Christmas Eve - pictures

Our Christmas Eve party with Ben's family - we had TONS of yummy food!

Ashley & her cousins (Richard & Lorenzo) playing
Felicia playing with her cousins (Chantel & Tiffany)
Anson wasn't feeling well the whole day - poor li'l guy
Some of the kids getting ready for presents
Everyone sitting quietly while Ben decides who gets the first present (for the first time that night, everyone was totally quiet and this year everyone took turns opening presents - only one person at a time - it was great!)
Ben's Mom & Stepdad
Ok, Ben told us about this website and the girls were glued (they tracked Santa all over the world - every 5 minutes - that's how often the site updated)
The kids getting ready for bed so Santa will come

The Day AFTER

Whew!!! We survived! And had a TON of FUN!!! The days seemed long but also went by really fast! It's just crazy! The last 2 months seem to build up for these 2 days, so much anxiety, anticipation & stress - then we can finally ENJOY the actual days!! And now it's OVER. So, the clean-up continues. ha ha! We clean so everyone can come over, and we get to clean now that we had the parties. I guess the lesson learned - the cleaning never ENDS. ha ha ;)

We had a fabulous time with our families! That's the most important part! I'll post some pictures soon to show some of the highlights of our days!

Hope everyone had a wonderful time with their families!

Christmas EVE

myspace layout

I hope everyone gets everything done that needs to get done! Ben has to work today, so we wrapped all the presents last night, except for the sibling & cousin exchange gifts. I'm going to help the kids wrap those today. I need to finish a couple baking items & some laundry, then we'll be ready for our family get-together tonight & tomorrow!!!

I'm so excited!! Have a great Christmas EVE & Christmas DAY!!!

We took this picture yesterday after church. It actually turned out cute w/ everyone looking at the camera & smiling! YAY!!

It's Almost HERE

Yikes! I'm feeling the rush now! Only a couple more days til Christmas, so basically I only have today and tomorrow to get stuff done. We don't shop on Sunday, plus Christmas Eve will be spent cooking and getting ready for our family party at our house! I'm not done baking and haven't wrapped a single present yet. Plus we're still short a present or two. AND I woke up with a dry sore throat this morning. Yuck!

We usually save the wrapping for the last thing anyway cuz presents seem to be easier to stash unwrapped in store bags. But I can't believe that I haven't finished my baking. I'm usually the first to take treats to our neighbors and friends. I've already received a few plates of treats from neighbors and friends, which were yummy by the way!

Are YOU ready?

Sisters

I forgot to mention another highlight of my day yesterday. For probably the last 2 months or maybe a little longer (can't remember exactly), my sister and I had a disagreement and haven't been talking. Which was killing me cuz she's one of my best friends! Finally, we made up last week and had lunch together at her apt yesterday! It was SO GOOD to see her! I've missed her.


I LOVE YOU, Christy!!!


(Christy, if you're reading this...I think I found the perfect "young" picture of us together for our frames! Although, I'm thinking of another similar one to check out too - it's gotta be in one of the old photo albums. I'll let you know if I find it. Whatcha think??)

School parties

The kids had their FUN class parties yesterday! I was only able to attend Ashley's party & help out with one of their crafts. Then she came home with me when it was over (she wasn't feeling well and there was only like 40 minutes left of school).

Ashley eating a donut

(I know she doesn't look that ill, she had fun but was getting a fever)

Ashley & her Teacher
Here's the Christmas tree ornament Ashley made for us!
Here's the candycane ornament she made at her party! (Do you like our Star of David made w/ popsicle sticks? Nathaniel or Felicia made that in Kindergarten at a big school party.)

Felicia had a fun gift exchange at school (the limit was $5-10). She had a little bit of a hard time getting excited about her $10 gift card to Target. She's never had a gift card before, so I had to explain how cool it is. She was just a little sad that everyone else had toys & candy, but all she got was a card. I told her that means that we get to go shopping & pick out whatever she wants (within the card limit). Now I think she's excited because she LOVES to shop!
Here's the beautiful ornaments that Felicia made for us!
She also worked very hard making this card last night.
(Her cursive is getting better everyday!)
Nathaniel had lots of food at his party (I sent the big can of 3 different kinds of popcorn - found at Wal-Mart for $5 - but someone else brought one too so they didn't open ours...bonus for us)!Here's the lovely ornament he made us!
Here's what the kids each gave to their teachers:

Sachet (from Kirkland's), pretzel turtles, & our Christmas card.
Here they are all tied w/ a ribbon & I put them in cute gift bags.
Now the kids are out of school for 2 weeks and we get to CLEAN the house today!! Woohoo! Yep, the kids are thrilled that's what they get to help do on their first day of vacation...NOT! Oh well, they made most of the mess, so they can clean it up. I told them that Santa won't come to our house if it's messy! That's a little bit of motivation for them. They're working on their chores right now (kind of). I get to go do laundry & finish cleaning the kitchen & then do some more baking! I'm looking forward to the baking part!

