A long overdue Christmas

Christmas has come and gone another year. We had a wonderful Christmas season this year again. I again owe it to our Discover Christmas curriculum. It helps us each day to focus on the Saviour in our celebrations. It helps to explain many traditions and teaches how they are indeed symbolic of Christ, though we may have forgotten the reasons why. I love Christmas and am grateful for the opportunity to have more of the spirit of Christ in our home this time of year. Here are some of our celebrations.

Acting of the Nativity:

Fun to have a baby to play baby Jesus.

A beautiful angel to see the Shepard's.

Lots of kids and me reading the story. Behind the camera are rows of chairs with the adults all enjoying our crazy version of the nativity, put on by 12 kids.

Christmas Morning:
Oh, that sweet face!!

She wasn`t allowed to get up before 7, she came into our room at 7:01. She was definitely the most excited!

We had to wake Elliette up at 7:30. They were allowed their stockings and then we had to get ready for church.

The classic Christmas picture. Dawsyn didn`t want to participate, obviously.

She just lost it and was screaming for some unknown reason.

Some comfort from Daddy.

My Handsome Boys!!

Our Crazy Growing Family! (Well except Paul and me, we are shrinking not growing, but you know what I meant!)

Marshall with a last cuddle with Grandad before they journey to Guatemala the next day.

Marshall with his great Uncle Todd. (Great as in amazing.)

How can I have a 7 year old!!

Here is Kyndals Birthday. She had an art party. She had her cousins, the Laws and 3 girls from her primary class over. We did a few art projects, like painting on canvas, making rock animals and some other rainbow painting thing. Of course I had more things planned (I always tend to have too much of anything) but we had plenty enough just doing a few things. It was fun and nice to celebrate our sweet girl turning 7.

Her cake was supposed to be different but what I was working on didn't turn out, so this is how it came out.

Her cousin Clayton made her a birthday hat.

Kyndal has always been a poser but she has recently learned to kick it up a notch. I think that this is partly due to some recent commercial exposure. I sometimes tape a few shows for the girls from National Geographic channel. They are supposed to fast-forward the commercials but she gets very distracted by them. Some of these look to me like cover girl poses.

She is just so funny. She has really become a big kid, she knows many adult-like sayings and uses them appropriately. She is such a silly kid that loves to goof around and play. She loves to be independent and in charge of anything. She just this week was starting to grump about our doing chores until she took it upon herself to go and write all of the regular jobs on the board and assign them. When she decides that she wants to do something she does amazing. We have been working on this, trying to have a positive attitude for something that she may not want to do and then when she decides for herself she just does whatever it is wonderfully. I hope that she keeps developing that skill.

Catch-up

So, wow, I have gotten so far behind. For a while I was doing so well but that is how life goes. Any of these things with multiple steps to accomplish seem to allude me. First pictures off camera, then time to organize them, upload them and write. That is all too much sometimes! We have been doing really well, adjusting to life pretty well, and getting into a routine after December throwing us off our normal schedule. It is great when it is such a wonderful Christmas time and then great to get back on track. So here is a big catch-up of some of my cute kids the last while. They are sure getting bigger every day!!

Dawsyn loves to dance. She loves her fanciest dresses and to dance around every day. She is just so funny! She is learning to show me her sweet little smile on command.

Trying to capture Marshalls smile.

This boy has just stolen my heart! I love him to bits and wish I could sit all day and play with him!! I love to eat up his little ribs and make him laugh. He loves to be tickled like that!

This is showing how tricky it is to get a picture of the kids. I am tickling, they are kicking me and squirming around.

It is hard to manage a good one of any of them but I want that baby smile!

My sweet babe just keeps on growing. I will forever be saying that, I know, but it is shocking sometimes. She is such a fun 2 year old. I am growing the little girls bangs out and they just drive me nuts hanging in their faces. It will sure be a process.

Kyndal is such a great reader and it is an amazing service that I try to encourage her to share with her sisters. I love her reading a book to her sisters and they love it too. Here is Dawsyn sharing some time with her big sister before bed. They are just so sweet!

Elliette like to make a camp out for the girls to play in. She tries to include Marshall as well before I save him from all of her loving and blankets and pillows.

Motivation

This was me getting ready for our Ward Christmas party. I had tried on clothes that were too small for me for about 45 mins. They all showed off some more rolly polly parts of me. I was feeling pretty chubby and not so pretty. So I decided that I needed to do my hair special to help me to feel more pretty again. So here am I, showing off my fancy hair. My hair is so straight that this is a very new thing for me. It was fun!

This weekend has also motivated me to work more on my exercising. I had been doing hot Yoga 2-3 times per week for the past month and this helped me to feel stronger but wasn't helping my expanded waistline. So I talked to a friend on Sunday that was doing the Body-for-life program after her baby was born. So I got these books from the library and have been working more on my exercise program. There is a great nutrition program as well which is similar to how we eat, just a little bit of tweaking (a few less treats and increasing in protein and raw veggies). It has been feeling so great. I have been working on weights and cardio and my pilates and yoga. Doing activity 5-6 times per week.

It has actually surprised me how good it feels. I am feeling refreshed and looking forward to my exercises. I am challenging myself, getting stronger every day. I am seeing progress. It is really great. I also feel like this is where my lifestyle will continue as this is going to be a part of my regular life. I need to work to be where I want to be, to be healthy and take proper care of myself. This feels good to be looking at this as part of my healthy future. It is really something that I am passionate about, healthy living, and that I am making positive changes to improve my lifestyle. One of the other great things is that Paul is working so hard as well. To have us working together, taking turns on the bike, doing workouts together and helping each other with our healthy eating makes such a difference. I am feeling so good about it and so is Paul. So I will update with our progress later!