Number 8.

We celebrate an early Christmas Eve (usually a week before) with Grandma Joyce. It's a tradition that Kyle's grandma started when his oldest brother was about two years old and Grandma Joyce has decided to carry on the tradition in memory of Grandma Virginia.

Joyce prepares a yummy meal for all of us, the kids open a few pairs of pajamas, and us girls usually work in a card game or two before the night is over. It's a night filled with yummy food, good company, and cards. What could be more perfect?

Numbers five, six and seven.

Number 5. . . and probably one of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season is going to see the live nativity. Seriously, if you have not done this with your family, you are missing out . . big time! This always gets me in the Christmas spirit and brings my focus back to where it should be. It reminds me it's not about how extravagant the gifts are, it's about remembering the Savior and helping those in need.

We were a bit unprepared for the weather and the wind was bitterly cold the night we went. But the second it started the wind abruptly stopped and we seemed to warm up some. A coincidence? I don't think so.

Number six. I'm pretty sure we are not alone when I say we count down the day until Santa comes by doing an advent calendar. I made mine quite a few years ago and it's just a simple wooden tree that we decorate one day at a time until the big day.

7. This next item of business has been a tradition in our family for many, many years. I remember savoring every delicious morsel of it when I was a little girl and I'm sure my grandmother had been making it for quite some time before I was even around.

It is called Christmas Fruit. I'm not sure how it got its name, I will have to find that one out, but the only time we make it/got it is during the month of December. It has been a request of neighbors and friends year after year.

We start with grapefruit and take the skin off and then put it in a marinade. Over time you add various other citrus fruits and then add a liquid concoction to the whole thing and chill for a few hours before serving. Unfortunately, I cannot give out the recipe . . . I think I would be disowned if I did.

the finished product - below is what it looks like in the beginning stages

Number four.

The fourth thing we do this time of year is some sort of service and this involves the children - even down to my 2-year-old. We try to keep it short and simple and preferably something indestructible (because I have four boys) in order to keep everyone focused.

This year we went down a few houses from us and raked the leaves of our neighbor who isn't able to get around as much anymore. It took us less than an hour this morning and we walked away knowing we had done something good for someone.

It's things like this that I hope my children will remember for years to come, long after the ipod, the dsi, and the board games.

Number three.

The third thing we do as a family to celebrate Christmas has to do with random acts of kindness within our home. I usually do this the first Monday of the month - during family home evening. We all sit down together and either Kyle or myself will read a story.

In short, the story goes something like this; an elderly man sits in his little cobbler shop reading of the visit of the wise men to Jesus. And he thinks to himself what he would offer the infant if he were to be born in his town that night which happened to be a pair of shoes he had just finished making.

So he goes to bed that night and has this vision that Jesus was going to pass by his shop tomorrow and that he should stand watch for him. So the next day Martin goes about his day helping random people that he notices are in need but never saw his "expected" guest.

As the day comes to an end, Martin goes to bed disappointed and with a heavy heart. But in a vision later that night he sees all the people's faces that he offered services to throughout the day. And then a gentle voice says, "inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me".

After the story we draw names - every one of us - and then throughout that week we do random acts of kindness for the person you drew . . . but they have to be done in secret. It could be as simple as picking up toys for someone, making a bed, putting away clean clothes, or doing one of their chores. Then (here comes the part the kids like) for each act of kindness you do you are allowed to put one piece of straw in the manger.

Every Monday we will draw a new name. You may get the same person as the week before or it could be different.

Our goal is to get the manger as full as possible to make it as soft as possible for baby Jesus on the night he was born.

Number two.

Another thing I do for Christmas is wrap up 24 different picture books all having to do with Christmas and place them in a basket or next to the fireplace. Every night the kids pick a different one to unwrap and we all read it together just before bed.

Christmas. Number one.

It's hard to believe that once again I find myself retrieving boxes off the top shelf and getting Christmas decorations out, deciding on gifts, making list after list, brainstorming about goodies, and all that goes along with Christmas.

Instead of totally neglecting my blog during this time of year, I am going to try something different. For the next little while I am going to share 12 different ways/things we do around our home to get us into the Christmas spirit and to celebrate the holiday. Kind of like the 12 days of Christmas, if you will.

Number one.

