Christmas Reunion- Part 2

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21st

Wednesday was our "Christmas" We had waffles and opened "crackers"- gifts that pop when you open them and contain a small toy and a tissue paper crown.

Nathan opening his cracker

Marbles!

Gabbi got a toy car:

Modeling the crowns:

We opened more crackers for the kids after breakfast.. .

)

. . . while the men cleaned up the kitchen (honestly, the men did most of the cooking and cleaning up all week!)

Is it time to open the stockings?

While we're waiting for the men to finish cleaning the kitchen, I'll tell you about Gabbi's dilema. Gabbi is obsessed with her size two princess nightgown. It's getting a little small, but she insists on wearing it every night. After receiving her new Christmas jammies, she was NOT going to wear them. . . that is until she saw Brielle in hers. Brielle is her hero, and so it made for a difficult dilema: Do I wear my beloved princess nightgown? or do I wear jammies that match Brielle:

Yea! This picture shows how Gabbi solved her dilema: she wore both!

I had a dream! From the time I bought the jammies, I had a dream of the seven grandchildren wearing their matching jammies, cuddling their new teddy bears, smiling contentedly for a picture. What a joke! The parents really tried to make it happen. They gave it their best shot!

This is the best we could do! Well, it's sort of like my dream!

Playing with their stocking stuffers:

This picture shows the double jammies!

Mommy putting them on her:

Jakie and Brian

The piano is the happy place for the kids:

That evening was adult game night. That sounds bad. . . it was just the evening we all played games together organized by Kristen- after kids were in bed. After the reunion was all over, everyone agreed this was the most fun night of all. We really had a good time. Here we're drawing what we're told to with the paper on our heads. Brian was hilarious!

Here we're divided on teams , shooting marshmallows into our teammates mouths. Everyone but me got it. My mouth is too little (can you even imagine that?) so our team lost. Jared got frustrated at not being able to get it in my mouth, so he just started throwing marshmallows at me. What there isn't a picture of, is that it dissolved into a free- for -all marshmallow fight. I'm sad there's not a picture of that, but everyone was too busy shooting marshmallows to shoot pictures. . .except Brian who was too busy protecting baby Jaron with his body so that the baby wouldn't get hit. (As I was taking down the tree yesterday, I found a marshmallow lodged in the branches confirming that it really did happen!)

Catch phrase

Kristen had prizes for everyone at the end. It was such a fun night.

THURSDAY, DEC. 22nd

Thursday morning, Ken and I had to attend the funeral for his Uncle Orvan. The rest of the crew went on a hike together and had a fun time in the beautiful weather. We came home and had lunch, then later we finally broke out the bubble machine. The kids had a blast dancing in the bubbles.

Jakie was especially mesmerized.

I love this picture of warm and happy Lily:

Oh dear! In the stockings were these funny shooting animals. Caleb LOVED their chicken. Daddy shot him and he landed in the tree. Oh dear!

Daddy to the rescue . . with Brian's help

The chicken finally came down! Caleb was SO happy!

We then went to the park:

And danced in the living room:

In a ploy to get Brielle out of the Laura dress (shh! Don't tell her), she got to dress up in her Mommy's wedding dress. Nathan made a fine groom, too.

That evening, we headed out to Tuachan to see Santa and the live nativity. It was bitter cold out there and very windy. These are pictures of us while waiting in the Santa line:

The Prince family:

The Camerons:

Grandpa and Jakie:

The Mackrorys:

It was worth the wait. He was THE BEST Santa and we got some really cute pictures:

Nathan:

Brielle:

Jakie:

Gabbi:

Caleb was a little shy to sit by himself, but did fine with Mama as a buffer:

It was so cold, that many in the group didn't want to sit through the outdoor live nativity. But some of us braved the cold and watched the story of the nativity with live actors. It was so fun to sit by Gabbi and have her exclaiming "This is just like my natibity at home!" She kept asking why the star wasn't on top of the stable (like hers at home) She was so cute. It really was a special part of Christmas- and the cold made it even more real somehow.

One of the best of activities of the week was doing Sub for Santa for a family. We all went to Walmart to shop for them on Monday, we wrapped the gifts as we had time during the week, then loaded the bags in the car to deliver the gifts on Thursday night. Here's the kids in the trunk with the gifts:

Santas ready to take the gifts after the kids were in bed.

After the Santa delivery, we had the best night of all: Girl's Night. We gave each other foot rubs and pedicures while the guys . . . I don't know, what did the guys do? Oh, I think they discussed how they would spend their millions when they made them, or something like that. Doing pedicures is kind of a family tradition; one we all look forward to. It was a great time to just chat and enjoy each others' company.

FRIDAY, DEC. 23rd

Kristen and Jared left really early that morning (sad)

We took some pictures just before Shonna and Blake left later in the morning.

The two babies: Lily is several months older than Jaron, but Jaron may even be longer than her. He's a tall baby:

Caleb and Grandpa wrestling: Caleb loves a good wrestle.

Grandma and Lily

Isn't she a pretty baby?

After the others left, we headed up to Zion National park with the Princes. It was a beautiful winter day. We hiked the Emerald Pools trail.

Gabbi discovered her shadow and that it would do whatever she did.

