The Big Day

Santa came a day early at the cabin. The Rignell family had to head home on the 26th and so this made it so that they could enjoy a relaxing day after Christmas. Sometimes the day after is the best! None of the kids complained. We started our morning at nearly 7 a.m. with a glass of orange juice (another family tradition). I was grateful for the extra hour of sleep... usually we wake up at 6.

I'll let the pictures do the talking and just mention some of the memorable gifts and moments.

The little boys were quite fascinated with Uncle Bryan's new train whistle. Keeley received a framed baseball picture that Bryson had drawn in his art class. It was taken from a photo of himself. It looked really great! And all of us siblings went in on a Geocaching GPS for my Dad. We later used it in St. George and it was really fun.

It was so fun to spend Christmas with all the cousins. All the big kids are really patient to let my boys try their new gadgets and put up with Nolan's tackle loves.

It was a wonderful time! It's always a relief, and a bit of a let-down when it's all over.

Christmas Anticipation

It was our turn to spend the holidays with Justin's family, but his Mom was heading to Guatamala on Christmas Day. So instead, we were very excited to pack up and head to Alton, UT. The cabin is the perfect place for a big family to spend the holidays! We were only missing Grady and Darian this year, but we still had seventeen people. You can imagine the stack of presents for that crowd. They didn't really fit under our little forest of trees. Nolan had a great time using them as giant blocks and making tunnels and pathways.

Christmas Eve started with a scare. Uncle Bryan was adding a log to the fire when a large metal bar from the back of the fireplace came loose and tumbled to the floor, scraping Bryan's shins on the way down. Ez was nearby, but luckily not in the way. Unfortunately, it landed on Ezra's dear blanket. It immediately burned a hole through it and melted through a rug. Bryan grabbed the closest thing he could find, our stockings, to quickly pick it up and put it back on the granite hearth. The stockings survived and thankfully no one was burned. Bryan's nylon pants had several melted spots. Ez was sad about his blanket but took it well. He would carry it around and sometimes he'd quickly throw it down and say, "I touched that hole!" He didn't like the feel of the black melted part. Luckily Grandma Sherri cut off the burn and sewed it up nicely once we got to St. George. I'm so glad that Bryan was careful that kids were out of the way!

Last year we enjoyed a family talent show, but we didn't feel like anyone was especially talented this year so we tried something new. It was a fun game similar to white elephants that we've played with Justin's family in the past. Here we are setting out the gifts and planning what we'd try to win.

Christmas Eve wouldn't be complete without making gingerbread houses, or in our case, a gingerbread train. There was actually a lot of whining and complaining during this activity, however, so maybe next year we'll have to make Christmas Eve complete without it! If you're wondering why Nolan has a mustache and goatee, it's because we spent much of the day filming a new edition of the Ligtermoet family nativity. Nolan was a shepherd and I was too lazy to scrub off his facial hair. It had been 7 years since we made the first movie, so some of the grandkids were wanting to do a remake. Hopefully it will be at least half as good as volume one, which was pretty amazing.

Yeah, Nolan was sucking on the red icing. Gross, but it's Christmas, right? When else would I let him do that? Some of the kids started asking around 2 p.m. to open their Christmas Eve p.j.'s. They said, "I just want to wear them all day!" Nope... we didn't allow it. They had to wait for our traditional Chinese dinner of homemade egg rolls, orange chicken, and fried rice. It was delicious, as always. There was some griping that we should have made Grandma Lillian's chop suey instead. I won't name any names (Bryan). After that, the kids could finally open their pajamas.

As the evening was winding down, Grandma Sherri made her hot wassail. I've loved this drink since I was a kid. It just tastes like Christmas! This would have been a better picture if I hadn't changed halfway into my pajamas. I guess I was just as excited as the kids!

I love Christmas Eve because kids are so eager to go to bed. And luckily our kids are still young enough that they still go to sleep easily without lying in bed with too much anticipation. Wasn't Christmas Eve the worst night's sleep as a kid? It was rough.

Christmas Program

Nolan did a wonderful job singing and saying his part at Miss Marissa's Christmas preschool program. His part was part of a longer poem: "red-leaved poinsettia, white Christmas rose." We were impressed with how well he annunciated the words. He did so good at knowing the songs and their actions.

My friend gave me these pictures and she also uploaded some videos to share. You can see those here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b6GNjAPwY0&feature=player_embedded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkfUZCuELCA&feature=player_embedded

Second Santa Note

The other day the boys received a movie from Santa via Portable North Pole's website. If your kiddos haven't received one, you should check it out. Nolan loved his movie and then asked to write another note. We sent Santa the email, but here is what it said:

Dear Santa,
I'm waiting for Christmas. I can't wait! It can't be any longer. Don't do it on Christmas night because I'm waiting. The end.
Love, Nolan

It turns out that Santa really is actually coming a day early this year. With work schedules it just works better, and Santa was okay with it. Good thing, too... I don't think Nolan could have waited!

