Christmas Morning

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Well, the kids let us sleep until about 9:40 am before they started bugging us to get up. We felt lucky that they gave us that long to sleep. The kids couldn't wait to break through the paper and see what Santa left them. They gathered in the hallway and sang Christmas songs until we gave them permission to run through the paper. (Note: in Adam's family growing-up it was tradition to have wrapping paper taped up over the hall, stairway, or entrance to the living room so there was no way for little eyes to peek at the presents before the whole family could go in together. We like this tradition and so do the kids.)
The kids managed to make it on Santa's good list this year. Santa left a note reminding them to be good and giving them each a list of things he wants them to work on next year. The kids had lots of fun opening their presents and seeing what Santa brought them. Jaxton didn't want anything to do with opening his presents he got mad when Adam tried to show him how to open a present. The girls got Barbies from Santa. I gave them the dollhouse that Santa brought me when I was eight. I still had my furniture and Barbies too. Some of the furniture and old Barbies did come from Aunt Jenny, so that made it extra special. The girls played Barbies all day and are still playing with them. Austin nearly rounded out his collection of Disney Cars cars. Thanks to Santa he finally has Sally and Mater. Both cars are hard to find now. Jaxton (happy first Christmas son!) got a toy that blows air through a tunnel and pops little balls in the air. The first time he saw that happen he was so excited! He likes to push the balls back down. He also likes to feel the air in his face. He still gets so excited when he plays with that toy. Santa did a good job picking that one out considering Jaxton isn't one that really plays with toys. (He is more of an explorer.) Adam got a beard trimmer, some movies, and Brisingr on CD which he really wanted. I got two new dolls both of which are quite original to my porcelain doll collection. One is a tassel doll where the head and upper body of the doll are porcelain and the dress is a long tassel. The other doll doubles as a lamp. Adam picked them both out for me. My friend also embroidered a couple of towels. Both have a beautiful butterfly on them. (Thanks Betty, I love them!)
After the presents were all unwrapped we had breakfast and played the rest of the day. We watched a couple new movies while Adam took a nap and then later had a good Christmas meal. All in all we had a great day warm at home with our little family. We hope you all had a great day too!
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Kelseaism: Christmas Eve Kelsea kept telling me that we needed to "give Santa a credit card so that he coud get them gifts." She was so afraid that they wouldn't get anything unless we left a credit card out with the cookies. I told her not to worry that everthing would be okay and Santa would take care of things. I still laugh over this one!
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For those of you who didn't get a Christmas card from me I apologize I ran out of time and ink. So here is the Christmas letter I sent in the card (however if you have been following my blog then this letter could be boring):


Dear Family and Friends, December 2008

Greetings! This year has been a good one for us. We still live in Grand Junction, CO and have learned to love it here. On March 7th we added a new little member to the family: Jaxton Douglas he weighed 8lbs 2oz. He is now 9 months old and weighs 20lbs. I am doing my best to keep him in clothes that fit. He learned to crawl in October and also cut his first two teeth. He loves playing with his big sisters and brother. Jaxton likes to play the piano and take baths. He can’t stand it if someone is taking a bath and he is not there to splash in the water. Needless to say he sometimes get more than on bath a day sometimes with clothes on. We love his smiles and I personally love how he like to cuddle when he is sleepy.

Austin turned three in October. About twelve days later he gave the family a first by breaking his pinky finger between a ‘rock and a hard place’ literally. Thankfully, his finger has healed well with no problems. Austin loves cars, trains, airplanes, and superheroes. He loves flying around the house saying: “I’m a superhero!” He is very imaginative and sometimes says the funniest things. Like the other day when I was making biscuits and he asked me if they were ‘jelly beans‘. He is totally enthralled with Christmas this year by moving the ornaments around the tree, playing with the Christmas village and train, and asking if we can open presents yet. Also, for the first he has also made friends with a little boy his age (most kids we know his age are girls). The two of them have a blast playing and wrestling. It is so fun to watch how much Austin has grown and learned this year.

Kelseanja is four and goes to a preschool that some mothers in our ward and I have put together and take turns teaching. She loves school days and is usually ready to go with backpack on about two hours before school starts. She is very artistic and loves to color and draw (some of her artwork is still displayed on her bedroom wall.) She loves her baby brother and can keep him entertained probably longer than anyone else. When Jaxton was born she said: “I used to be a baby too then I grew into myself.” She loves going to the park and playing with her friends. Just yesterday she asked me if she could go swimming. She really didn’t care if the water was going to be ice cold she still wanted to go. Anyway, she is looking forward to going to Kindergarten next year so she can ride the school bus with Makayla.

