Creating Christmas Memories

My goodness have we been busy! Every year I tell myself that I'm going to be on top of all the Christmas stuff earlier, but every year I'm always scrambling at the end. I love this time of year though and my favorite thing is creating Christmas memories with our kids. Their excitement over the simplest of things is infectious. Ya, many of our events end with a whole lot of whining, crying, and complaining, but it's the memory that counts!

Some of my favorite memories so far this month:
- Choosing that perfect Christmas tree!

It had rained all night, but nothing was gonna stop us from getting our tree! Couldn't wait a day longer!

- Seeing the lights of the temple at night

It was also fun to go into the LA temple visitors center where we ran into Joe and Carolyn Chandler who are serving a mission there. So great to see them and get caught up!

- Decorating the tree! I love seeing our kids faces when I plug the lights in. The girls each get a tray of ornaments to hang and I love hearing their excitement and stories behind each ornament. 

Haven't taken a "finished"picture of our tree yet, but this will have to do from afar! Have I mentioned how much I love hanging out with these two every morning?! We've had lots of great memories this month of shopping/errand running and then stopping by the park to release all our energy!

- Reading Christmas Books! My goal this month has been to keep it focused on Christ, and our "25 days of Christmas" book has helped us do just that. Every night was read a scripture, sing a Christmas hymn, and read a Christmas story. It's been one of my favorite things about the month! Part of our collection of Christmas books:

Big thanks to Aunt Karlee for making us a 25 days of Christmas book. We got to FaceTime with her while opening the gift (thanks Kar for joining the picture)! 

- Getting Christmas cards! It's like Christmas morning every trip to the mailbox! I made to sure thank our mailman today with a bag of carmel corn! :)

- Watching our new movie- "Christmas Oranges" with the kids (thanks Gram Rox!!) and bawling my eyes out with Madi while watching it. I love that I have someone to cry with, and a new Christmas movie to look forward to every year! 

- I've loved working on different photo projects with Spencer this month. He's got such an artistic eye and I really appreciate his help with all these gifts we create.

- Hearing the excitement of the girls run from room to room trying to find "Mr. Elf" each morning is something I'm gonna miss when they get older. The best was when Mr. Elf hid in our blender. Later in the day Elle wasn't feeling good and really wanted a smoothie. So they asked Mr. Elf if he could get out of the blender. Then Elle got into the bathtub and when she got out, Mr. Elf was no longer in the blender! The girls thought that was the nicest thing ever and wrote several nice thank yous for Mr. Elf. 

This past weekend was action packed with all sorts of fun Christmas memories. I'm bummed I only got a couple pictures, but we truly ran from one event to the next the entire weekend. 

-Friday the 13th I set up for our ward Christmas party. I love not being in charge and just going to help!

-Saturday the 14th I took the kids to the Camarillo Christmas parade in the morning while Spencer had a final ward choir practice (yes, Spencer was pressured into joining the choir this year and is a natural)! The kids and I found a great spot but right in the sun (I was excited about getting some on the 70 degree sunshine on my white legs), so naturally I had several complainers about how bright it was!

I loved watching Cal's excitement with each passing police car, dog, horse, band, etc. I believe this was his first parade! He made friends with all the little dogs sitting around us too!

We had to leave the parade early to bring Madi to the church to run through her solo for the ward Christmas program. Santa's float (that the girls were dying to see) was at the very end, so we hiked up the hill to say hi! Then I had to run all the way back down to get to Madi's rehersal on time! Oh the things we do for our kids!

From there we headed home to bake cookies for the dessert table at our ward Christmas dinner. After the cookies were done, Madi and I took off to the Stake Center for our Stake Choir practice from 2:30-4pm. Then ran to the outlets to find a shrug to go with her dress. We got home just minutes before we had to leave for our ward Christmas party! It was a wonderful party - very Christ centered this year. The primary kids sang two songs. We hustled home at 8pm (right before it ended) to get tired kids into bed before our "scheduled" power outage at 9pm. As annoyed as we were with not having power for the next 10 hours, it was nice to get to bed early!

