Merry Christmas 2012

My pregnancies are usually pretty difficult. I struggle each day with feeling sick and it lasts until 19-20 weeks every time. Each day seems to last forever and I mark them off on a calendar as one more day that I have survived. So when Mike asked how my holidays had gone I truthfully answered that they too were just one more day for me to get through. Wrapping presents were a chore and so, I left many of them unwrapped.

We set things up and went to bed early, as if it were a normal day of the week. I feel terrible that I didn't have the energy to do anything special.

 We did get our baby Jesus out and we read the story of "the true meaning of Christmas."

The next morning the girls opened their gifts and they enjoyed playing with them. I gave Tsadakah the precious American Girl stuff that I have been preserving for all these years. There were outfits and furniture and a lot of accessories. I had also found the car for American Girl dolls. Lara (my sister, Leah's daughter) had gotten one for her birthday and so Tsadakah had been wanting the stuff. She had also asked Santa for a Barbie that cooks because she wants to be a chef when she grows up.

Eliannah wanted little princesses again. So Santa brought her a Mermaid set, a littlest pet shop "fairy" (which looked more like an alien to me.) and a Fur Real Cat. We gave her a lot of Barbie accessories to go with it.

MiKaylah LOVES dogs and Cats. So we got her a Fur Real Puppy. She also got a lot of clothes. Most kids don't want clothes for their gifts but she is very particular about her clothing and what she will and will not wear. She doesn't just want a dress every day, she wants THE dress every day. So she got a lot of skirts that match her specified style. She likes the real ruffle-layered tutu type of skirts. I also got one that was really lacy and gorgeous!

I happened to not be able to sleep on Black Friday so I got up at 4 an went out to the sales. I got great great deals and I was really happy about it. I got a Cricket door buster and a Blu-ray player and a wii for all under $250. The part that was funniest to me was that I had no intention of going before I went to bed on Thanksgiving night. The cricket was of course for me and I didn't wrap it. In fact I didn't even feel like opening the box for months after Christmas. But the wii and all the games I bought to go with it were a great surprise for Michael and he didn't suspect a thing. He knew that I had gotten him something and we teased each other about it for all of December, but he didn't know what it was.

He got me a vacuum that you can strap to your back and has an extra long extension chord. Don't get offended for me, its what I asked for. lol. I was so excited about it I got it out and used it that day. I was able to vacuum one whole floor and then up the stairs and into the living room without once having to unplug and move to another outlet. Isn't that awesome!?!?!

Lina, Mike's sister, called us that morning to wish us a Meerry Christmas. It was so nice! She told me all about her Christmas and asked about ours. I really appreciated that. It was nice to talk to her.

Funny Candy Stories

MiKaylah is 2 1/2 and she is getting into everything that she shouldn't. I really have to keep on my toes with her, but now that I am pregnant and feeling VERY sick, I fall short a lot.

This picture shows her getting into a bag of candy that was given to her, but I usually don't let them eat it all at once when they get candy for any holiday. So she had gotten it and proceeded to eat all that candy that she could open. Then she fell asleep.

The next day my dad woke up to tell us this story: My mom had gone to sleep before him. (He had stayed up late to finish a Christmas present he was making) So he didn't turn on the light before getting into bed. He woke up in the middle of the night because he had had a strange dream. He  felt sticky and smelt mint. Reached up and touched his forehead to find a sticky mint candy stuck to his forehead. When he examined his bed closer he realized that someone (can you guess who?) had opened and licked multiple peppermint candies and decided she didn't like them and just spit them out right there where she was sitting...you guessed it, in HIS bed! Ha Ha!

I'm lucky that my dad has a great sense of humor!

Fershtut Christmas Party 2012

For our Fershtut Christmas Party on December 22, 2012 we started off with reading Christmas stories. My brother, Ari, read the funniest book, which I really want a copy of, "Murray Saves Christmas." It is all about a east coast Jewish man who has to save Christmas. Considering that my dad is from the east and is Jewish, it was a delightful story for us to read! We found it to be hilarious!

 The kids enjoyed it immensely. Lara and Asher in the back.

 Look at these cute boys laughing!! So cute! Carson and Asher.

 Beckham was mesmerized!

 After the story, Mike & I.

 I don't remember what I said to make these guys decide to act silly, but I'm glad I said it. lol Fun pic! Ari, Mike, & Chris.

