Merry Christmas!

Christmas' with little kids cannot be beat and we had so much fun this year with our holiday celebrating. One of the highlights leading up to Christmas was an activity my mom put together called the Amazing Christmas Race. In teams we raced to several stations that included:

Dressing up (Chloe as a pregnant Mary) and traveling a path to Bethlehem

and counting out our taxes in the form of corn kernalsWe also followed a yarn path to find the star, sang Away In the Manger, and each wrote something that makes us grateful for our Savior.
The completion of each task was rewarded with puzzles that when put together followed the scriptural account of the birth of the Savior. I know this required a lot of work, but we had so much fun and enjoyed celebrating the real reason we celebrate. Christmas seemed to come fast this year, which is surprising because of the amount of times daily I was asked when it would finally get here. Despite their conviction that the day would never come, they did finally wake up to find it was finally here!

We enjoyed spending a portion of the day with family and are grateful for all the gifts we received

We, as well as our house, have yet to recover from Christmas fun and the kids already are asking when it will be Christmas again.

The present I am most grateful for? My beautiful family - I could never want for anything more!

Merry Christmas!

Grandparents

Grandparents. The very word make me happy. I think of fun times with my own grandparents. Looking forward to the first flight on my own to visit the Hubbard grandparents in Texas. Riding in golf carts and watching lightning with the Johanson grandparents in Georgia. Christmas Eves with a visit from Santa and the nativity. Cereal for breakfast Sundays were a favorite with Grandpa Hubbard, the vacuum at Grandma Johanson's, not so much. My memories are endless and the love I felt has always stuck with me.

I consider it a blessing that my children get to know their Great-Grandparents, and GREAT they truly are. Both sets live out of state and yet my kids know them because of the time they have taken to visit us and be a part of the things that happen in our lives. On the most recent visit we got to see both the Johanson and Hubbard grandparents during Thanksgiving. I am kicking myself for not getting a picture of my kids with the Johanson side, but was glad that my sister Amy was able to snap a few pictures of my kids with the Hubbard side. This trip wasn't the most fun for them as Grandma had to have emergency surgery on Thanksgiving day, but we were grateful for the visits we got to have. I love all my grandparents so much.

Grandpa Johanson above

Grandpa & Grandma Hubbard belowWhen I think of my memories of being a kid and look at our parents with my kids, I know that they are having the same experience that I had - creating memories that are filled with love. My kids love the very mention of getting to do anything with either set of grandparents and I am grateful for the legacy of loving examples that are in my family that hopefully someday will continue through me.

Piglets and Polka Dots

Scene: My family room, 2:30 am. Nothing of value is on the TV and yet I'm awake, feeding my hungry child. As delirium begins to set in, my mind starts to ramble, and it is then, in a flash of genius, that I create my own joke. Feeling pretty proud of myself, and sure that Laffy Taffy will want to publish it on their next set of candy wrappers, the next morning I decide to tell Joe my brilliantly corny creation.

"What would happen if pigs could fly?" His response: "I don't know, what?"
Laughing, I respond "The bacon would be out of this world!"

Ahahahahaha. Wait - Joe is not laughing. Instead he shakes his head at me and tells me that I should never ever share the joke with anyone ever again, that's how bad it is. So what do I do? Tell it at a Christmas party, embarrassing him, and post it on my blog, so it will forever be remembered.

The other night, Chloe and I painted our nails. We had fun. Each finger got a different color and we added polka dots to finish off the look. Chloe was so proud of her pretty nails that she wants to invite all her friends over to have their's painted too. See, some of the stuff I come up with actually is cool!

I can't finish my post without a picture of my two favorite boys. One who likes to scowl and the other who has finally learned how to smile. I'll let you pick which is which. (Oh I crack myself up)

Gifts & Blessings

I love this time of year where I get to think about all the things I'm grateful for and all the gifts I've been blessed with in my life.

I am grateful for the gift of being a mother, for having children that make me laugh (and sometimes cry), and for getting to be a part of their lives.

I am grateful for the gift of love. I love my children, they love each other, and we all love their dad I am grateful for the gift of sleep, even if I'm not always the one getting it.
I am grateful for the gift of the gospel and the many blessings I experience as a result of having it in my life.
I am grateful for the gift of a worthy, righteous husband and for his opportunity to bless our sweet, healthy Adam this past Sunday.
I am grateful for the gift of family who took time to be with us and share our day.
I am grateful for the gift of having a testimony and for the opportunity to share it - even if it isn't often enough
I am grateful for the gift of peace, that when Adam's blessing shirt went awol I was able to see the bigger picture and realize that only having a onsie under one's vest doesn't negate the words and spirit of a blessing.
I am grateful for the gift my Savior gave in coming to this Earth, living perfectly, atoning for my (and all of our) sins, and giving His life so that I could be the recipient of so many gifts.
In a time when the receiving of temporal gifts often overshadows the true reason we celebrate, I am grateful for my eternal gifts to know that all the gifts I receive are blessings from a loving Heavenly Father and that I can never repay all I have been given.
I am grateful that I know that doesn't mean I shouldn't try.

Our first (although blurry) family picture