Snow Day

On Saturday, December 19^th, we had a huge snowstorm. It started snowing early Saturday morning and continued throughout the day well into the early morning of the next day. We had one of the biggest snowstorms we’ve had in about 20 years. Philadelphia got about 23.5 inches in just one day, we didn’t get quite as much in our area of the city, about 14 inches. We didn’t have church the next day, and school was even cancelled on Monday due to the snow- typical for the east coast. I felt bad for many friends whose flights were cancelled for a few days.

On Monday, I got the boys all ready to go in their snow clothes and we went outside to play! They were all pretty excited to get out and enjoy the snow. Even Matthew was running around excitedly yelling, “snowball” and “snowman” over and over. We decided to build a snowman together & the boys were great little helpers. We finished it just in time to go back in and warm up with soup and hot chocolate for lunch. I love having a good snow day every now and then, and I loved having a white Christmas. Of course, it’s always interesting to see the weather here- the following Sunday it was 50 degrees and sunny, and the snow was gone because it rained for about 36 hours straight. The snow is fun, but I sure enjoy having clear roads to drive on!

My Little Guys

Jeff has had a busy couple of months. He’s had business trips, conferences to attend, and a few interviews for jobs. The last one he went on, we said goodbye Monday night and didn’t see him again until Saturday evening. Combined with a busy schedule, (he’s worked or been gone every Saturday since the beginning of November until Dec 20th) we’ve had a lot of time on our own. I’ve found it’s much better to stay busy and keep the days scheduled. Along with school, preschool, etc. it’s been fun to find different fun things to do together. We love visiting friends, going to the library, playing at the park, doing activities, building train tracks, reading stories, and anything else we can think of. I’m grateful for these sweet little boys. They sure keep life busy, but lots of fun. I feel so lucky to be their mom.

Painting ornaments for the tree

Making cool train tracks in the living room.

Playing in boxes and forts.

Gingerbread Houses

I have an amazingly talented friend, Teresa, who is a fabulous cook! Last year, she started a tradition of doing gingerbread houses at Christmastime. Starting about a month in advance she starts to make a ton of gingerbread houses by hand & freezes them until Christmastime. Then in December, everyone brings treats to share, and we enjoy a girl’s night out decorating gingerbread houses.

I missed the activity last year because we weren’t in the area, so I was excited for it this year. It was great to get together with everyone and enjoy the night. It’s also a good thing that Teresa is such a good sport letting everyone crash her house until the late night hours- at 10pm I was one of the earlier ones to leave, apparently some people partied it up until 2am. The boys were sure excited to see the gingerbread house the next morning.

So often I’m reminded of how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many fun, amazing, talented, and thoughtful women. I’m so grateful for good friends, these women really are like sisters to me.

Lizzette, Alissa, Teresa

Stacey, Me, Lizzette

Ward Christmas Party

Our ward had a fun Christmas party this year. We were able to get together with friends & ward members for a yummy dinner and an evening of good company. I’m glad there’s a gym in the church, because the kids just have a blast running around with all their friends. Matthew thought it was awesome that the dessert table was right at his level, I’m still not sure exactly how many cookies he had that night.

The highlight of the night of course, was the visit from Santa. Each of the boys took a turn sitting on his lap and telling him what they’d like for Christmas- even Matthew did great this year, especially since he got a candy cane afterwards.

Work Christmas Party

Jeff had a work Christmas party with all of the residents at his hospital. It was a fun evening to get together to enjoy a fabulous dinner with friends. The food was excellent, these big catered events really are amazing. (even if we didn't care for the open bar too much) I still wish I would have gotten a picture of the dessert bar. There was a live band playing music, and we enjoyed some fun & very entertaining conversations!

I do have to say that it's always interesting to try and come up with a good outfit for a formal event when you're almost 7 months pregnant- pretty sure I was the only pregnant one there. Good thing I have a husband who makes me feel cute no matter what! :) My favorite part was definitely being able to spend an evening with Jeff. Big thanks to our friend Scott Matson who came over to stay at our house while our boys were sleeping!

8 of the 9 Ophthalmology residents- these guys are great!

Residents with spouses

Getting Ready for Christmas

We like to put up our Christmas decorations early around here. This is the 3rd year in a row that we haven't been home with family for Christmas and it's nice to have cheerful things around. Normally we decorate the day after Thanksgiving, but we were in Virginia so we pulled out the boxes a couple days into December. The boys are really getting to the age where they enjoy the whole season and everything that comes along with it. Jeff was out of town again, so I was grateful to have three eager little helpers to put up the tree and decorations. We've had the same little artificial tree for 8 years straight, same as most of our decorations- it's done pretty well over the years. I decided to add some extras to the tree this year, usually with young kids around everything just gets pulled off, but I figured Matthew is old enough to be better this year. I love how cozy the apartment feels with all the decorations and lights. They're definitely not anything fancy, but they're just perfect for us! We love our little place at Christmas time.