- Sunday the 15th was our ward Christmas program. Spencer sang in the choir and Madi sang a solo. She did a beautiful job and looked like an angel (kicking myself that I never got a picture). After church we had tithing settlement then ran home for 30 minutes before leaving for the Stake Christmas concert. I'm so happy that Madi and I decided to do it this year (she technically wasn't old enough to be in the children's choir, but an exception was made). It was amazing! I feel so lucky to live here in Camarillo and be part of such an awesome stake with so much talent! I saw the local newspaper there, so I'll be sure to include a picture of the article when the paper arrives!

What a wonderful weekend it was! Now to finish Christmas cards, work on teacher gifts, begin baking, and finish planning sharing time for Sunday along with thank yous for all the teachers, and reorganizing primary classes for the new year!! 

Sailing

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Spencer and I got a babysitter for the day and with ten other adults (Bell family and John & Debi Lassen) and 3 teenagers (Hans Lassen and the Hunter twins), sailed out to Anacapa Island.

To be totally honest, sailing ins't one of my favorite things, but Spencer sure loves it, and there are certain things in life that you have support when it's important to your spouse. Sailing is one of those things!  I will always support it because I know how much Spence loves it. He loves it so much that he's willing to totally give up his Directv to pay for an 8 week course to get certified to sail large sailboats and become a member of the yacht club (allowing us to rent yachts whenever we like). It really is a fun thing to do when family or friends come to visit, and I think I'll enjoy it a lot more when our kids are old enough to come along. 

Saturday was a lot of fun though. It was a gorgeous day and we were with great company (sure love the Bells and Lassens)! We sailed out to the Anacapa arch, and had a grand time watching the dozens of seals and dolphins swim along with us. A great way to wrap up the month of November!

Thanksgiving 2013

I feel like I blinked and Thanksgiving was over! Can hardly believe we've already started the countdown to Christmas - only 21 days away (holy moly- more to say on that later!) We spent a nice Thanksgiving here in Camarillo with Mom and Dad Jenkins. Since I grew up spending every Thanksgiving with 50+ cousins, I always feel like the day should be spent with more than just our kids running around. So when I heard about some good friends of ours that didn't have family around and would be eating alone, I asked mom how she felt about 6 more at our table. Spencer's mom is always up for a party and was totally cool with it. I was glad for the extra company that helped make our dinner feel more like Thanksgiving, instead of just a much bigger Sunday meal. 

Really wanted to get a nice table shot, but I always end up taking fewer pictures than I'd planned on. Glad I got the few that I did, even if they're not the greatest quality.

The kid table:

Notice the little turkeys - here's a close up:

They were much harder to make than they look. Thankfully Spencer was a good sport and helped me create 13 of them!

It was fun having the Nelson family join us. It's always nice when your kids line right up in age (except that we don't have an 8 year old)!

We both have a six year old named Madilyn - so we have to distinguish by middle names which are also similar: Madi Kaye and Maddi Mae!

We both have 4 year olds - Ella (on left), Elle (on right). These two love playing together in their weekly joy school group!

Then we've got the littles just two months apart - Macee and Calvin.

I loved how Cal kept running around calling, "Macee! Macee!"

As crazy as it was to have the 7 kids running around, I loved that my kids had friends to play with on Thanksgiving.  HUGE thanks to mom and dad for hosting the party! I felt really bad that we had to leave right after pie, but little kids had bedtimes that couldn't be pushed any later.

I have so much to be grateful for - more than I have the time to name right now, so I'll just finish with a final picture of our thankful tree that we've had fun adding to throughout the month.  I think we'll leave it up and keep adding leaves throughout December. Sure thankful for these cute kids of mine that posed themselves at my request for a picture! Then they went right back to screaming and bugging each other! Oh the joys! :)

20 months

Cal's such a love these days! He's talking a ton- finally says "please" and "thank you", snuggles on demand, and knows exactly what to say and/or do to get us all busting up laughing!