The very first thing we do and probably the most popular among my kids is the Elf on the Shelf. He quietly appears on the first day of December and he leaves just the same Christmas Eve.

In short, every day he sits somewhere in your home to see who has been naughty or nice. At night, when everyone is asleep, he flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa and returns again before anyone wakes up, only to be a different location.

If you do not have one of these I highly recommend you get one. We received ours as a gift about four years ago (thank you mom) and have loved it ever since. I have to say he is a huge influence on my kids and how they act during this time of year.

Apple Pudding. One of my Favorite things.

This dessert has long been a favorite of mine. My mother made it here and there for us children as were growing up, usually when she had apples on hand that needed to be used before going bad.

It typically is something I make in the fall, when apples are in abundance. My children usually request this apple pudding on a Sunday evening or for a family home evening treat. To this day, it is still one of my favorites.

You will need:

1 c sugar
1/4 c butter, room temperature
1 egg
2 c apples, shredded (ends up being 3-4 apples, depending on their size)
1 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Cream your butter and sugar together really well. Mix in the egg. Add all of the dry ingredients (it will tend to be a little dry at this point) and mix well. Then add your apples. Bake in a greased 9" square pan at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes.

It is called pudding but it turns out being more like a cake.

Sauce:
1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
1/2 c canned milk
1 tsp vanilla

During the last 15 minutes of the cake baking, heat the butter, sugar, and canned milk over very low heat for 12-15 minutes. Stir until well blended and slightly thickened. DO NOT let it boil. When thick add the vanilla and a dash of nutmeg (optional). Serve hot over the top of the cake.

It makes about 9 servings.

Gettin' Crafty.

I have a new love in my life. I was smitten by the first pin. I am talking of Pinterest, of course. Seriously, so many great things on there. I can't seem to get enough of it and what brilliance. No more keeping track of little pieces of papers with blog sites scribbled on them. No more bookmarking pages on the computer. No more wondering where I saw that cute idea back some six or ten blogs ago that seemed to have disappeared.

These past two weeks Kyle was working in South Dakota so I decided I would spend my evenings working on things I had 'pinned' to help pass the time and keep me somewhat sane and, too, give me a jump start on my Christmas to-do list.

I was able to put together all the gifts for our neighbors, sew the ABCs for my two-year old, and sew a bunch of apple coasters for the kids' teachers. For some reason I haven't taken a picture of those - I will have to post them later.

I'm feeling pretty good about two things; one is that I have started Christmas before December and two, I actually made a few things from Pinterest.

I'm Lovin' It.

Kyle has been gone for almost a week now. I hate to sleep without him. In fact, I have a really hard time sleeping without him. So what do I do after the kids go to bed? Get on the internet, of course! Seriously, so much information out there . . . and for free too! Lately I have been trying to perfect my picture-taking skills and have loved sun flares for a long, long time so Sunday afternoon I loaded the kids in the car, promised them a treat if they "participated" and headed out for pictures. We had such a great time (actually, I was probably the only one that had a great time). And I got some great pictures to boot!

Alzheimers.

Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to support my sister who, in a round-about way, had something to do with putting this together through her work. And we walked in memory of my dear sweet grandma who suffered so terribly the last years of her life from this mind-robbing disease. This picture below is of her family when she was just a child. She is pictured on the far left - the little girl that is seated. So in honor of you, grandma, we walked and supported The Alzheimer's Association for a small portion of the day. If you would like to learn more or if you feel inclined to donate, go to alz.org


We got to meet a couple of celebrities while we were there. You may recognize these two guys from The Biggest Loser; Sione (left) and his cousin Felipe Fa. These two were hilarious and cracked jokes the entire time.

Grateful.

Once again I have made our grateful poster which will hang on the wall towards the end of the month. I am hoping this one fares a little better than the one last year. It went crashing to the ground as one of the boys reached for it and we ended up having to toss it out.

All you need is a poster board (mine is from Michaels), a cheap frame (also from Michaels) and some stickers. I took the frame apart and cleaned it and then laid the back of the frame on the poster board and traced around the edge lightly with a pencil. Then I cut along that line with scissors. To assemble just put the poster board down first, then the glass (this provides a nice hard surface to write on), and the back of the frame. Next, I took some stickers out of my stash and just centered the word grateful.

Now throughout the month our family will write or a draw picture (for the little kids) for anything and everything we are grateful for, large or small. I love seeing what the kids come up with too. So fun.

