Christmas Day

It's getting late but I really want to finish catching up on my blog, but I need to go to bed. So this will be brief!

Christmas Eve we tried letting the kids act out the Nativity, and of course Chloe had to be Mary. Therefore Jayden had to be Joseph because a) he's the only boy and b) I was told they are the same height so otherwise it would be silly. I didn't get a picture of Jayden, but he sure made a cute Joseph. Why didn't I get a picture, you ask? Because when it was his turn to hold Jesus, he took off and threw Jesus down the stairs! Chloe trailed behind crying, yelling "Joseph, come back!" I'm sure you can figure out how the rest of that activity went ;)

Jayden absolutely loved throwing (I mean sprinkling) reindeer food on the lawn, but had a rough time leaving the cookies out for Santa. When I woke him up Christmas morning I told him Santa came and he sat up and said "Santa down down down, eat a cookie, presents for Jay Jay!" I just love him more than I can say!

The rest of these pics are from Christmas Day, I'll let you figure them out.

That's it for my marathon of posts to catch up on life. Well, actually, I just thought of one more thing to post about but I'm way too tired for that right now.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Truffles & Stockings

I showed Hannah how to make Oreo and Nutter Butter Truffles. She loved the Nutter Butter ones, and did a great job! She did most of the work, I just supervised, which is the best when you have someone as awesome as Hannah helping!

It was so crazy and hectic getting to NM for Christmas that we didn't bring any stockings. So, we went to the dollar store and picked some up along with some iron on letters, glue, and glitter. It was such a fun activity, the kids loved it.


Here Jayden wanted Nate to iron some on his socks. What a goof!

The finished products:

The Polar Express

We got to ride on The Polar Express! And it was awesome! We got the kids coordinating gingerbread pajamas, and the mommies got zebra pj's. The men were too lame to even wear pajamas.

Jayden LOVED the train, and would not let go of his ticket. The conductor came around and punched the tickets just like the movie, and Jayden held on to it the whole time (until Santa gave him a bell, of course). He stared out the window and was fascinated with the whole experience.

Lincoln was extrememly good too. He pretty much looked out the window at the Christmas lights the whole time and didn't make a peep.

Most of the pictures we took are either too dark or blurry. But it was so cute, when we got to the North Pole, we saw Santa and his elves standing outside the workshop waving to us. As we passed by in order to turn around so Santa could get on the train to give out the bells, Jayden yelled "Santa, wait!!"

We will have to go again, it was a blast!

That night, as I was laying in bed after getting up with Lincoln, Jayden rolled over in his sleep and said "Choo-choo train!" He's such a cutie!

Sledding in Purgatory

A friend of Mom's let us stay at their condo at Purgatory, and we had a blast! We hung out, played games, took naps, and played in the snow! It was a first for Hannah, Chloe & Jayden!

Lincoln had a stuffy nose, so I didn't even bring him outside, even though we got him a snowsuit. He'll use it eventually.

Poor Hannah had a big wreck that scraped her face pretty good. She's a trooper though and went back for more the next day!

Grandma Kathy Young

Okay, I am going to try and recap our crazy life the past month...

We were super busy packing up the house (long story I'll fill in later), getting ready to drive to my parents for Christmas, and I got a call from my dad that my Grandma had suffered a heart attack and wouldn't make it through the night. The doctors said she wasn't in any pain, and once she fell asleep she wouldn't wake back up. Fortunately, I was able to call her, and although she couldn't talk she could listen as I told her how much I loved her and what was going on with our family. She passed on December 12, 2011.

I have had mixed emotions, as she had been in a lot of pain for decades, and my Grandpa passed a year and a half ago. I knew she was in a better place, was with my grandpa, and wasn't suffering anymore, but I would miss her, and even though I was able to say goodbye, I just wasn't ready. The last time I saw my grandpa, somehow I just knew it was going to be the last time I'd see him, but I didn't get that with my grandma, so it was harder in that aspect.

Floral arrangement from the great-grandkids-25 of them!

A few days before she passed, she told her bishop that her Christmas wish was to be with my Grandpa again.

The phrase "I'll be home for Christmas" has a whole new meaning to me now.

There were a few bumps along the way, but luckily my mom was in between her chemo treatments, so she was strong enough to stay home alone while the rest of us attended the funeral. It was a very nice service, and even though we will miss both my grandparents terribly, I am particularly grateful for the knowledge and testimony I have of eternal families and the Plan of Salvation.

I was asked to say the opening prayer, and aside from my wedding day, I have never felt so nervous and anxious about anything else before. I felt sick to my stomach the whole day before and couldn't keep my food down the night before. Once the service was over I felt better, but I'm usually pretty mellow and easy going, it surprised me how worked up I got. Anyway, it was a wonderful service for a wonderful lady. I love you Grandma!

My Uncle Craig, my dad, & my Aunt Linda

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas! We have had a wonderful Christmas holiday so far. My mom hasn't been very sick this round of chemo, and it was her last one! She still has I think two infusions of the supplemental drug, but not the chemo! Hooray! Thanks to everyone's prayers and thoughts, she has had two PET Scans, and there aren't any visible cancer cells anymore! It will still be a long road, and nothing is a guarantee, but we are so blessed and grateful so far.

Mom has been up and doing stuff with us every day. We've completely worn her (and everyone else) out! I'll have more pictures later, but here are just a few. I have had our Christmas cards and letters stuffed, sealed and ready for almost a month now, but can't mail them out yet. I can't say why I can't mail them yet (I'm not pregnant!), but just know that I haven't forgotten everyone, and I have a good reason!

Love,

the Turners

Family Pics Nov 2011

We got family pictures taken! I love that we were able to be outdoors, and the boys were so good!

The Mr.

The Mrs.

I really liked the guy who did our photos, he was very good with Jayden and I am very happy with so many of the pictures! My only complaint was that we almost forgot to change the clothes for the family picture, (I really didn't realize how much time had passed, I was too worried about drool, boogers, stepping in duck poop, etc). I bought matching ties for the boys that were adorable. But he thought they were too formal so he asked us to take them off for the picture above with us in the grass, and I was about to put them back on, but then the photographer was done. So, while I'm not the biggest fan of the plain white dress shirt without ties, I am in love with all the other pictures.