Kensi's 3rd Birthday!!!

Kensi turned 3 on Mar. 10th! Happy Birthday Kensi! She thinks that she is a big girl now. Aunt Amy was over the other day and told Kensi that she wasn't old enough to stay home by herself, and Kensi said, "but I had my birthday so I can to."

Marshyl started a tradition last year with drawing a sign for the kids for their birthday to hang on the wall. He didn't know what to draw for Kensi, so I suggested a Strawberry Shortcake since that is what she wanted for her birthday. He spent half of the night drawing Kensi's sign, it is by far the best sign so far! He totally did it freestyle and when he went to paint it, he realized that we had no green paint and very little blue. But he made it work. Marsh is an amazing artist!

We took her to Wingers for her birthday lunch and then to Toys R Us to pick out a present. All she wanted was Strawberry Shortcake and so of course we couldn't find ANYTHING Strawberry Shortcake! We did finally find 2 dolls at Toys R Us, and she loved them. When we got home I started feeling really sick and was in bed the rest of the day. I don't even know what I had that time, I have have had EVERYTHING in the past month. But Dad saved the day by making the cake...strawberry shortcake, of course! She had a great birthday!

NEW BABY!!!

I am happy to announce that there was new baby born on my side of the family and for the first time in 10 years...it wasn't one of mine! Yeah!

Christy & Nick welcomed RAIGAN DEANN
on March 28. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20 inches long.
Mom & baby are both doing great and are at home relaxing with a visit from Grandma!

I will post pictures as soon as they send some.

Healthy candy...

Afton and Luke told me that they have decided to "only eat healthy food for a whole month. Healthy candy...healthy cookies...healthy fruit..."!

They are definitely kids after my own heart! Maybe we need a few more lessons on the definition of "healthy".

Cute boy!

My cute little baby is 10 months old now! I can't believe it. He is over 20 lbs. now and almost ready to walk!

Beans, beans the magical fruit...

I got a pressure canner a few months ago and it has just been sitting still wrapped up and in the box. I decided that I wanted to try it out and since there are no veggies to can I thought I would try pinto beans. Sounds easy enough. Soak them, boil them for a little while, put in jars and process. Piece of cake. In the Ball Blue Book for home canning it had instructions and quantities. It told me that 2.25 lbs of dry beans would do 1 quart. I wanted to do the 7 quarts that would fit in the canner, so I used 15 lbs. of beans. When I dumped them out on the counter to check through them, it seemed like an awful lot of beans. But I was being a good girl and followed the instructions. I found the largest stock pot that I own to soak them overnight in. They had soaked for about 6 hours when I was ready to go to bed so I checked on them. They had absorbed all of the water and were almost overflowing the stock pot. I split them in half into another pot and filled them both back up with more water. I was starting to realize that I probably had too many beans for only 7 quarts! But at this point I couldn't do anything else with them because they had already soaked and would be ruined and wasted it I didn't get them canned.

Then next day they were done soaking and I was ready to do the canning. Instead of 7 quart jars, I had the boys bring up 14 so that I would have enough for all of the beans. At this point I realize that the Blue Book had a major typo. I started filling jars and soon realized that 14 jars weren't going to be enough! In all I was able to fill 27 jars with beans!!!! It took 4 rounds to process them all, but they turned out GREAT! Yeah for my first experience with a pressure canner!

What did I learn from this? Trust my instincts and not just blindly follow a recipe. For 7 quarts I should have only used 4 lbs. of dried beans!

I did have 2 jars not seal, so we will be having Green Chili Burritos tonight! Yum!

Cauliflower Soup

This is a really yummy new recipe that we tried tonight. We had it with some homemade French Bread and a salad! It was a hit!


Cauliflower Soup
1 medium cauliflower
3 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
3 tbs cream or half and half
1 quart chicken stock
3 egg yolks, well beaten
Salt and pepper to taste

Discard leaves from cauliflower, separate into flowers,
cook 10 minutes in boiling water. Drain, set aside. Melt
butter, add flour and cook until brown, add chicken stock
slowly stir until thick and smooth. Add cauliflower.
Simmer until soft enough to mash. Puree in blender,
season with salt and pepper. Return to pan and to a boil.
Combine cream and egg yolks, blend slowly stirring
constantly into hot mixture.

