Christmas

We had a very nice Christmas this year. It seems like our Decembers are so full with two birthdays and Christmas but it's such a wonderful time of year. Watching our children on Christmas morning is the best gift I could ever get. I love each one of them so much, if I never got anything I would feel lucky and be happy because I will always have Tom and my children and they make me feel so loved. I'm so thankful for the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior. I hope each of you had a happy Christmas and made some loving memories to always cherish.

Our new pajamas.

Elie decided to enjoy some chocolate first thing. That's my girl!

Austin asked Santa for 2 things. A stars wars transport ship was one of them. He was just a little excited.

The other thing Austin wanted was a New York Jets jersey with number 4 on the back.

VIP's littlest pet shops. You get on line with a code and you can play games, and buy things, and decorate their house. She thought it was pretty cool that she now has three of them.

Shaustia wanted a DS from Santa, she got it along with some games to play on it.

Keaton's big orange truck that he asked Santa for. Keaton wasn't acting very thrilled about anything and we couldn't figure out why until we had to take him to the doctor the next day.

My awesome gift was an i-pod touch. I've been playing games on it and using it everyday. Tom didn't get anything very exciting this year, but I hope he had a good Christmas anyway.

Christmas dinner: Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls, broccoli with cheese, and green kool-aid with sprite in the fancy glasses. We had Grandma May over for dinner, Tom went and got her and took her home afterwards because the weather and roads were so bad.

This is how Elie ate dinner, with her feet on the table most of the time.

Elie's Birthday

A cute purple care bear to love.


This was the cutest thing. After we got the baby out of the box Elie grabbed it and hugged it and then gave it a kiss. And we actually caught it on camera.

We had never seen a one year old play with their toys instead of the paper. We were pleased, but Mom had a sad day because her baby turned one.

Keaton's Birthday

Keaton's Snot Rod Cake!

Snot Rod is a character from the Car's movie in case you were wondering.

The screaming banshee, also from the movie Car's.

One of the games we played at Keaton's party was to build the snowman, instead of pin the tail on the donkey. This is how our snowman turned out.

Kids from our Clan.

Austin is peeking at us, he's a handsome dude.

The reindeer are pushing the holiday express.

This is what Keaton would wear all winter long if Mom would let him.

On this day Keaton asked me where the shovel was. When I told him it was in the garage he went to put his coat on and said he was going out to shovel like Dad does.

Our children and their cousins on the Buttars side at Grandpa Buttars house for his 68th birthday.

Our Elie

CHEESE !!!

Elie looking down the stairs with envy.

Aren't I cute!

This is how Elie says "I don't know." When she's up to it that is. She also does it sometimes when she knows she's in trouble.

Keaton was pushing Elie around in this box. Keaton had some candy in his mouth and they were having such a good time that he was laughing and drooled on her head.

Pretty baby in the lights.

Eliana's Christmas dress.

Bye everyone.

Family Christmas Letter

So the family Christmas letter is back by popular demand. Another year gone by quicker than the one before (technically it was longer because it was a leap year but whose counting right?). Our family is no longer so little – in both size and number. Not that we are getting fat but the kids are growing taller and older. We had some amazing memories this year that I would like to share.

I guess I’ll go first and get the worst part of this letter out of the way. Not much to say here. My gut is getting bigger – I am no longer shaving my head but there still isn’t much on it to speak of – still working at Wada Farms but we did move into a new spacious building which was great – still in the Elder’s Quorum Presidency – still the one writing the Christmas letter. One thought about the following paragraphs. The people I am talking about are truly the reason why I get up in the morning and thus I can be very biased.

Emily is as busy as she has ever been. Her workload has increased considerably with the addition of Eliana. She now has four little ones to raise and she does an amazing job. I would never be able to take her place, nor would I want to. I am pretty sure I would fail where she succeeds. I am always amazed with her ability to get it all done and do a good job with her calling as the Webelos leader. Something new this year that has been fun is that we have joined a dinner group. Where Emily takes one night a week and makes dinner for three families and then the next two nights the other wives make dinner for us.

