November 30, 2014

 What a busy week!  Brady and Madison's wedding is getting closer.  Earlier in the month Jeremy and I felt very strongly that we should invite Madison's parents (Mark and Suzanne) to come spend Thanksgiving with our family.  When they accepted the invitation, we were thrilled....and nervous.  I was finding dirt in my house in places I didn't know dirt could hide!  Thankfully, Puna and Papa came a couple of days early to help me get everything ready and keep the kids entertained.

 For family night we made homemade ice cream.  The kids liked cranking the old fashioned machine until it got too hard to turn.  And the ice cream was super rich and delicious. Thank you for the fun experience Papa.  The girls want to make peppermint ice cream at Christmastime.

 On Tuesday and Wednesday we did some temple work for family names.  It was a sweet experience to be in the temple together and talk to the ordinance workers about our family history and the work Jeremy has been doing.  I have been learning more about the Wanner side of the family which is nice since they were not really a part of my life as a child.  And my mother is so grateful to provide the opportunity for her family to understand and fully enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel one day.  It was an emotional couple of days in the temple for all of us.

 

Puna had a fun idea to make candy turkeys for the dinner table.  The kids loved this project - especially sampling the candy.  Tommy was able to put all the candy corn on the tail of his turkey by himself.  That's some amazing fine motor skills for a boy less than two years old.

Here's a closer shot of the finished product.  Bubba doesn't look too thrilled.

 

 

Suzanne's beautiful flowers and Puna's turkeys helped make our table to wonderful this year.

 Here's most of the group - minus the kids and my parents.  Mark and Suzanne were wonderful guests.  They sent us the beautiful floral arrangement for the table and showered the children with gifts and crafts.  We were amazed they would willingly travel to spend a holiday with total strangers.  And we are so very glad they did!  It was the first face to face meeting for the Wanners and Mancinis and we're glad we had these few days to get acquainted before the wedding.

Thursday was a busy cooking day for me.  But it was worth it and everyone appreciated the meal and the time together.  I was so flustered trying to get things done that I forgot a couple of things I wanted to do that night.  Oh well!  It was a great evening.

 

Jeremy and I took Tommy out shopping for Black Friday.  Tommy loved his trip to the hardware store.  Jeremy is building me a stable for my outdoor nativity set.  I've wanted one for years and I'm so excited he decided to do it this year.  It should be done by this weekend so I will put up pictures on our next blog post.  Bubba loved all the bright lights and fans on the ceiling of the store.  Riding in the lumber carts was the highlight for him while Daddy selected the wood.  After the hardware store, we went to select a wood stove for the basement.  Hopefully we will have that installed soon.  We spent the rest of Friday afternoon decorating the house inside and out.

 We love the Santa stars Grammy gave us from her old Christmas decorations.  They add so much character to our tree - and they're nearly indestructable.  Papa repaired the lights on our tree and put up the tree for us while Jeremy and I hung lights outside.  Then Puna and the girls decorated the tree for us.  It is still a work in progress according to the girls.  They keep rearranging the ornaments.  It is just too pretty for them to resist.

 My absolute favorite decoration this year is our scripture advent calendar made by my Aunt Sue Simmons.  She made this for me last year and sent her testimony of Christ in a letter with the calendar.  Each number has a scripture and a picture of Christ that illustrates the scripture under it.  By Christmas day, the whole board will be filled with pictures of the Savior.  I love that it gives the children something to ponder about Jesus every day leading up to Christmas.

I have to keep my little Nativity on top of the armoire in my kitchen.  I just don't trust the little hands that live in my house. 

 Puna treated me to the Black Friday deals on Christmas decorations at the local craft stores.  Now I have lovely tins and boxes above all the cabinets in my kitchen.  I love all the lights up there too.  Makes my heart happy every time I walk into the kitchen.

 

 Brady had to work Friday so we just spent the day with Puna and Papa.  The Mancinis got to have a day just with Madison.  They hit the mall for some deals and Madison gave them a tour of campus and showed them her college apartment.  Friday night we took the Mancinis to our new favorite pizza place in Ririe called Stoplight Pizza.  We ordered their huge specialty pizza and a small pepperoni pizza too.  Mark and Suzanne couldn't believe how big the pizza was.  What a fun place to eat.  We spent some time talking to the owner and head cook.  He has quite an interesting life story.  And he is from the same area of California as the Mancinis.  They enjoyed talking about familiar places in California.  It was a fun dinner.  After dinner, I planned a trip to Mountain River Ranch in Ririe close to the Snake River.  We had never been there before so I didn't know what to expect.  I'm so glad we went.  It was my favorite night of the whole week!

 Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, Mountain River Ranch offers free wagon rides (or sleigh rides if there's snow) for anyone who brings canned food donations to the ranch.  All the food goes to the Idaho Food Bank.  The ranch donates their time, wagons, and treats for the guests.  We rode in the open top wagons through the ranch property and loved seeing all the Christmas light displays.  The whole experience exceeded my expectations.  There was a lovely little Western town decorated in Christmas lights.  The staff was so friendly.  The lights were beautiful.  The weather was perfect.  I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend our last night together.  And the whole night was free.  We will make this a tradition every year we're in Idaho for Thanksgiving - I just don't want to tell anyone about it because then it will be more crowded at the ranch.

 After the rides, guests were invited into the lodge for cookies and cider.  They had great Christmas music playing.  Tommy was inspired to dance.  He doesn't need much encouragement when it comes to dancing. Lily got Daddy to dance with her - which required a lot of encouraging.

