WEBSTER FAMILY

To my dear little sister Tara--I AM SO SORRY! You asked me so nicely to make you a Buche de Noel and I did not. But, because you made me want it so badly, I made it after you left! I'm evil, I know. But, I want you to know that I tried that new recipe and it was the best Buche I've ever had and so I will make you one as soon as I can find a way to get it to you. Here's what it looked like: (The secret was in the cocoa--Hershey's now makes Special Dark Cocoa--it makes everything better!! Buy some if you can)

This should have been posted a long time ago (the video is from Dec 28) but, yes, Eliza walks! She started walking as soon as she got over her double ear infection in December. Funny thing about that though--we know she's getting a new ear infection when she can no longer walk. :) But she's all over now! Trying to keep up with Xander and Ben & I. I just love watching my kids grow up!!

Here's a shot of our Webster family done by Jared Paulsen. You can see more at: http://www.jaredpaulsenphotography.blogspot.com/ He did a fantastic job--I LOVE the one with all the grandkids on the tractor! Thanks Jared!!

I heard the worst sound the other day...it was the sound of Xander's head hitting my parents tile floor. Yep, it was bound to happen--don't all family gatherings have injuries?? Apparently he was running to Ben and slipped as he was jumping into dad's arms. There was very little blood (odd for a head injury) but a very large bump. After getting him calmed down we tried our best to ice it. Knowing there isn't much we can do, we kept our eye on him. He was doing ok until dinner when he threw up. We called all our nurse/doctor friends and they said to monitor him some more. This morning, he woke up and threw up again SO Ben and Xander got to take a trip to the ER. Diagnosed with a slight concussion --the bump, that was larger than a golf ball, is getting smaller and Xander is getting back to normal. Ben and Xander passed the time in the ER singing Christmas carols and were home within an hour and a half of dropping Eliza & I at my folks. I can't imagine the pain that my little boy was in--he's doing his best though to enjoy his cousins who he loves so dearly and we are trying our best to let him do so. I can't say that I haven't been extra protective though... :)

Eliza is quite the dog lover. While visiting Ben's folks anyone became Eliza's best friend if they took her to see the dogs. She still goes to our sliding door and barks. Maybe someday Missie Moo!

Ben's family has always read the Luke 2 Christmas story at their annual Webster Christmas party. As they read through they've sing Christmas songs (Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, etc) to go along with what is currently happening in the story. Last year (since the kids are getting older) they decided to start having the kids also act it out. Xander got to be Joseph this year and he took his job VERY seriously. Mary was played by Rowan. This was the only shot I caught with my camera before switching to Dad Websters SLR. :)

We visited the annual Glendale Christmas at the Ranch again this year and had a fantastic time. In fact, I (Wendy) even got a massage while Ben played with the kids--FANTASTIC! We decorated gingerbread men, played in the snow and won candy playing games. Good times were had by all!

One thing I will definitely miss about Glendale, AZ (there aren't many) are all the activities that the city puts on!! There are constantly things going on around here-it's fantastic! Yesterday was the "Jingle Bell Hike to Santa." We wanted to go last year but it was rained out so were really excited for it this year. Since it is finals week though, Ben wasn't able to go (ok, he actually had a final at 8 am that (Sat) morning--EWW!) but we were able to get our friends the Smiths to join us. The actual hike to Santa was only 2/3 mile but Beth & I estimated we probably did closer to a mile with the walk from our parking spot. Anyways, it was a beautiful morning and we climbed up a great rocky path and found Santa at the top. The path was all rock so I backpacked Eliza and Xander did all the walking on his own! All of the kids were given a bracelet or necklace with jingle bells to jingle on their hike--I think that that was Eliza's favorite part! The kids were so excited the whole time and SO well behaved--especially considering it was a 45- minute wait once we hiked up.
When Xander finally got his turn on Santa's lap, he was asked, "What do you want for Christmas?" Xander looked at him and said, "a candy cane." And Santa said, "is that all? Do you want any toys?" And Xander said, "Just a candy cane." So, Santa handed him his candy cane! And boy, what a happy boy he was!! Especially since Mommy let him eat it right away! Ahhh, the simple things in life!!!

I randomly decided to do a Christmas Cookie Exchange this year. I LOVE baking during the holidays but in our tiny kitchen, I get really discouraged. So, I decided to get everyone involved. I invited lots of friends and asked them to bring about 2 dozen of their favorite holiday cookie/treat. I even was able to get our complex to let us use their clubhouse so we could have more space! (And I didn't have to clean my house!!! haha) The evening turned out FANTASTIC--we had quite the assortment of treats and everyone went home with more than we should have!! :) I will definitely do this again!!!!!


The kids enjoyed the party too because we turned on "The Polar Express". They were so distracted that they didn't realize that there were hundreds of cookies right behind them!!! :)