Jingle stories

I almost forgot, well I guess I did, because I am just adding this now.

When Jingle was visiting our family, we had some pretty funny, sad, and teaching experiences. Most of which included Gabbi.

The first I can think off was one of the first few days she was with us. The kids had not behaved very well, most of all Gabbi. Gabbi had gone up to Jingle and asked her if she would not tell Santa how she misbehaved. Then in her personal prayer that night, she had realized what she said was wrong and asked for forgiveness for asking Jingle to lie.

The whole situation must not have stayed in her head to long because a few days later she was asking Heavenly Father to ask Jingle to send a good report to Santa.

During the month as well, we often found the kids talking to her. Which I course I thought was hilarious. I often had to stop what I was doing to see who was talking. She became a friend to the kids. Gabbi would tell her how her day went at school, that one was pretty cute.

The day that Jingle messed up the toy room, they both gave her a stern talking too, which I corrected then and reminded them of their behavior. The best part...I have never seen the kids clean up so quickly before. They must have really wanted to play, because they couldn't play until it was done.

The whole month was full of little things like that. Sadly I'm not sure that they really understood and appreciated the meaning of Jingle. They were always tattling on each other and I didn't like that. Maybe next year they will have a greater appreciation for her.

At least we know that they loved her and loved having her around, they were both in tears when they couldn't find her after Christmas.

New Year's Eve

New Year's eve was at Mom and Dad's house. We planned to do pizza and play games until the new year.

We got there before anyone else did, even Mom and Dad. We set up the T.V., table, and chairs. While we waited we watch the Internship.

When everyone else got there, we ordered our pizza's and waited for the boys to go and pick them up. Once they had and they were cooked we all sat down to eat.

The kids all did a great job eating, but no surprise there, it was pizza. When they were done, they went in to play in the toy room and/or watch a movie. They all bounced back and forth multiple times. At least they occupied themselves. 

 While the kids did their own thing, we did ours. Jeff brought a ton of different games. We had to do our traditional Risk first to get it done with and out of the way. We played the Halo version again this year, which is a lot less time consumming, which I like. It was the girls vs. the boys vs. Papa. The girls of course ganged up on the boys while Papa snuck in and won the game by eliminating one player, in this case Jeff. It made me laugh. The first to be eliminated in the game of Risk.

 When we were done with that one, we pulled out Catan. I was surprised that this one took longer play then the other. It was a lot of fun though. Kayla was a hoot to watch play. In this game you can do trading and what not to get what you need to build roads, Cities, and Settlements. To watch her trade was so funny. We all tended to look at each other in surprise at the offers she was making, but somehow she did pretty good. She defenitely defended her own. Not enough to win though, Ben won this time.

We were too busy playing our game to really ring in the new year, but we were all okay with that, it was more fun playing then to go outside and bang on pots or to stop and kiss. : )

When our game finally ended, 3 kids were still awake and 3 were down for the count. It again was boys vs. girls. The boys had all fallen asleep while the girls braved the late hours.

We were finally at home and in our beds around 1:30.

FHE Christmas lights

Our last Family Home Evening event of the Holiday season was a trip to Salt Lake City to see the lights. 

On our way down we stopped at a Mexican restaurant for dinner. The kids weren't a huge fan and some of it wasn't that good to me, but Ben loved it. At least we're not out this way enough to worry about eating there again.

When we got to Salt Lake we found a place to park at the conference center, bundled up the kids, and walked over to Temple Square.

I was glad that we were able to prepare for the worst weather because it was cold and windy, which made it colder. But none of us complained, we were all warmly bundled up in enough layers that it didn't bother any of us. Either way, the lights were worth it. They were beautiful and the kids loved it. They also loved being able to walk around and play with the snow.  

The kids were so well behaved that we really couldn't have asked for a better not out as a family.

