Picture Perfect Christmas

After stressing and praying for two days while my Derek, Levi & Daymia, and Bret & Erika traveled home from Utah during horrible snowing and drifting storms (even church was cancelled Christmas morning because of the storms!) it was perfect to have us all together! These people are my favorite in the whole world!

We are so blessed to have Bret, Erika and Kailee live close enough for frequent visits. They are creating a beautiful family together.

Kailee Jo is a happy, inquisitive, determined, joyful little girl. Her smile lights up the room and she has every one of her uncles wrapped around her little finger.

LeRoy and I love being her grandparents! It is wonderful to have our snuggly grandbaby to cuddle and read with and to share her first Christmas with.


One of the joys of this particular Christmas was to watch Hyrum take on the challenge of finding the perfect gift. He had drawn my name for Christmas and was determined to buy his gift all by himself. The only problem with that is that I was the only person available to take him shopping. I took Nathan and Hyrum to a few stores in Idaho Falls and had them stick together with me only a few isles away. Hyrum wanted it to be a surprise and wouldn't take any suggestions. Finally, he had made his purchase with his own money.

Later in the afternoon while we were still shopping in Idaho Falls, he confessed that he had purchased a ring for me but that he didn't think I would like it. I told him that no matter what he got I would love it because it was from him and he had picked it out. He explained that he liked it because it was the color of my eyes and then he told me how much it cost and he showed it to me. Without showing any shock in my face, we talked it over and I explained that I don't wear rings except for my wedding ring he decided that he wanted to return it and get something that he knew that I would love.

After returning the very overpriced bold blue ring, I showed him a few items that I would love (a variety of scarves, and a couple of simple necklaces) and then I left him with Nathan so that he could secretly pick it and have it be a surprise.

On Christmas morning I opened my gift to find a silver chain with a beautiful half moon and a rose gold colored star in the center of the moon with the words, "love you to the moon and back" pressed into the moon. I Love It! Even now (6 months later) I still wear it nearly every day.

In talking with him after opening it I found that he learned that when you pick a gift it needs to be something that the receiving person will like, not just something the buying person likes and that it doesn't need to cost a lot of money. The necklace was only a few dollars on sale. Most importantly, he learned the joy of giving.


The final perfect note for 2016 was to learn that Levi and Daymia are getting married!!!

It is officially happening though they aren't officially engaged until he does the formal proposal and gives her the ring. We couldn't be happier for them! Levi gets the girl of his dreams and I get another daughter.

Gifting

What a wonderful year of gift giving!

It would not feel like Christmas without new jammies!

As always, everyone was very happy with their books and origami money from Grandma and Grandpa Fullmer. This year we were also blessed with family history posters on both the Hawkins and Fullmer sides of the family. Grandma Fullmer spent almost all year working on them.

Clothing and accessories are always a welcome gift, especially when they fit so perfectly the occupation of the person (Daymia does hair, Justin flexes his muscles, LeRoy is an electrician). Derek is always thrilled to get shirts that have long enough sleeves and Hyrum was excited to get a recipe book made by Daymia for his "cheffing skills". I'm not sure that poop slippers and a poop mask were needed but they sure were welcomed by Nathan.

I love seeing the excitement given over practical, useful gifts. Levi so excited about a heater, Daymia a waxing kit, Derek a mattress, Justin a grill, Erika a skillet, and Bret some socks. Practically perfect in every way.

Daymia spoiled Levi just a little as he opened his new skis, boots, gloves and everything he needed to fill his new found hobby. He spent nearly every weekend he could on the slopes.


Daymia's gift to Hyrum was spot on!

He spent the entire Christmas break trying out the new recipe book and his Easy Bake Oven and was thrilled that he could follow the recipe, bake the treats, and serve it all up without any help. He has fed us well with cream filled chocolate cookies, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, brownies and pizza.

Levi even got in on the baking when Hyrum was making mini pizzas.

Nathan and Hyrum really liked having stocking stuffer excavation kits to work on for the days following Christmas. The kitchen floor and table started to take on a dusty sand layer as they worked but it was worth it to see them complete their projects.

Nathan dug out dinosaur bones and then put the dinosaur back together. Hyrum dug out stones that he added to his colorful stone collection.


Christmas was made complete with messages from Vivien and Gabor. These two make me smile! They have fun personalities, study hard and send me random pics of food, Mormons, school, and even a few stalker pictures of each other. I love being able to stay in touch with both of them!