This boy is trouble!

Some days I think l wouldn't mind having another child. That is until this child does something and I say, "Seriously!? Why would you do this?" And I quietly remind myself that four is plenty. He is full of mischief and constantly gets into things like covering the entire bathroom in toothpaste, coloring on himself with marker (as in these pictures), or filling the bathroom sink full of toilet paper and water. I hope and pray I make it through this child with my sanity.

Elk Hunt 2011

This is what camp looked like as we pulled in.
Sunrise the morning after it had quit snowing for three solid days.

First weekend, much of it was spent in the trailer staying warm.
Second weekend, much nicer. The weather was beautiful.
We had originally intended on leaving for the elk hunt the Thursday prior to opening morning, but because of the sudden change in weather and the impassable roads we waited until Friday morning. As we approached Buck Horn Flat the snow became constant and I silently thanked Kyle for making me pack all the extra articles of clothing. When we reached camp it was snowing with already about 8" on the ground and by this time I had a sick baby on my hands. At this point I wasn't even sure if I was going to get a chance to hunt or not.
The snow didn't seem to bother the children; they were out in it the second the truck door swung open. They built snowmen, snow forts, had snow ball fights and made snow angels. That first day I think I ended up making 60 cups of cocoa, lacing boots 48 different times, and warming little fingers by the heater. To put it mildly, it was FREEZING. Monday we went home cold and discouraged from not seeing any elk only to return on Wednesday night with much nicer weather. The snow had MELTED.

Thursday morning I got up to hunt with the guys. Before the sun was up we took a 30 minute truck ride to the "secret location" and got out to walk to the lookout point in the dark. As we sat there glassing the guys spotted some elk a ways a way. The plan was to hike to them, shoot them and head back to the truck. Well, when we reached the area the elk were in, there were no elk to be seen. We started hiking again for what seemed like miles, stopping every once in a while to look around. Now when you hunt with Kyle you always have to hike to the next ridge to look out and then hike to the next ridge over to look over there and then by that time you might as well hike to the next ridge to see what is over there. When we reached the mudslides (refer to picture above) where Kyle got his elk the guys informed me that we had gone about 3 miles at that point and that we just needed to hike up out of this draw (which was extremely steep) and then we would be on our way to camp. I was okay with that. Little did I know they weren't being totally truthful with me. After what seemed like hiking for hours (and the guys are hauling meat at this point) I asked Kyle, "whereabouts are we trying to go?" He looked at Russ and then at me and said, "Well, from this point (we had hiked probably another mile at this point), we are about halfway". Halfway?!? What?!? Was he kidding me?!!!? At first I thought he was joking - but no joke about it, we were only halfway. We would hike a while and then rest some, hike a while again and then rest some more. Long story short, Michelle and the horses finally met up with us when we had roughly half a mile left. I nearly died when Kim told me it was just after 5 o'clock in the evening. I have never in my life been so grateful for the ride I received that day. I was spent. In all, that day alone, we ended up hiking close to 8 miles. The last picture posted is my rendition of what that day was like. Long and winding across many acres of land and tiring.

I did hunt with the guys again, and we had a great time. We spent lots of time laughing and reminiscing about grandparents who have since passed on. Even though I did not tag out, I loved the time I got to spend with Kyle out in the hills and can't wait to go on the next one.

What a Difference a Week Makes.

Believe it or not, this is the exact same location just a week apart. The freezing cold, snowy picture is how Fish Lake appeared as we entered camp to go elk hunting. By the end of the week, when it was time for our trip to end, the snow had melted, the weather was beautiful and the leaves were starting to fall.

Labor Day

Since my parents took the older two boys to Salt Lake with them, we figured we would get out of town for a while and go stay on the mountain with Russ and Michelle.

It was a little warm and dusty, but the kids had fun being outside and it was nice to play cards, hang out with the girls and just relax.

Screamin' in the Rain.

I had this thought the other day; my baby is no longer a "baby" so I either need to freeze time or have another baby.





Well, unfortunately, neither one of them is going to happen (sorry to disappoint).

I'm loving (no, LOVING) my new camera and this is one of my favorite pics lately and I just thought I'd share. I'm able to freeze things again with my new camera - no more freeze with a little blur to them anymore.