This year the kids also figured out that the paper and coins inside the balloons made them pop when dropped on the tile which is actually easier than sitting on them so they dropped them all on the tile and the coins and pieces of balloons went flying everywhere.

We had some fun corny jokes like: 

Two pickles fell on the ground. What did one say to the other? (Dill with it!)

Why did the pig to in to the kitchen? (he felt like bacon a cake) I was super happy Marcus got this joke because he could read it on his own. He was also really excited about the coins and ran and got his wallet and put them in there. 

We watched the London fireworks on YouTube which used drones and had reflected on many things of 2020. Then we did a count down and did our little poppers. Marcus called them bombs and Andrew got a little frustrated when he couldn't do it on his own and then the very last round of poppers we were one short and he generously gave his to Lila (even though he really wanted to do it again) then Ellie kindly gave hers to Andrew but unfortunately it was a dud that didn't pop. . .eventually Steve and Ellie engineered it back together and Andrew got to pop the last popper of 2020 for us. Ended on a good note, but mostly I was so proud of all of my kids thinking about the other one and passing their poppers along.

Andrew also studied about Greece in one of his Kiwico boxes from Mimi and Grandpa so he really wanted to make a cake with a coin in it and serve it on New Year's and then the person that got the coin gets good luck all year. Well we still had some cake from Christmas so I told him I would secretly hide a coin in a slice. I knew he really wanted it so I put the slice with the coin in it close to where he was sitting but he of course picked a completely different slice. And then he kept saying, "I hope I get the coin." So Ellie and Steve helped distract him while I shoved a nickel in his slice of cake. He was super excited when he found it. Ellie who ended up with the original nickel just pushed it to the side and let Andrew have his moment.  

I'm kind of in denial that break is almost over and we are going to have to go back to school, work, and life responsibilities. We've had a great break. We've enjoyed 3 batches of different types of sugar cookies, played games, watched movies (we started watching Star Wars as a family), colored, played games, ate treats, and just enjoyed being together.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the holidays Steve accepted a job offer to work full-time for Control4/SnapAV. It was a hard decision because we have felt really blessed by his opportunities at Moore Good Ideas (MGI). We've prayed about it and debated it and finally came to a conclusion that it is a good opportunity and could simplify his life a little because now he would have one "job" instead of juggling multiple consulting clients. David at MGI was understanding and has always been a very fair and honest boss which we greatly appreciate. His co-workers sent him nice messages about his departure and wished him well. So this new year will see several changes for us and it's exciting and a little bit  scary, but we have faith that it will all work out in the end, we just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

a friend sent me Dave Barry's funny year-end review of 2020 which had me laughing out loud at times, but it ended with this, ". . .we’ll close with the wish we always offer at the end of our annual review, although this time it’s more of a prayer: Happy New Year."

Amen!

Mimi and Grandpa came down on Monday, Dec 21st to bring the kids their Christmas pajamas and few small presents. After opening presents we had a little recital. Andrew and Ellie played Deck the Halls duet on the violin, Lila played her piano duet Jingle Bell Rock (she worked hard on it and did a good job), Ellie played Mary Did You Know on the piano, and we watched several of Marcus Christmas songs from his preschool show. It was a nice visit.

After which we watched Dreams of Bethlehem from Elder Holland's wonderful Christmas message. Then we finished our advent chocolate calendars and Christmas Gospel Art reading, brushed teeth and then we turned on Santa tracker to see where he was. And guess what Santa wore a mask while delivering presents this year.

Finally Christmas morning. The excitement! When Andrew woke up I heard him go running into the kitchen and ran right into a kitchen chair then he came squealing into our room, "he ate it. Santa ate the cake!"

At that point everyone was awake so I held back the excited boys while Steve turned on the Christmas lights and then we let them all run in.

 

Marcus a couple of days earlier said, that he thought there was a live doggy in the presents who just wasn't woof, woofing yet. Ellie made some of his dreams come true with a stuff dog she made at sewing class.