It was a fantastic event.  We can't wait for the chance to go again.  Our girls said it was their favorite part of Thanksgiving weekend. I would love to go back with Jeremy for a date night.  They offer dinner, a western comedy and music show, and a wagon/sleigh ride during the winter and summer months. 

 On Saturday morning the Mancinis and the Wanners had to travel home.  The kids miss Puna and Papa already.  Lily really enjoyed meeting Suzanne.  Lily even asked Suzanne to tuck her in one night.  I feel so grateful for the time we had to be together as a family and get better acquainted with Madison and her family.  It was one of my most favorite Thanksgivings ever.

 Saturday night we were hit with a big wind storm and power outage.  We had just finished bathing the kids when our lights went out.  After putting Tommy to bed, we pulled out our candles, oil lanterns and flashlights to play some family games.  The girls thought it was really cool.  Daddy and I are just glad the power was back on by 10:00 so that we could stay warm in our beds all night.

We have so much to be thankful for!  I love this time of year and look forward to finding ways to teach our children about service and Christlike love as Christmas approaches.

November 23, 2014

 Lily started the week still sick.  She seemed to improve but was wiped out after a day at school Monday.  She came home and fell asleep and didn't wake up until late in the afternoon.  So I treated Annie to a beauty day.  We trimmed her bangs and did a facial.  She wanted to wrap the towel around her hair and body "just like Mommy does". Then I trimmed and filed all her nails and painted her fingers and toes with her favorite bright orange nail polish.  She loved the special attention while Lily and Tommy were napping.

 I've been meaning to do this project for a long time.  Grammy gave us some framed pictures of flowers that I used to have hanging in the living room of our Meridian house.  I opened up the frames and took out the flower pictures and replaced them with pictures of the kids.  Then I hung them with one of my favorite framed scriptures.  I love walking past these pictures.  It makes me happy to finally have them up.

 Late Monday, Lily was all better and finally ready to eat, drink, and start playing again.  After a good snack, she wanted to go for a walk in the snow.  We all bundled up and joined her for some fresh air before the sun went down.  Tommy kept trudging through the deepest snow he could find.  Annie spun and twirled all the way down the street.  It felt so good to breathe in the fresh cool air and see the sparkling snow.

 For Family Home Evening we made turkey handprint cards to send to our grandparents and favorite missionaries.  Hopefully they made it to you before your travels started!

 Annie is still doing great with dance class.  She looks forward to it every week.  I think her routine is a little too easy for her but she still loves her teacher and the other girls.

Brady and Madison's wedding invitations arrived this week.  We are so excited for them to begin their life together!  The invitations were really cool too.

 Puna sent Tommy some snow boots!  He loves them.  We take little walks every day in the snow.  He loves to crunch the snow under his stomping feet.  They almost come up to his knees.  He can't get up and down stairs with them because he doesn't have enough range of motion in his legs.  It makes him very frustrated.  But most of the time, he is happy to have boots just like his big sisters.

 Tommy's language is still slow in coming.  He isn't saying much at all.  I've been trying more active ways to help him discover sounds since he can't hold still or focus on anything for more than 30 seconds.  We played with this little farm animal block puzzle for nearly an hour one day.  We talked about all the animals names and the sounds they make - and Tommy was getting really good at putting the puzzle together.  Annie decided to join us in the fun.  She put together two big puzzles on her own while Tommy and I played.  I love Annie's bed head!

 We've been going to story time at the library once or twice a week since the weather cooled off.  This past week, we got to sing songs with jingle bells.  Tommy loved the bells.  He wouldn't stop moving - hence the super blurry pictures!  He was dancing and laughing the whole time.  I think Santa needs to bring Bubba a little set of bells this year.

 I made Annie and Tommy a green smoothie for breakfast one morning.  Tommy wouldn't drink it out of the glass so I tried putting it in a bowl.  He needed two spoons to eat it, but he ate every last bit of it.  Annie drank all of hers too.  That's a first!  Unfortunately Tommy got smoothie all over his shirt, pants, blanket, high chair, and floor.  Maybe he didn't eat as much as I thought.

Thursday night we went to BYU Idaho for their annual employee bookstore sale.  We waited in line for a LONG time to see Santa.  The girls were so excited to talk to him.  Tommy.........not so much.  We bought a couple of things and then waited for our photo with Santa to be printed.  By them time we were done, the kids were exhausted.  We knew they wouldn't make it home for dinner, so we went to the campus food court.  Annie was amazing.  A total trooper and happy girl.  Lily and Tommy were so tired, they just laid down on the floor while we waited for our dinner. 

 Friday was my favorite day of this week.  Lily's class had a Thanksgiving party for the kids and parents.  They put on a little program for us.  Each child told us one thing they were thankful for - in Spanish.  Lily was thankful for Uncle Brady and Aunt Madison.  Then they sang us 10 Little Indians in Spanish.  The big finish was a Turkey Tango.  Lily danced with her buddy Brigham.  She had a paper rose in her mouth.  Brigham even picked he up three or four times and dipped her twice during the song.  I got a short video but I can't get it to load to the blog.  It was hilarious.  Then we all had a small Thanksgiving feast.  I brought mashed potatoes.  A little boy in Lily's class asked me what the secret ingredient was in my potatoes.  He said they were they best.  I told him I added a little ranch dressing.  He said I was the coolest.  Tommy was oblivious to everything that happened that day.  He just played with the dominoes the whole hour.

And here's our proof of how much Tommy didn't like Santa.  He screamed so loud everyone in the store turned to see what was wrong.  Poor Santa!  Poor Tommy.  Hopefully by next year, Tommy will feel a little braver so he can tell Santa what he wants for Christmas.