Christmas

I have absolutely loved our Christmas Holidays (except for the part where I had the stomach flu - uggghhh!) My big girl Emi became the mommy for the day. She completely took care of Kamden for me. She would bring him to me when he was hungry, and then she would take him away and take care of him. THANK YOU EMI!!

Back to the topic at hand... Christmas. Our kids will go back to school again in just a few short days, and I so wish they could just stay home with me for a few more weeks. We have had such a good time together, and with all our extended family get-togethers. We have had Ira home with us for two long weekends in a row - that has been priceless! We had all the pressing things done before Christmas arrived, and so we have been able to just kick back and enjoy being together. Our most exciting Christmas gift was that Santa brought us tickets to Disneyland for February. We are so excited to go the the most magical place on earth!

This last couple of weeks I have so enjoyed the journey of life. I am so grateful for these little ones who call me "mom", and for their dad who calls me "honey". I have loved getting Christmas cards from family and friends, and knowing that they have thought of our family as we have thought of them. I have loved the laughter we have shared with parents, brothers, sisters, and cousins during our get-togethers. I have especially loved being reminded of my Saviors birth. It is a special thing to have a baby in our home during the Christmas time. It is hard not to hold him, and look in his little face, and not think of the first Christmas over 2000 years ago.

I love Christmas, and the reminder that it is to me of all the things that really matter most in my life - My Savior and my family and friends.

Of course Santa is a pretty important part of Christmas too...or is he?

I think maybe the spirit of giving that Santa represents is pretty important.


My little Santa...

or elf!

Santa and his little elves

Two little monkeys sitting on the couch...

Of course it wouldn't be the holidays without recitals and performances!

Brayden was in an Orchestra program, playing the Cello.


Emilie's dance class danced in their P.J.'s at the nursing home.


Brayden and Emilie had their piano recital. This was Emi's first year, she was SO excited, and and has played her piece over and over ever since. Brayden received a great compliment when one of the younger boys was asked their favorite part of the recital, and he said, "Brayden".

Christmas Eve, while we waited for Ira to get off work, we built a gingerbread house.




Ira's brother Jason, and his wife Beckie sent us matching P.J.'s to be opened on Christmas Eve. This was a great hit!!! We wore them all day, and hopefully it is their new tradition for us, because (like their children), we are anxiously awaiting to see next years P.J.'s! Thank you Beckie for all your work in making them and letting us be part of your tradition.

Wrestle time with dad before going to bed (nothing like getting them hyper on Christmas Eve, right at bed time). Way to go Ira!!! However, all it took was for the kids to hear Santa Clause ringing his bells and saying, "Ho, Ho, Ho" right by their bedroom window to quiet them all down. Worked like magic!

So this year I decided it would be a "special" thing to re-enact the nativity, especially since we had our "Baby Jesus" without having to use a doll! I put the word "special" in parenthases for a reason. Special it was! I will never forget how Jarin was screaming the whole time (melt down moment), and how we were all threatening him to come be the shepherd/wiseman "or else"!

Good times, right?!

(don't know what Jarin is wearing - I think it is a wise-man crown...maybe)

I will set up our nativity just the way I want it, so they are all laid out where all the figures can be seen in just the right place. Then I go in another room for just a minute, and come back, and this is how they have mysteriously been rearranged - over and over again. I think my little mystery child has the right idea...Christ is the center of everything. He is the center of Christmas, and He is the center of my life.

The Season of Giving

In years past, some of my favorite things about Christmas have included the Christmas songs that hold some kind of magic. It is the only time of year we can listen to songs over the radio every single day that are about Christ. And music always brings back so many emotions of years past, and loved ones who have since passed on. I also love the smells and tastes of baked goods and treats. I love the sparkle in my childrens eyes as they anticipate Santa Clause, and as they wrap their special surprises for their family members. I especially love the anticipation of seeing family that I have missed so much through the year. Of course, I love the spirit of giving at Christmas time. But never have I been so humbled as this year as I have witnessed some of that giving. Ira has the privilege of being the Bishop of our ward, and so much of what he does holds so much confidentiality that I am unaware of most of the personal struggles that people face, and also most of the kind deeds that occur. However, this year I have witnessed as people have called our home offering their help and/or brought things ranging from toys, clothes, food, blankets, money etc. that maybe the Bishop would know somebody who may be in need of these things. Ira has gone on deliveries every night this week delivering these things and many other things that I'm probably not even aware of. He gets to hear the "thank you's" from the recipients, but the "thank you's" belong to all of you who step outside of yourselves, especially in a time when things are difficult for everyone, and you give. You give of your substance, your time, your talents, your selves. That is the true Spirit of Christmas, it is the Spirit of Christ. Thank you to all of you for helping me remember the true meaning of Christmas, to give an love as Jesus gave and loved.

