Christmas Eve

We went to my parents home today for the holidays. My siblings and their families were all there, except for Richard and his family. I can't wait until they move a little closer to home, so we can see them more often.


The day was filled with......

Tamale making-Mom and Andy putting tamales together

Rocket building- Ted at the "rocket table"

More tamales

Me holding the handsome Monson burrito

My creative sister Laura made Marlee a stocking (Marlee had to borrow mine last year)

Tree climbing

Window breaking

Laun smiling at cute babies (Love Laun's smile)

Sequence playing

My mom baked this cool cake for Laura (it is her b-day today)

I SPY

Texting

Andy and Monson

Richelle and Monson

Kids eating

Talking and visiting

Dinner-tamales and chimichangas (a Turley tradition)

A handsome Shephard-waiting for the nativity to start

Richelle helping Marlee to get in her angel costume

Marlee looking at baby Lydia

Baby Jesus (Monson) and Mary (Avery) acting out the nativity

An angel and shepards coming to see baby Jesus

Kids enjoying having a real baby in the nativity this year, instead of a doll

Clayton a donkey, with a cheesy grin

The fourth wiseman (my dad) even came to visit and brought everyone gifts. He also had everyone write down a goal for the year. Mine was to use a kinder and softer voice:)

Birthday candles being lit

Laura turning 23

Andy and Elizabeth's homemade ice cream-peppermint and AZ hot chocolate (chocolate ice cream with marshmallows)

A yummy birthday cake- layers of cake, mousse, and syrup

Eating ice cream- homemade and Thrifty's chocolate malted crunch

A movie before bed

Christmas Eve pj's from Grandma Lucy (the kids get new pj's every Christmas Eve)

It was one full day. And Santa even visited that night- we could hear him on the roof and he was saying "Ho, Ho, Ho". And Porter got super excited and told Clayton to act like he was asleep.

great quote

"If you know someone who has lost a child, and you're afraid to mention them because you think you might make them sad by reminding them that they died--you're not reminding them. They didn't forget they died. What you're reminding them of is that you remembered that they lived, and that is a great gift."~Elizabeth Edwards"

My dear friend Rachel Starchman sent me this quote and I love it. I have a special bond with Rachel because she is one of the few people that ever saw my sweet Cooper alive. Rachel was an angel to our family during that time. She came and brought food and cleaned for us and was a great support to me. And to this day she will often bring up my Cooper in conversation and I thank her for that. I think everyone (including those who have lost close loved ones) struggles with what to say to someone who has lost a loved one. But I appreciate those who do remember our Cooper. I was just thinking about him today and how my life has forever changed because of him. I love you Cooper.

a good day with the kids.....

Pictures I found that my boys have taken:

love Porter's little toes^


they dig their coin collection^


I love that my boys are on break & home (I love it even more when they are not fighting with each other). Tonight I took the kids to see the movie Tangled (very cute- recommend it). After we headed to BTO for frozen yogurt & then to Little Ceasars for pizza. Dessert 1st, then dinner = happy kids. On the way home Porter thanked me, it was sweet.

Marlee just might get coal in her stocking this Christmas. She has colored on my scriptures, journal, the couch, etc. I am happy that she appreciates "the arts" but I wish she would quit finding pens & marking on my belongings. She enjoys getting into her hair bands & spreading them around the bathroom, emptying the wipe box, and is also improving her fit throwing skills. She is our little busy body. And she is always coming up to Laun or I and saying "help". Which means she wants to help us. When I am doing laundry she will grab the clothes & take them into the bedroom; by the time they get there they are completely unfolded but, she feels like such a big helper. And lastly about Marlee, she has decided that she does not like her little potty anymore. That sure didn't last long, I guess it was just beginners luck.

Today a neighbor girl was over playing & she informed me that I was the best parent for my children {gotta love 6 year old wisdom}. Well I sure hope so because they are stuck with me whether they like it or not. But really I feel that they are the best children for me. Even though a lot of my days are crazy & I feel like I can't keep up (or I am just too lazy to keep up), I am thankful for a full & wonderful (not perfect) life. I hope my children know that I love them always, even when I am moody.

And on a side note, I got an A in my class, yeah!!!

a happy moment in the life of a mother

I put this little potty in the bathroom today and had Marlee try it out tonight. And success!!! She peed in the potty, I was so excited! It is funny how when you are a mother the littlest things make you so proud and happy. Good job Marlee, keep it up so we can quit buying diapers:)

time to celebrate

{A photo from last year's Christmas- in their new pj's
I can't believe a whole year has almost come and gone}

I finished the final assignments for school this morning. The semester is officially over!!!
All my hard work has payed off and now I get a break. Only a 2 week break until school starts again (because I am doing 3 semesters within a year) but, it is still a break and in perfect time to enjoy the holidays with my family.

