January Events

It's always nice to have a calm January after a busy December.  The big kids headed back to school on January 2.  Lincoln and Annika started preschool on January 4th.  They go twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Are they really big enough for preschool?!?  I thought they might cry or not want me to leave the first few days of school, but they have done so well.  There has never been an issue with me leaving and they love school and their teachers.  Their class has 10 kids in it--8 girls and 2 boys.  They ask to go to school just about every day.  

First day of school and all smiles!

We have gotten a little snow lately so one day Joseph took the kids sledding.  They had a fun time and were gone longer than I expected.  It helped that the day they went was above freezing so it wasn't too cold for them.  Speaking of snow, as of February 2 our snow total for the year is 84.6 inches.  We are well on our way to exceeding our average of 123.8 inches because February is usually our big snow month and it isn't too unusual to have a big snow fall the first few weeks of March. 

Our little artist had a picture in the School district art exhibit this week.  The exhibit was at night in downtown Syracuse so Joseph took Rebecah while I stayed home with the other kids.  I just didn't think the mansion where the exhibit was would work with 3 little kids.  

The little ones have taken more of an interest in coloring.  I love to watch them.

We honored Grandpa Johnson by eating his favorite cake on the 19 anniversary of his death.

Looking at books.  They love to look at books.  I just don't love them 

pulling every single picture book off the shelf!

Edie is such a fun girl and her personality is really developing.  She is now standing on her own and I have a feeling she will be walking soon.  

Here she is helping to bake and wash dishes.

With her favorite "guy".  She loves this colorful chameleon and she is becoming very attached to it.

Rebecah's Birthday and Baptism

Rebecah turned 8 on January 7th.  It was a big day for her since she was baptized on her birthday.   Since her birthday was on Fast Sunday and she was going to start fasting we decided to have her birthday breakfast a day early and then things just evolved and we celebrated a day early. 

For the 5th year in a row Rebecah chose to have cheese danish for breakfast.  She loves it!

Rebecah decided that since it was her birthday she would spend the day in her pajamas.  We almost always get dressed every day so a pajama day was a big deal for her.  Since Rebecah was in her pajamas Lincoln and Annika followed suit.

For her birthday treat Rebecah wanted "dirt" with plenty of gummy worms.  In the picture above Rebecah has a fat lip.  She was playing with Lincoln and Annika and had a blanket over her head pretending.  Good brother that he is, Kimball ran into the room and tackled Rebecah and she cut the inside of her mouth.  It looked painful.

I love our Primary Leaders.  They frequently send me pictures when my kids are dancing cupcakes.  The birthday child can pick friends to dance with them while the rest of the Primary sings to them.  I thought it was sweet that Rebecah picked her siblings.  Kimball didn't want to participate so Rebecah chose a friend.

Baptism Day

Opening baptism presents...Scriptures, True to the Faith book,

 journal and a baptism scrapbook.

I learned a lot when Kimball was baptized...Kimball's baptism was a little stressful trying to get everything organized, plus we had my mom skype in for the baptismal service and I was the other speaker so it was a lot to do.  This time around I simplified and it was a wonderful service.  I organized it, but I didn't take a direct role in the program.  There were about 50 people in attendance and it made Rebecah and our family feel very loved.  

I made a variety of sweet breads for the refreshments and they were a hit.  We also had citrus punch.

The baptism service was at 6:00 in the evening.  We ate dinner at the church and the kids loved it.  It enabled us to fill the baptismal font without being rushed.  We took pictures and we were all ready for the baptism 30 minutes early.  We sure love our Rebecah and the choice she made to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She asked her piano teacher and Grandma Bev to speak at her baptism and I thought it was sweet she included these wonderful ladies.  

Christmas 2017

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  Christmas Eve was my favorite day because it felt so magical.  We only had an hour of church, Sacrament Meeting, but it was wonderful.  There was beautiful music and nice messages.  Kimball and Joseph played their respective instruments during the meeting and Rebecah was asked to share a short talk on what Jesus has given her and what she will give to Jesus.  I think we sometimes sing the Christmas hymns without really taking the time to ponder the words of the songs.  As I thought about the words as we were singing I could no longer sing.  We are so blessed to have a Savior who loves us enough to come to earth as a baby and atoned for our sins as an adult.

After church we made some deliveries to a refugee family in our area and to some single men from church.  These little acts of service were a wonderful way to start our Christmas Eve celebration after church.

Knowing the kids were very excited about Christmas with a long Sunday afternoon ahead of them we planned some special activities.

We made slime as a family.  Last year the fad was fidget spinners and this year it's slime.  I don't get it, but my kids loved making and then playing with the slime.  