The part that I enjoyed the most were the manger scenes from different countries around the world. I don't know if they have done them in the past and we have never walked down that far or if this was one of the first years doing them, but they really were a lot of fun to look at.

Once we were done enjoying the manger scenes and the lights we started to make our way back to the car, but I had to snag just one more photo of the temple. It was absolutely beautiful.

So despite the crowds and the cold weather, I made for a really fun Family Home Evening, just in time to, they turn them off at the new year, so I've heard.

Christmas Pictures

Here's the kids in their Christmas outfits.

Sadly William wasn't very cooperative, but at least I got the majority of their faces without blurriness. Gabbi on the other hand, I could smack her. She always does that with her mouth when she smiles. She thinks its funny, it just bugs me.

Christmas with Annie and Greg

The weekend brought our Christmas with Annie and Greg. I love how she does all that she can to help us to accommodate both/all sides of our families. It has always meant the world to me.

When we were all ready, we sat down to eat a very yummy turkey and ham dinner with all the fixings. While cleaning up, they kids ran around playing what ever they could think of to by the time until it was time to open presents. But once it was time, they quickly cleaned up the toys and sat on the couch awaiting instructions.

First we handed out gifts that we bought for each other, the names we drew. We had Megan and Mark and they had us. They gave us a group of pictures frames, one that I have always wanted, but never broke down to get. They also gave us a little backpack with a toy each for the kids (a mermaid, puzzle, and slinky).

When all those gifts were done being opened, sadly it got a little bit chaotic. All the kids were handed their gifts and they quickly opened them. I almost missed getting to take pictures of them opening their gifts. Another down side was that when the kids were finally done, they had to wait till everyone else was done and they didn't like that. Again Owen just kept running around the room asking if their was another gift for him to open. 

Cars and a shape sorting box.

Cars, cars, coloring books, and a movie.

Barbie, coloring books, markers, movie, and a book.

Once the kids were done, other gifts were handed out. One of which was the gift we gave to Annie and Greg. We gave them a gift card to Barnes and Noble and a gift card to Papa Murphy's. She was so excited about the Papa Murphy's one because they now sale pizza's that are gluten free. I was hoping she would be excited. We always have a hard time deciding what to give them.

We were almost done with all the presents under the tree, then Annie brought out a few more Christmas bags. Inside were blankets that she had made each of the kids. It was themed as well. Owen got an Owl movie with a blanket that had owls on it. For those that could read, she gave them the Secret Garden book and the Secret Garden movie. Their blankets were incomplete. Once they finish reading their book she will make a flower to attach to their blanket. They were all so excited. They loved the blankets.

My favorite was Williams. His has the cutest lions on it. It made me want one in my size. He snuggled that blanket for the longest time.

Once they were done, it was time for the adult kids. The men got movies and the women...

We got a warmer/cooker. It like having 3 small crock pots instead of just one. Being able to cook three things on one machine will be nice. We are both really excited to be able to use. The best part, ours is red and matches our kitchen. I loved that.

When all was said and done, all we had left was the garbage. The kids grabbed the box that enclosed Grandpa telescope and they had a blast with it. They pretended that the box was a tent or a car, or something; I don't quite remember. But they had a lot of fun and then they were also given bubble poppers which made it even better. They were occupied until it was time to put them in the garbage.

Once everything was cleaned up, we sat back down and visited while we waited for the pies to finish cooking. To occupy the kids we started a movie for them. They were hooked or at lease until they heard that pies were ready.

Jingle

As you may know Jingle Bell or Jingle for short, is a new member of the family during the Holiday season. She has magical powers that allow her to watch over the kids at night and then report back to Santa while their sleeping. When she comes back in the morning she's always in a different spot. Depending on how the kids behaved depends on what or how she comes back. They kids had a tough time and I'm not exactly sure this gave us the results we thought or heard of, but the kids still try their best and that's all we could ask for.

So the following pictures are the many adventures of Jingle.

 December 1st

After reading her story we placed her by the tree the kids had just decorated.

