Christmas Eve

     On Christmas Eve, we all went over to Karen's house for some yummy food and dessert. It was quite the turn-out... not everyone could make it, but we still ended up with about 25 or so. Adam & Janae were in charge of doing the christmas program and they decided to do a little talent show for all the kids before the nativity. Bryce, Makana & Carson sang Sleigh Ride as upside-down chin people; Gavin told some awesome Santa jokes; Aaron recited a Christmas poem; and Ruby sang a primary song. They all did so great, I am so proud of them! It takes guts to stand up in front of that many people and perform!
Next was the Nativity and it turned out so cute! Jonathan narrated the story; Ruby played Mary and Gavin was Joseph; Caleb and Aaron were Shepherds; Isaac and Carson were wisemen and they had real Frankincense and Myrrh; Bryce, Makana & Ruby were angels and looked so pretty! Janae put together the best costumes and the kids had so much fun!
     Once that was over, we had a surprise visit from Santa. All the kids sat on his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas. All except for adorable little Lilah... she was so scared of him and started crying so hard. It was so sad but I couldn't help smiling because she is so darn cute! When Ruby's turn was done, she  went over and sat down next to Matt. She looked at him with suspicious eyes, then looked at Santa, then looked back and Matt and says, "I don't think that's the real Santa... he looks a lot like your dad. Hey, where is your dad anyway?" You know, Santa's a busy guy... he needs all the helpers he can get, right?
     So here are a few pics I borrowed from Ali's blog until I upload my own pics. She is a much better photographer than me anyway. Thanks Ali!

All I Want for Christmas is...

     At the beginning of November, we told the kids to think about what they wanted for Christmas and make a list. A few days later, we get an email from Makana and this is what it read:
     "Hi Momma and Daddy, here is my christmas list. #1 - to see you, #2 - night-vision goggles. Miss you and luv you bunches!"
     WHAT?! Night-vision goggles? We'd totally expect that from Carson or maybe even Bryce (since she's a little bit of a tom-boy), but girly-girl, drama queen, pink princess Makana? We just laughed and thought it was awesome. She always catches us off guard with random little comments and things, so we should have expected something crazy like that. Later she told us she wanted a pottery wheel, so we got her that and decided to save the spy-gear for her birthday. Those kinds of things are much more fun in the summer anyway.
     Bryce's list wasn't quite as random: skinny jeans, clothes, posters for her room. The shocker was when she told us she wanted a Michael Jackson CD along with Owl City, Justin Beiber and a few other popular bands. Even though I have several of his albums, I was able to find an awesome Greatest Hits collection that had a bunch of old Jackson 5 songs too.
     Carson is pretty laid back and just goes with the flow, so his list was just as we expected: video games and Bakugons. Okay, maybe we didn't expect the Bakugons, but it wasn't really surprising. I, personally, thought they were stupid and pointless. I got him 2 or 3 and tried to find other things he'd like, but after he explained the whole point system and how complex they are, I got him a few more. To tell you the truth, I was a bit intrigued by how much he knew and Matt, being the little kid at heart he is, wanted some for himself so he could battle with Carson. It's kinda cute if you think about it, but I still have to make fun of him for it.