F is for Friendly Beasts

F is for "friendly beasts"

"And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." – Luke 2:9-12

Away in a Manger, v. 2

Feed the friendly beasts – make a bird feeder with peanut butter and seeds and hang in a tree.

Today, instead of "feeding the beasts" we made them at Build-a-Bear. My mom treated her grandchildren to a party that was more excitement than a little child can handle. Sensory overload.

Owen picked a penguin, which by the way is the Linux mascot Joey informed me. He also picked a Utah t-shirt. Joey was so proud.

I love how into this Sam is . . . notice the tongue and drool.

This was Owen's favorite part and the only moment during the night he wasn't running in circles.

Immediately following our outing, we raced to the Ward Christmas party where Owen got to sit on Santa's lap. I think this will be the one and only time this happens this year. Owen licked his treat, which he and the other little boys used as swords the rest of the night. Ho, ho, ho.

E is for Evergreen

E is for "evergreen" tree

" . . . that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. . ."
- 1 Nephi 15:36

O Christmas Tree

Attend the Festival of Trees or go pick out a Christmas tree

This year, as luck would have it, Sam was preforming at the Festival today of all days! My parents, sister and her extended family, Sydney and I all braved the crowds (there were many) and we went to watch Sam dance in her red tutu.

She was darling and quite proud of herself. I think she would have danced the night away on the stage by herself if someone would let her. We were also able to see the beautiful tree my mom and her "BYU Angel Flight Sisters" made for the Festival. The entire experience was touching to witness.



Owen was a little irritated by that darn white chain that kept him from touching the trees, toys and other blinking decorations. He sat still only when he was hiding under tables:

Love this picture. Owen doing who knows what, but definetly not holding still for the picture, Sam posing (her own idea), and Emily saying "cheese."

As if I didn't experience enough crowds and as my friend said "chaos" today, we joined more throngs of people to see Zoolights at Hogle Zoo. Not a lot of animal sightings, but the kids were in heaven - running from place to place, chasing each other, jumping fences . . . you get the idea.

Here is the brief moment during the entire night that we were all holding still: seeing how much the whole group weighed on the elephant scale.

My Winter Paradigm

Winter and snow are fine from now until December 31st. Then bring on Spring.

D is for Drum

“D” is for drum

D&C 25:12: "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads."

The Little Drummer Boy

Decide what to give Him (pa-rum-pa-pum-pum)

I love the chaos and craziness of December. There is so much to do and see. I love having responsibilities or activities every day because that means we are busy and that usually means we are with people we love.

Obviously, the crazy schedules applies to other people too. My sister had a program to attend with her daughter Sam yesterday which meant Emily came to play.

Here they are having a "picnic":


Then, I had a church meeting in the evening, which meant more play dates for Owen. He happened to discover this fabulous product:
He cried when he had to leave. He cried all the way home. He cried all evening, until I pulled a picture of it up on the computer. I told him he could have it, but not until Christmas. His father said, "No, not until you go on the potty." Owen very quickly removed his clothing and gave a valiant effort for about 30 minutes, but alas, "it's not working" he said. He went to bed crying last night (so did I).

This morning when he woke. He talked about his copter. He sat on his potty and much to his delight "it's working!" A very relieved momma was happy he did and now gets his toy much earlier than expected. I don't think I could handle the heart ache much longer!

Apparently, this toy is one hot item because it is sold out online at Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, you name it. I could buy it on ebay for triple the price, but I braved the stores and found it for pocket change.

Yes, we have a long road ahead of us until he is potty trained, but it is amazing to see that determination pays off. Thank you batman.

"C" is for Candle

Matthew 5:14-16: "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. neither do men lights a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your lights so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Eat by candle light.

Christmas shopping can't be topped. The stores are filled with decorations, Christmas music playing overhead, the excitement of finding gifts for loved ones . . .

Despite not having all of the perfect gifts for everyone on my list just yet, Christmas came early for Joey. Last week while in Park City, he found and purchased some snow boots that I was hoping to get him for Christmas. Then there was the ultimate gear we found at a great price that could not be passed up. Finally, I had put aside some money to surprise Joey with the greatest gift he could ask for (if you don't know, it is the G1 Android) and somehow that gift appeared Monday and has been the highlight of his week. Even I, highly unimpressed by technology, can't believe how cool this thing it. I'll let Joey go on in detail about his new toy, but I think his Christmas list is complete.

Despite Joey believing he has all he could ask for, and even insisted upon, I had a lot of fun yesterday searching for the perfect gift. Quite small in price, but I'm thrilled any way. Shopping for others is such fun. I just might need to become a personal shopper. Will work for ice cream or a new pair of brown boots.

Owen and Sammie before Emily was born. Notice we actually got a picture this year - obviously because O was only 7 months old and couldn't yet run.

B is for Bell

"B" is for Bell

Luke 2:13-14: "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

“I Heard the Bells”

Ring the bells – sing songs or add bells to your tree

"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings."

I love Christmas pajamas. Every Christmas Eve my mom pulls out the beautifully wrapped packages of matching pj's for the grandchildren and girls (the boys get workout clothes because, let's be honest, most of them won't wear the pj's).

Here's last years Christmas Eve donning the new clothes:

Sammie, the oldest trying to get her sister and cousin O to cooperate.

O, thinking this is a game, prepares to make a break for it . . .

Escaped! Couldn't sit still long enough to take one good picture. Sammie however is still smiling at the camera and posing with her arm around the missing Owen.

A is for Angel

A" is for Angel

Luke 1:28-31: "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that are highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him , she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her ind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."

Hark, The Herald Angels Sing

Be and angel – do a secret deed

Our "angel" service today will be small. Joey speaks often about the wish to have bottomless bank accounts. I wish that were the case too : ) We hope to buy shoes for a refugee family of 10 who Joey's sister has befriended. The Wilson clan has decided to provide Christmas this year to them instead of for ourselves. We have done similar projects for the last few years and it has been a great experience. What are some ways you have served this year?

This post would not be complete without writing about one of my favorite things about Christmas. Drum roll please . . . .

This year, Joey found a Christmas song he actually likes! Earth shattering news. We'll have that song on auto-repeat all month long. Should you decide to check it out, listen to it for about a minute before you pass judgment - that's when it gets jammin'.