Light the World - December

Cheers to trying to catch up... eight months later.  Eeek.  It has basically been 8 months since I stopped doing a weekly post and have spent sporadic moments trying to catch up.  It all began when one day I looked over and saw how bored my husband seemed on Sunday nights (you see those were the nights I always did my post) and I realized Sundays nights should be spent with him.  We agreed that Monday would become my new post night.... yeah, that didn't happen.  Well, I am going to keep trying with my new night set to a Wednesday.

This weeks post is the entire month of December so either hunker down for the long haul or feel free to peace out until I get all caught up and have shorter posts again that actually tell some meaning instead of: "In this picture we are..." :P

Like here in this picture.  I have no idea what is going on but it is in the month of December on my photos on my phone and I thought Tommy just looked to cute so I had to include it.

Tommy does like to do this weir tongue thing.  He can do things with his tongue that I have never been able to dream of doing.  Also, tongue is one of those words I never learned to spell and have to always spell check.  Tongue.  I just spell checked it again.

In this picture we are making holiday sugar cookies.  You see, this year the LDS church did a campaign called Light the World where they turned the entire month of December into an awesome advent calendar all about doing service and drawing yourself closer to Christ.  There were little videos for every day and we would watch them each morning as a family before Logan would go to work in accordance with our scripture reading.  The kids were so excited each day to press the button on the website that said you would commit to doing that form of service each day.  We kept up on them really good most of the month but once we started to travel and get closer to Christmas they ended up being forgotten.  But it was great for me because I have really felt the last few years that I have spent so much time worrying about what to get everyone that I don't spend time doing the little things that truly feel like Christmas.

This year I met my goal and was basically done Christmas shopping by the end of Black Friday weekend.  I had a few small things I picked up throughout December but it was so refreshing to not have to worry about all that!  Anyway, long story short we are making sugar cookies in the picture because one one of the first days that was what we chose to do for our service.  We took cookies to our neighbors and friends.  I always want to do sugar cookies and every time I think, "I'm never doing that ever again" because it takes FOREVER and I get so frustrated when the kids try to help by stamping the cookie cutters all over each other and pulling them off the cookie sheet and ripping them.  I always try to bake with the kids but sometimes I have learned that it is better to quit than get more upset.

We were invited to come to our old ward's Christmas party in the Redmond 3rd Ward.  We decided to make it a fun event and went early to walk around Redmond Town Center and ride the Christmas carousel.  I have a picture like this of Elsy I think for every Christmas she has ever been alive, with her riding one of those horses.  She always names all the horses "Rose" these days and this one was no exception... especially because it had a bouquet of roses on its rump.

Last year Tommy and Logan sat on a bench on the carousel and this year Tommy got to ride.  He sure seemed to like it.

The Redmond 3rd Ward Christmas Party was all out - as usual. ;)  Although I am sad I didn't take any pictures of the decorations.  We loved getting to see all our friends that we haven't seen in so long.  Throughout this post you will see Elsy slowly gets closer and closer to the Santas that we met throughout the month.  Elsy had three major things on her Christmas list this year:  A birdie, and a fan, and a dolly with a horse for the dolly to ride on.  She told that to all the Santas and all the people who would ask her.

We got our most beautifully shaped tree yet this year at the good ole Costco.  The kids were so excited and loved helping Logan set it up.  I am such a terrible wife because instead of getting the kids out of the way so they don't bother Logan I stand back and take pictures... whoops haha.  We plugged all the lights in, and they worked, before we put them on the tree but by the time they got on the tree half didn't work again.  We had a late night run to the store and had to decorate the next day.



We love to go to all the different celebrations around town for Christmas.  One of the ones that I think I would have liked a lot before I had kids is the Festival of the Nativities that they have in the Stake Center behind the Seattle temple every year.  But because I have kids it is a nerve wracking event because they want to touch all of the 500+ nativities on display (that may be an exaggeration)  But I still like to take them because I feel like there is a beautiful spirit there.  There are live performances going on with beautiful music and there are fun activities for kids to do.  For example, the photo booth above with Tommy dressed like a wise man and Elsy as an angel.  We spent a little time in the video room watching all the new and old church campaign videos for Christmas over the past few years.  I loved that part because I love all of those videos.

