St. Nicholas Day

Saturday morning was BYU's Family Christmas Party. They had games and activities as well as a visit from Santa. We had a fun time just being together. Later we hung lights outside and decorated our tree. It was a good day.  Sarah even let Gram hold her without crying.  I'm glad we got it on camera. (For those of you who don't know--Sarah almost always cries when anyone except her parents are holding her.)
David got a "Ho-Ho Yo-Yo" to decorate.  He put his name on it.  He loved it so much he even slept with it that night.

Rebecca and Aunty Becca both picked out the purse to decorate.  Neither of them would let go of it all day.  


We waited in line for over an hour to see Santa. This is the best picture we got (Sarah isn't crying though--one small bright spot). David hid behind me and Rebecca cried.  Once we were out of line David started crying because he didn't tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas.  Luckily, one of the activities was writing letters to Santa.  They even had a mailbox.  Once we wrote a letter David was happy again.  Maybe next year we will go straight to the letters and skip the personal visit with Santa.  

My latest creation: For Moms Only!

So, I know what most of you are asking: "It looks cute, but what exactly is it?"  All of the new moms are talking about their wonderful nursing covers (officially named "Hooter Hiders").  I thought they looked nice so I decided to make one.  (As if I would pay $35 for a square of material-- yes that is how much they cost at a real store.)  About an hour and a half later I was done.  Anyhow, I think I've stumbled on an inexpensive and useful baby gift.  If you are expecting and want to request a pattern just let me know and we'll work something out.  :o)

P.S. It rolls up and conveniently fits into most diaper bags.  Bonus!

David's Success

On Sunday we had our ward's Primary Program.  This was David's first experience with it.  He was very excited.  They have been practicing for the past few weeks up on the stand.  Once I convinced David that the seats were "magic seats" and he realized that he didn't have to go to his regular class "forever and ever" (all that day), he was sold on the plan.  It was all good until the time actually came to leave us and sit up on the stand.  I decided to join him and sit on the floor next to his seat until he felt more comfortable.  We were impressed that he let me leave after a few minutes and then stayed up there all by himself.  Each child had a "talk" or sentence that they said.  David practiced hard and spoke very clearly.  He shared a quote from "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."    He said, "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."  

What a wonderful reminder to all of us.  We have all had plenty of opportunities during the past weeks to reflect upon marriage and families.  I'm grateful for this inspired document to the world that clearly states how I feel about the importance of marriage and families.  I know that my family is happiest when we follow the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.  What are some things you do to feel happy?

(click ">here to read the entire Proclamation).

Fun Fall Photos

So, I had decided that we were not going to do family photos this fall. It was too stressful. Then I heard that our favorite photographers were going to be in town at the end of October. They had an opening in their busy schedule and squeezed us in. We found a few spots with some leaves still on the trees. It was fun to spend time together with Gram, Papa, and Aunty Becca before winter sets in. We'll get more pictures from them soon from their camera.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Patch

Our ward's mother's group all met at a local pumpkin patch/ vineyard this week. The kids had so much fun running around. There was a corn maze, a farm animal area, and a playground. It was a fun little outing for not too much money. My only real issue was the field full of vegetables still on the vine that is not being used except for decoration. Anyhow, here are a few pics of the kids.

Harvest Season

I think I understand more now why families all worked together during the Harvest Season.  I have felt overwhelmed with the amount of work that goes into preserving food for the coming winter.  We have fruit that I can't can quick enough.  It is also difficult when we can't seem to get over being sick.  After ten days of vomiting, we have now made it 48 hours without anyone getting sick.  Horray!!!  So these two reasons are why I haven't been blogging lately.  We're sorry that we have shared our sickness with others, but we're glad that we were able to share some of our fruit.  We hope all of you are enjoying this beautiful Autumn Season.  

Happy 5 Month Birthday!

Today Sarah is 5 months old.  In celebration, she rolled over all by herself (from her front to her back).  She wins for earliest roller out of our three children.  We'll see if she masters rolling from her back to her front.  The other two never did this.  She is quite pleased with this new skill as long as you don't make her do it too many times in a row.  Here's a video of her new accomplishment.

  

By the way, sorry that we haven't had very many pictures of Sarah-- she spends a lot of her day on my back so it's hard to take pictures of her.