All I want for Christmas...

Whoever said all they want for Christmas is their two front teeth, must have never had two boys with grins like these.

But want I really want for Christmas is to thank you all for your friendship, tell you that I hope that your Christmas is filled with great memory-making moments with those that you love and may the New Year  have all the best things in store for you.

That's not too much to ask for, is it?

What about looking at a few pics from our Christmas Eve too?
Thanks.
You guys really are the best.



Christmas Eve Pajamas

Mary, Joseph, & Baby Jesus



Three very wise and cool men.




Mary on her donkey.

And a very sweet shepherd.



Merry Christmas!!!

From me and all of my characters.

White Elephant

White Elephant   noun-
2   c : something of little or no value
Definition from Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary

According to the definition, what you see pictured above is probably the best white elephant gift EVER!
 
 
Although..... if I keep it up, they might end up having some value because they may actually fit me by the time  the holidays are over. This is not a goal by any means because honestly, these are one gift I can bear NOT to use and CAN NOT wait to re-gift next year.

You know what they say about paybacks...

Dallin Said...

While talking with Ashton about their future plans, Dallin said, "I think I'm gonna go to clown college....or Yale."

During a discussion about ways people learn second languages Dallin announced, "Well, Dad learned Spanish at the ATM before going on his mission."

While visiting Temple Square to see the Christmas lights a few weeks ago, the boys were asking their Dad what the Assembly Hall was used for. When Richard replied that it was used for recitals and concerts, Dallin excitedly asked, "Like Bon Jovi?"

I tidied up the boys closet and when Dallin discovered what had been done he looked at me with mock disgust and demanded, "What have you done!?"
Then his disgust turned to a smile as he finished with, "You beautiful woman, YOU!"
Then I got a nice hug. I'm thinking he'll make a fantastic husband someday.

Oh....and he also said that he wants YOU to have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Helping Hands

Indulge me, please? This picture has nothing to do with the post, except, that it is of Emma. I just thought it was sweet. Being her mom, I think that is my right.

I was headed for the bathroom when Dallin flew past me beating me to it and slamming the door in my face.

"Hey! I was going in there."
"I have to go!" he replied.
"Well, I do too!"
"Well, I have to go....BAD!"
I sighed, "I guess it looks like I'll just have to hold it." 

I turned around and bent over to pick up some dirty socks that had been discarded on the floor when my behind was accosted by little hands trying to wedge their way where no little hands should be.

Not used to being fondled this way, I immediately stood up exclaiming, "What on earth are you doing!?" 

As those words left my mouth, one little hand traveled around from the back to wedge its way in from the front! And that is when I was met with the cherubic face and questioning brown eyes of a potty training 3 year old, who innocently told me, "I'm helping you hold it, Mommy. I'll help you hold it, so you don't poo or pee your pants."

Awww...now that's a little helper.

I guess, I will forgive her for groping me.

Don't Mess with Tradition

At our family gatherings there are certain dishes that are traditional to eat. At the Parke Family Christmas parties it is always dessert- Granny Parke's Pineapple Fluff and Peanut Brittle Dessert. The second takes a little getting used to, the first, if made right (read- not made by me), is a little scoop of heaven. The rest of the meal can change yearly, but dessert should remain the same. It just isn't Christmas with out ingesting calories in those forms.

On my side of the family, the traditional dishes debut at Thanksgiving and make an encore appearance for Christmas dinner. The only problem is we have 2 Thanksgiving dinners by celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving in October and American Thanksgiving in November, so by the time we have Christmas dinner in December, I am ready to retire the Green Bean Casserole and Sweet Potato Casserole recipes' for another 9 months.

Except this year.

I made the traditional dishes for our Canadian Thanksgiving that we shared with friends and I brought home almost a full pan of each....which I ate a portion of for lunch... for the next week.

I'll tell you that leftovers are good, but not that good. Bleck!

By the time that planning our American Thanksgiving dinner came around I didn't even want to think about green beans, sweet potatoes, or casseroles in general, let alone eat any of them. So I just said, "NO" to more tradition. This year we would just make do with candied yams and cooked carrots on Thanksgiving.

When I told Richard about the lack of traditional dishes at this years dinner he was appalled. I like to make my hubby happy, so I relented and agreed to make a small green bean casserole. Then on Thanksgiving morning, I was on the phone with my mom she mentioned how disappointed my brother, Nate, was that we weren't having the Sweet Potato casserole...

You can't have disappointed people at Thanksgiving dinner, so since there was still time and I had all the ingredients and I'm the nicest sister he has (the fact I'm the only sister he has doesn't count), I gave into tradition a second time.

On Tuesday, I ate the last helping of sweet potato casserole for lunch all in the name of blessed tradition. It's not gone, I just can not bear to eat another bite. It is sitting in my fridge waiting it's journey to the trash can or disposal since it's week expiry date is up. No one else has had any and the date today is December 2nd with our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, with the traditional dishes looming only a mere 22 days away... 

Here's to hoping Christmas comes slowly...very, very slowly.