Our Happy Christmas 2010!

You want to know one of the things I love the most about Christmas morning in our house...
Jason always gets up first.  He is so excited.  Not for his presents, but to see me open mine, and the boys open theirs.  He has always been that way, such a good gift giver, so into the giving spirit.  It makes me so happy, and it is really sweet.  Clark woke up happy, and asked immediately where Santa was, I don't think he realized that Santa was going to bring presents too... he was in for a big surprise.

Harry was a little grumpy at first... but once he got his milkies and opened his special Christmas pretzels, he was a happy baby.  We couldn't get him to open any of the presents, but he enjoyed the festivities anyway.

Clark was so into opening presents this year, he tore through all of his so fast, and since Harry didn't care one bit about opening his, we just let Clark open them all.
After every gift Clark opened he would ohhh and ahhh, genuinely thrilled about what was inside.

Jason made me this really sweet Keepsake Chest, it was such a thoughtful gift, and I really really love it.
He and Clark worked on it for weeks, and Jay even took a few pictures of Clark staining it.
I am surprised I never guessed what he was doing all this time.
Now I just need to figure out what I am going to put in it...

Clark was SUPER thrilled when he opened his new Star Wars video game, 

I think it was his favorite gift.

He was hugging it, and jumping up and down, mumbling something excitedly about R2D2 and robots.

After all the gifts were opened, Harry kicked back and did some reading.

He examined all the dvds, and read the little books we got him (which he loved).

This is the cute little present Clark got, and wrapped for me.  So sweet!   Jason promised he wrapped it all by himself.  It was a new Harry Potter Lego game, for our Wii.  I can honestly say Clark was more excited to play it than I was, I think it is his favorite game... after Mario and Star Wars of-course.

Jason also got me a bubble machine for Christmas too, which the boys LOVED.

Harry could sit and watch the bubbles for hours.  It is such a fun idea, and I can't wait to show my nursery kids at church (which is why Jay said he got it for me).

We had our delicious Christmas breakfast, with lots of bacon and hash browns.  We played video games and watched movies all day...the boys and I loved Despicable Me.  We snuggled on the couch, in our pajamas.  We played Star Wars, and trains, and with Daddies new remote control helicopter.  

We had a fun day!  My favorite kind of day. 

Sweet little Harry fell asleep a little early, so tired from his busy day.
We didn't even have time to wipe the chocolate off his face before he passed out.

And as a last Christmas surprise, it started snowing!!!  We got our white Christmas after all!  I was/am so so happy.  A perfect ending to a perfect day, I love the snow.
I hope all of you, my dear family and friends, had a special and fun Christmas.
Merry Christmas! 

Christmas Eve 2010

December 24, 2010
Our annual Christmas Eve picture in our pjs.
(I am so glad I figured out how to set the timer on my camera.)

Harry was so confused over the beeping noise, but at least it helped him look in the right direction.

I love my cute little family, and our pj tradition.

Happy Christmas!

Harry checking out his stocking. 

I love our Granny stockings, they are one of my favorite things I put out every year.

Granny is so sweet, and nice to make one for everyone in our whole Deimler family.

(She really is the best!)

The boys, not cooperating for picture time.

Clark and Harry

Clark loves putting his arm around Harry, poor Harry really hates it.

Aren't their Christmas pjs so cute?? I got them at Carters, both for $15.  

And to think I was going to make our pjs this year, Christmas fabric is way expensive, 

and they would've never turned out as cute.  

Maybe next year I will try and make them... although I do say that every year.

Harry giving Clark a little Christmas nibble,

he got tired of Clark trying to hug and kiss him... poor Clark.

This year we decided to leave out a treat for the Santa's Reindeer, to help them find our house.

We got a little gift from a friend, with the "reindeer treats", and cute little poem about the treats helping the reindeer find our house (the bag had oatmeal, and candy sugar).

Such a fun idea, and Clark was really into it.

I tried to tell him to just throw the "treats" on the lawn, but he somehow got the idea into his head that we were supposed to be feeding our reindeer lights.

So he made sure all the lighted reindeer got a handful of "rist-mist treats" as he called it (translation=Christmas treats).

