For Christmas Eve, we went to our new ward AND our old ward!  It was wonderful to be surrounded by new friends and tried and true friends.  That afternoon, we watched The Forgotten Carols together as a family (Savannah is home from her mission, yay!).  We love watching that every year and saying our favorite lines with the actors and singing along when the mood hits us, as well.  In the evening we went to Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's house for traditional Christmas Eve candlelight dinner.  Homemade clam chowder!  Yum!  Then we watched a movie of the nativity and opened some presents and played the pipe bells and had a Christmas piano recital.  We love having Christmas Eve with Gazdiks.  When we got home, we put out our stockings and Ben shooed us all off to bed so that Santa could come!

On Christmas day, Savannah, Sarah, Megan, and Mariah woke the twins up at 6am to prove that they weren't too old for early Christmas excitement.  Since they had promised us they wouldn't wake us up until 7:30, they watched a movie while they waited.  Funny kids!  They gathered around our bed and sang and then we opened presents from Santa.  Everyone was pretty happy.  Then we had traditional French toast breakfast made for us by Kevin B.  After breakfast, we opened the rest of the presents to each other.  Fun times!  What a blessed family we are.

During Christmas day, some of us took naps, some of us built snowmen, some of us played games, and everyone played with new toys.  Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik came over for a turkey Christmas dinner and we called it a day.

All our kids in the same room reading, playing, talking.  Love.

On Tuesday we got our schedules to align once again (although not until 4:00!) and we went out for some burgers at In-n-Out and then to Barnes and Noble to get books with our giftcards from Grandma and Grandpa Elton and then to Kohls to get things with our giftcards from Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik and if we wanted more than we had money for, then we used our giftcards from Grandma and Grandpa Skinner!  It was fun.  Christmas again!

We had a pretty relaxed rest of the week.  Savannah read and played computer games.  Sarah read and went out with Allison a couple of times.  Megan worked on a birthday gift for Alisa (an amazing pop-up book that she made herself!) and also went hiking and put her new hammock up in the yard!  Mariah had basketball practice everyday and read and wore her new letterman's sweater everywhere she went.  Cali and Chey played some basketball with their dad and got together with their friends and read books.  Beth and Ben got together with friends and played Minecraft but not at the same time.

The Gillespies came and stayed with us on Thursday night!  They had a reception and wedding to attend and used our place to sleep.  We're glad they did.  It was fun to see them again even for just a short visit!

We had a very Merry Christmas and hope that all of our friends and family did, too!

On Monday and Wednesday of this week I got to perform the Messiah!!  It was so incredible!  What an amazing opportunity.  I have always loved Handel's Messiah and always hoped I'd have a chance someday to play in the orchestra.  So it was such a thrill for me.  The production had professionals for the soloists and principals and it was a thrill to play with such talent, as well.  The performance lasted 2 1/2 hours but even so, all my kids and my husband and his parents came to watch the last night.  It was so fun!

On Tuesday, Cali and Chey had a performance, as well, for their Junior High Nightingale Choir.  They sang beautifully!  The junior high choirs always sing "One Candle" at Christmas time so now I have five daughters who can sing it for me in my living room on request!  Love it!

On Wednesday, Beth and Ben had crazy hair and crazy sock day at school.  They had backwards day on Monday and Christmas hat day on Tuesday, but I only took pictures on Wednesday!  Ha ha!  They also had karate this week as usual and Beth had her last basketball practices before games start after Christmas break.  Fun, huh?

Thursday was only a half day of school so I didn't make any of the kids go to school.  Only Beth and Ben decided to stay home, though!  We'd had our first snow the night before, so we grabbed a couple of sleds and tried out our new sled hill.  Beth and Ben said that it was, "Epic!"

Thursday was also Kevin's birthday!  He and I went out to lunch together between the work he needed to do.  Then I made him his fried chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner and his mom and Jim came and ate with us and brought decorations even!  Fun times!  Then we opened presents and ate cheesecake.  Happy Birthday Kevin B!