Christmas Invitation

This is really neat! You won't want to miss this!

Click HERE for your special invitation!

I just snagged this cute QP from HERE. If you like it, you better hurry & go get it because it's only available today! They post a new QP each day (for the 12 days of Christmas).

Credits -QP from Weeds & Wildflowers

Font - FG Wurth

Temple Lights - Pictures

Finally charged my camera batteries so I could upload my pictures! They turned out pretty interesting. Most of them are blurry because of all the movement from the kids and everyone around us. I wish the kids would just look at me and smile when it's time for me to snap the picture. tee hee :) I guess that's my ongoing wish. Oh well, I think they turned out kinda cute for the most part! And we had a good time being there together, so that's what's most important!

The kids in front of the huge Nativity

Ben and I by the Nativity
I just thought this was cute to see them walking in front of us admiring the lights. Plus, the little ones had on huge coats that were too big, but kept them warm! We kept giggling at the size of their coats! tee hee :)
Another attempt by some pretty lights on the plants! The only one with Nathaniel's eyes open and Anson had to turn around at the last second. ha ha
A kind Missionary took this of our whole family. We were laughing because Anson kept running circles around the tree & I finally caught him for the picture. heh heh
See what I mean - the lights are gorgeous! Why are my girls making strange smiley faces? Silly girls! Nathaniel had just gotten in trouble so he has a grumpy face :(
My little injured girl and her strong hero Daddy to the rescue!

Felicia and I were trying to get in a quick girly pic, but Nathaniel jumped in the last minute! See Felicia's hand trying to push him away? They're so funny!

(I didn't edit any of these yet, they're straight from the camera! I'll have to see if I can brighten some when I use for a scrapbook page.)

Temple Lights

We took the kids to go see the Mesa Temple Lights tonight. It was, of course, beautiful and stunning! (You can see a slideshow of pictures HERE or a short videoclip of the lighting ceremony HERE if you'd like.) We had a pleasant time and took several pictures. Anson was swept up in awe of the pretty lights! He was funny! We would've stayed even longer except that someone accidentally bumped into Ashley & knocked her down hard. So, her already sore knee was hurting her. Ben carried her for a while on his back, then on his shoulders and got tired of lugging her around. So, we decided to leave. That's all right because we already were there a while and had fun! We went home to have hot cocoa with mini marshmallows. The kids got a kick out of watching Ben let our dog, Star, lick out his styrofoam cup. ha ha. She loved it. And we normally never give the dogs any hand-outs. So this was a real treat for her! While Star was getting a couple drops of chocolate, Pepper, our other dog, snuggled on a stack of toss pillows. He was too funny! They act like they are SO tired! But they sleep most the day anyway!

My camera batteries are dying and need to be charged, so I'll share some of our attempts at some fun pictures at the Temple later!


Here's what some of the missionaries were handing out. The girls each got one, it's a postcard with a picture of the Temple Lights!

Wish us Luck!!

From car pants to car underwear! Anson has been wearing pull-ups that feature Cars (from the Disney movie) and he calls them "my big boy car pants not a diaper!" He has been using the potty only once in a while and it totally has to be his idea.

So, I finally bought him some fun underwear hoping that he will change his mind about the potty! Yesterday at Kohl's I found Diego and Elmo underwear, which he was getting excited about. But last night I found Cars at Wal-Mart. He found them this morning and was so happy! I told him he needed to use the potty before he could put them on. He RAN to the bathroom. He's never done that before. LOL! I helped him put on his new car underwear and explained that since they're so nice, he needs to try to keep them dry and clean!

He said that now he looks like Nathaniel. Yep! I told him Nathaniel is a BIG boy and now HE is a BIG boy too! He can't stop smiling!

Wish us luck that this will be a good day with his new underwear!!!

I've been tagged again...

By JULIE to list 10 things I've never confessed on my blog before. Ok, here goes (in no particular order):

1. I can't stand it if the kids wet the bed. I try to be understanding, but as they get bigger it seems preventable - like using the bathroom before they go to bed or slow down on their drinking. Really it doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's very annoying to me. I was never a bed wetter, so that's probably why I have a hard time with it. Who knows?

2. No matter what time church is, we can NOT seem to get there on time! I hate that! I don't like being late, but it happens. Yes, sometimes it's my fault because I'm the last one to be ready but sometimes I'm last because I've spent my "get ready" time helping the kids.

