Prince Charming

Rob likes to tease me about my Wyatt man, that he gets away with so much more with me than the girls do, yada, yada, yada...:) But seriously that little man is so cute! Sometimes when I put him to bed I lay my head down on his chest and I tell him I am so tired. He wraps his arms around my neck so tight and plays with my hair until I have to pull away to say goodnight to the girls. Well tonight I tucked him into bed and he puts both arms around my neck and pulls me down to lay down with him and says, "You tired mom, you tired." He wanted me to stay and snuggle and I would have loved to stay there all night with him, but other things have to get done...blah, blah, blah! I can't get enough of his sweet hugs and his kisses and he still wants to make me happy in everything he does. If I get after the girls for doing something naught he immediately says, "I no do that mom, I no do that." We have yet to hit terrible twos with Wyatt, I hope we skip right over them, he is such a sweet little man!

Hannah Gets Her Cast Off!

Using the saw to cut through the cast.

Hannah at first was holding her arm like it was still broken.

After what felt like forever, but was really only 2 months, Hannah got her cast off! I was preparing myself for this horribly atrophied arm that would just look disgusting, but what I saw instead was a little bit of dead skin on an arm that looked practically like her other. I guess thats what you get when you are already skin and bones like HBug. It was super stinky though, like a really gross stinky foot and I was so glad when she pushed the old cast into the garbage. We took a look at the inside of it and it was not a pretty site! We washed her arm up as best as we could in the office and then they took x-rays to make sure it really was okay to have the cast off. Everything looks great and he just said to avoid high risk activities for a few weeks. She babied her arm a little bit, for like 15 minutes, and then we noticed she was using it just like normal and she hasn't complained since. She has only said sometimes she still feels like it is on her arm, I guess a phantom cast! She did have baby soft skin on her palm, it felt just like her baby skin again.

Hannah's Class Party

Hannah and Natalie

I got the chance to help out at Hannah's class Christmas party, it was so much fun! It has been so fun having Logan and Hannah in the same class this year and it also means Bonnie and I get to work together for the parties, which is fun! The kids are so cute and are so good, I just love being there. After the festivities they had a program prepared and there was a big turnout of parents/grandparents who came to watch. The kids did a great job, they sang their little hearts out! Hannah did her part, which was a BIG deal for her, she was so nervous. Grandma and Grandpa came down to watch and afterwards they took us to lunch at Wendy's. It was a lot of fun!

Oh, and they could have worn PJs to school, but Hannah didn't want to. I thought it was so funny when I showed up and noticed that Logan hadn't worn his either, those two are so funny!

The Old Neighborhood Gang

Some of the girls were in town from out of state for Christmas so we planned a lunch date at Chick-Fil-A in Sandy. Morgan wasn't able to make it because her husband went out of town last minute, but it was great to see everyone else. We figured that we have 17 kids between all of us, wow huh? It is amazing to think of all that we have been through in our own individual lives: marriages, deaths, divorces, having kids, illnesses, moving, etcetera. Life sure is different for everyone and takes us all different places and in all different directions. I sure am grateful for the wonderful friends I had growing up and that they continue to be my friends to this day. Love you girls!

Clayton Christmas Party 2011

A bat and ball from Grandma

Princess puzzles from Grandma.

Perle beads from Grandma.

Fancy Nancy game from Grandma.

Once there was a Snowman....

We were singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and then Santa burst through the door...they were so surprised!

Hannah keeping her distance as all the rest of the kids huddled around Santa.

Everyone waiting for a turn to sit on his lap.

Megan telling Santa she wanted an ipod...oh great!

I was amazed Maddy climbed up there, she really wanted a candy cane, and I don't think she told him anything that she wanted, but hey she hasn't told me anything either.

Wyatt jumped right up and was excited to get his candy cane. Then he told Santa he wanted a choo choo train. No surprise there!

I love how Santa leans his ear close to their mouth so he can hear what they are saying.

And here I am trying to make Hannah talk to Santa, I am a cruel, cruel mother. I really thought she would be fine once she realized how nice he was, but she would not look at him or tell him what she wanted and she just cried into the side of me.

The Clayton party was awesome! Grandma puts so much work into it to make it special for everyone. There is always great food, great presents for the kids and adults, and great time spent with everyone creating memories. The white elephant game was a blast and Rob and I walked away with a Ruth's Chris gift card (Bret and Lisa brought some pretty awesome gifts for the exchange)! The kids have been loving their presents from Grandma also. We love spending time with the Clayton side, they are the most generous and funny people ever and they always go out of the way to make us feel welcome and loved.

Rob Turns 31!

