Christmas Day, 2012

Actually, this post title is a little bit decieving.  The following pictures span from the Saturday before Christmas until the day after Christmas, and unfortunately they aren't in any particular order.  It's been a little chaotic here, so sequencing hasn't been my #1 priority.

Here's my dapper and brawny husband on Christmas Eve (wearing his new sweater given to him by yours truly).  He's holding the family Christmas gift... the IPAD!  EVERYONE loves it, so it was the perfect family gift.  Thanks to some money from Shaun's parents that was completely unexpected (because they already spoiled us with other gifts including food storage and a 72 hour kit), and a $100 gift card from Apple that came in the mail, our IPAD came to join our family.  So far I think Amelia might have clocked in the most time on it playing preschool games.  Now we need to have lots of lessons on sharing, even the grown ups need it:)

Amelia on Christmas Eve, no doubt trying to get into the fridge for something.  She is a stinker lately, mischievous, sometimes rotten, most of the time sweet, and ALWAYS adorable.  Christmas Eve we took the girls to a Lights Festival in Prince William.  We usually go to the temple Christmas Eve, but the weather was really crummy, and we had already been earlier in the season, so we opted for this instead.  When Ella's eyes lit up at all the lights in the park and she said, "Is this where Santa lives?" I knew we had made the right choice.  It was a wonderful evening, followed by the girls opening one gift from Grandma and Grandpa C (horses... they were over the moon), and then off to bed after reading a Christmas book.  While no doubtedly visions of sugar plums danced in their heads, Shaun and I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" and finished up all the last minute Christmas prep.

Amelia the Sunday before Christmas. O' she has swallowed up my whole heart, and everyone else's too I think.

Ella the Sunday before Christmas.  My beautiful little Elle has been very sweet the past few weeks.  Maybe she likes it better when there's less of a demand to be so many different places, but I have thoroughly enjoyed playing with her and spending time with her this Christmas break.  

These girls are my whole world.

The girls giving their papa a hug on Christmas Eve.  See the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa C in their hands.  They were so excited.  I think they would have been pleased as punch if that had been their only gift this year.  And they adore their papa.  He is so good to them.

But then... Christmas morning came!  Santa brought Ella a big Merida doll and accompanying Angus horse from the movie Brave.  Santa brought Amelia a stroller with a baby that talks to her.  I think Santa nailed it this year!  These two haven't gone anywhere this week without their new toys by their side (within reason).

Amelia had her baby and stroller upstairs with her during Christmas Dinner.  Thank you Santa (and Amazon.com:)

Christmas Dinner with nana and papa.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner prepared by them including turkey, rolls, stuffing, green beans, and sparkling cider, but Shaun helped supply the home made mashed potatoes.

The day AFTER Christmas we were blessed with a white Christmas!  The girls enjoyed going out and playing in the snow.  I love this photo of Ella.

Amelia enjoyed the snow too.  They couldn't have been happier to throw snowballs and have a grand ol' time.

The Saturday BEFORE Christmas, the girls helped me make gingerbread men and other cookies that we gave to neighbors.  The gingerbread men we reserved for them, for their snacking enjoyment.  Amelia couldn't even finish decorating it before she had bitten off some limbs:)  Even in the photo she's knawing on the poor gingerbread man's head.

Amelia's and Ella's finished gingerbread men

Okay, now back to Christmas morning (sorry).  Ella with her new doll.

Amelia and Ella had new sippee cups, play dough, and coloring books in their stockings from Santa

Then the girls were very good about taking turns as each one opened a gift.  Mommy and daddy bought some baby doll and mommy books for Amelia, and Ella got the princess and the popstar barbies from us.  They both got movies and books too.  

Grandma and Grandpa C bought them clothes, horses, a barn for their horses, and other toys.

My best gift, my girls and the joy on their faces all morning.

Ella with one of her new horses from grandma and grandpa

Cute

Shaun with his girls.

Amelia's new baby stroller and baby. 

