December 2012, Part 3

I forgot to attach this picture to the previous post but I'm too lazy to update it. So, here ya go. The aftermath (more accurately: middle-math) of Christmas morning.

The day after Christmas we went to the church gym and played 6 or 7 amazing games of volleyball. It's nice that we have a large enough family that we can have 14 adults gather to play. It definitely was a lot of fun!

 When we got home from Washington, we walked into our living room and found a HUGE surprise. Our kitchen and living room, although not left too bad (I don't think) were cleaned up spotless... clean counters, vacuumed carpet, etc. The desk was covered in gifts, gift cards, and a quart jar full of cash and coin, and a poster hung overhead that said "Merry Christmas, From Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the Elves". It was seriously the most incredible gift ever. I'm not sure who they are or how they broke into my house but this is something that we won't soon forget. I am so very grateful for the blessing of earthly angels that  are watching out for us. I'm humbled and in awe at the generosity, love, selflessness and abundance that these "elves" chose to bless our family with. I hope that someday I can pay it forward. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

December 2012, Part 2

We were blessed this year to have every single member of the Glen Harston Family be in town for Christmas this year. Both William and Keith are going on missions this year so it is the last year in awhile that this will be possible!

I adore these stockings. Mom made these when we were really little and it's what we've used for as long as I can remember.  I have a weird attachment to them that I can't explain, but I love them!

Lisa and Jenny both play the flute brilliantly. They spent hours behind the piano playing really intricate Christmas piano duets. It was amazing!

We had 28 people staying at Mom and Dad's for several days. We used both bedrooms at Aunt Beth's house and borrowed a motor home from a friend, but most of us stayed in the house. I thought this bedroom was funny. The entire floor was covered in pillows and blankets. I think all 6 grandsons (minus Everett) slept in here.

Stephen knew a song on the piano that Lisa had a flute duet for. So Lisa and I played the flute to accompany Stephen until Jenny got there and rescued me (and everyone in the house) from my very amateur self-taught flute skills.

This was a very common sight in that home. I don't know who enjoyed it more. The kids or Dad!

We had a family Nativity reenactment that turned out to be the most adorable reenactment I've ever seen.

William (and Stephen were Shepherds)

Adelle was an angel

Asher (Quinn, and Tycen) were a Wiseman

Lance was Joseph and Kelsey was the most adorable donkey ever in existence.

Brayden (and Paul) were sheep

Hailey was Mary

Kayla was an angel, and Garrett was "the night"

It was done very well for never being rehearsed! After the Nativity, Grandma read everyone a story. "The Christmas Train" by Thomas S. Monson.

Then her and Grandpa gave all of the grandkids a Train ornament. The ornaments were beautiful, and the kids all loved them!

Paul got caught eating the carrots left out for the reindeer

Aren't my parents so beautiful?

Christmas Morning was the most fun version of chaos ever. We opened gifts for hours and had so much fun seeing what fun things everyone got.

Paul, Kyle, and Garrett

Kyle and Brayden

This Christmas was definitely one to store away into memory. There was great moods and attitudes by (mostly) all, lots of fun activities, lots of Christmas music being sung and played, lots of cooking and baking and eating, and mostly, lots of good, quality, bonding time with every single member of my family. It was incredible!

December 2012 Part 1

December was a fun month filled with lots of adventuring. We got to go to Zoo Lights with the Grahams which was phenomenal! It was a little on the chilly side but we had a blast. I'm always amazed at what can be done with unlimited amounts of lights, and we weren't disappointed!

Sean and I decided to make homemade vanilla extract to hand out to our HT/VT families and neighbors. I love how they turned out!

On December 20th we got to head up to Enumclaw. That night was Scott's (my youngest sibling) Eagle Court of Honor. All FIVE of my brother's are officiall Eagle Scouts! My parents are amazing at there perseverance and love of the scouting program. Having 3 boys of my own, I hope that I can follow in their diligent footsteps.

The nieces and nephews got to help explain the colors of the Eagle Pin. It was adorable.

Can you tell Mom is so proud?

Group hug! The entire family minus Jenny, Kelsey, and Makenna was there. It was a great experience!

All of my brothers and both brothers-in-law. ALL Eagle Scouts. Isn't that a powerful picture?

Excuse the gross hair. We travelled all day (took us 4.5 hours to get there) and I didn't have time to shower. Ha.

We got to be in Enumclaw for 8 days and with 28 people in 2,000 square feet, we all got to pitch in and help with groceries and dinners. It was a blast to be able to spend so much time together in the kitchen making delicious food!

Mom made homemade bread on the 2nd day we were there, and by the time we had left, I think all it was gone! I think she made 18 loaves. We like bread in our family, especially Mom's whole wheat, homemade, fresh out of the oven, with honey from the Wyoming family apiary!

To be continued...