Serves 6.

A Pegasaurus

Afton just told me that she wants a flying horse - "a PEGASAURUS"!

Kaiden's Birthday!

AUUUGGGGH! Kaiden is 13!!!!

I am in complete and total denial that I am the parent of a TEENAGER! But since it has to happen sooner or later, I am very happy to be the parent of THIS teenager!

Kaiden had a great birthday. We had tickets to the Draper UT temple open house with Grandma & Grandpa Morris. The temple was beautiful! Then we went out to Olive Garden for lunch. Kaiden said this was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

Happy Birthday, Kaiden!

Here we are at the Draper Temple.



Just the kids in front of the temple.


Blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. It was Chocolate Lava cake with Mint Chip ice cream on top! Yum!



He loved his presents. The Bionacle that he has wanted for a LONG time and a Rip stick!

Here is the birthday boy blowing out the candle on his birthday banana!

The whole family enjoyed the breakfast of fruit salad and egg & bacon english muffins!

This was at Olive Garden for lunch.

Dad & Garrett at Olive Garden. Garrett thought he was BIG STUFF! (Look at how chubby he is!...Garrett, not Marshyl) :)

Breakfast

Luke decided that he wanted to make pancakes for breakfast today. He has helped Nic in the past and he made banana bread successfully (mostly) by himself a couple of weeks ago. So to told him to go ahead. I wasn't paying any attention to him and he would come and ask me if he had questions, so I assumed that everything we going well. He finished and although a little burned, they looked okay, so we sat down to eat.

Immediately after their first bites, the kids all started gagging and saying how horrible the pancakes were. I'm thinking..."they look okay, how bad can the REALLY be?" So I try a bite. Okay...they were the WORST pancakes I have ever tasted. They were WAY too salty. So I asked Luke to show me how much salt he put in and he went over to the 1/2 c. measuring cup and held it up! I got down the recipe and tried to explain that "tsp" is teaspoon, so he needed 1/2 tsp., not 1/2 c. He said, "I knew that, but I couldn't find the teaspoon, so I used that instead"! Come to find out he used the 1/2 c. for the baking soda too! YUCK! THAT was the horrible taste. All we could do this morning was toss the pancakes and have yogurt for breakfast instead. I guess we need a few more cooking lessons before I turn him loose in the kitchen alone again!

The Farming Game

We are studying our family history in school this year. Since a lot of our ancestors were farmers, I got this game. It is called the Farming Game and it is SO fun! This game is somewhat like Monopoly. You are a farmer with land and a few crops and you travel around the board buying and harvesting more crops and going through the years (each trip around the board is a year of time). Your end goal (to end the game) is to be the first farmer to net $250,000 in assets so that you can quit your job in town and farm full time.

Kaiden, Nic & I started a game yesterday and were up until midnight last night finishing it. We had a blast and will be starting another game tonight!

I just had to let you all in on this fun game!

Christmas 2008

Christmas this year was GREAT...actually, Christmas every year is great and this was no exception! We spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and a few days after at the cabin in Scofield. It has been Grandpa Cloward's dream ever since the cabin was finished to have the whole family together up there for Christmas. So this year, that is what we did. Krysti, Rachel & Taylor came in from Kentucky and the whole crew was there.

We opened our presents with Grandpa & Grandma Morris the week before Christmas when they were in town. They gave each of the kids a homemade Levi quilt for their beds. They LOVE their quilts. Kaiden's is backed with a bright space/planet print, Nic's with "Cars" the movie print, Luke's with a cowboy print, Afton's with Strawberry Shortcake and Kensi's with Disney Princesses. Garrett got a warm fuzzy puppy blanket. Marsh & I got a food dehydator. That is something that we have been wanting for a LONG time! After Christmas once we were home, we were remaking the kid's beds and putting their Levi quilts on and Afton said, "I hate the blue side (the denim side), why does it have to be blue. I only want to see Strawberry Shortcake!" So her quilt is upside down on her bed so that she can always see Strawberry Shortcake! (And of course since Kensi copies everything that Afton does, hers is upside down too, showing the princesses!)