Makayla is six years old now and is in first grade. She started the school year out in a brand new ‘green’ school. She loves school and her teacher. She has been learning to read and is doing very well. She has been getting 100% on all her spelling tests and is doing very well at math too. Her teacher has been very happy with her progress in reading and writing. She has made several friends and is a ‘social butterfly’. At our ward Christmas party a man in our ward was asking her questions to which she was ignoring. He asked if she was normally that quiet and she said: “I am NOT quiet!” Makayla is a big help and watches over her brothers and sister. She has even changed a few diapers. I don’t know what I would do without her around to help me with chores, meals, laundry, and her baby brother. She is sort of like a second mommy in the house. She loves Barbies and playing with her friends. Anything to keep her busy. She is not one to just sit still for long.


Adam is very busy with work. At the end of last year he finally ’broke-out’ as an Engineer working with Weatherford Wireline. He sometimes works days at a time which can be difficult, but he enjoys the work. In his free time he likes spending time with us and also playing on the computer. He took a week off in July and we went to Utah to visit family and friends. While there also went to the Hogle Zoo, the Children’s Museum, Bear Lake, Red Canyon overlook, the cabin, Vernal, and then home before Adam had to work again. We had so much fun and look forward to hopefully doing it again next year.

As a wife and mother, I keep myself busy with family and home. I teach preschool every five weeks and love to see the kids learn and grow. This year I have spent a lot of time getting to know new friends and helping them out whenever needed. I also have written a children’s story that I plan to get published next year sometime, we will see how things go. I am also working on a novel which is going slow, but I think I have a good story going. Eventually, I hope to get that published too. I love taking pictures and I also work hard on keeping the family blog up to date. If you are interested in staying caught up with our family you can visit our blog at: macphersonfamilylife.blogspot.com. There you can find a more detailed version of our past year complete with pictures, videos, and slideshows.

As we reflect on the past year it is difficult not to remember the hand that our Lord and Saviour has had in our lives. We feel like we have been extremely blessed this year and feel his love every day. We are eternally grateful for the sacrifice that the Lord has made for us. We hope that we can strive harder to be more like Him each day.

We wish everyone a very Happy Christmas Season. We hope the new year brings your family blessings and joy. We love you all and miss you!

Sincerely,

The MacPherson Family

Adam, Jennie, Makayla, Kelseanja, Austin, and Jaxton

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve the kids had some friends over and we made gingerbread houses (with gram crackers and candy). The kids all had fun decorating their own house and eating candy. After they were finished, I cleaned-up the mess, made a jell-o and a couple pumpkin pies. Then I read the kids a few Christmas stories and then they watched the Frosty the Snowman special.



After our friends left I gathered our kids up (Adam wasn't home from work yet) and read them the most important Christmas story from the bible. We talked about how at Christmas time it is fun to give and receive presents and wait for Santa to come, but most importantly we need to remember Jesus. I let the kids open one present as per tradition which they got pj's.

Jaxton opening his first Present.

While they were getting their pj's on Adam called and said he was on his way home. While he was on the phone we had family prayer. He had to go and I helped the kids put milk and cookies out for Santa. Makayla wrote a little note to Santa to go with the goodies. We checked the Santa radar online to see where Santa was. He was already in New Jersey! I hurried and tucked the kids in bed and then Adam called back. Apparently, his driver didn't fill up the truck with gas before they left Rifle, CO and they ran out of gas thus making it over two in the morning before he made it home. I had already finished wrapping gifts and helping Santa when he got home at 2:20 p.m.. Then it was bed time.

Pictures of the Week

Dozen Roses Adam Gave Me
Thanks Honey!

Kelsea Talking to Santa

Makayla Talking to Santa (I want...and...and...)

Jaxton Meeting Santa (No screaming!)

Austin talking to Santa
When he got home Austin said "I'm on Santa's list!"
(Which one I wonder.)

Austin Wrapping Presents

Austin Throwing Snowballs at Me

Kelsea was sick on Thrusday

Makayla all ready for pajama day at school
She had 22 braids which took nearly two hours to braid.

Jaxton playing with presents
He has actually done quite well with the tree and presents.

