Making Christmas 2010

Because of Matt's 4 day weekend and his motivation to get things done.

We got all the Christmas stuff out of the attic and "made Christmas" at our house.

The boys were so excited. We rearranged our living room to get the tree up. And got to work.Mattix started putting ornaments on the tree before Matt had the tree put all together.

The empty tree box made a fun airplane for the them and a great distraction from what daddy was doing.

My favorite part of decorating is the memories that are attached to just about everything.

Our stockings.

The 2 with the snowmen are the original stocking that I bought for Matt and I on our first Christmas together.

Our tree all lit up.

I'm afraid until we are done having little ones our trees will just have to be half decorated.

I let Mason and Mattix decorate. The perfectionist in me was trying to control myself from "fixing" it. But when it was all done. I looked at it and felt like it was absolutly perfect.

I love our collection of ornaments. Nana and Papa give the boys each an ornament for Christmas every year, we try to find special ornaments for boys and of course all the ornaments the boys make and we recieve from friends and family. Every one the boys pulled out of the box the boys wanted to know who it came from and who it was for. They loved it.
This one was from 2009. Our first Christmas with 3 boys.

Mason's first ornament.

Baby's first Christmas 2005.

Mattix's snow"ball." We looked everywhere in 2008 for an ornament that was shaped like a ball.

Mason's cousin Kelly made this for him in 2006. It's a stocking.

When I told Mason who made this one he said, "I like this one. Kelly is good to our planet. She made something out of recycled stuff." Toothpicks, a popsicle stick and a cany wrapper. She's very creative. this is one of my favorite ones.

My good friend Tonya gave this to me when I was pregnant with Mason. It means so much to me. I keep it up all year. But it's one of my most special decorations that holds so much meaning behind it. Good friendship, good advice, and good support.

Last but not least our very first angel. Our first Christmas together we didn't have much money. I found this at the dollar store. Every year after Christmas, the Christmas stuff goes on clearance super cheap. Matt keeps telling me we can get a new one. There are some very pretty ones out there that light up, sing, and move. But like I said Christmas to me is about memories and feeling the spirit of Christ. It's easier for me to remember what Christmas is all about when I remember what got me to this point. I am thankful for all my memories and the traditions my family shares and enjoys.

It's Potty Time!

We've got the potty seat.

We've got the super cool Super Hero underwear.

And we have the special Mattix only Potty Treats.

Daddy decided on Thanksgiving that he was done changing and buying Mattix diapers.
Personally I am too. So he flat out told him "NO more diapers!"

Of course the Thanksgiving ads with all the toys in them sure helped to bribe the kid. Because apparently Santa only brings big boy toys to big boys that poop and pee in the toilet.

We've bribed him with everything under the sun. We'll see what happens.

He's averaging 2 accidents a day and has only had 1 messy accident. (poop) He's finally starting to feel when he needs to go without being reminded. I am feeling quite hopeful and very proud.

Way to go big guy! Keep up the good work!

Can't believe he's 1!

Looking through pictures it seems so long ago, but at the same time I can't believe it's been a year. My baby used to be this little.

Happy Birthday big guy!

We celebrated Manning and his cousin Olivia's birthday together at Nana and Papa's house on Sunday. When it was time to open presents he was a little unsure. He had a look in his face like"should I really be ripping this" and every time a piece would rip, he'd look around waiting for someone to take it away. Once he figured out something was inside he'd get excited and say "wasdat" (what's that). He's so ready for Christmas now. He knows what to do.

I made Olivia and Manning both cakes. Olivia was turning 8. I made a pokadotted Littlest Petshop cake for her and Manning a puppy cake.

Daddy blew out the candle for Manning he was a little unsure with all that singing going on.

He looked at daddy with a look like "are you sure mommy won't take it away because it's messy?"

Uncle Chad coaching him on how to make a bigger mess.

Today we had Grandma and Grandpa over with Jackson and Erica.

Here's his cake for today. Mommy was mean and scheduled his 1 year old appointment for the day of his birthday. What mom does that? Poor guy got 6 shots. He was so grumpy. I drugged him up and hoped he'd have a good night. Because of him not feeling so good. We decided to keep it low key and short. But he still have fun.

For some reason I didn't publish this the other day. Oh well.

Day 11 -

I am thankful that I am a Daughter of God.

I have a tile I made that says:

Princess:

Daughter of a Heavenly King.

I am very thankful to be a woman. There are so many responsiblities and opportunties that come with the role.

Spencer W. Kimball said, Each of you should be grateful to be a woman! To be a rightous woman is a glorious thing at any age.

I am so grateful for the gifts that come from being a woman. I am a mother, I have felt my child grow and kick inside me. I am a teacher I have the responsiblity to share my knowlege and gain more to share. I am a wife. I love my husband he makes me want to be better everyday. I am a friend. I am learning alot lately about what it means to be a friend. As women we have this amazing ability to "feel" we tend to feel the spirit and if we are paying attention we can know when we need to be where we need to be. We need to look out for each other. I really want to work on being a better friend. Often because of all these roles we are required to be stronger than we think we are. I am grateful for all the women in my life that have been such a good example to me. Those that have showed me and keep showing me what it means to be a woman.

My friend and I were talking the other night about Emma Smith. I am always in aw over how much she went through to stand for what she believed in and stand behind her husband. I believe that beside every great man is a great woman. Even if it's his mom.

In Nauvoo there is a garden dedicated to Women. With many statues and plaques that have quotes and scriptures. I thought it was perfect for my thankful post today.

My computer won't let me flip some of them.

Day 10 - Happy 100

For day 10 it's going to be another short and sweet post. This post just happens to be my 100th post!! So in light of this I am happy to say I am thankful for my blog.

When I first started my blog, I was only doing it to be like everyone else. It seemed like another place to show off my awesome family. But now that I am into it, it has become MY blog. I love it. I love being able to put my thoughts down with pictures and they are here and not just scattered all over. And every now and than I get feed back. Blogging is my therapy. Life isn't perfect, it tends to suck sometimes and when it does, you tend to hear about it. And when life is great and things are good, you hear about that too. I try to write in my journal but that doesn't happen to often. I put only my most personal experiences and thoughts there. And I like to share so that doesn't happen to often. :)

So in short I love my blog!

Day 9 -

I am thankful for good friends.

I am so thankful for those that love me and care about me. Always willing to make my days better even when they don't know they are doing it.

Thank you for being my friend.

Day 8 -

Today I am thankful for Forgiveness.

What a wonderful way to show someone that you love them and care for them.

I tend to relate my life to my boys all the time but they are my life. I am always amazed that one minute I can lose my temper yell and put them in time out. Making them cry and call me stupid. But when things calm down they are always willing to come right back to me wanting a hug and kiss with a small yet so big to me I'm sorry.

I know that I am not perfect and this is something that I am constantly working on. But I have had so many opportunties to see where I need to step up and let things go. and when you do it feels so much better.

I am so thankful for the Savior. I know that he loves me. He is always willing to forgive me and help me move on. And I know that he magnifies that quality he learned from our Heavenly Father. I am thankful for the Atonement. So that I can just like my boys come to my father in heaven and say I am sorry. And he will embrace me. What an awesome thing to learn in this life. The art of forgiving.