Ross

21. I'm grateful for a husband who makes life fun and meaningful. He came up with a game where each of us was assigned a number, 1-6. We rolled once to see who would pick out the gift and give it, and then rolled again to see who would receive the gift. It helped us to take our time and really enjoy opening the gifts we were each given. The kids did a great job of being patient and of being excited not only for themselves, but for the person getting the gift as well. Opening presents took us a couple of hours.


22. I was very grateful for such a beautiful Christmas morning! I loved getting to open stockings and then to go to church. I think that Christmas days on Sundays are extra nice. What a better way to celebrate the Saviors birth than to partake of the sacrament and remember him on the day we celebrate his birth.


23.I'm grateful for the pure joy that I often see on my children's faces. This is what makes life so beautiful.


24. I am thankful for Chacos! Anyone who knows me much, knows my love of sandals, and my opinion of closed-toed shoes. Lauren is big enough now, and I got enough of a screaming deal, that she got to receive her very first pair of Chacos. Hopefully the first of many.


25.I am thankful for my little girls who love dolls! I was never a girly kind of girl myself, but it's fun to have girls who embrace their girlyness.


26. I'm grateful for Ethan's creativity. He's in the middle of drawing and composing his first graphic novel, "Death by Laser." Who wouldn't be proud of that? lol


27. I'm grateful for grandparents who have taken the time to get to know their grandchildren, and who buy them gifts according to their likes. They aren't just given a gift to fill in a list, they are given them because they are loved individually.


28. I'm thankful that all Lauren wanted for Christmas was her one front tooth; she would have looked extra goofy if they were both missing!


29. I'm thankful that Ethan's new bike was the right size; I had been a little worried that it was too big.


30. I'm thankful that my children have inherited my love of reading. Ethan will have finished Fablehaven Book One and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Cabin Fever by the time he gets back to school. He recently got an award at school for having the highest reading level in his grade. Lauren is currently reading her new Beverly Clearly book set we got her, and she's been reading her new Fairytale books from Grandmas T. every day to Lily. I caught her a little bit after opening presents doing this on the back patio.

11. I'm grateful that this silly little guy is so used to holding his pants up on his skinny little butt that he also holds his shorts on, too.


12. I'm so grateful that I can call these two Mom and Dad. They are so much fun.


13. I'm grateful that my mother-in-law seems to get as wet as I also do every time we go to the beach, even when I promise myself I'll stay out of the water this time.


14. I'm grateful for the many beauties the Lord has given me.


And not just the big ones.



15. I'm grateful that I caught Lily picking her nose here, because I laugh every time I see it.


16. I'm thankful that Brett likes to get things like steam train rides for his birthday that the whole family can share.

17. I'm thankful for Christmas, and that it's now over, and that Boxing Day here at the Ross house was a success. Tree gone, Nutcracker collection very gratefully put away, rooms scoured and 6 garbage bags full of old toys and unused items are ready for the DI. I feel like a whole new person with a clean, organized house. And the kids are playing non-stop with their new toys, and being very good.


18. I'm so thankful for my beautiful little girls. This is how we found them after Brett and I got done stuffing the stockings on Christmas Eve. I think they like the dolly and me jammie sets. And I'm also grateful that I got done sewing Lily's Stocking at midnight on Christmas Eve. I really didn't think I was going to be able to finish it.

19. I'm thankful that my kids are still excited to open their Christmas Eve gifts, even though they already know they will be jammies.

