can't believe it is already January!
I must pause to document December, 2011, before I forget what happened.
It was magical!
Forever after, I will call it
the month of miracles.
The 1st miracle:
The Christmas Cactus from G.G. bloomed right on time!
The Christmas Cactus always reminds me of my Grandma and my Mom.
If you remember, G.G. passed away this year.
And Mom is in Australia.... that's a world away!
Those precious blooms brought cheer to our kitchen all month long.
And helped me remember that I'm not alone.
It was magical!
Forever after, I will call it
the month of miracles.
The 1st miracle:
The Christmas Cactus from G.G. bloomed right on time!
The Christmas Cactus always reminds me of my Grandma and my Mom.
If you remember, G.G. passed away this year.
And Mom is in Australia.... that's a world away!
Those precious blooms brought cheer to our kitchen all month long.
And helped me remember that I'm not alone.
Thanks, Mom, Dad, and Grandparents, for giving us a legacy.The 2nd miracle:
Sinterklaus paid us a visit on Dutch Christmas, which is celebrated on December 6th.
On the Eve of December 5th, we laid out our shoes, as we do each year, near the door in hopes that he would come and fill them with treats for good little boys and girls.
We had heard his helper was in Australia this year, so we didn't know what to expect.
Thanks to a clever Aunt, who will remain nameless, Sinterklaus didn't disappoint.
Dutch Milk Chocolate in the form of the first letter of each person's name magically appeared in our shoes by morning. Even Mom and Dad each received one!
(A few of them lasted a whole day this year! but most were promptly devoured.)
The 3rd miracle:
David's Aunt Martha made it to her 100th birthday!
We were able to celebrate with her and her friends and family on December 9th
in Salt Lake City.
The Valley View 8th ward hosted a beautiful party for her.
The 4th miracle:
Our cousin's baby,
who was born in November
--at 25 weeks gestation,
suffered no brain damage.
He continues to improve, gain weight, and grow stronger.
We are so blessed to have witnessed this miracle.
We love his family and our prayers are still with them.
The 5th miracle:
Winter Solstice brought freezing temperatures.
...making perfect weather for ice skating!
Such a fun physical activity in the winter to keep us happy and healthy.
Some years there is too much snow on the ice for us to enjoy it.
(We don't have a zamboni out here, you know.)
But this December, the conditions were just right.
And we took advantage of it.
Pose for a picture:
Woops! Try again!
Smiles!
It took a bit of effort to haul skates down and change into them at the pond.
But it was worth it!
Often the kids would stay until dark!
And then change back to boots for the trek home.
Our 6th miracle:
An unexpected bonus arrived.
Since we have had several economic setbacks, there are excessive bills to pay.
The 5th miracle:
Winter Solstice brought freezing temperatures.
...making perfect weather for ice skating!
Such a fun physical activity in the winter to keep us happy and healthy.Some years there is too much snow on the ice for us to enjoy it.
(We don't have a zamboni out here, you know.)
But this December, the conditions were just right.
And we took advantage of it.
Pose for a picture:
Woops! Try again!
Smiles!It took a bit of effort to haul skates down and change into them at the pond.
But it was worth it!
Often the kids would stay until dark!
And then change back to boots for the trek home.
Our 6th miracle:
An unexpected bonus arrived.
Since we have had several economic setbacks, there are excessive bills to pay.
We are on Dave Ramsey's course of debt reduction, "the debt snowball,"
so we decided to use the bonus to pay off debt and lighten our load.
It has made a huge difference to have 3 less payments this month--and forever after!
The kids participated with us in a "plastic surgery" (credit card cutting) ceremony!
We are hopeful that the difference that made will continue to snowball
and we'll be back to debt free sooner than anticipated.
7th miracle:
We convinced some friends to join us for a Christmas Eve celebration!
(It was a miracle for us because typically everyone has other plans and can't come to our house.)
First the Welkers joined us for dinner.
We served a Mexican Taco Salad Bar.
Feliz Navidad!
After dinner the kids went ice skating and had a ball.
The sun was shining and the weather was just right.
Later, the Lawler family joined us for games:
Quiddler, Ping-Pong, barbies, etc.
You could say we had a full house!
14 children and 6 adults...
well, really, 8 children, 7 "youth," and 6 adults.
(Those youth really dislike being called "children.")
And a good time was had by all.
We wore out the kids by 8:30... so they would sleep for the next segment of the night.
