Festivities

Here's hoping this post finds everyone happy and healthy, with good memories of a merry Christmas!! Like everyone, things at our house have been busy and crazy and fun this holiday season. I haven't posted for awhile, so I guess it's time to catch up!

I was able to help with Kiera and Makenna's class parties. Makenna's class decorated gingerbread houses, and for Kiera's class, I was in charge of a craft, so we did beaded candy canes - I was nervous that the kids might think they were lame, but they ended up having a lot of fun making them!





We had the Scootlebugs Preschool Christmas Program - isn't my class so cute? (One of my girls was on vacation)




We met Barbara, Dallin, Corbin, Nikki & kids to see the Odgen Village - lots of little "houses" with scenes you can peek into. So fun!




Kiera had her Christmas piano recital at the Centerville Library. Each student had a solo piece and a duet piece. Kiera wanted me to play with her. As a kid, I remember my piano recitals making me really nervous - and I was this time! But it went great, and it was fun to be able to play with her!




We had Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's house - this is my favorite part of Christmas! It's so warm and comfortable and inviting at Mom's house, and it's fun to have good food and hang out together!




Christmas Morning!!

Kiera got an American Girl (look-alike!) doll:



So did Makenna:



Kasidee got a jeep that she can really drive. Here's the story. Clear back in about September when we were walking to school, Kasidee saw a little girl drive one of those little cars to school and was fascinated. She kept talking about how neat it was and that she wanted one too. I said, "Well, maybe for Christmas" - thinking she'd forget all about it by then. Well, she talked about it for over 3 months and that's all she wanted for Christmas. Oh, and gum. Well, do you know how much those dang little cars are? Some of them are over 300 bucks! So we began preparing her that Santa might not be able to bring her a car, but that he would bring something that he thinks she would like. She was okay with that, but she never stopped talking about how much she wanted her own car. Well, Quentin was brave enough to go out on Black Friday before midnight, and, well, the car was about 75% off. Couldn't pass it up - and it makes her very happy!




Kiera also got a sewing machine:



And Makenna got an little monkey she had been eyeing in the store:



Plus a "real" train set! Makenna had asked for one, but Quentin and Makenna "fight" over whose turn it is to play with it!



Each of the girls got a nightgown with a matching nightgown for their doll (for some reason we didn't get a picture with all 3 girls):



And Granny (my mom) gave each of the girls a Pillow Pet (a long-desired, much-desired item, but I was too cheap to buy what I thought is a dumb thing). But now Granny is the girls' hero!



Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! Now is my most favorite time of year - the stress of the festivities is done, and it's not January yet, so I can just relax and play with Christmas things with my girls!!

Signs

My cousin Jen did a post about this link:

http://bravegirlsclub.com/blog/?p=1411

the other day, and I (like her) have thought about it a lot. I remember in one of my classes in high school, our teacher had us each wear a sign around our neck that read, "IALAC." It stood for "I Am Loving And Caring." Cheesy, I know, but she told us that each of us is a person who wants to love and care, and who wants to be loved and cared for by someone else. Our parents, our friends at school, people we meet. But sometimes people are careless with other people's feelings and they end up damaging people's IALAC sign. She asked us to wear the sign at school for one day. Whenever we got our feelings hurt by someone else, we were supposed to rip a little piece off the sign. At the end of the day we checked in with our teacher. Some of the student's signs were still intact (they said they let nothing bother them). Others had little rips. Others were crumpled and only had one piece dangling from the string. Others only had the string left hanging around their neck. It was a visual reminder of how we feel people treat us, and how we treat others.

I think we all just want people to like us and treat us kindly, in everyday life and especially when we are hurting inside. Sometimes people can make us feel very defensive, and other times people can be our "soft place." The blog post I mentioned above is a good reminder of how we treat each other - to remember that everyone is wearing some kind of "sign," and we need to look for it and see them and treat them like our Heavenly Father would.

Letters to Santa

It has been interesting to see how different the girls are in how they write their letters to Santa. Two weeks ago, Kiera wrote 3 different versions of her letter. She picked out special paper, made beautiful drawings of Santa's sleigh, and even included a dollar she had earned for Santa to give to the poor. She began her letter by asking Santa how he's doing, then made her request, then asked him to say hi to all the elves for her. She even thanked him for all he does for all the good girls and boys throughout the world. Kasidee has had fun watching Kiera make her lists and has made colorful circles over lots of papers, telling me what each cirlce "says." Makenna on the other hand, has been pretty nonchalant. We keep asking her what she would like for Christmas, and she just says, "I don't know. Anything, I guess." We've had a hard time figuring out something she'd really like, and we had to encourage her to even write a letter to Santa. She finally did and she had lots of fun ideas - like a robot that cleans the house (shouldn't that be on MY list?!) On Friday the girls and I took their lists to the Centerville Post Office to put them in the special mailbox that is just for Santa at the North Pole. The girls speculated that a special post office worker that looks like an elf picks up the letters each night after everyone is asleep and delivers them to Santa. Oh, to be little again! That's what makes Christmas FUN!

Cuties

While I was rushing around this morning, finishing getting ready for church, I noticed the girls were awfully quiet. Thinking they were up to something, I walked into the living room and saw this - Kiera reading Christmas stories to Makenna and Kasidee. They were all ready for church except for their hair. What a sweet sight!

Stephens Christmas Party

The whole Stephens family tries to get together every year for a big Christmas party. With over 60 people, it is usually held at a church. This year, we were asked to wear "Biblical" clothes (most people wore bathrobes and dishcloths on their heads). Each family member was "taxed" a canned food item that would be given to a needy family. When we went into the Cultural Hall, we sat down on blankets and family members put on a little skit around the nativity scene, complete with simple costumes Quentin's sister had brought. Our girls all loved being angels.




After the skit, Quentin's sister and her daughter began painting white on a big blue paper. You could hear people whispering their guesses of what it was - it wasn't until they stepped away that we could see the image:




After that, Santa visited and handed out presents to everyone, then we had a potluck dinner. What a fun, special way to kick off the season and to be with family!

(Cute little second cousins Kasidee and Makenzie, just 3 months apart)

Musings

So...there is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Now I'm just waiting for them to have an official "Remorse / Return Day."

Also, I'm wondering who the genius in the School District is that made the decision to have the last day of school before Christmas Break be December 17. December 17?! That means I have 7 whole days to try to keep my house clean and entertain my kids before Christmas - not to mention try to shop or wrap with them underfoot. Should be fun.

The Countdown...

December 1st. I guess the countdown is on. Doesn't it just seem like we celebrated Halloween about 2 weeks ago?! Anyway, we have a little tradition at our house (which was a tradition while I was growing up as well - thanks to Mom!) that starts in December. Santa's little elves watch us and leave a little treat or tiny toy in our advent calendar if we are good. Some years we have discovered a note for a new Christmas book; other years the girls have opened the doors to find a piece of our nativity set. The girls have been so excited and have tried to be on their best behavior. Last night, Kiera fell asleep with her Santa hat on, and Makenna left little notes and tiny bowls of food for the elves. This morning when they opened the advent door, they discovered a little Lego kit that makes a snowman! How cool is that?! Even though December is busy and can be hectic, it's the little things that make memories. Welcome December!