Christmas Time (Is Here Again)

Merry Christmas all! It was such a busy and eventful week for us. Monday officially started the holiday break for Jeff. His sister and her family arrived in Tucson from Utah and he and the girls met them at the park for lunch and to play. Felicity was quite excited to see everybody. That evening we hosted our third annual Christmas family home evening. We had our family, the Bryson family, the Newswander family, the Richard Davidson family, Chelsea, Chris and Lillian, and Gabrielle, her mother, and her cousin. It was quite a house-full. We had burgers and dogs on the grill for dinner and then had a nice lesson on the gifts of Christmas for family home evening. Then the kids decorated gingerbread houses. After we finished gingerbread houses we went over to the Bryson’s for Christmas caroling. Fun was had by all.

On Tuesday we drove into Tucson and met up with the family for a trip to the Desert Museum. I always enjoy the museum and I’m sure my kids were grateful there were other people with us so that all my “teaching moments” weren’t directed at them. The weather was a little chilly, but it was generally pretty nice out. Jeff had an appointment with the oral surgeon on Tuesday afternoon; they put him on pain meds and antibiotics and scheduled him for an appointment for the 23rd. We lamentably skipped out on going to Winter Haven with Jeff’s family that evening to get started on putting together the swing set for the girls.

I worked for a few hours on Wednesday and then came home and worked with Jan to get all the vinyl cut out for the girl’s bedroom. Jeff and I continued to work on the swing set well into the evening. We had wanted to keep the swing set a secret from the girls; however, I looked up to see my girls, the Bryson girls, and Gabrielle all peeking over the headboard in front of Jeff and I’s bedroom window excitedly staring into the back yard. The jig was up! I started painting in the girl’s room and got a good majority of it done before heading off to bed around 3 in the morning. I dropped the girls off with Jan on Thursday morning and took Jeff to his appointment. They got him in and out fairly quickly. He had all four of his wisdom teeth extracted in about 30 minutes. There was no need for stitches and Jeff did really well. He came home and rested most of Thursday while I finished up the swing set in the back. I was amazed at his recovery. No swelling, bruising, or real irritation; I think because he’s suffered with them for so long now, they didn’t have to really be dug out which made for a more smooth recovery. Victor came over in the evening and helped me with a few finishing touches on the swing set. It really turned out nicely and the girls couldn’t wait to get out on it. I was surprised by the quality of the set for the price and it went together really easily; although, it took us about 12 hours! All the holes were pre-drilled correctly and the boards were straight. It’s nice because it’s a gift I feel like is for both girls and Gabrielle.

Friday was spent busily trying to finish up quits for the girls among other Christmas gifts. Jeff was feeling pretty well and helped me. The girls enjoyed their swing set and were getting excited to head to Nana’s for Christmas Eve. We ended up over there at about five and had a wonderful Mexican food feast with a lot of great fun. It was us, my parents, and my grandparents. The girls had a blast opening their gifts, the highlight of which was a doll house for Barbie-sized dolls, well that and stuffed Grinch toys (my kids LOVE the Grinch for whatever reason). They were both mesmerized and spent quite a bit of time in their play room playing with the doll house. They also got blankets and pillows among other things. They were both asleep in the car before we even got out of the neighborhood. Jeff was excited to get a new Wii game, Epic Mickey, and some other great stuff including a Beatles puzzle and book, and a gift card to Game Stop. I got a gift card to Michaels and quite frankly have been thinking about getting a Cricket Cake.

After we got the kids to bed in the guest room Jeff and I went to work finishing up the painting in their room. It really turned out great. We had trouble putting up the boarder Jan and I cut since the transfer tape we had was a problem. We got a lot of it finished and put their new quilts on their bed, hung the curtains I made, and put the toys back in the newly painted toy bins. It’s quite pink in there! We spent another few minutes putting their toys under the tree which included two Power Wheels motorized cars that Jeff and I got at an estate sale. I must say that Christmas is more fun as an adult trying to make it fun for the kids then it was as a kid opening gifts. We ended up getting to bed around 3am.