The boys with the finished product

All lit up

I decided to make a wreath for our front door this year, and was pleased with how it turned out; especially since it only cost me about $7.

My mom got this little nativity for the boys last year. It's been one of their favorite things to help set up. I usually find the pieces rearranged throughout the day, and that's what it is for- they love that it is *their* nativity set.

Vinyl is one of the greatest decorations ever!

The Rest of the Holiday Weekend

We stayed with Mike & Kimber until Sunday morning, so we had lots of time to spend together doing fun things.

On Friday morning we walked down to a parade in the nearby shopping center. It was perfect, close by and about 20 minutes long. The kids had fun seeing all the cars, trucks, bands, dancers, and everything else in the parade. They even got a few pieces of candy.

The gang watching the parade

A strange, star-like creature attempting to attack (hug) Matthew. He wasn't a big fan of whatever it was.

Trying to get a picture of our group after the parade, unfortunately the sun came out right then and this is what we got. Cracks me up! At least Kimberly is looking & smiling...she's the only one.

Family picture after the parade, in the shade...

Later on, we went for a walk along the Monticello trails. We took the paper airplanes we had made earlier, and had flying contests. Kimber always has so many fun ideas, the boys loved every minute! We headed home afterwards where we met up with Mike who had been busy studying during the day, and enjoyed a yummy dinner while we watched the BSU football game. Kimber and I even headed out for a little while at about 10pm to make a stop at Old Navy to see if we could find some good deals. Girl’s night trips are the best!

The mighty fliers!

More high-flying competition and a 25-week belly shot. (well..6 hours short)

Saturday we went with Kimber & Mike to a fun little place to pick out their Christmas tree. The boys loved running around this cute farm with tons of Christmas trees growing all over. The boys enjoyed seeing and feeding the sheep, drinking hot chocolate, picking out coloring books, and of course- helping to pick out the perfect Christmas tree!

Matthew loving the cows & sheep, it was too hard to get him to actually look at the camera. We'll settle for a finger point.

Jacob and Caleb with their 'perfect' little tree.

Matthew was Jeff's little side-kick. He wanted to follow him wherever he went, and would chase after him yelling, "Daddy, daddy!"

Mike cutting down the perfect Christmas tree.

That night was the BYU vs. Utah game. Kimber & Mike have some friends who had the game on, so we all went over. I didn’t stay for too long before I took Caleb & Matthew home to put them to bed, but everyone else had a great time watching the game. And what could make it better than a sweet cougar victory? As with every night, we stayed up way too late talking, laughing, and having a good time with interesting conversations. We were grateful for the Menssen’s great hospitality; their place is even a little smaller than ours- so squeezing 8 people in for 3 days isn’t the easiest thing, but we all had such a great time.

We took off on Sunday morning and stopped for sacrament meeting in Washington D.C. It was a great meeting, and afterwards we were able to eat lunch at the temple and enjoy walking around the grounds. It was such a beautiful day and a perfect way to end the holiday weekend. This was definitely a great one and we'll always cherish the fun memories.

Happy Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, we were able to go to Virginia to spend the holiday with Kimberly, Mike & Tyler. Flying home for a 3-day weekend isn’t an option so if you can’t be home for the holiday, being with family away from home is the next best thing!

(Stevens Family & Menssen Family)

We drove down Thanksgiving morning and would have been there sooner if we hadn’t gotten caught in traffic, we had 20 minutes before it was time to head over to have Thanksgiving dinner at the law school with a bunch of Mike & Kimberly’s friends, classmates, and ward members. It was fun to get to meet everyone and enjoy a yummy dinner. There was lots of great food and we had the whole afternoon/evening to sit back and relax. Someone even planned well & brought a tv and some dvd’s for the kids to watch after the dinner.

(The whole group)

The only sad thing about the get-together was that they had received news that their fellow student, friend, and ward member John Jones had passed away that morning after becoming stuck in a cave in Utah. He left behind a daughter, and wife who was expecting their 2^nd child. He was a good friend to many of them and it was a hard thing to experience, especially on Thanksgiving.

We were glad that we were able to travel down and spend the holiday with family. It was a great time to reflect upon the many things we have in our lives to be thankful for, we really have been so greatly blessed.