The Polar Express

A few weeks ago Tiffany Madsen called to ask us if we wanted to meet up in New Haven, Kentucky at the Kentucky Railway Museum on Saturday December 8th at 6:00 PM and ride the Polar Express together. I said YES in an instant. I love finding new Christmas tradtions, and this is one I hope to do every year. We couldn't wait to spend time with some of our favorite people in the world!

After a last minute Christmas present stop, we sped off down the Bluegrass Parkway at top speed hoping to make the train. (I know right now my New Year's resolution is: to be more puncutal.) Our cell phone lost service as we headed away from Bardstown and into rural Kentucky. We were over joyed when we pulled into the parking lot to see the train still at the station and Todd and Kristi getting out of their car.

Once inside we saw Ryan and Lacey Williams and family and the rest of the Louisville bunch. What a happy reunion. It had been far too long (Trey's baptism over 2 months ago.)All Aboard!!The Kentucky gang. What a wonderful night spent with Josh and Tiffany Madsen and family, Todd and Kristi Hamilton and family and Tyler and Cynthia Madsen and family. It's amazing that when we all moved out to Kentucky, we only had Trey and I was pregnant with Josh and Matt. Todd and Kristi and Josh and Tiffany were kid free and later when Tyler and Cynthia moved to the 'Ville they only had Ellie. How how we have grown! 13 little ones between us! We have so many years of memories together (going on 7 for us!). It was a perfect night, full of smiles, laughing, talking, being loud, wiggly wild kids, sugar, chocolate and Santa. Just what Christmas should be!Josh, Trey and Matt. They were really sweet and wore Christmas colors like I asked them to. They remembered going on the Heber Creeper Polar Express a few years ago with Rich's family and were eager to ride one again.Me, Kristi and Tiffany. Some of my dearest friends ever! Most of the boys. It was funny that all the men sat together and the women took up the row in front. It was perfect to catch up while the kids played with each other.The twins. They even wore a near identical shirt. They must have called each other and planned it. When Rich was at U of L he and Todd were OFTEN mistaken for each other at the hospital. I guess it's because they are both tall, LDS and handsome. Kristi said just last week someone asked Todd how his twins were doing. Todd just smiled and told them they were doing fine! Too funny!Brynn loved sitting up on the chair with the lights by her face and a good view out the window.

Rich and his girls.Elves passed out cookies (2 each) and a cup of hot chocolate. Trey loved it and drank 2 1/2 cups. Too bad the last half ended up on his shirt!Anna gets some fresh air and is on the look out for Santa.
Once all the sugar was in the kids' system and the anticipation of Santa's arrival grew, so did their voices and excitement. We looked at our kids wrestling and bouncing up and down and scanned the rest of the seemly calm train. The other passengers could have taken it two ways. They could have thought we were too loud and obnoxious as they watched in horror as our children played over the backs of the chairs, or they were wishing they were part of the fun crowd. I hope they were thinking that instead of being annoyed! Here comes SANTA CLAUSE! He happily told us we could get pictures taken with him back at the station, so he would just say a quick hello. Matt couldn't help giving him a squeeze as he walked by.
After a big Ho, Ho, Ho off Santa went. Soon the elves and a Christmas tree treated us to candy canes, and coloring books. Kaitlyn was very happy with her new book.
I don't think Brynn and Kaitlyn liked Santa too much. The poor fellow had to hold on to two screaming, wiggly babies so I could snap a picture. What a saint.

After the photo the boys got a chance to tell Santa what they want for Christmas.

Trey: Nerf Long Shot, Thrillville off the Rails (PS2), Crash of the Titans (PS2), Battle Wheel (orange) and Battleground.

Josh: Scooter, Wii with a sports game, Battle Wheel, Webkinz and Build-A-Bear.

Matt: Scooter, Nerf Tommy 20, Battle Wheel and Star Wars action figures.I made a quick run into the gift shop and found this darling Christmas ornament to add to our collection. I'll always remember our fun night together in Kentucky.MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Happy Birthday Julianne!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful sister, wife, mother and friend. Enjoy your day and we hope you start feeling better. At least in the end, you'll have a sweet new baby to love! We Love You!

