12.31.19 Corn Family Christmas Party

We have grown and changed over the years. From simple singing of a few carols to a full-fledged dress-up nativity play we are evolving. The kids had several parts of the play and I was so impressed with their reverence for the experience. They are coming to really enjoy the experience. 

 Mark as Samuel the Lamanite foretelling the baby Jesus birth in five years.

Millie the angel Gabriel telling Mary she will have a son.

Mary riding to Bethlehem on the donkey.

 The animals in the stable and the stars apear. Anna and Aliza managed the crew off stage.

The angelic heavenly host appearing to the shepherds. The innkeeper lounges in the background, hiding behind the piano are accompanist Cadi and narrators Megan and Addie.

More stars appear. LIa became the most reliable not moving much.

The three wise men/guys make an appearance also bringing gifts and good wishes to baby Jesus.

Millie, Jenna, and Afton as angels. See the star happily perched on the inn keeper? Perfect!

The cast of kiddos. Pretty impressive group of energy there. 

The adult gift exchange. The Dan family poor Melissa was so sick that night.

I told my kids before we left they had to dress in nice clothes that we weren't going to a pajama party. I was surprised and laughed out loud to see my brother Kevin's family show up in pajamas as per tradition from his wife. Oh well, we all had a great time no matter our attire. How could we not my brothers are great cooks and we were so full and content as a result. Greg's favorite part of these family gatherings is the delicious vast amounts of meat!

Mary got the hot item of the night a muscle man pillowcase. She works hard to plan a nice evening with easy yet enjoyable activities. We appreciate her willingness to plan and pull off family events like this.

The next day the kids were overjoyed to play with Greg's gift inflatable horns to toss rings onto. Aren't they cute reindeer?

Bruce holding his dinosaur from his stocking. We had a great evening. The spirit of love and friendship was strong. We are blessed because we choose to get along and be friends as we get older. IT is always nice to be together and especially when life is not so stressful there is a little more time for teasing, joking, smiling, and visiting. Life is good.

12.30.19 Christmas at home

The kids can open their stockings when they get up. I heard rustling in the early dark hours of Christmas day. I was surprised to find Addie dumping the contents of her stocking to investigate. I thought for sure it was around 3 a.m. she claims it was 5:55 a.m. Still way to early. I turned off the light and told her to get back to bed. From then on about every hour new kids came to check it out. I got up later and began the ordeal of making turnovers. Reed cooked the bacon and sausages, bacon is new this year as per his request. He hates sausage. The other boys got to work with Greg outside, Reed chose his duty well that day. 

A mere two hours later we had four pans of turnovers ready along with deviled eggs and bacon and sausage. Yum. We ate and then moved into our front room for the Christmas story a short talk from dad and then presents. 

After presents, we play, put away, and relax. Well, usually this year the boys went to do water and ended up changing oil and fixing some other problems. We ended the day at grandma's house where we got to start playing with cousins. These two ladies aren't much for playing together but they do like to do the same things. Lia and Darci are about 8 months apart.

There were some shoulder rides this is Kaden who is almost 8 carrying Millie.

Uncle Matt with the two 3-year-olds both happy in their batman shirts. They were so excited to see the other also had a cool shirt on. These two had a great time.

Christmas was good. Peaceful, busy, complete, and comforting. The traditions stay similar from year to year and that is good. It's fun to watch the kids grow from little babies to bigger and more into the magic of the Christmas stories and able to sing the songs. Bruce likes Jingle Bells and Rudolf this year. Livy likes Deck the Halls. We are blessed each year.

12.30.19 Addie's December

Addie is at the magical age of almost full teenager. She is poised, sassy, organized, committed, and conscientious. She notices people's feelings and sometimes walks all over them. She is able to do hard things because she is not afraid to work hard. She likes doing well and enjoys responsibility. 

This year she was able to be a narrator for the school play. She did very well looking gorgeous at the microphone and speaking so clearly and confidently we were a bit surprised. She loves her teachers and took the initiative to get pictures with many of them after her performance. 

A real deal Santa Claus was also in attendance that evening. He was so kind to the children. This is Livy after placing her order with him I think it was for a Barbie. She forgot her headband but those bangs are almost long enough to not be annoying.

Reed and his new teacher Mrs. Peasley. She is a bubbly hard working lady. He has adapted to her teaching style and found he can be very successful in her classroom as well. He had the part of moving the physically challenged girl around the stage. He did well didn't dump her off on the floor and helped her be a part of the action without adult intervention. He has a kind heart and lots of muscles so this was a perfect fit for him. He is becoming a great young man.

Afton was overjoyed to get to visit with Santa. She is a silly observative girl with big plans and lots of spunk to get her where she wants to be.

I was surprised Bruce wanted a turn but he was insistent that he speak with Santa. He ordered a dinosaur.

Addie also had her first piano recital. She did amazingly well especially considering she had been playing for 2 months. She, however, has dutifully practiced every day and is open to help from grandma. I don't hear her as she prefers grandma's grand piano and the silence of her home.

Addie with her dear teacher Laurie Nelson.

And Addie helping me drop off gifts/supplies to the local women's shelter. Addie is a do-gooder. She helped cut and tie the blankets and endured shopping for the other supplies with me. The item they were most excited about the toilet paper. Non-profit groups always appreciate basic necessities. They were gracious about the pajamas and gifts but the stack of toilet paper made their eyes light up! It's comforting to have a way to give hence the reason we participate in Modern Woodmen of America.

Addie is becoming a lovely young lady. Challenging at times and yet is fast becoming my indespensible right hand too. She keeps me organized and all my tech stuff functioning. I love the many talents I am blessed with in my home.

12.29.19 Full days of December

The days of December flew by. Many days I made treats only to put them in the freezer or feed them to my family instead of taking them places because we ran out of time or energy or both. Lia loves cinnamon rolls and all the kids enjoyed getting to eat what we usually strictly give away. 

Bruce getting all dressed up to go outside. He insisted on a picture he thought he looked pretty snazzy.

Harold had his football banquet. We both were hoping to eat alas not a drop of food or drink was served but his coaches said some nice things and he earned his first-year varsity letter. I challenged him to earn his academic and club letter as well. He was pretty happy with the first accomplishment. He's gone through some sad days of missing football and the camaraderie it was a great experience for him.

The younger kids enjoyed playing with pig whips for several days they were having a good time entertaining themselves while I worked on Christmas and financial stuff and the myriad of other jobs that are mine each day.

Showing off some new teddy bears from a kind neighbor.

A very rare day when they took a nap, which mostly requires mom sitting still long enough and holding them tight enough and voila there they are all cuddled up snug as bugs on mom.

I was out doing water with my oldest son who looked just like his younger brother although much larger sprawled ontop of the tank daydreaming and waiting for it to fill.

We enjoyed a very casual ward party. The kids were delighted with their bags of candy from Santa.

And the annual wrapping of presents. The kids do all of this. I have showed them youtube videos of how to wrap a present and have given some instruction as well then I stand back and let them go. They really enjoy this task. I do not. The boxes of cold cereal for the family gift exchange is a great practice session for them.

Although our Christmas season was much different this year slower and much less involved I feel like we did more of the most important things and that was ok. Each year is a little different. I wasn't as mad at the kids this year. I let them do more I did what I could when I could and that was all I had. They seemed ok and honestly I enjoyed it more. I have lots of time to think while I'm outside and I had some great insights this December. So quite possibly less is more and trying to do more is much less.