{ Valentine’s Letters to Our New Baby }

For Family Home Evening on Monday we talked about love, and told some stories of the prophet Joseph Fielding Smith and how he loved his family, then we wrote love letters to the new baby. The night before when Aaron said the family prayer he called the baby Ethan. All of the kids (especially Brianna) were all excited the rest of the prayer. He has been the last one to agree for sure on a name and usually just asks for the “baby” to be healthy and strong, so they were happy to have his approval, and write their little love letters to “Ethan” instead of just baby #8.

I guess we are pretty locked in with a name at this point-though Ryan and Scott still think that his name will be Jack Attack. They also think that he will come out with a cape and his arm will be up out straight like he is ready to fly into the sky. They have a little bit of super hero mania going on right now.

Ryan’s picture to the new baby

It was cute to see him color his heart (the left one) so intensely, and then the rest of his paper. He was very adamant about using “turquoise” his new favorite color I guess, and then would also grab his other colors in just the right order. He insisted that I color the other two hearts because, “I am too tired”.

 Scott’s Valentine to the new baby

He is super excited for Valentine’s Day on Friday, and even more excited that he learned how to draw a heart at preschool last week. He has been drawing hearts on every picture he has made since then (which is a lot), and after seeing Brooke cut out a heart, he insisted that he add a few to his picture too. It’s hard to see but he REALLY taped down those hearts good. He is one of my “tape thieves” around here-he really loves to tape up anything he can. He made sure that I wrote down exactly what he said on the paper too, “I love you baby. Happy Valentine’s Day”.

Abby’s letter to Ethan

Abby was a bit in a mood tonight and didn’t feel like writing too much. She made sure to tell him the most important thing she felt though-how much she loves him.

Erika’s letter to Ethan

Erika’s letter made me smile-it’s funny to see the kids different perspectives about how life is around here. She is so excited for this little guy to get here that she can hardly contain herself some days. She is going to be such a great big sister for him.

Brooke’s letter to baby Ethan

We had just read one of the hymns as part of the lesson-it was one that President Smith had wrote as a poem to his wife when he was away and feeling the loneliness and hardships she may have had to endure. Brooke decided she wanted to write a clever little poem in her Valentine’s letter to the baby too.

Austin’s letter to Ethan

Austin gets right to the point. He was the first one done, and as well had to put in his plea to the baby that he will be the “favorite” one.

Brianna’s letter to Ethan

Her letter kind of cracks me up-she is pretty confident that she will be the favorite too, and lists lots of great reasons for that. Makes me laugh!

Aaron’s letter to Ethan

My Letter to Ethan

And where is my handwritten letter? Unfortunately I got as far as Dear baby Ethan, and then was swiftly sidetracked helping the little boys with their letters and that’s about all I could muster by the end of FHE, so a typed version will have to due.
Dear Baby Ethan,
It’s hard to believe that 9 months have come and gone and it is almost time for you to be here. My heart is full this Valentine’s Day as I think of all the happiness and love you will bring to our family. It would be hard to pick who is the most excited to see you, everyone has been preparing in their own little way, and the wave of excitement hits them at different times. We wonder what you will look like, how you will act, how big you will be, and how sweet you will be to hold. We love you so much already!
I feel you kick all the time and can’t wait to see those tiny little feet in person. Your big brothers are helping me get everything ready for your arrival. They think those little diapers you will wear are as cute as I do. Ryan is very excited for you to have you new binkies that we bought you. We bought you a few new outfits and we all just squeal in delight at how little and cute they are. I know getting to see you in them will only bring more smiles on our faces.
I know since you are baby #8 that you must be patient, and one that will need lots of love. The abundance of love you will feel around here is by far the sweetest thing to see and for us to look forward to. I wonder how old you will be before you are actually put down for any period of time and not being held, there are so many arms just waiting to cuddle with you.
I hope when we bring you home you will be able to feel that love in our home, and every day after that. I hope you will grow with a strong knowledge of how much you are loved-both by us and by your Heavenly Father. I know that your sweet little spirit will bless our home everyday. I love you so much, and am so grateful to get to be your mom, and feel of your love too. We can’t wait to see you soon!!!
Love, Mom

{ Valentine’s Day…A Year Ago }

With Valentine’s coming up I realized that I never posted from last year’s celebrations. (big surprise that I am that behind I know) We LOVE to make a big deal around here when it comes to holidays. I LOVE little traditions like this that give us something to look forward to and helps the kids appreciate all the little things that make us happy. I sometimes feel guilty about not going on as many family vacations or doing really big things-but days like this help us all to see how those little things can really add up and be just as memorable as the big ones.

