Christmas Books

I've been wanting to do this for some time. Each year the kids get a book for Christmas but this year we are reading one book a night for story time. Hopefully next year I'll remember to wrap them up like presents and then we can pick one from under the tree each night.

Here's a list of some of our favorite Christmas books:

1. A Night Without Darkness: A Nephite Christmas Story by Madsen (I still cry whenever I read this)

2. An Animal's Christmas Eve by Wiersum

3. Morris' Disappearing Bag by Wells

4. Snowmen at Night by Buehner

5. My First Story of the First Christmas by Buck

6. Who Is Coming to Our House? by Slate

7. Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect by Schneider

8. The Gift of the Magi by Henry

9. The Polar Express by VanAllsburg (we watch the DVD and have hot cocoa)

10. A Christmas Dress for Ellen by Monson

11. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey by Qojciechowski

12. The Littlest Angel by Tazewell

13. We Were There by Bunting

14. The Crippled Lamb by Lucado

15. This is the Stable by Cotten

16. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess

17. The Berenstain Bears Save Christmas by Berenstain

18. Christmas Oranges by Bethers

19. One Wintry Night by Graham

20. The Three Gifts by Orr

21. This Is the Season Beloved of the Year by Dewey (love the artwork!)

22. If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Numeroff (this feels like my life right now, LOL)

23. Grandfather's Christmas Tree by Strand

24. The Night Before Christmas by Moore. We play a game with wrapped dollar toys - whenever the word THE is said, you rotate the gift around. Then before bed we read Luke 2 from the Bible and then sing a couple of Christmas hymns acapella with only the Christmas tree lights on.

This year for myself I've read Evan's latest, "Promise Me" and I really enjoyed Freeman's "A Christ-Centered Christmas". Last year my favorite was "The Nativity" by Gaskill and a little booklet called "The Christmas Scene" by Maxwell.

What's YOUR favorite book to read at Christmas time?

November Recap

Almost every year we go down to Arizona to visit with both sides of our extended families. Thanksgiving Day is with my family and the day after is Young Thanksgiving at my SIL's house. The kids love playing with their cousins and we really enjoy the warmer weather. We've also rode in El Tour de Tucson a couple of times which is always held the weekend before Turkey Day. It's a great ride for a great cause and it's well-supported. This year I did the 40 miler and Troy did the 109 miler, and we both didn't train nearly as much as we should have, like... next to nothing. We just did not have time. But my dad convinced us to stick to it. I rode with my cousin Julie. We drove up just as the 40-milers were starting, traffic was backed up so we were late. Oops. So I put the car in reverse and drove a couple hundred yards to the closest parking lot. :) We jumped out, got on our bikes and started the race without ever going across the offical starting line. A mile into it we ran into my dad and Troy who were doing the 109 miler together. The were exhausted at that point but I had to get back to my baby ASAP so I kept going. My brother Mark was doing awesome and was quite a ways ahead and we thought for sure he'd finish first. I tried to keep up with Julie but she trained for this and was hopping on the back of people's tails to draft and I can only draft behind people I trust so she lost me after 10 miles. I kept going. Then about 15 miles from the finish I see the shirt of my brother Mark. I almost spanked him coming up from behind but didn't want him to crash into me. LOL He had gotten leg cramps and was hurting. I couldn't go much faster so we stuck together and I pulled him for 5 miles. At one point we pulled over, let our bikes down and laid down on our backs on the sidewalk. We were beat. It was fun to ride together and finish together. My dad and Troy weren't too far behind so we hung around for a picture. My cousin Julie came in first - she's amazing! She's also getting married on 1/1/11 and I couldn't be happier for her. Before she left to go home we made sure to ride our favorite bike ride - the Saguaro National Monument East Loop. It's like a Disneyland ride on a bike. I LOVE it!

October Recap

Baby K - 6 months old

E and her friends at the Fall Festival

Our Jack-o-Lanterns

Oh, and here's a short video of N saying his part for the Primary Program:

My New Baby

She sparkles in the sunlight (no, Edward is not her father)

And that new baby smell? Yep, she's got it.

She's everything I've ever dreamed of and wanted... in a car. ;)

*sigh*

I think I'm in love!

