Christmas Festivities

First Christmas morning in our new house:

CJ had lost his Book of Mormon like 6 months prior, and we searched and searched for them at home and at church. Finally, I just decided to get him a new one, and since it was right before Christmas, I wrapped it up. I thought for sure he'd be disappointed opening it, amongst all his toy gifts, but it was so sweet how excited he was and showing Payton and Daddy :)

 

First stop of the day was my parents house. G&G Beazer came for the first little bit, along with Grandma Great Freeman. And so some family pics are a must :)

 

One of the boys' absolute favorite gifts were these Star Wars Angry Birds from Daddy. They couldn't hardly stand to set them down.

B absolutely hating sitting on Santa's lap. Both times.

 

 

CJ's letter to Santa: "I taked a nap. I read a book to Brooklyn, my baby sister. I help my brother Payton. Like if he falls in a hole, I'll grab him. I want a Mario Star Wars wii. It's like medium big. I was nice. Love, CJ" ha ha. This kid cracks me up.

Payton's letter to Santa:

"Dear Santa, I want a fake spiderman shooter that really shoots fake webs and spiderman stuff. Have a great day Santa! And my own phone. And a remote control monster. Love, Payton" :)

Payton wrote this at school: "I can only decorate my house inside. I have decorated my Christmas tree with lights and ornaments, but just normal lights."

I knew he was disappointed that we never put lights up on our house outside.

Apparently he was also sad that we only had white lights on our tree. And it's true, he did all the ornament decorating himself. Maybe next year will be better, huh Bud? :)

 

 

But she sured loved this bear that was almost as big as her, and carried him around with her.

During the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, we made a fire and played board games. It was fun!

 

We had a Beckam/Everett spend the night, and the next morning took all of them to our ward party. And when I say we, I mean me, ha ha. Casey was working.

But lucky for me, my parents are in the ward and helped out. Plus, Kenzie and Dan, since B and E are also their nephews.

 

The kids got to make candy trains.

 

My boys were in a musical number and needed to be dressed like shepherds. Brooklyn got to dress up as one the night before :)

 

 

 

Plus they sang with the primary,

while Brook and her little friend looked on. (and by friend, I mean she kept trying to steal her car, ha ha)

 

At the Blake Christmas Party, Payton was a shepherd again, and Brooklyn was his sheep.

CJ got to be a wiseman.

Lola was adorable with this little crown on, that was part of their HILARIOUS skit, that I'll post a video of.

 

 

CJ had fun at his preschool program for the parents.

 

 Then they got to go on a field trip to a nursing home, and perform again for the people who live there. So cute. All the grandmas and grandpas loved it. Especially the part where the kids walked around and handed out the cards they had colored for them.

Again, B was suspicious of anyone Santa-looking, although she did say "ho ho ho" so cutely.

 

 singing Rudolph

 

 

 This was one of my favorite songs, although I only recorded a little bit of it.

"The very best part of Christmas-time, is the present you give away."

 

December

In December my sweet Aunt Olivia lost her 8 year battle with cancer. I didn't get to attend the funeral in California, but we had a graveside service here in Mesa, and it was a beautiful tribute to her. She'll be missed, and my heart sure hurt for her daughter Kimberly who got married just a couple weeks later.

The 22nd was also the 1st anniversary of Jen's death. Miss you Jen!

 

 

I just had to take a picture before Payton gave this birthday card to his friend. I thought he was just going to write "happy birthday" but instead he was so creative and made a word search,

fill in the blanks,

and all kinds of fun drawings. His mom even told me a couple weeks later that Mitchell threw away all the other cards, but kept Payton's and their family talked about it at dinner a few times, which I thought was sweet :)

 

We had fun at Bass Pro's winter wonderland.

 

Enjoying a boat ride :)

And a green goopy bath stuff that they got for Christmas.

 

 

 

After Brooklyn had her seizure on Dec 2, we went to Phx Children's Hospital to get an EEG. It was decorated so cool for Christmas with themed trees everywhere. My phone is such a horrible camera, but hopefully you get the gist of it. I knew the boys would want to see them.

Angry Bird Tree:

Banfield:

Where the Wild Things Are:

Big Purple Balls. B loved this one.

Lego:

Cat in the Hat, with the Grinch stuck in it :)

She was having such a good time hanging out with Mom and Grandma, before they called her name.

Getting all the little sensors on her head was not enjoyable for her though. One of the worker guys was so cute, got out toys and played with her while the lady was busy working on her head. She actually did cooperate well during the actual testing. They told me to put her to bed late, wake her up early, and not let her nap on the drive over. I laid down in the bed with her, and had brought her blanket, binky and sound machine, so she did fall asleep during the dark testing. I was so relieved. Prior to the dark part though, they did strobe lights, which didn't send her into a seizure, thankfully. Another part shone bright lights in her eyes, and I had to hold her eyelids shut for 10 seconds each. She hated that! But she got through it and we survived.

The results came back and at first we were told they were abnormal, but normal for only 4 days after a seizure. But then when we met with the specialist, she said that to her, they were completely normal. That neurologist recommended an MRI, but at this point, we don't think we'll do it. If she has another seizure, she'd be put on epilepsy medication, whether or not the MRI came back normal.

 

 

2 silly videos to end with :)