In Loving Memory

Great-Grandma Bernice Warner Beardall

July 21, 1910- December 7, 2007

5 Generations

So much to say, so much to share, a life time of memories, years of smiles and laughter and love. An exemplary life, selfless service and a beautiful person inside and out. It will take time to create a proper post to honor you, but for today, just know how much you touched my life, everyday. There is a hole in my heart.

I love you forever Grandma!

Winter Program

Trey's school chorus (grades 2-5) performed their Winter Program tonight in the school gym at 6:30 PM. All the children wore their chorus uniform and each got a blue Santa hat to wear and keep. All the other schools in the country would have purchased red hats, but not here in Cat Country! Not only were there singers there were drummers, dancers, flag twirlers, a soloist in a traditional Mexican dress, Japanese streamers, African tribal drums and a brief visit from Santa. It really was quite a production. We thought we were doing well getting Trey there 15 minutes early. Unfortunately everyone else there arrived far earlier, and we found the only available seat: Obstructed View (ropes hanging from the ceiling) on the last row on the far right. We had a serious bird's eye view and thankfully no one behind us to bump! This picture shows the choir, drummers on the stage and chorus dancers. They were really Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. The nights theme was "Holidays Around the World" and the chorus preformed a wide variety of songs. They sang Winter Wonderland, Deck the Halls, a Mexican song called Kings from the East, a Hanukkah song called O' Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, a Japanese song called Temple Bells and then finished with Rockin' around the Christmas tree and Sleigh Ride. It was a lot of fun and the kids did a great job.
Merry Christmas from the VPE Chorus!

Tuesday Tell All - O' Christmas Tree‏

O Christmas Tree,
O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!

In beauty green will always grow

Through summer sun and winter snow.

O Christmas tree,
O Christmas tree,

How lovely are your branches!

O Christmas Tree,

O Christmas Tree.....

Tell us all your story.

What a wonderful thing to document this Christmas season.
I haven't been good at keeping a record of this special part of our home holiday decor. In fact, when I put my tree up last week and mentioned to my mom how much I love all my ornaments, she didn't realize what had been hanging from its branches for the past ten years. Just for the record Mom, I really had permission from you to take all these things, even if you only meant it for a short while and not forever!

I love getting to write about this, but fear one thing. That my brothers will read my post, see all my pictures and think that life isn't fair that their sister stole their tree. Yes, when Marcie asked the question "Does it remind us of our childhood Christmas trees....." I have to say no because it actually IS my childhood Christmas tree. How lucky am I? The luckiest I'd say.

But before I go into far too much detail about my tree, I wanted to share a few things I know about Christmas trees of old. I told my mom we were doing this topic last Saturday night and we got into a discussion about how our Christmas tree evolved over the years. When my Grandpa and Grandma Nance first got married my Grandma wanted a Ponderosa Pine (the big fluffy kind) and my Grandpa wanted a Blue Spruce. They had my Grandma's kind the first year, and then had a Blue Spruce every year after. (I also know they often had a white flocked tree decorated in the living room with the water bubble lights.) This influenced my own father and when we cut down Christmas trees for a few years, we always got a Blue Spruce. If you ever get one, BEWARE their needles are as sharp as the hypodermic kind. Be sure to wear shoes around them at all times and decorate them with a heavy duty long sleeve shirt on!

When you say the word Christmas tree, so many thoughts come to mind. I think of my Great-grandma Beardall's little tree on her table made from baby food jars a gift from a grandchild. I think of my Grandpa and Grandma Larsen's tree tucked off to the side making room for the many, many children and grandchildren in the room singing Christmas hymns while the big bay window fogged up in the cold night air. I think of the small trees my mom gave to each of us one year and the little plastic beads and ornaments we hung on them. I think of the sad Charlie Brown tree we had when I was three of four. I am sure each time any of us bumped it, more needles ended up on the floor than were left on the branches. I remember going up as a family and selecting a tree from our Christmas Tree lot and then having to cut and saw FOREVER and then shoving it in the back of the suburban to get it home. I think all of us kids were smashed against the windows trying to avoid getting pricked to death. I don't think we'll ever cut a tree down! I think of the huge green lit pine tree on Temple Square beautiful against the bright reds, blues, yellows and oranges surrounding it. I think of the all candy Christmas scenes in the ZMCI Center windows and the trees made from sugar and frosting. I think of the small Christmas tree decorations my mom made when she was first married made from pine cones and nuts. I think of standing next to a lit palm tree at the Polynesian Culture Center with flip flops on my feet and knowing that it wouldn't feel like Christmas until I stepped off the plane and felt that crisp, dry Utah air. I think of the twinkling lights of the floating trees on Salem pond, creating a mirror image in the water below. What a picturesque scene, a gift from my little city bringing the Christmas spirit to all.