Amy had us this year and got us some great family games. Disney DVD Pictionary, Cooties, an elephant/butterfly catching game (I don't remember the name of it), and "The Office" DVD trivia for Marsh & I. We love the games and have a great time playing them.

Here are the boys ready to open a gift from Amy.

Here are the girls with gifts from Amy. That is Kaiden's space quilt on the right.

Here are the kids & Grandpa Cloward at the cabin trying to find the gifts. Could they be in the dance room???

Kensi & Afton finding their stockings. It looks like they were good enough for Santa to come! Look at Afton's face. That is how excited she was to get a tutu.

Garrett hanging out with Aunt Bryndi.

Kensi posing in her new dancing dress & tu tu.

Afton's new dancing dress, ballet slippers & tu tu.

Kensi & Afton STILL posing in their dancing dresses. They actually wore these every day the rest of the time that we were up at the cabin. I kept asking them if they were cold and of course they told me "no." Like they really would have told me if they were!

Garrett's 1st Chritmas! He loved it!

The boys unpacking their stockings. The got hymn books with their names on them, and Bionacles, amoung other things.

They all went to put their Bionacles together right away!

Kaiden posing with his completed Bionacle.

The kiddos found the presents! They were in the dance room. Here they all are, posing by all of the presents. From left to right we have, Brynlee, Afton, Taylor (behind Afton), Kaiden holding Kensi, Luke, Nic & Ireland. All of the grandkids except new baby Doogle, he was eating. And Garrett, I don't know where he was.

Luke, Afton, Nic & Kaiden getting ready to start opening.

Kensi opening her Princess chest of dress-ups from Grandma & Grandpa.

Afton opening her stereo from mom & dad. She opened this right after Kensi opened the dress up clothes, so I think that is what she was expecting. Once she realized that it wasn't dress ups, but a stereo, she was NOT happy. She kept saying over and over, "but I don't WANT this, I didn't want a radio!" We finally convinced her that at stereo is very cool and now she can listen to music in her room and dance like she has been wanting to. She finally decided to like it after all. Look at her face.

Garrett liked opening presents! Actually I think he couldn't have cared less about the presents, he has just learned to grin every time he sees a camera.

Kensi trying on her new princess dress up clothes.

Luke got this basketball stand from Santa. He loves it and it has been so fun to have at home. For FHE last week we had a basket shooting tournament! Dad won, of course (only because mom let him! hee hee) but everyone gave him a run for his money!

Kensi got this little bike from Santa. She loves it.

Garrett's new dino toy from mom & dad. It makes noises and lights up when you put the balls in. He has a great time with it.

Here I am opening a pencil holder that Kaiden weaved for me. (You can't see it in the picture, but it is really cool.) It is just what I need on my desk, I can never keep track of anything to write with!

Grandpa, Grandma & Bryndi

After Christmas they all played outside in the snow. Here is Kaiden on the snow mobile.

Marsh getting ready to pull Taylor on the sled with the snowmobile. Cassadi was trying to figure out what they were doing.

Nic, Taylor, Marsh, & Kaiden - Fun in the snow!

Cassadi loves to go to the cabin. She loves having so much space to run and play. Even though it was cold up there, she stayed warm in her little shelter and slept in the coal room at night where it was nice and warm.

Here is a run down of a few of the things that everyone got. You all know that I have pictures of all of this, but I will spare you. I think the 30 already posted should be enough!

Dad - camping cot, MP3 player, huge tool set
Mom - sewing machine, membership to Curves, new card table & chairs for entertaining
Kaiden - camping cot, MP3 player, quad scriptures, remote control airplane
Nic - MP3 player, Heeley shoes (the ones w/ the wheels on them), Nerf machine gun, remote control truck
Luke - toy hunting rifle, basketball shooting stand, remote control race cars
Afton - stereo, beading & coloring kits, ballet bar & instructional DVD
Kensi - tricycle, dress up clothes, Magni-doodle
Garrett - green dino toy, a penguin bobble toy, island monkey toy

Draw me a potholder

With all of the artists in this house, we are going to have to do this! These are potholders made out of kid's artwork. The full directions are here on Sycamore Stirrings.

TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

by S. Michael Wilcox

When I was a little boy, people told me that the true spirit of Christmas was the spirit of giving; but I didn't believe them. I knew that the true spirit of Christmas was getting. I could hardly wait until Christmas morning when my mother would stand at the door to the living room that separated me from a wonder of toys. She would peek through and tell me Santa had been here and express her surprise that he had given me so much. Then I was obliged to eat breakfast, make my bed, brush my teeth, and get dressed. The anxiety and anticipation this caused is impossible to describe. By the time I attacked the neatly wrapped packages and saw the delights they contained, I was filled with a joy and relief I have not found comparable to any joy on earth.

I remember the year I grew up. That was the year Christmas lost its magic and I began to say, like the adults around me, "The true spirit of Christmas is giving." I found there was satisfaction in giving. But the magic never returned, and each year as the tree was decorated and the lights were hung on the front porch I wondered if Christmas wasn't a whole lot better when I thought more about what I received and less about what I gave.

The years went on and I became a man, giving to my children and secretly envying their sheer delight at receiving the marvelous gifts of Christmas.

A few years ago I read very carefully the story of the first Christmas in the Americas. To my wonder and delight I discovered I had been right as a child- the true spirit of Christmas was the spirit of receiving. Since then, the wonder of Christmas has returned.

Let me take you in your imagination back to Zarahemla in the year 5 b.c. and let us live together the most marvelous Christmas story ever written.

The year 5 b.c. is an interesting and challenging time to be a Christian. Our generation is an unstable one. We have seen the people shift from wickedness to righteousness and back to wickedness again. We have seen the slow erosion of our laws until Nephi II, our great prophet and chief judge, gives up the seat of government, weary with his inability to cause positive reform. He decides the only way to reform and save his people is in "bearing down in pure testimony," as his ancestor Alma had done.

We have seen the rise of the Gadianton robbers. They have filled the judgment seats. They have assassinated their opponents, and they wield great power. About ten years ago we saw Nephi bring the people to their knees in repentance through a prolonged famine that ended for a time the self-destructive wars of our people. But the people quickly forgot the lesson and have been slipping ever so quickly back into their materialistic and proud ways.

Most marvelous of all, we have witnessed the end of an era of interracial wars between the Nephites and Lamanites. As youth, roughly twenty-five years ago, we witnessed the conversion of the entire Lamanite nation through the preaching of Nephi and his brother Lehi.

We are adults now with families. Nephi is older, though still actively leading the Church and preaching the gospel. But there are dark clouds on the horizon. The strength of the Gadianton robbers is growing again, and the intensity of faith seems to be waning in the Church. As prosperity flourishes, the lessons of the past are forgotten. It is an interesting and challenging time to live.

Recently there has been a Lamanite prophet named Samuel preaching in the streets and markets of Zarahemla. Though we don't know it, he is about to test our faith and the faith of all the Christians in the land.

The Nephites, unwilling to listen to the exhortations of Samuel, have cast him out; but as we enter the city, we notice a large crowd in a state of great excitement gathered near the walls. There on the wall stands Samuel. He has returned. His message has not changed from his earlier warnings.

An acquaintance of ours approaches us as we listen. He is one who has relinquished his faith and is caught up in the materialistic greed of a Gadianton society.

"What do you think of this Lamanite?" he asks us.

"He is a prophet," we answer.

"So he proclaims. Then you believe in his predictions?"

"We accept all the words of a prophet."

As we listen, Samuel begins to speak of Christ, predicting his birth after five years pass. This is not a new or strange prophecy, for Lehi predicted the Savior would be born six hundred years after he left Jerusalem. Those with faith and a calendar know He will come in five years, but our acquaintance asks us, "Do you believe this, that Christ will come after five years?"

"Yes," we reply. "It has been prophesied from the very beginning by many prophets." Our acquaintance comments with a mocking tone about the "convenience" of having Christ born across the sea, in another land, making true verification impossible. And had Samuel not continued under the inspiration of the Lord, our faith would not be tried; but Samuel continued.

"And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.

"Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

"And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you."

Let us pause a moment in our narrative. I have often wondered how I would have accepted that pronouncement. I am sure I would have looked at the sun with a certain uneasiness. I am sure I would have watched it set that night and felt with a growing fear the darkness settle over the land. I cannot think of a single prophetic utterance in all of scripture so completely remarkable as this one. What boldness and courage it took to utter it! What faith and courage it took to receive it!