The 8th miracle:
On Christmas Eve,
After the children opened and put on their new jammies
(it's a tradition from Grandma)
and went to bed to dream of sugar plums...
...the fun began...
Dad and I were texting directions and preparing Santa's snack...
when out in the yard we heard such a clatter...
we promptly went out to see what was the matter.
When what to our wondering eyes should appear,
but 4 big sleighs without any reindeer!
...Carrying 17 elves who were so lively and quick,
(well all but the littlest because she was plain tuckered.)
that we knew in a moment
they were in cohorts with St. Nick!
They spoke not a word,
but got straight to their work.
(I know, mysterious, huh? They were so quick my camera couldn't catch them!)
They filled all the stockings
...and the living room too!
Then pausing a moment for a cookie or two,
some hugs ...and a photo op,
(do you recognize any of these elves?)
...out the door they all flew,
With their sleighs emptied of toys
And packages too.
And I heard them exclaim
'ere they drove out of sight,
"Merry Christmas to all!
And to all a goodnight!"
.........
And then Dad in his pjs, and I in mine settled down for a long...
...I mean short ...and fitful nap.
(We didn't want to miss those first reactions!)
The kids woke to a living room full of presents.
They were so surprised!
And excited!
It really was like magic for them!
Isaac (9), the first kid on the scene, declared,
"I've never seen so many presents in my life!"
"It looks like Santa just threw all of the presents out of his sleigh!"
"Do you think anyone else got any presents? Or did we get them all?"
and "Do we have to open all these presents?"
Lisa (12) thought perhaps Santa knew this might be Amber's last year with us
and he wanted to go all out. (how thoughtful.)
Amber (17) was just too stunned for words--since she is usually "Santa's helper."
She did mention that she thought she "heard a clatter..."
Brigham (14) agreed that at the end of Santa's route "he must get tired of delivering presents and just dump all the rest of them out so he can get home. We must be the lucky ones at the end of the route." (Which really could be true... since we are so far North.)
And he kept asking me privately, "You really didn't do this?"
Rachel (7) exclaimed, "We must have been very good this year!"
(Don't they look pleased?)
But the presents would have to wait...
It was Sunday and 1st things come 1st.
the presents would remain wrapped until after 11am sacrament meeting... (such torture!)
We've never seen kids get ready for church so quickly!
Amber sang her solo beautifully: "Away in a Manger."
Our little friend recited a poem: "Happy Birthday, Jesus."
And the choir sang praises to Him who is the reason for the season.
There was a beautiful spirit of love and friendship there.
And when we got back home an hour later,
everyone was back in their jammies within minutes! (no one told them to do that.)
they were ready to begin uncovering the treasure.
A prayer of thanks was offered.
The okay was given.
And the flurry of unwrapping began...
When it was over, the house was covered in the remains.
But it was all in good fun.
I didn't even mind so much cleaning it up while the kids examined their treasures.
And shared with each other. :)
It took me all day and the next to uncover the house.
(I took several breaks to play a game here and there.)
We sure had fun!
Here are some of the gifts we were given:
Lisa was excited to get an Itunes gift card, lots of cute clothes, fingernail polish, and fun crafts.
Rachel got so many fun gifts she couldn't keep track of them!
She had cute clothes, several art kits, books, barbies, a barbie car, some Little House movies (that she loves), nail polish, slippers, a blanket, a piggy bank, and a playdough desk!
She had fun arranging her gifts for a picture.
(That was how I convinced her to clean up a bit. It proved to be a good tactic.)
Dad couldn't wait to set up his Settler's game and get started.
It took him an hour to figure out the instructions for adding Cities and Knights...
plus 2 more hours for Amber and Brigham to play it with him!
He also loved getting new clothes, socks, and shoes he needed. And raquetballs!
But I think that game was his favorite!
Isaac's bounty:
Isaac is in heaven with a Bruder Harvester that came with a trailer, and a John Deere tractor!
He loves his new clothes, blankets, hot wheels track, bat-mobile, transformer, UNO card game, and cement truck as well.
And Brigham's collection of gifts:
Did you notice the little helicopter hovering near his head?
He was pleased he could fly it so well. Truly a pilot-in-training.
He loves the frisbee, nerf guns, and the clothes and shoes that fit so well.
And that fuzzy blanket is now his favorite!
Amber was thrilled to receive the 3rd and 4th piano books by John Schmidt,
a magnet board,
lots of cute clothes, and new bedding.
She repainted her room within the week to match her new beloved covers!