A family favorite from the month has been trying to get him to say "I love you." He'll copy us and say, "I... love... u..." and then with a sneaky smile on his face he'll throw his arm up in the air and yell, "Cougars!"

Spencer has trained him well.

The girls were also big instigators of it. They made BYU signs to post around the house so that Cal would say it more. For about a week Cal would walk around the house cheering, "B...Y...U.... Cougars!"

The hardest thing we're still dealing with is his separation anxiety. He always wants to be with me, and despises nursery! I've heard he's made some improvements, but pretty sure we've got a long road ahead of us. Cal also has sharing issues. I had to watch one of his little buddies the other day (who's 3 months younger) and Cal kept freaking out when his friend would touch his toys or if I'd hold or get close to the other boy. It was exhausting and I was getting pretty annoyed at how jealous Calvin was being.

Cal sure does love his Mama though. He currently loves saying "No" to everything we ask:
"Cal, do you want to go outside?"
"No!"
"Do you want a cookie?"
"No!"
Do you want to go read books?"
"No!"
"Do you love Madi?"
"No!" (said with a silly smile and cute laugh once we get into asking about family members)
"Do you love Elle?"
"No!"
"Do you love Daddy?"
"No!"
But then when Spencer or the girls will ask, "Calvin, do you love Mommy?" He'll never say no! He just gets quiet and does a little giggle. He knows he can't say no to that one, even if he is just joking around.

Sure love my sweet little mama's boy!!

Country of Origin

As part of Madi's social science curriculum, they did a unit on cultural diversity. Today they had their culminating activity - a Thanksgiving program celebrating each child's country of origin. The kids were to learn about their country of origin, draw the flag, and come up with an interesting fact about it. Madi did her research, and with the help of her dad, came up with a great fact. Madi's line was "My name is Madi Jenkins. My country of Origin is Wales. One interesting thing I learned about Wales is that it is known as the land of song. Some of the best singers and choirs are from Wales."

She also had the closing line, "Thank you for coming to our performance! We hope you enjoyed it!"

Then they all got to enjoy foods from all the different lands. We made Ann Romney's Welsh Skillet Cakes to share.

Love how Elle's eyeing all the yummy treats! It was quite the feast!

 Madi with the Wales flag:

Take another look at that amazing flag that Spencer free handed!! He's got some serious talent! Then Madi traced his outline with a black sharpie and colored it all in.

Madi was super excited to have daddy there!! Spence surprised us last night and came home early, His trial was continued until another date.

And what a treat to have Boppi join us!!

Feeling thankful

Last Thursday was our ward RS holiday dinner. It was a wonderful night with a great program. One of my dearest friends (and also my 1st counselor in Primary) was the speaker. Her message was perfect and just what I needed to get off on the right foot this holiday season.

I came home feeling funny, immediately regretting eating the pumpkin roll dessert when I was already stuffed from dinner. I went to bed sick to my stomach and woke up several times throughout the night. Finally at 4am I ran to the bathroom and threw up.

Somehow I managed to get up an hour and a half later, run Madi to school, take Elle and Cal over to the park by the school to play while we watched Madi at PE, and then walk home (my energy was shot by that point - running home wasn't in the cards). I slept off and on the rest of the morning/afternoon while Calvin and Elle "doctored" me, watched a couple shows, read books, and played some games. How grateful I am for kids who can entertain themselves. Calvin was as sweet as ever. He'd come lay next me and snuggle, always checking to see how I was doing. I love my little mama's boy!

I felt so worthless. I'd layed on the couch and thought about the things I should be doing - like cleaning up the kitchen, folding the clothes, finishing my ironing, playing with my kids, etc. I went to bed super early Friday night.

Saturday morning at 4am Madi woke up not feeling good (aside from being a little tired, I was feeling great). She went the bathroom while I grabbed our throw-up bowl. Then I tucked her into bed in the guest room. A few minutes later she was calling for me again. I'd check on her, reassure that she was going to be ok, then go back to bed. After my 5th time out of bed, I finally got into bed next to her. She was totally shivering and requested to take a bath. I filled up the tub and then went back to bed. Now, I should probably mention here how Madi is super dramatic when she's sick. Crying, moaning, telling me over and over how this is "the worst day ever!" Finally she threw up! Hallelujah!

