This Crazy Thing We Call Life

Ben turned 8 a couple weeks ago and we were so proud of him that he made the choice to be baptized.  He was able to be baptized the day after his birthday which was very exciting for him.




We had a fun time being with everyone who shared this special day with us and are so blessed to have such amazing support from everyone.  We know that Ben is loved by all that came. 

Scot and I decided to find out, but not to tell them until we could all be together and they could figure it out.  So I filled this jar with colored jelly beans.  More blue meant boy and more pink meant girl.  Even that day while they waited for Scot to get home they were arguing about which it was and begging me to tell them, but I told them they were just going to have to wait.  And I reminded them, that no matter what the baby was going to be part of our family and boy or girl we would love it just the same.  Emma assured me that it was impossible for her to love a boy as much as a girl.
The moment arrived when they got to count the jelly beans.  Lucy helped sort, Spencer just wanted to eat them.  Emma and Ben divided them into piles of 25.  Soon they figured out that there were more blues than pinks.  Ben and Spencer were thrilled!  Lucy easily jumped to the boy side, but Emma was very distraught.  She decided her life was ending and would never be the same again.  She was seriously  holding back tears. (Fortunately now, a few weeks later, she has adjusted to the idea and seems ok with it.)  Then we called and texted our families to announce the good news.  Emma didn't want to talk to any of them, but Ben was happy to share with everyone.
Now our only problem is coming up with a name.  We had lots of girl names we liked, but not boy names.  So that could be interesting.  Scot and I throw out names all the time, but so far none of them are winners.  Hopefully we can come up with one we like in the next few months.  For now he is still baby Sparky.

Since I am lame about sending out Christmas cards, I thought I would take a minute and record a quick recap of the exciting year in the Woodbury household.  When I look back and think about this time last year, a lot has changed around here.  It has been a busy year.

Scot's parents left on a mission in late January to the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center in sunny San Diego.  It has been an amazing and very fulfilling experience for them and our whole family.  We were lucky enough to go down and visit them several times.  And since we were already in Southern California, we got Disneyland annual passes and definently got our money out of them.  We made a total of 5 trips to California this year.

Scot and I also had a great opportunity to go with a group from his company on a cruise to Tahiti.  It was amazing and relaxing.  However, it was kind of the last hurrah, since a few weeks after getting back he accepted a new job as a event coordinator for the LDS church. It has been a new adventure.  Since Scot has a little more time on his hands without the travel, we felt like it was time for him to go back to school to get a master's degree. 

There were also big changes for me this year.  In June I was called to be the 2nd counsler in our Relief Society presidency. I was overwhelmed at first but it has become a great joy in my life to serve the sisters in our ward.  We also found out that I was pregnant with our 5th child, due in June of 2012. 

Emma (11) is still growing like a weed. As hard as it is for me to admit, I am sure that she will pass me up before the end of this year.  She only has to inches to go.  She is doing very well is school and has discovered a great love for writing her own stories.  She is also involved in ballet, piano lessons,  and Girl Scouts.

Benjamin (7) is loving school.  He loves to read and has read over 400 books for school this year. He is also taking piano lessons.  He takes great joy in almost everything he does, but his favorite things to do are play the Wii, or computer.
Lucy (4) is such a happy little girl and can almost always make us smile.  She takes ballet and loves it.  She has also been going to preschool and has made a lot of cute little friends.  He favorite things are playing with her friends and anything girly.

Spencer (2) is a very busy little boy.  Earlier this year he broke his leg and it still didn't slow him down.  His big accomplishment for the year was getting potty trained and he loves reminding us that he is a big boy.  His favorite things are dinosaurs and Buzz Lightyear.

Even though we are in a different place than we expected to be one year ago, we are very blessed.  We feel particularly blessed for the inspiration we have received to make the best choices for our family.  Guess we will just have to wait to see what adventures this year holds for our family!

Christmas is long since gone, but it was a fun day and one that I want to remember, so here we are anyway.  Since Christmas Eve is always so crazy and late, my kids always sleep in on Christmas.  And we had 9 am church, so it was a little tricky.  This year, since we had limited time, we let them all go into the room together.