And I was spoiled with lots of cute clothes, good smelling lotions, and tons of food. :)
...sorry, I didn't take a picture of myself.
We all loved the games: Clue, Act Your Wage, Settler's of Catan--Cities and Knights, Apples to Apples, Uno, and the Wii Wipe Out game.
Dear Santa and all of your elves,
THANK YOU!!!
You have given such a generous gift.
And we are so grateful for all the time, money, and effort you put in to making our Christmas so memorable.
We will never forget this!
And hopefully we will be able to "pay it forward" sometime soon.
May you receive extra blessings
from our Father in Heaven, who sees all.
The week after Christmas is a blur of fun and games as a family.
Of course, David had to work most days... and 3 times he took 1 or more extra helper.
Those kids just love to work with Dad.
But every evening we would pull out a game or two and some yummy snacks
and just enjoy each other.
...
...but it doesn't end there!
Our 9th miracle:
Our sister, Ashley, and her family were able to purchase and move into their new house
on New Years' Eve Day! (A marathon feat!)
And we got to have two cousin sleepovers during December to help them.
Thank for the memories, Owens!
the 10th miracle of the month:
was to get away to the
Weenig Cousins' Party!
An annual tradition we wouldn't miss.
(I also got to attend a cousin's baby shower, which was so fun!)
Here are the fun Holm girls--Tamara, Allyson, and Alison with 4 month old Isaac James :
so we decided to use the bonus to pay off debt and lighten our load.
It has made a huge difference to have 3 less payments this month--and forever after!
The kids participated with us in a "plastic surgery" (credit card cutting) ceremony!
We are hopeful that the difference that made will continue to snowball
and we'll be back to debt free sooner than anticipated.
7th miracle:
We convinced some friends to join us for a Christmas Eve celebration!
(It was a miracle for us because typically everyone has other plans and can't come to our house.)
First the Welkers joined us for dinner.We served a Mexican Taco Salad Bar.
Feliz Navidad!
After dinner the kids went ice skating and had a ball.
The sun was shining and the weather was just right.
Later, the Lawler family joined us for games:
Quiddler, Ping-Pong, barbies, etc.
You could say we had a full house!14 children and 6 adults...
well, really, 8 children, 7 "youth," and 6 adults.
(Those youth really dislike being called "children.")
And a good time was had by all.We wore out the kids by 8:30... so they would sleep for the next segment of the night.
The 8th miracle:
On Christmas Eve,
After the children opened and put on their new jammies
(it's a tradition from Grandma)
and went to bed to dream of sugar plums...
...the fun began...Dad and I were texting directions and preparing Santa's snack...
when out in the yard we heard such a clatter...
we promptly went out to see what was the matter.
When what to our wondering eyes should appear,
but 4 big sleighs without any reindeer!
...Carrying 17 elves who were so lively and quick,
(well all but the littlest because she was plain tuckered.)
that we knew in a moment
they were in cohorts with St. Nick!
They spoke not a word,
but got straight to their work.
(I know, mysterious, huh? They were so quick my camera couldn't catch them!)They filled all the stockings
...and the living room too!
Then pausing a moment for a cookie or two,some hugs ...and a photo op,
(do you recognize any of these elves?)
...out the door they all flew,With their sleighs emptied of toys
And packages too.
And I heard them exclaim
'ere they drove out of sight,
"Merry Christmas to all!
And to all a goodnight!"
.........
And then Dad in his pjs, and I in mine settled down for a long...
...I mean short ...and fitful nap.
(We didn't want to miss those first reactions!)
The kids woke to a living room full of presents.
They were so surprised!
And excited!
It really was like magic for them!
Isaac (9), the first kid on the scene, declared,
"I've never seen so many presents in my life!"
"It looks like Santa just threw all of the presents out of his sleigh!"
"Do you think anyone else got any presents? Or did we get them all?"
and "Do we have to open all these presents?"
Lisa (12) thought perhaps Santa knew this might be Amber's last year with us
and he wanted to go all out. (how thoughtful.)
Amber (17) was just too stunned for words--since she is usually "Santa's helper."
She did mention that she thought she "heard a clatter..."
Brigham (14) agreed that at the end of Santa's route "he must get tired of delivering presents and just dump all the rest of them out so he can get home. We must be the lucky ones at the end of the route." (Which really could be true... since we are so far North.)
And he kept asking me privately, "You really didn't do this?"
Rachel (7) exclaimed, "We must have been very good this year!"
(Don't they look pleased?)But the presents would have to wait...