Friday was Megan's birthday!  She is now the oh, so glorious NINETEEN!  Her dad made her crepes for breakfast and then her mom took her shopping for some new clothes for her presents.  Then her friend, Alisa, arranged for a group of her friends and sisters to meet at "Get Out Games" where they saved the world before dying horrible deaths.  That night, we went to the Brick Oven for a birthday dinner and then out to Spanish Fork to see the lights.  It was super fun.  Happy Birthday Megan!

Savannah and Megan came home Thursday night.  We had such happy faces because they were back with us and they had such happy faces because all their classes were done FINALLY!  We're proud of their hard work but glad, too, that they will have a break for a little while.  Especially with us!

Saturday we went as a whole entire family to the dollar store to do our family shopping.  It was so great to have all ten of us in the car and in the store.  Later that day, we made candied popcorn and in the evening all ten of us got in the car again and made deliveries to 40 of our closest friends to wish them a Merry Christmas and be wished a Merry Christmas in return!  What a rich, glorious life.

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, too!

Sarah Kristen came home to us this week!!  She came home Friday after finishing her finals and having her best semester so far.  She attributes that to having two math classes (which according to Sarah are the easiest kinds of classes) and to having practicum where she gets to teach which she LOVES.  So she had a great semester of accomplishing much!  We hope, now that she's home, that she doesn't die of boredom before she starts her new jobs.  A day or two to catch up on her sleep seem like a good idea, too.

Mariah had three varsity games this week and they lost all of them.  It was a hard week for SHS lady red devils!  We think if they just let Mariah play more, they'd win more!  That's the parent struggle.  I got to watch her play JV on Friday, though!  Mariah scored 19 points and we won by 10!  It was pretty awesome.  Their team had a "Breakfast with Santa" fundraiser on Saturday morning.  The French toast and buttermilk syrup with eggs and sausage was fantastic!  Then the basketball team had a dance-off with Santa and the Grinch and it was pretty great.  Morale definitely needed time to be silly and have a good time together!  It was great fun.

Mariah also went to the Christmas Dance Saturday night.  Actually, she was invited to the Christmas Dance but her and her date actually went to the BYU vs. Utah game instead!  Funny kids!  They met up with their group and got pictures done and they all went out to eat and then hiked the Y and went to the creamery.  Only then did Mariah and Kolby ditch the rest of the group and head to the game.  BYU won!  Then Kolby's friend invited them down to the floor and they met a bunch of people and ran into Mariah's cousin, Jordan, who is a manager for the team.  He took them into the private basketball practice annex and let them shoot around.  It was apparently a ton of fun!

Cali and Chey had basketball this week, too.  They had a couple of practices and went to a couple of Mariah's games with me and had their own game on Saturday.  I got to watch them and they played great!  They also tried out for their school play this week.  Cali sang "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" and Chey sang, "In My Own Little Corner."  They found out Saturday that they made the ensemble!  It will be fun for them.  It will be "Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."  They went to a party on Friday night and they all did each other's hair.  They looked beautiful!  (I got coolest mom award because I sat and played on my phone and waited until they were done!)

Beth had karate and basketball practices with yours truly.  She also had activity days and piano lessons.  Her every afternoon was full!  She did complain that her life is too busy.  I reassured her that it was only for a couple of weeks.  This girl does enjoy her down time, though!  Fortunately, the birthday party she attended counted as down time (I checked with her).  She and Cali and Chey had their piano recital Saturday morning.  I had to leave early, but Dad and Sarah and Grandma and Grandpa all really enjoyed it!

Benjamin had karate this week and played with Nico and with Caleb on other days.  I helped in his class this week and we got an email from his teacher that he has been showing a big improvement in his effort in Chinese.  Yay!  He plays Minecraft everyday and likes to torment the dog and steal my phone and take pictures.

I did a lot of shopping this week and worked on outlining my new novel.  Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik came over and widened our door into the fireplace room so now we have all the pieces of our sectional in the room!!  They've been a great help.

