Christmas Baking

This was our Christmas baking Saturday!!! Gingerbread cookies
peanut butter balls
oatmeal no bakes

Christmas School projects

Instead of the kids having a "holiday party"....like they are used to with everyone bringing cookies, chips, etc....maybe playing a game, each of them in their classes made a christmas decoration.....Jessica made this cool candle centerpiece....it was really pretty....so I had to take a picture of it.....then, of course, if I am taking a picture of Jessica's, I have to take a picture of Jared's project....they made graham cracker ginger bread houses! I really liked this take on the holiday school stuff!

Kids say the darndest things!

The other day, Jared was walking upstairs to go to bed, and in all seriousness, he asked, "Mom, why does Santa hat Batman and Robin?" Not quite sure why he was asking, but knowing that he sounded concerned, as he is a batman fan, I knew I needed to reassure him that Santa does not hate Santa. After telling him that, he said, then why did Santa make up the song about Batman and Robin, then he started singing "Jingle Bells, batman smells......!!!" Oh my, I got to laughing sooooooo hard!!!!

Holly and Ivy

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we went to the nearby waterfalls....upon walking around, we found lots of Holly and Ivy just growing along the pathway....I was intrigued, and had to get a picture of it....not sure if I have ever seen holly and ivy actually growing in the wild....I thought it was pretty......I love the outdoors here in the northwest....I am in love with this part of the country....you really have to come visit us sometime!!!!

Santa Pictures

Our ward had a fun primary activity, then ward Christmas dinner last Saturday....the kids got to go with their parents to do crafts, and to visit with Santa....then there was an hour break, then the ward dinner. Jared was not doing well, with a stiff neck, but we brought the stroller for him to stay in, and he participated in the crafts, and he had to visit with Santa. Matthew brought Jared and I home, then he and the girls went back for the dinner.

Oh Christmas Tree

Decorating the Christmas tree. We decorated the tree for FHE on December 3....just 3 days after Jared had his tonsils out....we are glad we did because Jared went downhill for most of the rest of that week, but he enjoyed having the tree to look at. Jared decorated from the couch....we would bring him ornament. It is too early to see it now, but when we were done, we knew what branch Kayleigh had decorated!!!! ALL of the ornaments she hung were on the same branch! We had some re-arranging to do after the kids were in bed!!!!

Jared Update

Well, it has been 2 weeks, and Jared will be going back to school tomorrow after a long recovery from having his tonsils out. He was a trooper! He recovered without taking his pain meds, as he was having weird reactions to them and he could tell they mad him feel different....so, he made it through the pain without pain meds. What a kid! Last weekend, December 6-10 were probably the hardest days of them all. He had a really bad stiff neck (apparantly this is due to having his aednoids out....they are close to nerve endings, so as swelling happens, it causes a stiff neck)....anyway, it made for uncomfortable sleeping....the picture above is how we would try to get him to sleep at night....propped up by pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, but in the end, he and us were up most of the nights for a few nights. Then, Monday, Dec 10, as his neck was finally done bothering him, he woke up around 11:00 with his mouth bleeding....we were warned that might happen as the scabs were healing up, they may fall off....by Tuesday Morning he was up, and eating a little more each day, and he is back to his normal self now( still unsure about eating....he is sure everything will make him gag, so we need to get that out of his head!)......Tuesday, Dec 11, as I was putting him to bed, he said, "Last night after my mouth was bleeding, I asked Heavenly Father and Jesus if they could help me get better from my surgery. And, they told me in my head that I would get better!!!" He said it wasn't like he was praying....he was just saying it in his head, and they told him in his head....well, it was that next day that was his turn around day!!! We love this kid!!!