Christmas Part I

Let us not forget...

Twas the night before Christmas, when all thru the abode
only one creature was stirring, and she was cleaning the commode.

The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds,
while visions of Nintendo 64 and Barbie, flipped through their heads.

The dad was snoring in front of the TV,
with a half-constructed bicycle on his knee.

So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter,
which made her sigh, "Now what's the matter?"

With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand,
she descended the stairs, and saw the old man.

He was covered with ashes and soot, which fell with a shrug.
"Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug."

"Ho-ho-ho!" cried Santa, "I'm glad you're awake."
"Your gift was especially difficult to make."

"Thanks, Santa, but all I want is some time alone."
"Exactly!" he chuckled, "I've made you a clone."

"A clone?" she asked, "What good is that?
Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit-chat."

The mother's twin. Same hair, same eyes,
same double chin. "She'll cook, she'll dust,
she'll mop every mess. You'll relax, take it easy,
watch The Young & the Restless."

"Fantastic!" the mom cheered.
"My dream come true! "I'll shop. I'll read.,
I'll sleep a whole night through!"

From the room above, the youngest began to fret.
"Mommy?! I scared... and I 'm wet."

The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart."
"Hey," the mom smiled, "She knows her part."

The clone changed the small one, and hummed a tune,
as she bundled the child, in a blanket cocoon.

"You the best mommy ever. " I really love you."
The clone smiled and sighed, "I love you, too."

The mom frowned and said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal."
That's my child's love, she's trying to steal."

Smiling wisely Santa said, "To me it is clear,"
Only one loving mother, is needed here."

The mom kissed her child, and tucked her into bed.
"Thank you, Santa, " for clearing my head.

I sometimes forget, it won't be very long,
when they'll be too old, for my cradle-song."

The clock on the mantle began to chime.
Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time."

With the clone by his side Santa said, "Goodnight.
Merry Christmas, Mom, You'll be all right."
-author unknown

Click the link below for a wonderful Christmas story
In Search of the Christmas Spirit

May we all strive to remember why we are here at this time, and to whom we owe our greatest thanks for all that has been given us. And then with gratitude in our hearts may we go forth in the true spirit of Christmas, taking upon ourselves His name and loving and serving our fellow men.

"The magic of Christmas is not in the presents, but in His presence."

As mothers, our daily lives might not be grand and glorious. Our days are more often filled with cooking, cleaning, tending sick children, suffering from lack of sleep, laundry, laundry, and more laundry, crumbs on the floor, sticky hands and faces, spills, little ones crying, fighting, and throwing tantrums in public. But for a second, let's just ignore all of those things, pretend they don't exist, and see what is left. When I think about what I am left with, it is more than I ever asked for. And then instead of thinking about all the things that are difficult in life, first let us think about everything else we have been blessed with.

I have been given so much.

And so have you.

Let us not forget....

This was too funny not to post...

Maybe it's just me or maybe it is just really late and I need some sleep, but I laughed so hard I cried watching this!!! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!!

Busy, busy, busy!!!

It's been crazy around here over the past month! Thanksgiving was awesome and the food I enjoyed the most was probably the homemade cheeseball and of course a nice slice of pumpkin pie! Oh...and bacon-wrapped little smokies! Thanksgiving night I left the kids with Russ and headed off to Twin Falls. This time, I didn't have to stop in Raft River for gas, and after driving around for way too long, and afraid of running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, stopped by a random home filled with people who did not speak English except for one girl, who told me there are no gas stations in Raft River! They pointed me in the way to a farm, where there were gas pumps. The only farmhouse I found with gas pumps had no one home! So...I ended up getting the help of a truck driver, who also spoke no English, who called his boss...and this boss got ahold of one of his other workers, who came to my rescue, brought about 10 gallons of gas, filled up my tank, refused payment, and told me to "Pay it forward!" Whew!

Let's just say, even if I am in a hurry, I ALWAYS fill my tank before I leave town!!!!! And thank goodness for guardian angels and a Heavenly Father who watched over me that night!