 Each year we choose a theme and then we draw names for the exchange. This year was homemade gifts. It was an amazing year of neat gifts and we were all excited to make something fun. Thank you Pinterest. Am I right? Ari, Beckham, & Hayley.

 Our gift to Asher, a PVC Marshmallow Gun. I think he liked it. :) We also gave Stratton and Ari one. Fortunately their parents wouldn't let them have a war right there in the living room. :) The gift included the mini holiday marshmallows. Fun!

 Eliannah and MiKaylah got these Big Babies from Leah's girls. The dolls were so darling and well done. They each came with a fleece blanket. I loved them!

 Tsadakah also received a doll. Hayley made it on behalf of one of her boys. She is an amazing seamstress! I thought that the doll was a modern Raggedy Anne, but I have realized since that she is more like a la la loopsy. Super cute and made with exactness!

 We saved the gifts for our parents to be the end. Then we went oldest to youngest. My sister, Simcah gave them a gift with baby clothes in it. Surprise! She was announcing that she was pregnant. It was a fun surprise...especially for me, ;) I asked her questions and made comments like, "I thought you weren't going to try until January. Now our kids wont be so close together"

Then, because I am the youngest and I was planning it that way. (I'm the one who suggested oldest to youngest.) I gave my parents their gift: it was a picture that said, "The look on your face when you realize that there are 6 in this picture, PRICELESS." I wish that I had gotten a picture of their faces but I was really really sick at this point and trying hard to hide it.

Everyone was thrilled and excited! It was a really fun surprise. My sister was of course extremely thrilled! The best surprise of all was that we are just a week apart in our due date! So, so fun! My brother admitted that he had suspected that I was from the time he walked in the door. Sadly, I don't blame him because when I don't feel good I don't try to suck it in at all, so I did have a pooch. So when my sister announced, he was slightly distracted and he turned to his wife and said, "See I told you Rivkah was pregnant." Hayley said, "No, that was Simcah who announced." Ari replied, "Rivkah is pregnant too. I can tell." So When I did announce, Hayley and Ari looked at each other and laughed.

It was a really fun Christmas!

Ward Christmas Party

I already blogged about the ward Christmas party, but I forgot some of the pictures of it. This is a picture of m friend's family. She asked me to take it because she had forgotten her camera. I wanted to say how much I appreciate this friend. She is easy to talk to and helpful when needed. She took my kids for play dates many times and her kids are so well behaved. They are darling!

They had already seen Santa, but I wanted these pictures because they turned out better than the others. I chose only the best ones that showed their individual personality. Tsadakah is a little bit shy. She is always sweet and mild. The way that she is holding her hands even seems angelic to me.

 Eliannah is a firecracker. Spunky and fun! She jumped right up there with no reservations. She laughs loud and is full of energy. Enthusiasm should be her name.

MiKaylah is darling. She is at that stage where she can be very very naughty, but she is so darn cute about it that you want to let her get away with it. lol. See how she is helping herself to Santa's treat bag? Shame, shame!

She also is detail oriented. She has an artistic eye and she is conscious of fashion and style. I imagine that some day she will be a cosmetologist. I imagine that in this picture she is thinking, "Oh, Santa! What soft gloves you have!"

Christmas with Santa

 Now that I have joined the SPCA (Stansbury Park Community Association) I feel like I know better what is going on here in this small community and I'm the kind of person who wants to do as much as possible to do fun things with my kids.

So on December 10 Santa came to visit The Clubhouse, and I took the girls. There were also booths of vendors selling crafts so I let each of the girls buy gifts for their sisters with their own money. It was so fun to see them struggle with wanting to buy for themselves but then choosing the better way and think of something for the other person.

It wasn't too crowded so we had a good time and took our leisure. Everyone thought that they were just the cutest things ever, which they are! :)

Jessica Johnson volunteered to do a picture op display. It was darling with lots of nutcrackers, pine trees and what not.

 I just had to get a picture of my girls with Lisa's girls. It was super fun. Glad they have these girls for friends.

 Testing out my photography skills.

I also liked these reindeer with sled décor that the Service Agency maneger, Kim Zollinger puts out. Hooray for Christmas!! The girls were all excited!

December Silliness

December can be one of the finest times of the year. I love the traditions and all the hub bub, but sometimes its the unexpected moments that melt your heart. I sincerely think memories are built more in the moments that are spontaneous rather than planned. Its like a candid shot versus a posed photograph.

