Christmas with the Self's

We had a small, but good Christmas this year. Santa gave the girls "Littlest Pets", and Stevie got the Transformer he wanted. Jennah FINALLY got the desk she has been begging for, you can see it in the backround of the shot of Kirstie and Stevie (Steve and I worked to fix up a desk I got for $10 at a 2nd hand store), I gave Kirstie my old MP3 with some extra music on it just for her, and Stevie got Kirstie's old bike, fixed up and painted just for him! Steve, of course, got tools, and I got a Cricut...best scrapbooking invention EVER!!

I think one of my favorite things about Christmas is watching my kids being so concerned about what they are going to get or do for others. I hope it is something that they will carry into their everyday lives...not just at Christmas time.

The Nativity

We had a small group this year, just the Lunt's and the Self's (and my parents, of course). Matti was Mary, Jennah was Joseph (we were short on boys), Noelle was a donkey, Kirstie was a angel, Owen and Stevie were Wise Men, my sister Lynnette had to fill in as a shepherd, because Stevie changed his mind and wanted to be a wise man instead. Paisley was just Paisley...she loved the little baby Jesus, and just wanted to hold him. (Baby Jesus was a "Little Ricky" doll that my mom got when she was a little girl).

Christmas Jammies!!!

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents house. Our family tradition is to open one gift that night, (which is always P.J.'s), and then followed by a pajama parade. I had to include a picture of my niece Paisley in this...she is just over one year, and is just so adorable! Stevie insisted on getting a cross-eyed picture...what is it with my kids and their funny faces?!?

One decade...

I can hardly believe Jennah is now 10 years old!

Here are 10 fun facts about our beautiful girl...

1. She LOVES to read. She tells us all the time that she just can't go to sleep unless she reads first. Sometimes it becomes quite an obsession for her, and we have to tell her to cut back a little...something I never thought I'd have to tell one of my children.

2. I've probably said this before, but when she was born (via C-section), the doctor that reached in to pull her out said (almost yelling), "this baby is breach!!". Well, it turns out, it was just her incredibly chubby cheeks that he grabbed, thinking it was her little behind. After the Dr's and nurses realized what happened, they all burst into laughter. She came into this world at a mere 10 lbs. 6 oz. One of the nurses told me "you just gave birth to a 3 month old".

3. She is a very caring and compassionate little lady. One example is when she came out of the movie "Up" she was in tears because of all the sad things that happened in the movie.

4. Her passion for writing is equal to her reading. If she's not reading, she probably has her notebook out, creating another unique little story.

5. She has basically taught herself to play the piano. As anyone who has tried to teach piano to their own children knows, it's next to impossible to teach them. Because we can't afford to pay for a teacher, I have shown her the basics, and she has taken it from there. Something I was never motivated to do at her age.

6. She is really into "The Littlest Pets". That's about the only thing she asks for lately. (I'm just glad they take up such little space!)

7. She makes friends easily, and all of them are her "best" friend, even the one's she has had to move away from. Another example of her compassion...she loves them all equally!

8. She is very artistic and creative. She loves to draw pictures to go with her stories, and also loves to make things for her friends, such as friendship bracelets.

9. She loves to laugh, and make others laugh (notice the cross-eyed picture above). She'll try to come up with her own jokes to tell, just to get someone to smile...even if her joke doesn't make any sense...if you laugh, regardless the reason, then her mission was accomplished!

10. She doesn't like cake, candy or most anything sweet. If you notice in the picture, it's cheesecake...the only cake she'll eat. The only candy I've seen her enjoy are Tootsie Rolls, and Sour gummy worms, even then, she'll only eat 1 or 2 at a time. (I wish I had that "problem")

We love Jennah and all the love and creativity she brings into our home!

Getting to know the Self's...Christmas style :)

Got this from my cousin Barbara's blog, so here goes...

1.WRAPPING PAPER or GIFT BAGS? Mostly wrapping paper. When we run out of paper, we break out the bags.

2.REAL or ARTIFICIAL TREE? We have the saddest fake "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree I've ever seen, it sheds more than a real one. If we could keep a real one from drying out to soon then we'd definitely have a real one. (you just can't beat the smell!)