Nana and papa even got a couple of small things

Grandma and Grandpa also sent cute clothes for the girls.  Here they are "modeling" their new dresses from them.  I use the term "modeling" loosely:)

Since Christmas, we have enjoyed two holiday parties at friends homes, my mom and I got pedicures, and Shaun and I went to see Les Mis in the theatre.  We love the play, but we really enjoyed the movie, in some ways even more because the portrayal of life and the characters was more raw.  The singing was less pure, but more gut wrenching if that makes any sense.  Like Shaun said, you really understood why it's called The Miserable.  It was the best movie I've seen this year, if not ever!  Tonight we are having friends Emily and Katie over for Chili, and tomorrow I'm hoping to meet up with Grace for lunch.  New Year's Eve we hope to get together with our other friends, the Davies.  

Really, as I write about everything we've done and will be doing, it's rather picture perfect.  We have done and will be doing everything I hoped we could.  The only downside to this holiday is that we missed my niece's wedding in Utah.  She got married on the 28th.  My parents flew out after Christmas and are there now, but we couldn't afford the 2k it would have taken for our whole family to fly there.  We were bummed because we missed seeing my niece on her special day, as well as the rest of my family that was there.  Not to mention we could have seen Shaun's family too.  We hope to have a reunion with Shaun's family this coming summer.  Details still to be determined, but we've talked about getting together in California... FUN!  

So to all who may actually read this, I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas filled with love and joy!  We are especially grateful for our Savior, and still ponder the gifts we will leave for the Christ child this year.  I suppose that's worthy of a post all it's own.  But for now, I am just so incredibly grateful for all I do have and am blessed with.  There's so much more we want for our family, and we are hopeful and prayerful 2013 brings many of those blessings, but I am also trying to live and be happy in the present!  I have a wonderful husband who puts up with my nagging and negativity.  I have two lovely and beautiful girls who light up my life.  I have wonderful family and friends!  I have a comfortable home, and while I hope 2013 brings a home of our own, I am grateful for the nice things we already have.  

Merry Christmas everyone!

Fa la la la Festive

Twas the Sunday before Christmas when all through our house...

 Our little Basement home.  While I look forward to next year's Christmas photos being in a new home, I will say I have loved our little place, especially at Christmas time.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care. 

Today after church:  A few quick photos before my girls were done posing for the camera 

My beauty queens.  O' how I love them. 

The reason for the season. 

 The nativity. 

My goofballs 

My girls with their daddy 

A sweet photo of Elle with her daddy dear 

Merry & Bright

Ella is so excited about Christmas.  And by excited, I mean she gets into all the ornaments, all the decorations, and keeps asking if she can start opening presents.  But despite the constant tree redecorating, it's really sweet to see the magic and wonder of Christmas through a child's eyes.  There's nothing too small to be overlooked or go unappreciated.  

 Ella's been "helping" Nana play Christmas songs on the piano

 Little A and I at our ward Christmas party.  

Ella with the big man himself!  

This season I've been trying to teach Ella that Santa is just like Jesus.  Really, Santa started giving gifts to little children because he wanted to be like Jesus.  She told me yesterday she loved Jesus even more than Santa.  I think that's a good sign!

 Amelia was not about to sit on his lap, but she tolerated standing by him for a quick photo, a very quick photo.  She's too funny:)

Lights, Camera, Temple!

We enjoyed a nice evening at the temple yesterday after church.  It was a little foggy and a little cold, but it was a very nice night.   More photos to come of my sweet little ones and my parents once I get my mom's camera and download them.  For now, this is what we took on our phone.

The fam plus our friend Emilee inside the Visitor's Center

No matter how many times we go, I never get tired of this view

I think I have a picture of me at this age just like this at the Visitor's Center.  My how time flies.

Little A with her nana

My beautiful family!

The Munchkins

I've been thinking a lot about parenting, about my abilities as a mother, our abilities together as father and mother.  I don't think I could ever love more than I do now as a mom, but with that great blessing of motherhood comes great responsibility, a responsibility I do not take lightly.  With a very spirited almost five year old, I worry sometimes I'm doing it all wrong.  She will be a leader as she grows older, and am I teaching her the right things so that she will be a positive leader?  In counseling with our bishop on this matter, he recommended Shaun and I read an article from last year's General Conference titled, "What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?"  The following excerpt is from that talk.

"A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101.  If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505.  Rather than wonder what you might have done wrong in the premortal life to be so deserving, you might consider the more challenging child a blessing and opportunity to become more godlike yourself.... Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?"

