This Christmas Season

This last Sunday I watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. President Uchtdorf spoke about it being impossible to ruin Christmas becuase Christmas is about Christ. I loved it. I often think back to when I was little and all of the fun traditions my family had around holidays. Especially Christmas. I want to do all of those things with my own family now because I loved doing them so much as a little girl.

I told Cason, "For Christmas we need to make Chocolate Crackle cookies and Peanut Butter Kiss cookies!" He said, "Why?" I said, "Because that's what we do! It's the only time of the year to make these cookies!" Again, he said, "Why?" He made me realize my request for particular cookies on Christmas was a bit silly. And Christmas will still be Christmas without "Christmas" cookies.

This Christmas I have felt, more than other years before, the real meaning of Christmas. It started a few weeks ago. There is a man who stands on two street corners here in town, one very close to my house, and the other right next to my work, and he makes balloon animals for money. I have driven by him many times, at least once a day, and I always a feel a little bit sad that he has to stand outside in the cold and make balloon animals for very little money. Well, one night he was out there about 8:00 at night and the temperature was in the teens and it just broke my heart. I went home and felt so selfish. I have so much "stuff" and still want more. A few days later there was an article in the paper about him, and others in similar situations. That day there was also a food/clothing drive in town for a shelter. So many times I have driven by that man and wondered, "Should I give him money? How can I help him?" So Cason and I gathered together a number of coats that we had and are not wearing, and took them to the drive and donated them. I was so glad to know that someone would get to wear my coat and stay warm. There are so many who have less than I do. One Christmas tradition I hope my family will always have is giving to others. Sometimes I wonder why I have been given so much, while others have not. I don't have an answer for that. I don't know that anyone of this earth does. I am grateful that I am so blessed, and want to show my gratitude for my blessing by giving to others.

I am so glad that it is the Christmas season. I have seen so many people who act in the true Christmas spirit of love.

Merry Christmas! Our family hopes that your family has a wonderful Christmas season!

A Little Turkey and the Christmas Tree

We have been having a fabulous week. Cason has a week of vacation from work and I had the whole week off as well so we have enjoyed being together and doing whatever we want!

One thing we did do was put up the Christmas tree! It is the earliest I have ever put up a Christmas tree, but we had the time and I was a bit anxious to re-arrange the living room. I was also looking forward to having a good excuse to burn my "Cozy Fireside" scentsy. We bought a fake tree this year. I have been adamant every year that we have a real one, but last year it was a pain and not worth all the work. I love our fake tree! Here is Crieghton and our tree...

This little turkey has been in an "anti-photo" phase the past few weeks. At least I hope it's a phase. Perhaps I created some hard feelings after attempting all those Halloween pictures?

Speaking of turkey- our Thanksgiving with Cason's family was wonderful. We went up to Rexburg a day early and went to the park, out for dinner and ice cream, and then played a rousing game of Scattegories. Cason's brother(s) bend the rules to an EXTREME- so I took it upon myself to be the mediator/judge/final say in all matters of question. Then the next day the boys all played basketball and the girls did hair and watched the parade. When I was little I always watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and ate stuffed celery. Cason watched it for the first time this year!

Cason's dad invited one of his students to have dinner with us and after finding out he has been starting to date a girl seriously we all took the opportunity to give him advice and then somehow we all ended up sharing our dating/engagement stories and laughed and laughed until our sides hurt. And then of course what is Thanksgiving without a good movie and a nap?

Did you go Black Friday shopping? My husband did. I was sleeping. He has been wanting a flat screen TV for a while. And when we decides he wants something he can't get it out of his head. So we found a really great deal on a 32" flat screen TV at Walmart and Cason headed out at 10:30 pm and returned home at 3:00 am with a really big box. It is now sitting on top of our dresser and as I write this, him and Creighton are laying in bed watching Indiana Jones. 

Poor Creighton, he has had the throw-ups. As I scrubbed the carpet I couldn't help but smirk as I thought about the many times my mom cleaned up after me. 

