Christmas Eve at Temple Square

We spent Christmas Eve and Day with my parents this year. The kids loved seeing the lights, especially Jossy. I didn't think she'd like all the strangers, but as long as she was holding someone's hand, she was enthralled! It was so much fun to see her excitement over everything.














Always such a beautiful place to visit on the night before we celebrate our Savior's birth!

Our Yearly Reindeer Visit

I love Christmas traditions, no matter how simple. We typically see the holiday light display at Thanksgiving Point, but this year we decided to save our $8 and just go see Santa's reindeer (which are free.) Matty was soooo excited to see real reindeer. But we all were quickly distracted by an ice sculpture display and demonstration.

It was so fun to watch this guy work!

Matty loved getting sprayed by the ice getting shaved off. (Those are the little white lines in the picture.)

We left the ice man to do his work and went to go see the reindeer.

Next we went inside to share some giant cookies like last year.

When we finished our treats, we went back outside to see the nutcracker had been finished!

Sugar Cookies

I picked up a can of frosting last week at the store on the chance that we decided to make some Christmas-shaped sugar cookies one day in the next few weeks. (My homemade icing leaves a lot to be desired so we go for the canned variety.) Jossy could not get that can of frosting out of her head, so we ended up making cookies that very night.

They may not have been the most professional looking, but who wants that!? We just need something that tastes good. :)

Trees, the ER, and a Ladybug

Who knew the painful adventure a trip to pick out a Christmas tree would turn into!!

We left the house around 4 PM to go get a Christmas tree. I had been looking forward to it all week and was so excited to have this fun family time. The second I sat in the car something didn't feel right in my groin. I thought maybe I was just sitting funky or the baby was in a bad position, but I had to pull over when the pain got worse. I decided we should just hurry up and get to Smith's (10 minutes away) to get a tree so I could get home.

The pain never really let up much, and of course Jossy was in one of her moods where only MOM could carry her, not dad, so she cried the whole time because I wasn't up to holding her. We picked out a tree (from the few they had left), and practically froze trying to tie it to the top of the Jeep in the cold rain. About then, a pain started in my right lower back. I immediately thought kidneys. On the drive home, it got SOOO bad that I called Dan (we had taken two separate cars) and told him I thought I'd end up in the ER (but I was thinking I must be exaggerating and it wouldn't really happen.) We got home and I ran to the couch to lay down thinking that would help me feel better. Nope, got worse! Because it was a live tree and the stump had been cut to make it drink water, it HAD to go in water before we could leave anywhere. Dan quickly got the tree in the stand while I withered in pain and bawled on the couch. We then tried several neighbors to see if someone could take the kids but no one was available. Neither was my sister answering her phone (she's only 5 minutes away.) So we had no choice but to take the kids with us to the ER. After a brief passing out spell on my part, we got in the car with them. Dan had to FORCE Jossy in because she didn't want to leave home. So she cried/screamed the entire way there, and I had my window down freezing everyone out because I thought I was going to puke any minute. Thank goodness we don't live too far from the hospital!

Once we got to the ER, it was about 20 minutes before I got some pain meds in an IV (which gave me heart palpitations and made me super dizzy), had an ultrasound done to check my kidneys, bladder, and the baby, and then put me back in the room to wait for results. About that time we finally got a hold of my sister to come get the kids. She picked them up, got them some dinner (they were STARVING), and put them to bed. They had started playing tag in that tiny little ER exam room with all the equipment so it's a good thing we got them out of there when we did. I ended up staying another 2 hours before they released me. They said that kidney stones didn't show up on the ultrasound but they could see my kidney was dilated and I had blood in my urine, both signs of a stone. They said they would normally do a CAT scan to see for sure that's what it is and check size and position and all that, but it's not so advisable to have one with the baby. But if the pain continues they said I may have to have one anyway and see a specialist if things don't improve.