As we try to comprehend the impact of this prophecy, our acquaintance, with a certain delight, turns and asks, "You certainly don't believe that, do you?"

We hesitate. If only Nephi II had uttered it, not a Lamanite prophet newly arrived in Zarahemla. Our acquaintance notices our hesitation.

"Because of course," he continues, "it is absolutely and utterly impossible for the sun to go down and it remain as light as day. You know that, don't you?"

I would like to believe that I would have had the faith and the whispered assurances of the Spirit so that I could have answered the critics and the mockers. I would have wanted to say, "Yes, I believe Samuel has spoken under the direction of the Holy Ghost and that this sign will come."

Perhaps our skeptical friend would have answered, "Then you're a bigger fool than I imagined. But for your sake I hope it comes."

There is the hint of a veiled threat in his words that we do not yet comprehend. We listen with uneasiness to the rest of Samuel's message, but the words "one day and a night and a day" haunt our thoughts. The crowd becomes more and more agitated. Suddenly they are shooting arrows and slinging stones at the figure on the wall; but they cannot hit him, and the words of Samuel continue. When they approach to bind him, his message delivered, Samuel leaps from the wall to return to his own people. "He was never heard of more among the Nephites."

What reflection is contained in that single last line in Helaman! In the coming months and years, how often would we have wanted to hear Samuel assure us that his words were inspired, that he knew the sign would come, that he was sure of God's promise and the coming of the Christ child? But he would not be seen among the Nephites again.

How often would our scorning friends pick at our faith, during those months and years, seeking to enlarge the tiny doubts we try to keep from entering our minds.

"Where is your Lamanite prophet?" they would ask us. "Why do you suppose he's never returned? He didn't stay to see the sun set, night after night, did he? But I imagine even a Lamanite prophet knows when he has uttered foolishness. Give up this ridiculous belief. It will always be dark when the sun sets. How can it be otherwise?"

The Lord knows how to test his people. There is, however, one thing that we would have had on our side-Nephi. He is still the prophet, and he assures the faithful "of things which must shortly come." The Nephi to whom God gave all power is with us. The Nephi who humbled these same people with famine leads us. The Nephi who stood face to face with the corrupt lawyers and Gadianton robbers, predicting their assassinations, revealing their evil plans, and bearing witness of their sins, stands at our head. With Nephi our fears are calmed; but every night we watch the sun set, and every night the darkness returns.

When would the fears and doubts, the straining for faith, have become almost unbearable? The first year? The second? The third? What would have been our thoughts as the opposition grew and their mocking became increasingly threatening? How strong would our faith have been when the fifth year began and the sun set and the night came? How would our fears have increased when the power of the unbelievers became great, and they proclaimed a day on which all the believers who did not renounce their faith would be put to death if the sign didn't come? I wonder how I would have felt as I watched the twilight deepen night after night and thought of my children sleeping and the fate that awaited them if the night grew dark one time too many.

More and more we would have turned to Nephi to hear his calm assurance of faith-"The sign will come, the sign will come." But there would have been other voices; and though we would have tried to shut them out, at night in the stillness they would have come and repeated the question asked so often, "How can there be light when there is no sun?"

Sometime during that last year a new factor enters the test. Nephi II, the strength of our people, is taken by the Lord. He gives his son Nephi III charge concerning the plates and "departs out of the land, and whither he went no man knoweth."

How would this knowledge have greeted us? What doubts would it have sparked anew? If Nephi II had died, we could have mourned his loss; but there would have been no awakened opportunity for doubt. But when he just disappears, it is hard to deny new suspicions.

"Where is your great prophet Nephi?" the unbelievers might have challenged. "Has he abandoned you to your deaths as Samuel did? Why do you think he left the way he did, sneaking into the wilderness to save his own life? Even he knows the sign is an impossibility. Are you still so stubborn in your old traditions that you can't face reality? There will be no Christ!"

On and on the mocking and challenging continue, and as we eagerly wait for the sunset each evening the smiles of silent reproach widen on the faces of those who anticipate the appointed day of destruction.

