Christmas

I love Christmas! Daron and I try hard to teach our kids that some of the best feelings at Christmas time come when we help other people. Every year they pick names off the Salvation Army Christmas tree of kids their own age that they can buy presents for. They did extra chores to earn money so we could go as a family and buy gifts for these kids. They also helped us do some service for some homeless people who are at a shelter in town. I love seeing how excited they get to help other people. And it's so fun to see them excited about their own gifts and to really appreciate what they've been given. Here are a few pictures from our Christmas holiday:

Daron's staff and their families came caroling and gave us tons of homemade goodies and fruit!
The kids always look forward to their new pajamas on Christmas Eve
Here is a picture of Maryn and the present she got from Santa - a Fur Real cat. She wanted this so badly and loves playing with it.
Here's Luke with the present he really wanted from Santa - a Ripstik
Here is Gabe with his Star Wars talking helmet from Santa
And Ian with the trike he got from Santa
The kids also got some fun games. Maryn, Luke, Daron and I stayed up until 10:30 tonight finishing a game of Monopoly. Luke had us all bankrupt and was quite happy to rub it in. Last night we all played Aggravation. My family played Aggravation all the time when I was growing up and I have so many fun memories of us gathered around the kitchen table playing. So I went online and found the exact same game that we played with in the 1970s!
Tonight we celebrated Daron's birthday. The old man is 38!

The Puppies Next Door

My kids can't wait to get a dog, but Daron said he doesn't want to be cleaning up poop from more than one person/creature in the Stevens' household at a time. So until Ian is potty trained, no dog. The kids found the next best thing when our neighbor's dog had nine puppies. They have given away four, but there are still five left and they are a couple of months old now. The kids (not the dogs) dug a hole under our fence so now the puppies have access to our yard unless the kids shew them back and block the hole. The puppies love to come and play and the kids love to play with the puppies so it's a win/win.

Maryn Citizen of the Week

Maryn was given the award of Citizen of the Week last week. On her certificate it said:

Motivated to do her best
Accepts responsibility
Respects others and herself
Yes I Can attitude!
Never a negative word, always positive

Thanksgiving

Well, I guess it's about time I blogged about our Thankgiving holiday since Christmas is almost here! The kids had the whole week of Thanksgiving off of school and Daron took the week off from work. We went down to Salt Lake and spent the first part of the week at Daron's parents' and the last part of the week at my parents'. On Monday, we went to an authentic Thanksgiving dinner at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. The kids had a great time as we ate some of the same things the pilgrims did and played some games from pilgrim times.





On Tuesday we took the kids to the zoo and even though it was cold, they spent hours looking at the animals.

Luke enjoyed a Utah Jazz game with Grandpa Brent that night. The kids had fun dressing up in some of Grandma Sue's dressups.




On Wednesday the kids went with Grandma Sue and dad to Boondocks Fun Center. On Wed. evening we went up to my parents' house and that evening Daron and I went with my sister and her husband and saw the Blind Side. It was a great movie! Thursday we had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner.
That night Daron and I went to a Jazz vs. Bulls basketball game. The Jazz played great and won by quite a bit. On Friday I hit the Black Friday Sales and got some great deals. On Sat. we went to the BYU vs. U of U football game. We were all able to go down on the field before the game started and help make a tunnel for the players to run through as they ran out onto the field. I've never done anything like that before and it was amazing to be down on the field with everyone. After a nail biter, we won the game.
It was so fun to spend time with family and for the kids to play with their grandparents and cousins. Here is a picture of Ian and Delylah giving hugs.

Luke's Glasses

Luke is the first child in the family to need glasses. I think they look pretty good on him! He just needs them for reading the board at school.

Luke's Birthday

Every other year we have a birthday party where we invite friends, and the years in between we do a family party. This year was a friend party and Luke was so excited to turn nine and plan his party. All he really wanted to do was have a big football game in the backyard. The day turned out to be too cold to spend much time outside so we had reserved the gym at the church as a backup and ended up going over there and playing flag football and fugitive. We then came back to our house and had pizza, opened presents, had cake and ice cream, and then the kids played until the party was over. One fun thing for Luke was that his cousin, Ethan, came up Friday evening and spent the night. They played games all evening and slept next to each other in sleeping bags. When I went to check on them before I went to bed after 11:00, they were still awake just talking away.

