A Little Bit of Holiday Cheer...Finally!

Well, we're all moved into our (temporary) house. We stuck most of our stuff down in the basement & only unpacked essentials. I'm glad to be somewhat settled for a little bit, & I'm glad we were able to get settled so early in the month because now we might actually be able to have a little bit of a Christmas season after all! We decided to pull out some (but not all) of our Christmas decorations. We didn't put up much (I just packed up a million boxes, the last thing I want to do right now is unpack them all), but it's enough to give us some holiday cheer around here. We put up the tree on Monday night...

Don't you just LOVE the curtains in our front room??? They came with house at no extra charge...can you believe it? :) I would love to take them down, but there aren't any blinds in this window...so, to spare my neighbors from seeing WAAAAAAAAAAAAY more of us than they would like, I will leave them up.

Anyway, back to the tree...I have to share a couple funny stories that happened as we were putting ornaments on the tree. As the boys would put an ornament on, they would say, "I'm going to put up this reindeer!" or "I'm going to put up this star!" Well, we were surprised to hear Aiden say one time, "I'm going to put up this picture of this woman!" All of us were a little puzzled & didn't remember having an ornament of a picture of a woman. Connor glanced over at the ornament that Aiden was hanging on the tree...then he rolled his eyes and said, "That's not a picture of a woman Aiden...that's a picture of Jesus!" We BUSTED UP laughing! HILARIOUS!!!

Next, Connor was hanging up a long nail that is tied to a red ribbon. My friend, Amanda, gave them out as neighbor gifts a few years back. I asked him if he knew why we had an ornament of a nail. He told me he didn't know. I said, "Well...I'll give you a clue. It's to remind us of someone who did something very special for us!" He then got really excited and said, "Oh! I know! It's to remind us of DAD because he is always working with nails to build stuff for us!!!" Oy Vey! I promise I am trying to teach these kids about the gospel! Apparanently, it's going in one ear & out the other though. Sigh...

Here's a picture of the finished product the next day...

Cohen has been "undecorating" it ever since...and by "undecorating" I mean "breaking every ornament he can get his hands on!" Good times!

I also wanted to put up my garland on the porch railing outside, but this house's porch is a lot longer than our last one, so I realized it wasn't going to work. We decided to put it up the banister as you go upstairs & I think it turned out super cute...

We also hung our stockings by the chimney with care. Yes, I realize that we have five people in our family & only four stockings. Oh well...

And, I also put out a few other little decorations too, but not a whole lot. So, there's our decorations for this very unusual Christmas season.

Also, to add to the holiday cheer, our Relief Society Activities Committee (the committee formerly known as Enrichment) put on our annual Christmas activity last night. It was a good night. I don't have any pictures because I forgot, sorry. Our theme was "Christmas Around the World." We ate dinner & had a few girls who had lived in other countries share Christmas traditions from other places. After dinner, we did a service project. Our Bishop asked our Relief Society about a month ago to make him some quilts that he could give out to people in need in our area. We asked the girls to donate whatever fabric, batting, yarn, thread, etc. that they felt they could, and boy did they come through! We ended up with enough stuff to make 18 quilts! So, after dinner, the girls tied the quilts and chatted with one another. It was a simple, but nice Christmas activity. I'm really glad we did a service project as part of the activity because...isn't that what this season is really about??? I think it turned out great!

And, I'm a little relieved to report that last night's activity will be the LAST ONE that I am in charge of!!! They called a new girl to take my place this past Sunday & I will be released this upcoming Sunday! I don't know if this is bad to say, but I'm actually really excited about it! Sorry...It's just such a big calling & frankly, I'm TIRED! I've done it for two years now & I think it's about time to pass the torch on to someone else! I'm really excited to just be able to show up to an activity for once, instead of spending hours upon hours planning it, working on it, setting it all up, making sure everything is going smoothly, & cleaning up afterwards. It's going to be great! I will miss working with my committee though! I love those girls!!! They have been such a great help & many of them have become some of my best friends! I will miss our almost daily phone calls & emails! You girls are A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

So, with my calling release, essentials unpacked & a few decorations up, I'm ready to sit back & enjoy the holiday season...right after I design Christmas cards, write a Christmas newsletter, mail them all out, make neighbor gifts, buy a few last minute presents & wrap all presents that have already been bought. Good grief! Maybe I won't be sitting down & enjoying it much after all! --Lindsay

How Much Is That Baby in the Shopping Cart?

My parents gave Cohen a little shopping cart for his birthday back in the summer & it has been one of his favorite toys ever since. He loves to push it around & throw all sorts of toys in it. But, the other day, he decided that the shopping cart would also make a great seat...