So basically I was sent home with pain meds and told to drink lots of water and wait til it passes, which can take up to a week (assuming it's small enough to pass on its own.) I had a priesthood blessing once I got home which helped me feel better. I took one pain pill around 10 PM last night and am shocked that I haven't had to take one since (though I may have just jinxed myself typing that because now the pain is starting to ramp up), but I still haven't passed the stone. I feel grateful that I haven't had to take any pills today so far and I'm doing okay.

I'm also glad I've been feeling well enough to start decorating that tree we bought because the kids really wanted to last night. While putting the lights on this morning, we were shocked by a little stowaway we found.


Every time we were able to hold this little ladybug, it would fly back into the tree and now we can't find it. Guess it doesn't want to leave.

Maybe this will be a lucky tree after all? :)

Reading Time

I love those moments when you discover your children doing something sweet together. Just now as I was busy with my own thing, I realized I could hear the sounds of Matty reading a book to himself and Jossy in a kiddie tent in the living room.

So sweet!

Some days they make it so hard to pull her away for naptime.

Another Christmas Project

This one is for my in-laws.



I've never used Mod Podge before, but it was super easy. I painted the 11x14 wood black, distressed it, put on some mod podge, placed the 8x10 picture, and put more mod podge on top, and finally sealed the whole thing with an acrylic clear coat spray once everything was dry. Voila! Easy peasy personal Christmas gift. (They were married in the temple pictured.)

I love the texture of the mod podge on the picture. Once I get some time, I really want to do a big one of these for our own home.


I showed Jossy the picture this morning and she said, "Wow! Temple! I want to go there someday. Please?" :)

The Monster Behind the Blue Eyes

So why am I posting a picture of Jossy crying trying to climb out of her crib? Because this is how she's spent a great portion of her time today: fighting with everyone, throwing fits, getting hysterical, going in time-out, refusing to apologize for anything, and trying desperately to escape. So basically, she's driving her mother crazy!!! It's really been since Saturday that this beast has taken over my sweet little girl, not just today. It's like when the virus left her, THIS took over.

So when I feel like I'm losing it with her, what choice do I have but to take a picture and blog about it, right? Maybe tomorrow I'll laugh about her ridiculous temperament lately. Today the answer lies in chocolate. Oh, wait . . . I'm out.

Christmas Project

We rotate names amongst my siblings each year from Christmas. This year I have my sister who lives nearby and her family. I decided to make my nieces personalized throw pillows that match their rooms. I am NOT talented in the least when it comes to sewing, but I can get around a machine okay. These took me a lot more work than it would take some of you and they're not perfect, but I'm happy with how they turned out and wanted to share! (I got the idea for them here if you want a tutorial.)

I'm taking a chance posting this here, but I'm not too worried about my sister seeing because she almost never looks at my blog unless I show her something. (So, Mom and other family members, don't point her towards my blog for the next month!)

I love the decorative stitching between the pieced strips and the wavy quilting down the middle. It really adds a lot of texture.

Sunday Best

One of my favorite things on Sunday is seeing my cute kids and handsome husband all dressed up. Getting them to put their church clothes on is almost always a battle, but they sure are adorable once the tears and fighting stop!

Matty wanted to match his daddy today, so he went to see what tie his dad was wearing before he picked out one for himself. Luckily, he had a match! I love it!


I bought this dress for Jossy on clearance last year for a steal. It's a 3T and I wasn't sure it would fit today, but it was perfect! She looked adorable to me!

It's so great to have her happy, smiling face back! I really missed it while she was so sick!

The Kiddie Tree

We have a Christmas tree upstairs just for the kids. It's where we put all our mismatched family ornaments so that I can have a nice, uniform tree downstairs. Today they helped decorate it, and I did my best not to rearrange things . . . too much. They loved putting the ornaments on, and it means I don't have to feel bad when I do our big tree downstairs without their help. :)

Of course, to some little people this tree is just another place to hide from Mom and Dad.

A Seasonal Requirement

The kids got their picture with Santa at the ward party last night. Matty of course was fine with it.

Jossy, however . . .

Let's just say that sitting on Dad's lap NEAR Santa was apparently traumatizing enough.

I guess it just isn't Christmas without some emotional Santa scarring and your parents laughing.