The talk goes on to point out that discipline and disciple  come from the same root, and both imply patience and teaching, and should not be done in anger, but rather as taught in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 121, "by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and be love unfeigned; by kindness and pre knowledge."  The article goes on to point out that we should separate our children's behaviors from who they are (a point I have often made to Shaun), that they are not bad, but their choice was bad.  And he encourages parents to teach from the scriptures examples of being a good person, not only doing good things.  If we focus our energies on helping them become good people, they will be motivated to always do good things.  "Our children are God's children.  That is their true identity and potential."  So Shaun and I hope to work on teaching Christlike characteristics through the scriptures, and also by our own personal examples.  It's my hope that as we move into this Christmas season, that we can have the Spirit here in our home more, and that the spirit of contention can decrease.  I'm not saying it's always contentious here, but it's more so than I would like.

I love my family.  I love both of my girls and my dear husband, and I pray to be the mother and wife that the Lord would have me be to them.

 My girls can have these really sweet moments together.  This was this morning at breakfast.  They were just chummy, and then they wanted me to take their picture.  So stinkin' cute.

 My Amelia is a cuddle bug.  She let me curl her hair this morning for church.  This was a first so I had to get a photo.  She has the most beautiful hair (in my unbiased opinion of course)

 With her daddy before church.

My beautiful, spirited Ella on her favorite horse before church.  She only would pose for me on her horse, but I'll take it if I can get her to smile pretty like this.

Gobble Time

We've been enjoying a lovely and relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends.

This year, after much debate, we decided to spend Thanksgiving with Shaun's uncle Kerry and Aunt Pixie who live about fifty minutes from here.   We were torn because we also had an invitation to spend the holiday with my Aunt Liz, and my parents went there.  But after weighing the pros and cons of a five hour drive with our children, and the logistics of when we'd get there and how long we'd stay, we felt it may be best to just stay local this year.  We love his uncle, we love my aunt, but ultimately practicality won out in this decision making venture.

 The girls Thanksgiving morning on their new horse, Spirit.  Ella has named him.  Papa bought it for them at the consignment store, and it has been prominently placed right in the middle of my living room ever since.  Thanks Papa.  It has caused a little strife I will admit, but ultimately the girls have really enjoyed having it.  Ella absolutely LOVES it.  Even though she's still asking Santa for a "real horse," I think it might suffice for the time being... as in... until she reaches adulthood:)

 The girls at uncle Kerry's coloring and waiting for time to eat.

 The other fun part to staying here was that we were able to have a family friend come and join us for Thanksgiving.  Emilee is a friend of my sister's actually, but she is out here for an internship, and was by herself.  It was great to get to include her in our holiday, and she was a great sport for having never met any of the Calderwoods.  We hope to spend more time with her before she heads home to Las Vegas for Christmas.  She was a sweetheart!

 The thing I'm most thankful for, my lovely family!  Even if Ella is a ham in this photo.  I just love and adore my husband and my girls.

 Emilee with us.

 Then yesterday we decided to take the girls to the movies.  Amelia's first movie in the theater, unless you count the one time she was three months old.  

The girls enjoyed some games before the movie.  Riding the motorcycle in the arcade.  Girls after their dad's heart.

 Amelia did a pretty good job I have to say.  It's a good thing we bought plenty of food.  I think Amelia ate her way through the whole movie.  It kept her entertained, though she may have a had a little tummy ache after.  Sooo much popcorn!  Let's just say no one wanted dinner after all that junk food.  I suppose every once in a while it's okay to skip dinner in favor of treats, just every once in a while.

Ella was perfect.  She loves going to the "movie vador" as she calls it.  She's seen more movies at the theater than me, this one making four trips for her total.  We saw, "The Guardians," a cute holiday film.  Elle seemed to really love it, as did the rest of us!

So it's been a lovely kick off to our holiday season.  We're excited to start decorating for the holidays, and next weekend we'll probably pick up our tree and go to see the temple lights.  I am so grateful to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends this holiday season.  More to come from the Calderwoods later.  For now, we are content in saying we are grateful for some time off of work to really enjoy being together with just our little family.