Friday, December 30, 2016

In the lovely month of December

Unfortunately, I have a lot of stressful memories from the month of December.  We discovered a huge mold problem in our bathroom just before Thanksgiving, and we are still in the process of rebuilding/remodeling our shower.  That means Matt and I have been showering in the girls' bathroom for over a month now.  I've gotten used to it, but it certainly disrupted our schedule at first.  Also, when I went down to the crawl space to bring up our Christmas decorations, I discovered mouse poop covering everything--again.  It turns out a gopher ended up tunneling into our crawl space, too.  They are tearing up a field near our house to build more town homes.  So, all those little critters need to find a new place to live, but they are not welcome in my crawlspace or in my yard.  While I usually may have handled both events with less anxiety, I was particularly concerned about the baby and how the mold and mouse droppings I came in contact with might affect her.  That caused me a few sleepless nights.

Fortunately, I was able to contact my doctor and he assured me that if I stayed away from the mold and mouse droppings as much as possible, the baby should be fine.  It appears that I'm in the clear for contracting the horrible diseases that could affect baby.  So, now my mind is at rest.  I've been grateful for my mom who came over and cleaned the things in my crawlspace and for Matt who has been working on the bathroom all by himself.  Our cat seems to have even taken care of the gopher problem in the crawlspace.  Though I'm not going down there to check.  I will leave all the risky things for mom and baby to other people.

I know it's kind of weird to start a Christmas blog post by sharing some of my major stressors.  Yet, while the month of December hasn't been perfect, I've experienced real joy, contentment, and even peace because of the Atonement of Christ and the joy of spending time with family.

We got our first snow on November 28th and built a snowman.

The first weekend in December, we drove out west past Eureka to cut down our Christmas tree.  We drove up this little four wheel drive road, which we discovered did not have any place for us to turn around.  After awhile, Matt decided that our best bet was to back down the mountain, which was a little terrifying for me, but as we were backing down the mountain, I noticed the "perfect" Christmas tree.  So, we got out of the truck and cut it down.

Matt with the "perfect" Christmas tree.

The girls and Matt playing on the steep hillside.

Kirsten was scared of the steep hillside, and Reagan so sweet to "help" her back of the hill.

The second weekend in the December my mom took us to go see The Nutcracker at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo.  The performance was wonderful.  It was fun to see the girls be so inspired by the music, the colors, and the dancing.


My mom gave each of us a Nutcracker Christmas ornament.

The girls with a nutcracker
 After the ballet, we went out to eat at Denny's, which is the girls favorite restaurant.  It's their favorite because they get to eat Kraft Mac and Cheese.  I like that they eat and kids meals are free after four  o'clock.
A fun singing Santa at the restaurant

Kirsten with the Rudolph nose from her cup

Reagan with the Rudolph antlers from her cup
 We had such a nice time with my mom at The Nutcracker.  What a memory!

Starting around Halloween, Reagan has been having nightmares.  Matt came up with the idea of putting Porter in bed with her to comfort her, and it has worked.  She sleeps very soundly with her doggy at her feet.  It has also been really cute to see her bond with her doggy so much.
Reagan hugging her doggy.
 Kirsten has been making a lot of progress at school, and I particularly enjoyed seeing how she sounded out these Christmas words.
Christmas words that Kirsten wrote.
 While Matt was out of town one week, the girls and I made a big project of baking gingerbread cookies.  When I spread the flour on the table to roll out the dough, Kirsten grabbed a handful and threw it in the air yelling "Snow!"  Then the girls rolled around in it like dogs while I cut most of the cookies.  I confess, I had to work hard to control my temper as I lost control of my kitchen.  We got it cleaned up and had yummy cookies to share with our neighbors.  So, it all worked out.  More than that, the girls have a fond memory of baking.
Reagan with the finished product.

Kirsten with the finished product.
 Later that week we had dinner at my parents' house, and inspired by The Nutcracker, the girls asked Nana to teach them some ballet.  Now Reagan tells me that she doesn't even need lessons because she already knows ballet.

Doing ballet
 One afternoon, Santa came to Kirsten's school to spend time with the children while they waited for their parents to pick them up.  I was glad I brought my phone to take a picture.
Kirsten with Santa on his motorcycle.
 On the Wednesday before school got out, Kirsten had her kindergarten Christmas program, which was quite possibly her favorite thing about school up to this point.  They learned tons of cute Christmas songs and some of them, including Kirsten, even had speaking parts.  Kirsten did such a great job.  We were so proud of her.
Kirsten with her daddy after the performance.

Kirsten with her teacher.

Kirsten with Grampa, Nana, Reagan, and Uncle Michael

Kirsten with her mom and dad
 For our anniversary, Matt and I went to see A Christmas Carol at the Orem Hale Center Theater.  They always put on stellar performances, and we really enjoyed the show.  Afterward we went to eat at Olive Garden with a gift card I discovered in my purse from last Christmas.  It was a yummy meal to go along with fine entertainment.