It was such a fun afternoon. On the way home, we stopped at Texas Roadhouse for dinner.

Saturday, Dec. 24th

Saturday, we had 2nd Christmas, or "real" Christmas with the Princes.

Gabbi got some fun bath toys and . . .

A new Princess nightgown from Grandpa and Grandma!!!!

She was delighted!

Which prompted a dancing/ singing frenzy. She entertained us. She loves the Polar Express song where you can hear the train. She puts her little hand behind her ear listening for the train, then puts her hands on her knees and bounces to the train beat, then dances and sings and whirls. She did it over and over. It was so cute.

Then the Princes packed up and headed to Salt Lake to be with Brian's family for Christmas. It was sad to see everyone go. It was bedlum while they were all here, but as Ken said, it was "heavenly bedlum." We love our family! (And if you made it this far, you deserve a reward!)

Wherever Grandma Is

Happy times! My whole family is here right now and we're having a great time together. This morning is "Christmas" here as we're opening presents together. Yesterday, we had our family pictures taken. We had to take four cars to our picture destination. Later, Jared and Kristen shared their conversation in their car as they traveled. They played a game where everyone named favorites and least favorites in different categories. One category was their least favorite and favorite"place". Four-year-old Nathan said Judea was his least favorite place. "Judea? Why?" Because there are so many mean and bad people there that hurt Jesus." Where is your favorite place? "St. George or wherever Grandma is!" Ahhhhh! Melt my heart! Merry Christmas!

Christmas- Keynote Style

Our Keynotes had our concert in the tabernacle last Friday evening. We had a big crowd and it went well. I think it's one of the best concerts we've done. It would appear to the outsider that this concert is the purpose of our group. The concert is the culminating event each season. It's what we work for and prepare for. But I've come to understand in a quietly profound way the real purpose of our group. It was made very clear to me this season. I spend many, many hours choosing music, writing script, setting up rest home/ assisted living performances, preparing weekly rehearsals, taking care of many details. We sang at a lot of places this year. As I drove to the first one- a particularly sad, old rest home- I thought, "Why do I do this?" My self talk was, I'm ashamed to say, very negative. "I don't have time for this. I'm tired. I have SO much to do . . ." As soon as I walked in there and saw those people with droopy heads and saggy mouths and wheelchairs and blank stares and silent pleading for love, the Lord blessed me with an overwhelming sense of what I was really doing- I was celebrating His birth in the way He would want me to celebrate it. I was making time for what is REALLY important. I could tell others in the group were feeling the same thing as there were tears and cracky, emotional voices. Then, I experienced what I believe was a miracle. We rehearse a lot. We work hard as a group and individually to have all our music memorized and to sound good. But NEVER do we sound better than when we're singing for these people. Something happens. Our voices are made more clear and strong; our blend is perfect. We sound really, really good. I personally can feel my voice strengthened. There is a literal and perceptible change. I came to understand this year that this is a gift from God. That is Him telling us how important these people are to Him. He blesses them with the very best that is within us. He tells us this over and over and over in the scriptures- how important the poor and sick and infirm and down trodden are to Him. I thank Him for this deepened understanding of that through our little service.

I also want to tell you how incredible each of those ladies are that you see in that picture. I love each of them so much. Each contributes to our group in a unique way, making us who and what we are. I marvel at their goodness and choose them as heroes and role models in my life. I feel so blessed to share these (what I've come to understand are) sacred experiences with them. We have a lot of fun, too- a great bonus! Keynotes is a very important part of my life. So, Merry Christmas- Keynotes style!

This is our visual aid this year. We sang songs with these "Christmas only" words, then ended our concert with a song that has all of these words in it.

"Official" Cruise Pictures

Patty sent some pictures from the cruise that I wanted to share:

First Formal Night

2nd Formal Night:

Sister Shopping Day on St. Thomas:

Jon (Allison's husband) did a bonus picture for us as well (I personally wish he'd spent his editing time making me skinny. Though I do really like Hal's beard. That's good.)

What Did the Prophet Ask Us to Do?

After each general conference, I scour through the prophet's talks and make a list of those things our prophet has asked us to DO. I then share this list with those I visit teach and post it on our fridge to remind us. (To see past lists, click here) This time, the list is very short. But as I analyze it, most of the things that are most important in life are on the list. I am grateful for a prophet of God.

What Did the Prophet Ask Us To Do?

October General Conference, 2011

Saturday Morning As We Meet Again

Any who might wish to do so, can contribute to the General Temple Patron Assistance Fund. (This fund assists those who need it to attend the temple the first time)

Priesthood Session Dare to Stand Alone

Read the Book of Mormon; Ponder it’s teachings. Ask Heavenly Father if it is true.

Honor the priesthood; Be true to the trust which was conveyed when it was conferred.

Know what you believe.

Be courageous and prepared to stand for what you believe. If you must stand alone, do so courageously.

Sunday Morning Session Stand in Holy Places

Reject anything that does not conform to our standards.

Develop a relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Communicate with Heavenly Father.

Sunday Afternoon Session Until We Meet Again

Show increased kindness one toward another.

May we ever be found doing the work of the Lord.

Constantly nourish your testimony.