Brianna asked me the other day if we were going to do something big for Valentine’s this year or not because I am so close to having the baby. I told her I didn’t know, which the kids usual interpret as NO-and  I was kind of sad and disappointed in myself for using that having-a-baby-thing for an excuse. Looking back at these pictures makes me get excited to at least come up with something fun for the kids.

The kids still LOVE coming home from school and spreading all of their special Valentine’s cards and treats that they got from their classmates out on the floor to look at. Poor Scott, he looked on with such envy of the stuff they got. I think they were nice to share some of their treats with him. I was glad that I had everything else set up for our special Valentine’s night fun so he had something else to look forward to.

    

I LOVED Abby’s hair for today-I tried one hairdo that was suppose to look a little more like hearts, but it didn’t look so fantastic, so we opted for the simplified version. I LOVE that it’s the middle of winter and she is wearing flip flops today-I think what I LOVE most is that is was so warm out that she could wear flop flops today. That is definitely my kind of winter!

Party time! Balloons are my go to fun item for the kids. It almost always brings out the smiles for them all-maybe not so much with Brianna and Austin anymore, but 5 out of 7 isn’t bad in my book. When we tied one to our dog Simon’s tail and watched him chase it, that brought out some excitement from the older kids so I’m officially counting the balloons a success.

    

I actually had these chocolates set out this morning so they could have some little treats on their way out the door to school. I am pretty sure that they needed to be refilled by dinnertime-I think I was in need of a lot of chocolate LOVE, HUGS, and KISSES today.

    

I sometimes think that I like the party setup almost as much as the party. It was any excuse to get whatever I saw that was red or pink. Everyone got one of their favorite big chocolate candy bars, and then one present. It is usually a book of some sort, and the older kids and Aaron got iTunes cards this year. Some years we have done movie tickets, or something else that’s fun to do as a family. I don’t see a chocolate on my plate, so I’m pretty sure I was on a eat healthy kick that day. I think the real truth is that I was on a health kick the day that I bought the candy bars, and then today I just ate enough LOVE, HUGS, and KISSES to get me through.

I LOVE that you can see a panoramic of our whole kitchen area. It makes me smile.

    

  

{ Our Gratitude Chain }

This year, a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving we had a lesson in Family Home Evening about gratitude and tried really hard to focus on those things that we were thankful for. I was grateful for a Relief Society lesson that focused on a talk from General Conference by President Monson entitled “The Divine Gift of Gratitude” in October 2010. I was able to tell the story he told, and the Spirit was so strong. I love FHE lessons like that-it makes us feel so much closer as a family. The kids are all attentive and actually listening for a few minutes, and there are even a few tears shed. I love to see their sweet spirits be touched.

We decided to write down things we were thankful for until Thanksgiving. I gave them the challenge to not write down the common things we think of-though we are all VERY grateful for those, like Family, God, House. I wanted them to be very specific and also try to add a WHY to the thing they were grateful for.

Our goal was to see if we could make a chain that went around the whole house. Even though we didn’t make it all the way around this year, we sure came up with a lot of things. On Thanksgiving day we added a few more, let my brother Mitch add in a few, and then stapled them all together. Even though the kids were having fun spouting out the funny ones as they were stapling, I didn’t get a chance to read them all until I typed them up. I was touched by some of the things that they wrote, laughed at quite a few, and really saw each of us individually as I read them. Everyone’s list really paints a picture of where they are in their life right now, their personality, and those things that they feel are important.

I tried to type them just as they were written because some of the little kids writing was so cute, and the older kids humor was just too funny to change. I love the idea of taking the time to really reflect on those things that we are so grateful for, I know for me it made my heart feel so much closer to our Heavenly Father and really see all that we have been blessed with.