What a funny kiddo! He did this several times all evening long. He'd push the shopping cart into a room where he felt the action was happening & then get inside the cart & just sit there and watch what was going on around him! I love this kid!

Ignore our moving boxes in the background! Life is pretty chaotic right now! Saturday is now the big day! A few weeks ago, it looked like the buyers' loan paperwork for our house was going through the system faster than expected, so the buyers asked us if we would mind moving the closing date up a week or so. We agreed & started packing like crazy! Now, it's looking like the house won't close until the original closing date, but we decided to move into our rental early anyway. I figure we're paying rent over there already, and if we move in there on the 5th of December, we might actually have a little bit of a stable Christmas season. We'll be able to set up our tree & stuff as soon as next week (depending on how on-the-ball I am!) So, if anyone (or their husbands) would like to help us move, show up at our current house on Saturday at 8:30 or 9:00 am. We're thinking it shouldn't take very long. A lot of our stuff is already moved over there (Mike's been taking loads in the Tahoe every night), so we'll just need help moving furniture & a few boxes that can't be packed until the last minute (dishes, food, etc.) Thanks in advance to all of you willing to help! --Lindsay

The Blessing of the Lost Keys

So, I lost my keys this morning. Well, actually, I think Cohen "lost" them for me. Not really something a person would normally write a blog post about, but I felt like I should write this one down because I think it was actually a blessing that they got lost. Let me explain.

The morning started out normal, I drove Connor's carpool over to the elementary school at 7:45 am, then came home, set my purse & keys on the coffee table in the living room and went about the morning.

At 8:40 am, it was time to drive Aiden's carpool down to his preschool. I got the kiddos bundled up & then went to grab my keys & purse. My purse was sitting there...but my keys weren't. I KNEW I had left them there. I remember thinking when I put them down, that I should hang them up. But, then I thought, "Well, I'm just going to need to use them again in a few minutes when I drive Aiden's carpool, so I'll leave them here." But, they weren't there anymore. Where had they gone?!? Aiden & I started looking everywhere, but no keys.

"No problem," I thought. "I'll just grab Mike's set." (Mike likes to have separate key rings for each car, so that his keyring isn't gargantuous like mine.) But, when I went to grab them off the key hooks, they weren't there! I called Mike & asked him where his keys were. He said that he had taken both sets of keys with him that morning. It was cold outside, so he had gone out to start his car early & let it warm up. Then, he came back in the house & did a few last minute things. When it was time to go, he decided to grab his other set of keys in order to lock the front door, rather than taking the keys out of the ignition to come back up & lock up. Oh good gracious!!! Why, of all mornings, had he decided to take both sets of keys with him TODAY?!?

Aiden & I went back to looking for the keys. I even said a quick prayer in my head asking for help in finding them. NOTHING!!! At 8:56 (four minutes before preschool started), I finally admitted defeat & called the girl that I carpool with. I told her what was happening & asked her if she could drive the boys to preschool. She said that she would be right over. She picked up Aiden at about 9:06. At 9:08, I had the impression to look in the drawers of our TV stand. I opened the first drawer and...there they were! What in the world?!? The only thing I can think is that Cohen got a hold of them & decided that this drawer would be a good place to throw them! What a kid!

At first, I was kind of mad about the situation. Why couldn't I get that impression about 15 minutes earlier? Then, the thought came to me...for some reason, I was NOT supposed to drive to preschool today! Weird, huh? I don't know why. All I know is that was the feeling I had when all was said & done. And, looking back at everything that happened this morning, it was the perfect combination of events (me deciding not to hang my keys up, Mike taking both sets of his keys, Cohen finding a REALLY good hiding spot for them) that made it impossible for me to drive. Anyway, kind of a funny story, but one that I thought I should write down. Just a little reminder to myself that the Lord is constantly blessing each and everyone of us...probably much more than we will ever know! --Lindsay

Thanksgiving '09

Another fun (and yummy) Thanksgiving has come & gone! We spent this year up at Mike's parents' house in Layton. We had a small group this year...only 9 people were there (our family of 5, Mike's brother Brian, Great-Grandpa Judkins, and Mike's parents), but we had lots of food. Here's the spread before we dug in...


And, here's a picture of the whole gang...