Throughout January I would get pictures from Gabor of him wearing his pizza socks that we sent him. It made me smile every time! And, that Coca-Cola cup is not just an American souvenir, it has a story to go with it. When I sent their Christmas box, I also sent this note . . .

Before I could send their package, I had to re-box it twice. I had everything all snug in it's place, taped that package to withstand an shipping apocalypse that might come and gently dropped it on the seat next to me to head to the post office. Then my ears caught a slight ticking sound coming from the box. It sounded like a ticking bomb!! I knew it was just the musical pooping reindeer in there but my worry was that postal workers might think I was shipping a bomb to Europe.

So, back I went to the kitchen to cut through those secure layers of tape, unpack the box, bubble wrap and secure that reindeer's tail so that the Jingle Bells chimes didn't go off, pack it all back up and use another million feet of tape to secure it all once again. I was so glad to finally get messages from them as my evidence that the musical tattle-tale reindeer did not ruin Christmas.

Holiday Happenings

From Halloween through December it seems that life just gets crazy busy . . . or just crazy, as Nathan demonstrates in Broulim's while grocery shopping.

The music of the season starts to take over.

Nathan's very first orchestra concert!
The principal, Mr. Bone, was a very convincing Grinch even though his true personality is exactly opposite.



Love is in the air . . .

Congratulations to Noemi on her beautiful November wedding!!
I look forward to the day that I get to meet Angelika and Noemi, Vivien's mom and sister.

We miss these two so much and wish they were here with us!

Miss Kailee Jo and her reflection share love and kisses all over windows and mirrors. Luckily, the rest of us also get in on snuggles, hugs, slobbery wet kisses and plenty of lovin' from this beautiful girl. It's so wonderful to have a baby in the house again!

Love brings us all together in joyful celebrations, gift giving, and laughter, and occasionally we get on each other's nerves.

 ♥ That's what family is all about. ♥

Decorating the Houses

Levi and Daymia joined us for holiday decorating (why no pictures of the others?).  Levi put himself in charge of setting up the village, which was really great for me because my OCD was making it stressful.

Charlie's idea of helping . . . or was it staying out of the way? Either way, it was electrifying!

I love the glimmer of Christmas lights reflecting off the windows and walls. It causes me to spend more time in reflection with an emphasis on Christ.

Family Home Evening: Construction Edition

After a sunken roof and repeated collapses, we finally had enough sugary support to hold it all together.

Confectionery Row looks good enough to eat!

Winter Wonderland

Every winter we wonder why we live in this land!

The first snow fall came a little earlier than we expected but was short lived; just enough to build a snowman that melted by evening.

The bitter cold settled in during the first week of December, leaving a dusting of snow plastered to trees. Though extremely hard on fingers and face, the cold created a gorgeous landscape. . . for the first storm. After that it was just annoyingly bitter and left us missing the good old days of summer.

The extreme cold temperatures were soon joined by gusty winds resulting in days of school cancellations, snowed in vehicles, animals sleeping indoors and no desire whatsoever to go outside. Blustery days left mounds of snow along the garage and completely buried our front steps. After opening the garage door we found a solid slant of snow starting at 7 inches and inclining to 9 inches. It was a mesmerizing, rippled land formation which turned into a never-ending nightmare to shovel out. Of course, these storms came while our 4-wheeler was in the shop so it all had to be done by hand. Never have I felt so connected to my inner Laura Ingalls!

Nathan was a huge help shoveling out of this particular storm. LeRoy can't shovel because of his back, Justin cleared enough to get his car out for work, and Hyrum tried but it was a wet, heavy snow. In one night we got nearly 7.5 inches of snow (measured on the previously cleared sidewalk).

I often joke that I have a smidgen of bear DNA in me because all I want to do during the winter is hibernate. Most days, it's not a far exaggeration. With darkness coming as early as 5 p.m. our daily routine often winds down to reading which is where LeRoy and Justin usually find us as they saunter in "late" (7-8 p.m.) from work.

Though I have tried to live in the moment and smile my way through the blahs of winter, I can't help but long for summer days of the past . . .

New Game November

Our first new game of the month was with Justin's new DayDream VR Headset that he got with his new phone. It was very entertaining watching others experience the wow factor as we each lost our balance, wandered in circles with our hands out trying to feel what we were seeing in front of us but it really was even more exciting to experience it first hand. We felt truly transported to the mountains, Daymia's apartment, and a quest pre-programmed in the features.

