She loves it. We also got her her first 'Barbie'. We bought the only one that was actually covered in clothes, amazing! Do they really have to have such immodest clothing! For the love.......
Funny face

Uncle Chad got her some Diego Mega Blocks

Papa got her a Dora bath doll. She loves it.

Grandma took her to Build-A-Bear that day & she picked out a monkey & lots of clothes. It was her first time there & she loved it. She has been on this monkey kick lately.

She wanted a monkey cake, but I didn't order the pan in time,

so she picked Strawberry shortcake.

Grandma Daily

My grandma Dolly Daily passed away on Nov. 17th. She will be missed by all. I know, another post for another funeral. I know, I really need more uplifting things to post about! I promise, the next one will be happy. We lived with grandma when we first moved to Hurricane in 1991. I haven't ever had a very good relationship with her- it's complicated- but I will miss her in my life.

Last week was full of scrambling to find airline tickets that wouldn't make us broke so I could fly out to Utah for the services, finding somewhere for the kids to go while I was gone & preparing for 3 kids' birthday parties I would have to do as soon as I came home & also Thanksgiving. We flew home Tuesday night, & I am now getting back to normal, I think. Ask my family, Am I normal? They would say 'no'. LOL

If nothing else I got to see a lot of family while out there. It's sad that the only time we get together in years, is for a funeral. I loved spending time with family, especially my brother, Dean & sister, Anne, who I don't usually get to see while out there. Dean lives in Texas & Anne lives in Florida. So, I loved getting to see them. I actually had a great time. Emily came with me. She did pretty good. My kids are always a little whiny when we go out of town. Not sure why, but it just happens. We were very blessed that all of our flights we on time & it only took about 10 minutes to get through security. The flights were smooth & Emily & I had a good time together.

Funny Emily

I just had to share this with you......

Emily loves pretending she is shopping. She goes around the house with her shopping cart & pretends to shop.She picks stuff up out of the pantry & puts it in her cart, takes it to her 'kitchen' & cooks us dinner. I have found granola bars, crackers & popcorn in her kitchen before. We also found a rotten tomato in the 'microwave'. She is so cute! Anyway, she also has a little cash register with fake money. She pretends to buy things & puts the money in her purse along with her cell phone & sunglasses. I don't have any idea where she gets this from!! lol(those are the things I always have in my purse.)

So, I went shopping the other day. I was at the check out at Target. I get out my wallet & there along with my money, was Emily's play money, folded in half, like I have my money. I burst out laughing & the checker asked what was so funny. I showed her. Laughing, she said 'if only that would really work!' I couldn't stop smiling the whole way home. She is so stinkin' cute. I just love the way she thinks! What a smart girl! I am so glad I raised a good shopper.

Adam's Pics

I took Adam tonight to get his pics taken for the year. I thought they turned out pretty good. It took about 5 minutes to do too. I love it when they get older, for that reason! Here's a few of them. Let me know what you think.

This is the one we chose.

Fall 2008

I was home sick from church today, so I decided to go through some old pics. I found some good ones that I thought I'd share with ya. Here they are:

Our dog 'Lucy' & Emily at the campfire.

Emily 'working out'-notice she is doing the ball work out & even has to have a ponytail like me.

Emily pushing mommy on the swing.

A sunflower in our garden.

Emily by our swingset.

The kids on the bridge in the Sacred Grove.

Walking down the path to the Sacred Grove.

Walking out of the Sacred Grove, this is what you see. I love this tree. The kids are looking over the bridge for tadpoles.

Craig & Lisa at the Sacred Grove.

Coming out of the Grove.

Palmyra Temple from the Sacred Grove. I love how the temple seems to poke through the trees. I love the trees & the moon too. My camera battery was dying, so it wouldn't let me zoom in.

This is my favorite tree in our yard. It's especially pretty when the leaves change color. I'll have to post a pic when it starts changing...it's a slow one to change.

This just looked fun!

Family Night at the Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch for FHE tonight. We invited Caroline & Gary (some friends of ours) to come with us. We had a lot of fun! First we picked out some pumpkins. The boys wanted BIG ones. Craig told them if they could pick it up, they could have it.

Notice Emily's tiny little pumpkin?

Cute.

Then there's Matthew, he can barely get his arms around it. So, Adam told him he would pick it up for him & Matt could have his, then they would switch at home. I thought that was sweet of him.....See my kids aren't all bad! LOL

The kids

Then we went to see the animals. They had 3 little pigs & 3 little houses in a pen, with the houses made of straw, sticks & bricks. It was pretty cute!

Mom & Emi

They also had a sheep, a cow, & a horse. When it was time for feeding time, the animals went nuts! I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure the pigs were going to jump right out of the pen.

Caroline, Emi & the Sheep

Lisa & Caroline

Next, we headed into the corn maze. The guys had a race to see who could get done first. The girls decided to follow the corn cop. Yes, they had a 'corn cop'. He walks through the maze to help lost people find their way out. Yes, we cheated, but we were there for the memories, not to see who would win, I think Gary won, but I don't think we're talking about that. I didn't want to be there all night. I was hungry. And we were going home for chili & cornbread!

Corn Cop

Caroline & Emily in the Corn Maze

Matt in the kids' corn maze

I had to duck to go in

Gary & Caroline

Craig & Lisa

The whole Family

My cutie, Eric

Matt & Emily on the train!

Eric, Emily, Matt & Adam (well, only Adam's hair!)

We got home & had dinner & Pumpkin Cake & pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with frosting, Yum! We had so much fun with Gary & Caroline that the kids would not let go of them when it was time for them to leave! This picture was taken down low, so they look like GIANTS! LOL

We had a lot of fun! I love the Fall. The leaves changing, getting sweaters out of storage, hot chocolate, snuggling by a fire & warm comfort food. Love it all! Thanks Caroline & Gary for making memories with us!

Pumpkin Patch

Emily had her first field trip today to the pumpkin patch with her preschool.

I got to go with her. We rode on a BIG school bus, went on a hayride, picked out a HUGE pumpkin & had cider & donuts. It was so much fun. I took way too many pics, but can you really have too many? Emily would say 'yes'. She was sick of smiling for the camera by the time we were ready to go. Anyway, here are some pics of our day:

The class

Emi & mom on the bus

Pickin' a pumpkin

Sitting on the pumpkin

Emily & mom at the pumpkin patch