After dinner, everyone sat around and talked, played games & built things out of Lego's. Then, one at a time, people started to doze off in an L-tryptophan drunken state. While people were snoozing, Grandpa took Connor and Aiden over to Great-Grandpa Judkins farm where they fed the horses some carrots and apples. The boys absolutely loved this! They said that the horses tickled their hands when they were eating the food. I wish I had pictures of this, but I wasn't there...I was one of the people that was overcome by the L-tryptophan! :)

Later that night, Mike's Uncle Dave & Aunt Jan came over with some of their kids for pie & leftovers. It was fun to see all of them for a few minutes! They are a lot of fun!

So, that was our Thanksgiving! It was low-key and a lot of fun! The food was delicious & the company was great! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you had a good one! --Lindsay

My Sweet Little Aidenator

So, I was packing the other day & I found Aiden's school picture in a pile of random stuff. I think I stuck it there several months ago thinking that I needed to post it on here, but (apparently) I never got around to it. I decided that, although life is crazy chaotic right now with the move, I needed to take some time & post something about my Aidenator. Aiden, as many of you know, is my wild child! The kid has a mind of his own & he does what he wants, when he wants...and no one can tell him differently! But, Aiden is also a tenderheart! He is such a sweet little boy! When he goes anywhere, even if he's only going to be gone for a few minutes, he stops at the door and always says, "Bye Mom! I love you!" When I say "I love you too," he always responds with, "I love you soooooooooo much!" When I say "I love you soooooooooooo much too!" He responds with "I love you INFINITY!" This can go on for several minutes before he finally closes the door. It is the cutest thing ever!

When I leave to go somewhere, Aiden always comes running to the door saying, "I need a hug & a kiss before you go!" This hug and kiss is followed up with, "I will miss you soooooooooo much Mom!" This doesn't just happen once when I leave, he will give me MULTIPLE hugs & kisses, and tell me MULTIPLE times that he is going to miss me before I am "allowed" to leave. Many times, he will have already given me 9+ sets of hugs & kisses, and yet he will still run after me to the door one last time saying, "Wait! Just one more hug & kiss!!!" It can take me 8 minutes sometimes just to escape out the door...which can be a bit of a problem when I'm running late! But, I love his hugs & kisses more than the world, so it's totally worth it!

Aiden is such an awesome kiddo! He is doing GREAT in school! On his first day, I warned his teacher that Aiden was my crazy kid & that he may give her some trouble now and again. But, everyday as I pick him up, she tells me what a great kid he is! She says that he does his work quietly & quickly, that he is a great friend & example to the other kids in the class, and that he picks up new concepts very easily! I am so proud of him! Way to go Aiden! I am so excited to see what you accomplish in your lifetime! I know there are great things in store...as long as I can figure out a way to channel all your energy into positive things! I love you INFINITY! --Mommy

Look Who Finally Decided to Start Walking

Well, Cohen finally decided a few weeks ago (at 15 1/2 months) that he would join the rest of the human race & begin walking! He's been able to walk since he was about 13 months old, but didn't like to walk because it was so much easier to crawl. It hasn't been until the past few weeks that he's started to walk more than crawl. I haven't really pushed him much in the walking department because, frankly, I liked having a baby that was only semi-mobile. But, by about 15 months, I started to worry that something might be wrong. I asked the pediatrician about it at his 15 month appointment. I told him that Cohen COULD walk, but just didn't want to. He just laughed and said it was "Youngest Child Syndrome." Why would he WALK when he has four big people at his beck and call to carry him around where ever he wants? Good point. So, over the next few weeks, I just made a point of not carrying him a whole lot. If he wanted to come with me into a different room, he had to come himself. Wouldn't you know it...the kid started walking within 2 weeks! He's still a tiny bit wobbly his feet, so it's really entertaining to watch him. Here's some video I took of him the other day. Too fun...



I love this little man! He is just such a sweet, cute little guy. He is so easy going & fun to be around...plus, he loves to cuddle! None of my other boys EVER liked to be cuddled! He gives the best hugs in the world & is cute as can be! He's the best & I don't know how we ever survived without him! --Lindsay

I Have Done My Patriotic Duty

Yes, that's right...I have done my duty to support the national economy. My mom and sisters made our annual "Christmas shopping trip" this past Friday. We always plan a day during November to go shopping from sun up to sun down. We get a huge chunk of our Christmas shopping done on this day, before the Christmas season has even begun! We love doing it this way because then we don't have to deal with all the crowds in December, plus a lot of the stores do great sales during November so that they can get a jump start on their holiday sales. DOUBLE BONUS! Here we are after our two hour long excursion through Toys R Us. My sister, Kristin, thought we were quite a sight all walking together like this, so she snapped a picture...

About 90% of my kids' Christmas was shoved into that cart! It was a very successful shopping day! Now I just have to wrap it all. Uggg... --Lindsay