How would we have felt those last weeks as we "watched steadfastly for that night and that day"? Would not our prayers have been fervent and deep and full of meaning? How does it feel to have hope dashed with every setting sun?

How would we have felt the last days while our enemies prepared themselves for the coming slaughter? On the last day Nephi, with deep concern, kneels and cries "mightily" for his people. The Lord speaks peace to him saying, "On this night shall the sign be given." But Nephi cannot spread those words of comfort in a single day. The people's faith will be tested to the last rays of the setting sun.

The scriptures are not clear on the method of destruction planned for the believers. Perhaps they were rounded up into the center of their cities or outside the walls where at sunset they would be put to the sword. Perhaps mob rule prevailed and every man sought out his neighbors. As believers, with our families we watch from our homes the setting sun. If given a final chance that afternoon to save our lives by renouncing our belief in the Savior, would we have done so? Would we have thought that if the sign didn't come, life would have no meaning, for a life without Christ is no life at all?

Holding the hands of our families we step into the open light of late afternoon and watch what may be our last sunset. There is that moment when the sun hangs trembling at the brink of the horizon. It slips out of sight. There is a moment of hesitation, watching, hoping, and questioning. "Is it getting dark? Are our lives forfeit?" Then there is that moment when the realization enters our hearts that the darkness is not gathering. It is getting, on the contrary, lighter and lighter.

If we can picture that moment, if we can transport ourselves past barriers of time, place, and culture, we will hear a sound. It is the sound of Christmas. It is the sound of weeping, the sound of gratitude, the sound of joy and triumph and faith renewed and vindicated. It is the sound of mankind receiving with a love beyond words the incomparable gift of the Son of God into the world. It is the true spirit of Christmas-which isn't the spirit of giving at all, but the spirit of receiving, receiving the love of our Father and His Son, and in its reception with thankfulness giving God the only gift He seeks, that of a broken heart and contrite spirit. What a moment and what a sound that is! May its sound ring through all our Christmases. May we hear it again and again.

What a night that would have been! With what "wondering awe" would we have searched the sky as the hours passed and the light grew as bright as noonday. We would have gathered our children around us and reverently taught them the meaning of a night with no darkness. We would have gathered in small groups of joy and happiness, almost not daring to believe what our eyes testified was true. Perhaps we would have sung the hymns of our belief. It would have been a night never to be forgotten.

With what emotion would we have greeted the rising sun after long hours of rejoicing? And when the star appeared, our wonder would have been born anew. I do not believe that an unlearned farm boy from New York could create such a story. I do not believe any kind of fiction could describe in such simple and undramatic language a moment, a time, a test, a faith, as sublime as the Nephite Christmas story. There was such a night of wonder and gratitude.

As a child I felt the wonder of Christmas in a worldly way. As a man the wonder has turned to a deep appreciation and reverence. It is my hope that we may feel this wonder all of our lives, especially on those nights when we watch the sunsets that settle the world into darkness.

Notes

S. Michael Wilcox is the author of To See His Face and Choosing the Fulness: Wickedness or Righteousness.

So funny...

This picture cracks me up every time I see it. It is my desktop back ground and I laugh all day!
Enjoy...

2008 Christmas Newsletter

Marshyl Cloward Family
Christmas Newsletter 2008

Marshyl is still at Heritage Makers as the Director of Customer Service/Tech Support. He loves his job and enjoys the people he works with. He is the Assist. Scoutmaster in the ward and has been having fun on the many camp outs that they go on. His love of basketball can never be dampened as we learned when he got hit in the mouth playing and knocked out 2 of his front teeth. He went right back to playing a few weeks later and thanks to cosmetic dentistry will be as good as new by the end of the year.

Jen still claims the title, “Domestic Goddess” in all that she does around the house. She has stayed quite busy teaching the kids in school, climbing Mt. Wash-more and chauffeuring kids all over the county. She is able to snatch an occasional second to read a good book or attend Mom’s Night Out with her friends.

Kaiden (12) has officially reached a milestone in his life. I am not talking about turning 12 and receiving the priesthood, or receiving his Arrow of Light and moving into Boy Scouts, or being old enough to stay home and babysit or even the deepening of his voice. Although those are all wonderful and important things that happened to him this year, the true milestone was to finally be as tall as his mom. I know…that’s not saying much, she’s not that tall; but a milestone none-the-less.