Highlights from the week

Yesterday, Adam's work had their annual Christmas party for the kids at Bananas Fun Park. Our kids got to play on the arcade, play laser tag, bounce in the Bump n' Jump, and Makayla even got to drive a Rookie Cart. She did such an amazing job for not ever driving anything except a bike before. There was another girl Makayla's age who had never raced either and the two of them were the only ones on the track so it made it a little easier for them. The weather was so cold! The wind was blowing and both girls had freezing hands by the time they got in, but both girls enjoyed themselves. Kelsea really wanted to drive a car too, but she was too short and they wouldn't let her. Maybe this summer she will grow enough to have her turn. The Weatherford dinner for the couples was also last night so Adam and I went and ate dinner with about forty other people consisting of Adam's associates and spouses. There were probably twice as many people there as last year. We went for a movie afterward to get our full date night in. I enjoyed spending some time Adam and am very grateful for the good friend who watched all our kids although it was past her bedtime before we got back to rescue her. We also got our first valley snow storm last night which dropped about two inches. I remember having a similar snow storm last year the night of the couple dinner.

Makayla in the Rookie Cart

I think both little girls were a little nervous and cold.

6 going on 16

Makayla driving the Rookie Cart.

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Friday morning I made snowman pancakes using raisins for the faces. Makayla was at school, but Kelsea, and Ausitn loved them! Jaxton also learned that he also likes pancakes (without raisins). I thought it was a fun little twist on a favorite breakfast. Later, Friday night Adam and I took the kids to see Madagascar 2 which was fun. There were only about five other people in the theater which made it seem almost like we had our own personal showing. I was a little nervous about taking Jaxton, but he actually did okay. He fell asleep about half-way through, so it was nice and I was able to enjoy the movie.

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So, I am happy to report that Thursday I took Austin to the doctor about his finger and after examining it the doctor felt that Austin's finger looked just fine. The doctor still wants us to keep an eye on it as he grows because the break was near the growth plate, but he felt that Austin's finger probably wouldn't give any more problems. So Austin is all healed from his broken finger. Yay!

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And now for a couple Austinisms:

One night this week I was making biscuits and Austin came in wanting to tase the dough. I explained to him that that kind of dough is better after it is cooked to which he replied: "Are those jelly beans?"

Later the same night he ran around the house saying: "Ho, Ho, Ho! I am Santa Clause."

Under our Christmas there are only two presents both of which Adam brought home for me Thursday night. Each day since, Austin has asked me: "You open your pesents yet?" To which I tell him that I have to wait until Christmas. I can tell that he is so excited for Christmas because he has spent a lot of time pretending to be Santa, moving decorations on the tree, and playing with the Christmas train and village. It will be a miracle if my 'pesents' stay wrapped until Christmas.
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Last Monday, Makayla had a little school program. They did it at Barnes & Noble because they were also having a little fund raiser that the bookstore was sponsoring. Aside from the fact that there were a lot of people there and not nearly enough room for everyone to see their children perform, all the kids, including Makayla, did a great job. The first graders did three Christmas numbers: two ringing bells, and one singing. I tried my best to video the performance and during the bells I had a partial view of Makayla but during the singing number she took a step backward and I couldn't see her at all. Afterward, Makayla (my little social butterfly) wanted to introduce me to all of her friends which was nearly impossible with the amount of people crammed in the children's section of the bookstore. We did manage to meet a couple of her friends and their parents. She probably could have stayed all night and visited with her friends, but we left because there was just too many people.

Chipeta Elementary First Graders doing a practice run of their song.
(Sorry I can't get the bell performance to load)


Jaxton at Barnes & Noble (I couldn't leave him out)

All Dressed-Up

Today, I dressed the kids up in the new Christmas outfits that Grandma Lawona gave them last week. They looked so cute and fancy, all ready for church, that I couldn't resist taking pictures. Thank You, Mom! This post is just for you, so you can see how sweet your grandkids look:) . (Clicking on the picture will make it bigger). I don't know about anyone else, but I think that Austin looks so much like my dad especially in Austin's single picture. Those ears and the big grin remind me of pictures I have seen of Dad when he was little. Both handsome!