The girls got us up at around seven and we watched the video "Joy to the World" about the birth of Christ and the prophesies surrounding his birth. We also read the Luke account of the first Christmas. Then we let the girls go downstairs to open their gifts. They loved all the things they got and as soon as they were done went outside to play on their cars and the swing set. Then we told them we had one more gift for them and showed them their bedroom. It was a great morning for us. I spent the rest of the day trying to finish up the PJs I was making for Jeff’s nieces and nephews and cleaning up the house. We went over to the Bryson’s for Christmas dinner at about five and enjoyed a nice dinner and evening of games and fun. We watched the Tabernacle Choir and the girls played with Hailey and Sam’s new Barbie’s. We are so grateful to have them in our lives. Sunday was spent trying to finish some holiday baking for candy baskets for Jeff’s family and getting ready for dinner.

Jeff’s sister and her family joined us at our house around eleven and went to church with us. We enjoyed a nice Christmas program and the kids enjoyed singing in front of the congregation. We had Jeff’s siblings over for dinner when we got back and the kids opened gifts again (quite spoiled this year I must say). We had a lovely evening of eating, visiting, and enjoying one another’s company. It’s sad that we only get to see some of Jeff’s siblings once or twice a year. The kids really miss their cousins when they’re gone. Tracy and Vance were both missed this year as they were away. It was a very nice Christmas with lots of love and peace. We hope that everyone else out there enjoyed a happy holiday season with those they love.

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Obviously not the weather, but the house has the hustle and bustle that comes with the joyous holiday season. Jeff had two finals at the beginning of the week and he felt he did well. On Monday we attended Felicity’s pre-school holiday program at the district auditorium. It struck me that many of the children had never been on a stage in front of people or performed before, Felicity was completely at ease seeing as she has done it many times at church. It was cute and the kids had a great time. They also kept it short which was appreciated. Helen desperatly wanted to get on stage and sing too. I've added a video at the bottom, you can hear Helen asking to get on stage.

I had a long day at work on Tuesday. We did have two office pot-luck lunches at work which was nice. Jeff held down the fort at home and I’m grateful for that. He had his last final on Wednesday and after he got home from work we took the girls to Mom’s house for the night and the two of us went out to celebrate the end of his first semester. I’m very proud of him; he hasn’t received all of his final grades yet, but so far has done extremely well. We had Chinese for dinner and then did a little Christmas shopping together for the girls. It was nice to spend time together.

I had another long day of work on Thursday. Things are winding down for the end of the year and I’m doing more learning activities to increase my skill base. Thursday night it rained and was somewhat cold. We went to the Christmas party for the company Jeff works for at Pinnacle Peak. They hired a Santa Clause and all the kids, except mine were very excited. Helen was quite weary and Felicity was not interested at all. They had fallen asleep on the way there and were sleepy and grumpy when we got there. They soon perked up and had a nice time.

Friday was a great day. I got to work early as usual and completed the things I needed to do and then met up with Mom and Grandma at the Good Egg for breakfast and then we went out shopping. We hit the thrift store and I found a lot of great stuff. Some of which I’m going to wrap up for the girls and Jeff for Christmas. We also went to Home Depot and bought sand for the girls swing set and paint for their room. Before heading back to Sahuarita, I picked Chelsea up in Tucson to come spend some of her Christmas break with us. Jeff and I went and picked up the girls’ new swing set on Friday evening, as it had arrived at our local Wal-Mart earlier in the day. I was really impressed with the quality of the set; it should be a fun challenge to put it together!

Chelsea watched the girls for us on Saturday while Jeff and I both worked at the estate sale. It was a busy, but quickly passing day. We were done by around 4:20 pm. I did a little more Christmas shopping at the estate sale. Jeff and I got a great deal on two little Power Wheels motorized car toys for the girls for Christmas. They were still left at the 50% off time, so we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. They’ll need to be charged up and washed with some minor touchups, but I can’t wait to see the girls’ faces on Christmas morning; we’re going to put them under the tree with bows on them! I can just see Helen now cruising down the sidewalk in her little green VW Bug. We came home that evening to find that Helen had helped herself to a little more than a dozen sugar cookies Jeff had left out, she was bouncing off the walls most of the evening. We spent a couple hours at the Bryson's for games which was fun as usual.

I’ve been working diligently on my Christmas projects and have a long list of things to do this week. I think I’ll be doing some work from home in the coming week and hope to get everything done I need to. I really need to get the gifts wrapped before they're discovered which is sure to happen before too long, there are only so many places for me to hide things! We hope everyone is enjoying the excitement of the season and takes time to reflect upon the blessings that come to us because that little baby was born in Bethlehem. Merry Christmas to all!

