Christmas 2009

Sweet Samantha

The kids were in charge of the decorating this year.

Kathleen's choir concert. This is the only good picture I got!

Opening PJ's on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Morning.

Grandpa and Sadie

Josh and his new ball and glove.

Joseph and Joshua trying on their new shirts from Grandma Sherril. We all got one!

Makala and Samantha

Kathleen and Samantha

Elizabeth and Makala

Joseph, Tony, Jaynie, Kathleen

Elizabeth, Rick, Christopher, Danny

Joshua

Josh and Joe

Christmas Dinner

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, starting with the girls' concerts and ending with a great dinner with our family.

Makala's band and choir concerts were outstanding and Kathleen's choir concert was fabulous. The only picture I got was of Kathleen during the first part of hers. I was able to go caroling with my cub scouts one night, and the kids and I delivered some goodies to friends one night, (while Daddy stayed home with baby Samantha.) Kathleen got to spend some time on Christmas Eve helping to serve lunch at a local soup kitchen, a wonderful experience for her. (And she even still managed to meet a boy. What am I going to do with her???? A nice LDS boy who was also there volunteering.)

We got a white Christmas this year when the snow started falling on Christmas Eve and left us with several inches. The kids were so excited. Tony convinced his parents that they should come over Christmas Eve and stay the night to avoid bad roads on Christmas Day, so they did, and my mom was still here. So we got to have a really nice Christmas Eve dinner and Family Home Evening, complete with singing Christmas carols around the piano. Then we opened the obligatory new pj's before going to bed. I couldn't have asked for better.

Christmas morning brought 4 kids creeping into our room at 5:30 in the morning, (yes, even Kathleen!) We made them wait until 6:00, but then got up and began our Christmas morning melee. They were all very excited and happy with their gifts. The boys were most excited to give Tony and I and his mom and dad their hand-made tie racks and shelves that they made in Cub Scouts. When Samantha woke up, she had plenty of help opening her presents and was pretty excited about the teether that vibrates when you bite on it.

Then, we moved on to our french toast and bacon breakfast, and a relaxing morning watching a movie, and napping before more family arrived for dinner. We had an early dinner, turkey and all the trimmings, with Tony's brother, Danny, and his son, Christopher, and Tony's daughter, Jaynie, and her husband and two children. Then everyone headed for home, and we had a peaceful evening. It was a wonderful Holiday.

I asked the kids to write down what Christmas means to them, and these are some of the answers that I got:

"Christmas is not about the gifts or presents or any of that kind of stuff. It is about sharing and celebrating Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. Family is the greatest gift of all." - Joseph
"On Christmas, that is when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and we can spend time with our friends and family. The candy cane represents the shepherds that saw Jesus. the gifts represent the gifts that the three kings brought Jesus." - Joshua
"At Christmas time, everyone's worried about money and gifts, they forget about what matters most: family. Christmas shouldn't be about gifts, but of Jesus' birth. Christmas time is a time when we are with family and friends, a time of sharing and most of all, giving. I love my family and this holiday season." - Makala.

We are so very thankful for all of our friends and family. We are so blessed to have the Gospel in our lives, and the blessing of our Savior's birth and life. We wish all of you every happiness and blessing in the coming year.

Another Quote of the Day

We are in the car talking about how we had gotten rid of the trampoline, and the yard is so much bigger now, and how maybe we should get a swingset for Samantha.
Mom: "It's nice not having anything in the back yard, it's nice and clean....with just the poop." (dog poop, that is)
Makala: "Oh, yeah, because poop is so much nicer than a swingset!"
Once again, mom is cracking up.

Quote of the Day

Joseph has a camo sweatshirt jacket with a hood that he has been wearing pretty much non-stop lately, with the hood up. I was giving him a hard time this morning, telling him to take off the hood, because I couldn't see him. He took it off, then put it back on.
Mom: "Joseph, take your hood down."
Joshua: "Off with your hood!"
Mom is cracking up!!

"Purse"uit of Excellence

Our Ward Young Women had their YW in Excellence Program a couple of weeks ago. The theme centered around purses. It was so cute! They even had a cake shaped like a purse for dessert. The girls all sang a beautiful song, and there were a couple of wonderful speakers. Each of the girls displayed a project that they have completed or that they're working on. It was a great evening. We are very proud of our girls. They are working so hard, and they are so busy! They can both do anything they put their minds to. I am so thankful that they have such a desire to choose the right, and stick to their standards. They are turning into such beautiful young women, inside and out. We love you girls!

We are blessed to have an awesome group of young women in our Ward. Our girls have lots of great friends. We are also very thankful for their wonderful leaders. They have no idea how important they are to us and our girls. Thank you all!

Veteran's Day

Josh Joe
Joshua and Joseph and some of the boys from their Cub Scout pack had the privilege of raising the Colors at the Ceremony held outside their school on Veteran's Day. Granny and Grandpa Williams were able to come, along with some other visitors. The Veterans in the audience were recognized and thanked for their service. The Scouts did an outstanding job.
They were asked to do it after their pack had the opportunity to post the Colors at the dedication ceremony for their new school, Clara Love Elementary. This is the first year for this school that was built in our neighborhood. They did an outstanding job that night also. We are so proud of them! Josh and Joe are Webelos now, their last year as Cub Scouts. They have had so much fun and learned so much. We are so proud of them!

Practicing before the Ceremony.

A few last-minute instructions.

Raising the Colors.

Saluting the Colors.

The scouts from Pack 352 who attend Clara Love Elementary.

More shots of raising the Colors.

It was a beautiful day.

After they raised the Colors, the combined 4th and 5th grades sang some patriotic songs. The same ones that they sang for the PTA program the night before.

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!

4th Grade Program

The fourth and fifth grades did a patriotic program for the PTA meeting the night before Veteran's Day. They sang the National Anthem and "You're a Grand Ol' Flag." They did a great job. I'm so glad that they are teaching the kids the National Anthem. I feel like it's not important enough to our kids. (and to a lot of people!) I am so thankful that we are fortunate enough to live in this wonderful country. Even with all of it's problems, it's still the greatest country on earth. I am so thankful for the men and women who have served and continue to serve to keep it that way.
God Bless America.

Don't Shoot!

Kathleen, Caleb, Megan, and Jonathan

The morning of the campout, after breakfast, was the annual "Turkey Shoot", although it really had nothing to do with turkeys. It was just a chance for all the "big boys" to bring their toys and play for awhile. And boy, did they have fun! Some of the girls even got in on the action.

Kathleen's first time shooting. She was actually a pretty good shot! SCARY!

The boys had a great time. It was fun to see them with their dad like that. We definitely need to do things like that more often.

A Camping We Will Go

We had our Ward Campout the first weekend in November. Samantha's first campout. She did great! We all had a good time. It was nice to be out with our friends. The kids had a ball, hiking and playing football, and playing capture the flag, in the dark. That idea was not without consequences. Luckily, they all made it through relatively unscathed.