Grandpa Lopez' Christmas Tree

On Sunday morning we visited my Grandpa Lopez' grave site to put up his Christmas Tree. The tree was given to us by Samuel's mom,Clista, and I'm grateful for her gift.

We all miss him.

The Christmas Story & The Tupperware Cupboard

I think we've watched "The Christmas Story" one too many times! Owen's favorite place is now the "tupperware" cupboard. He throws everything out (yea!), and then settles into his little hiding place.

2008 Ward Christmas Breakfast

Saturday December 20th was our Ward Christmas Breakfast at 8:00AM! We've always been accustomed to Ward Christmas Dinners, so this activity was a little harder to get used to considering the early hour!

The Menu: Ham & Eggs
The Attire: Pajamas & your best "Bed Hair"
The Program: Beautiful Music, Letters to the Missionaries, & a visit from You-Know-Who!

Here are our girls listening to the Bishop's "12 days of Christmas". It was the story of how he challenged Elder Matsunaka, a Japanese missionary assigned to our ward, to discover the true meaning of Christmas in 12 days. We learned that it's not the twinkly lights, yummy treats, or snowmen that make this season special...but the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is how Owen spent most of the activity: Running round and round the tables!

The Gingerbread House

Ava's class activity for the last day of school was decorating the infamous gingerbread house! The kiddies had so much fun...and by the end of the day the undersides of her black sleeves were equally coated with frosting! The finished product is a beauty and holds a prominent place on the kitchen counter!

School Spectactular: The Winter Sing

Isabella and Ava's Winter Sing! Of course it was a packed house, and though I love my kids dearly I could have kissed whoever decided to keep the program under 30 minutes! Thank you!

Good People

We attended Isabella and Ava's Christmas school program and because it was standing room only I was very close to a woman who was filming the performance next to me. I had Owen in my arms, and as babies do, he reached out his little finger several times to poke her. I apologized and she just laughed and assured me it was alright. In that moment it struck me how much she reminded me of a sister I was privileged to know in a former ward...a wonderful sister whose spirit shone so radiantly in everything she said and did. It made me tear up because I realized how much I missed her sweet spirit.

I am so grateful for you good brothers and sisters who become like family to us. You inspire, comfort, and bless us...fulfilling the Savior's commandment to "love one another". May God truly bless you this Christmas Season. We love you all!

Mission: Project Mess

Probably my least favorite tradition is decorating sugar cookies, but how can you cut-out a holiday classic like that? So this year, the task was made easier by my mother-in-law Clista, who made plain sugar cookies for our exchange so we could decorate them at home. Perfect! Half the dreaded task was done...because I hate baking any cookie unless it's a timeless chocolate chip. Still, we kept putting off the actually frosting of the cookies, so the kids were thrilled when Sam finally called through the house for them to "Report for Cookie-duty"!


Of course the kids had a blast, and the sprinkles went a flyin' everywhere! Here is the result of our collective labors. We won't be winning any awards I'm sure, but not too shabby either!


The best part came when the kids had free reign to eat their creations and finally could dig into the leftover frosting with abandon!




And last but not least, Owen started doing this hilarious jiggling in his booster seat--he must have been on a sugar-high! But it was so funny to see him go into this full body wiggle with a huge grin on his face. Then it dawned on me to capture it on video but alas it was too late. Most of what you see is the family, not Owen, jiggling instead.

At-tent-tion!

Owen cracks me up! He wrestled quietly with this box until he finally got it open, and then he went to town setting up all the army men so meticulously. If one fell down he straightened it up before moving on to the next. He is a joy to watch...definitely different from my girls...who are also my joy of course...but he's just different.

We've got to move-it, move-it!

This is what shopping at IKEA is like when you have a van full of kids and no room to spare. We all made it home safely and the kids loved being in the cave created by the massive box!

Exploring & Cookies

This is Owen being snatched up by Sam from my Grandma Lopez' yard. She has a jungle-like front and backyard so the kids always have fun exploring. Owen is especially drawn to her birdbath and if we're not quick...well, you know. We gathered here for our first annual Cookie Exchange and we had so much fun! I even came away with an awesome recipe that I can't wait to try for family and friends.