Thanksgiving 2008

Make a Smilebox photobook

(Note: These videos take a little long to load in the slide show so if you push pause while they load it works better. Also, my card was full so I missed a bit of the story telling.)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Vernal. Usually, we travel to visit Adam's family, but this year Thanksgiving also marked my Grandma Lloy's 75th birthday so we went to show our love for her. On Thanksgiving day we gathered at my grandparent's chapel for dinner. The dinner was great! We had turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, several jello salads, awesome sweet potatoes, veggie tray, cranberries, beets, and of course pie. Cherry pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, peach raspberry pie, banana cream pie, and lemon meringue pie. After dinner we had a little presentation for grandma done by Mom giving grandma her gift from the whole family, Alex on the cello playing 'happy birthday' while we all sung, then Uncle David giving a brief history of Grandma.

When that was all done there was two pinatas one for the little kids and one for the big kids, yes even the married kids. (Sorry, I don't have any of those pictures because my batteries died, but if I get some pictures that I took with my mom camera I will post them.) I wish I had pictures. The little kids took turns until the pinata broke then they gathered their candy and toys. Then it was the big kids' turn. It took about 11 of us (including me) blindfolded before it finally broke open. The first four of my cousins to take a swing also had their feet tied together. Talk about hilarious! I don't think our family has laughed so hard in a long time. My Adam finally broke it open and the little kids got a second run at the candy. A lot of it was hard candy and several pieces were completely shattered because of the hard hits the pinata took. in any case everyone had a great time! Then it was time to clean up. My cousin brought a four-wheeler which he took Makayla, Kelsea, and Austin on a ride. They were so excited! Austin loved it the most I think.

Friday, we went to Grandma's & Grandpa's house for lunch (leftovers). Turkey sandwiches, yum! After lunch a group of us decided to go ice skating. Admission was free and the kids and I had never been before. Let's just say it was interesting. Austin was only on the ice for about two minutes and fell about ten times even though I was trying to hold his hand. He didn't want to be on the ice anymore so we got off. Kelsea went on the ice with Lacey and Dan then after she fell several times she decided to get off. My mom took one skate around the ice ring and she also got off. Makayla, Jenna, Morgan, Aunt Jennifer, Kaley, Kaloni, Dan, Lacey, and I stayed on the ice for a lot longer. Mom took Austin and Kelsea next door to the Tree Festival to keep them busy. I did pretty good skating for the firs time and only fell once, nearly flat on my face, I had to get Lacey to help me up. (My hip hurt all night from the fall.) After skating, we all went over to the Tree Festival. There were a lot of pretty trees, but we couldn't find Mom and the kids. In the same building there was also a free kid carnival going on, so we went over there. After, getting some churros and letting Jenna and Makayla play a game Lacey, Dan, and I decided we should go back to the ice rink to make sure Mom wasn't there. Everyone else went back to Grandma's house. Mom and the kids were not at the rink, so I sent Makayla and Jenna with Dan and Lacey. While I stayed and looked for Mom and the kids. I went back to the carnival. Couldn't find them so went back to the van and waited for a little while. Finally, I went back to the carnival and eventually found them. It was sort of crazy, but worked out. Back at Grandma's we played games and ate carrot pudding that my Uncle Glade made. Some of the family also had some of grandma's cake which was also carrot cake. Both deserts were delicious!

Saturday, Mom, Kaloni, and I let the kids with Adam, picked up Grandma, and went to the Holly Days Craft Fair. There were lots of jewelry, quilts, homemade hats, and decorative signs. As well as other crafty things. I found a quillow for each of the kids for Christmas. I also got to see a friend from HS whom I haven't seen in a few years. After dropping Grandma off at home Kaloni and I went to Walmart where I found another friend and visited. I also found a couple more gifts then we rushed home so that we didn't miss my Dad's homemade grilled chicken dinner. He wasn't quite ready so Kaloni, Austin, Kelsea, Jaxton, and I rushed over to my friend Ann's for a quick visit. She was all alone tying a quilt. We chatted for a little bit then she invited Kaloni and I to go to the movies with her later that night. So, we hurried home, ate Dad's yummy dinner, and also invited Mom and Lacey to go to the movies with us too. We left the kids with the guys and went to the movies where we met Ann and Lacey's friend. Yes, we watched Twilight. I enjoyed it a lot better than the first time I saw it. It was so much more enjoyable going with the people I did. Lacey was so funny because she giggled through most of the movie. When we got home the guys: Dad, Adam, Dan, Adam K, had the kids in bed and were all watching Iron Man. So they got their movie night too.

Sunday we packed-up and came home because Adam's work was wanting him. Overall we had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed seeing and visiting with our good family and friends. We are so thankful for all the good times we get to spend with them as well as those we didn't get to see this trip. Hope everyone else also had a great Thanksgiving Holiday!