To Santa or not to Santa

When we lived in Korea, Joe was asked to be the Santa for the ward Christmas party. It was the saddest looking Santa suite. Cora, who was only 2 at the time, wasn't fooled at all.

So the other day JT came home and asks, "Is Santa Claus real?"

I said, "What do you think?"

He replied, "Evan said he isn't real because that's what his mom told him."

"So do you believe in Santa?" I asked.

"I don't think so," he said.

Now Cora, who had been listening to this conversation, had to chime in. "Santa Claus IS real!" she exclaimed, and then further explained, "Some kids and parents just don't believe in the magic."

Later that night, Joe and I decided to question the matter further (mostly out of curiosity). Joe asked JT again, "So JT, do you think Santa Claus is real?"

JT answered, "Yes. I think Evan's mom is just a liar." Oops. "No honey, she's not a liar, she just doesn't believe."

"I'm going to tell Evan that his mom doesn't believe."

"Well, I don't think that you really need to say anything to Evan, okay?" We'll see what happens.

I just have to say that I love the tradition of Santa Claus, and I do believe that Christmas is a magical time. We use a lot of symbols at Christmas - The Star was a sign of Christ's birth; Candy canes symbolize the crook of the shephards who came to see him; Lights and Candles remind us that Jesus is the light of the world and the color Red reminds us that he came into the world to die for us; Evergreen Trees represent the eternal life we can have because of him; we give gifts because God gave us his Son. Santa Claus is also another great Christmas symbol of Christ-like love and the joy of giving. So we carry on the tradition of Santa Claus in our home, and when our children no longer believe that he is real, we will still tell them that the "spirit" of Santa lives in all of us, and that it is special and it is magical.

Anyway, we have been enjoying this Christmas season, and we have been making Christmas ornaments to fill our tree. It has been really fun, and Cora especially is always asking for the next project.

So far we have made wrapped wire stars,

and gingerbread ornaments and punched tin ornaments.

We also want to try our hand at cinnamon Santas and clothespin reindeer. We hope you are all enjoying this time of year as much as we are. 'Tis the Season!

Ummmm, Okay.

Cora, while playing Lego Indiano Jones on the Playstation with JT, says this: "JT, this isn't just all fun and games." Really?

Catching Up

Wow, I haven't posted for a while. Hmmm, let's see now. Joe's brother and family came for Thanksgiving. It was so great to have family here to celebrate with us. Thanksgiving just isn't the same without extended family, ya know? The kids were so excited to see their cousins again. We all had a good time eating, and playing games, and eating, and putting puzzles together, and eating, and shopping, and eating, and vegging because we were so stuffed from eating, and then eating some more, and watching movies, and eating. Yes, we gained a few pounds, but it was worth it. We had BBQ Briskett (best we've ever had - little pat on my back), and homemade cinnamon rolls, and yummy spinach artichoke dip, and a really good and juicy turkey with all the fixin's. Mmmmmm.

We have a tradition at our house that Christmas officially begins after the Thanksgiving feast. So all the kids helped us set up our tree and all our Christmas decorations. It's the cutest little tree, but it's a little sad because it doesn't have very many ornaments yet. And of course we listened to Christmas music, watched Christmas movies, and the puzzles we put together were Christmas themed. They were tough one's, and we almost puzzled ourselves to death. Thankfully, we took breaks and played UNO flash (I believe that's what it's called).

And then it was my birthday! I woke up to my alarm, and hit the snooze button. A couple of minutes later Cora came in my room and said, "Happy Birthday, Mom." I thought that was so sweet that she remembered. She crawled into bed with me. Joe had already gotten up - he's usually gone to work before I get up. Then a little while later, Madleyn came in and said, "Happy Birthday, Mom." I thought that was weird that she would know it was my birthday, but I figured that she must have heard Cora. I got up and went into the girls' room to get them clothes for the day. I was sitting on their bedroom floor, and happened to glance at the door into the hall, and I saw this hand dart out and grab something on the floor and then disappear. I thought maybe it was JT. So I went out to the hall, but nobody was there. I went down the hall to the bathroom, and I see this post-it note on the door.

It's in Joe's handwriting. Has he left me some sort of surprise? Then this one.

Joe is not usually good at surprises, because he can never wait to tell me,

so this is really cute. And here's the last note I found.

Huh? I was thinking, does he want me to drive to IHOP and meet him there? I'm supposed to get the kids to school in the next half hour. Then I think, wait, maybe he's still in the house and I'm supposed to find him. Sure enough, he had somehow snuck back in our room and was hiding under the covers. He actually took the day off so we could spend my birthday together. So sweet. Now you have to hear his side of the story.

