We're Not Lucky.......We're BLESSED!: Christmas Day

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas Day

We arrived in Las Vegas at about noon on Christmas Day, and Camille picked us up at the airport (thanks for doing that right on Christmas, Sis!) She told the kids that when she woke up in the morning, not only did she find that Santa Claus had brought stuff for her own kids, but for our family, as well! But she covered our kids' gifts with a blanket so that her kids wouldn't be tempted to play with them. Bailey and Colby were sooo excited to get to her house and see what they got!

I made them wait in the doorway while I took their picture!

The goods......

My Peterson grandparents had sent gifts for my kids and Camille's to her house, so Camille had her kids wait and open theirs with us, so that they could all open a gift together. I love the excitement and squeals that come from tearing wrapping paper and finding something fun inside! The girls received princess porcelain dolls, and the boys got working trucks.

After a short trip to Camille's, we had to get in the car and drive to Panaca, where my parents had guests waiting to meet us. Flo's family had come all the way from Amsterdam to spend Christmas with her, and they wanted to meet us before heading home. They also had presents for our whole family! Thank you so much!

We also had left our presents for the kids at my parents' house, so they received those, too.

We gave Bailey a new bedding set to go on the new bed that Jonathan is building for her. Yes, he started in November. Yes, it's March. No, he's not finished. Poor guy. He's too busy!

Colby got his first real bike (new, anyway), and was very excited to find that it's a Hot Wheels bike and even makes a sound like an engine revving up.

Brycen received a toy truck set from us, but here he's opening his present from Flo's family.

This is Flo, her dad, mom, our friend Eva, Flo's sister, and, of course, Bailey.
All in all it was a fun, if not crazy, Christmas, and definitely one for the memory books!

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Bailey's Babbles

June 09...Bailey, as we're leaving church one day: "Mom, when is it going to be Fast Sunday again?" (In our church, once a month we fast from food for a day and use our meetings to bear our testimonies.) Amber: "Next week. Why?" Bailey: "I love Fast Sunday. I wish every Sunday were Fast Sunday." Amber: "Why do you like it the best?" Bailey: "Because it's faster, and all the classes are faster, so we don't have to be in church as long."

April 09..."When Jesus comes back, do you think we'll get to finally meet the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus and Tinkerbell--and all the other fairies?" ummmmm....

April 09...While I was doing her hair: "Don't do it this way, I don't like it that way." Amber: "It's cute this way, I like it! It's A so adorable, B so beautiful, C so cute." Bailey: "D so dumb!"

April 09...During a dinner prayer: "Please help Mommy to get skinnier....."

March 09...Bailey: "Mommy, I heard at school that there was this young man who was with some people who were outside in the cold and they were freezing and hungry, so he walked really far in the cold and got some food and took back to them."
Amber: "Where did you hear about that?"
Bailey: "At school, in reading groups."
Amber: "Oh, was it the Donner Party?"
Bailey: "No, no. No, we don't have donner parties."

Jan. 09...Bailey, after coming upstairs to find me sitting next to a visiting friend's baby: "Where did you get that? Is that our baby?" If only it were so easy......

Nov. 08....Bailey, at her great-grandpa's funeral: "This is even longer than real church, and it's Saturday!"

Nov. 08....Bailey: "Mommy, when I get home from school tomorrow, can you say, 'Bailey, I have a great big surprise for you!'...and then give me one?"

Nov. 08....Amber: "Bailey, are you in your jammies yet?"
Bailey: "No, because when Colby turned the TV on it made me watch it."

Oct. 08...Bailey (tearfully), while spending a few days with my parents in Panaca, when my dad let her call me on the phone: "Mommy, guess what? I'm homesick.....but I don't know what that means!"

July 06....Amber during FHE: "We celebrate the 4th of July because it's Independence Day. Independence means we're free--"
Bailey interrupts: "No, Mommy, no. I'm not free. I was free, but now I'm four."

Colby's Quips

Oct. 09..."I wore my camo shirt to go hunting because that's my hunting shirt. It's for hunting camels and deer." (He thinks they're pronounced the same.)

June 09...Amber: "K, kids, time to get dressed for church." Bailey: "I'm feeling sick. I can't go to church today. (cough cough)." Amber: "Well, that's too bad. I guess you'll have to stay with Grandma and Grandpa while we go on family vacation this week, because if you're sick, you can't go to Lagoon or the zoo." Bailey: "OK, I guess I'm not that sick." Colby: "I'm not sick. I just don't want to go to church." The kid is so. brutally. honest.

May 09..."Mom, can we go to the garden?" Amber: "We don't need to do anything there right now, so what would we do?" Colby: "Gard."

Apr. 09..."Mommy, why do they call strawberries strawberries?" Amber: "I don't know." Colby: "Because the 'straw' part is kinda weird."