September - Baptism

E chose to be baptized and we couldn't be more proud of her. Our children receive their own set of scriptures on their baptism day as a gift from Mom and Dad. She was so excited. Afterwards we had dinner at our place. Our theme was Rainbows since her favorite song is, "I Like to Look for Rainbows" which talks about baptism. We had lots of rainbow balloons, rainbow cupcakes, rainbow jell-o salad, etc. Later than night, Grandma Y. got babyK to giggle. Too cute!

August - 8 years old

E had her 8th birthday so that meant a party with lots of friends at Incredible Pizza. She also had her summer recital which baby K loved watching. We went up to Bear Lake again for a couple day with Grandma and Grandpa - thanks for the campfire dinner and dessert! Kids went back to school. I can't believe I have a middle-schooler now. Scary!

July - summer fun

We didn't get as much done as I would've liked this summer. A new baby will do that to you. We had fun up at our cabin in Bear Lake though. Played outside a lot with our new backyard playsets. I did manage to take the kids downtown via TRAX since they begged me to. I still can't believe we all survived. What was I thinking taking 5 kids downtown by myself? I had to nurse K on the way home and no, I didn't care that the train was packed. Yes, I had a nursing cover but I still got a few strange looks. I was to tired to care though.

June - 10 years old

J’s Birthday Memories:
Ate French toast for breakfast, went to Classic Skating –Skating on blades, jungle gym, bounce area and Blast Zone, Grandma M. came when we got back from Panda Express (Oh how I hope they have Orange Chicken in heaven...), Ipod touch came after that – took 4 hours to try to get it working, got card from Grandma Y. in the mail, Rumbi for dinner, Walmart for Ipod skin, Ate poppy seed cake, then Mom slept like a baby.

May - Blessing Day

I meant to post this sooner then forgot - that seems to be happening a lot lately. Her blessing took place Memorial Weekend. We were fortunate to have so many of our family come. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun celebrating.

Super Saturday

I love to share ideas with others so here's what our ward is planning for this year's Super Saturday - it's a wonderful day filled with crafting, learning new things and socializing with other women. We'll be having Soup and Salad Potluck for lunch . What have you done at Super Saturday that you love? I'm always looking for more good ideas!

Super Saturday Classes & Crafts

Knitting Class – taught by Valerie
Valerie will teach how to knit and pearl. You’ll learn how to make long-lasting washcloths that are perfect for home or for a gift. Please contact Valerie to find out what size needles to bring and what type of yarn will be best.

Digital Scrapbooking Class – taught by Brooke
Brooke will teach how to create a simple scrapbook layout, how to make your own Christmas card, and how to make a simple gift using Photoshop. She will also share a few photo editing tips if time permits. Bring a laptop if you have access to one. Brooke will teach using Adobe Photoshop Elements and will provide instructions on how to download a 30-day free trial. If you don’t have a laptop, come with a notebook and you can take the tips home and try them out on your desktop!

Advent Muffin Tin – taught by Cindy
Count down the days until Christmas with a treat inside each muffin cup. This craft is $6 if you bring your own mini-muffin tin and $11 if you need one. Supplies to bring with you if you have them: scissors, rubber cement, paper trimmer, corner rounder.

Family Home Evening Binder – taught by Michelle
This binder includes FHE lessons on the 6 B’s and the 10 Neglected Virtues that Will Heal our Hearts and Homes. Each lesson includes sheet music, activities, stories and additional information, including visual aids, for some lessons. $11

Mom’s Long Magnet Board – taught by Karen
27 inches x 8 inches. Display your latest snapshots on this darling magnet board with saying, “These are a few of my favorite things” $16 or $19 with extra scroll accents

His Presence Camelback Board
15 inches x 7.5 inches. Cast iron star on painted board with vinyl saying, “The magic of Christmas is not in the presents, but in His presence” $17

Decorative Frame – taught by Stefanie
Provide your own unfinished frame with a 2.5 inch flat unfinished border or pay an additional $4.50 for a 5 x 7 or $7.50 for an 8 x 10 frame.


Personalized Marshmallow Roasting Stick
The Roasting stick will be $3.00 each. 36 inches long. Please specify name for vinyl name