 December 2nd

The kids weren't on their best behavior and she decided to mess up my calendar. It was pretty sad when Gabbi went up to Jingle and asked her to lie to Santa about their bad behavior. After talking to her about she said in her personal that she was sorry for asking Jingle to lie for her. She was in tears. It was pretty funny, but maybe something was finally getting through???

 December 3rd

Sitting on our wreath with Frosty.

 December 4th

Reading the story of the Nativity.

December 5th

The kids still have some work to do, she made a mess of the cereal, that she of course helped herself too.

  December 6th
She wrote a very special note to Gabbi wishing her luck at her dance competition.

December 7th

She was trying her hardest to pass herself off as a Christmas ornament.

  December 8th
Made her name official, she must have liked it.

December 9th

Pulled out a lot of marble from the Choice and Consequence jar. They kids still have a long way to go to get on Santa's nice list.

 December 10th
Hanging on for dear life just to wish us a Merry Christmas.

 December 11th
Wow, they were pretty bad. I can't even describe how much trouble they were in that day. Jingle made sure that they knew she noticed. I was even more surprised when they had the toy room cleaned up within 10 minutes. They really must have wanted to get back on her good side.

 December 12th
Showing us that she's part of the family and deserves a place on the mantel.

  December 13th
She must love watching the kids play games. She found a few friends and played a game as well. Surprisingly enough, she was winning.

 December 14th

The kids must have been really good, she brought them a special gift. Holiday head bands. They were so excited about these, plus that also meant that they might have finally made it on the nice list.

 December 15th

She definitely loves to play hide and seek, it took the kids a long time to find her hiding behind the stars.

December 16th

The kids found this one pretty funny, She made herself a swing. She used Christmas ribbon and tied it to the fan in the kitchen. That one must have taken her a long time, I hope she had fun.

December 17th

Gabbi was pretty naughty and Jingle wanted to make sure that she knew it. She pulled out Gabbi candy, which clearly said her name, and ate it. She must have been tasting them and when it finally came down to it, she ate on the colors she liked.

  December 18th
She found a nice and cozy spot inside a Christmas stocking.

December 19th

The kids watch a lot of movies while they play, she must have felt left out. She must having been trying to find one that she could watch. She picked a good one, White Christmas. Very fitting.

 December 20th
Not sure why she chose this spot, but the kids found her hanging out in the blinds in the kitchen. 

 December 21st
Another good game of hide and seek. The kids didn't find her til we sat down to dinner that night. They looked for her for a good 30 minutes and came up empty. Once we sat down, they found her within a few minutes. It's funny when you think of perspective. She's hiding on a statue of Jesus at the door. She must appreciate the things we are trying to teach the kids about the gospel. 

 December 22nd
I couldn't believe this one. Jingle's pretty funny. However, the kids had no idea what she was doing. Ben and I had to finally tell them that she was having a snowball fight with Minnie. You can totally tell our kids have never been in a snowball fight. They just wanted to eat the marshmallows.

 December 23rd

She wanted to get in on the action of our Family Home Evening night of making Christmas sugar cookie. She helped herself to a cookie and even some of my Dr. Pepper.

December 24th

She looks like she really pondering and enjoying the manger scene of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus. She really wanted us to understand and know the true meaning of Christmas. 

  December 25th
She found a good spot to be able to watch the kids open their Christmas presents.

We were all surprised that she would stick around for one more day. They story said that she would go back home on Christmas eve until next year. They kids were very happy that she decided to stay. So much that they wanted to write her and Santa a thank you note for the presents they received. 

 December 26th

An even bigger surprise, Jingle wrote back. She left the kids a special note. She talked to them about how much she loved watching them and how much she learned form them and about them. She also gave them some advice. In the end she reminded them of the blessing of the gospel and the truest gift that we have been given. Gabbi was in tears. I think she was faking it a little, but overall it was very touching.