Shaustia had a major milestone in her life this year. She turned 8 years old and was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We were so happy for her and it was definitely a memorable day for all of us. She is an amazing girl soon to be a young woman and has a knack for writing stories and loves to draw. She got braces this year. Unfortunately she inherited her Dad’s teeth. Hopefully they will be off here in the next couple of months.

Austin and Keaton could not be more different in personality. Austin loves video games and television and gets excited about anything remotely related to Star Wars. Keaton could really care less about television and video games. He gets bored with them easily. However, you will find him outside most of the time and he loves to wrestle and play ball and play with cars. The odd thing about Keaton that we find rather interesting is that he is by far the most picky about his clothes. He won’t wear jeans and he absolutely loves the color orange. You always know how Austin is feeling. He is quick to forgive but also quick to anger. Keaton is a tough kid who doesn’t like to show emotion unless he doesn’t get what he wants. Then you know exactly how he feels. Even though they are two very different boys I couldn’t be happier with how they are choosing to live their lives and the way they are growing up.

Eliana is our newest addition and she couldn’t be more wonderful. She has been an absolute joy to have in our home. She is pretty small for her age and that makes her all the more cute and cuddly. It is bittersweet every time she hits a milestone knowing it will be the last time one of our kids will roll over or crawl for the first time. She is crawling and standing up and soon will be walking even though she seems way too small to be able to do any of that. No matter how bad my day is, the minute I get home and hold her in my arms, I find myself calmer and happier. She is going to be one spoiled kid by her dad.

My thought this year comes from a great scripture Revelations 3:16. It’s the one about spewing lukewarm water out of His mouth and likening us to that lukewarm water. I know that in my life I have become very complacent in my calling, in my faith and in life in general. How easy it is to get caught up in everyday life and trying to “succeed” in the world. What matters most in the eternities is pushed aside. I think to myself, “As the kids get older it will be easier to be more faithful.” Home and visiting teaching, keeping the Sabbath day holy, not watching inappropriate movies and TV shows, spending time talking with God and learning of Him – not just at Church. Yes, I go to church and I have a calling, but really how worthy am I to be in the presence of God when I am so lukewarm in my daily routine? We celebrate His birth during this time of year and then try and set goals for the year to follow. Let us remember who brought us here, who gives us breath, and who made it possible for us to return. I hope we all can remember why we are here and why we celebrate Christmas all year long! Merry CHRISTmas!

November

Last night we went to Mud Lake to my Dad's house. Today is his birthday so almost everyone was there to have dinner and celebrate. It was loud, we ate, we talked, kids got hurt, we opened gifts, and had cake. But Dad wouldn't let me help clean up. He is 68 today. He is a very generous thoughtful and giving man. I'm grateful to have him for my father. I hope he knows how much he means to me and how much I love him.
For Thanksgiving we went to Pocatello and had dinner with Tom's family. Everyone was there. We ate of course, played games and visited and everyone left. We went to his sisters house afterward. Tom and the kids stayed to watch the football game and I went to a movie with some of his sisters.
Let's see, what else. We got the Christmas decorations out and put up. Tom moved into a new office at work. It's brand new, it just got finished being built. It's very large and so much easier to get to from our house. I went to Twilight on opening night at 12:30 a.m. with Holly and Heidi and Holly's Mom. I really enjoyed it. I liked the movie and even though there were a gazillion people there it was fun. Keaton and Elie both have a birthday coming up. I can't believe Elie will be one in a couple of weeks and Keaton will be 4. We've been trying to get Christmas and birthday shopping done also. This year I'm not ready like I usually am I still have a lot to think about and take care of. I guess that's what four kids does to me. It seems like I'm behind on everything. I used to like to prepare for things way in advance but I can't do that anymore. I'm usually finally getting things taken care of just before they need to be done. Oh well, I'll just have to adjust and deal with things not being like they used to. Because I'm so grateful for these four children that it really doesn't matter if our house is a mess and I procrastinate. As long as they are loved and cared for.