Apr. 09...Colby, after I told him no Wii or TV today: "Mom, you need to think about being nice." Amber: "I am being nice." Colby: "No, you're not, and you told us that when we're mean or grumpy it lets the devil into our house."

Apr. 09...Amber: "Do you remember the prophet's name?" Colby: "Yeah! Heavenly Monster." Disclaimer: He usually does get that one right, but maybe it had just been too long since we'd done a review?

Apr. 09...Amber: "Don't pick your nose." Colby: "It's because when you give me a bath, it makes me smell like flowers and cats, and it makes my nose itchy."

Apr. 09...Amber, watching Colby carry the hamper upstairs: "Wow, you're so strong!" Colby: "That's cuz I eat oatmeal."

Feb. 09...Frustrated with Jonathan's crazy work/school schedule: "Daddy has too many jobs! We need to sell one of his jobs to another daddy!"

Jan. 09...at an SUU basketball game, after watching the guy cheerleaders do lifts with the girls: "Daddy, when Mommy gets skinny, you should do that to her." Ouch!

Jan. 09..."Mommy, if I give you a surprise, will you not make me clean my room?"

Jan. 09...Amber: "Do you think this baby will be as cute as you?" Colby (in a matter-of-fact tone): "No, I'm very awesome."

Jan. 09..."Mommy, I promise I put all my clothes away......but don't go check."

Nov. 08...My brother Cliff, after giving Colby a toy gun for his birthday: "Colby, do you know what kind of gun this is?" Colby: "A cheap gun."

Nov. 08....Amber, while helping Colby try on his new church clothes: "Ooh, you look so handsome, like a missionary. We should call you Elder Brunjes, because that's what you call missionaries."
Colby: "I don't like that name. After I take these off, can I just be 'Colby' again?"

Nov. 08....Colby, on a day when he had a cold, showing me a packet of Sweet Tarts from his Halloween sack: "Mommy, will you open these?"
Amber: "No, you haven't even had breakfast yet!"
Colby: "I don't want breakfast, just these."
Amber: "You can't have candy before breakfast. It will make you sick."
Colby: "I'm already sick. So, can I have 'em?"

Nov. 08.....Amber: "Colby, I need you to put your jammies on, then go downstairs and turn off the TV. Do you understand?"
Colby: "Yes, but you're not going to make me do it." (He realizes my bed rest limitations! Grrrr!)

Oct. 08.....Amber: "Do you think this baby will be cute?"
Colby: "Yip! Even cuter than me!"

Oct. 08....Amber: "Colby, do you need time out?"
Colby: "No. That would be so lame."

Oct. 08....Amber, after learning that Colby had snapped one of his grandpa's baby trees in half: "Why did you break Grandpa's tree?"
Colby: "Because I wanted to see if it would break."
Amber: "What did you use to break it?"
Colby: "My muscles."

My Testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was born to members of the church, and many of my roots in the church began in its youth in Kirtland and Nauvoo. While I'm very proud of my heritage, that is not the reason I'm a faithful member today.

I belong to this church and remain active in it because every blessing I have comes, either directly or indirectly, from my membership and my testimony of this gospel.

I know that I am a daughter of God who existed before I came to this earth and who covenanted with my Heavenly Father (God) to come down and live a righteous live and serve and love those around me. I know that if I keep those covenants and the covenants I continue to make, I will be blessed to return to Heaven and live with Him and all my loved ones and be part of a beautiful eternal family. I have learned through personal experience and the scriptures that I can pray to Him at any time and in any place for personal guidance and protection, and that He hears and answers my prayers and answers them according to what HE knows is best, for which I am ever grateful.

I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and my literal Savior, and that when He suffered in Gethsemane and died on the cross, He did it partially for me. I know that He loves me and knows and understands me and watches over me daily. I'm so grateful for his incomparable sacrifice on my behalf, and I pray that I can live worthy of His atonement.

I have a powerful testimony that the Book of Mormon, as well as the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price are books of scripture that speak the words of God. I'm grateful for them and can truly feel peace and strength when I read from them, especially from the Book of Mormon. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, called of God to restore the true church to the earth, make available the Book of Mormon, and teach us the doctrines of eternity. I love his teachings--they bring hope to my heart. I know that we've had a prophet on the earth ever since Joseph Smith, and that Thomas S. Monson is that man today. I praise and sustain him. And I love his stories!

If you are seeking a greater fulfillment and joy in your life, I invite you--plead with you, even--to learn more about this wonderful church. You will find a more magnificent joy in its truths than you have ever felt before in this lifetime. Your relationships and daily activities will be blessed and strengthened in your living the doctrines of this church, which are all designed to bless and help us, not hurt or restrict. I can honestly say that I have never in my life regretted living the gospel and keeping the commandments, but I have made many mistakes, some more serious than others, which almost always invoke regret and sometimes even pain and suffering. Fortunately, the Atonement of Christ gives me hope for repentance and redemption. It is in His name, the name of Jesus Christ, that I share this testimony. Amen.