20. I'm thankful for this little stinker who fell asleep too early to open a Christmas Eve gift.

 1. I'm thankful for Friday night camp out nights and the following Saturday mornings.
2. I'm grateful for Lily and her free little spirit.
3. I'm thankful that Brett has a good job that provides well for our family.
4. I'm thankful that I have been taught the skills to make my family Christmas stockings, the new ones, the ones I made 9 years ago, and the ones I'm making right now.
4. I'm thankful when I wake up to a warm fire and sleeping kids in their sleeping bags and jammies.
5.I'm thankful for a warm, clean home to live in.
6. I'm thankful for $20 Christmas trees.
7. I'm thankful for a tree covered in treasures my kids have made, ornaments grandmas have bought  with love, and pretty colorful lights.
8. I'm thankful that it's 65 degrees when we walk outside, lol!
8. I'm thankful for the Nativity scene my kids are performing in tonight, that Lauren is picking out her angel outfit right now, that Lily really, really wanted to be a sheep, and that Ethan is going to be a wiseman.
9. I'm grateful that Ethan is earning his Faith in God award and is working toward earning his cub scouts religious knot by helping with the primary activity today.
10. I'm thankful for the December Ensign and President Erying and how he has reminded me of all the things I'm so grateful for, especially during the celebration of my saviors birth.

 Turkey? What Turkey? We non-traditionalist went for prime rib this year.
I even broke out the pretty, pain-in-the-bootie to clean china and silver.

The Christmas season is here again. Every year I struggle with this season, not because I'm a Christmas Grinch or because I don't love Christmas, but I always worry that I'm not keeping it as I should.

Every year I worry that I'm more worried about presents than the birth of my savior. I wonder why we think it so important to add so much fluff to the season, why we need to buy presents, why we have to do a hundred other little things that can get in the way. I worry that I put present buying above everything else.

This year I've been praying that I might find an excuse to buy the presents for my children and family that I truly love to buy. I think I found it. And it's not an excuse, but a real reason.

 This 6.75 year old is surprisingly useful in the kitchen! Much more useful than the 8 year old. I won't lie, I absolutely LOVE this about her.
 She also started to learn a basic cross-stick during the LDS general conference this October. I was impressed with how well she did. We'll have those snowman ornaments ready by Christmas!
 I'll try and ignore myself in the background here and post this sweet picture of Lauren anyway.

We had a few Halloween festivities around here, including trick-or-treating in our neighborhood where people go NUTS with their decorations. I'm talking haunted houses in their garages and yards. It was awesome! We finally had trick-or-treaters and gave away a whole cauldron full of candy. I think the kids had as much fun giving it away as they did getting it. We've never lived in a neighborhood before where people would come, but I guess that our neighborhood here attracts people from all over Salinas. I thought it was fun. We ended up giving a bunch of the kid's candy away as well; their choice, not ours.
The kids and I made a few window silhouettes. I love how they turned out! It looked great outside when our lights were on inside. This was the one the girls wanted for their window. The rest were versions of these great monsters HERE. It was super duper easy, and the kids could easily help. Plus, we just happened to have an over abundance of cardboard boxes for some reason. We finished these pumpkins out with orange tissue paper in the face holes.
We got free tickets again, this time to a great corn maze in Hollister. They had pig racing,
pumpkin launching, ( who is that sexy beast helping Ethan out? mrrrowwwe)

corn cannon blasting,
a jumping pillow, and much more that I didn't get pictures of because my camera batteries died, but it was so much fun! How is that for catching an awesome Tyler moment?!
Then we had Trunk-or-Treat. The kids have never done one of these before. I can't believe we are LDS and this is our first trunk-or-treat with the kids. Weird. Anyway, I think Ethan would have made a much cuter Harry Potter than the one that played him; handsome little dude and even as cheesy as he is he so can act better! haha  I forgot most of Lily's make up as we were in a hurry, but here she is as a half kitty. We got it right Halloween night. And Lauren was a Poodle Skirt Girl, or whatever you want to call it. The point is, we already had everything and it was cheap!
ps I have no idea why there is a foot flying through the air by Lauren's head. Also, don't you love Lauren's little "I'm gorgeous" pose? What is that all about?
Tyler was Frankenstein, or Frihoffstein, as we called him! I love his middle name(Frihoff).
Brett actually dressed up this year! Yes, the Halloween Grinch's heart melted for a few short lived hours. By Halloween night he wasn't up to it again. But man, I kind of like him dressed up as a pirate. Argg! Shiver me timbers!
The missionaries dressed up as missionaries. Go figure.