And of course we saw Elsy's bestie Cache while we were there.  They decided to be Mary and Joseph.  They are so cute.  I think Elsy may have a 3 year old version of a crush but I'm not sure.  Today when he left from having a play date here at our house she ran and gave him a big hug with a little bit of a shy air about her.  I am suspicious but I love how they can play so good together.

Elsy is just loving Joy School and I am having such a hard time knowing what to do with all the cute things she makes there.  I know I can't keep it all (although I have started a file for each of the kids for little keepsakes) so I decided to start taking pictures of her with some of her cute art projects.  She glued those little brown strips on and she is just always so proud of her work.  I have to be creative about how to throw away some of them though because she has found some in the garbage before and asked in shocked tones who put it there. Yiiiikes.

I took Elsy to the mall with me to pick out a coat for her.  The weather turned pretty cold in December and the big puffy coat I had found for her just didn't fit well in her snug car seat.  While we were there there was a group of about 12 harp students playing with their teacher.  Elsy begged to play one and a dad next to me offered to let her play after the concert was over.  Elsy was over the moon with happiness when the little girl showed her how to pluck the strings very gracefully and rest it just so on her shoulder.  Even now Elsy still wants to take harp lessons and insists on listening to "The Great Fairy Fountain" song from The Legend of Zelda soundtrack on repeat when she falls asleep at night because it is harps that are playing. (As I am typing I can hear it playing over and over again right now on the monitor.)

Big hugs from Daddy!  We have had a really hard time waking up in the mornings at our house because of the darkness outside these days.  But Logan always gives the kids big hugs and cuddles before he leaves for work each day.

We have been trying to visit Logan more often at his office.  The kids just love the pantry closet with all the snacks and free juice and Cheetos.  We helped Logan re-arrange his office so he could be right up against the window.

I was in charge of Joy School the week before Christmas and it just so happened to be the letter N.  We did N is for Nativity and Noel (I wanted to do Naughty and Nice too but there was only one day of school that week and not two.  So we got to act out the Nativity!  Tommy is a shepherd (dressed like Link? haha), Nora is the angel (she is Tommys age but we let her be in it too).  Elsy was Mary, Cache was Joseph, and Ella was the wise man.  We were missing little Haley.  All the parents came at the end early for pick up and they all sat there while I read the lyrics to "The Nativity Song" from the Primary Children's Songbook.  It was so cute though!

For a couple of days afterward Elsy pretended to be Mary and wore my scarf around her head and carried around the baby Jesus.  It was so sweet.

Here we are at our Klahanie Ward Christmas Party!  The theme was the Grinch and the Whos and it was so cute!  Here we see Elsy is much closer to Santa than the last picture and Tommy is too (because in the last picture he was in Logan's arms bawling instead of with Elsy) so we can see improvement in both of them. ( I love how Tommy is examining Santa in this picture)

Somehow for the third year in a row Logan ended up making a video for the ward Christmas party.  We had to laugh because somehow or another people find out he does video.  I am proud of myself because I "directed" it and told him what to cut and where.  It turned out really perfect and his hard work paid off because I felt like it really helped bring the Spirit to the party.

And of course it wouldn't be Christmas without going to Snowflake Lane at Bellevue Square.  Tommy is in the backpack on Logan's back.  We had fun but I must say I was pretty disappointed this year that they took out the "Little Drummer Boy" song and only had non-Christmas specific songs and all of the songs were just holiday festive.  In the past when they would play "The Little Drummer Boy" and the snow would start to fall it would feel so magical and I would almost get emotional.  This year there was none of that feeling and to be honest, I don't know if its worth the crowds next year. :/  That being said, the kids loved it and Tommy was a workout trying to keep him from running out into the lane over and over again.  

We cracked out an old Christmas dress I used to wear when I was little that my Grandma Merkley made for me.  We all had them for my aunt Jalene's Christmas wedding.  Elsy just loved how it twirled and twirled.  I had her wear it to church on Christmas day.

We showed up at my parents house about two days before Christmas.  We scheduled 10 days for our Christmas vacation and were excited and had all sorts of plans.  My sister Leisha invited us all over for a morning of Christmas art.  She had all sorts of paints and pastels and canvases for us to use and even had some fun water colors for the kids.