3.WHEN DO YOU PUT UP THE TREE? Usually the day after Thanksgiving.

4.DO YOU LIKE EGGNOG? Yep!!! I had never tried it until I met Steve. I've been hooked ever since...on both :)

5.FAVORITE GIFT AS A CHILD? This is a tough one...my parents were amazing gift-givers. I guess I would have to go with my violin, since it still looks almost brand-new and it's gotten the most use.

6.DO YOU HAVE A NATIVITY SCENE? Yep...four.

7.HARDEST PERSON TO BUY FOR? Steve. He has to be VERY specific about what ye wants (usually tools) Otherwise, I usually screw it up

8.EASIEST PERSON TO BUY FOR? Stevie!!! My little boy is so easy to please...we could give him underwear and he'd be excited. (wait...we DID do that once, and he WAS excited!)

9.EMAIL OR CARDS? CARDS- We usually send out a family newsletter through the mail. But due to lack of funds this year, I think we may be going the e-mail route.

10.FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE? That would HAVE to be "Elf". I've seen it more times than I can count, and it still cracks me up :D

11.WHEN DO YOU START SHOPPING FOR CHRISTMAS? After Thanksgiving, but NEVER on Black-Friday.

12.FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT DURING CHRISTMAS? My mom's delicious cinnamon rolls, and orange sticks

13.WHITE LIGHTS OR COLORED LIGHTS? White Lights

14.FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONG? Breath of Heaven - Amy Grant's version

15.TRAVEL FOR CHRISTMAS OR STAY HOME? Stay home. I hope to never travel at Christmas time again!

16.CAN YOU NAME ALL OF SANTA'S REINDEER? Uuhhh...can I sing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?...absolutely

17.ANGEL OR STAR ON TOP OF THE TREE? We have an angel, but I wish it was a star. I'm still waiting to find the perfect one.

18.DO YOU OPEN PRESENTS CHRISTMAS EVE OR CHRISTMAS MORNING? Both. We open Christmas jammies Christmas Eve night, then the rest Christmas morning.

19.MOST ANNOYING THING ABOUT THIS TIME OF YEAR? Cranky kids that don't fall for the "you better be good, or Santa's not coming" trick.

20.UP EARLY OR SLEEP IN? Up early...we're a family of early risers! Sleeping-in would mean getting up around 7 or 8

21.ARE YOUR GIFTS FROM SANTA OR MRS.CLAUS? Santa! I've never even heard of getting gifts from the Mrs.

22.DO YOU TELL THE CHRISTMAS STORY? EVERY YEAR - Of course, costumes and all! It wouldn't be Christmas without it

23.DO YOU LEAVE COOKIES OUT FOR SANTA? Only if the kids remember.

24.FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITION? Hanging the Christmas stockings hand-made by Grandma "Pete" (we're REALLY going to miss her this year...and every year to come), and watching the kids act out the Christmas story Christmas Eve night, then opening our Christmas jammies!

Whew, all done...now it's your turn!

My new most embarassing moment...

Last night was our ward Christmas party. My sister Laurie and I were asked to put together a couple of musical numbers. We decided on our old stand-by "Star Bright" with my dad playing guitar, and for the other number, I played "Away in a Manger" on my violin with Laura accompanying me on the piano. Because I HATE tuning in front of a crowd, I tuned my violin before the program started, and tucked it safely away until it was time to play. Just before playing, I quietly plucked the strings to make sure I was still in tune...everything was fine. The song was going well, then halfway through, it happened...the lowest string (G) slipped out of tune WHILE I was playing (something that has NEVER happened to me before, even in private, but now I had the entire ward there to experience this "first" with me). Because most of the notes were played on that string, there was nothing I could do but stop and re-tune it. The worst part, it wouldn't stay. It felt like an eternity before I could get it to stay in tune and continue the song. I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die! To make matters worse, after it was all over, Steve lovingly pointed out to me that I was BRIGHT red...niiiiiice. I'm so glad the whole ward was there to share in my embarrassment :P