3. I think Sponge Bob Square Pants is super annoying!!! I don't like the cartoon and really can't stand to listen to his voice or theme song! But my kids love him, so I try to ignore it when they watch it. And as it turns out, just a few months ago, my hubby told me that he kind of likes Sponge Bob. Traitor!! LOL :)

4. I took Japanese in high school for 4 years, but hardly remember very much. Although, I still know how to ask to use the restroom. That one was very important in our summer school class. ha ha Plus we watched part of E.T. in Japanese, so I know how to say "phone home" tee hee :)

5. I started playing the violin in the school orchestra when I was almost 9 and even took private lessons til I was a junior or senior in high school. But haven't hardly touched my violin since high school graduation. It makes me sad because I was pretty good and I miss it. I own 2 violins but they both need new strings and the bows need to be re-haired - which costs a lot when you have to do it all at the same time.

6. I learned to type when I was in 8th grade. It was kind of a requirement for our family to learn. Both of my parents can type really well and super fast. So, we're all pretty fast & accurate! I actually LOVE to type! When I worked as office manager in a small office, I used to retype our contract forms because I thought they looked ugly and old. Plus we only had them on paper and not in the computer. I loved entering all kinds of forms into the database. Sound weird? Well, I think it's fun!

7. I LOVE math and really enjoy doing our own taxes! I have done our taxes myself since we've been married (that's 11yrs). The last few years I've prepared and sent them thru TurboTax online, which is totally awesome. But usually a couple months before the year is over, I do a mock tax return to see where we're at, like if we're going to owe or how much we may get back. Yep, I'm one of those math nerds!

8. My Mom gave me a Bosch mixer and an electric wheat grinder in July 2005. Since then, I've been making my own whole wheat bread (except for the last few months, just haven't been in the mood although I love & miss my bread).

9. I don't really like "fast food" it doesn't taste that good to me anymore. I used to love french fries in high school. Then I went a few years w/o eating it and then started eating it more since we've had kids (esp since we moved back to AZ). But I think I'm not gonna eat it very much anymore. Plus I always feel gross after I eat a hamburger or fries. If we do go, I usually order grilled chicken. Fries are ok only once in a while and they have to be fresh hot!

10. It totally bugs me that the kids can't or won't keep their stuff picked up! I refuse to pick up their messes. If they can make the mess, then they can clean it up. Anson is still young (only 3), so I help him or the other kids help him. But Ashley (5), Felicia (8), and Nathaniel (9) are definitely old enough to pick up after themselves! I just wish they would clean up when they're done playing, and I didn't have to yell at them to get it done (and still not get it done). I feel like I'm constantly nagging them to clean up (yet the house doesn't look cleaned up cuz of their crap)!

There you have it - my deep dark secrets. ha ha

I'm not tagging cuz I don't have very many people to tag, but if you want to play along you can. List 10 things that you haven't mentioned or confessed on your blog before. Then please let me know so I can come take a peek!

Boys vs Girls

Ok, last post for the day I swear. I know I've posted several times today...totally unusual for me. Well, Anson is finally feeling better tonight and actually woke up and ate 2 pieces of pizza for dinner! He hasn't had anything to eat or drink all day. So, that is definitely a great sign!! Plus he won't stop talking. tee hee :)

Here is what I've been working on since Anson is wide awake & I'm trying to keep him away from the kids & Ben so they can sleep.

Credits HERE

Credits HERE

Magic? It's a Total Miracle!!

I use Magic Eraser all the time around the house, but my friend Jenny gave me another idea of where I could this wonderful godsend...the bathtub!!! She just showed a picture on her blog of her beautifully clean tub! Guess what I did as soon as I was done reading it? You got it, I ran right to the bathroom and grabbed my Magic Eraser and got to work!! (Anson was sleeping, so I figured I should get something productive done.)

Ok, normally I would NOT show anyone this "BEFORE" picture, but since it has a fabulous end result, here goes. This is what my bathtub looks like and, trust me, I have been trying for the past year and a half (since we moved into this house) to get our tub clean. I have gotten it a little clean, but those nasty greyish-brown lines (on the dirty non-slip marks) won't go away. I have scrubbed with practically every "tough" product out there, tried soaking the tub with bleach, and used a wire brush trying to break down the grossness. No results. I even tried a technique that I saw on HGTV using warm white vinegar, again nothing, nada! It's just really disgusting soapscum build-up/stains from the previous owners! Yuck! I know & very embarrassing! But also very frustrating! Ok, here it is, please don't throw up. Do you see the little white section in the middle-right? That's the first spot I cleaned with the magic eraser today. I thought I was going to cry from being so happy!