Moroni 10:8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.

I love that scripture and am grateful to be surrounded by many talented people in my neighborhood, family, and friends. However, I do find it to be one of the most difficult jobs as a mom to help each child find and cultivate their gifts because each is so unique and even so different from me. I provide them lots of opportunities and pray for each of them and hope they learn to cultivate their gifts. Ellie has always had an interest in arts and crafts. She can be found drawing at some point almost every day. Today she completed this falcon drawing and I have to say, I'm super impressed. Art is not one of my talents and I definitely do not have the patience for the technical shading this kind of creation takes, but she does and I'm so grateful she has taken the time to cultivate this talent.

Marcus had his preschool Christmas program the morning of Wednesday, December 16th. Steve had to go into work early to support some customer testing, but managed to get done in time to swing by pick me up and head to the program. Marcus was excited for the Christmas program and insisted on wearing a Christmas shirt. He also has been singing lots of songs and has declared Feliz Navidad his favorite. They sang almost a half dozen songs and Marcus was singing and doing the actions it was so fun to watch. He gave us a Christmas gift and then Miss Jessie gave him a gift and as we were walking out the door he said, "I love you Miss Jessie!" She squealed with excitement, grabbed his face, and said, "I love you too!"

That evening Lila was at dance and Ellie was doing her virtual zoom activity for young womens and Steve needed to log back on to work so I let the boys watch a Christmas movie.

Later after they were in bed Steve and I were craving some potato wedges (homemade stake fries I've recently really gotten the hang of) so we cooked some up just in time for Ellie to come up and have some with us and shoot the breeze. It was a good thing to spend some time with our teenage daughter. It was kind of a crazy morning for me because she just learned that her best friend and his parents have COVID and her ROV partners family also has COVID (they are all in our prayers). It just felt like a double blow close to home and she was kind of being evasive about telling us. She said because she didn't want to worry us. Anyway, it will be good for us to have Christmas break to catch-up and take a break from some of our regular worries (at least a little bit). 

Thursday we made sugar cookies and I ate way too many (good thing Steve and I ran five miles on Wednesday). Today is our 17th wedding anniversary. Last Friday, I seized an opportunity to have Steve pickup some lunch and we ate in our room and wrapped presents (I fed the kids spaghetti O's then sent them to watch a movie) so I count that as our anniversary meal (I learned many years ago you don't have to celebrate most things right on the day and am glad we did that). I sent Steve and Ellie off a little after 8am to enjoy 4 inches of overnight fluff at Snowbasin. I'm doing a Christmas story time with the boys and some of their friends on zoom and Lila didn't want to miss fun Friday with her teacher so we stayed home. We'll check in with them later and maybe take other skiers up to meet them. Although looking back to last year Steve took Ellie with my nephew Ethan skiing on our anniversary. . .I think I'm going to have to change that next year and Steve and I will go skiing on our anniversary. Ha! Tomorrow we have a fun day of laundry and washing sheets planned and then Lila is going to have a little virtual Christmas party with some of her friends (she is missing that connection from school a little -- she logs on a chats with her teacher in the afternoon). Next year she'll get to attend young women classes with the girls in the neighborhood that will provide another social venue for her (even if it is virtual). There you have it our happenings the week[end] before Christmas. I cannot believe it is already here. Marcus asks every night if tomorrow is the day we get to open presents. Now he has a snowman countdown he made at school so he has a better idea of how long before Christmas. The other day he looked at our advent calendar that moves Mary & Joseph closer to the manager and he could not believe how far they had traveled. ;) Eventually he will be right and "tomorrow" will be Christmas.

