Every day feels like its own celebration in December! Going to Utah for Thanksgiving and having a delightfully warm November threw us off in lots of ways- we didn't do the Great Pumpkin Roll until there was snow on the ground! It took all of 15 seconds to send these guys on their way, uncarved, if my memory serves me correctly.
The annual stake presidency advent dinner attendance is getting lower and lower every year. In somes ways we really don't know what the good old days are until they're gone.
Balthazaar and Emma are good friends.
These 5 families have about 18 kids and 12 grandkids not pictured.
Some kind of picture to Leah, I'm assuming.
She got snow before we did!
We celebrated Jason's 45th birthday in December! Good food and lots of love is all you need for a happy birthday, no matter how old you are.
There were so many concerts in December.
Adam's a capella group sang outside!
And inside too-
Emma' orchestra concert was beautiful!
There are a lot of sweet memories in these frames at Stilwell.
One night the weather was rough, so we just *had* to stay in town and eat dinner at IHOP. The kids had a hard time understanding why we were just killing time in the restaurant (which was otherwise deserted, as usual), but we all enjoyed watching a crazy car doing donuts in the parking lot.
Archery season started up again!
Emma tried 3D this year, and we all learned about the perfect ram.
The Giving Machines came back to Iowa this year! But this time, to Iowa City. Our involvement with the machines was much different than it was two years ago when they were in Des Moines. I was the volunteer cho-chair, with weekly meetings starting in August, but there was only so much we could do from two hours away. We still had a chance to volunteer at the machines as a family and it was so sweet to see the vision of the machines come to life again!
Adam was stuck at show choir so he made his selections via Facetime, and Leah had a few opportunities to donate at BYU!
Among our donations, the favorites were probably the tie-dye kit, the children's toys, the bus pass, and the new locks for a domestic abuse survivor. The spirit of giving is so strong at the Giving Machines!
Emma made a beautiful walking advertisement of the free facepainting!
Some nights, Emma and Noah read Christmas books to each other.
The sister missionaries helped us decorate the music Christmas tree!
Baking cookies = earning Silver Cord hours.
Sweet Adam got his wisdom teeth out on the last day of school before winter break. He was so nervous, but a bucket of emotional support chicken nuggets from Grace helped take the edge off.
He had plenty to say when he got out to the car, and was a little frustrated that he couldn't get the words out clearly. He kept trying to talk, so I had to pull over more than once to adjust his gauze to stop the bleeding. He suggested that he could type his thoughts into Google Translate, who could read them to me, and insisted that he only counted backward from 3 before he immediately woke up again. It was a really good nap!
He did a great job of relaxing as best as he could for a kid that rarely sits still or sleeps in, and he recovered beautifully. Poor buddy, wisdom teeth are the worst!
Leah came home for Christmas break!! Jason had vacation days to burn in December, so he spent a few days in Colorado with his mom and then swung around to Utah to scoop Leah up and bring her home. She was home for almost a month and we all loved it! Our family just hasn't felt complete over the last few months with Leah at BYU, but we are all doing our best to adjust to the new normal. It was great to be together in December.
Laney didn't forget Leah!
Ahh, the smell of Christmas!
This little white elephant gift went to a new home this year, with a new handstitched, woolen stocking.
One of my favorite Christmas treats!
Gingerbread house construction is serious business.
They boys house is Mustafar from Star Wars, the girls opted for a more traditional design.
We all hand-stitched felt ornaments this year! It was the perfect craft to slow us down and keep our hands busy while watching cheesy Christmas movies.
So much baking in December!
Laney got a trim and a Christmas scarf!
The race to Christmas break always seems like a frantic one, and we love when the brakes hit hard and we get to relax, read, snuggle, chat and just be home together (knowing full well that this time next year, Leah will be on a mission. Yikes!)
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