Aaron

• I am thankful for an iPhone to help me communicate with my calling and decrease my time away from home
• I am thankful for a bed that is comfortable instead of a hard cot or a sandy floor
• I am thankful for Austin who teaches me teachability and meekness
• I’m thankful for Erika for teaching me an easy going nature
• I am thankful for Heavenly Father giving me Brooke who is an Ephraim’s child who is so steadfast
• I am thankful for Brianna who helps me see myself
• I am thankful for Monae for loving me despite my faults
• I am thankful for pencils so we don’t have to use quills or engrave
• I am thankful for the ability to have children
• razor-sure beats a sharp rock
• I am thankful for medical knowledge I have to bless my family and others
• I’m thankful for illness to help me be understanding and compassionate
• toothbrush-beats no teeth
• diapers-oh how grateful instead of a cold stream or reusable ones
• I’m thankful for shelter to protect me from cold, heat, rain
• I’m thankful for clothing that keeps me warm and modest
• I’m thankful for Jesus Christ who loves me no matter what
• I’m thankful for water to drink and keep me alive, when others suffer
• I am thankful for central heat to keep me warm in the winter
• I am thankful for Abby for teaching me to include everyone
• I am thankful for a car to drive and get easily wherever I want
• I am thankful for Scott who teaches me to be creative and crafty
• I am thankful for a job that helps me provide for my family
• I am thankful for my ring that reminds me of my eternal marriage
• I’m thankful for hair gel
• I’m thankful for modern medicine that provides sanity
• I am thankful I can watch Monae work (and she sometimes lets me)
• I am thankful for Simon who is obedient and teaches my children to care for another living thing and responsibility
• I am thankful to read stories to my kids
• I an thankful for air conditioning to keep us cool in the summer
• I am thankful for a spouse who supports my desire to worship God and be a spiritual leader in our home
• I am thankful for being healthy with only mild illnesses on occasion
• I am thankful for Ryan who runs and gives me a hug when I come home from work every day

 

Monae

• I am thankful for a GPS so we can not get stressed out when we go on a trip
• I am thankful for the “curly’s” in my life and the fun that they bring into our home
• I am thankful for nail clippers when I have an uneven nail that would break low and bleed
• I am thankful for my cozy comforter to keep me warm and cozy in my bed
• I am thankful for my wedding ring to remind me of my loving husband
• I am thankful for an indoor toilet so I don’t have to go outside in the middle of the night in the cold to go to the bathroom when I’m 9 months pregnant
• I am thankful that Mitch and Michelli (my brother and sister-in-law) live close to us now and we get to see them often
• I am thankful for the color blue because it calms me and makes me feel peaceful
• I am thankful for money to buy groceries
• I am thankful we live in a country where we have a variety of foods to eat
• I am thankful for a dishwasher so I don’t have to stand and do dishes for a long time
• I am thankful for clean hospitals to be able to have a safe place to give birth to my babies
• I am thankful for a hot shower when I am cold and my back hurts
• I am thankful for good health (specifically not throwing up)
• I am thankful for toothpaste so my teeth don’t hurt and I can feel a clean mouth all day
• I am thankful for binkies to calm my babies when they are sad
• I am thankful for my beautiful kids because they remind me of love every time I see them
• I am thankful for the ocean because it smells good and is calming to watch
• I am thankful for cars so that we don’t have to walk everywhere
• I am thankful for refrigerators to keep our milk cold so we don’t have to have warm milk on our cereal
• I am thankful for chocolate because sometimes I’m grumpy and want something sweet to eat
• I am thankful for the piano and kids that know how to play to fill our home with beautiful music
• I am thankful for a husband that willingly and is able to work for our family
• I am thankful for a written set of scriptures that I can read each day and not have to rely on only having someone read them to me on Sunday
• I am thankful for the internet so I can get information about friends and family quickly
• I am thankful for pretty things in my house that make it feel comfortable and make me happy when I look at them
• I am thankful for the ability to have children and feel their love for me
• I am thankful for my kids who get ready on their own each morning so I can rest
• I am thankful for our noses that let us smell and be reminded of good memories
• I am thankful for words that can be written for us to read when our memories aren’t so good
• I am thankful for my parents who faithfully taught me the gospel
• I am thankful for cameras to take pictures that help us remember memories
• I am thankful for the good memories I have from our Europe trip
• I am thankful for windows in my house that let in beautiful light and have the power to change a room from dreary to bright (okay, I so didn’t mean to be so rhymey with that one)
• I am thankful for the warmth of the sunshine on my skin in the summer
• I am thankful for shoes to wear so our feet don’t hurt on the pavement