Oh my GOSH!! I was so surprised! It actually did something. That's when I had to stop to take my before picture. So, after lots of shoulder & elbow grease and 2 magic erasers later, my tub is now clean!! I couldn't stop there though, I got out the shower cleaner and scrubbed the tile, and went over the whole tub to finish it off! Now it's all sparkly clean! Here is my "AFTER" picture!
I just found this on their website, so next time I'll have to try this new bathroom magic eraser to get the few spots that didn't want to come clean and I am now too tired to scrub anymore. I'm still embarrassed for showing the before picture, but who can argue w/ the beautiful end results!!
And here I was thinking that we'd have to pay to have our tub resurfaced! It's ceramic and I'm pretty sure that's expensive! I can't believe I had the miracle product sitting under my kitchen sink this whole time! Thank goodness for Magic Eraser! So, if you haven't ever tried one...go get one fast! They work on markers, crayons, pencil marks, scuffs, greasy finger/hand prints and pretty much any thing on walls, doors, door frames, baseboards, cupboards, furniture, counters, sinks, bathtubs, etc!!! The list goes on and on! You get the idea!

AND a BIG THANK YOU to JENNY for giving me this brilliant IDEA!!!!!

Poor Li'l Guy

My sweet li'l Anson woke up not feeling well. He even told me "Mommy, I don't feel good" while crying this morning. Awwww. I asked him if he felt like he was going to throw up and he said "Maaaayyybeee." I immediately took him to the bathroom but he didn't barf. We laid down together for a little while but then he suddenly jumped up like he was going to be sick. So, we resumed our position in the bathroom. The floor is cold, so I brought in his blanket and a heating pad for his tummy. He always looks soooo sad when he's not feeling well. And he was so happy yesterday and playing and eating lots of chicken w/ BBQ sauce last night! I feel bad for him.

The phone rang so I got up and a little bit later I found him in his bed sleeping. What a sweet little Angel. Hope he feels better.
Isn't he the sweetest?
However, I just went to check on him and he must've spit up some bile cuz there was a yellow stain right in front of him. (Not in the picture - ewww I didn't photograph that!) So, poor guy I had to wake him up, clean him off and move him, so I can wash his bedding. Well, I have to wait until my towels are done in the wash before I can start his stuff. Ugh, looks like I'm going to be doing lots of laundry today! Oh well, anything to help my little guy feel better!

Can't Stop Giggling

I gotta tell you why. Ben and I have a little inside joke/trick that we try to play on each other. Y'all may not think it's funny, but I do. Anyway, I think shortly after we got married is the first time I did this to Ben. (tee hee - see now I'm giggling while trying to type this) Ok, so sometimes we have our blessing on our food standing up - like in the kitchen or something. Well, one time Ben was saying the prayer and just to be silly I took a very quiet step backwards or to the side, so that when he opened his eyes I would be in a different spot and it would throw him off a little. I know you may be thinking - it's not very reverent or maybe dumb and not funny - but you should have seen his face the first time I did that! He was like "Wha? Where'd you go?" hee hee :) Anyhoos, throughout the years, I do that once in a while. I think one time, I even moved across the room. I can be very quiet & stealth if I want to be. His face is just SO FUNNY! Once in a while he tries to do it to me, but usually I hear him, so I know exactly where to turn my head when I open my eyes. I think a couple times he got me, and then he thought it was SO funny! Well, last night, again we had the dinner prayer in the kitchen because we were having baked potatoes and the fixin's were on the island. So, Nathaniel was saying the prayer and I just happened to open my eyes and saw Anson eating some of the shredded cheese off of his potato. Then I glanced to my left and saw that Ben had a little grin on his face and I saw him take a step towards me. I knew I had to do something...so I took a big step backwards and had to try so hard not to let out my big giggle! He took another step and ended up right in front of me. Again I almost lost it! As soon as the prayer was over I didn't say a word so he wouldn't know where I was. I wish so bad that I could have seen his face cuz he was looking all around and finally I let out my school-girl giggling and almost peed my pants! He turned around and was like "I was trying to get YOU!" And then I told him how I saw his little grin and him moving towards me w/ his eyes shut! And he told me "You're not supposed to open your eyes during the prayer!" ha ha ha ha :) "Yah, Well I GOTCHA!" Ok, this may not sound very funny to you and maybe you had to be there, but I am still laughing & can't stop smiling about this! heh heh heh

One Picture...Two Layouts

I was just having fun playing around with photo actions and love this picture of Ashley. Also I have been downloading a Fabulous 12 days of Christmas Collab Kit called "Whimsical Wonderland" (it started HERE if you want to check it out & the links will be up for a while). So, I decided to do 2 different layouts because I couldn't make up my mind. The only thing that is a constant is the PINK because it's her favorite color!