Hooray for the holidays! I love them. Next on my checklist: get my Christmas cards ordered and mailed out. I love sending and receiving Christmas cards. A lot of gifts we are giving are already bought and I couldn't be more pleased with myself. I love to feel like I am ahead of schedule! (Please don't comment and tell me that ALL of your Christmas shopping is complete.) This year Christmas will be so fun with Creighton!

How to Train Your Dragon to Take a Picture

When trying to take a picture of your dragon, make sure to choose an appropriate backdrop. Fall leaves are always beautiful.

 But if he doesn't like that, you could also choose a nice bench for him to sit on.

That didn't work so well either? Well, maybe the dragon would like to take a picture with the princess.

Should have figured that wouldn't turn out so well. They're not really known for getting along too well. While you're at it though, make sure you catch a photo of the princess.

Sounds like your dragon is rather sensitive. I suggest you let him play on the swingset and then attempt to catch a smile AND his eyes at the same time.

 

 Yes, this worked very well. Dragons love to swing and slide!

They also love the hose...

 and driving! Beep, Beep!

 Halloween 2011 was festive! Creighton made a fabulous dragon and of course received lots of  "Oh, he is so adorable!" and "You are the cutest dragon I have ever seen!" This year I did take him to a few trick-or-treating events. He liked receiving the candy. His favorite candies are Smarties. We returned home in time to pass out candy to the kiddies in our neighborhood. Oh boy, that is definitely his favorite part! Lots of excited squeals as we received funny-dressed visitors.

Creighton is so sweet to put up with his silly mommy who tries so hard to get good pictures. He really does a good job posing and giving big smiles. Taking a picture of this dragon turned out to be successful!

Happy Halloween!

Your Chambers Is Showing

One of Cason's "oh-so-endearing" qualities is that he HATES a mess. Twice a week I usually make Creighton chocolate-chip pancakes. He loves them. And this little guy is so small he's not even on the weight charts anymore! Boo. So whatever he'll eat-he gets. Even if nutritional value has to be put aside. Well, when Creighton is having breakfast Cason can't even walk in the room. It makes him too sick. He gets all anxious watching Creighton rub syrup and chocolate all over his face, hands, hair, and anything else within a 3 foot distance. Seriously. He's a disaster.

But I don't care. I plop this little guy in the tub and all traces of the breakfast fiasco are gone.

When Cason feeds Creighton breakfast he usually gets Cheerios or a Pop-Tart. Boring.

It's no secret the Chambers' are...shall we say... clean? Cason just can't hide his genetics and often times I think, "Your Chambers is showing." Due to our daddy's anxiety when it comes to messes, he came up with a brilliant plan for solving the disaster that can usually occur with traditional pumpkin carving.

Coloring pumpkins!

 With the help of Creighton, Cason drew a face on Creighton's pumpkin and then let Creighton color it for about 40 seconds. Creighton was happy to have a pumpkin just his size! Daddy was very calm due to the lack of mess. And mommy was giggling on the inside thinking, "This is so not going to fly when he is older..."

Unfortunately, no picture of Creighton's artistic abilities. Only daddy's.

In other news: the Chambers can't tell time either apparently. This last weekend ISU played BYU and we thought it would be fun to head down and watch the cougars slaughter the bengals. Well, we thought the game started at 3:00. We showed up at 4:00 and the game had only a few minutes remaining. We were seriously so confused. Did the game really only last 75 minutes? We have just come to the conclusion the game must have started at 1:00.

By the way, BYU did stomp on ISU. 56 to 3. ISU may not make good football players, but they do make good dental hygienists!

We were a bit late to the game because we had a fabulous time at Gardner's Village in West Jordan. This time of year is their "Witch Fest". I so badly wanted a picture of Creighton with just one of the one-thousand witches the were hanging around the village. But this un-cooperative one only let me take a dinky photo in his stroller. Despite the fact we totally missed the game, we had a nice mini-vacation on Saturday.