Logan's sister Holly was planning to stop by and visit us on their way to Spokane but they got stuck overnight in Baker City because of the weather.  They showed up Christmas Eve morning and it was so fun to see her family!  Ella gave Elsy the much desired and asked for fan that she wanted for Christmas.  That fan didn't leave her hand all day long that first day and she still plays with it almost daily.

I'm sad this is the only picture I seem to have of them here... Ella giving Tommy a goodbye hug.  The Hanes joined us in a breakfast at my Grandma Merkley's house before heading back to the road.

At my Grandma's house on Christmas Eve we always have all the kids dress up and act out the Nativity.  Here is Hanna, Ezra (Joseph) and Elsy (of course with her fan because it didn't leave her hand as I said).  They were so nice to let Elsy be a 'mini Mary' because she wanted to so bad.  At Grandma's house there is a waiting list to be Mary on top of the box that holds all the costumes because so many people used to fight over it.  I still remember the beloved year I was allowed to be her when it came my turn on the list.  So I thought it was very kind of Jane to let Elsy be her mini-me.

Look at all those smiling faces!... and that flapping fan.... haha

Tommy refused to participate which made me sad but I remember last year Elsy doing the same thing so there is hope for him next year I guess.  We are standing on a chair so that we can see.

Seating got tight so we all had to cuddle together for a while.

My Grandma got a knee replacement surgery while we were in town.  I am so glad that her knee is finally feeling better than before because it was hurting her so much.

Here is my Uncle Lance dressed as Santa.  He comes every year to the Christmas Eve party.  Elsy looks very comfortable now and Tommy is at least sort of on his lap.... okay he is totally escaping in this picture... oh well.

And I somehow have no pictures of the festivities at the church where my Grandpa and Grandma Volmer had their Christmas party.  This tends to be a recurring thing with us... we take a lot of video at Christmas time but not many pictures.

My favorite part of Christmas Eve is when we get back to my parents house and all dress in our new Christmas pajamas and snuggle by the light of the tree and watch Mr. Kruger's Christmas... sadly Tommy was to fussy from to much partying and I didn't get to watch the whole thing.  But it was still cozy and nice.  

On Christmas morning we woke the kids up early (church was at 10:30 and we wanted to get in a good couple hours of presents beforehand) and snuck downstairs to meet all my siblings and all our kids.  There is always a rush to brush teeth and hair and go to the bathroom before we all put blankets over our heads and hold onto each other's shoulders in our Christmas camel train up the stairs to wake up my parents.  The idea behind the camel was that Santa always leaves out some gifts that aren't wrapped in our house.  We were required to cover our eyes until we got to my parents room.  We started making a train when we were little with our blankets over our heads, with Sharee the oldest in the front making sure we didn't run into walls and me bringing up the rear to make sure nobody was left behind, and everyone else in age order in between.  The line has gotten much much much to long now and there are lots of tiny humps to the camel now because of our own children but I just love that tradition.

Another wonderful family tradition is after we all jump on my parents to wake them up we all kneel around the bed to say family prayers.  :)

And of course then it is off to the kitchen for stocking time!  And of course the kids always have Cheetos for breakfast because they get them in their stockings. (But of course my mom always makes  two delicious breakfast casseroles that we all devour... actually mom if you are reading this if we have another addition to the family by next year you should probably make three... don't worry I will help you haha).

I just love love love the excitement of the kids running around finding their gifts that aren't wrapped and then watching them as they open their presents.  I wasn't excited to get anything this year but I was really blessed by some very thoughtful and fun things.  The kids were so happy with their gifts as well.  However, I did catch a glimpse of why my parents had us have our own Christmas mornings away from cousins and things.  All the cousins got awesome presents and therefore all the cousins were covetous of each other's gifts... to the extent of not even enjoying some of their own gifts.  And that was a little sad but I also know that the kiddos are young and are still trying to understand what everything is all about.

We got a fun book, "The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving" right before Christmas and we talked all about other people opening their gifts before Christmas actually happened... but just like in my own life no matter how much I know about a topic or how much I try and learn, in practice is is always so much harder.  The same went for my cute little kids and nieces and nephews.

With gifts for 19 people under the tree we were there for quite some time and even had more to open after we got back from church.  It was jolly good fun!  Church was wonderful and the Spirit was strong... except for poor Logan who wandered the halls with a fussy Tommy that woke up to early.  My Dad gave a wonderful talk on gifts. :)

Christmas was all so magical and we loved it so!

