Happy Holidays, have an ear infection

Yesterday, we took Logan to the instacare because he woke up from his nap with a fever and he was just miserable. He hasn't been eating well for a few days and he has had a runny nose, but he is getting teeth in so we didn't think much of it. Well, the poor guy has an ear infection...second one this month. He is on a stronger antibiotic this time, but he is just really miserable today. He doesn't want to do anything but sit on my lap and lay against me. He has red rimmed, watery eyes and hasn't really eaten anything. It was a long night for him (and for Josh and me), I feel really bad for him. Hopefully after a couple of days of medicine, he will start to feel better.

Merry Christmas (and a warmer new year)

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was certainly unforgettable (and eventful). On Christmas Eve, we read the Christmas story (as always) but this year the kids wanted to act out the story. We scrambled around trying to find costumes to satisfy Aubrey and Bryce. Gavin would only agree if he could be a Power Ranger so we decided who better to protect sheep than Power Rangers and we put him in as a shepherd. Everyone really took to their part. It was a lot of fun and a great way to remember our Savior and His birth.

Christmas morning was early, but fabulous. It is so fun to see kids get so excited about everything, that is one of the great joys of the holiday.
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Christmas afternoon we started cooking. The missionaries were coming for dinner that night and we had decided to make a turkey dinner with all the fixins so it would be a festive meal (is that what they eat in Serbia??). Anyway, for some reason the turkey didn't cook all the way even though we cooked it nearly an hour longer than the bag had said and because the turkey was slow we didn't get the rolls in the oven in time. Dinner was a comedy of errors, but we had a good laugh and so did the elders and we ate things as they became available. That is one Christmas meal they won't forget any time soon.

Next, about eight o-clock our power went out. It got cold, quickly. We put the kids to bed and tucked sleeping bags around them. We put them all in one room to try to keep things warmer. It was a long night. Logan kept kicking out of his blankets and then couldn't get back in so we would have to go tuck him back in. As long as we stayed in bed we were fine, but if you had to get out to use the bathroom or something, it got pretty dicey. The power finally came on the next morning at 7:08, just as we were packing up to head to my mom's for some heat (kids under eight don't sleep in..especially when you don't want to get out of bed).

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Finally, as we went outside that morning we were welcomed to a wonderful white world of winter. It was pristine and untouched and beautiful. Not so much fun to shovel, but our kids had a great time trouncing through the drifts. What a fabulous holiday, we wouldn't change a thing. We are so grateful for our Savior, whose birth and life we get to celebrate this time of year.

Very Happy Holidays to All!!!

Temple Square Trip

Last night we took our annual trip to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights and displays there. We bundled everyone up enough to rival Ralphie on "The Christmas Story." The kids had a great time. Logan sang to himself as we pushed the stroller around and the other kids had a great time riding on their Uncles (thanks Chris and Micah for being patient pack animals). Parker and Aubrey couldn't leave until we had been up to see the "The Big Jesus" (the Christus), that was very important to them. It was a wonderful evening...all the blisters, cuts and scrapes of those who manage to put up the lights are greatly appreciated. What a beautiful place.

All About Logan

OK, so we have had a lot of fun with Logan this holiday (this is the first Christmas that he is really conscious of) and we thought we'd share some of that. Right after we put up our Christmas tree, Logan took an interest in the lights, but not in the way any of our other kids have. He opted to hold on to the strand and then shove a light up his nose, which sort of lit up his whole face. We thought how horrible it would look if he accidentally got electrocuted and we had to explain to the police that he had been putting lights in his nose and we didn't stop him because we thought it was funny.

Second, with the first real snow, we took everyone outside and Logan hated the snow. He wants nothing to do with it. He screamed and cried when he fell over and his little hands got in it and then he coudln't manage to get up without putting his hands back in the chilly fluff. Thankfully, he has a very sweet big brother in Gavin who was willing to comfort him and try to help him feel better.

Finally, Logan has LOVED all the music of this holiday and has really taken to dancing. All that really means is that he spins in circles and makes himself dizzy, but his little eyeballs also gaze off in the direction that he is turning and we think it is really cute. Kids make the holiday wonderful and everything else too (except messes, and diapers, and sickness, and peace and quiet, and...). Oh, the joys of parenthood. We love it!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

Small Miracles

This past Monday Aubrey was in a chorus concert for school. They call the program "Winterfest" and it is held at the high school. Eight elementary schools come to sing a couple of songs each and the high school band plays a couple of songs. Aubrey has been to practices every day for a week after school and she was thrilled to be in the concert. The night of the event, Josh was feeling really sick to his stomach so we decided he should stay home. He was asleep when I packed up all five kids and bundled them into the van. I was really worried about keeping my four lively boys quiet and semi-still for an hour plus of singing. I quietly prayed that we would make it through. We deposited Aubrey with her group and then found a place to sit and we sat for over an hour. The boys stayed put. It was a miracle. Logan sat on my lap, content, the entire time. He swayed to the music and clapped at the end of each song. Gavin and Bryce sang along (sometimes Gavin sang his own thing) when they knew the song. Parker made sure to make sure that I noticed he was listening and then clapping for everyone. But no one ran away, no one screamed, no one threw a tantrum, no one even complained about being bored. I was so grateful for the sweet peace that I felt with my little family as we actually enjoyed an elementary school Christmas concert, all six of us. I know that the Lord was with us, in some small way, that night and that the Savior helped my boys be able to "Be still." We have been richly blessed. I have a fabulous family.

p.s. No pictures because while I remembered the children, I forgot the camera.

May We All Become as Little Children

OK, I know that I just blogged a couple of days ago, but I can't help it. As I said before, we decorated our house for Christmas recently, and one of the things that we did was to put out our Nativity scenes. We have a small resin one that the kids can sort of move around and set up as they want, but they aren't supposed to play with our ceramic one. The other day, I came in to find our Nativity arranged as seen here. Bryce was the only one in the room so I asked if he had been playing with it because this is not how I had set it up. He said "No" he hadn't been playing, but he was worried because some of the people in the display would not have been able to see Baby Jesus from where they were standing so he needed to move them. If only we were all so eager to "see" the Savior in our own lives. I don't think I will move it back. I think this is the way I like it now. Children are such a blessing.

Christmas Here We Come

The day after Thanksgiving, our children could wait no longer. It was time to Christmify our house!!We'll share some of the finer points with you. Parker (our nearly five year old)was our photographer. You will notice that our Christmas tree only has ornaments from about the middle up. This is because our one year old, Logan, is a normal one year old child. He cannot help but help himself to anything interesting that is within his reach. Sometimes he just reorganizes the placement of said ornaments, sometimes they find their way between couch cushions or into the sink or toilet. It is all kinds of exciting, decorations and hide-and-seek all in one.

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Next, Parker wanted to show off his ginormous (or so Aubrey says) stocking. This is the stocking that the hospital staff placed him in to bring him into my room when he was first born (he was born on Christmas Eve). He loves this stocking and every year attempts to climb back inside it so that we can see how much he has grown.

Finally, we have our family stockings. I made these during the December of 2000 and I guess we were lucky we made just enough for everyone to have one (we just add their names to the socks as they come along). Josh and I love watching this shelf become more crowded as our family has grown. Christmas with our children is a joy. We love the songs and shows and stories. Hopefully, we can help them remember our Savior at this time as well. We feel awfully blessed to be a family.