Christmas

The Christmas break is flying by this year, and I don't want it to end. Here is a recap of our Holiday Festivities.

We spent Christmas with "Gram" /gwam/ and "Papa" /bapa/ in Price. The whole family was able to be together for Christmas Eve and Morning this year. We couldn't ask for more.

Christmas Eve (Day):
We had our second annual family picture. We went to the Church and used the stage curtains for the back drop. While waiting, Bentley had a good time taking on Uncle Keenan and Uncle KC at basketball and soccer. He was in heaven. The girls demonstrated their vocal talent in the microphone in the RS room. We not only were able to take a family picture, but we had a fun time together too.









Christmas Eve: Jerusalem Supper, The Nativity and Christmas Eve gifts (lots of new PJs :)



















Christmas Morning:
Waiting for the OK to see if Santa had made a stop.















The kids must have been good this year; either that or Santa's sleigh crash landed under Grandma's tree. Bentley was excited about his remote control car, football getup, the movie KungFuPanda, a Star Wars video game, and more. Emma was amazed that Santa knew exactly what she had wanted being as she refused to tell him when she (and Mom) sat on his lap. She said her favorite gifts were her BittyBaby bed and her art easel. She also got other BittyBaby accessories, and a lot of much need clothing (which surprisingly she was not all that excited about.) Ali was excited about a BittyBaby of her own, a BittyBaby stroller, a Little People bus, etc. She's not hard to please, but loved everything. Every time she sees a Santa she gets really excited and says his name, "Santa Clause, Santa Clause". The house in the picture was for all the kids. It is a play house they can decorate themselves.

For your viewing pleasure

On December 23rd, Bentley lost yet another tooth! He has lost a total of six now. I finally got him to sing for us, and then the girls of course had to add their two bits. I took a couple videos of Emma too, but she was getting too silly in one and in the other video she decided to take off her PJ top while singing, and I didn't want to put any "obscene" material on the web... hehe.

We Do Not Open Presents Early!

Bentley has been begging to open a present early, so we had to inform him...

We Do Not Open Presents Early!

...except for on the following dates: December 1 when we can open our December 1st gifts, at the cousin party when we open cousin gifts and sometimes the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa, and of course there is the exception of Christmas Eve when we do sibling gifts and Mom and Dad's presents (which usually consist of new PJs). Is that clear!

No wonder my kids don't always believe what I say.

The situation

The need:

Ali needs more milk.

The problem:

Mom's not paying attention. She wouldn't be on the computer would she?

The solution:

Ali decides to pour it herself.

The result:

See for yourself...

At least it wasn't on the table next to the computer. lol

My little smarty pants

Last night while I was cutting the pizza, Bentley declared, "I see a line of symmetry!" I'm often amazed at what he learns at school and like last night, sometimes its even good. Unlike the take-offs on Christmas songs that he has come home singing and has taught to his sisters. "Dashing through the snow, on a pair of broken skies..." ugh!

A little thoughtfulness goes a long way

Today a simple act of thoughtfulness really turned the day around. Sometimes a little thing can make all the difference.






Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friendships, like new wine,
Will age, mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test -
Time and change - are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more will our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast-
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
by Joseph Parry

Ready or not!

Now, this might seem like a crazy title in regard to potty training a two year old. However, its not what you might think. Its not her; its me;)
I've been putting off potty training for a while now...

We've talked about it.

Ali does have her "big girl underwear" and her potty seat. She has a potty chart, potty treats near by, and even several books about going potty.

So why am I putting it off? Well, there was the fact that she had a stomach bug... lingering symptoms, and then I haven't been feeling too well. First it was "After she turns two." then, it was, "When she's feeling better." I had all sorts of excuses.

Finally, Ali had to put matters into her own hands. This morning she refused to let me put a diaper on her. She insisted that she wear 'underwear', and she was perfect all morning. She told me every time she had to go and was so proud. However, it all came to a screeching halt when she fell asleep on my shoulder while I was on the phone. (She had decided to start her day off at 4 am this morning, so she was tired before her normal nap time.) Without thinking I put her down (without a diaper). About a half an hour later I heard her talking in her bed. 'Odd', I thought. Then I heard the talking turn to distress. She probably would have been perfect all day had I not 'locked' her in bed unable to reach a potty by herself. Well, when I came up, she was wet and not one bit happy. I felt like the worst mom ever. I mean its not like I haven't done this before. Its not like she's not doing her part... Luckily children are resilient, and I'm sure with a little support she'll be potty trained in no time.

Primary Christmas Party

Friday night was our Primary Christmas Party complete with Christmas songs, a program, a children's nativity and a visit from Santa. We watched Julie, Jacob, Aaron and Aubrey Friday night, so we brought quite the crowd.






























Emma, Aaron, Ali and Aubrey played so cute all day. What cute cousins.

Emma-Mommy Time

One of my favorite times of the day is in the afternoon when Bentley is at school, Ali is down for a nap and we get to have "Emma-Mommy Time". I've told Emma this several times. The other day as I was coming down the stairs from putting Ali down for her nap, Emma ran into my arms and said, "Mommy, its your favorite time of the day!"
It really is so fun to have one-on-one time. She always keeps me laughing.
Like right now she is sitting on my lap and is trying to put her head in front of me so I can't see the screen.