We also played the new Watch Ya Mouth! game which led to slobbery laughter, sore faces and what sounded like the occasional swear word. We weren't sure if we were more sore from the mouth guards or the extreme smiling and laughter taking place.

Most game nights come at the end of a family meal. "Family" meaning anyone who shows up for dinner, with Sundays being our big family day.

November brought another birthday. The big 45. Some days I really do feel like I'm heading into a mid-life crisis but then my children leave notes for me, give me hugs, share meaningful conversations, send random texts or emails, and I realize that there is no need for a crisis in this, my mid-life. Having young adult and adult children is so rewarding!

On the night before my birthday I was gone until late at night and when I returned home I walked in through the mudroom to find a note hanging from a string in the doorway. Just beyond that I could see that the kitchen had been completely cleaned, even swept and mopped, and my note told me that it was all a gift from Justin. The next day I found a note in my makeup drawer. Another in my computer when I opened it. A note in the dog food container. There was one in the fridge on the almond milk and even one in my scriptures. It made for such a wonderful day! I not only felt loved, I felt noticed. I was surprised to find that Justin knew my daily routine well enough to leave me tidbits of love throughout the day.

Mom also came so that we could share our birthday together. Something that had become tradition but we had missed the last two years while she has been on a mission and traveling. Together we tackled a huge pile of denim that she's moved around for years and we got all the cirlces cut for her denim quilt. It was wonderful to have her visit! I didn't realize that I needed her so much but lately, I've needed my momma. Doing a project together offered us the conversation and quiet time that we have both needed. 

Hyrum's class had a special Veteran's Day program. It started out as any 3rd grade program with some kids making silly faces, some waving at their parents during the songs, and some very bored singing faces. However, during God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood I noticed that my sweet Hyrum was tearing up. I initially thought maybe he needed to go to the bathroom (since that happened in a previous program) but found later that he just really loves the song. He also got emotional when his teacher was introducing the visiting veteran. I personally feel that some of his emotions came from having studied about Papa Edwards and his time serving in Vietnam and catching even a glimpse of what being a veteran meant.

Thanksgiving was very low key at our house. Or at least I convinced myself that it would be since we would be leaving the day after Thanksgiving to celebrate a full blown Thanksgiving everything with our Fullmer relatives in Utah. However, once I started preparing a pared down version of our traditional holiday meal, I accidentally went for it and we had an abundant Thanksgiving feast. My backup plan was to take all the extra food to Utah with us.

We had our Fullmer Thanksgiving at Mike and Kate's house again this year and it did not disappoint. Many games were played; massive amounts of food were consumed; we visited, laughed and napped as our satisfied and over-filled tummies digested. Weekends like this remind me how grateful I am to come from a large family and that most of us are still close enough in proximity that our kids are friends.

 Ah, my furry friends. November seemed to really start taking it's emotional toll on me and these floppy friends were a comfort. Harrison and Charlie are wonderful companions throughout a dreary winter season. Oliver is just ornery but he has his good moments too.

After arriving home from our Thanksgiving weekend I laid on the bed, wrapped in my blanket. Later I found a picture on my phone of me sound asleep with Oliver stretched along my back and Harrison purring right next to my chest. He seems to know that his purr calms my stress. For cats that are not supposed to be in the house, it is nice to have their healing visits now and then.

On another day I was rubbing Charlie's belly while laying on my own belly and when I stopped he jumped up on my back and started massaging with his furry paws.

October 2017

Miss Kailee Jo is growing up so fast!!!

Months 6, 7, and 8 went by so fast! She is such a cheerful little girl.

Nathan's allergies kicked into high gear during a ward campout. We weren't sure if it was the freshly cut grass, the weeds in their final stages before winter or the bushy like trees that we couldn't identify. Regardless of the cause, he was miserable. His eyes were swollen shut and he had a rash all over his body.

Bedtime is best with pets.

This was our second year using our home grown pumpkins for Halloween carving. We had enough pumpkins to carve as well as decorate the front patio. Unfortunately, our patio pumpkins were demolished when someone went through the neighborhood smashing everyone's pumpkins in the streets.

While I read a book in bed on this not-so-favorite holiday of mine, LeRoy took a few pictures and answered the door. 

 Levi and Daymia, those adorable bandits,as well as Justin, our handsome devil...with a light saber, and our usual Banana Boy and Crooked Cowboy were joined by Kayla, Sabrina, Bryan, and Brock as they roamed from door to door in our neighborhood.


 We weren't at all surprised to see the Hellbusch Family dressed in Batman attire for Halloween.

Batman, Joker and Penguin