CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas is always wonderful, full of family, food, games and the Christmas story. We spent Christmas Eve with the Mangum side and Christmas day with the Moser clan. This post will be mostly pics because I just can't decide which one's I wanted to share so here's a bunch. We love all of our family and friends and feel so grateful to have shared this last year with you!!

My mom always does the Nativity with the grandkids and this year she got a couple adults involved. It was wonderful!

Clint worked Christmas Eve but was able to come eat and spend a little time with us while on his break. He played a song on the guitar for Emma, Lily and Maddy while they sang. It was so cute. I had no idea Maddy knew the song but Josh said the girls let her come in with them while they practiced earlier in the evening. :)

In my family we pick names for gift exchange. My parents picked us and we got an AWESOME movie basket from them. So FUN!

My mom made blankets for all the grandkids and then my parents got all the kids a pair of pajamas. The kids were so excited!! Krissy and Ryan gave eachother jammies so they jumped in the picture also.

All of us siblings went in on a gift for my parents where we got all of their 8mm reels converted to a DVD. It turned out sooooooo AWESOME!! They were thrilled about it and all of us couldn't wait to see it. Home movies are such a fun thing to watch especially when they are ones we haven't seen in years.

My parents got all of us couples these beautiful picture frames.

Millie is just too cute! Love her!

Miss them! :( But were so glad they came for a whole week!!!

They're growing up too fast!

Christmas morning was wonderful. Maddy was so funny. She actually woke up around 4am but Josh was not ready to get up so I had to try and confine Maddy in our room for 2+ hours. Then just before 7 she crashed and hard! Krissy came in and I was ready and we woke up the hubbies but it was so hard trying to get Maddy back up. It happened though and as we walked out of the room Maddy looked over the banister and saw a quad sitting by the tree for her. Her eyes got big and she said "mommy my car!!! my car!!" Josh was video taping and Maddy took off for the stairs. He had to run to get ahead of her so he could get it on tape downstairs. It was so cute.

The quad was a hit! That face was PRICELESS!

I got an ADORABLE new purse! I was so excited!

Krissy and I got Josh and Ryan matching remote control helicopters. They were totally stoked. They played with them all morning. :)

In preparation for Christmas we started asking Maddy what she wanted Santa to bring her and for the longest time she would say a computer in that oh so adorable 2 year old voice. Josh and I would just look at eachother and we knew we are going to be in real big trouble if our 2 year old was already asking for electronics. But Santa came through for her and she now plays with her computer daily. :)

Love them!

For Christmas this year my mother and father-in-law made everyone's gifts and they were so GREAT! We LOVED them! My father-in-law made Mia and Maddy rocking chairs and my mother-in-law made cushions for them. The girls just loved them!

For all the rest of the kids they made these super soft blankies with their names embroidered on them. I think the kids absolutely loved them. They stayed wrapped in them most of the night.

For all of us couples they made aprons. They are so rad! I only got a picture of the girls but others got pictures of the guys too so someone send them my way. :)

The Payne family picked our family this year and they got us the perfect gift. Hot chocolate, a SUPER cozy blanket and a beautiful Christmas book that Maddy LOVES! Thankyou Payne family, we LOVE you!

All of us kids also went in on a gift for my in-laws. Melissa found these adorable signs, the first says Grandpas Workshop broken toys fixed here and the second says Grandkids Welcome parents by appointment. Then we were able to get them a fantastic date night package (a very well deserved date I must say) and then we put together a Heritage Makers book for them in hopes it would help them know and remember how much we love and support them!

Gingerbread house making is always a blast and the older my nieces and nephews get the better the houses are. And it doesn't hurt to taste your project...:)

December Happenings

I absolutely LOVE these pics! Christmas time is such a fun, exciting, reverent time of year and I love every minute of every moment during the season. With the beginning of December being the end of Josh's school semester we don't get to see him too often so I and Maddy have been doing a few things to get into the spirit of the season. First my mom puts a tree upstairs in the loft for decoration and this year she let Maddy and I decorate it. So we put on our jammies and went to work. Maddy LOVED this, she was so careful with every bulb and everytime she hung one up she said "I did it mom!" very excitedly. It was just too cute!

For FHE one week we went to Ethel M. Chocolate Factory to see all the Christmas lights. Maddy has been so fascinated this year with the lights. She loves just riding in the car and seeing all the houses dressed up for Christmas. Ilove how excited she gets when she sees them, it's like she has never seen them before, each time we come to a new house. This was extra fun because a couple of my sisters and their families were able to come and my parents.