As I think back to Christmas trees and decorations of my youth I remember the handmade felt ornaments my mom made when they were first married. There were lovely pink angles, handsome tin men, stars, trees, and teddy bears all cut, sewed and glued by my mom. Next came the sewn stuffed horses that had paint brushes for sticks. Next came my favorite of all, all the decorations hanging on my tree.

When we moved up the street, my mom got VERY ambitious and we started putting up two trees. The first was in the family room and the second was an artificial Blue Spruce with pink and blue blown glass ornaments that matched the living room. Jeff and Sarah will be sharing more about that tree today on their blog. As the kids got older, my mom's love of snowman became apparent when she only decorated her mantel and tree with snowman. It's the cutest tree around. It is even topped with a stuffed animal snowman. Since we still had boxes of ornaments and another family room in the basement, we put up a third tree down there just for us kids. What a treat it was to have the glow of Christmas lights shining into my bedroom.

Then I got married to Rich and saw another side of Christmas tree decorating. The kind that could set you back weeks and could bring an added stress to the holiday season until it was done. In Rich's parents Great Room, you can find a 15 foot tree adorned with ribbons and bows and set up on boxes allowing for an entire glass Christmas village to be found at the foot and a train encircling it all. Wow. I don't know if I'll ever become that kind of Christmas tree decorator, but feel so lucky to enjoy theirs each year. It is a beautiful sight to see.

And now to my favorite tree of all. The one located in my own family room. I am so happy to call it mine. The tree is the first artificial one my parents purchased years ago and it's a perfect tree despite missing a limb in two places. When I put on the lights each year, I can think of my dad standing around it wrapping each branch until it all shone bright. We store the tree in the same Bowflex box my parents used for years. I laugh each time I see it. The ornaments are the most precious part. Every one, old and new hold special memories of happy times and people we love.We have a "Sweet Angie" angel on top just like my dad did growing up. We bought her when I was small and I have always thought she is lovely. These are my favorite ornaments. My mom drew and painted each one. There are more patterns, but I didn't want to pull them all off and have to try to remember where to hang them. I remember her tracing the pictures in pencil and then carefully painting each line. They are the prettiest things on the tree.I also love these braided wheat ones. I remember my mom soaking the wheat in water until it was soft enough to bend. These must have taken so much time and I'm always the one to hang these so I can be extra gentle and not damage their fragile parts.I remember the year we got these darling reindeer. We have a set of 12. McDonald's was selling them and we went back more than once to get enough for the tree. They are so cute. We also have red apples and gold beads from my parents as well.Rich and I got this ornament from his Palo Alto ward when we were engaged (1996). It always reminds me of our first Christmas together.Rich's mom gave us this ornament when we shared our first married Christmas together in 1997. Last year I found these darling little sleds with most (well 3 out of 5) of the kids names on them at Macy's. I had to buy them because I love Miracle on 34th Street and thought it was the perfect place to purchase Christmas ornaments. I got blank ones for Brynn and Trey and wrote their names in pen myself. I tried to put them all up on the top section of the tree close together. Rich and I have our names on two clear plastic snowman next to the sleds. My one ornament from Louisville Stoneware. Before I move, I am going to return to their shop downtown and buy some serious Kentucky mementos! These next three were gifts from the boys. I love when I'm present with something they made for us on Christmas. And I love it even more when there is a cute picture too.Josh and Matt made theirs at preschool last year.
Trey's was from 2004. I loves seeing how much they change every year.I bought this at a little shop in Playa del Carmen, Mexico just days after Christmas 2005. We flew down on Christmas day and spent a wonderful week with our boys and my family in an all inclusive resort.This was a wedding favor from our dear Louisville neighbors Bill and Pat. Pat made them all and inscribed on the back is wedding date and shared birthday, December 16.The boys and I painted these wooden ornaments and glitter creations with our wonderful friends the Underwoods. Every time I see the trees, stars, moose heads and snowflakes catching the light, I think of them and smile. Good times!Everything Thanksgiving I try to find a Christmas ornaments to make after the big meal. We made these a few years ago and I only completed one. It turned out pretty, but my tree colors do not include blue, so I happily gave the rest of the beads to Kristi who whipped them up last year and hung them in her dining room.We made these two years on Thanksgiving. I loved these. I got home and made the rest of the bag. They are tiny and bring the right amount of sparkle to the tree.
And this is what the boys colored this Thanksgiving. Such happy memories.