Do You Want to Know a Secret?

The Christmas holiday has really crept up on us! We had a very nice week. Monday, Jeff stayed home from school since he was not feeling well; he has a bit of a winter cold. We hung our Christmas lights and bought a tree. On Monday night we learned about the many prophesies that were given of the birth of Christ before his birth in Family Home Evening. Then we decorated for Christmas. The girls got a kick out of pulling out all of the ornaments and hanging the candy canes on the advent calendar. By the end they were tired and cranky and had to go to bed, so Jeff and I finished up the last of the trimmings ourselves.
I worked all week and am finding it difficult to keep up on all the cleaning, cooking, and gift making I want to accomplish, but am fairing well. I am looking forward to a couple weeks off toward the end of the year. I’ve gotten some of my Christmas shopping done; there are still a few gifts to get, and quite a few more to make. Work has been a little slow the past couple of weeks, but I've been staying busy by learning some new skills.

I made a very simple cake this week. I had auctioned a cake as part of our "Bee of Service" Relief Society activity a couple of weeks ago. Here is the cake the winning bid ordered. It is a great cake for a beginner,
Click Here for Instructions!


We did order the girls a swing set that should arrive in time for Jeff to put it together for the girls to “open” Christmas morning. I’m excited for them to see it! I think Jeff and I are going to put parts of it together in the garage and then on Christmas Eve we’ll put the rest together in the backyard. It should be interesting; we’re also planning on painting their room that day. I’ve finished their new curtains and I bought the material to make their new quilts, we also got the spray paint to re-paint their toy bins. I still need to order some vinyl I want to cut out as a boarder. I’m probably going to want to pull my hair out over the next couple of weeks, especially since I’m going to be working through the 23rd.

I did get almost all of the PJs cut out that I want to make for Jeff’s nieces and nephews. I started sewing on Friday. It will take me a few hours to get them all finished, but I should have them in time! I also have some books that I want to bind for them. Then there’s all the Christmas baking. It sounds like a lot, but I do really enjoy doing it so all the work is helping it feel a little more like Christmas around here—especially since the weather is not!

Here's a picture of me and our 150+ pound lap dog!

Jeff is officially done with classes for the semester and had his first final on Friday. I worked from home on Friday so when he finished with his test we enjoyed a nice day together. Felicity and I did some baking after she got home from pre-school. When I picked her up she was wearing reindeer antlers that they had made and her nose was painted red…too cute. I wasn't smart enough to take a picture, but here's one of Helen playing Daddy's old school Ninetendo.

Jeff and I both worked at the estate sale on Saturday. The Bryson’s very graciously watch the girls and Jeff and I worked from 7 am – 5 pm. Unfortunately, because we didn’t get out early we missed our progressive dinner that we were suppose to have, but we did get home in time to have dessert at the church. That was very nice. I personally hate eating dinner with the whole ward in the cultural hall. It’s too many people, you can never find a seat for your family, and the kids run amok. This was much more appropriate. Santa came which is a point of worry in our house, especially this year. As many people know, I don’t do the Santa Clause thing. We’ve never told the girls Santa is going to bring them things and when Felicity asked about it a couple of years ago, I told her frankly that Santa wasn’t real, just something parents tell their kids for fun. In my shortsightedness I didn’t realize how Felicity’s over-zealous sense of right and wrong would cause problems with her wanting to enlighten other children as to the wool that’s been pulled over their eyes. I overheard her arguing with Gabrielle whether or not there was a Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, etc. We’ve had many discussions about letting people believe what they want to believe and not ruining it for others. I briefed her on it again shortly before we got out of the car for the ward activity and she did well; even sat on Santa’s lap. We had a very nice time.

