Prepping for Baptism . . .

Among other preparations for baptism, Mac and I held a mini photo shoot the other day so that I could get some pics for his announcement.
Mac is definitely my easiest child to take pictures of. We were out taking pictures for just a short while when I said to Mac, "Okay, I think we're done." and Mac said, "Wait! What about if I go like this . . ." (and then he'd strike some great pose). I love this child for so many reasons!

Trouble, with a capital T

She's reminding us of her brothers more and more everyday.

Out with 2011 and in with 2012

One of the biggest things I look forward to during Christmas is sending and receiving cards. Like last year, when I took our cards down, I trimmed them up and collaged them into several placemats (laminated as well) that we can use and eat off throughout the year. It's as close as we can get to having dinner with some of these people who live thousands of miles away.

We had a joint friend birthday party for Jaxton and Mac this year. We went swimming at the Sportsplex and the kids had a great time. I also enjoyed being in charge of almost nothing and being able to sit back and enjoy the evening with everyone else.

We spent New Year's with the Peay's again, except unlike last year, I kept my throw-up germs at home this time. This is one night that our whole family looks forward to all year long and we are so glad that Alex and Rachel continue to invite us back. We always have such a great time with them and the other families they invite.

We've found that Jilli likes to dress-up almost as much as Beckam does. They make a great super hero pair and they're pretty much ready to take on the world, or at least they think they are.

Jilli also loves to dress herself. On this particular day she donned her "horsie" pj's, a church dress, brown boots and pink hat and gloves. What can I say except that the girl's got a style that maybe only she can pull off.

Happy 2012! We can't wait to see all the wonderful things that will happen in this upcoming year.

and the countdown continued . . .

We introduced Eddie the Elf to the kids this year as part of our Christmas countdown.  I told them that he was here to watch them and then to report back to Santa each night on their behavior.  Their job was to not only be good kids, but they also had to find Eddie each morning and see what he had been up to while they were sleeping.  The first evening that we had Eddie with us, Jaxton came crying to me upstairs that he had seen Eddie move, that he had turned the lights on and off and that he heard him whistling to his elf friends to come get him.  Mac overheard the conversation and even though he had been questioning the whole "Santa" thing, he began telling everyone that he was pretty sure that elves and leprechauns were cousins and that since leprechauns were known to be tricky, Eddie was going to be nothin' but trouble.  Beckam couldn't sleep that night, convinced that Eddie was going to "get" him during the night. At this point I wondered if it was too late to return Eddie to the North Pole a.k.a. Target. The next morning they found Eddie in the fridge and to their delight he had brought them a breakfast of snow-covered donuts, apples and juice -- thankfully they didn't find him so scary after that.

We also marked off the days until Christmas by:

And then came Christmas Eve . . .

We spent the day at the Life & Science Museum

and then happily joined the Kelly family at the Klopfer home for more Christmas extravaganza then we could have hoped for.

To say we are big fans of the Klopfer family, would be an understatement.

We returned home with just enough time to open up cousin gifts before we shuffled the kids off to bed to dream of Christmas wonderfulness.

(But not before putting food out for the reindeer.)

I think everyone's dreams were made in to reality on Christmas morning.

Just look at that face -- his expressions says it all!

After presents it was off to church we went -- what better way to celebrate the Saviors's birth

Our Christmas princess was looking especially beautiful on such a special day.

And then it was back home to lounge in grandma and grandpa's gifts of USU attire.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with the excitement of the season as well as the spirit of Christ's birth.  How grateful I am for His humble birth, His life, His death and His resurrection.  Merry Christmas!

SIX

Let me take a break from our Christmas countdown to celebrate my sweet Jaxton's 6th birthday.

I can hardly believe it's been six years since this little guy made his surprise entrance into the world three weeks early. He made the transition to being a mom of two so easy breezy.

Words can not express how wonderful I think this lil' guy is. Wherever he goes people are naturally drawn to him. I'm not sure if it's his smile, his easy going demeanor, his squeezable physique, his twinkly blue eyes, his contagious giggle or a combination of all these attributes, but there is never a shortage of people wanting to be around him.

I love you, Jaxton James, to the moon and back and beyond.

Christmas Countdown

There's lots of wonderful things happening around here. Each day we participate in some kind of activity -- it's the highlight of our day.

We've made cookies (my best sugar cookies yet, thanks to my sister's recipe).

We had a sleepover with our cousins in OH. But let me clarify -- we didn't drive 7 1/2 hours each way just for a Christmas activity; our nephew, Logan, was getting baptized and we were so excited to be a part of his special day.

Beckam had his half birthday (4 1/2), so we celebrated with him by taking a trip to the dollar store and letting him blow a candle off a treat of his choice.

We've also been

And we've been to our ward's Christmas party.

Christmas countdowns are the coolest!

Christmas is in the Air!

Thanks to Pinterest, I revamped a wreath that I had made last year and after a million gazillion ornaments and glue sticks, this is this year's final product.  I'm sure by next year there will be something even more creative and time consuming that I'll just HAVE to try with it, but until then, we'll enjoy this decorative accessory in our home for the next month.

I also brought out this beauty from last year, our official Christmas Countdown. Luckily I put away half of the kids Halloween candy and I was able to use it to fill up the 24 slots for our four kids. I love when things work out as if I had planned it that way all along. Each slot not only contains a treat for each child but a Christmas activity as well. Just when my kids were beginning to think I wasn't a fun mom, the Christmas Countdown has saved me (I just hope the memories made can last six months until I pull out our Summer Adventure bags).

And because Mac decided he didn't believe in Santa anymore, I needed to do something to bring back the "I believe" spirit in our home. I thought Eddie the Elf (named by the kids) would be the perfect solution until I took the kids up to bed and Jaxton (who had lingered a little longer downstairs alone) came barreling up the stairs in full-blown tears claiming that Eddie was doing crazy things. Not only did Jaxton witness Eddie moving his head, but he claims that Eddie turned the lights on and off and that he heard Eddie whistling to the "other" elves to come and get him. Jaxton's experience then led into Mac telling everyone that he was pretty sure that elves and leprechauns were cousins and since leprechauns are super sneaky, he was sure Eddie was going to be nothing but trouble for us. All of this caused Beckam to not want to go to sleep since he was positive Eddie was going to "get him" while he was sleeping. I did my best to reassure them all that Eddie was indeed a good magical elf and that they didn't need to worry about him, especially at night, because that's when he makes his journey back to the North Pole to give his report to Santa. If my explanation didn't do the trick, the breakfast that Eddie brought with him the next morning seemed to mend the relationship -- what problem can't be fixed with a few donuts? Eddie continues to show up in a different location each morning, and while the kids enjoy finding him each day, I also find them "checking" on him frequently throughout the day just to make sure he hasn't tried anything troublesome.