Merry Christmas to you all

I didn't and I didn't....

Today Jarin was on Santas "naughty" list. He was not listening, and having a total tempter tantrum for a good hour. When he finally did what he was told, then he was a happy boy again. After it was all better, I asked him if he was being my "big boy". His reply was (referring to being a big boy and making good choices), "I didn't...then I didn't...I didn't...I didn't...I didn't...I didn't...I didn't...I didn't...I didn't...I didn't...(he went on like this for at least 3-4 minutes), then he said, "then you told me, then you told me again, and I didn't...and I didn't...(then with excitement in his voice, he said), and then I did!"

Boy, oh boy, do we ever have our hands full with this 3 year old monkey!

you can't miss that this picture is Jarin, look at those blue eyes!

These are looks of a mischevious little boy!

Head...Giggles...Bums & Toes

HEADS: Jarin was throwing a pillow in the living room, and CRASH! My favorite (my only :) )nativity set lost two heads (the wisemens heads - ironic hu?!) Anyways...After Jarin broke them, he walked up to them, and in a very sweet voice said, "I'm sorry I broke your heads. It was an accident". He really did feel so bad, and was so tender with his apology. Nothing a little super glue and a hug couldn't fix!

GIGGLES: We have lots of giggles at our house. Most of them revolve around Kamden and Jarin. Jarin is always making us laugh, and we are all always trying to make Kamden laugh!

I love to hear the uncontrollable laughter of our kids (unless it is in the middle of the prayer - which is inevitably the case most of the time!). I think that Heavenly Father must not mind, or he wouldn't have created us to laugh! No matter how grumpy I am, their laughter usually pulls me out of it. Thank goodness for laughter...especially childrens. Actually that's not entirely true...my mom has a GREAT laugh.

(this picture would not turn the right way!)
BUMS: Self explanatory! Someday he will be REALLY mad that I posted this. So I guess we will all have to keep it a secret from him. But look how cute he is will all his cute baby rolls!

By the way, Kamden just had his 4 month (5 month - since I'm always late!) appointment. His size has been the topic of many conversations, so the final verdict is:

17.4 pounds (75%) - not bad!

26 inches (50%)

for his head circumferance I'll need a drum roll:

45 cm? (90%) typical of a Moser baby - we have big heads!

Knowing the size of that noggen, he's doing really good holding it up in this picture, don't chu think?

TOES: One of my very favorite stages of babies is when they start grabbing their toes and are so fascinated with playing with them. I love, love, love baby feet!

Cache Valley - my old friend

Cache Valley from the west side (Oxford Peak)

I got some more pictures from family of Thanksgiving weekend. I still want to post them for journaling purposes. Some of the family went 4-wheeling the day after Thanksgiving to Oxford Peak (what a perfect Thanksgiving weekend - to have good enough weather to go 4-wheeling!) I had wanted to go so badly, but couldn't leave Kam that long. However, after looking at these pictures, it looks like they froze their booties! I'm not feeling so bad that I missed out anymore. :) While some went 4-wheeling, my sister, Kelli took the other kids on a hike on "little mountain" in Franklin, ID. All the pictures show our beautiful valley so well. I just love living in Cache Valley. I will never forget the year that we finally had the opportunity to find our way back to Cache Valley. That first hay cutting, I lay in bed with the window open, smelling the newly cut hay. It gave me such an adrenaline rush to smell that sweet smell (maybe it's not sweet, but how else do you describe the smell of fresh cut alfalfa?) I couldn't sleep, because I was so excited to be back in this wonderful valley that I love so much. That excitement hasn't left me yet, and I hope it never will (but I can sleep now - thank goodness!). There isn't a greater feeling to me than driving through Sardine Canyon, and rounding that corner that I can see the whole Valley laid out before me. I feel like I can relax more, and take a big breath of fresh farm air (when you don't live here, you really can smell the farm smell when you come into the valley! - Mmmm...Mmm). I also love how we can see the stars in Cache Valley, I mean REALLY see the stars. I had never realized that was a privilege that not everyone has. I didn't realize that the bigger cities just have too much light to be able to see the stars in the heavens, until I moved to those bigger cities, and I missed the stars. Now, I realize that many of you can see the stars from where you live, and you love your valley. BUT, can you see the bright stars, AND smell the sweet smell of alfalfa at the SAME time?? Cache Valley is an old, dear friend that has been part of many of my fondest memories.