Daddy and Harry putting some treats up on the roof for the reindeer.

Our little Christmas tree, after Santa's visit.

A Week In Our Life December 19- December 25

Sunday night (December 19th), we went Christmas caroling with some friends from church.  It was so fun, albeit super super cold.  It was nice to be able to spread some Christmasy cheer, and spirit, with our neighbors and ward members.  I haven't gone caroling in ages, since I was a teenager, and I quite enjoyed it.  Clark and Jason wore their Santa hats, and Clark was really well behaved, he even tried to sing along to a few of the songs.   Can't wait to go again next year.

Jason and the boys, waiting to see Santa.

(Thank goodness for camera phones.)

For Family Home Evening Monday night (December 20th), we decided to finally take the boys to the mall to see Santa.  Clark was such a good boy, and so excited to see the big man.  He waited in line with me for an hour!  Jason tried to ask him if he wanted to go and play, but Clark was very insistent on waiting to see SANTA.  The mall we went to had a little area the kids could play in before they saw Santa, where it fake snowed.  Harry loved it, he rolled in it, tried to catch it in his hands, and just and watched it fall (it was a long long Santa line).  Clark, per his usual, was bashful and quiet when it was his turn to meet Santa, and Harry, again-like always, was screamy and mad.  We didn't get a cd this year to post our pictures online, but maybe if I remember, I will scan off the picture to share before it 2011. 

Harry loving the fake snow!!!  

For play group on Wednesday (December 22nd) we decorated Christmas cookies.  Or at least tried too.  Harry and the kids were much more interested in eating the sprinkles and icing, than decorating the cookies.  It was so fun, albeit a little messy :)

Porter helping Clark with the sprinkles.

Harry contemplating the green icing, and whether or not he wants to lick it off his fingers.

Clark needed a bigger spoon, and a cookie to go along with all the icing he ate.

BFFs wearing their Santa hats.

The rest of the week was a blur of Christmasy fun.  Late night shopping trips for me and Jason, without the boys (so thankful that we have a couple babysitters here!!!).  And an even later night shopping trip for Mom,  remind me never to go to Walmart the day before Christmas Eve again, I waited in line for 75 minutes, not fun.  

This is my favorite time of year, with my family.  We have so many little traditions, and new ones we start every year.  Watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Elf at least a million times.  Baking Jason's favorite candied ham on Christmas Eve, and our big (read, lots of bacon) Christmas breakfast the next morning.  Wrapping all the kids presents (from Santa) late into the night on Christmas Eve.  Driving around looking at Christmas lights, making cookies, and eating copious amounts of Christmas candy (I think Clark enjoyed this part the best).  It really is so much fun.  This year we even had the pleasant surprise of some Christmas snow!!!  I love how happy Jason is around Christmas, he tires so hard to make everything so special for me and the boys.  He is such a good Dad.  We were definitely blessed this year, in the present department, and we surprised Clark with a Wii (even though it is more for the whole family).   We did a lot of talking with the boys this year, about the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our brother Jesus Christ.  We talked about the baby Jesus being born in a manger, and the shepherds following the Christmas star to welcome him.  Clark was very interested in it, and spent a whole day asking me when baby Jesus was going to come.  I love that he is becoming more teachable.  I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for all that I have, temporally and spiritually, my family, my children, my home, my friends.  I am so blessed.  I am so thankful for this Christmas season, when we can gather together as a family and celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday- I love it when it snows.

December 16, 2010

Just a little snow.

Check out other Wordless Wednesdays here.

Santa!

Dec. 15, 2010
A couple weeks ago Clark's school had a little Christmas party for the kids, and parents.
It was nice to meet the other parents, and kids, and both boys had a great time.
Even Harry, who sometimes has a hard time with crowds and new situations, had a lot of fun.
We even got a surprise visit from Santa!

Hiding from Santa???

I am not sure why Clark was so shy of Santa, he talks about him constantly,

 and never seems shy or afraid of anything.

It took a lot of coaxing, but we finally got him on Santa's lap.

This is his "okay Mom, I am sitting on his lap, are you happy??? and where is my candy" look.

