I love you Aunt Kathy!!

I haven't been the best blogger lately, but I have a good excuse. One of my best friends, my Aunt Kathy, was diagnosed with cervical, uterus, lymph node, brain cancer and isn't doing very well. All of a sudden things that seemed worth blogging about haven't seemed too important and I have been preoccupied thinking about her and helping her when I can, since she is living in Orem, Utah.

Due to a tragic brain aneurysm her first husband of 4 months passed a way when she was only 2 months pregnant. She lived in California, a little less than an hour away from us when we were growing up and she was raising her son. She loved us like her own children and my mom babysat her son, Tyler quite a bit. Needless to say, my siblings and I have a very close relationship with our Aunt Kathy. She is such a fun and outgoing person. She is very friendly and makes everyone feel welcome. She is very positive, and a great leader. And she is a spiritual giant. I love her so much and can't bear to see her going through such a hard time.

Ever since she started her Chemo treatments a few weeks ago, things have just been going down hill, and she has been in so much pain. After various trips to the hospital, etc., etc., she and her family (she remarried 6 years ago) have decided to stop chemo treatment and to go home with hospice care, and try to be as comfortable as possible. The doctors say she has a few days to about a month to live, so it's been difficult for all involved, but I can't help to think that miracles happen. If the Lord wants her to get well and live, she will, if not, he has another plan for her, and she will be dearly missed. It is a comfort to know about the Plan of Salvation and Eternal Families, especially during times like these. So, please offer a prayer, or many, for my sweet aunt and all that are involved in this difficult situation.

And the winners for "Pay it Forward" are . . .

Jenna Steed, Joanna Salmon, and Kathryn Osmond!
I am not sure what I am making yet, but I will figure it out soon, and hopefully get it to you before 365 days have passed! Don't forget to do the same thing on your blog and send homemade gifts to the first three people to leave comments. :)

Pay it Forward . . .

The Rules

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Good thing there is glass between them . . .

I was planning on posting a few funny videos from 2008 that I never posted in the past, but I am having problems with them uploading! Here is one, maybe I can get the others up later . . . we'll see! I don't know what's funnier in this video, what you can see, or what you can hear from me yelling! :)

Christmas Festivities . . .

Zoo Lights:

A couple weeks before Christmas we went to the Hogle Zoo to see the zoo lights with Craig's family. We figured, why not, we have season passes. Well, come to find out, the season passes didn't work for zoo lights. What?! We still went, because we were there, and the kids were looking forward to it. The lights were really good . . . lots of animal lights, but it was really cold!

Family Christmas Parties:

Craig's mom's side (Clegg) of the family has a family Christmas party every year where they act out the nativity, and have family members in the orchestra for it. We also have a dinner and gift exchange.

Ambree was an angel, Cade was a Shepherd, and Craig was a wise man. I didn't have a part this year, so I was the photographer, and part of the choir.

I think Ambree stole the show with her "singing" with the angels. It was pretty funny! Not to mention the fact that one of the wise men's gifts to baby Jesus was a bunch of necklaces in a little chest. She decided that they were hers, and took them on and off during the whole nativity. At one point she got them all tangled with her pig tails and halo. LOL.

Christmas lights at Temple Square:

We took the kids on the "train" down to temple square. They thought the train was pretty cool, but they seemed more interested in playing in the snow than looking at the lights!

Christmas Eve:

For Christmas Eve, we have a tradition of opening two gifts . . . pajamas and a book. They got matching girl/boy versions of gingerbread pajamas and Cade got a Toy Story Christmas book and Ambree got a Dora Christmas book. They both loved their gifts!
So excited for Santa to come!

After opening presents, we had dinner and hot chocolate for dessert. We then put out cookies for Santa, talked about the true meaning of Christmas, read their new stories and went to bed. . . the kids at least . . . we were up a little later. ;)

On Christmas morning we woke up to a very white and snowy Christmas! It was snowy all day! Above is a picture of our big window, covered in snow! Below is a picture from the next evening after all the snow.

The kids waiting patiently on the stairs to see if Santa left any presents for them!

Looks like he did . . .

The kids seem pretty excited about the things that Santa left!

This was our first Christmas with just the four of us. It is nice to do a big, noisy Christmas with a lot of relatives, but it was also nice to just spend a relaxing evening and morning with our little family.

Tis the season for . . .

Lots of time with family and new Christmas clothes!

for cute hair styles and Christmas bows!

Tis the season for lots of yummy food!

It may be fattening, but it puts you in the holiday mood!

Choc. mice: Dip maraschino cherries with stems for tails in dipping chocolate, attach Hershey kiss for face and peanut halves for ears. When it is all dry, use frosting gel (in little tube) for the eyes and nose! Too cute to eat! :)
A healthy Christmas appetizer: Cut whole wheat pita bread like a pizza, to make triangle shapes. Add pretzel to bottom for the stem, guacamole and diced red pepper for the tree and ornaments. Yummy!
I really like eggnog, but it is so fattening and a little too thick. A came across this this season, and I love it! They make a version that is just eggnog, without pumpkin, which is really good too!

Tis the season for the weather to be cold!

and for stories to be told . . .

about all the ornaments hanging on the tree!

Tis the season for sitting on Santa's knee!Tis the season for Christmas decorations all around!

And for family traditions to be found!

But most importantly, tis the season for remembering Jesus.

His birth . . .

His life . . . and all that he teaches!

Merry CHRIST-mas!!

coupon search!

OK, this is random, but I have been trying to get into couponing. It's been going pretty well, but my 10 weeks of getting 4 Sunday papers at a time is almost up and the amount I have to pay is going up as well! I am having a hard time figuring out if the amount of the papers is more or less than what I am saving by couponing, not to mention the time it takes! Anyway, I am just wondering if any of you know a way to get a good rate on a newspaper. Right now they want $2.30 per week per paper, which isn't bad if you only get one paper, but when you get four, it adds up! I have heard that some people get one paper for $1.00. Anyway, just wondering if there are any tricks that I don't know about. Also, if you live by me and get the Sunday paper, but don't use the coupons, maybe I could just buy the coupons from you for $1.00. Just let me know! Thanks!