Merry Christmas 2007 to all!!!

Stake Conference

We counted up tonight and Rich has been on call six of the last nine nights. It really has been crazy around here, so to find out that it was Stake Conference this Sunday and I would be going it alone didn't make me that excited. Saturday night I was up with the girls in the middle of the night and when I got one back to sleep the other would sit up and cry. At 3 AM I finally brought them both into my bed desperate for some rest.

This morning I knew that 2 tired babies wouldn't equal reverence for 2 hours and that I had to find a way to go without them. We all got up and dressed and after Rich got home from the hospital, ate breakfast and was ready to lie down, I put the girls down for their nap and just the boys I went. I knew that only hearing 1/2 of it without Brynn and Kaitlyn would be better than wrestling them in the hallway for the full 2 hours

It was so wonderful to be there in church since we were stuck home last Sunday after the kids bouts with throwing up. I was dying when Josh started to ask me how much longer it would last when we only had been there 20 mintues. I have got to toughen my kids up. As I sat there and sang the Christmas hymns I found was I was looking for, that special peace this season brings.

By the time the stake president got up to talk time was running out. He shared some kind words to a counselor that was released because of his upcoming move and then he talked about one thing with his precious few moments. He talked about how our Savior was born in a stable, how his life was one of kindness and service, how this season we should bear our testimonies and share our light through serving and loving others.

I have had this on my mind all week, and to hear it said again- loud and strong from my stake president made my heart burn. It was touching and sweet and I know that this year is the one when my kids need to see what it really is all about. I hope after FHE tomorrow night and in the three weeks before we leave for Utah I can set time aside each day to teach my children more about our Savior and why we celebrate Christmas.

When we got home Josh begged to watch the movie about the lonely old man and the little girl with the lost mittens. I told him I would love to watch Mr. Kruger's Christmas with him. As the night wore on and we didn't watch it, I promised we would tomorrow. In Matt's sweet bedtime prayer he said, "And I love the story about the lonely old man and his cat and the girl with the lost gloves. And how he doesn't have any friends, but that you are his best friend. And that he found happiness in the end." What sweet words from my little Matt and what a memory since I think he's only seen it once and that was last year. It shows that children are always watching, learning and figuring out life.

I too hope we can all find him this Christmas season. I think we are going to start looking tomorrow!

More Fashion Follies!

I know I've written about this over and over again, but after five brothers and three sons, I am still excited to have so many girly things around the house and in my life. And I think my girls are the funniest little chickadees around. I am a bit biased being their mother and all, but if you can't share it on your blog, where can you?!

More from my little fashionistas! Brynn
and Kaitlyn.
I never could have imagined we would be getting so much use out of their Halloween costumes. This is how Brynn sleeps EVERY night. With a dress over her PJ's and shoes on her feet. I have never seen a child sleep in shoes. She is starting to wear off on Kaitlyn too. They both went to bed with shoes on last night! I guess I should be grateful because it's an extra layer of warmth when they wiggle out from under their blankets in the middle of the night.This was taken after church today. She found the silly thing hidden in my room and started pulling in on herself! When I took off her dresses and got out her jammies she found Kaitlyn's dress in her room and cried until I put it on. Then she got out her new yellow Belle slippers, and found two pairs of shorts and HAD to have them all on. She checks it out to make sure I did what I was supposed to do. Funny girl!Why chose just one when you can wear one of each!
Brynn showing off her new pink glitter shoes from Wal-mart and her cute purse. We went into the shoe section looking for new black shoes for Kaitlyn. Once Brynn got a look at these beauties, she wasn't going to leave the store without buying them!Kaitlyn was on a hat run tonight. She had a bit of a gangsta look going on.She kept running into the boys room and returned with a new cap on her head, a big smile on her lips and exclaimed "CHEESE" to me every time. Here she is with Trey's Oriole's hat. What a nut! Kaitlyn was in heaven putting on everything she could find in my drawer. She loves when we fold laundry so she has a large selection to try on.Kaitlyn and her newest love: Barbies! I brought my old Barbies from Utah so I had some toys for older girls to play with when they come over to visit. Kaitlyn immediately fell in love with all of the dolls, clothes, hats and shoes. The first thing she wants to do when she wakes up is dump out the entire Barbie sack thus leaving a trail off small clothes and accessories wherever she goes. She even slept with three dolls in her bed last night.