Then she just said, "I don't want you to see the screen. I want you to see ME!"

We started making puppets a few weeks ago and finally finished them today.

Temple Square

It's been a few years since we took the opportunity to go and see the lights on Temple Square, so we decided to make the trip last night. We met my family just as they were leaving, but were able to say hi. It was pretty cold, but I was probably the only one complaining. Note to self: thin cotton gloves just don't cut it. Still, it was fun be together as a family. I asked everyone what their favorites were... Bentley's was the big colorful tree, Tom's were the trees with many, many, many white lights, mine was the nativity in front of the temple, and Emma and Ali liked it all;)

Birthday Time

Ali turned 2 on Wednesday. She has been so excited, and even thought she was throwing up the night before, she seemed to feel better during the day, and I think she had fun. We had a low key day and pretty much just stayed at home, but she definitely knew it was her day. When I'd ask her about what she wanted to do on her 'juju'/birthday she'd answer, "eat cake", "two", and
"open". She is such a cutie, and we are so thankful to have her in our family!

The Anticipation is Just Too Much

Ali was so excited for her Birthday. She says, "Happy 'juju' Ali", and the anticipation of the presents is just about too much! Here she got a little whiny about her desire to "eat cake" and turn "two". However, I was surprised at how she was able to refrain from opening her presents until we gave the go ahead on her birthday.

Ackerson Family Christmas Party

***MEMO***
To Whom This May Concern ;)
The Ackerson family Christmas Party/Cousin gift exchange has been tentatively scheduled for Friday, December 19 at 5:30 pm at Nora's. Addie, Sarah and Emma helped me pick the names of the cousins to see who gives to who. The list is as follows (the name on the left gives to the name on the right):
Julie -Ben
Jacob - Emma
Aaron - Sterling
Aubrey - Matthew
Addy - Meg
Ben - Jacob
Paige - Aubrey
Stuart - Ellie
Sterling - Charlie
Sarah - Addy
Meg - Stuart
Macie - Aaron
Bentley - Macie
Emma - Paige
Ali - Carson
Carson - Julie
Ellie - Sarah
Charlie - Ali
Matthew - Bentley
Check out Christy's family letter for more info., and if you have any gripes about the date, time, etc... talk to Nora (you queen bee you).

I could go broke saving money!

Today is one of my most favorite Fridays of the year, Black Friday. It has been a tradition in my family for many years for my Grandma Hettie, my Mom, sometimes some aunts, and my sisters to hit the after Thanksgiving Day sales. My Grandma is one of the best bargain shoppers around, and is the one who I need to give credit to for originally saying the title of this post. Yes, we've been know to be one of those crazy ladies at 5 am bustling around trying to hunt down the best deals. The general plan would consist of shopping for a couple of hours, going out to breakfast together and then heading for home.
After getting married, Tom and I decided to alternate which family we would spent Thanksgiving with. I've missed participating with my family but have still managed to (usually) get some shopping in each year. Although I still miss being with my sisters and mom, I'd have to say that this year was one of the craziest ever. Living near Park City we are very close to the outlets. The crazies there have chosen not to open early in the morning, but instead they open at midnight and a few stores even open at 10:30 pm on Thanksgiving Day! Well, after watching everybody chub up yesterday (I hope you know I'm kidding.) We left shortly after 10 pm to hit the sales and boy did we find them. We didn't arrive home until 7:3o am! That's right; we shopped all night long! It was my kind of shopping: little time restrictions, no kids, adequate funds all nicely budgeted for items purchased with room to wiggle for the too good to pass by deals, and a guilt free feeling because we weren't sacrificing time with the fam... everyone else was asleep. Christmas shopping season - bring it on.

Happy Thanksgiving!

THE "Thankful Day"!!! I can hardly believe how fast this month has gone. It has been fun posting (almost) everyday. (And I'm thankful for the "post options" feature so I can catch up when needed.)

I was just thinking about all the different things I've written about. I really do have so much to be thankful for, yet true gratitude is something that I definitely need to work on. It is almost like I cognitively know that I have a lot of blessing, but some of my blessings (as I wrote before) are also things that I struggle with. hmmm... I don't think that adds up to true gratitude. I was just reading a post written by my cousin, Cecilee. She wrote, "I think being grateful is a commandment because it helps us to see outside ourselves and our own problems. It helps us recognize that all around us there are things Heavenly Father has given us so that we can have joy in life. We just need to see those things." Then she posted the quote,
"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, more children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time railroad journey. Delays, side tracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." (Gordon B. Hinckely, 1978)
I think I've been wasting too much time "running around shouting that (I've) been robbed." I love this quote and am so thankful for the principle of repentance and that I can improve at "thank(ing) the Lord for letting (me) have the ride".
No, life isn't perfect or easy, but it is good, and the "beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed" make it fantastic. Some of these may be repeats from the month, but today I feel truly thankful for...
1. The gospel of Jesus Christ
2. A kind, sweet, and wonderful husband
3. Three beautiful, healthy children
4. Extended family that is the best
5. In-laws that provide many cousins for the kids to play with
6. A healthy body
7. Being dept free
8. New babies who will be joining our family soon
9. The Christmas season
10. The principles of hope and faith
11. Prayer
12. A loving Heavenly Father who is mindful of his children and whose hand has and will continue to guide my life.

Some pictures from the feast.