Holidays

My husband is downstairs making a snow cone with the snow cone maker that he got for Christmas. I knew he would love it. I just thought it would be a couple of months until he used it. I should have known better. Madelyn is sleeping and I am obviously blogging.

We spent Christmas Eve with my family. We had breakfast at Carrie's house and then went sledding. You may notice that we don't have any pictures of Madelyn on a sled. She didn't really like the steep hill and opted for the playground instead.

After Sledding we went over to my parents house where we got Christmas dinner in the oven, made gingerbread houses and played games. Can't believe i didn't get my camera out. I was just so busy doing things.

After we ate dinner we exchanged gifts. I love exchanging gifts. Its the best part. The kids are great to watch. I had to laugh when Maci explained to Grandma that she already had the gift that Grandma had given to her. Good thing Grandma had a back up gift that Maci was very excited about. Madelyn got some little stuffed animal puppets. I am pretty excited to have a puppet show with her.

We drove home on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas morning at our house.

I can't get any of our Christmas video to upload right now so I'll just tell you, Madelyn got a kitchen for Christmas. We had a blanket over it and when we pulled it off she ran up to it and said, "wow". She loved it and we have had fun watching her eat her pretend food. Madelyn also got a hole bunch of books which she was very excited about.

After we had our Christmas cinnamon rolls we got ready and drove up to Spencer's family cabin in Logan. We got some cute home videos of all the little kids opening their presents. Grandma and Grandpa Stephenson did a good job of spoiling their three grandchildren. Madelyn's favorite toy was a baby doll set complete with a high chair, stroller, crib and baby food. She couldn't wait for us to get it out of the package.

It's official though, the holidays are over. I will wake up to Spencer kissing me goodbye when he leaves for work in the morning. Sad, this week has been so much fun just paling around as a little family. We did a lot of shopping this past week. We looked at cars that we may or may not buy, furniture that we wish we could buy and then the furniture that we probably will buy. We fixed the breaks on our car, hung out in our pajamas, played on the floor with Madelyn a lot, went snow shoeing and watched some movies. It really was a wonderful week together. Neither Spence or I want it to be over.

We have had a great holiday season and hope you had the same. We wish you a happy New Year too.

December to Remember

We've had a fun December.

Madelyn wore her Christmas outfit to church last Sunday. So fun seeing her all dressed up.We took a trip down to temple square. We made Caramels. Madelyn got to stand in the kitchen sink and eat all the caramel she wanted while I finished wrapping each piece.

Oh, and Madelyn thinks she needs to wear deodorant. Really she is tall enough now to open and reach into every drawer in our house. She couldn't see what she was reaching for, but when she pulled out the deodorant from the top drawer in the bathroom she knew exactly where it went. I guess she really is watching and learning from us.

28

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm now 28. I guess the reason I'm blogging about this is because I feel really good about being 28. I have accomplished some good things in my life. I may not have accomplished as much as I could have, but I'm happy with what I have done and where I'm going. I'm happy to be a mother to Madelyn and a wife to Spencer. I'm pretty content.

while I was laying in bed last night I thought about some of the life lessons that I have learned. I thought of a couple last night, but decided it would be appropriate to think of at least 28 since that is my age as of yesterday. Here it goes:

1. Being kind is an easy way to make your life go smoothly

2. Being honest with yourself and others is another way to make your life go smoothly

3. Getting angry only makes things worse

4. Keeping a journal is worth while

5. Being a good mom is something that one gets better at with time

6. We shouldn't be too hard on ourselves

7. Not all things worth doing are worth doing well

8. Life is more rewarding if you do learn to do some things well

9. Having good relationships with friends and family is better than being rich (not that I was ever rich)

10. There is always room to be better and there is always the possibility of it

11. We don't have to be perfect all in one day

12. Marrying the right person has made all the difference in my married life

13. I don't think I would be as content with my life if I wasn't married to Spencer

14. Ice cream is really really delicious

15. Taking time to relax is important and gratifying

16. Working hard is also rewarding and gratifying

17. Being perfect has more to do with being balanced than it does with fulfilling a check list

18. Its great to be able to look up to someone else and not feel like you have to be just like them

19. Truly listening to someone can be hard, but very rewarding

20. God and Jesus Christ really do live

21. There really is a Plan of Salvation

22. Not everyone believes items #21 and #20 and we should respect that

23. This life is going to go fast

24. My friends from high school will always be in my life and I'm grateful for that

25. Life is not always what you expect it to be

26. It is good to learn to be happy

27. I don't have all the talents that other people have and its OK to be OK with that

28. I have only learned 27 things in my life because I can't think of anymore

Christmas Kick-off

Christmas Kick-off happens at the Loveless home on the Friday after Thanksgiving. We used to go with my mom's side of the family down town to stay at the Marriott where we would watch the lights turn on at temple square. But now that all my mom's sisters have grand kids our family has grown too large to maintain that tradition. Too bad, it was a fun one. Instead we get together for an afternoon movie and dinner.

Last night, after seeing The Christmas Carol and eating at Chuck-a-Rama, we went to my mom's house where her grand kids hunted for their hidden Christmas PJ's. The kids loved it and the adults loved watching, and I loved seeing Madelyn and her little cousins in twiner PJ's. It reminds me of palling around with my cousins while growing up. A girls gotta have her cousins...

...little cousins and big cousins too. Maci is one of Madelyn's "big" cousins and she takes such good care of her. Maci can be adamant that she knows what Madelyn needs and that she be taken care of a certain way. I commented to her mom, Carrie, that Maci was just like her and she replied, "Maci is me on steroids". So true, So true.

And let us not forget these cute boy cousins in their Christmas PJ's too.

And let us also not forget all the cousins who couldn't make it to the Christmas kick-off do to the fact that they live in Ohio and Logan (Bryn lives in Logan and is having a baby any day. so she wasn't up for making the trip). Don't worry, grandma has PJ's for you too.

So, now that we have officially kicked-off Christmas, LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It was a great thanksgiving at the Stephenson house. I loved waking up to Spencer (usually he leaves for work before Madelyn and I even wake up) and my little Madelyn. We spent the morning making stuffing and pecan pies while watching the Macy's Day Parade. It was great just being with my little family.

lunch was served at Spencer's house. We had the traditional turkey and everything that goes with it. We were sad that Christina and her two little boys couldn't make it. They got so sick at the last minute and so Madelyn didn't have any little friends to play with. We hope they get better though.

There was a lot of food and I'm still full. Spencer just went to get me a tums. I think I ate too much.

In the below picture Madelyn is clapping for Grandpa Stephenson who was making funny faces at her.

Everyday Life

Spence got this footage of Madelyn "brushing her teeth" the other night. I got a kick out of it. She does such a good job at moving that toothbrush all around. What a big girl we have.

And Here It Is.....

....Halloween 2009.

It all started Friday night at the trunk-or-treat put on in Grandpa and Grandma Stephenson's neighborhood.

Madelyn caught on pretty quickly to what was going on. She didn't realize that if she went to every trunk she would get a piece of candy, but as she cruised up and down between the open trunks she would see candy being given to another kid and so she would go to get some too. We didn't go to all the trunks, and some we visited more than once. She led the way and Spence and I just watched and laughed as she timidly took a piece of candy out of each bucket.

Tonight was not as eventful. Madelyn had come down with a cold and after being at Grandma Loveless' halloween party for an hour or so she had had it and was ready for bed. So home we went.

Too bad we had to leave the party early. Grandma Loveless always throws fun parties.

I got one picture of a couple of the kids and grandma. We have Jackson, Maci, Halley and Cambri. I thought that Cambri was the cutest when she explained to me that she was a "ghost princess".

Here we are on Halloween night. Madelyn has been in bed since 6:00. Spence and I have enjoyed giving candy to the neighborhood kids, and think they are so cute.

All in all it was a great Halloween. It was fun to see Madelyn trick-or-treat for the first time and we look forward to many more years of trick-or-treating.