By the time I got her back into bed, I couldn't sleep. I lay in bed until there was enough light outside for me to go on a run.

After a day of being completely knocked out, all I could think about was how grateful I am - for everything! For a strong healthy body, for having the energy to vacuum, for dishes to wash, for clothes to fold, for kids to snuggle, for a nice home to live in, for beds to sleep in, blankets to keep us warm . . . all while Madi complained about how awful she was feeling and how it was such a terrible day. I had to remind her at one point that this is why our Heavenly Father gives us opposition in all things - sickness so we can appreciate when we're healthy, pain so we can feel joy, sadness so our happiness is that much greater!

But truthfully, this is how she spent most of her day:

Thankfully, her stomach bug was just as short lived as mine was. Sunday she was up happy and feeling much better.

The Friend magazine came last week and I loved the "Gratitude Tree" idea. So that day it came, the kids and I made our own tree. I used brown paper bags to make the trunk while the girls traced and cut out leaves. We have a "thankful box" that we always do during the month of November, but I'm liking this gratitude tree a lot better! Pretty sure it's going to become a new tradition! I like that we can read our "leaves" each time we walk by, and be reminded of how very blessed we are.

This was taken right after making our tree, so the leaves are sparse. It's filling in quite nicely though (I'll take a better picture of it on Thanksgiving)!

As I was looking through my random iphone pictures, I was reminded of how crazy blessed I am. Wanted to share some of my blessings. . .

* I'm thankful for 3 beautiful kids who love each other!

While watching a "scary" part in Sophia the First, Madi and Elle grabbed each other to help calm their fears. So glad I was there to snap a picture!

I got out of the shower and found Elle reading to Madi (who'd fallen asleep). 

How Elle entertains Cal every morning:

Making sure Madi was ok:

*I'm thankful for a good dentist who we know and trust (Dr. Czubiak not pictured, but his hygienists are pretty good too)!

*I'm thankful for daddy daughter bonding at Home Depot. . .

 . . . and for free monthly crafts!

* I'm thankful for an awesome library with lots of fun activities for the kids - every Monday and Wednesday they have an area full of dogs you can read to.

They both take a turn with each dog - sometimes we're there much longer than I'd like to be!

* I'm thankful for creative kids - Madi's paper doll (with changeable clothes)! 

* I'm thankful for sponge rollers that help make Madi's long hair bouncy and gorgeous (trying to talk Elle into wearing rollers)! 

* I'm thankful for bike helmets to keep my kids safe! Pretty thankful for our bikes too - makes getting to the park and school a lot faster!

* Helmets are pretty helpful with keeping my 19 month old entertained too! I'm also grateful for an awesome jogging stroller which helps me get a little more exercise. And I'm extremely grateful for my 2 buddies that I get to spend every morning with (not looking forward to Elle starting kindergarten next year - but I am grateful for the great schools my girls get to go to).

*I'm thankful for Costco- for their awesome return policy, and for good treats that keep my kids entertained while I shop!

* I'm thankful for the Flowbee - a quick, no cost, mess free way of cutting hair! 

* I'm grateful for cameras - to capture all the moments! And for suckers to use for bribery!

* I'm thankful for all the awesome parks we have here in Camarillo and for the energy they help our children burn!

* I'm thankful for headbands that keep Elle's hair out of her face, and for that sweet smile of hers!

I am so very very blessed - this is obviously just a dent in the list. I could go on and on, but I'll stop for now cause I'm also grateful when I get a good nights rest, making me a happier mom in the mornings!

Oh, and one last thing - I am so very thankful for a husband who works hard so that I can stay at home with our kids. Spencer's been gone since Sunday and will be in trial up til Thanksgiving. I know it's hard for him to be away from us for so long. And oh how we miss him!