For the Moser FHE we took the opportunity to help decorate Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Waters home for Christmas. They are such a special couple and we just adore them. I like to take these visits and use them as photo opportunities. I want Madelyn to know how much she was loved by her great grandparents.

Then we come to the Winter Fest in Downtown Henderson. We LOVE the Christmas parade! It is so fun to me to take Madelyn to these because it supports the community and it's one of the ways we as a community share in the spirit of Christmas.

School is FINALLY done for the semester and we are ready to start celebrating the holiday with Josh!!!

Thanksgiving!!

So to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday week my brother-in-law Jerry and sister-in-law Shannon gave the biggest surprise to my in-laws. For 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving all the Moser siblings knew a FANTASTIC secret! Jerry and Shannon and their kids were coming for the whole week of Thanksgiving and my mother and father-in-law had NO IDEA! Jerry and Shannon have been living in Florida for about 9 months, while there our niece Brinley was born. Things being so tight my in-laws were not able to go out and visit when she was born so all they have been able to do is look at her, talk to her and wish they were holding her through Skype (we are so grateful for technology). The idea of them coming to Vegas for Thanksgiving has been tossed around for a few months but Jerry has been out of work the whole time they have been there and money for them was tight so the trip was cancelled, and all were bummed especially my parent-in-laws. We all missed them terribly but understood the circumstance. Well Jerry got a job offer a month or so before Thanksgiving and the trip was back on...hopefully. They decided not to tell my in-laws jut in case something else came up and they had to cancel again but all of us siblings were in the know and we couldn't wait to see the surprise pulled off! Well after 32 straight hours of driving the Mosers arrived late Sunday afternoon. They showered and got cleaned up at Aun Susan's and then headed to mom and dad's. It could not have gone more perfect. That day was Shannon's birthday and my in-laws wanted to Skype her and wish her a happy birthday. So while we all waited outside Jerry was talking to my father-in-law telling him they were ready and if they had their computer up. My father-in-law kept saying the computer said they were off line and he couldn't call them, Jerry was so good and insisted that they were ready to see them and he didn't know why they were having a problem, then Shannon and Cohen went running into the house and Shannon was trying to get Cohen to say Hi Grandma but instead he just ran around them for what seemed like several minutes. The first few pics are hilarious because you see Cohen with my in-laws and the don't even notice him. My father-in-law even looks at him but passes him off as one of the grandkids. Shannon, Jerry and Brinley were all standing in the doorway watching and staring at my in-laws and almost simultaneously my father-in-law noticed Shannon and my mother-in-law noticed Cohen and the tears just flowed from everybody. The cousins couldn't get enough of Brinley and they were all SO EXCITED to play and wrestle with Cohen. We were so glad they were able to make the trip and seeing my inlaws faces was totally PRICELESS. I am so grateful for close knit families on both sides and that the greatest joy is just being together.:)

For Thanksgiving every year we go to both families homes. We feel so blessed to have so much family in town that it is hard for us to miss ANYTHING that goes on in either family. This year we had an early Thanksgiving lunch with the Mangums which was fabulous and dinner later that evening at the Moser's which was also wonderful. You just can't go wrong when every place you go has such amazing food. :) I didn't get many pics but I did get a few. This year we feel so thankful for so many things but especially for the blessing of family, tithing, employment and education. Nothing this year would have been possible for us if not for these things. It has been such a blessing for me to be a stay at home mom. I have just felt so humbled to know that Heavenly Father trusted me enough to aid in raising our sweet Madelyn. Josh's schooling has gone so well and he is just getting better and better (if you can believe that, it's possible!) We are gratefl for his employment at the University and at the credit union. They both have brought great comfort and peace into our lives. We are soooooo grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Our knowledge and testimony of this great gospel has been a cornerstone in our family and we truly feel so blessed to have it.

Can you tell the girls could not get enough of Brinley? They were so sweet with her.

Thanksgiving night was really a lot of fun. We had Christy and Eric and their family staying with us and my nephew Austin came and joined the fun that night too. Austin and Brad wanted to get into the Black Friday spirit and convinced Christy to let them come with her at midnight to Wal-Mart. They first were briefed on how you don't go to browse the store, you have a mission and you go with the soul purpose of accomplishing that mission. They were given assignments of things to look for and they were to not wonder far from Christy. It was hilarious and so cute to watch them. They let me take some funny pics to remember this night by. Needless to say the next morning they decided Black Friday was NOT for them. :) But Brad did get a fun remote control car on sale. Ha Ha!! In the morning while Christy and Josh were out hitting the sales, we at home started a fire in the fire pit and rosted marshmallows for breakfast. It was such a great holiday!