German Cookies

There is a tradition from Adam's side of the family (his mother's side, to be exact) to make German cookies each Christmas time. The whole clan loves them, they just eat 'em up. This year Nate was old enough to help roll them out, which he just loved. He really enjoyed putting flour on his hands so he could roll them into balls--he kept saying "It tickles me!"
As a side note, I have heard that one must learn to like these cookies. They look kind of like gingerbread cookies, but they taste like black licorice. Strong black licorice. I just haven't decided I like them well enough in relation to the calories. I'll stick to the other things that widen my rear at Christmas time, like the things I love--candy and chocolate! haha

Holiday Fun!

Ward Christmas Party, on Santa's Knee

Adam's Grandparents at the Ward Christmas Party

Decorating the Disney Gingerbread House

(Adam and I won it at a White Elephant Party)

Mmmmm.....making brownies

Well, this Christmas has been so different from any other....although we're recovering from a move, it's the first time we haven't had to travel anywhere for Christmas, which has made it a lot less stressful. We've really been enjoying the laid-back preparations, including all the parties and the cooking of good food! We've made soft caramels that my mom usually makes every year, and brownies, and Apple Annie's famous dip, and the list goes on and on! We've got a lot more to do, too..... :) But I'm happy to have something to look forward to. Christmas is always so special!

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

Nate and his cousin Sydney
Playing train with the storage boxes
Sydney, Rachael, and Paul (Adam's brother)
Angela (my sister) and Becky (my mom)
Jeff (my brother), Mike (my dad) and Ali (my sister)

Okay, so this is old news, but I thought I'd post some pictures anyways. We were fortunate to have members of both sides of our families visit us the weekend after Thanksgiving, on the same day! So we went to get some Kansas City BBQ (a MUST if my dad is in town) at Arthur Bryant's. It was finger-lickin' good.

Then, on Sunday, we had a Thanksgiving dinner with two families from our ward in Kansas City that we just love (the Dewsburys and the Taylors). It was a delicious dinner! What a great weekend.

Some Recent Photos

Nate and Grandma's Snowman.....Grandma did most of the work, but Nate made sure he had a great hat! Nate kept saying that he wanted to make a snowman that "looks like me, a boy one like me." That made me laugh. No girl snowpeople allowed!

Our Christmas Tree, all dressed up

Putting the Star on the Christmas Tree

Nate's Christmas Tree, complete with chili-pepper lights.

Long-Awaited Update

Mount Rushmore

So, we've made it to Calgary. We spent four days in the U-Haul, and by the end we were all ready to kill each other! No, just kidding, but we were certainly ready for a long winter's nap. Adam did all the driving, and I was in charge of changing the DVD for Nate and keeping him happy with all the tricks I could think up. Have you ever restrained a three-year-old for four days straight? They become like a caged animal and you hardly dare let them out, because you know they won't get back into their seat! Oh well, we made it. On the way, we saw Mount Rushmore and that was really great. Neither Adam and I had really seen it (I visited when I was a little kid, but it was too dark to see it by the time we arrived). Nate was fascinated by the "men on the rock." We didn't stay long because it was so cold and the wind was terrible! But it was nice to take a detour and actually SEE something! We had absolutely incredible weather, the whole trip was snow-less (just really cold).

So now we're getting ready for Christmas. I cannot believe how fast it has approached! Before we know it, it will be here and gone. We set up our trees (one upstairs and one downstairs) and it is much more festive around here. Isn't a Christmas tree magical?!? I just wonder what Santa will bring me this year....a permanent home? Ah, a girl can dream. I know one thing I'm getting, because I bought it---a new pair of jammies. Does anyone else have that tradition of opening jammies Christmas Eve? I thought I'd start that this year, and thus I am sure of only one thing: I'll have new pajamas.

Everyone wants to know: What is it like living with the in-laws? Well, I don't recommend it. I actually think we have it easier than anyone that's ever done it before. But that doesn't mean it's easy! It's so strange to have a couple rooms to call our own and it's really difficult to feel that every move is seen by other people...we are just not used to it yet. But hopefully we won't have to get too comfortable, because maybe soon we'll have our own place! We'll see. The market here has resembled California-like prices (half-million-dollar dumps that cost $150,000 three years ago) so I don't think we'll be able to afford anything. I just keep praying that someone will really want to sell their house for less than half of what it's worth and then we can buy a home!

Okay, so this is a boring blog entry. I'm trying to think of things to say other than: "I wish I wasn't in Canada" or "I really miss my old life" or even "I wish I was with my own family for the holidays." Instead, I bite my lip and murmur, "Merry Christmas to all! Life is beautiful!" I'm just drawing from my limited acting experience, where I learned to portray a different emotion than my real-life self was feeling!! hahaha

That is the secret to life, though, isn't it --- to learn to count blessings instead of sorrows. I'm still learning, I guess.

Nate

Well, I finally took some time to take pictures of my own child, rather than everyone else's! So, here he is in all his three-year-old splendor.....NATE! Oh, and a couple of the two of us, because I know someday he won't want to smile for the camera OR take pictures with his mommy. Gotta take advantage while I can!