He did manage to whisper to Santa, something about wanting a Star Wars game.

He was very very excited when Santa gave him some new cars.  He still calls them his Santa cars.

This is as good as it got for Harry.  He had no interest what-so-ever in sitting on some weird guys lap,

especially when there was a room full of toys and treats from him to explore and eat.

I felt bad for this slim little Santa, having to wrestle with 42 pounds of chunky Harry.

Clark so exited to eat his candy cane.  My cute little sugar-aholic.

Wordless Wednesday- I love my family.

November 24, 2010

 I love my family.

A Week In Our Life December 12- December 18

December 18-  Jason had a meeting at church today, a meeting I have been hoping and praying for.  I am thrilled for the possibilities and blessings this could bring our family.  I am proud of Jason for making a good decision!  That's pretty much all I want to share now, but I am thankful.... okay, cryptic talk over ;)

Since Clark is starting school tomorrow, he got his special Father's Blessing tonight.  Growing up, my Dad gave me, and my brothers and sisters, a special Father's Blessing before the start of every school year.  It meant a lot to me growing up, and I know it helped me through my rough times.  I am so glad this is a tradition that we can pass on to Clark (and our other kids, to come...), and I know it will help him with his struggles and changes in the next coming weeks and months.  I am so proud of the little -BIG- boy he is becoming.  He has fallen asleep the past couple nights, with his back-pack and shoes on, just so excited for school to start.  He is going to be a very happy boy tomorrow.

We have been thinking more and more about the school Jason was offered, at work.  It is still 50/50.  We both think the school is a wonderful idea, for his career, and we really want to do it.  But so many things are telling us to stay here, at least for now.  Things just seem to be falling into place too perfectly to ignore, Clark's school, Harry's therapy classes, church things, friend things... I don't want to mess with a good thing.  So unless something (BIG) changes in the next couple weeks, I think we are going to hold off on the school for now, maybe still do it in a year or so, but most likely not in March.  (I realized as I type this, I could be eating my words very soon...but that's how life always works out huh???)

Monday morning we woke up to it snowing! Big fluffy white snowflakes.  I loved it.  And Clark was so excited.  He came running into my bedroom, shrieking about a ho-ho show, and Santa, I thought he was asking me to put on a Christmas movie, when he pulled open the blinds and said, "see Mom ho ho snow, Santa snow."  He must think Snow and Santa go together, as they should.  It really feels wintry with the snow.  He was also really excited to go to school.  He had no problem getting on the bus, and was very happy when he came home from school.  I did wish he would talk a little more, so he could answer all my questions about school.  Harry and I enjoyed our first afternoon together, we had a nice quiet lunch, ran some errands and played Lego's.  I can't tell if he misses Clark or not, he doesn't seem to care either way.  Now that Clark is in school I am going to find a reading group for Harry and me to go to, at the public library.
For FHE tonight we went to see the Christmas lights on the broad walk.  They have the board walk at the beach decorated with big light displays. It was fun driving up, and laughing as a family, looking at all the lights.  It was dark out, but I do think I saw a little remains of that mornings snow, ON THE BEACH.  Snow on the beach, something about that doesn't sound right.  Next time it snows I wanna go to the beach :)

Tuesday morning Clark got up so early, asking to go to school.  After talking for a bit, I finally convinced him to fall back asleep for an hour.  Before falling asleep I asked him if he as excited to ride the bus again, to which he replied, "no bus, sailboat please."  "What?  You want to ride a sailboat to school?"  I was trying hard not to laugh at him.  "Yes, a sailboat, night." Then he fell right back asleep, and of course when he woke up he didn't remember the conversation at all, because when I asked him if he wanted to ride a sailboat to school, he looked at me like I was a nut.

Harry that is sure a funny way to sleep!

Harry has been having a hard time sleeping.  Late nights, really early morning...tired Mama unable to keep up, you know the drill.  He must be going through a growth spurt, although I don't know how much bigger he can get. He already looks like  3 year old, and is bigger than Clark -except in height. 