 

Brianna

• I am thankful for a mom who shares her clothes with me
• I am thankful for gel because it limits my hair to low minimum afro status
• I’m thankful for soccer because I’m able to do something I’m good at and express myself as an athlete
• I’m thankful for makeup because it makes me feel pretty and special
• I’m thankful that mom is pregnant with a healthy baby brother Ethan (she was trying hard to influence this little guys name)
• I’m thankful for Oreos because they satisfy my need of a yummy chocolate w/milk milkshake
• I’m thankful for seminary because I can learn and prepare for my mission and to be prepared for day to day missionary experiences
• I am thankful for the ability to play the piano because I can play and feel accomplished and feel happy or the Spirit
• I’m thankful for braces that made my teeth nice and straight
• I’m thankful for mom’s Christmas decorations around the house that help my mood and make me happier
• I’m thankful for my purse to help hold and carry all my stuff
• I’m thankful for hair ties to keep my hair out of my face
• I’m thankful for Sister Meadows and the time she takes to teach us seminary on top of everything she is going through
• I’m thankful for flip flops so I don’t have to wear closed toe shoes that suffocate my feet
• I’m thankful for mom when she makes my lunches
• I’m thankful for mechanical pencils that make life better instead of wooden pencils that you have to sharpen
• I’m thankful for Elizabeth when she drives me to school in her car
• I’m thankful I only have to take care of Simon 1 day a week
• I’m thankful for a mirror because I can see myself and make sure there isn’t anything weird on my face
• I’m thankful for shin guards to help protect me
• I’m thankful for a light jacket to keep me warm when I’m inside or outside
• I’m thankful for creative movie creators that made Catching Fire to entertain me when I need a brake or a good time
• I’m thankful for a pillow to lay down on instead of the bed so my head is elevated and not down below the rest of my body to create a weird angle that’s annoying and rushes my blood to my head
• I’m thankful for my own bedroom so I can have something of my own in this big family and to spend time by myself sometimes to think and ponder
• I’m thankful for country music so I have something I connect to and is mine and personal I can listen to
• I’m thankful for our family motto “no empty chairs” to help remind me of my ultimate goal
• I’m thankful for Sister Meadows my seminary teacher so I can have someone as an example and someone always there for me
• I’m thankful for my ability to play the piano so I can play Christmas music
• I’m thankful for Wanelo, so I can interact with a good wholesome activity and look at clothes for cheap
• I’m thankful for Nutella to help me when down and keep me pumped up
• I’m thankful for friends to help me keep moving through hard times, support me, help me make right choices, and help me enjoy myself and have a good time
• I’m thankful for mom who does my laundry so I don’t have dirty clothes
• I’m thankful for jewelry to help my outfits to look cute and me to feel pretty
• I’m thankful for games so I can spend time with family
• I’m thankful for our family traditions of ding dong ditching people because I get to spend time with family, help others, and have a good Christmas season time
• I’m thankful for a good book to be able to sit down and read

 

