Our Night in Bethlehem

Our ward had a night in Bethlehem this year. It was very elaborate. I have to take pictures because I didn't think anybody would believe me otherwise. The pictures do not do it justice.

On every table, there were herbs and lemons and dipping oil. They brought out fresh bread on tree stumps with fresh humus.

There was one of these decorations for each family in the ward.

Tents were set up with draperies and palm leaves.

There was a manger scene set up on the stage for the live nativity. I served on the program committee.

Someone made a well for the water.

It was a great evening, even though it was difficult to manage the kids for that long. Events like this one are important for the kids to be apart of.

Arizona Temple

It's tradition to go to the temple lights every year at this time of year. We went with the Haws side. This is the largest our group has ever been and it was difficult trying to stay together in the crowd of people without losing anyone. We did a quick walk around the temple and then headed back to Grandma and Papa's house for hot cocoa. The kids had a lot of fun. Luke had a great time pretending to be a flying reindeer with the antlers Grandma let him wear. He was being so cute that she let him keep them. Unfortunately, they didn't last more than 24 hours. But, they were well-loved in that time period. Luke would ask us if we wanted to fly with him. Then, he'd have us line up behind him and he'd take off running. While running, he'd say things like, "Wow, we are high in the sky! All of the people look like ants down below!"

Mercedes loves wearing her pajamas whenever she gets the chance to do so. She also enjoyed her Santa hat. 

Joshua enjoyed looking at the lights and kept pointing out the laser beam lights and has convinced me that we need some for our house.

Hannah loves parties. She loves festivities. She was happy to be there even though she had fallen asleep on the ride to Grandma and Papa's.

Caleb donned his Santa suit. He looked so cute! He was such a good little guy. We kept him out late but he was able to stay in good spirits.

Jon Mark told the kids a story that lasted an hour and a half. It would be, to be continued, every time we stopped at a new location. The kids were very happy with his story telling skills. They told him that they wanted a story about a prince, a mermaid, and a merman. I think...  It was an intense plot! There were many battles to be won!

Last Year

Did I post these last year? I can't remember. I just found them. These were taken at the Haws Christmas party. Hannah has grown so much. 

Drawings To Remember

Mercedes and Joshua have had a hard time waking up for school in the mornings. I get it. I really do. Sometimes, I really do feel physical pain when I have to drag myself out of my warm bed. 

Mercedes and Joshua are always making notes for Jon Mark and I. They are so sweet. Mercedes mopped the floor for me yesterday because she wanted to show me that she loved me. The love note below is from Joshua. It was a picture of a war machine. How sweet is that?!

Luke likes drawing pictures of our family. Below are some of his latest renditions.

Here's a note from Mercedes. She is quite an artist.

Finally, this is a drawing I discovered on the floor one morning after Joshua and Mercedes left for school. Joshua apparently tried drawing the whole human family from Adam and Eve on down. Adam and Eve are labeled at the top. :-)

As of Late

This buddy crawls now. He also has stranger danger, the doctor looked at him and he buried his head into my neck and cried. It was so sad. I held him while we waited for the doctor and he snuggled me so perfectly. 

He likes to shake his head from side to side and it makes the kids laugh a lot. He also climbs the stairs. We had to put up the baby gate :( He is a small little guy. He is 25% for height. 50th % for weight, and his head is in the 90th %. He's probably very smart with such a big noggin. 

I can't remember if I posted this picture or not. Joshua got his first badges for cub scouts. He was so excited. He carried them everywhere so that he could show everyone, and then he lost them. I feel badly that they are gone. But, that is my boy. He loses things. He plays with things and builds awesome inventions with things around the house, but then they always go missing.

We played girl football the other day. It was fun. 

Mercedes and Joshua really got into it.

We let the kids sleep together every weekend. They snuggle up against each other and play until they fall asleep. Hannah was on the top bunk. They all wake up grouchy because they stay up too late. But, they love it so much. And, I love that they are bonding with each other and making memories. I think they will look back on these "sleepovers" with fondness in years to come. Although, I am not sure how much longer I can let them all sleep in the same bed.