Welcoming in 2018

We opted to keep our New Year's Eve festivities pretty low-key this year.

To honor the Sanders tradition from Daymia's childhood, we pulled out Monopoly...the game sure to last long enough to ring in the new year.

LeRoy took it quite seriously, as he always does, even bargaining on the side quite illegally, and getting frustrated when we wouldn't bow to his raised eyebrows and sales pitch. He did knock out a few of us (at which point, I succumbed to sleepy eyes and headed to bed) and the boys watched as gradually, the game, and the year, came to a close.

In the end, and shortly after midnight, Daymia took over and won! I was secretly very happy about that since it is her family tradition. Also, this win was a good start and sign of the wins to come for her in 2018!

Christmas

 Christmas Eve Eve (Saturday) started with a hearty breakfast sponsored by LeRoy and LeRoy Jr.

With each contributing their specific culinary skills, LeRoy made pancakes, Justin LeRoy made eggs, and the microwave made sausage.

After two decades of making Christmas Eve Jammies, I submitted to the lure of on-line shopping and ordered a full family set.

When the boys stood together we realized they all had matching socks on and they were practically already standing that way. We only had to have Nathan, Hyrum, and Bret fix their arms to match the others. Even Charlie wanted to fit it.

It will be interesting to see where Nathan and Hyrum fit into this line of height in the next few years. We suspect that Nathan will stand next to Derek and Hyrum will be right between Levi and Justin.

As soon as packages were opened, there was stripping...right there in the living room, in plain sight and hidden behind the chair. Even Charlie got new jammies.

The red and black plaid was the perfect holiday fit for our family!

Something in those jammies triggered stunts and loads of laughter.

It was an absolute joy watching my kids of all ages play together and cheer each other on.

* Seven months later I was asking Nathan and Hyrum what their favorite part of Christmas was and they both responded that having matching jammies and doing stunts was their very favorite memory. Neither one of them could remember even one gift they had received.

All the excitement and silliness woke Kailee Jo up so we took the chance to get a family picture instead of waiting for bedhead and sleepy faces Christmas morning.

Once Erika got Kailee back to bed we probably all should have gone to bed, but we were still wide awake so we stayed up even later (1:00am) playing games.

We had a holiday pool tournament that got a little crazy when Justin stated his legs were too hot and Hyrum followed him right into a poor fashion choice.

Taboo was set up for those waiting their turn in the pool tournament.

We gradually dragged ourselves out of bed Christmas morning and the gift-giving began. There were large and small gifts, meaningful and silly gifts, and most of all, gratitude and love shared throughout the whole day. Kailee was most in love with a rocking unicorn that Daymia gave to her.

After the mess was cleaned up, Daymia made her signature cherry turnovers...with a twist, literally. She shaped them into two candy canes. Somehow they did taste more festive that way.


* A week before Christmas we were at church and after the power flickered a couple of times during sacrament meeting, it finally went out for good during Sunday school. Since we live out in the country, that isn't a matter of just being without light and we can just open windows for the remainder of the meeting, that means we are also without water and sewer because the church is on its own well and septic tanks. So, after LeRoy made a phone call to the power company (nice to have a direct connection!), the remainder of church was cancelled and we all went home. I admit that two, instead of three, hour church was really nice!!

December

Never did I imagine that I would have a kid who was excited for snow and it has surprised me even more that it is Levi. I'm so glad he has found a way to enjoy the gloomy winter months and avoid seasonal blues.

I cope with the winter gloom by searching around me for beauty in the clouds and ice and snow and cold.

However, though the blue skies may appear, they also bring with them a cold inversion which puts an invisible cap on the atmosphere which holds down all exhaust from vehicles, furnaces, fire places and any other place possible. This is a perfect migraine concoction. This picture is the first time I have actually seen the inversion as it held down all the burn-off from the local plant.

In happier notes, Nathan's holiday orchestra concert was festive and impressive.

Jeff and Nathan have been good friends since they were about four. It is fun to watch them grow up and develop talents together. They have also been blessed with a wonderful primary teacher who surprised them (including Taylor, from the primary class) by coming to their concert. We followed up the night with our traditional Kiwi Loco stop.

The kids continued sharing their talents as sang andplayed the bells at the ward Christmas party. We are so blessed to have a close community to share our beliefs and celebrations.

As Christmas drew near, I boxed up and sent gifts to our Fullmer and Edwards grandparents. Oliver and Charlie were quite helpful!

As the Eve of Christmas drew near, Erika and LeRoy set up a wrapping station in our room. The holidays did not slow down this year like in previous years so LeRoy was busy right up to the last minute. It was wonderful to hear him put on Christmas music and sing his heart out in relaxation.

Holiday Projects

When Justin moved out, he left a pile of washed and folded Madison and Airbound t-shirts in the bottom of his closet. There sat a pile of memories from four years of gymnastics, orchestra and cheer. Our  red, white and gray Madison Bobcat was moving on to be a purple and black Weber Wildcat. 

I awkwardly folded the shirts the best I could to show the main graphic so that I could arrange a pattern. I figured out a size to cut them and had a tentative plan but by the time I got them all cut, no matter how I rearranged the squares, I could not get the columns to match up without odd spacing. After nearly two hours, I was starting to go a bit cross-eyed and get a little frustrated. I realized that I needed another shirt but I had already used up all that he had, including one of his actual cheer uniform tops (big "CATS" and the pawprint). 