Austin

• I’m thankful for the internet so I can do my homework
• I am thankful for an oven mit so I don’t burn my hand
• I am thankful for BYU because I can watch it whenever I want because my parents attended there
• I’m thankful for the UPS guy because he brings Christmas gifts and other wonderful things
• I’m thankful for people I can say “chill out” to
• I am thankful for Simon because he is cuddly, soft, and always there for you even though sometimes he chews stuff up
• I am thankful for legs because I can play sports and walk
• I’m thankful for a dresser to keep my clothes in
• I’m thankful for a stove so we can cook food and not eat raw stuff
• I’m thankful for my book bag so I can use it to carry home my many books
• I’m thankful for water so I can keep hydrated
• I’m thankful for the old Chinese people that invented soccer
• I’m thankful for a fan to keep me cool during summer nights
• I’m thankful for the fan in Ryan’s room so I can’t hear him at night (funny because the loud fan is actually so Ryan can’t hear us being so loud and will fall asleep)
• I’m thankful for the Atlanta temple that it is so close
• I’m thankful for a dad’s who’s a doctor so we aren’t poor
• I’m thankful for Halloween so that we can get lots of candy
• I’m thankful for Ninjago (Lego cartoon on Netflix) so I can keep the boys busy when I am babysitting them
• I’m thankful for an alarm to wake me up
• I’m thankful for Oreos because they are almost every treat we have for FHE
• I’m thankful for chairs so I don’t have to sit on the ground
• I am thankful for my fellow youth because they are there for you and give you hugs when you need and they bring treats to BYF
• I’m thankful for a computer so I can play Minecraft
• I’m thankful for this book I’m using to write this on
• I’m thankful for a lamp so I can read at night
• I’m thankful for Mrs. Harris (my bus driver) because she takes me to and from school
• I’m thankful for clocks so we can tell time and be on time
• I’m thankful for glue so that I can do some of my school projects
• I’m thankful for my teachers because they teach what I need to know to get into high school and later college
• I am thankful for my little brother Ethan (another hopeful for the name Ethan)
• I’m thankful for food that provides me with strength
• I’m thankful for the Wright bros so we can now fly to different places and see family and other places
• I’m thankful for mirrors so I can see myself and fix how I might look
• I’m thankful for shower mats so my bathroom doesn’t get wet
• I’m thankful for rubber duckies so I can play with them in the tub
• I’m thankful for fire because without it I wouldn’t be here
• I’m thankful for flowers because they bring color to the world
• I’m thankful for family so we can have fun family reunions
• I’m thankful for a shower so I can be clean
• I’m thankful for towels so I can dry off after a warm shower
• I’m thankful for toilet paper so I don’t have to use my hand like in India
• I’m thankful for dog treats so that we can train Simon
• I’m thankful for underwear so I’m not loose in my pants
• I’m thankful for soccer because if I didn’t I wouldn’t be fit
• I’m thankful for Axe so I can smell good for my lady friends
• I’m thankful for this pen so I can write the things I am thankful for

 

Brooke

• I am thankful for hot/clean water to help me not get sick with dirtyness.
• I am thankful for hairclips/brushes/pins to make me look pretty at school/church/stores etc.
• I am thankful for food that help me not have a stomach ache
• I am thankful for the use of shoes so my feet won’t get cold or num up because of cold winter or hard ground etc.
• I am thankful for decorations because it makes my home more satisfactory
• I am thankful for photosynthesis because it is the proses of our living breath
• I am thankful for showers that keep me clean so I don’t get sick from dirtyness
• I am thankful for a bed so I have a comfy, soft place to sleep
• I am thankful for my life and all the blessings you gave me. Because I would be nothing without everything around me
• I am thankful for no school, weekends, the summer because I get my rest
• I’m thankful for this roof that is able to be over my head to protect me
• I am thankful for deodorant so I won’t smell over gross to nature
• I am thankful to be bored (written by Aaron-pretty sure there was some “I’m bored” complaining happening at that time)
• I am thankful for toys so I am occupied during boring situations (written by Brooke)
• I am thankful for a dad and mom. Dad-earns money for my belongings. Mom-to provide, clean, and protect
• I am thankful for school/church etc. bags to carry my things so I won’t have to carry in my hands sooo much stuff
• I am thankful for school so I won’t seem dumb and because math is life
• I am thankful for purses, bags, etc so I don’t have to carry my things

 

Erika

• I’m thankful for Heavenly Father because He gives us blessings
• I’m thankful for my DS because I’m able to have whatever I want (she bought it with her own money and seems to find great pride in that)
• I am thankful for my life
• I’m thankful for my bed because it’s a soft place to sleep
• I’m thankful for trees
• I’m thankful for a life
• I’m thankful for a TV
• I’m thankful for a phone to call people if we’re in trouble
• I’m thankful for dictionaries
• I’m thankful for Simon because sometimes I get bored,so I like to play with him
• I’m thankful for a family because I am be able to play with someone and they take care of me
• I’m thankful for food, because some people don’t have enough food or don’t have money to buy food
• I’m thankful for my toys
• I’m thankful for electricity
• I’m thankful for a clean bath and hot water
• I’m thankful for a car to take us places
• I’m thankful for the world
• I’m thankful for shoes so I’m not barefoot
• I’m thankful for blankets to keep me warm
• I’m thankful for deodorant so I don’t smell BAD!!!!
• I’m thankful for towels
• I’m thankful for money!!!!! I love dad because he works for us
• I’m thankful for a toothbrush to keep my teeth clean
• I’m thankful for trees and plants
• I’m thankful for books, so I will learn
• I’m thankful for Simon
• I’m thankful for games
• I’m thankful for the Magic 8 ball to tell me what I got for Christmas
• I’m thankful for my house because it protects our family in bad weather
• I’m thankful that the American Girl store is nearby because it’s nearby and some people don’t even have a AGS nearby

