Merry Christmas

I know I haven't posted for a LONG time. For a while I was sick of trying to figure out blogger and frustrated that I didn't know how to use it very well. Then, in March we made a big decision that kind of put everything else on hold for a while. We decided that the best thing for our family was for me to get a hysterectomy. It was scheduled for April 6th and I was running around trying to get everything set up and cleaned and organized so I wouldn't be going crazy after the surgery. I got that last Monday and now I'm just trying to recover. I can't lift anything or do anything strenuous, so I decided it would be a great time to update my blog.

I know also that it is April, but I realized that I never posted about Christmas. So, here it is:Every year, I try to make pajamas for the kids to wear on Christmas Eve. Since we moved up here to Idaho, we have been going over to Gabby and Yani's house for Christmas Eve. The last few years, we've had the kids open their pj's there so we could get them dressed for bed and just put them straight in bed when we got home. This year, I cheated kind of and made pajama pants, but bought T-shirts to go with them. Last year, at Gabby and Yani's, Nathan's brother Kyle was teasing me about not making him pj's, so we decided to make him some, too. I thought I had a picture of all of them in their pj's but I can't find one with Kyle. His reaction was hilarious. He laughed so hard. I admit, I did too.I found some cute flannel that says "I am a Child of God" on it with cute faces. I think they turned out pretty cute. And much easier than making 3 pair of full on pj's.For breakfast, the kids always eat the stuff out of their stockings. Our "Santa" knows that and brings some things to eat for breakfast. Usually there's granola bars or bites, fruit, crackers and cheese, etc. but there's always candy eaten it with it, too. The whole morning of Christmas is spent munching on stocking stuff and opening the rest of our stockings. I love it!! I never feel like we're rushing through stuff so we can have breakfast. But we also don't have to wait until after breakfast to open our presents. I think everyone just feels more relaxed. AND I don't have to worry about making breakfast.This year, the older two kids BEGGED for Fun Dips. Zoey didn't even know what they were. She found out really fast. She LOVED them.Here's Zoey in her new Christmas hat. I love how the mittens are still attached at the top.This is one of Zoey's favorite toys. It's called string a farm and it's adorable!! Jo and Owen got it for her. It has cute chunky beads that you can play with, or string on a string. She played with it for two days straight.Here is the tractor that she got from Grandma and Papa. It's really cute, too. It has different animals that fit in the trailer and it plays all kinds of animal sounds and music.Jo and Owen got insulated overalls from Grandma and Papa. They were SO excited. They love to play outside, but hate getting wet and having to come in. They also love them because Nathan and I have pairs of them and they like to be just like us. Nathan and I got them boots to go with the overalls, so they were set for outside.

After opening presents, we went to Gabby and Yani's house for dinner and opening family presents. It was a fun, relaxing day.The next day, the kids got to try out their new outdoor gear. We got dumped on on Christmas (I loved seeing all of the new white snow for Christmas) and it didn't take them long to get out there to play in it. Here's Zoey in her new hat and gloves. Her overalls and coat were a hand me down, but she looks snug.Nathan piled up lots of snow in the pasture with his tractor so the kids would have a "hill" to play on. They loved it. I loved the fact that they would stay outside and play.Jo and Owen working together to get the tube back up the "hill." I'm sure it was hard work getting it up that three feet. Actually, I do love seeing them work together. They make a great team.

Here's Zoey "a-laxin'" in a tube.

Jo and Zoey headed down the "hill."