It's Official...

...the boys now have an awesome playroom to call their own. I was really wanting to put some sheet metal up on the wall, but I finally let the idea go. I think it would have looked amazing since it's a robot room, but the logistics were making it difficult and I didn't really want to spend more money on that right now. So I finally just stuck up the vinyl and called it good. Nolan said, "Look Mom! I'm holding the robot's hand!"

Ezra thinks stockings go on heads. I tried to explain by putting it onto his whole leg, but it was no use. He kept asking for help to put it on (to balance it, is more like it) and then he said, "I'm like Santa!"

Nolan has really practiced hard to make his Christmas ornaments a work of art.

And the best toy for my boys to date....

is a cardboard box and markers! I wonder if Santa will be able to top that!

Merry Christmas

We sent out a handful of cards this year, but most of our greetings go out over the internet. We hope it's a happy Christmas for all of our friends and family.

We had a good visit with Santa at our new grocery store (which has been so nice to have nearby) last week. There was no line, he gave out giant candy canes, and they even had photographers taking pictures. I thought, "Oh great, they're going to charge for pictures." But they told me to come back several days later and they'd be ready to pick up. Sure enough, they were waiting... for free! I know it's a silly thing to be so happy about, but it seems like even getting a picture with Santa can cost an arm and a leg and be such a headache to wait in line. What a relief! Ezra was silent with a little grin on his face that got bigger when Santa gave him a candy cane. Nolan told Santa that he wants a surprise this year.

I helped Nolan write a letter to Santa. He did a little of the writing and then I just wrote what he told me to. And he's sticking with the "surprise" request. Cute. It's so fun to have kids understand the magic of Santa Claus.

And we've also been doing some new traditions to help us remember Christ during the season. The book "A Christ-Centered Christmas" has been wonderful to use for Sunday activities and family home evening lessons this month.

I highly recommend it since the activities are simple and can be adjusted for kids of all ages. Every time we do one of the traditions we get to place the corresponding figure into our nativity. We're still anxiously awaiting the lamb, the wise men, and the baby Jesus. We most recently talked about the shepherds, made shepherd staff (candy cane) cookies, and shared our thoughts about Jesus by candlelight as we ate our cookies.

Ezra-isms

I occasionally mention things that Nolan says so I thought I'd share some of the phrases that Ezra has been saying lately.

Whenever I ask him to do something ("Finish your dinner" or "Time for a tubby!", etc.) he'll get his typical scowl on his face and say, "I just don't wanna talt about it, Mom." He can't say his "k" sounds yet.

When we knock on someone's door, he'll yell "Trust me!" until they open up.

I was sitting on the couch last night and he walked up to me and said, "I'm just packin' up. Just packin' up some stuff." Not to be rude, but sometimes I wish it was Ezra that went for short business trips instead of his Daddy.

Lately he's been scared of the dark. I hope it's a short phase. If I turn the light off he runs out and says, "Those monsters will get me!" Ezra still wakes up in the night when he sleeps in his room, but if I put him in the queen bed downstairs with Nolan he sleeps all night. Maybe he's scared and just needs a buddy to sleep with. I know how he feels.

I was reading a conference talk by Quentil L. Cook and Ez said, "There's Bro. Ramsey!" That's our neighbor who Ezra just adores.

And one little quote from Nolan: Today I made all of our neighborhood Christmas treats and then we drove around to everyones' houses. I was a bit exhausted. I started to sit down to watch a show (which I changed my mind and decided to blog instead) and Nolan said, "I think we better call a bunch of people and tell them to come for a party."
I said, "Why would we have a party today?"
He said, "Just 'cause I think you're pretty bored." I love how a mom can sit down for not even 10 seconds and someone mistakes her for being bored! Ha!

A Happy Thanksgiving

We had planned to spend Thanksgiving in Logan, but Justin's grandparents were going out of town and we would only have a small group for dinner, so we ended up spending Thanksgiving at home. It was the first major holiday that we had stayed home. It was just the four of us, Grandma K., Jon, and his two daughters, Amanda and Sarah. I was a little skeptical about whether or not I could cook so much food, but it turned out great. Luckily I didn't have to do everything. Kathi did the turkey, green beans, rolls, and a yummy frozen fruit dish. I was most nervous about the stuffing, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was moist and flavorful. We had a great dinner together!

After overeating, we watched the movie "Everest" on Netflix and then played a little Wii. Then it was onto the pie: pecan, pumpkin, and a yummy chocolate/whipped cream pie that Jon brought. Grandma K. slept over another night and started the boys on the "Ha Ha" laughing game. Then we settled in for a Christmas movie on Netflix. We found some old classics from the 40's. Wow, it was really old! It was so nice to slow down and have some good family time. I think I might be tempted to spend holidays at home more often.