The answer finally came when I decided to walk away for a bit and went to take a shower. As I went to undress, I realized that I was wearing a Madison shirt that was not a duplicate graphic to any of Justin's other shirts. It was my fan shirt that was given to all the moms of the cheer team. It was one of my favorite comfy shirts that I wore every single week. I considered it throughout my shower and decided that the best  addition to the quilt would be my shirt because I am his number one fan! 

Though the idea was wonderful, it still took a good pause before I cut it up.

With a soft flannel backing, I tried a new quilting method using my sewing machine and had it bound and ready to go for Christmas. 

Justin loved it (measured by the tears he tried to hide) and sent me a couple of Snaps of it in gratitude.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daymia inherited a Christmas village set from her parents and wanted to be able to display it in her apartment without it feeling crowded so she researched (thank you Pinterest) and found a wooden display tree. 

Derek to the rescue. A couple of hours on CAD to design it and come up with measurements, a trip to the hardware store, an afternoon full of cutting, drilling, whistling and singing and it was complete. He literally makes dreams come true!

Perhaps a little taller than she had expected, but it worked beautifully!

And will be an annual decoration in her home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After having the idea in mind and the fabric in the closet for a good two years, I finally put together a Christmas runner.

As with most of my sewing projects, I tried new techniques and it has it's own "personality" woven into it. 

I love the vibrant colors! It turned out better than I had imagined.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a time when my home was full of kids and my mantle full of stockings lovingly cross stitched by Great Grandma June Hawkins and Grandma Trudy Fullmer. 

Five of the seven kids moved away and took their stockings, leaving only Nathan and Hyrum to fill a big house and a big mantle. Our four mismatched, differently angled stockings left our mantle looking a bit like a cartoon block from Charlie Brown's Christmas, so it was time for a makeover.

No worries, our hand-crafted Grandma stocking were placed over on the staircase where they could still be adored but also hang their individual direction without hurting my OCD.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For an early December Family Home Evening we decorated ginger bread houses. With just the four of us, our ginger village census was down from previous years.

November: Family Pictures

Mike was gracious enough to fit in a photo session for our family during the Thanksgiving festivities taking place.

Family photo sessions are always a comical event for us and the photographer makes all the difference. Mike was perfect!

I love this crew!

Levi and Daymia are a photogenic match made in heaven. Their Sunday visits are the highlight of our week. I admire their commitment to one another, their work ethic, and their ability to love life and see the good in nearly every situation.

Bret and Erika have an amazing family with so much personality keeping life interesting. They are wonderful parents with a smart, determined, loving little girl in Miss Kailee Jo.
P.S. Erika is expecting Lilly Rae and had just announced it to the family prior to these pictures being taken.

Ah, Derek. My pensive, creative, thoughtful, budding enterpreneur. I admire his courageous spontaneity and careful career risk taking. He going places for sure!

GQ Justin so full of skill, talent, tenacity, and humor. Though the other had a few shots taken for their individual profile, Justin had exactly one shot. Nailed it!

Nathan, my budding tweenager. He is kind, thoughtful, fun, spiritually sensitive, and his pun skills are improving daily. His care and thoughtfulness of his Momma fill my heart with joy.

Baby Hyrum is no longer a baby, but a growing young man with a creative mind and sensitive heart. His vivid imagination is impressive and leads to many backyard adventures. He has grown exponentially in wisdom, stature, emotions, and spirit.

The mid-life survivors.

Twenty-seven years has taught us much and blessed us beyond our greatest hopes. 

Through Walgreens I was able to use our new photos to design a Christmas card.

It truly IS a Wonderful Life!

November: The Everyday

Another piano festival is in the books. This was Hyrum's first festival. He was anxiously excited and did a great job. Per our new tradition, we went to Cocoa Bean afterward for some fabulous drinks that perfectly complimented my fabulous musicians.

As an LDS Young Women leader, I was blessed to celebrate the girls accomplishments and talents in our Night of Excellence Talent Show. I also gained a new talent as I learned how to decorate 75 cupcakes with thick, swirly, frosted tops complete with golden sprinkles. Our girls choreographed a delightful synchronized swimming routine sans water. Those 12 girls have been a joy to work with!

A visit to see our grand baby Kailee is always a treat! As she goes about her ordinary day, she is pure entertainment for the rest of us! She was especially interested in helping Grandpa install a switch, a circular fan, and bathroom fan in their house. When the fan was all finished she exclaimed in awe, "Wow! So pretty!" which I found rather observant for a 20 month old.

I adore watching my boys with their niece. What a blessing that as the youngest in our family, they still get to be big brothers . . . as uncles. She sure loves them!


A couple of new fur babies joined the family.

Justin adopted Gus and Belle from a local shelter. Life is just better with a fur baby to relax with.


November 27th brought a new feeling that we had never experienced before. We were ready for Christmas! We didn't fight the feeling at all, just pulled out the decorations from the basement and started unpacking. We didn't go all out and put up the tree but it certainly started to look festive.

Taking our first family selfie with Charlie found us using baby talk as we tried to get Charlie to look at the camera.