I LOVE CACHE VALLEY!

Cousins, Myah & Jarin, looking over Cache Valley from Little Mountain in Franklin.

Myah, Emi, Zac, Tannon, Brayden, Nathan, Jarin

The 4-wheeling group - BRRRRR. (shiver)
Skyler & Tiana

My dad and brother, Tyson

My Daddy

My Sweety

Salt Lake Trip

Ira got the opportunity to take the young men and young women in our ward to Salt Lake City this last weekend. It was Braydens first trip with the youth, and he was so excited, and had such a great time. Thank you all you leaders who help our kids have these wonderful experiences! I am a wanna-be, so I'll post the trip and pretend I was there! Maybe next year I will feel like I can leave Kamden for the day, and tag along with them (if Brayden can handle BOTH his parents on HIS trip!) - looked like lots of fun!

Wonderful Surprise!

My Grandma and Grandpa Wright

My Grandma with my mom (the baby), and my Aunt Deone

My Grandma Wright passed away last February. At the time, I was sad to see her go, but she had been living in so much pain and sadness the last year of her life, that it was wonderful to know that she was going to a better place where she could once again feel peace and happiness.

Now...nine months later, and the holidays here, I have been missing my Grandma so much! A couple weeks ago, I drove by her house, and so badly wanted to pull in the driveway and walk in the house and have her offer me whatever goody she had there (usually gingersnap cookies!), and put my arms around her. As I approached the house, somebody else, a total stranger to me, walked out of the house that I had so many wonderful memories in. Who are they?...what are they doing in my Grandmas house? (did I mention that the house has been sold, so they had every right to be there?).

On Thanksgiving, one of the things I was asked to bring was a jello (does that say anything about my cooking abilities?!) In my family, when we say jello, we mean "Grandmas raspberry jello". So I go to find the recipe (yes, it has it's own recipe, not just the box recipe). I pull out the recipe card, and tears came to my eyes as I looked at a recipe card of my Grandmas "famous" jello, written in her own handwriting! It must have looked pretty silly to see me crying over a recipe card.

Well, today I was sorting through Christmas boxes, trying to condense. I was emptying out one of the boxes, and at the very bottom was a card. I almost just discarded it with the box, but at the last second, decided to see what the card was. To my surprise it was from my Grandma, written some earlier year (sob, sob). I know that maybe this will sound silly, but I just felt like Grandma was wishing me a Merry Christmas this year too. I carefully placed the card in our Christmas tree, where I will leave it as a reminder of the wonderful lady that I have the privilege of calling my Grandma, not that I need a reminder - I think of her about every day.

I love how this card says, "may your holiday be filled with surprises." This was a great surprise!

She would probably not love this picture, but it shows just how much we all love her. Jarin loved to go climb on her bed and just lay on her tummy. I know it probably hurt her, but she always let him, for as long as he wanted to.

COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS

When I have trouble going to sleep, I find that counting sheep does nothing for me. So a few years ago, I decided to count my blessings instead. As the hymn goes, "Count your many blessings, name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done." I will lay there, and start naming off the things that I have been blessed with. I could name them the whole night and never repeat one blessing more than once - but thankfully I fall asleep first. I wish I could list here on my blog all the things that I have been blessed with, but I think that would be impossible, so I am going to write about my top 3 - God, Family, and my Country (freedom). Tonight, our family read a paper that lists some things that show just how blessed we are. To name a few, it says,

"If you own just one Bible, you are abundantly blessed. 1/3 of the world does not have access to even one.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week."