Almost Ten Days!

It's almost been ten days since I posted something to this blog. So sorry for those of you that check with us regularly! Things have been crazy busy, and it's been at least that long since I took a picture of Nate (I've been so busy taking pictures of other people's kids! haha) So anyways, Nate has his own photo shoot tomorrow and I'll have more pictures to post after that.
In the meantime, here are some words, not pictures: In eight days, Adam finally comes home! He's been living in Canada for six weeks and both Nate and I are so excited for him to come home. We will then be packing up and moving to Calgary. I'm still in denial I guess, because it isn't real yet. There is a lot of packing to do, but I'm having the hardest time getting motivated to do it! I've started packing a bit, but certainly am not where I should be. Oh well.
I hope everyone who reads this is going to have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday...what a great time to think about the incredible blessings we all enjoy. Check back in a couple days and I'll have better posts, I promise!

Good Morning Sunshine

For all of you who ever thought Nate's hair never looks good....THIS is what I have to deal with each morning! So next time you see him, just know that I'm doing the best that I can! haha

Another Great Field Trip

Yesterday Nate was able to go and tour the fire station! We were a bit late (it took me thirty minutes to realize where it was...oh well) but luckily all we missed was talking...we didn't miss the firefighter putting on his gear, or the tour of the fire trucks, or the flashing lights! (All the things a boy cares about anyway, right?) Nate really loved the part where he got to get onto the fire truck and pretend to ride to an emergency. Of course, it reminded me that we need a FHE lesson on fire safety! :) At the end, he got a great fireman (fire person?) hat!

Making Pizzas

The boys are ready to eat!
The gals....
Adding the sauce...
Final product, ready to be cooked!

Enjoying the finished pizza! Yum!

Nate went with his preschool group to learn about making pizzas. After a brief tour of the pizza place, he was able to make a pizza of his very own! And his favorite part of the whole experience? The soda machine! haha

Fall Favorite

The bumpy pumpkin Nate says looks like me....

Nate and Jeremy running through the pumpkin patch
Looking at the three little pigs in their houses made of

straw, sticks, and bricks

Cute kid, ugly pumpkin! But he loves it!
Bryce, Nate, Jeremy on the tractor ride
The boys at the mouth of the corn maze
Trying to roll the huge pumpkins! Believe it or not, he actually moved it a good distance!

Playing the duckie races--you race the ducks by pumping water into the track...so cute!

Reese, Jeremy, and Nate on the train

One of my favorite things to do in the fall is go to the pumpkin patch! We went with Nate's buddies Reese, Bryce and Jeremy and their mommies. The boys picked out their pumpkins from the patch (we took a tractor limo to get there) and Nate picked two of the ugliest pumpkins I've ever seen, which made me so happy--he loves things that aren't perfect! That is awesome to me. In fact, I'd say that the pumpkins are artsy, so maybe we have a creative little man. Who knows. But he did say that the bigger, really bumpy one looked like me. I'm not even sure what to think about that, oh well.
So, here are some pics of our adventure. Enjoy! :)

Halloween Pictures

Yay for Halloween!

I just love Halloween. This year was so much fun because Nate could finally trick-or-treat! Last year we'd just moved to Kansas City (I think we'd been here two or three days) and so we didn't know which areas were safe to take Nate out. This year we met all our friends and had pizza dinner before trick-or-treat-ing. It was pretty cold, and so we didn't last too long, but what fun anyways. My favorite part of it all was making my own costume to match Nate's. He was the race car Lightning McQueen and I was a part of the pit crew. It was totally appropriate, since I ended up carrying his car costume most of the way!!! What a fun night. And we have enough candy to last us until at least next year!!!

Surprise Cruise

Some of you know that my dad got a new job. In Cleveland, Ohio. He'll be moving there this weekend and the rest of the family will move next Spring after the kids are done with school. So, my dad had a few weeks between jobs and decided that it would be a great time for a family vacation. Essentially, my parents called me on Tuesday and mentioned that they were looking into taking the family on a cruise. I honestly didn't think anything would come of it, but the next day they let me know they'd booked a last-minute cruise that would be leaving SATURDAY! So we rushed to get to Texas and we had the most wonderful time on our cruise to Cozumel and Progreso. It was so great to have everyone together (everyone except Adam, he wasn't able to be there). Nate loved being with his aunts and uncles and of course, cousin Eli. We enjoyed great food and warm sun...it was divine!

I know we're spoiled! My parents are so good to us. They could've gone by themselves, but instead were gracious enough to take all of us. What a great way to escape from our reality (which has hit me hard since we got back this weekend!)

Anyways, enjoy some pics of our trip. Thanks for checking in with us!

Spoiled Rotten!

Mommy and Nate in our jammies...
Enjoying the cruise!
Grandpa Busath and Nate at dinner
Angela, Eli, Nate, Jeff
Our first few moments on the ship, in Galveston