Pixie Presents!

 It's Christmas EVE!!

 

Tonight we had a delicious dinner with many friends.  

Thank you to this beautiful woman for hosting and for her delicious  
                                                                            homemade egg nog with fresh nutmeg :)

We also we were able to act out the nativity.... 

When we got home we changed into PJ's and opened our "Pixie" presents.  In my family we have 8 children so every year we draw names and then buy a present for that sibling & family.  This year my sister Joanna had us and they gave us AWESOME presents. 

 
 (It looks like I have a big arm in this picture- I do love my Brad!)

 (This is BEAUTIFUL!! I love it Jo- B thought it was 3 sisters, but then I pointed out Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.)

On Brad's side of the family they rotate siblings and so this year his brother Andy had us.  He MADE this Mancala set and gave us a bunch of DVD's and a cookbook.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

Reason #785 Why we love living here: Santa on the firetruck! + snow + German Dinner

 Here's a very blurry picture of a fireman giving kids the candy canes:

* It snowed on Friday night and the kids had a lot of fun in the snow.  Here is a cute Kate:

* Last night (Sunday) we had 2 wonderful people over for a German dinner:

 

Thank you for coming ! 

Also Jane's friend was baptized last night and here they are:

 

Teacher Gifts Dec.2012

Today everyone had their class parties. 

I went to Kate's at 11:30, Bruce's at noon, and Jane's at 1:00 .

 I told my sister I would post the cute gifts the classes gave to Bruce's teacher:

 

and Jane's teacher:

 

Kate's teacher got a $100 spa certificate and $125 local greenhouse certificate. 

 

 These cute guys came with us to Kate's classroom too:

Pretty great! 

We also made these cute clipboards for the P.E, Art, Music, Library, and Gifted/Talented teachers. 

 

 * Bonus picture of Jane and her friend at archery.  She loves it and is getting better..

 Also- our ward did a "Sub for Santa" for 3 other wards and it's amazing how many presents were collected.  Everyone is so generous- I love them!

Packages!!!

'"Tis the season for mailing packages"

and we love getting them too :) 

We got 1 package from Grandma Damstedt with these cute ornaments:

(Bruce got a fish too, but wasn't feeling great so he was laying down.)  

This came from Grandma Miller: 

 SO CUTE!!!- it's all made out of felt.

 On Friday B turned 33!  

"Douglas the Elf" looked like this. B loves his Skittles..

 We ate Banana Cream Pie and James thought it would be so funny to get cream everywhere.

 Here's what our tree looked like yesterday..

Plus a couple cuties under the tree!
( THANK YOU to Hiromi and Kim for the fun presents they sent back with B and thank you cousins for the wonderful cards :) We're so excited to see you soon!

12-12-12

"We need to Party- it's 12/12/12 today,"  Jane told me this morning.  We'll party tonight :)

I wanted to share what we did last night.  Jane's girl scout troop went caroling at a nursing home nearby and it was really fun.  

Jane got to play her violin too. 

Kate also got to join in the singing and enjoyed passing out cookies at the end. 

On Monday Bruce had our lesson for Family Night.  He showed a picture of our family and said that he was happy we can be together forever.  I was proud of him.  It was a beautiful lesson.  We also watched the Luke 2 video.  

Only 13 more days until Christmas! 

*I need to post a picture of the ornaments we got from Grandma Damstedt- next time...

"Joyous to the Soul"

Last night we had our annual Relief Society dinner. It was beautiful.  The theme was "Joyous to the Soul" taken from Lehi's Dream and the fruit.  We focused on 3 trees. 

1. The Christmas Tree

2. The Olive Tree

3. The Tree of Life

There were also a few beautiful musical numbers.
We ate delicious soup, salad, rolls, and New York Cheesecake for dessert.  It was awesome!

THANK YOU Alison for all the many many hours you put into everything.

 I was so enamored by everything that I forgot to take any pictures.  I quickly got this one above just as we were leaving.

Breakfast with Santa

Yesterday morning we went to B's work and had Breakfast with Santa!

He always arrives in a firetruck and we always get there right as he comes. 

 This year we even got to wait for the elevator with him.

  Kate got her face painted:

 James got a "doggie"

 and Jane decorated a cookie:

 It was a really great breakfast! 

In the afternoon I drove to Erie with 2 beautiful friends to visit another beautiful friend.  We went to lunch and then spent a few hours in "Charming Charlies."  LOTS of cute things were found by all.  It was a very very fun day! 

Last Friday was Jane's last day of SAFETY PATROL.  Every morning before school she would take her place in the hallway and tell people to not run & be safe.  Then she did it again after school was over.  She started soon after school began and did it for 3 months. Great work Jane!

 * BONUS: We built a wood block tower as tall as James... so proud :)

Thanksgiving 2012

We are glad for many thing, many things, many things....

Like feasts at School:



Friends who come to visit: (Thank you Davies Family- we LOVE you!)
















Running Turkey Trots:


Delicious Food!

Yum! 

Thank you Callan Family for dessert!

 Movie Nights: 

Home Depot Gingerbread Houses: 


 SHOPPING!! and hikes :)
 After our friends left for their home Jane commented, "I'm not sure which is harder.  When you are the guest you have to drive all the way back home.  When you are the host you have to try to get used to not having your friends here anymore." We miss you!

And yesterday we got our 1st dusting of snow- it's all gone now, but it made the kids excited!