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people around the world.

If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest or torture of death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world.

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy."

That put a perspective on just how blessed we are, even during a time when everything seems to point the other direction.

FAMILY
Of course, with Thanksgiving just behind us, we spent the weekend with my side of the family. I am SO blessed to have such a great family. I love and adore my husband and children, and I love our extended family get-togethers. We all get along so well, and I think the feeling is the same for all the others - that there aren't any of the 8 kids, 8 spouses, 27 grandchildren (plus 4 of their spouses), 5 great grandchildren, and of course 2 very cool parents who don't love to spend time together. I can't think of any arguments between us (in our adult lives anyways). My parents are planning on leaving on an 18 month mission for the church next fall. I haven't realized just how much I rely on them for so many things until this "final countdown" is on. Next Thanksgiving they won't be here - does that mean I might have to learn to cook a Thanksgiving meal? SCARY! (As hard as I try, I couldn't possibly make rolls like my mom does. You've never had a dinner roll until you've tried her hot, yummy rolls)! OK I'm getting sidetracked now. What I'm trying to say is that sometimes I take my blessings for granted until I don't have them anymore, even my "Littlest" (really my greatest) blessings - my children. I definitely take them for granted, wishing sometimes that they would grow up a little faster. One of the things I love is a perfectly left-behind little hand print (on the window or cupboard). I can't stand all the cluttery messes, but I love the hand prints as a reminder to me that they will only be little once!

Mmmmm....Mmmm, can't you just smell them and taste them? My family made fun of me taking this picture - but it's serving it's purpose! Maybe I will enlarge it and put it in the center of my Thanksgiving table next year, and pretend I can smell and taste them!

My nephew Travis

The football game after the big meal - gotta burn off some calories to make room for all the pie!

My brothers-in-law, Derrick and Reece

Go Brayden, Go! The kids playing.
Kam with his cousin Des (look at those sweet little feet!)


COUNTRY

When I was 16, I spent some time in Germany as an exchange student. While there, I had the opportunity to go, with a few teenage girls, on a trip to Berlin. We also went across the boarder in East Berlin (before the wall came down). It was like walking from a color tv set into a black and white set. It was so bleak and sad. (I think had my mom known what I was up to, she would have been a wreck!) I remember the fear I felt. I remember the soldiers with their machine guns all around, checking our passports. My only other American friend and I tried to bring a Book of Mormon through the gates, and the soldiers compensated it (hey, maybe they read it!) Anyways, I will never forget the feeling of gratitude and reverence I felt as I stepped onto American soil again after that experience. I will never forget seeing the American flag blowing in the breeze, and knowing I was home with the freedoms I had always enjoyed, and didn't realize were so precious to me before that time.

Someday I will need to scan my Germany photos, but for now - these pictures remind me of the beautiful land that I have the privilege of calling home.

The old sugar factory in Whitney, ID.

RELIGION

Lastly, (is actually first on my list, but last one I'll write about), is God. The church I belong to, and have very strong feelings for has been under attack since the beginning of time - when Christ himself was the head of it when He was on Earth. Of course, Jesus Christ is still the head of the church, but his hands on earth are our prophets and each of ours. Many of the early pioneers of the church (my ancestors included) were driven from their homes, tortured and killed. They walked to the desolate valley of Salt Lake to have a place where they could worship freely. They tried to get protection from the American government, to no avail. Yet, they still proudly waved the American flag. They knew the blessings of being Americans, and that someday they would have the right to worship freely, as was their right. During the last year, we have been under attack a lot with Mitt Romney in the political light, and of course our stand on Proposition 8 in California. I feel that if there weren't truth to what we are, and what we believe, then Satan wouldn't be so determined to bring it down.
My life would be an empty slate if I didn't believe and KNOW that God lives, and that I am one of His children. I don't mean to sound preachy - but it is a very big part of who I am. So many people in this world don't have the blessing of having the knowledge that I have, and that is one blessing I will never take for granted.


I am so grateful for the blessings of Family, Freedom and God.