It's been a busy week getting ready for Christmas and keeping up with the boys.  We had a fun party, with a visit from Santa, at Clark's new school.  Thursday we had an unexpected snow day, with actually very little snow, but it was fun to have Jason and Clark home all day to laze about and have fun.  I have been trying to finish my Christmas cards all day, and I will be lucky if I can get them out by this weekend.  I don't do anything fancy, so I don't know why it takes me so long every year... maybe it is all the extra little hands trying to "help".  Next year I swear I am starting in October to save myself the
stress.

Busy, busy, busy... things here have been so busy, and it is strangely wonderful.  I used to get so depressed for days and weeks and months at a time.  It was maddening.  But here I am so busy I never have time to sit and think about those types of things, dwell over the things I can't change, mope about the things I don't like.   (It also helps finally having my own car, and the boys being older.)  Today I didn't have a minute to sit still; babysitting for a friend, a hundred errands to run, school things, shopping things, dinner for the missionaries, chores... it is 11:00 pm and I still have to get the boys ready for bed.  I didn't have a minute to myself today, and you know what, I am happy.  Now, I can't do this everyday, it would kill me, but it is nice to have a busy day.  A happy, busy life.   Who knew that I would have to leave paradise (Hawaii) to find happiness, and some peace of mind.  I still have a few hard days, but they are less frequent, and it is much easier to step out of the fog.  By the way, Clark loved having the missionaries over for dinner tonight,  the rest of the night he told me he wanted to go on a mission, my heart swelled with joy.

Daddy and Clark fixing my broken garbage disposal.  Clark loves helping Jason. 

 He gets so excited every time Jason gets out his tools to do a project.  

On Saturday (December 18th) my friend Trisha came over and we made little Christmas tree ornaments for our playgroup/girls club friends.  Aren't they so cute???  It took a couple hours of prep work, and another couple of hours deciding what direction we wanted to take, but I think the end result turned out really cute.  I am proud of myself for taking more crafty steps... who knew I had it in me :)  I also had so much fun getting to know a new friend.
The longer we are are here and the more people we get to to know, the more I see why we were sent here to Virgina Beach.  This was truly an answer to my prayers, only I guess I didn't realize it until now.
 I am so thankful for Trisha, for helping me feel welcomed and included.  I now help her out with all the Girls Group activities, which include the playgroup, a book club, and girls night outs and more.  This was something I never knew how much I needed, and it has helped me get over my shyness, and all the anxiety I feel whenever I go out.  Another awesome thing about Trisha (besides her sparkling personality), is her son Porter, Clark's best friend.  They love each other, honestly. They are a pair of adorable little trouble makers, and they play so well. Clark really looks up to him, he gets so excited whenever he sees Porter, and asks for him constantly.

Clark and Porter, best friends, making their silly faces.

It makes me so happy the Clark had a special friend too.

Last Night

I dreamt of Hawaii last night.  

It was so vivid.  I swear  I could feel the warm breeze on my skin while I was standing in our old backyard, looking at the bright colors of the trees.  In my dream I was taking people around, giving directions, showing off.  I don't know if I was living there, or if I was vacationing, but it felt so nice and calm.  Seeing the beautiful ocean and hearing the crash of the waves again... I loved it.  

The feeling of home, warm, sunny, breezy, home sweet home.  

I am not saying I don't feel at home here, I do... it is taking time, and it is so different.  

I woke up cold, really cold, and a little sad.  

The novelty of all the cold winter weather here is getting old. 

I miss being warm, and tan, and going to the beach.

Trust

With even your strongest faith, 

God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. 

Rather, 

God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you, when it will yield the greatest advantage. 

Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. 

That causes your faith to increase and your character to grow.

 --Richard G. Scott--

Flashback Friday- Hiking Timp

7-18-10

Back in July, when we were home with our family, Jay, his Dad, and brothers went hiking, 

to conquer Mt. Timpanogos!  

They left really late at night, and hiked all night, so they could enjoy the sunrise in the morning.

Here are the guys close near the top;

Mike, Jason, John, Danny and Jake.

A view from the top, Utah County and Utah Lake in the distance.

I sure wish I would've at least tried to go.

Jay.