Grandpa Mike and Grandma Sue came for the party

Daron decorated another great cake! I have one talented husband!



It's hard to believe my little Luke is nine! (Although I guess I can't really call him little since he's up to my chin already.) Here are some things I love about Luke:

- He has a good heart. He is so loving and kind with young kids and animals and things that need help and protection.

- He is a hard worker. Luke will work and work on something until he gets it.

- Luke loves to be outside. We have neighbors that joke he must live out there because whenever they drive by he's outside playing.

- Luke is a leader. His teachers all comment that kids want to be like Luke and follow what he does.

- He isn't one to dwell on things. If he gets in trouble, he'll go to time out, cool down, and come out happy. He's already forgotten that he was in trouble by the time he comes out and is ready to move on.

- He is a good brother. He loves to play with Ian and give him piggy back rides. He is good about throwing the football to Gabe and letting him tag along with him and his friends. He and Maryn are close in age and such good friends and play together often.

- He is very athletic. He is so coordinated and picks up on things quickly. Our neighbor says Luke is built on wheels because whenever he sees him he is on his bike racing so fast or going over jumps.

- He is very smart and does well in school. He is a good reader and math is very easy for him.

- I love that he still sleeps with his "soft blanky".

- He is very affectionate. He loves to give hugs and be hugged and loves to cuddle and snuggle.

Luke is such a blessing in our lives. I'm so grateful he is my son and part of our family. He is such a sweetheart!

Ian's big moment

Ian peed in the toilet! He stripped naked so I asked him if he would like to sit on the toilet. He responded very enthusiastically and ran to the kids' bathroom, pulled the potty seat out from under the sink, and put it on the toilet. I helped him climb up and sit down and then pointed the little missile down into the toilet where he promptly exclaimed, "Me do it!" So I let him point, and to my surprise he peed! Gabe was right there and was just as excited as I was. Ian called daddy at work and daddy was very proud too. We'll see if it was just a fluke or if he's ready to start potty training.

Today Luke turned nine so we had his favorite dinner - ribs, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade rolls and cooked carrots. This Saturday is his party with all his friends so I'll blog all about Luke then and post pictures.

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween weekend. The sugar high started Thursday night with dinner and trunk-r-treat at our church. I told the kids to please hide their candy from Ian since he shoves it in his mouth by the fist fulls whenever he gets his hands on it. I'll give them credit for trying, but no matter where they put it, Ian was able to sniff it out. He climbed up closet shelves, crawled under beds, even climbed on top of the fridge. He was very industrious and his hard work paid off; he has eaten nothing but candy for three days straight. So today, after Ian woke up every hour last night because he was so wired on sugar, I put the Halloween baskets under lock and key. And tonight we did our Halloween ritual where I have the kids pick out their favorite 20 pieces of candy and then give the rest to me to give to the poor.

My mom and dad came up for the weekend and were so festive they even dressed up! The kids were very excited to see them and it made the weekend that much better.
Daron's sister and her family who live nearby came for dinner and trick-or-treating. Tama brought these cute pumpkin bread bowls from Great Harvest for us to put our chili in. We have the same dinner every Halloween: chili with cheese and chili/cheese Fritos on top, cornbread, and salad.



Here are the cousins in their costumes, all ready to trick-or-treat.
Maryn and some of her friends ready for the night
Here are some pictures from when the kids came home and started sorting their candy

Carving Pumpkins

All of the kids (except for Ian although he sure did try) carved their own pumpkins all by themselves. They cut off their own top, cleaned it out, and cut their own designs using their creative minds. Here they are hard at work:




All done!

The night wouldn't be complete without pumpkin seeds! This recipe is delicious!Oh, and I have to include this picture from earlier in the day of my climber helping himself to some Halloween candy.