Kevin had an office Christmas party on Saturday night and Chey, Cali, Beth, Ben, and I all came too!  We ate good food and had a good time visiting with the great people Kevin works with.

Savannah and Megan are still studying hard!  They've been giving each other moral support by studying together.  They will be happy when its all done!

Mariah played in games on Tuesday and Thursday this week and had practice all the other days except Sunday.  Kevin went to all the games and I went on Tuesday with Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik.  She is working hard out there, but no wins for their team, yet!  Mariah also got invited to the winter dance this week which will be next week.  On Saturday, she went to the BYU Women's game with some of the members of her team and they had a great time.  Saturday night, she and Megan sat at the kitchen table doing homework together.  Homework is better with a sister!

Chey and Cali had basketball practices this week and a Bantam game late last night.  They also managed to have friends over on Saturday and to attend a service project for junior honor society.  Their biggest disappointment in those service projects is that the hosts underestimate what they can do.  This is the second time that a two-hour project took them only a half hour!  These two continue to work hard at school and piano and still find time to read good books, too.

Bethany had basketball practice this week and karate and piano.  On Friday and Saturday, her free days, she played with friends.  She was still feeling pretty overworked by late last night.  I hope we can make it through basketball season!  We did find some time Thursday night to make some cornflake wreaths for some holiday cheer.  Cheyenne, Beth, and I made them and everyone helped eat!

Beth also helped me put up a few more decorations this week!

Benjamin had karate and he also helped in my basketball practice with Bethany's team.  Minecraft is still his favorite pastime, but he does also really enjoy the school's new online reading access to MyOn and he works his way through books there.  It's pretty neat and I'm glad he likes it.

Kevin's side company landed a big deal to provide assessments for a big organization.  He's been working hard on that as well as coaching two basketball teams and being Mariah's personal trainer.  He's also still getting in his 11,000 steps a day, often with our dog, Sadie, on the trails around our house.  On Saturday he even took some time to take Beth on a daddy-daughter date to Nicklemania.  What a guy!

As for me, I've decided I need more walks at sunset.

Even if it's cold.

It was Mariah’s birthday this week!  Seventeen!  She is such a beautiful young lady, I can’t even say I’m surprised that she’s that old.  She works hard at everything: school, sports, and her spirituality.  We feel so blessed to have her and to have had her for seventeen years!  Coincidentally, our new ward had Young Women in Excellence on the night of her birthday and asked her to take a few minutes to talk about how the Personal Progress program had impacted her life.  I thought it was a beautiful thing to experience on her birthday as she talked about how she used to get angry very easily and often, but the Personal Progress program had helped her to look at that and really change.  I marveled that just a few weeks ago, her cross country coach had admired her specifically for her ability to never get mad.  I’ve watched her grow and know she really has made that a real change in her life.  I’m so happy for her and all the good in her life.

Mariah also played in a lot of basketball games this week!  They had their first game onTuesday and played three games this weekend in a tournament.  She’s been starting Varsity and though her team has been losing, she’s still trying hard to have a good time.  As one of the team captains, she has to set a good example you know!

Cali and Chey had a good week, too.  Practices for Springville Rec basketball started this week with their favorite coach (Kevin B.)!  And they had their first Bantam game this week on Saturday. They won it handily 21 to 7.  Both Cali and Chey scored.  They had a great time.

Bethany also started basketball practice this week with me as coach!  We both had colds this week, but we made it through our practices nonetheless, and had a good time.

Benjmain had karate (as did Beth when she was well enough on Thursday) and had friends up to play and continues to play a lot of Minecraft.  He loves to build and "Make-It Monday" is his favorite day of the school week.

Since the months changed to December, Friday saw me at the kitchen table getting some accounting done.  I couldn't help thinking that it was a lovely place to get to work!

We are continuing to enjoy our new house.  Kevin gets his steps in on the trail above our house and he's been able to do some conference calls from home in the privacy of his new office.  We are definitely settling in!