Just one more: Christmas Traditions

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas Traditions

The week before Jack was born we spent family night making gingerbread houses. I helped Haken with his humble little cottage while Shad built his elaborate gingerbread model of the Kirtland temple. Haken was very good and didn't eat too much of the candy. He even let it sit long enough to let Grandma see it a few days later. Surprising, since he has such a sweet tooth for candy.

Even though our family is still little we have tried to start some family traditions for Christmas. One of those is to dress up and act out the nativity story. This year we did it the Monday before Christmas since my brother Brandon and his wife Megan would be there to help us out. It was a little crazy with a 3-yr-old who wanted to be a ghost instead of a shepherd. However, Jack didn't oppose to being the baby Jesus. I was Mary, Shad was Joseph, Brandon was an angel, and Megan was the narrator. It lasted all of 5 minutes, which was probably a good thing with all of the robes and blankets Shad made us wear. Another tradition we have is our Christmas Eve dinner. For the last two years Shad has taken the responsibility of single handedly making a gourmet Christmas dinner. He made cornish game hens for everyone, potatoes, and of course his special cream sauce to top it all off. It was gorgeous!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

We met while attending Utah State University in Logan, Utah and were married in August 2005. We moved to Central Illinois from Northern Utah in 2015 and we have loved the change even though we are away from our families. Shad is a religious educator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and enjoys every day. I currently stay at home with my 7 kids and I love the sweet moments and even the chaos that sometimes comes with it. We have learned to roll with the punches with our big family. The greatest evidence of this is when we were going for "just one more" and ended up with two! That's pretty much become the story of our life.

Our intellectual 13-yr-old. He loves to be involved in every adult conversation and activity and he should be with how much responsibility he takes on in our household. He is a model student at school and has become a fantastic writer. He has a serious sweet tooth but hasn't had a single cavity. His new passion is road biking and loves to see how far and fast he can go. He has been a perfect first child. We have been spoiled with such a good young man who wants to please us in everything he does.

Exactly 3 1/2 years younger than his older brother, but you wouldn't know it by the way he plays with him. He was definitely worth waiting for, and brings so much joy into our family. In December 2013, just 3 days after his third birthday, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes but this hasn't stopped him from being the happiest kid you will ever meet. Checking his blood sugar and counting every carb before he eats hasn't slowed him down much. He recently switched to an insulin pump and it has been life changing. He has a contagious smile and rarely has a negative attitude. He is our "super Jack-Jack" and has become my little hero.

Don't let this little girl fool you, she has more spunk in her body than most kids her size. She is our tiny little girl with loads of personality. She is a goof, just like her brothers. We have loved having a girl after two boys and she has really thrown us for a loop with her all-girl dramatic attitude. She loves everything fashion, sparkly, and pretty. At 6 yrs old she has an opinion about everything that goes on her. Her room is always spotless, there is a place for everything, and you better not mess it up. I'm sure we will be in big trouble when she grows up.

"Our little minion." He has a smile that will melt your heart and loves to cuddle. He is my master sleeper and is content doing things on his own. He loves anything on wheels and copies everything his big brother's do. He recently started preschool and has made huge strides in talking but we still often find ourselves playing "Benny Mad Libs" as a family trying to figure out what he is saying. This doesn't prevent him from getting his point across as he is a very determined child with lots of great ideas.

Witty, smart, and sneaky. This girl rules the roost around here. She loves to sing songs and has a beautiful singing voice. She knows every word to every frozen song and belts them out. Her curly hair is a blessing and a curse as she hates having it brushed out but loves the curls. Already learning to read she is ready to start kindergarten next year and can't wait, especially since that means she will be with friends all day. She is a social butterfly and can't want to emerge from her cocoon.