My man turned 31! He had a pretty low key birthday this year. We had his family over for dinner the Sunday before his birthday and he got some great gifts from them. The kids and I just gave him a new blanket, some shirts, and a wallet, pretty boring! I sure hope he knows how much he means to me and the kids, we love him so much and are so grateful for the amazing dad he is! Happy birthday babe!!

The Three Levels of Christmas

"For Christmas is a beautiful time of the year. We love the excitement, the giving spirit, the special awareness of and appreciation for family and friends, the feelings of love and brotherhood that bless our gatherings at Christmastime.

In all the joyousness, it is well to reflect that Christmas comes in three levels:
Let’s call the first the 'Santa Claus level.' It’s the level of Christmas trees and holly, of whispered secrets and colorful packages, of candlelight and rich food and warm open houses. It’s carolers in the shopping malls, excited children, and weary but loving parents. It’s a lovely time of special warmth and caring and giving. It’s the level at which we eat too much and spend too much and do too much–and enjoy every minute of it. We love the Santa Claus level of Christmas.
But there’s a higher, more beautiful level. Let’s call it the 'Silent Night level.' It’s the level of all our glorious Christmas carols, of that beloved, familiar story: 'Now in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus…' It’s the level of the crowded inn, and the silent holy moment in a dark stable when the Son of Man came to earth. It’s shepherds on a steep, bare hill near Bethlehem, angels with their glad tidings, a new star in the East, wise men traveling far in search of the Holy One. How beautiful and meaningful it is; how infinitely poorer we would be without this sacred second level of Christmas.The trouble is, these two levels don’t last. They can’t. Twelve days of Christmas, at the first level, is about all most of us can stand. It’s too intense, too extravagant. The tree dries out and the needles fall. The candles burn down. The beautiful wrappings go out with he trash, the carolers are up on the ski slopes, the toys break, and the biggest day the stores in the entire year is exchange day, December 26.
The feast is over and the dieting begins. But the lonely and the hungry are with us still perhaps lonelier and hungrier than before.

Lovely and joyous as the first level of Christmas is, there will come a day, very soon, when Mother will put away the decorations and vacuum the living room and think, 'Thank goodness that’s over for another year.'

Even the second level, the level of the Baby Jesus, can’t last. How many times this season can you sing 'Silent Night'? The angels and the star and the shepherd, even the silent, sacred mystery of that holy night itself, can’t long satisfy humanity’s basic need. The man who keeps Christ in the manger will, in the end, be disappointed and empty.

No, for Christmas to last all year long, for it to grow in beauty and meaning and purpose, for it to have the power to change lives, we must celebrate it at the third level, that of the adult Christ. It is at this level–not as an infant–that our Savior brings His gifts of lasting joy, lasting peace, lasting hope. It was the adult Christ who reached out and touched the untouchable, who loved the unlovable, who so loved us all that even in His agony on the cross He prayed forgiveness for His enemies.

This is the Christ, creator of worlds without number, who wept, Enoch tell us, because so many of us lack affection and hate each other–and then who willingly gave His life for all of us, including those for whom He wept.
This is the Christ, the adult Christ, who gave us the perfect example, and asked us to follow Him.
Accepting that invitation is the way–the only way–to celebrate Christmas all year and all life long."

I have now heard this "talk" a few times this year. I am not sure where it is from but it touches my heart and reminds me of the true spirit of Christmas, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May we truly "celebrate Christmas all year and all life long."

Early Morning

This morning I woke about 5:55 a.m. to the sound of Wyatt singing the ABCs as loud as he could. I went to find him as the rest of the house was still asleep and I wanted it to stay that way. He was perched on the edge of Megan's bed, she was still trying to sleep, and Hannah was still trying to sleep too. I picked him up and he slouched down, his new thing when he pouts. I carried him back to his bed and he went back to bed where he refused to get his blankets on and was mad that everyone wasn't ready to wake up. Eventually he let me put his blankets back on and then he went back to sleep for a few more hours.

Newest Member of the Club

Well, Megan is growing up too fast, it is official. She lost her first tooth Sunday, November 27. I knew it was coming, she had been wiggling it and wiggling it, pushing it around with her tongue and then we were at Great Grandma Clayton's house and I could tell it was just hanging on by a thread. I asked her if I could see how loose it was and all I had to do was push down on it a tiny bit and it popped right out! She was so excited! She just seems too young to me to be losing teeth, just barely turned 5 last month and still in preschool! The Tooth Fairy came that night and gave her 8 quarters, which she came into show me bright and early the next morning. Her other bottom tooth is also wiggly, lets see if she can catch up to Hannah.

Lights At Temple Square

It was a chilly night downtown, but the lights were beautiful and the crowds weren't too bad. I think the kids really enjoyed it, but I also think the stop at Great Grandma Clayton's house on the way home was their favorite part.