And another reason to celebrate is that my doctor appointments should be coming to an end. I saw the cardio Dr. this week and today I see the lung Dr.-as long as all goes well I should be done with all of these Dr. visits. Another bonus is that I got the go-ahead to start exercising again (although it was kind of nice to have an excuse not to exercise before). But I have been feeling blah lately so it will be nice to work out again.

And lastly, I am celebrating that my kids have 2 weeks off from school, no more rushing out the door in the morning. It will be nice that everyone will have a break from school and that we can celebrate the holidays coming up.

tamales

Laun and I made tamales tonight for dinner. They turned out okay, but needed some more flavor. I need to find a good recipe. When I grew up we ate tamales for dinner on Christmas Eve. Once at my Grandma Turley's home and later that night at our neighbors house.

Winter Pageant

The boy's had their winter pageant at school today.
They both seemed to enjoy participating. The theme was outer space/holiday.
I took the twins & Marlee & they behaved very well.

After the pageant was Porters recess time & so we got to hang out with him for a little bit.

Marlee enjoyed dancing to all the music.
Marlee touching her belly button & sucking her thumb as always.

A quick trip to "The Mountain"

Saturday we went to the Snowflake temple with Jared and Lisa.
All our kids stayed with Grandma Lucy, which was very convenient since she lives nearby.



Lisa & Jared:



Then we went to the Larsen's ward Christmas party and enjoyed dinner, making gingerbread houses, a talent show, and a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

John-John and John sang a duet.

Marlee with her gingerbread house that didn't last very long.

Michael and Michael with their creation.

Jennette sang with a group.

Clayton, Mason, Pearce, and Porter building/eating their gingerbread houses.

Shelby and Anna sang a duet.

Porter, Pearce, and Clayton = a 3 stack

Grandma Lucy almost always has a full lap of grand kids.

Marlee's face pretty much looked like this the whole time- she ate sugar non-stop.

Jared and Lisa's kids:

Our kids- Marlee's face got sadder and sadder the longer she sat on Santa's lap.

Laun helping Marlee break into her treat bag from Mrs. Claus.

The boys going through their treats- they all liked trying the war head candies.

Marlee made the funniest faces when she tried the war head candy (they are SO sour).

Bob (as John likes to call her, for Bob Marley) giving Uncle John a kiss.

The Larsen family:

Our family:

We spent the night at Jeff and Lucy's home then headed home Sunday morning.

bragging moment #2

The boys competed in their schools spelling bee this morning.
I went & watched it with all 3 babies (Marlee & the twins) & they actually did well.
They were pretty quiet since I gave them dum-dum suckers throughout it.
Clayton & Porter did awesome. They made it through all 3 rounds & were in the top 20.
They stopped when only 20 kids were left & now those kids left will compete against each other again in January. Then only the top 2 will move on. I am so proud of both of my boys, their hard work payed off!
All these pictures I took were during the practice & not the real spelling bee. I was too nervous to mess up any kids with the clicking of my camera during the actual spelling bee.






Stretching before the real deal:

Afterward I got a picture of my boys before they went back to class.

Way to go Clayton & Porter, we are so proud of you boys!!!!

bragging moment

Both of my boys got 1st place on the spelling bee in their classes!
Now they have to compete against the other top students from their school.
Whoever wins goes on to regionals- GO HALL BOYS!!!!!!!

To celebrate we made & ate gingerbread cookies.

I was totally paranoid while writing this post that I would make a spelling error. Oh well if I did, this post is to brag about my boys awesome spelling skills, not mine.

Porter's note to me

My boys have an online chore chart & you can send each other notes on it.
I found this note to me from Porter:

dear catherine i hope you like school.and i 'm sorryforfightingwithclayton.i love youmom.theend

p.s. He doesn't usually call me Catherine, he really does refer to me as mom.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree

As Laun likes to call it- "our Charlie Brown Christmas tree".
The kids love lots of lights & all their ornaments on the tree. This is a kid tree for sure & they all love it. They have so much fun getting out & looking at all of their ornaments from each year. It is feeling more like Christmas in our house & I think Laun & I are as excited for Christmas as our kids are. I love watching how much fun my kids have during this holiday season.