The second family activity that we enjoyed was decorating gingerbread houses.  It was so much fun!!  We don't decorate gingerbread houses every year, but I think we might make it a tradition because it was a lot more enjoyable than carving pumpkins at Halloween time.  We bought a kit with four little houses which was perfect so the kids could each decorate one.  I figured the kit was the way to go so I didn't have to spend a lot of money buying bags of candy for the houses when we only need a small amount from each bag of candy.  Lincoln didn't want to decorate his house so he let me do it.  Next year when we decorate I'll have to use the tips I learned from Mary Barry from the Great British Bake Off so our houses look even better!

Rebecah's house.

The finished village.

We also read some stories.

In the evening we had our traditional dinner with cheese, crackers, meats, and fruits and veggies.  It's such a yummy meal.  We had the sister missionaries over to celebrate with us.  We acted out the Nativity as we read the Christmas story from the Bible.  Rebecah was very disappointed this year because I told her it was Annika's turn to be Mary.  

Our cute little Mary who insisted on dressing in Egyptian costume.

Kimball wanted to be the donkey this year!

Please note we had a lion and bear as part of our Nativity this year.  

I know it's only food, but I love having a variety of treats during the month of December.  I know I could make these treats all year long, but I keep them special and make them only at Christmas time.

Christmas morning we got up around 7:00.  Edie was sick so we didn't wake her up.  She ended up sleeping 13 1/2 hours and didn't care about Christmas at all.  I think she happily let Lincoln open her presents. 

I didn't take many pictures opening presents.  Taking pictures tends to get forgotten about in the excitement, but I did get one picture of each of the 4 oldest with a present that they were excited about.

Christmas dinner was simple but colorful.  (Colorful meals make me happy!)  I didn't want a lot of extra work in the kitchen and no one seemed to mind that it was simple.

December Events

The end of December and the beginning of January have been so wonderfully busy!  We had a great month celebrating the birth of our Savior during the weeks leading up to Christmas.  Here are some of the highlights from our month:

This sweet lass is now 14 months old.  She is crawling, cruising and sweet as can be.  This month she became very aware of strangers and anyone who isn't family.  Separation anxiety usually started with our other kids much earlier, but it's now a real thing for Edie.

We had our first snow fall.  School was delayed 2 hours one day and canceled another day. The kids love the snow.  The first day Annika only lasted about 5 minutes, but the other times she stayed out longer.  Lincoln loves to be out in the snow and it takes a lot for him to decide he is "done".

Fun around the Carrom board.

Edie and all of the "guys". 

Shepherd Lincoln with his favorite blanket.  Sadly, I had to take it away again because he was sucking on it more than ever.  

I love this drift wood nativity.  We went to an Interfaith Nativity display and it was wonderful!  I loved all of the nativities and it really helped me feel the Spirit of Christmas.

Snuggling.

 

We made all sorts of Christmas treats this month.  The little ones were always eager to help.  I made my Grandpa's peanut brittle recipe for the first time.  It turned out so well.  I will definitely make it every year we loved it so much.  I took some to Grandma Bev and she and her daughter loved it too.  I ended up making a batch just for them.  I think I made 3 batches of peanut brittle within 3 weeks.  

We found out that our dear Grandma Bev has colon cancer.  She is still meeting with doctors and doesn't know the prognosis yet.  I hope she still has many years to be a loving influence for my kids.

I just love how she is content with the simplest things.  She really warms my heart.

With the first snow fall came the first snow fort!  Joseph tweaks his building technique every year and this year he developed a good system.  He spends hours outside working on his creations.

If you look closely you can see "Coffey" on the door frame.

The kids had holiday concerts and recitals this month.  Rebecah had her first piano recital and played "The First Noel" and "Angels We Have Heard on High".  She did very well.  She is so diligent in her practicing.  She was a little nervous, but also very excited.  

Kimball had a holiday orchestra concert at school.  We took video, but forgot to take a picture.  Oops.  The concert was much better than I was expecting and the little ones sat there quietly which helped, too.  Kimball played his cello along with 2 other cellists and Joseph on the violin during our church service on Christmas Eve.  

With the snow comes ski season.  Joseph bought a season pass months ago when it was half price and has already gone multiple times.  

On December 23rd we went as a family to the Joseph Smith Farm in Palmyra, NY to honor and celebrate Joseph Smith's birthday.  It started off raining, but as we walked from the Visitor's Center to the Log Cabin it started snowing.  It was beautiful and truly a wonderful experience.  As we talked with the missionaries in the log cabin I really felt the spirit and Kimball later admitted that he did, too.

Outside the Joseph Smith Log Cabin.