It was Sunday and 1st things come 1st.
the presents would remain wrapped until after 11am sacrament meeting... (such torture!)
We've never seen kids get ready for church so quickly!
Amber sang her solo beautifully: "Away in a Manger."
Our little friend recited a poem: "Happy Birthday, Jesus."
And the choir sang praises to Him who is the reason for the season.
There was a beautiful spirit of love and friendship there.
And when we got back home an hour later,
everyone was back in their jammies within minutes! (no one told them to do that.)
they were ready to begin uncovering the treasure.
A prayer of thanks was offered.The okay was given.
And the flurry of unwrapping began...
When it was over, the house was covered in the remains.
But it was all in good fun.I didn't even mind so much cleaning it up while the kids examined their treasures.
And shared with each other. :)
It took me all day and the next to uncover the house.
(I took several breaks to play a game here and there.)
We sure had fun!
Here are some of the gifts we were given:
Lisa was excited to get an Itunes gift card, lots of cute clothes, fingernail polish, and fun crafts.
Rachel got so many fun gifts she couldn't keep track of them!
She had cute clothes, several art kits, books, barbies, a barbie car, some Little House movies (that she loves), nail polish, slippers, a blanket, a piggy bank, and a playdough desk!
She had fun arranging her gifts for a picture.
(That was how I convinced her to clean up a bit. It proved to be a good tactic.)
Dad couldn't wait to set up his Settler's game and get started.
It took him an hour to figure out the instructions for adding Cities and Knights...
plus 2 more hours for Amber and Brigham to play it with him!
He also loved getting new clothes, socks, and shoes he needed. And raquetballs!But I think that game was his favorite!
Isaac's bounty:
Isaac is in heaven with a Bruder Harvester that came with a trailer, and a John Deere tractor!He loves his new clothes, blankets, hot wheels track, bat-mobile, transformer, UNO card game, and cement truck as well.
And Brigham's collection of gifts:
Did you notice the little helicopter hovering near his head?He was pleased he could fly it so well. Truly a pilot-in-training.
He loves the frisbee, nerf guns, and the clothes and shoes that fit so well.
And that fuzzy blanket is now his favorite!
Amber was thrilled to receive the 3rd and 4th piano books by John Schmidt,
a magnet board,
lots of cute clothes, and new bedding.She repainted her room within the week to match her new beloved covers!
And I was spoiled with lots of cute clothes, good smelling lotions, and tons of food. :)
...sorry, I didn't take a picture of myself.
We all loved the games: Clue, Act Your Wage, Settler's of Catan--Cities and Knights, Apples to Apples, Uno, and the Wii Wipe Out game.
Dear Santa and all of your elves,
THANK YOU!!!
You have given such a generous gift.
And we are so grateful for all the time, money, and effort you put in to making our Christmas so memorable.
We will never forget this!
And hopefully we will be able to "pay it forward" sometime soon.
May you receive extra blessings
from our Father in Heaven, who sees all.
The week after Christmas is a blur of fun and games as a family.
Of course, David had to work most days... and 3 times he took 1 or more extra helper.
Those kids just love to work with Dad.
But every evening we would pull out a game or two and some yummy snacks
and just enjoy each other.
...
...but it doesn't end there!
Our 9th miracle:
Our sister, Ashley, and her family were able to purchase and move into their new house
on New Years' Eve Day! (A marathon feat!)
And we got to have two cousin sleepovers during December to help them.
Thank for the memories, Owens!
the 10th miracle of the month:
was to get away to the
Weenig Cousins' Party!
An annual tradition we wouldn't miss.
(I also got to attend a cousin's baby shower, which was so fun!)
Here are the fun Holm girls--Tamara, Allyson, and Alison with 4 month old Isaac James :
Uncle Rod playing games with little Kayla Westenskow and Boston Rowley,
and Aunt Kay Jex holding 9 month old Marianne Boyle.
I just love those Jexes!
and Aunt Kay Jex holding 9 month old Marianne Boyle.
I just love those Jexes!
After our funny plays and white elephant gift exchange,
Bret Westenskow called Grandma and Grandpa Thompson on his phone via Skype
to join the party. They were just getting up and ready for church! (They are a day ahead of us.)
Bret Westenskow called Grandma and Grandpa Thompson on his phone via Skype
to join the party. They were just getting up and ready for church! (They are a day ahead of us.)
What a great way to end the year! Surrounded by people we love!
Thanks for being part of our lives!
We love you!
I loved seeing and being a part of your miracles, love you guys!
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