Love you my sweet little chicas! You put a smile on my face and keep me busy picking up behind you!

Christmas Chaos

The hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers. The lines that rival my wait for the final Harry Potter. Finally getting through the green turn light after waiting for five minutes. Finding out that the item that you rushed over to purchase is the wrong toy. Seeing the cuts on your wrist and fingers after you searched through 50 boxes trying to find just ONE green scooter. The new outdoor Christmas tree that burns out in two days, the extension cords, ornaments, boxes, broken lights, glitter covering your face, fake Christmas tree needles stuck in the carpet. The Christmas CD's you can't find, the paint on the counter top, the Mod Podge in your hair and the smell of burning cookies in the oven. The endless wait in customer service, the hours searching online. Here and there and everywhere twice in one day.

That is what Christmas has felt like so far. But I am pleased to report: IT IS FINISHED! I have done nothing else over the past week or more, but let it be known that the decorations are up, the lights are shining bright and finally, yes finally, my Christmas shopping is complete!! Hurrah! And a huge Yippee from Rich, heralding the commencement of my never ending running list and mouth about this and that and to who and what. And I'm sure he'll chuckle that I was stressed over it all since it's the late date of December 1st.

I usually don't feel the need to finish so early, but when you are flying home on the 20th, you have to have the decorations up as soon as possible to make it worth all the effort. And when Thanksgiving came and went and Black Friday didn't mean scouring the adds and stores finding deals, I knew I had my work cut out for me to get the must have items. The boys have been quite specific about what they hope to find under the tree, and since the lists haven't varied in the past month I knew it was safe and wise to purchase now. Thanks to far too many trips to Toys-R-Us, Wal-mart and various stores here and there, I feel confident smiles will abound on December 25.

Yes, there are presents stashed away in my closet, cupboards, the attic, under a blanket in the back of the van, some are in route to Utah via free shipping online and a few are under the tree. I pray I can gather them all up when it's time to pack and hope even more that we can fit them into the luggage and shove it all in the back of the van. That may end up being our Christmas miracle. Every year Rich says there is just no way humanly possible to pack clothes, shoes, toiletries, coats and our entire Christmas and haul it across the country. But every year I do because I can't stand buying things full price, hate paying for shipping and certainly would be a basket case if we waited to shop until we got home. No sir, I get it on sale, wrap it myself, pack it up and I'm proud of it!

The one thing I haven't been as great about this year is keeping all the toys secret. Trey spied a game in the back of the van hiding under the girls blanket and I quickly told him that I had been buying gifts for children in our stake after I got their tags off our ward's Giving Tree. Yes, I had been shopping for those children, but the Battleground game wasn't going to the baby that needed pacifiers. I left it very vague and told him not to be disappointed if he didn't find that item under his tree. Then Matt discovered a hockey game meant for Josh in my closet and I told him a neighbor had asked me to store it for her. OK, that was a lie, but what is the real Santa Clause to do? I hid the rest in a safer location this morning hoping to stay off the Naughty List now that I can stop fibbing to my kids.

Now I can get us all on track and start looking for service opportunities in stead of the next great deal on Amazon.com. I hope the Christmas season will slow down a bit so I can sit back and enjoy it at least for a moment in between the rest of the hustle and bustle this time of year brings.

Here's a peek at what Christmas looks like at our house.

The front yard.EntrywayThe tree The family room. My Ebay find from last year and Christmas trees I made at enrichment in Louisville.Kitchen Christmas crafts from Traci.

Merry Christmas from my home to yours! And may your holiday season be merry, bright and STRESS FREE!