And then, the next day happened.  :(

You see, all four of us, plus many other in the extended family as well as my brother-in-law Steve who was in the house with us, all got the dreaded flu.  Eww yuck I cannot even begin to tell you how absolutely awful it was.  We were so sick the idea of trying to gather all my belongings and put them in the car to leave so as to not get others sick was unfathomable... let alone try to drive a car for a couple of hours.  Everyone who did not receive the flu shot got the flu at my parents house (with the exception of poor Steve - although we think he may have gotten his to early).  We had fevers and terrible congestion all week long.  Elsy's fever lasted the longest - 7 days and was very high. And hers ended in an ear infection.  My kind cousin Michelle did a house call on us and even gave her an inhaler because she couldn't breathe well.  We were all couching and hacking to no end.  I STILL have a cough and it is almost a month later.

Logan and I both agreed it was one of the worst vacations in our living lives and I have absolutely vowed to never forget to get flu shots EVER AGAIN!  I already set a reminder on my phone for next October.  We basically sat on the couch and breathed all week.  My family was so kind to accommodate us and feed us.  I really don't know what I would have done if we were all that sick at our home and nobody was around to care for us.  I am so grateful for them.  Thankfully all our fevers were gone by the day we left... (insert a rolling eyes emoji haha)

Still, because I was sitting around a lot I got to take a few pictures like this one with lots of cousins trying to play the piano.

Or this one of Tommy on his favorite perch with Grandpa getting to watch sports or hunting shows... we don't watch those at our house and I think maybe he feels he has been deprived haha.

We basically watched Octonauts all week long.  Tommy only had a mild fever most of the time and was a lot more chipper than the rest of us.  You can tell in this picture where both kids are smiling for the picture and Elsy just isn't quite capable of lifting her mouth. :(

The one thing I did end up doing was helping my dad grind hamburger like I do every year.  I was getting a little slow at pushing the meat through the grinder because I was feeling feverish again so my dad took over... I felt bad because he just had a shoulder surgery but he was a champ as usual and ground up like 6 deer.

Before I got really sick my sister Sharee and I went out shopping late at night.  I was so looking forward to spend some quality time with each of my siblings and although that didn't happen with everyone, I did get to do that with her.  We went to get smoothies at Starbucks and I accidentally got one with coffee in it.  After a few sips I knew something was wrong.  Luckily they made me a new one but we laughed and laughed and Sharee told me I had to turn in my temple recommend.  Haha oh dear.

We did brave one outing out to the trampoline gym but it was not a success for our family.  This is what Elsy and Logan did the whole time... both were feeling so sick while I was starting to finally feel better.

Tommy was also feeling better... her he is pre-jump.  He LOVED the foam pit and was just bouncing off the walls... literally.

We spent a quiet New Years with Sharee and Steve chatting and eating chips and dip until just before midnight when we all decided to go to bed.  We barely made it to New Year but we did!  And it was fun.

I am so grateful to my mom for taking such good care of us for the week.  She helped put kids to bed, cooked meals, read books, cleaned, visited her mom who was having surgery, etc. and she still had a happy attitude.  She came into the our bedroom one day and I was having a meltdown on the bed because I was so disappointed.  I had looked forward to Christmas time there for months and was now so sick I couldn't do anything.  I had a mountain of soggy Kleenex and a super swollen and red face and she sat and listened to me and helped me feel better.  The other day I was helping Elsy fix her shoe and after I did she looked at me and said, "That's what moms are for!"  I laughed because its true, moms are always there along the way to help fix our problems and when they can't do anything they still just make us feel better.  :)

A Visit From Grandpa and Grandma

In October Logan's parents came out to visit us for a week!  They recently got called to the temple presidency in the Manhattan temple and so they went and tried to visit everyone before the three year calling began.  It started in the beginning of November so they came out to see us a week or so before they got set apart.  

As always they came baring gifts!  David makes homemade puzzles from wood and family pictures and the kids loved getting to put it together.

We cleaned out the kids room and had them sleep in ours so that David and Natalie could have their own room for the week instead of having to sleep out in the living room.  I thought it worked out surprisingly well!