Creighton may have inherited his dad's "unique" cleanliness. He is OBSESSED with the vacuum. Especially the attachments. He likes to walk around the house vacuuming with them. He also likes something to be put back in the EXACT place it was before. That's only slightly annoying, mostly nice. He has some talking/dancing stuffed animals at his Grandma and Grandpa Wilde's house and he only likes them to sing and dance in their designated places that he assigned to them. Tonight a corner of the rug in the kitchen was turned back and as soon as Creighton saw it he rushed over to fix it.

I am going to learn how to harnass this obsessive behavior for the positive. Hopefully.

Apples, Kittens, Coloring, and Doctors

A friend in my ward said I could come and pick apples from her tree and I was ecstatic! I have been wanting to make more applesauce! Of course, Creighton loved our new "adventure".

 Her property is really big, he loved exploring and helping to put apples into our laundry basket. OK-more like THROWING the apples. But a few bruises don't hurt, they are getting mashed anyway.

 Creighton LOVES kitties and one just happened to wander over while we were picking apples. He is an animal lover, but especially cats. Probably because they are soft and they let him pet them. Callie is more into rough-housing than soft petting. Unfortunately for Creighton, mommy is VERY allergic to cats so we are NEVER getting one.

 Saturday afternoon while canning I text my mom and said, "Why do I do this to myself?!" She replied, "Because you are crazy!" Fair enough. I deserve that. You probably do have to be a bit crazy to can. It is A LOT of work. Especially for applesauce. Cason bought me this food mill for my birthday (I DID ask for it :) because I heard it would help me make a smooth appleasuce. Well, it works fabulously, but it takes FOREVER and my arm was SO tired! And since Cason wasn't home to help turn the crank, I gave up, and used the food processor for a bit of a chunkier applesauce. Or maybe I decided to work smarter, instead of harder? Either way-applesauce is made. 7 quarts of applesauce and 3 quarts of apple juice with only half my apples. More applesauce next? Or some pie filling? We will see... The apples are the BEST! They are so sweet and flavorful I didn't add any sugar! Delicious!

 To keep himself busy this weekend Creighton has been coloring. Creighton got a Halloween coloring book from his Grandma Chambers in the mail. Fun! But unfortunately he also colored on a few things that were NOT the coloring book. Besides his red eyebrow and blue lips, he got my screen door. Darn it.

I wanted to take a minute to brag. This morning I had a doctors appointment that I unexpectedly had to take Creighton to as Cason was called into work just a few minutes before I had to leave. The problem was that it was a 2.5 hour appointment. LOTS of blood work, sitting and waiting, and PLENTY of being bored. When I arrived the front desk secretary informed me how unhappy she was I had brought Creighton to the very long appointment. Well, he was not pleased that she assumed he was a naughty little boy so he busted out his best behavior yet. He was a wonderful little boy. He watched cartoons, read books, played with cars, ate cheerios and drank milk, and snuggled with mommy all VERY quietly. FOR 2.5 HOURS! I left there with a big smile on my face that my little guy had acted so great and he made me look like a FANTASTIC parent.

 Ahhh... if only that was a more regular occurance. But I'll take it when I can.

UnProfessional Photographer

I feel like blogging. But what to blog about? I always have something on my mind and plenty to say- but is that interesting to you? I don't even have any pictures with great stories. In fact, I realized the other day I have been lazy when it comes to picture taking. Mostly because Creighton has decided he doesn't really like his picture taken. He rarely looks at the camera and when he does he is running towards it to take it from my hands. He loves to take pictures. Here is some of his work:

This is a picture he took of one of his favorite toys. The singing helicopter. All day long, "Come fly with me and we will see what goes up in the sky..." Who comes up with this stuff? I am not clever or silly enough to invent children's toys.

And a picture of mommy's socks and Creighton's foot. Ewww. Look at those socks. Someone HAS GOT to mop her kitchen floor. Sick!