 

Abby

• I am thankful for a toothbrush to clean my teeth
• I am thankful for a bed so I can sleep on it
• I am thankful for trees because it gives us exingene (oxygen)
• I’m thankful for rectricite (electricity) because if we didn’t it would be dark
• I’m thankful for my toys to keep me active
• I’m thankful for clothes to wear
• I’m thankful for alarm clock to wake me up
• I’m thankful for a brain cause if we were thinking of a story we could not even think of storys
• I’m thankful for a table to eat my food on
• I’m thankful for money to buy food
• I’m thankful for a teacher to teach me
• I’m thankful for scriptures to read when I’m bord
• I’m thankful for Ethan because he’s cute (yet another vote for the Ethan name)
• I’m thankful for a table to eat on
• I’m thankful for a sink to drink water
• I’m thankful for Thanksgiving because there is a big feast and ower aunt and uukle come
• I’m thankful for a mom and dad to love us
• I’m thankful for a shower to keep me clean
• I’m thankful for rain for flowers to grow
• I’m thankful for holidays because I can sellebrat them with my family
• I’m thankful for medosen to feel not sick
• I’m thankful for blankets to be cozy for bed
• I’m thankful for a brothers to play with
• I’m thankful for brothers and sisters to play with me

 

Scott

• I’m thankful for our house so I can live in them
• I’m thankful for towels so I can dry off after a bath
• I’m thankful for a light bulb
• I’m thankful for bubbles
• I’m thankful for the swing set
• I’m thankful I can run super fast in a circle so I don’t have to use crutches
• I’m thankful for snakes so they can die
• I am thankful for snacks at preschool like chips they are good
• I am thankful for pencils so I can draw
• I am thankful for my Spiderman laptop
• I am thankful for Legos because I like to build tall buildings
• I am thankful for my scooter to ride around the whole house
• I’m thankful to go jogging

 

Ryan

• I’m thankful for building blocks so I can play with
• I am thankful for Jesus
• I am thankful for Scott’s birthday cake
• I am thankful for the swing set
• Ryan is thankful for me (I think he meant Brianna who was helping him write)
• I’m thankful for my friend Ann
• I am thankful for a whistle to blow
• I am thankful for mom’s phone to watch it so mommy can rest
• I am thankful for daddy. I kiss daddy
• I am thankful for school
• I am thankful to play games as a family

 

Mitch

• I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Atonement in my life
• I am thankful for family, and being so close to the Starbuck family to visit often
• I am thankful for graduating from college and having a job
• I am thankful for Facetime to be able to talk to the princess in the city far,far away (his wife Michelli  was visiting her family back in Brazil during Thanksgiving)
• I am thankful for my health and strength

{ Decorating Gingerbread houses }

The kids have been on us the last few years about decorating gingerbread houses. When we lived in Reno it was a tradition we made happen every year, but somehow it hasn’t found itself nestled back into our Christmas routine. I was determined, with some gentle nudging from the kids, to make it happen this year. The kids helped me mix the dough, and cut out the gingerbread house pieces. And we thought with four batches we would have enough for us each to do a house. We were wrong. After we made the houses a bit bigger than the original recipe called for, we were left with 3 big house and two little tepee houses. Erika’s one request was that they got to “decorate BIG houses, not tiny ones like they did at school, and they had to be out of real gingerbread-no graham crackers”, …

…and yes lots of GOOD candy! I felt like I bought half the candy aisle by the time I was done. We have learned that pretty gingerbread houses are fun and cute, but gingerbread houses that are full of candy that you love to eat always look way better to us.