We're really taking advantage of the elementary kids doing online school and took off for an afternoon of skiing again today. We were hoping yesterday's storm would bring more snow than it did, but it was still nice to have a fresh skiff and the conditions were better than last week (albeit it was a little cold). Marcus and I did two runs down Little Cat while Steve took Andrew and Lila up Wild Cat to see how the conditions were. They met us after their first run and we all rode up Wild Cat together. Marcus barrelled down the first section super fast (reminded me of our first run at Pomerelle and I had a little panic attack) then he started making turns and snow plowing to slow down. He did good, but wanted a break so he and I headed back to the car for a snack and a break. On our way to the car we saw Santa.

Our family has been using the calendar at Light The World to serve others daily. We've had some fun opportunities and I hope it has brought a little extra "light" and love into the lives of those around us. You can get a calendar here.

Dec 2nd was Hero Highlight: A dear friend sent me this sweet text, "I just wanted you to know that you're my hero! I see so many Christ like attributes in you including patience, diligence and faith! I love how easily you cry with others because of your Christ-like love. Thanks for your great example to me." It of course brought tears to my eyes. This dear friend has not had it easy and she is an amazing example to me, so for her to send this to me meant so much. I sent a message to someone who has recently come in to my circle more and has really touched my life and those around her.

Dec 3rd & 4th: I shared some messages in the Gospel Living app with my wonderful young women. I shared a new 2020 Light the World video titled "Hope" and the following message:

Dec 5th: I visited a dear friend who has been on my mind for a while. I actually sent her a text beginning of October thanking her for all she has done for me and my family this year: "I just wanted to say thank you for being such an awesome friend!! When I look back at the year, you've been there to help when me Mom was in the hospital (you took my kids), checked on me while I was caring for my Grandpa, helped with our crazy tree incident (hours cutting and taking tree debris to the dump), temple swap dates (seems like forever ago but it was this year), and sending me the sweetest texts just when I needed them (you're so in tune). Love ya too pieces!!" She has had a crazy year and I thanked her for serving me during her difficult times. We gave them a little card game and asked if we could do anything for them this Christmas season (some times being vulnerable is hard but she has seen me at my most vulnerable and loved me and I wanted to return the favor "Pay it Backwards")

 

It's been a year! I'm ready to live life again without the fear of spreading a virus, but I am grateful for some of the changes this pandemic has sparked in our lives. We have a deeper appreciation for seeing friends and family, for attending school, worshipping with our wonderful church family, for our health, and especially for the love of our Savior whose light brings peace and happiness amidst crazy and uncertain times. We are grateful for this time of year we get to celebrate His birth and His life. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and that we get to gather with each of you more in 2021!

We planned to take everyone (but Ellie who would still be in school) skiing today after their virtual classes. We left around noon and were home by 3pm and had an amazing time. There wasn't much terrain open, but we were able to park in the Little Cat parking lot and ski down to the lifts. Steve managed to leave his pass in the car, but they let him ride up and then he went and got it. Marcus was a little nervous going down the first run, but by the second he was making pizza stops like a pro and turning. 

We thought we would catch Becker for our 4th run. Steve took Lila and Andrew over to the lift and I had Marcus, but the stinker snow plowed  while I was trying to get momentum to get up the little hill to the lift so we didn't make it. We did two more Little Cat runs while they came down. Steve called and said they were having a great time and would meet us at Becker. So Marcus and I managed to make it over there and the liftee said, "It's intermediate terrain." So I hesitated a bit, decided to call Steve who said after he called me they were forced down School Hill and it was scary icy so Marcus and I bailed on Becker and caught up with the other three. We rode the lift back up and Marcus wanted to go to the car for snacks (my food oriented child). Steve wanted to take him over the bumps and he said he wanted to but his desire for a snack was greater. I rummaged through my pockets and found an applesauce packet he inhaled and then decided to do the bumps with everyone. 

It was a fabulous last run and we already have plans to go again next Thursday -- we'll get Ellie up this time. Andrew looks so grown-up in his new skis and gear and he can really duck walk to get going on flat ground too. Here's to more outdoor adventures.ok, just getting out this year is a blessing! #letitsnow