Credits HERE

Credits HERE

Crazy Saturday Night

We had an interesting weekend! Nathaniel was jumping on the trampoline at our neighbor's house (that should be a BIG clue that something is going to go wrong). {Actually our kids have never gotten really hurt on a trampoline or bouncy house, maybe bonking heads but that's not a big deal.} We had a baptism (for 2 of my primary kids) to go to at 4pm, so I told him to come home by 3pm. Well, he came home on time, but he was crying when he walked thru the door while holding a tissue to his chin. I asked him what happened and he said that he was jumping on the trampoline then hit his chin on the metal frame! OUCH!! I moved the tissue to see what it looked like because he didn't make it sound like it was THAT bad. OH MY GOSH! HE was totally bleeding! His chin was split open! Poor Nathaniel. I told him that he definitely needed stitches. Here is where the real crying began. He did NOT want stitches! Felicia had gotten stitches exactly a year ago, so she was trying to calm him down telling him it would be ok and stitches aren't that bad. She had opted to NOT get the shot when she had her 3 stitches on her elbow. Anyway, I called my Mom immediately & she rushed over to watch the kids for me. You're Awesome MOM - THANKS!!

We went to Urgent Care and he received 5 stitches from a very nice Dr. Hammond. He did a really good job stitching him up too. I got to watch the whole thing. It was pretty cool & very interesting to see his technique. Nathaniel had plenty of time in the waiting room to calm down, then suddenly got nervous again when we got in the room. So, he had a topical gel anesthetic and then a couple shots to numb his chin. He is definitely not a complainer and hardly flinches, so he was a fantastic patient. Good Job Nathaniel!!

Needless to say, we were gone for about 2 1/2 hours and missed the baptisms. Well, I explained to them in class on Sunday what had happened and they were totally understanding. Especially one of the girls that got baptized because she just got her cast off a week ago from a broken elbow - get this...from falling off of her trampoline at the beginning of November! Anyway, I took several pictures of the whole bloody mess - which Ben teased me about it. But as it turns out, Nathaniel was really glad that I took pictures because he wanted me to make a scrapbook page because they were his first stiches! HA - See the kids secretly love that I take lots of pictures!

So, here it is, if you have a really weak stomach and cannot stand even the slightest amount of blood, then DO NOT look, but if you're fine, take a look (the pics are small so you don't see much anyway but you can click on the image to see it larger):

Credits HERE

Christmas Around the World

Hey, you digi-scrap lovers - there is something totally wonderful out there for YOU!! Over 75 designers have come together (from all around the world) to create some FREEBIE gifts for YOU! If you want to check it out, it's called CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD and there are previews of what's in their kits & links to their sites. Some are just papers or elements and some have lots in their kits! They are all using the same color scheme, so you can mix-n-match. A lot of hard work has gone into organizing this & all the beautiful designs, so if you download anything, please leave a nice comment for them (either on 4shared or their blogs). Thanks! The site was just uploaded last night and it will only be available from Dec 10th-16th. ONE WEEK ONLY!! Then they will take down the links. So you have to hurry! But please be patient for the site & links to load because it's a very big page. Also, if you have any problems downloading (like from 4shared) be patient because it may just be a little overwhelmed from all the downloads. I know it can be frustrating but you may have to bookmark the link and check back a few minutes later. (I've been having that problem with another site.) I took a peak last night and everyone has created some awesome stuff!! ENJOY!!

MY 1st Design Kit

Ok, I'm a little nervous about this. At DSO there's a color challenge each month and I wanted to try it for the first time. Well, you can create a Layout or a freebie kit using at least 3 of the colors chosen. So, I did BOTH! I created a kit and made a LO. Can you believe it??? I can't! It has taken me a while to get this done (last night and tonight). My kit is very simple, but I'm just excited that I actually created something! It's nowhere near the greatness of all the digi-scrap stuff I've acquired. I already LOVE and RESPECT all the HARD work that goes into everyone's creations - but NOW I have EVEN MORE!!! Way to go all you wonderful designers! So, please be kind, and if you like it, you can download it for FREE!!

Here's the preview of my kit - it has 5 textured papers, 5 plaid papers, 5 curly ribbons, 5 bows, and 5 frames!

You can download it HERE. If you download it, please leave a comment. Thanks!

And here's the layout I created using my own kit!

{Credits: My DSO Dec Color Challenge Kit, Font - Lima Bean}