Nic (10) is the athlete in our family. He can always be found playing basketball of riding his bike. He loves being in Webelos in scouts and doesn’t think it is fair that Kaiden gets to go on overnight camp outs and he doesn’t. Nic loves spending time with his siblings or playing with his friends.

Luke (8) also reached a milestone this year. It was turning 8 and being baptized. His baptism was a very special time and he was able to spend it with most of his close family and friends. He has also started Cub Scouts and loves it. He is constantly making new friends and is becoming quite the social butterfly always flitting from one friend to the next and having a great time with everyone.

Afton (5) is still our princess. She never lets us forget it. She dances around the house singing and loves any & all attention that she gets. She loves school and out-writes her brothers every day. She loves learning to read and is picking it up very quickly. She loves having a new baby around the house and is a very good helper with him.

Makensi (2) is Afton’s shadow. Where ever Afton is, Kensi can be found there too. She loves to play dress up and changes her clothes at least 5 times every day. She loves to sing and is always ready with a stirring rendition of “the ABC song”, “Old MacDonald” or “I am a Child of God.” She loves nursery at church and playing with her friends. About half way through the year we realized that she should be in her “terrible twos” but we never noticed because she is so cute and fun to have around all of the time.

Our biggest news of the year was the birth of Garrett Marshyl on 10 April. He has been a wonderful baby and smiles all the time. He is content and happy and a joy to have in our family. He has slept through the night almost from the beginning and loves to hang out and watch what is going on around him. And there is ALWAYS something going on around here. He can sit up and roll over and has 2 teeth. He will be crawling before the end of the year. He has surgery to reconstruct his head in October and everything went perfectly. Even though it doesn’t seem possible, he is even cuter now than before.

We hope this letter finds you all healthy and happy.
We love you and wish you a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Love,
Marshyl, Jen, Kaiden, Nicolas, Luke, Afton, Makensi, & Garrett

Twas the night before Christmas

Just a quiet reminder that touched my heart.

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
'SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,!
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'

This poem was written by a Marine.

Tag about me...

If your reading this, you just got tagged........do it on your blog so we can all read yours!

10 years ago:

1. I was living at Scott AFB, Illlinois
2. I had 2 kiddos (Kaiden was almost 3 & Nic was 6 months old)
3. I was packing to move from crappy base housing to new base housing!
4. I was digging my car out from under an inch of ice after an ice storm.
5. I was 2nd counselor in the YW pres. in our ward working with the Beehives.

5 Things on Today’s To Do List:

1. Take Luke to the Eye Dr.
2. Mail Christmas cards.
3. Clean my house.
4. Go to Wal-Mart to buy Afton new church shoes & Kaiden a church shirt. They are growing too fast!
5. Email co-op moms about what they get to teach in Jan.

5 Snacks I enjoy:

1. anything chocolate....
2. doughnuts
3. candy of pretty much any sort
4. chocolate pudding cups
5. did I mention chocolate?

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. Pay off debts
2. Buy a house with a garage.
3. Hire a maid so that I don't have to plan on cleaning my house and then never get around to it.
4. Set up savings for the kids missions & college.
5. Put a ton away for Marshyl and I to travel when we retire.

5 Places I have lived:

1. Biloxi, Mississippi
2. Surprise, Arizona
3. Anchorage Alaska
4. Aztec, New Mexico
5. Belleville, Illinois

5 Jobs I have had:

1. bagger at a grocery store
2. cashier at a pizza place
3. secretary for an eye dr.
4. Independent Consultant for Dorling Kindersley, Pampered Chef, Partylite Candles, Heritage Makers, & Mary Kay (not all at the same time) :)
5. Wal-Mart - housewares dept.

Another cute craft: Doily Angels

This one comes from Sycamore Stirrings. It is VERY cute. Complete directions are on that site.

Awesome craft idea

I love this ornament idea - & it looks so easy! I saw this on the blog Her Cup Overfloweth. You can get the complete directions there. Since all of my photos are digital, I have to order prints before I can do this. So I got my order in for prints and I will post what our finished ornaments look like next week!