Merry Christmas

We're in Arizona now and having a blast with Brett's family! The Pear Tree was definitely full this Christmas with all of us showing up as a surprise for the big day. We had our own little family Christmas before we drove down. It was a lot of fun watching Hyrum get excited about opening presents. Sadly, I neglected my camera during the whole event. We did get video and I'll post that when I have some time. Here are a few pictures:
We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. It's funny seeing Noah in these pajamas, because Hyrum wore these same pj's Christmas morning last year:) He's becoming such a big boy! It wouldn't be a good boy Christmas without big bugs involved!:

The simple life

Warning: 4 cute videos in one (that's why it's so long)
Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Noah's Asleep - The best update ever!
So, Brett posted a month ago about Noah's sleeping problems. At 9 months he was still waking up anywhere from 3-5 times every night. So we finally decided to restrict him to a pack-'n-play in the basement with a monitor from midnight until 7, when Hyrum wakes up. We're happy to say that after 3 weeks he finally was consistently staying asleep for 7 hours. . and so we moved him back into the crib. Now for the past 3 nights he's stayed asleep from 8 until about 7! Ahhh, we love having our nights back.

Let it Snow!

We've had a snow filled weekend. It just gets me more excited for Christmas. We had fun playing out in the snow. Brett and Hyrum built a snowman.Hyrum kissing the snowman:)This is what Noah did. He loves playing in the trunk of the car.After all of the cold we decided to eat out. On the way out we told Hyrum we would be eating a burger and so he started picking his nose. Then we had a long, funny conversation about the difference between boogers and burgers. . . Hyrum didn't seem to get the difference, they're both yummy to him:)

The Truth about Santa

Before Brett and I got married we discussed our thoughts on Santa vs. no Santa. Now that we’ve been married for nearly 4 years and Hyrum is 2 ½ it’s time for me to rethink the subject. In my mind I’ve seen it as Lies vs. Truth and nothing more. I was never taught to believe in the Big Man and as a child made fun of kids who were ‘deceived’ by lying parents. Brett thinks it’s sad, but I think I was given a healthy dose of truth. Despite what backgrounds Brett and I came from I’ve decided to seek out my real feelings on the subject and record it for posterity.

My biggest argument on the subject has been commercialism and how much Christ is taken out of Christmas, leaving Santa Clause more celebrated and credited for all the joy and spirit of the season. I don’t like it at all. I want our children’s first thoughts when they hear Christmas to be the baby Jesus born under a star in a stable a long time ago. And because of His birth we celebrate by giving gifts like the wise men and putting lights on our house just like the star to light the way. With that said, now I need to give myself a reality check. Hyrum has been going to the nursery in our church for about a year now and usually when we talk about nursery or church, the first thing he says is ‘Toys! Play!’. It isn’t Jesus, Hymns, or scripture stories that come to mind. . . in fact it probably isn’t even the second or third thing he thinks of either. Are we doing something wrong? No. Young children just don’t fully understand circumstance or consequence, they understand instances of gratification. It’s in the first eight years that we teach them habit and right vs. wrong, it’s not until later that the dots of understanding connect the why’s of life. So expecting a child in their first few years to get excited about someone they’ve never met and don’t fully understand might be a bit unrealistic. Santa Clause, however, is a happy grandpa-figure that children can understand. They can sit on his lap and listen to his big laugh and tell him about things that will give them instant gratification. I can see the big appeal. I don’t think believing that there is a person that dedicates his life to giving gifts and bringing happiness is bad. It’s a great example for children to learn selflessness from. I’m okay with introducing this kind of Santa to our kids. I’ll go along with the whole reindeer, North Pole, and chimney elaborations that have been created over time as parents dug themselves deeper into something they didn’t know how to get out of. Basically, I’ve come to the conclusion that I believe in the theory of Santa Clause, and will not be opposed to our children learning and getting excited about him as their hearts and minds prepare to learn and understand more about the true meaning of Christmas.

So, someday when Hyrum comes to me and really wants to know if Santa is real my response will be something like this:

The Santa Claus that you know is a combination of many different legends and mythical creatures. A lot of what we know about the real man is taken from Bishop Nicholas of Smyrna. Nicholas lived in the 4th century A.D. He was very rich, generous, and loved children. People knew him by all the joy he gave to poor children by throwing gifts in through their windows. He was a real man that did wonderful, generous things. When he died no one wanted to forget the happy feelings that he gave, so they celebrated and remembered him by doing the same thing for their children. We still do it today. He doesn’t live in the North Pole or have reindeer, but he does live in Heaven with Heavenly Father. People wanted his life to be celebrated forever and so they decided to celebrate him the same time they celebrated the birth of Jesus, because Jesus made is possible for us to live forever. Jesus Christ made it possible for us to live eternally in Heaven. He gave us the greatest gifts that we can ever get, so it’s a great time to celebrate giving and people who give to others. I believe in Jesus Christ, but I also think that St. Nickolas (or Santa Clause) is just as real. St. Nickolas felt the Spirit of Christ as he gave what he had, just as the Savior gave everything he had. So, is Santa Clause real. . . yes! just not in the way that you thought.

Progressive Dinner

I love the holidays! I love the feeling of excitement, preparation, anticipation, and the joy of Christ that just permeates the air as we listen to Christmas music. This weekend we had a neighborhood Progressive Dinner. There were a dozen couples involved and we had so much fun. I was responsible for the salad course for 12 people. I loved getting things all ready. Putting both leaves in the table and using more dishes at once than we've ever used at once was kind of fun. Thankfully, Scott and Cheryl (Brett's parents) were here for our Nephews baptism and so they helped watch the boys. I'm excited to do it next year!

Pretty Lights

This Monday we decided to take a trip up to Salt Lake to see all of the beautiful lights on Temple Square. Sadly, it wasn't until we got to Sandy that we realized that I forgot to put the Memory Card back in my camera. So, I'm posting a picture from last year. Hyrum loved the train ride from Sandy to SL! The lights were amazing as always. On Tuesday Hyrum kept begging, "ChooTrain. . ride it. . . temple. . again" He's getting a really good grasp on placing words together to make semi-full sentences. It's great to finally be able to understand him. . . most of the time.

Laying the Turkey to Rest

It has been a great Thanksgiving weekend. Vacations are always so nice. Brett was able to finish the cold storage shelves, put up Christmas lights outside, assemble our tree inside, put Christmas music on the ipod for me and even stay up all night with his brother to be first in line at Old Navy on Black Friday for a free Lego's Rockband (yes we got it and it's pretty cool. . . feel free to come by and play! Ryan, you can use ours until you get your Wii:) Man, when I write it all down like that it makes me realize that Brett just doesn't do enough around here. . . haha. He definitely earned his Thanksgiving Dinner!
Thanksgiving was nice and relaxed. My sister Holly and her husband Jeremy and their youngest came to hang out with us on Thursday. We ate until we were tired and then put the boys down for a nap while we watched Wolverine.We loved making the big feast for Thanksgiving. Brett did most of the Turkey preparation and Hyrum helped me make whip cream to top off our Banoffee pie (One of my new favorites. It's an English dessert that Brett told me about, and thanks to Allrecipes-dot-com, we were able to have. YUMMMMYYY)Today was pretty nice out, so we played outside. Noah is the cutest little bundle when it's cold. We finished decorating the Christmas tree and it get's me so excited for the season. Hyrum has been fascinated by the stockings. I told them they were special big socks for Christmas and so, of course, he insisted on wearing them. Notice how they fit his entire leg!