Joe: I got up at the usual time to go to work, knowing that Ruth wouldn't get up for a little while longer. I thought I had plenty of time, so I started writing little notes, intending to write a whole bunch and put them up all over the walls. But all of the sudden I heard Ruth's alarm go off. I panicked, and wrote one last note and stuck it up ont he wall. Then I went and hid under a blanket on the couch, thinking that she would come in any second. Then I heard the notes fall off the walls onto the floor, so I ran and put them up on the doors in the hall (thinking they would stick better on the door than they had on the wall), and ran back under the blanket on the couch. I waited and waited, but Ruth wasn't coming. So I went and woke up Cora and told her to go say happy birthday to her mom. I thought for sure she'd come out then, so I went and hid again....only, she didn't come out. So I sent Madelyn in. I thought that would definitely tip Ruth off. No such luck. I finally saw Ruth come out of the room, and go into the girls room. Even though she walked right past me, she didn't see me. Then I heard another note fall. I snuck over to the hall, sure that I'd get caught any minute, and I grabbed the note off the floor, hurried and stuck it on our bedroom door, and ran into our bedroom and hid under the covers in there. Ruth found me soon after that. The rest is history.

Yeah, so that was kind of funny to hear Joe's side of it. After we dropped the kids off at school, Joe took me to IHOP. He tries to take me out for a big breakfast every year on my birthday because I LOVE breakfast food, and he doesn't at all, so we never go out for breakfast, except for once a year for my birthday. Anyway, I go a little crazy with this breakfast, because I just want a little bit of everything, seriously. So this is what I ordered - Pecan Struesal Pancakes, that came with hashbrowns, two eggs, two peices of sausage, and a side of grits, and a side of biscuits and gravy. Yes, it was a lot of food, and No, I didn't eat it all. But it was sooooooo good. You know those commercials for Campbell's Soup where the guy is like making all the yummy mmmm sounds? That's what I sounded like while I was eating breakfast. I'm sure it was a little embarrasing if anyone heard me, but I just couldn't help myself. I couldn't eat any lunch after that. We did have a carrot cake, and it did have 34 candles on it, but I forgot to make a wish. I already have everything I want anyway, except for a million dollars, and like blowing out my candles is going to get me that - hah!

Thanks honey, for this flattering picture:) Anyway, I just had a really good day. And now we are very much looking forward to Christmas. Am I forgetting anything?

Butterflies

One thing I like about living in this corner of Texas is all the new wildlife, a lot of which I get in my yard. We have geckos all over our house (and sometimes they sneak inside). They're usually small, like an inch or two, but I've seen them as big as a foot. I found a tarantula in our garage once (not so fun, but I didn't even scream). We have a few squirrels that are always chasing each other through our trees (they are very entertaining to watch). One of them drowned in our pool last summer - very tragic (and gross). I've seen more varieties of birds in my yard than I ever have anywhere else, including cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays, and a bunch others that I don't know the names of. Last year we had a nest of baby birds right over our trampoline, and one baby bird fell onto the trampoline (which is enclosed with a net), and couldn't quite fly out of it. The kids came to tell me, so I got a broom (so I wouldn't touch the baby bird and make the mamma bird not want it anymore) and I went and got on the trampoline to try and help it out. The second I got on the trampoline that baby bird starting making such a racket, and the next thing I knew, I had to adult birds squawking and swooping down at me. The kids started screaming, and I was screaming, while still trying to help the baby bird, and protect my head. I finally got the baby bird out, but I don't know what became of it. For the next couple of weeks the kids were scared of birds and didn't go outside. I can never get pictures of any of these animals, mostly because, by the time I can get my camera, they're gone. But on Tuesday we had literally hundreds of butterflies in our yard, all over the trees, and flying around everywhere. We we went a little crazy with the pictures. The two older kids were at school, and Alex was asleep, so only Madelyn and I were able to enjoy it. Here are a few pictures we took. It was a really nice day out.

It's Joyful AND Triumphant!

Your eyes are not deceiving you - these are actual cherry TOMATOES from my garden. Not only did they survive, but they are yummy too! And how funny is it that I'm harvesting in the middle of November? There are still more to come, ripening on the vine. Oh, and by the way, my post title is a quote from a TV show. If any of you can guess the show and who says it, I might just send you a tomato:)

Tagged By Amy - MUUHAAAAAAAAW!

1. Where did you meet your husband? Fountain Green, Utah. Our BYU singles ward was having a social there (I think the Bishop's mother lived there or something). Joe was in line for food right behind me. I told him to try the crab salad I'd made, and he said he didn't like mayo, but I sat next to him to eat anyway because he was cute.

