December 2016

Here she is with her favorite fake glasses on.  

All decked out and ready for a girls day out.

Riding in the car to the Festival of Trees.

A few fun pictures from our outing with Grandma Luke, Leslie, and Chloe to the Festival of Trees:

Abbey got sick on this day, so we took a lot of pictures for her because she couldn't be there.

This was our favorite find for her:  A Harry Potter tree!

More of the Harry Potter tree:

Loved this Rapunzel tree!

Eric has been working on a building up on the University of Utah campus called Biofire.  For the grand opening of it, they invited all of the employees (and construction employees) to come for a dinner.  So Eric and I got to go.  It was a fun night with some fun food and company.  He also got to show me around the whole building and take me into all the areas that he's been working on.  It was very interesting and I learned so much about what Eric does.  It's incredible stuff that I could never do!!

Here we are watching the Christmas Devotional and working on laundry.

I felt so touched by the feelings and spirit of the Christmas season this year.  The older I get, the more gratitude I feel for my Savior and all He has done for us.

Here is a sweet thought given to our Relief Society by my friend Robin.  Enclosed in the box were real gold, frankincense, and mirh.  

Finny the Elf (our Elf on the Shelf) made his December debut once again and treated us to a month full of mischief and funny notes.  The girls love this tradition so much, and he never disappoints.

A common but sweet part of our weekly routine:  Weeknight homework.  Love these girls.

Millie hangin' by us while we did homework.  (She's usually much louder and bothersome during homework time, but this was a wonderfully quiet moment I thought I should capture.)

Enjoying some yogurt on a Friday afternoon:

Enjoying some quiet time with my dog.  These are precious moments.

Two cute sisters.

More Finny fun:

For my dad's birthday gift, I got tickets to a Christmas concert by a local group called The Lower Lights.  I love the band so much and their music is so powerful.  Sharing it with my parents and these two girls made it such a treat.

Always love these sweet notes:

Eric got tickets from his work to a Jazz game, so he took Ava as it was her turn.  They went on a little date that night:

A perfect shot of that unique, bright smile!

More visits with Grandpa and Grandma Luke:

"Playing the piano" with cousin Lydia:

Enjoying a treat with her pretend glasses on (upside down--what a goof):

Our new tradition when we go to the store each week--She picks out an apple, carries it throughout the store, and eats it on the way home:

I tend my nephew Bo on Friday mornings and sometimes he gets bored with me.  Especially when it's wintertime and we're cooped up inside.  So we did bubbles...in the bathroom!

....and we sometimes go to McDonald's:

Abbey's Christmas piano recital:

I couldn't ask for a better "biggest" sister:

I ended up selling our bunny.  It was a tough decision but a necessary one.  We found him a good home.

If you look closely at the following picture, you'll see an Elf on the Shelf tied to a string, hanging from the operating ceiling fan.  Having him blow around the room sure made Harry mad!  Our Elf is crazy!

I always enjoy running errands with my mom and our friend Kylie.  It is almost a weekly occurance.  

Opening Christmas gifts at Grandma Luke's:

New outfits:

My niece Lydia:

Millie being thoroughly spoiled by her cousin Spencer and putting on quite a show:

Eric, Abbey and Ava spent Christmas Eve with the Zimmermans.  Here are the pictures he took:

Andi, Millie, and I spent Christmas Eve with the Allens.  Here are the pictures I took from that evening:

(Millie received this baby doll from Grandma Zimmerman earlier that day and she loved it.)

We spent Christmas Eve evening at my brother-in-law Isaac's house.  He's been doing some remodeling so I had to take some good pictures of it:

Andi reading the Polar Express to her Allen family (with a headlamp on because it was dark.)  Proud mommy moment:

Although she doesn't see them often, Andi loves her Allen cousins:

Andi's Uncle Isaac (Michael's brother) had the hook ups with Santa this year and got him to come visit us:

When Millie saw him (her first encounter with Santa), she pointed at him and said, "NO NO NO NO NO NO!"

Christmas day fun at Grandma Luke's:

Eric took the girls sledding quite a bit over Christmas vacation:

Another note from Ava:  "Hi.  When I first saw you it seemed like I didn't know you, but it changed.  You are always my mom."  :)

It is good to be one of her moms.

Sweet little notes like this buoy me up to keep going.  

Before Ron and Joann headed back to Montana after the holidays, we indulged in a favorite tradition and visited a local Chinese restaurant we love:

HATS:

Enjoying our McDonald's gift card from Michael's Aunt Ruthie:

Christmas vacation with the Luke cousins at Kaysville theater:

Maelee (Andi's Allen cousin) stayed over with us for a nigh or two while Abbey and Ava slept over at Grandma and Grandpa Zimmermans.  They all enjoyed their Christmas break.

They look so much alike to me.

Eric took Maelee and Andi sledding:

Then we went to Iggy's:

My Christmas break projects.  I painted our dining room and bathroom:

It's not very often I can work on these projects.  I felt very accomplished!  (And I enjoyed a little Downton Abbey marathon while I painted...Not a bad Christmas break.)

More Andi and Maelee sleepover pics:

Crafting and cooking fun at Grandma Zimmermans.  So grateful she does such fun things with the girls (especially because I don't do crafts with them much!):

On New Year's Eve we went to Texas Roadhouse...my least favorite place EVER.  But the company was great and the night was fun.  I stayed up 'til midnight painting the dining room and the girls and Eric stayed up til midnight watching Harry Potter.  We made a toast with apple cider at 12, then went to bed.  Happy 2017!!!!

(Well, most of us made it 'til midnight.  Andi fell asleep on the couch.)

All in all, I would say it was a successful holiday season.  I worked hard to be more prepared and to simplify this year, and while some of those efforts paid off, it is always a very busy time.  In spite of the hustle and bustle, I was still able to feel the sweet spirit of the season.  For some reason, I was paritcularly touched by the holiday music this year, whether at church or concerts or even at home on our iPods.  So grateful for my Savior and for His sacrifices for us.

During December and November, as with many others in this country, I spent a lot of time watching the news and thinking and worrying and contemplating our country's future.  While I am not happy with our new president, I have been glad to be compelled to be more involved and more informed.  I have grown a greater appreciation for the leaders of our country and I have been inspired by so many of them lately.  I have grown a little more pride in this land that I am so privileged to be a part of.  

Most importantly, in all of these thoughts, I was grateful to have been led to this scripture in D&C 122:9:  "Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee, for their bounds are set, they cannot pass.  Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not, what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."