The next day Matt and my dad moved Kirsten's bunk bed into Reagan's room, and now it's Kirsten and Reagan's bunk bed in Kirsten and Reagan's room.  I've been really pleased by how well they've adjusted to sharing a room.  Now Reagan wakes Kirsten up in the morning.  So, I don't have to deal with her grumpiness.  They actually seem to be getting along a lot better these days, too.  I was apprehensive about the transition exacerbating behaviors problems, but it seems to have had the exact opposite effect, which has resolved one of my other stressors for now.  I'm so grateful!

On Christmas Eve morning, my mom came over to make cookies for Santa with me and the girls.  That evening Uncle Jake came down from Logan to celebrate with us.  My parents and Uncle Michael came down the street to our house, and we had another Mary and Joseph dinner.  It's fun to eat on the floor, especially for the kids.  The food was all pretty appealing to them, too, since there was plenty of cheese, bread, crackers, and grapes.  We talked about the birth of Christ and sang Christmas carols together.  Afterward, we went to see the Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork.  They do a fantastic Christmas light display, which is always fun to see.  When we got home, the girls set out some cookies and milk for Santa and went straight to bed.  They were so sleepy from all the celebrating!
Dancing with Nana while we sang Christmas carols
 On Christmas morning, they woke up around seven to find their Santa presents.  They each received a big red sled, which was perfect because it snowed about eight inches over the night.  What a Christmas miracle!
Kirsten holding up her My Little Pony flashlight

Reagan turning her My Little Pony flashlight on

Kirsten and Daddy checking out the tool set she got from Santa
 Then we opened the presents under the tree.

Reagan loved the stuffed unicorn from Aunt Emily.  Kirsten got one too.

Uncle Jake was the "best" Uncle for giving the girls these Zootopia stuffed animals.

Reagan with Uncle Jake.

Reagan got Lost Little Unicorn book from Papa and Beth, which we have been reading often since Christmas morning.

Kirsten bought Daddy this cupcake candle for Christmas.

Aunt Emily gave the girls The Last Unicorn DVD, and we have watched it everyday since Christmas.

Kirsten got Corduroy Lost and Found  from Mommy and Daddy.

When Reagan opened her Chase figurine from Kirsten, she mauled Kirsten with the biggest hug ever.  They rolled around on the floor for at least a minute.

Reagan got A Pocket for Corduroy from Mommy and Daddy.

The girls got a My Little Pony playset from Aunt Bonny and Uncle David.

Reagan is wearing her shirt from Papa and Beth on her head.

A mermaid tail blanket from Papa and Beth

Once again our families were so generous with us for Christmas!  I didn't get pictures of the girls with every gift apparently, but they also loved the Winnie the Pooh hand puppets from Mimzy, and we have been reading Winnie the Pooh a lot more since Christmas.

Matt and Jake took the girls out sledding in the late morning while I napped.  Unfortunately, I caught a cold for Christmas--along with Brian and Norma.  Then we gave it to Matt and Grampa.  Everyone else seems to have bypassed the yucky cold.  It was good to get some rest, so that I could lead the music in Sacrament meeting that afternoon and enjoy the rest of our Christmas celebration.

The choir sang beautifully for Christmas.  I was so pleased and grateful to be the director of such fine music.  I've found it's inevitable that the week before Christmas our practice is pretty horrible.  All the choir members start thinking we need extra practice, and for the first two years I thought we did too.  Then one year I realized that it always comes together for Christmas.  Always.  I've never been displeased with the way they sing or the way I conduct when our Christmas performance comes around.  I'm sure that God adds choirs of angels when we sing.

It was also really nice because my parents, Michael, Brian, Norma, William, Sierra, Jake, and Norma's mom, Evelyn, all came to our Sacrament meeting.  I loved having as much family together as possible at Church on Christmas Day.  It felt just right.

After Sacrament Meeting, we went to my parents' house for Christmas Day dinner. We ate yummy steak, corn casserole, cheesy potato casserole, and fruit.

Wearing our Christmas crowns

My mom pulled out this potholder that we made together long ago.

The girls were begging us to pull them on this blanket.  No one obliged.
 Then we opened more Christmas presents.

My parents made the girls these My Little Pony blankets.

Brian and Norma gave Reagan Speckles the Frog.

And Kirsten got Grapes the Monkey

Kirsten gave Nana and Grampa these angels
 Then we went back to our house for our traditional Christmas program where everyone shares something Christmas-y with the family.
Reagan sang "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer"

Kirsten sang "Jingle Bells"

Evelyn read a book of "Away in a Manger"

Sierra read "The Night Before Christmas"

Brian pretended to be a Wise Man

My parents danced to "Frosty the Snowman"
 The next day Matt, the girls, and my mom went sledding.  I came along to take pictures and cheer everyone on.





Two days ago we went to our friend Jennie's house to play.  We haven't been able to see them since school started, and Jennie is probably my best friend.  Our kids love each other.  So, it was so good to see them again.

The next day I took the girls to the play place at the Orem Mall, and guess who was there?  Jennie and her kids!  We got to see them two days in a row.  It was so much fun!

Reagan playing with Speckles at the mall.

All the kiddos playing together
Looking back on all the pictures, I was able to forget about all the stupid stressors that popped up this month and truly focus on the joy of family and the gift of our Savior Jesus Christ.