2. How long did you date before you got married? Well, after we met we dated for a couple of months, and then I told him "I just want to be friends". The funny thing is, we actually stayed friends, and continued to hang out occassionally. About a year later we went to a movie together, and I remember coming home that night thinking, "Now why did I break up with him?" That was in August. By Halloween we were engaged, and we married on January 8. So we knew each other a year and a half before we got married, but we only actually dated for about half a year.

3. How long have you been married? Since we were married in January of 2000 it's always easy to remember - coming on 9 years now.

4. What does he do that surprises you? Not much - I can read him like an open book. I guess it surprises me how patient he can be with me, and how much he puts up with.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? Where to start.....I love his hands and his eyes the most I guess.

6. What is his best quality? He always makes me laugh:) - He's the biggest geek I know (besides myself).

7. Does he have a nickname for you? No. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how he normally addresses me.

8. What is his favorite food? Pizza, hands down - I think:) - yep, Pizza

9. What is his favorite sport? Biking, and he's a little obsessed lately, as I've mentioned in previous posts.

10. When and where did you first kiss? It was shortly after we started dating the second time around. We were at his brother's apartment.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We love going out to dinner and a movie. And we love being outdoors biking, golfing, camping, whatever.

12. Do you have any children? 4 beautiful crazy ones - Cora, JT, Madelyn, and Alex

13. Does he have any hidden talents? He's an inventor at heart. He can fix anything, and most of the time he just makes it up as he goes a long, coming up with things that I would NEVER think of.

14. How old is he? 32 in January. I turn 34 in December. From December to January every year he teases me about being 3 years older than him instead of 2. He really thinks it's funny every year.

15. Who said 'I love you' first? I'm assuming that he did, because I just don't think I would have, but I really don't remember it.

16. What is his favorite music? He's got a very eclectic taste in music, but I'd say alternative.

17. What do you admire most about him? He's just a really, really good person. He's not perfect, but he is such a good example to me, and he inspires me to try harder.

18. What is his favorite color? Blue (I'm just guessing here - I actually don't think that he has a "favorite" color, but I like Blue, so close enough)

19. Will he read this? Not unless I read it to him. He leaves the blogging to me, but he likes that I do it.

20. Who do you tag? Whoever is feeling cheesey enough to do this one.

I LOVE YOU JOE!

JT is 6 years old!

We just had the best birthday ever! We had originally planned to have a birthday party at McDonald's with all of JT's friends......but then we had another idea. Joe and I heard about a local hotel in town that was doing a pajama party to help raise money for The Children's Miracle Network. They invited the children in the community and there families to come stay at their hotel for a discounted rate and 20 percent of that rate would go the children's miracle network. The last thing that any of my kids need is a bunch more toys that they won't play with, so we thought this might be a good alternative to a birthday party, since we couldn't afford to do both. We talked to JT about it, explaining that he wouldn't get any presents, except from Mom and Dad, but that we would be helping other children, and we would still have a fun time doing it. He liked the idea (and so did Cora), so we went ahead and made a reservation, hoping for the best - we were not disappointed. The Pajama Party started at 3:00 in the afternoon. We arrived at the hotel and they gave each of the kids T-shirts. In our room, which was one of the nicest that we've ever stayed in, was a goody basket with popcorn, candy, bracelets, and glow-in-the-dark necklaces, and temporary tattoos. They had a variety of activities for the kids downstairs, including a bounce house, cookie decorating, nail painting for the girls, face painting, and remote control cars, movies and popcorn, and a pizza dinner. They also had a drawing for different prizes (we won a Mexican dinner), and they gave all the kids certificates for free Happy Meals. We thought we'd brave the cold (about 80 degrees outside) and try the swimming pool, but we ended up in the hot tub instead. In the morning there was the best hot breakfast buffet I've ever had at a hotel.

It was all like a wonderful mini-vacation, and I didn't have to plan, carry out, or clean up any of it:) Cora said she wanted to do that for her birthday too, and I wish she could. Back at home, we made cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to JT.

We gave him a couple of video games, including Lego's Indiana Jones, which you can see he could hardly stop playing even to blow out his candles. We are ALL now addicted to it, but it's fun because we're all sitting around Together playing it as a Family, so it could be worse. We love our JT and we are so blessed to have him in our family. He is the funniest kid and is always making all of us laugh. He's so smart, and picks up things lightening quick. He's a cuddle bug and a wrestler. He's learning how to be a hard worker, and he loves to get the most out of life and enjoy every minute. We Love You JT! Happy Birthday!