I think my favorite outing we went on was to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.  If you know me you know I LOVE animals.  Logan has joked about us owning a zoo someday so we can go see the animals behind the scenes.  He has also told me, joking aside and a lot more serious, I should get a part time job as a zookeeper!  Hehe!  So I loved getting to go to the zoo. 

It turns out mid October is the best time to go to the zoo!  Last time we went it was mid summer and none of the animals were out because it was hot and they were hiding in the shade sleeping.  On this particular day it was cooler and overcast and every animal that you can think of was out.  We saw the grizzly bears up walking around and the tigers were wrestling each other.  All the animals seemed to be putting on a show for us!  And the next best thing was because it was cooler and later in the year there was hardly anyone at the zoo at all!  And when its later in the year it is cheaper too... so it was just a bunch of wins and the weather heated up so we didn't even have coats on by the end!

Elsy and Tommy's goldfish got stolen by a bold crow that came and ate them right off our stroller.

Here Logan is investigating a fox den.  Elsy and Tom were to nervous to go inside.

Here is the best family picture we could get on the back of the Komodo dragon, and no I didn't pick this one because I looked good and nobody else did hehe... Elsy NEVER will look at the camera and Tommy is always wrestling away from us.  Logan is such a good sport about following Tommy around wherever we go.  Tommy is a hard one to follow but Logan makes it look easy.

For lunch time we brought hot dogs and a little camp stove and had a picnic out the back of our car.  Elsy had to go to the bathroom so I let her pee behind a tree.  I worked so hard to not have her pee on her pants that I made her pee all over her brand new boots. Oh bother.

Elsy is such a grown up girl!  I just can't believe it.

Here we are looking at the tigers as they wrestled.  It was our last exhibit and was so fun to see all three of them up and playing.

David and Natalie were such sports squeezing into the back of our car with all the car seats.  The kids were always wiped out after our excursions but they had a lot of fun.

Look at that cute boy!  I am going to be taking his pacifier away soon but I just love the cute baby face that comes with a pacifier.  I miss seeing Elsy smile from behind hers and I know I will miss it from Tommy as well... but it is even cuter when they don't have one because then you can see their whole smile. ;)

After church on Sunday Logan got a picture of his parents by the temple.  It has been so exciting and hard for them to drop everything, move to a high rise apartment in Manhattan and take on this new calling.  They are an amazing example to us!

Okay and I had to share this picture of this cup because we laughed and laughed!  We deep fried some fish and Logan had a cup of oil on the counter.  Natalie thought it was apple juice but wanted more so decided to add some water and it turned out it wasn't apple juice!  Luckily she noticed before she drank it!

There was an art fair at the library and city center in Samamish while they were here so we decided to go.  Elsy just loved the opera that was being put on in the library of Hansel and Gretel.  

It rained a lot while the Beans were here but we still dragged them all around town to different outings.  We had a lot of fun at the Bohem's German chocolate factory.  They have an outdoor window tour and the kids loved splashing in the puddles while we all ate chocolate and read about how it was all made.

We were so sad to see them leave when it came time!  Tommy loved sitting with "Ga-pa!" and watching videos about tractors.  Natalie brought a fun movie that Elsy loved about the Wemmicks from the "Your Are Special" book.  We hope to get to see them all again soon!

And I know this isn't a picture of Grandpa and Grandma's visit but I had to include this picture of the kids checking out at Trader Joe's.  They ran ahead of me to get in line and they just look so grown up!  

Update: 

I found a couple more pictures that I somehow missed.

We went up to Rattlesnake Lake one morning.  The weather was absolutely beautiful... a little chilly but just pretty to look at.  Logan brought his sling and tried slinging rocks to hit the stick sticking out of a big stump out in the water.  He got it a few times!

I just love Rattlesnake peak!  It s so stunning.

The kids had fun climbing all over this old stump with a tree growing out of the middle.

We stopped at Snoqualimie Falls on the way back from the lake.  By then the sun was starting to come out more and it wasn't so cold.

I think this picture is to funny!

We also got to go to the Family History Discovery Center.  Last time David and Natalie came we had scheduled a visit but when we arrived we found out I had accidentally scheduled it in the Utah Discovery Center.  Aye yi yi.  So we made sure to get that in this time.  It was a lot of fun!  And the kids had a blast.  They had little discover costumes for them to wear along with a scavenger hunt.

Of course Elsy loved it!  She is such a diva.