Anyhoo....

Thanksgiving night I left with a full tank of gas, gave Raft River a nice scowl as I drove by, and made it to Twin safely to prepare for my sister's bridal shower on Friday!

I mean, really....what town just doesn't have a gas station???? Ridiculous!

Friday morning, I was my sister's escort as she went through the Twin Falls Temple to receive her endowment. It was a very special day for both of us and we shared some awesome moments together! I am grateful for the knowledge that Heavenly Father has provided Temples all over the world for all of His children, to bless them and bring them closer to Him. And the best part is that whether in this life or the next, all of God's children will be taught and given the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, to learn about His gospel, and have the saving ordinances performed for them that bring eternal life and exaltation. What God offers to one, He offers to ALL.

Here is a neat video about a new temple in El Salvador:



Click Here to learn more about LDS Temples.


Back to my report:

My sister's bridal shower was held at Kiwi Loco in Twin Falls, and everything turned out GREAT! Thanks you to everyone who came!! It was tons of fun! I was the host, and was very nervous about it all! Haylee got some pretty awesome stuff to start her married life out with...and some pretty fun stuff too! Now we all just have to make it through the next few weeks until the BIG day on December 30th! Oh, and if you sneak Christmas and all the festivities in there too, it calls for a VERY busy next few weeks!!!

I am doing an arrangement of paintings of different sizes for her backdrop at the reception, and I have almost 4 out of the 8 completed! I will post pics soon....but don't hold your breath....ya know....just in case.

The past few weeks I have been able to finish felt dress-up dolls for my neices and cousin, as well as Kya's quiet book, felt ornaments, and I still have quite a few projects yet to be started and finished! Hopefully I can get it all done in good time!

We made it a goal to get most of our Christmas shopping done by the end of November, and we were successful! We just have a few things to get for Kya (we are having the hardest time finding just the perfect gift for her), and a few finishing-up stuff and we are done! It's a good feeling to know we don't have to rush last minute!

Another fun fact about the past few weeks: the Flu bug attacked our family...I think there was a total of 16 family members who all came down with the Flu all within the same week! It was crazy! LUCKILY...I did NOT get it!!! Just all my kids.

Besides the fact that I have had a bad sinus cold for 15 days now, we are all well, happy, and counting down the days until Christmas! Monday we had Family Home Evening, and I made present out of felt, and we talked about what our gift to Christ would be this Christmas. I want my kids to really understand that it is not about presents, but about Him. He will bring us more happiness, peace, and comfort than any present will. After all He gives to us, we need to make sure we are giving something back. Anna's gift was "If someone needs help, I will help them." Carter's was "a spiderman web shooter" at first, so we had to talk about how we give Christ different gifts than the ones we want to receive from Santa! He helped me decide that his gift would be "Making good choices", since that is something I am really working with him on. My gift was to continue having Family Home Evening every week, family scripture study, and family prayer. My gift I want to improve upon is doing my personal scripture study everyday, as well as consistently saying my personal morning and night prayers. I know that if we center our lives around Christ, speak of Him often, teach our children about Him during everyday activities, use His example as we discipline, and remember Him as we try to do more of what He has asked us in our everyday lives, that our lives will be greatly blessed, relationships will flourish, there will be more peace and less contention, and our homes will truly become a place of refuge, a place where we will always want to be.

If you are interested in some new Bible videos about Jesus Christ click ME! They are awesome!


What has your month been like and what gift are you giving to Christ this Christmas?

Gotta go....so much to do, dinner....and I promised the kids we would make gingerbread houses tonight...which means a trip to the store! If only I could perfect the icing recipe to be stronger so that it holds it all together better! Any ideas???

Oh, and to end on a happy thought....Russ has one more week of school left and then we get to have him with us everyday instead of a few hours Friday night, a few hours Saturday night, and Sunday. It's amazing how much more I can accomplish in less amount of time when he is home!!!