Christmas 2013

Santa came! Even though he had to wait until 9:15 on Christmas Eve for the two year old to fall asleep! Our kids always sleep in our room on Christmas Eve and I guess the excitement of that was just too much for such a little guy.

 Daddy had a hard time getting up to see what Santa brought so Jonas was trying to help him along.

 Checking out their loot.

 Jonas was hilarious opening his stocking. Once the other two were almost all done we realized Jonas kept getting out the things that were on top and then putting them back in his stocking so he hadn't gotten very far!

 Saydi and Weston have had t-shirt capes for a couple years and Jonas finally got his very own. They all got masks to go with their capes too.

 She's saying, "This is what I wanted!" =)

 "Dart guns?!"

 The mess was much more mild this year because the kids threw things away as they went. I love the mess on Christmas morning.

 Emmett was asleep during the opening of presents but when he woke up all three of the kids ran and got his presents (which we had let them open) and were showing him everything he got. Most babies wouldn't love having three kids in their face but Emmett just smiled away. Such a good baby.

We spent the rest of our day sliding down the stairs in the sleeping bags the kids got, playing, and watching daddy's Christmas movie - Man of Steel - and then had a big, yummy dinner. It was such a nice day. 

Now we are excited to welcome in a new year. This one has had a few bumps. Mark started the year out with a surgery and also has dealt with ulcers and headaches this year which is kind of a big deal for our most healthy member of our family!  We've also had challenges with his work and change in pay and such. But we've also been incredibly blessed. Adding Emmett to our family has been one of the best things to ever happen to us and our kids. He brings a calming spirit to the whole home. My kids have all continued to grow into respectful, obedient, fun, amazing people. And they are all super healthy which I could not be more thankful for. Our Christmas this year was made possible by amazing family members who listened to promptings from the Spirit and helped us to feel the Christmas spirit. We are being watched over and provided for and we are so thankful to go into 2014 knowing that and knowing that things are moving up from here. We are truly grateful and truly blessed!

Holiday Fun

I have so many great pictures of our Christmas morning I want to post. But before I do I have just as much (or more) from the fun times we've been having leading up to Christmas. They are in reverse order and I'm too lazy to change them so enjoy backwards. =)

They saw Santa at Mark's work party. Love this picture of my kiddos. So cute!

Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's. Listening to Aunt Amy read a story about Santa.

Playing the cookie game. I have never done it and got mine in my mouth in about ten seconds. I was pretty proud of myself. Ha!

Some hilarious pictures came from playing this game. Super fun!

The kids built snowmen. 

 Opening pajamas with grandma and grandpa. A tradition we love.

 Almost all the grand kids. Minus Maylee and Sarah's girls. Cute kids!

 Christmas Sunday. The best we could do for a picture before church. =)

 We LOVE the sister missionaries. Sister Dearden and Sister Halbison are awesome. They are dying to hold Emmett and it's against the mission rules so this is as close and they could come with out breaking the rules at our ward party. They crack me up.

 Asking Santa for a blasted Elf on the Shelf. We might have an alternative solution for next year. I just can't get on board with that stupid Elf.

 We made Christmas tree crowns.

 And can you believe this cuteness? Jonas LOVES baby Emmett. He is an awesome older brother and is always loving on Emmett and giving him random kisses for no reason.

 A milk-drunk baby Santa.

 My sister, Miss, and her husband went to Texas the beginning of the month and we had these cute kids for three days. We loved it and had so much fun!

 Emmett has started giggling and it is adorable. He is the happiest baby I've ever seen and people always tell me the same thing. So content and easy going. We adore him for lots of reasons but this is a big one!

 Picnics under the Christmas tree!

So, you can see we had a lot of fun gearing up for the actual day and it has not disappointed. I will post those pictures soon. We have worked really hard to focus on Christ this season and remember the real reason for Christmas. It has been a great end to a year that has been a little rocky. We are very blessed!

Weston's 6th Birthday

I can't believe my baby is six years old now! His birthday was on the 10th and we had a great day. I always look forward to his birthday because we have some really fun traditions, like looking at Christmas lights, that make the day fun for everyone.

 Cousin Ty let Weston have all of his Transformers (two boxes worth!) and Weston has absolutely loved them. Such a great cousin!

 Weston has developed quite the obsession with Batman and loved this Batmobile we got him. Even though he saw it for the first time when he opened it he said, "I've wanted this my whole life!" So cute.

 This is the best picture I got of him blowing out his candles because Jonas got in the way at the last minute. =) He really wanted to help now that he knows what birthdays are all about!

Here are some things about Weston at age six:

He loves all things boy. Guns, superheroes, sports, etc.

He is a smart guy and knows all his alphabet sounds perfectly and is even reading a little.

He loves school.

He has so many friends and is friendly to everyone he meets.

He loves breakfast foods like pancakes, waffles, and french toast.

He still carries around his blanket that he has loved since he was 14 months old. We tried to convince him to leave it for Santa this year and have Santa replace it with a newer, nicer blankie but he's not having it. =)

I love hearing his prayers. He prays almost every time that we will live with Jesus again some day, learn more about the gospel, be nice to Jesus, and use our strengths. He really puts thought into his prayers and doesn't take praying lightly.

He is still an amazing big brother. He is so helpful and amazing with all of his siblings.

He is really responsible and takes care of our chickens (except now that it is cold daddy has to do most of it) and does dishes with Saydi every day. Despite being so responsible he makes the biggest mess at the dinner table at every meal time. Go figure. =)

He loves to color and draw. Especially with marker.

We love this little man so much and to say we are blessed to have him in our family is a gross understatement. He has a work to do on this earth and we are excited to watch him and help him accomplish it!