 

 

All my girls have been girlie. They have all insisted on wearing dresses daily, playing princesses and the like, but MiKaylah takes the cake. She does girlie things that the others overlooked. She wants to wear make up and do my hair. She gets out my high heels and wants to sunbathe at the pool instead of swim.

 

 

So the other day I found her putting Christmas tree bulbs down her dress. She was so silly about it that I had to laugh. Tsadakah wanted to nab some of that attention so she did it too, but it was MiKaylah's idea. She was so proud of herself too. Quite funny, yet, I don't want them to grow up that fast!

 

Ward Nativity

In December 2012, Tsadakah was selected to be Mary in the Nativity. As a mother I felt so honored and thrilled. It was up to me to come up with a costume and we used the doll Nativity that was given to us last year.

She was so cute and mild about the whole thing. Everything a person emulating Mary should be. Tosh Bates was Joseph and he did a good job of that too. So glad these two cute kids understood the importance of reverencing their roles.

After the Nativity was read from the scriptures they brought in the rest of the Primary kids while faux candles and they sang a song about Mary and Joseph and Away in A Manger. It was simple, beautiful, and spiritual. I loved it.

Glad to teach Tsadakah and my girls about the most important person and majesty of His birth. That they may know where to look for their mercy and salvation.

The Nutcracker

The Dance Center is the greatest dance studio!!! Every year they put on a Fabulous production of The Nutcracker. They have all the students in their studio perform and higher college/professionals to play the largest roles. It is perfect! It is Good and it is a shortened version to capture the attention of the little children and get them hooked on ballet at a young age. :) I lOVE it! And to make it better you get a huge discount if you go both nights so I bought the back to back night ticket and took each of my older two girls on a mommy-daughter-date.

 The night that I went with Eliannah was magical. We dressed up and got excited. She chose to sit with Gabriella and her family. Fun. She had a hard time sitting through the whole thing, but She was simply ecstatic to be there. :)

Tsadakah and I dressed up too. She knew what to expect because Eliannah had told her all about it. She watched the ballet completely. Loved it. And she wanted to be in ballet for a few days afterward. She is so cute!

Our Thanksgiving

I was more excited about Thanksgiving than I have been in a long time. I was going to be hosting for the first time and I was just super excited to be able to do it in my beautiful new house with my china that I got at our wedding. I wanted it to be a special event and I really felt that it was. :)

 

 

Michael bought  a Smoker and we had smoked turkey which is really superb! He was the star of the show because it turned out absolutely perfect!! It really couldn't have been better. He had practiced smoking turkey for weeks before hand.

 

 

Tsadakah and Lara.

Olivia and Anna

Isaac, Carson, Eliannah, and Stratton.

Seth, Tsadakah, and Lara.*MiKaylah fell asleep on the downstairs couch right before dinner time so she didn't eat with us, she ate later.

Hayley, Ari, Steve (my dad, who is being like the guy on Patch Adams who always has his hand up. lol My dad is so random sometimes.) Marsha (my mom) and Troy.

I went to Pinterest and found some ideas to make it special and beautiful. I typed many quotes on Thanksgiving and taped them to each cup. It was much prettier on goblets but I didn't have enough for our whole group, so we did what we could. I also made these napkin holders and I am very proud of them.

And as traditions go we had a lot of pie! There wasn't 25 pies, but there was still enough that we could each have had half a pie to ourselves. There was a cake because it was also Lara's birthday.

 

Olivia, Leah, Lara, Hayley, Rivkah, MiKaylah, Anna, Marsha, & Steve.

Unfortunately, my sister Simcah couldn't make it because she was on a Disney cruise. Poor thing! ;) lol. She was greatly missed.

Family Photo Opps

This year we tried more than once to get the perfect family picture. It really isn't easy to get everyone looking at the camera and smiling, with the right atmosphere and lighting. Whew! If you are a mom who has ever done a photo session you know what I am talking about. These pictures are great, but they have also been photo shopped. :)

 

First was done at a family get together on my side of the family. I loved out outfits.

 These we took for Christmas Cards and we really struggled getting everyone to look at the camera and smile! So after swapping a few heads we got one. I loved the setting of this one.

 I posted these pictures before, but after playing around with them I ended up with these and printed them in 12X12 and hung them on the wall. They look REALLY nice there!

 And Mike's Company Party was so much fun! They had these pictures available and I loved them!!!

 I love the people, smiles, and attitude it them.