Christmas-y Sunday!

We enjoyed all the music during Sacrament Meeting today.  My favorite was hearing a friend play the flute, brought the Spirit right in...she sounded like a songbird!!!
Another sweet friend came over to snap some family shots of us in front of our tree!  Enjoy!
Merry Christmas to ONE and ALL!!!

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The Joys of Being the Room Mom

There were a few left overs from the 3rd grade party that I hosted so.....more gingerbread houses were in the making at my house last night.  The kids had lots of fun, even Sara on her 2nd round of decorating : )

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Grab your coat, 'cause BABY it's COLD outside!

Grandma Allred made it to our house at 3am Sat. due to complications with flights because of the storm.  Even with lack of sleep she was rarin' to go tubin' with the kids.  What a trooper!
I'm hiding from those daring tubers, hope they don't find me...

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Our Precious Adopted Grandparents

We have some sadness coming our way this week...
Max and Sally who have taken our family in as one of their own are MOVING Friday!
I will mostly miss our Sally hugs on Sundays!
We are happy that they will be near their daughter, who adores them and watches out for them soooo well!
Luckily their move isn't too far away, we hope to keep in touch.  Sally's phone calls are always a delight!  If you need a boost you need a SALLY in your life!

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Singin' Sara!

We braved the inches of snow on Saturday to watch our lively 8 yr. old participate in her singing group's Christmas performance.  It's a full fledged workout for Sara; she gives it her all!  We hope she keeps her zest for music, we'd love to see her as a BYU Young Ambassador some day!  Santa was also there to take my kids' requests ONCE more! Sara's teacher is gorgeous inside and out, she exudes creativity...we feel blessed to have Marcy in Sara's life!

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The Creche

Our ward hosted a beautiful evening to get everyone in the RIGHT Spirit of the holiday, focusing on Christ.  Many families loaned the ward the use of their nativities (170 + of them) to decorate several rooms in the building.  The night turned out to be a big success.  Wish I had taken more pictures to show you how they transformed the cultural hall into a glorious sight!  I have wanted to make a gingerbread nativity ever since my mom gifted me the nativity cookie cutter set MANY years ago.  This event spurred me on and I included the photo of the done-deal.  Sara asked this morning what we're going to do with it.  It's NOT in edible form any longer, too much hot glue!  It's strictly a decoration as long as it lasts : )

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It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!

It's been fun to see all the lights up everywhere!  I enjoyed the Christmas devotional last night and how Pres. Uchdorf reminded us that Christmas is about LIGHT, the light of the world! 
This is probably the 1st year that we haven't seen the Span. Fork lights with snow on the ground.  It was still festive.  I missed rolling down the windows to hear the old Christmas tunes blaring out of the park speakers...this year they had us tune our car radios to 99.9.  The floating lit trees at Salem Pond are always gorgeous.  Since the weather was sooooo nice the kids enjoyed their trek over the lit bridge, another 1st this time of year!   : ) 

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Santa is a busy man!

Santa showed up for our ward breakfast too.  The MORE times you ask for something you're ensured to receive it, right!?!? 

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oops...one more recital photo!

flowers for such a great performance!

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1st Piano Recital

What a great evening out to hear Sara perform a few songs she's been practicing AND also get to hear from several other ward friends!  Joan, Sara's teacher, did a great job to make it a special event!

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James' Work Party

This is the nicest Christmas party we've attended, we all had LOTS of fun!
Family pictures (I'll try to post it when we get them), face painting, meeting Santa, decorating cookies, making cards, watching Santa's magic show, eating a catered meal, AND if that wasn't enough...ice skating on the ROOF!  Thanks Career Step!

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The Boss!

This cute lil' elf has been working me into the ground...
He won't be happy 'til ALL the Christmas decorations are up, have batteries installed, light up, etc. etc.

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"Blackjack" is his name-O!

When we returned from our trip I was back on the search for "Lucky's" family!  It only took me hours to uncover the mystery; talk to the right animal control guy and BAM I had more information than I needed.  We drove "Lucky" back home last night...he lives up Payson Canyon.  So every time we go up the mountain we'll think of him.  He was a fun house guest but his stay was just long enough...a lot of extra consideration for such a small critter!  The one photo shows what we have left to remember him, plus the doggie dish that I haven't cleaned up yet : )

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Thankful for Thanksgiving!

We were all needing a break from our usual "grind!"  Thanks McNairy's for helping us enjoy our days away from home! 

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Anyone missing a dog?

This little critter found his way to our house.  We've named him Lucky and we're wondering if animal services will call tomorrow with the owners wondering where he is???  So well mannered, we haven't had any problems with him in the hours he's been here!  Sara's a mother hen to him.  So fun to hear what the kids come up with about this dog : )

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An Early Start to Thanksgiving Celebrating!

All the 3rd graders at Sara's school are gathering for a Thanksgiving Feast and other merriments!  They were allowed to dress up as an Indian or a Pilgrim and so this is how Sara went off to school!  There's a little mixture of Egyptian, Mexican, and American tied in with the Indian flavor but it's 'ALL GOOD' when your daughter leaves with a BIG smile! : )

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Big Boy gets a Big-Boy Bed

It was a sad/happy day on Saturday when Garrett got his NEW bed!  I was probably the only one sad...it's hard for me to see how fast time sails; we NO longer have a crib matress in our household!  Garrett hasn't fallen out all week and really enjoys stretching out in comfort. 

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New Version of the Christmas Tree

A friend sent me this Redneck Christmas Tree photo and I thought it was quite ingenious and wanted to share it with you!  If I had more time on my hands (and more empty cans) I might give it a shot!

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