Oh! Darling

I should really not wait to do my blog; I’ve forgotten everything that happened last week. We’re enjoying the more mild weather. Monday it was downright cold, I let the dog out at 5:30 am and it was 19 degrees on my back porch. It only lasted through Tuesday.
I did some work on Christmas projects this week and made some progress. It was just business as usual this week. I bought the dog some toys and it cut down considerably on his wake of destruction. He is learning quickly and has fit in quite well.
I had Friday off -- Jeff, and the girls and I had breakfast with Grandma and Mom. I started work on one of three cakes I had been paid to make for a Christmas party. My kitchen was a wreck by the end. Saturday, Jeff worked and I finished up the last two of the cakes. Gabrielle’s mom came home permanently and I think she was quite excited to go home. When she picked her up, she mentioned that Gabrielle had asked if she could still go to church with us every week. I met Jeff after work and we went to a lovely Christmas party. The girls had a nice time; they especially enjoyed the sing-a-long. I have to mention some outrageous rudeness that happened this week. Our bank has two drive up ATMs they are in succession next to each other so if the car at the first one finishes the line waits for the second car to finish. There were two cars at the ATMs, we were third in line, there was a land yacht (aka snowbird in a cadillac) behind us. The person at the first ATM finished and drove off, we waited for the second car to finish so that we would pull into the first one and the q-tip would get the second. Not what happened. The gentleman, term used loosely used, pulled around us, parked in the teller lane (thus blocking anyone from gaining access to the teller), got out of his car and proceeded to use the first ATM. Then he refused to move so the second car could leave when they were finished...it was unbelievable! Jeff took a picture! And as a side note, the bank has several walk ATMs as well as the drive through ones.
On Sunday, Gabrielle met us at church and we enjoyed our meetings. Afterward, we were invited over to Gabrielle’s for dinner. Her mother prepared pork ribs, a turkey, fish, and fried chicken…now I understand Gabrielle’s obsession with meat! It was very nice. We won’t have to miss Gabrielle too much, we’ll still be babysitting a few nights a week and she’ll be coming to church with us on Sunday.

I've added a video of Felicity at the bottom. She has mastered writing her name and when I asked her if she can spell it, which believe it or not, is an entirely different skill she really wowed us. We’re looking forward to the coming week!

It Won't be Long

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We had a marvelous week at Casa de Davidson. Things were pretty quiet at work this week and I didn’t get in quite as many hours as I hoped, but I was very grateful for the short week. Monday, Felicity taught our family home evening lesson on gratitude. We played a few games before it was bed time for the kiddos. The car battery died while Jeff was at school on Tuesday. He got it jumped so he could get home, but we were without the car for a few days.

I was very excited for the Thanksgiving holiday; I really enjoy cooking and entertaining. Wednesday night was spent in the kitchen. I prepared all my meals ahead of time so they were ready to just go in the oven at the right time. In fact, it worked out nicely. I timed all the dishes according to when the turkey went in. Everything came to the table hot and ready! We fried our turkey again this year, and I reaffirm that I don’t ever want to prepare it any other way. It was delicious, succulent, flavorful, and moist. The girls helped me pick up the house Thursday morning and my family arrived at about 12pm. We had our family, Gabrielle, my parents and my grandparents. It was a lovely time and I really enjoyed having everyone over. Later in the evening, Jeff picked up his sister Chelsea to visit with us for the weekend.

We actually braved the crowds on Friday and went out to the Tucson Mall. Chelsea had some shopping to do and we haven’t had a weekend together as a family in a long time and were itching to get out. Other than having a difficult time finding a place to park it wasn’t too bad. The girls enjoyed all the sights and people. We even let them play in the very crowded play area. We packed a lunch and stopped at a very nice park on Limberlost and the girls and daddy had a great time playing after our picnic. It was a beautiful day for it! We had a leftover dinner and then all six of us took turns playing Rock Band. The girls had a blast.

Jeff worked on Saturday and it was a long day for him. He didn’t get home until after 7. The girls and I cleaned up the house; I had four loads of dishes and several more loads of laundry. I also made a cake for our friend’s child. It was a lot of fun to do and turned out pretty cute. In the evening we went over to the Bryson’s for games and birthday cake. We had a great time and I think even Chelsea enjoyed herself.

We’ll be taking Chelsea back to St. David this morning and then have church this afternoon. I’m looking forward to having church earlier next year, we got the ten o’clock spot. I’ve felt so much gratitude this week for the many blessings my family enjoys. I’m grateful for my job, for the opportunity Jeff has to go to school. I’m grateful for a wonderful family and for our health; for so many more things.

I think it will probably be a pretty busy week coming up. The semester is almost over for Jeff; he has a full week of classes next week and then begins his finals at the end of the next week. He has been doing very well and I’m excited to see how his grades will come out. I really need to get on top of my Christmas gifts; I have quite a few left to make. It won't be long until Christmas!