After much deliberation from the girls (Brooke was in charge of dividing up everyone into groups)-Brooke, Erika, and I were in charge of one house. Brianna and Austin were a team. Aaron and Abby were the other big house, and the two little boys each got their own tepee house to decorate. Ryan was happy as could be that he could have his own house to enjoy and decorate as he pleased. Partially because he really had no idea what was going on, but it looked like it involved candy so he was in. Side note for years to come: Ryan at this age works best in his highchair. He is my master climber and messer these days. As long as I let him buckle his own highchair buckle he doesn’t fight me too much about being in it. This night it didn’t take too much convincing once he saw that candy was part of the plan. Also to note, though I don’t like bringing to everyone’s attention my lack of cleaning ability-love that the bar stool his highchair is attached to is pretty much filthy. I know it’s much filthier than it looks-just thought I would remind myself at this time in my life how much I dislike the job of cleaning his highchair. I think I will be really happy when those parts of baby days are over.I thought that Scott would be so happy with his own little house, and feel like a “big kid”. I was wrong. The poor guy broke down in tears because he didn’t have a “partner” to help him. We all agreed to pitch in and be his partner, which subsided the tears a bit. Once he got into it though, he was happy to let that four year old imagination of his take off and make his house his own. He would yelp for refills of frosting spots on his tray and that was it. Side note: (promise I won’t bore you with side notes for every picture) I have many talents. Cutting hair isn’t one of them nor will it ever be. This is a grown out haircut gone wrong by me. It will be the last one by me. It really wasn’t as bad as it looks-when it’s brushed that it. This picture is reminding me that maybe even brushing my kids hair is not a strong suit of mine either. It was interesting to see each groups approach to their gingerbread house. Ours was very meticulously planned out, much to Erika’s dismay. She really wanted to just through on a bunch of candy-too bad for her she got stuck with Brooke and I who LOVE to be planners-even when it comes to gingerbread houses.

Can you tell by the perfectly spaced color patterned design on the back? Yeah, we like order-especially order spelled out in m&m’s.

Brianna and Austin were a perfect combination of great ideas. They just worked steadily packing their house with as much candy as possible. Anything chocolate was their focus. I think they mastered that with their chocolate brick walls they had going on.Abby and Aaron were so funny to listen to. They both had their own ideas and candies they liked, but many of them were not the same at all. It was a great team building activity for sure. In the end, we all voted that we LOVED their house the most. The rest of us were done and cleaning up the candy, and they were still going strong with their ideas. This tradition definitely brought out the “Grandpa Engineer” side of Aaron from his dad.Ryan worked quietly and steadily on his side of the island for most of the night. I think he was in shock that we were actually letting him handle such large amounts of candy. After he had almost finished his whole house we told him to pick up one of the pieces of candy from his pile and eat it. Gingerbread house making is a hands on/eating activity after all. He was almost scared to pick one up. You mean I can actually eat this candy too? I know. Almost too good to be true.I was surprised how little direction he needed when it came time to decorate his house. I just put frosting on and he went to work. He carefully placed his m&m’s one by one on his house. He would arrange his candy on end, and in a specific order. It was really fun to see his creative side take off.Here is his finished masterpiece. He was pretty proud of it-incase you can’t tell. Love that little boy grin! Scott’s house had all the magical touches one would expect. A Christmas snowman…A jelly bean garden…..and a seesaw in the backyard for the marshmallow men to ride on. So cute.Austin and Brianna’s final gingerbread lusciousness. I loved their creative little Lifesaver snowman out front.They also spelled Merry Christmas in their yard. Very festive touch.Brooke with our winter wonderland of a house.The checkerboard roof was her idea. It turned out really cool when we snowed it with powdered sugar. It showed all the neat little ridges just like real shingles.And our gingerbread house building winners for 2012…drum roll please…Abby and Aaron’s chocolate covered log cabin won by popular vote…though I don’t think we were even having an official contest. We just all thought it should have because it was really great. There were so many details that we thought were pretty creative.The original design Twix and Snicker’s bar mailbox with it’s own tiny red licorice flag was pretty cool. The log siding on the front and whopper door handle also caught our eye.The view from the other side was just as cute though. That’s a snow ball the gingerbread man is holding, and there is a smashed one on the mailbox that he already threw.A full fence around back and more log siding.Santa getting stuck  in the chimney.Snowman and candy bar shingles. Yummy!The next morning before church the girls were happy to find that our elf Chadwick had found his way onto their house. We moved the house to take a picture and he almost fell off. We had to do a little elf repositioning with the kitchen tongs, and later had to remove him so we could enjoy some of our treats without fear of touching him and making him lose his magic. It was pretty funny. That elf and his little tricks!