 They got to each open a couple presents before getting ready for church.  Spencer was so excited to get new boots.  And they are "firetruck boots".  This year Santa brought my kids a new swingset, so they each only got 2 other gifts from Santa.  At first I think they were a little surprised, but in the end the gifts that they got were so perfect for each of them that they were happy with what they got.
 Then we got ready for church.  And they were the quickest they have ever been getting dressed!
 So they got to open a few more of their presents and their stockings before we headed off to church.  I enjoy going to church on Christmas because it reminds us all of what this day is really about and if gives a short, mostly peaceful reprive from the craziness of the day.  We had a great meeting and they kept it to about an hour which was perfect timing for the kids.
Afterwards we headed home and finished opening the gifts at our house.  Then it was off to Grandma Pam's and Grandpa Norm's house.  There was a big surprise for us there.  My parents take turns giving each of the families a trip somewhere.  They started this about 8 years ago and we haven't had a turn yet, but I thought that with the baby and some other things going on that there was no way that it would be our turn.  But lo and behold my parents gave us all a trip to Disneyworld.  We are still working out the details because of our crazy schedules, but it is very exciting.  I thought the kids would lose interest and kind of forget about it since we are for sure going to wait until after the baby is born, but they talk about it all the time.  Hopefully that excitement will last.

 My mom got cute little Disney gifts and shirts for all of us which was great because the kids still had something to play with and a little more tangible idea , especially for the littler ones.  It will be a fun adventure!

 We always start our Christmas celebrations with the opening of the ornaments.  Each year the kids get an ornament that is signifigant for them for that year.  This year I surprised them with ornaments from Disneyland.  It was a little different, but they loved them!
Things were a little different this year since Scot's parents are gone, and it took some rearranging to get all the family together for our celebration, since Kim flew to San Diego to be with her parents.  So we all got together on Christmas Eve for brunch.  It was a fun way to start things off and the kids all loved being with their cousins.
 Everyone does such a great job with their gifts and this year was no exception.  My boys LOVE their Utah pillows.
 My girls got these adorable handmade aprons and handmade dolls that look like them.  Truly amazing and beyond my skills I assure you.
Next in our day of celebration we set off for my parents house to prepare our traditional dinner.
 The kids were so great to play with their cousins and help Annaliese with different projects.  I spent the day preparing the meal, strangley without my mother, who kept disappearing.  But I had help from Scot and Marlayna so it worked out in the end.
 My mom surprised all the parents this year by planning a nativity presentation with the kids.  It was really sweet and the kids were great.  Emma was a very dramatic angel and Ben had all his shepherd lines memorized.

 The kids all loved having Meymo and Dave there.  They are like two big kids and they all wanted to spend time with them.
The decorations are amazing!  I just can't get over how much a love to see them.  I would get so excited everytime we walked into the park.  I felt like a big kid and I would count down to the light lighting and everything.   That was one of my favorite parts of the trip was to feel even more surrounded by the magic of not only Disneyland, but Christmas too.
 We took the kids to see Santa and they loved it.  Spencer kept telling him that he wanted a blue angry bird for Christmas. 
 We made fun of my brother the whole trip because he uses his Iphone so much that he had to search our plugs to charge it all day.  So we would wait in line while he sat on the ground to charge his phone or make a phone call.  They really should set up some official charging stations.


 We always love having my mom along.  It is great fun for the kids and we all appriciate the extra adult help! 
Thanks guys for a fun trip and awesome memories!  It wouldn't have been as much fun without everyone there!!

 We always celebrate a German tradition where we leave our shoes out and St. Nicholaus fills them with treats and surprises. 
 He always brings us something for our feet.  Ben and Spencer got the most adorable slippers!  The dinosaur ones are just so stinkin cute.  And so are the little boys wearing them.
 Another favorite thing he has left us for the last couple years is Christmas Dots.  Scot and the kids LOVE them.  So they were very excited to each get their own box.  They don't last long around here.  This is such a fun thing that we do and I love the way it kicks off the Christmas season.  It is crazy when it falls on a school day, which is why I don't have a picture of Emma.  But we all look forward to it every year.