Creighton was supposed to have professional pictures taken last week, but the weather was horrible so we rescheduled for tomorrow. I hope the weather cooperates because I would love some fall pictures. I love the changing of leaves! So this last week I've been feeling a little antsy for some cute Creighton pictures so I tried to do a few mini-photo shoots, very un-professional, at home. This is what I got:

Holy heck! Look at his hair! It looks like he was electrocuted! Which unfortunately wouldn't have surprised me. He is obesssed with outlets and despite how hard I try to cover them, he figures out how to uncover them. He has started plugging things in. One day it was my hair straightner in the hallway, another time it was the space heater in his bedroom, and at Grandpa Dennis' house he plugged in the hand mixer-and IT STARTED UP. He was scared out of his pants. Serves him right! But he hasn't learned...

Anyway... his hair most of the time looks like this when he wakes up and it is a battle trying to get it to lay flat, so I figure a little hair cream will make it look like a stylish "faux-hawk". In person it really didn't look this tall. But pictures don't lie. It may be time for a trim up top.

Yesterday I remembered we had a package of un-opened "jean-diapers". Fabulous. Baby photo shoots in diapers are so cute. Well, sort of...

Creighton was feeling a bit exposed. He probably figured I would post the pictures on our blog or something.

 So he covered himself up with a blanket and then worked the camera. This is one of his favorite poses. It says to me, "I didn't do it mom." Here is another toy that I have memorized. "That planet is in uncharted space!" His favorite button on the Buzz Lightyear car no longer works because he pushed it so much. At least that's what I figure.

Since Creighton's mommy is no photographer, I hope the weather is nice for tomorrow's scheduled session. Last Thursday when the weather was cold, wet, and windy, this is what Creighton wanted to do:

I turned on cartoons for him and he preceded to make himself cozy. Where does he come up with this stuff? I have never seen anyone sit "in" a chair like that. Cason thought maybe he was protecting himself from Callie. Creighton actually doesn't like to watch TV too much and probably only watched cartoons for 3 minutes. Sometimes it seems so wonderful to set him in front of the TV and have him preoccupied for an hour. But that is not my luxury. Teasing. I'm glad he doesn't have a television addiction. Not yet at least. In fact when mommy watches, Dancing With The Stars, Creighton will turn off the TV and say, "All Done!" His favorite phrase.

I am getting concerned about what Cason is teaching Creighton the two days I am at work. Take a look:

 Between Creighton and Callie I may not have couch pillows in a few months. They are turning into a favorite toy. Just in case you were wondering, they are a tower. The point is to knock over the tower. But since it's made of pillows it is extra fun because then you can fall into them.

And what is this get-up? Looks like a Lamanite to me. Daddy and Creighton must be playing Nephites and Lamanites. Those two have TOO much fun!

Speaking of work... I am having one of those weeks where I am not loving it. You know-one of those love/hate relationships. It's kind of an emotional thing for me right now. Hate to say too much. I never know who my blog-stalkers are...   

Something else Creighton thinks is fun is FAMILY!! Grandma and Papa came to town Conference weekend and Creighton had so much fun with them. When we have visitors he is a BIG show-off.

Here he is feeding Papa some ice. Yum!

And he loves to show off his "reading" skills. I am so grateful that Creighton is loving books. They have been a lifesaver in sacrament meeting. He is getting to be more well-behaved and for that I am thankful. It also helps that I have been bringing fruit snacks. I was determined to not take food to church. But I caved. He loves fruit snacks and they make for an enjoyable sacrament meeting for me, Creighton, and those sitting around us.

 Last Sunday towards the end of the meeting Creighton started getting tired and a little fussy. Since we were about to sing the closing hymn, Cason motioned for Creighton to come up and sit with him on the stand. I think Creighton thought he was in trouble and started making more of a fuss. Overall though-MUCH progress. Nursery update: He doesn't like it and usually ends up with daddy half-way through.

Speaking of Daddy... He is doing really well this semester in school, work is going well, so far so good with his new church calling. He told me a few days ago he has been able to find "balance". I am so glad.

In the words of Creighton, "All done!"

(Until I take some more pictures of course.)