Sugar Plums

The girls are all nestled in bed and are already dreaming of sugar plums I am sure.  Lilah was tickled to open her life size doll from her secret elf, Bizzy and was even more tickled to find out she could sleep with her tonight.  Neeley and Kayla heard Santa's bells and ran to bed as fast as they could.  Neeley was even convinced that she didn't have time to brush her teeth.  If you know Neeley, you know she would never suggest this unless something drastic would happen, like missing a visit from Santa!  Five minutes after we tucked the girls in, we realized we forgot to put out cookies and milk for Santa.  Being afraid that they might remember and come back out of bed to do so, I went in to get them.  They really took this Santa thing seriously because they were sound asleep!

Thanks Santa for your visit already!  And thanks for helping us get the girls in bed and to sleep faster than usual!  You just gotta love Christmas!

Dough Girls!

Kimi, Suzanne, Charlotte, Shauna, Mom, me Neeley, Lilah and Kate

Mom and Dad, Lilah and JoAnn's peanut butter balls since she missed the photo shoot.

Shauna and Mom 

"Aunt Zan" helping Lilah make egg nog cookies!

This week we had our annual baking day with all of my sisters.  We all gathered at my house to bake, talk, eat Olive Garden take out, talk, sample goodies and talk some more.

This year we had fudge, peanut butter balls, egg nog cookies, chocolate covered prezels and thumb print cookies.  

Half-way House.

Lately I have been feeling like I have only been able to do everything half-way.  My house is half-way cleaned, the kids half-way cared for, the laundry half-way done (or not at all until Jer stepped in!), dinner half made, thank you cards half sent (sorry if you didn't get yours), scriptures half read, exercise half done, husband half loved, and the list goes on and on.

I guess you get what you ask for.  I have always said that if I could just be half the mom that mine was......

Keep on, keep'n on.

I love the inspiration we can gain at times when we need it most.  Trying to cope with life today, I decided to read the Ensign and found just what I needed.

"Don't you give up, boy.  Don't you quit.  There is help and happiness ahead - a lot of it.  You keep your chin up.  It will be all right in the end.  Trust God and believe in good things to come"

--Jeffery R. Holland

Hellooo Santa!

We heard that Santa was at RC Willey last weekend (Thanks Nik for the heads up!) so we ran over for a visit.  We were pleasantly surprised to see that we were the only ones interested in seeing the red fat man so we completely avoided the lines at the mall!  Neeley hopped right on his lap and told Santa she wanted polly pockets, a radio and some ear rings.  Kayla and Lilah on the other hand were not getting anywhere near him.  From a distance, Kayla told him she wanted a camera and Lilah a babydoll.  I finally managed to have them get close enough for a picture.  On the way home Lilah couldn't stop talking about how fun it was and saying "HO, HO, HO!"

Secret Elf!

We are trying something new in our family this year.  We have been drawing names for our kids to give presents to their cousins for a few years now, but decided to take it one step further this year. We decided to give everyone a secret cousin that they could be a secret elf to for the month.  My girls have had a fabulous time plotting, making and delivering fun gifts to their secret cousins.  So much fun in fact, that they have been more concentrated on what they were going to give to their cousins than what they would receive from the own secret elf.  However, Neeley was elated to get this secret delivery of Cutsie oranges from her elf.  

First Snow!

Growing up, my friend Amber Read had a tradition of making home made donuts every time it snowed for the first time that year.  That has been a memory which has stuck with me and I have always wanted to create some sort of fun memory for my kids.  

Our experience today could very well be a great tradition to hold on to in our family.  The girls donned on their snow gear and waddled outside like marshmallows.  We started out sledding down the hill and I hate to admit it but it was all of their first times sledding.  Then Uncle Clint and Aunt Nik came around with the four wheeler and we tied up all the kids to the back for an awesome ride.   Lilah just laid there with a big grin the whole time.  As soon as we all decided we were frozen, it was time to waddle back in to unthaw with some hot cocoa, popcorn and a movie.
 In all it was a fun day, except for the mass of snow gear left in a heap in the front hall. 

The "F" Word!

Neeley is really taking to this reading thing.  She loves to read everything she can and can't wait to do her homework every day.  She has caught on to the adult language of using code.  And since she can't spell very well she has resorted to using just the first letter for her code.  Like:  "Mom are we doing "N" today."  Which is her way of asking if Kayla and Lilah are having naps.  Or, "Mom can I have some "C".  Which is code for candy.  Well, today she asked, "Mom can I have the "F" word."  And all I could do was laugh.

Apparently "F" is for friend in her language.

An angel came!

Sometimes, people know just what you need.  Today an angel stopped by with things to help Jer feel better.  He has been sick for about a week but it just hit him really strong the last couple of days and put him flat in bed.  The delivery itself was awesome.  Full of things to help him feel better, but more than that was the thought behind it.  Somehow, just knowing that someone cared so much and took time out of their busy day to make this special delivery made us all feel better! Thanks Ryan!  We love you and appreciate your thoughtfulness!  Get well soon my love!

Gobble, Gobble!

Tyson, Linzie, Cassidie, Tye, Shauna, Angie and Hunter

Elizabeth, Michael, Haylie, Karen and Shelby

Jay, Charlotte, Kimberly, Jason, and Ryan

Ward, JoAnn, Andy, Sammy, Daniel, Hannah and Addison

Dad and Mom

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family this year!  Since our family is so big, we decided to try it at a church this year.  It was surprisingly fun to do it there.  We had plenty of room to play and eat and the clean up was really easy too.  The kids played basketball, steal the flag, colored, watched movies and played with toys from the nursery.  All the while the girls chatted about fun times in the past while the guys went to the shooting range down the street to practice target shooting.  It was so fun to talk about fun times of the past and create fun times to remember in the future!

Hip Chic!

So glad to say that Kate is fine.  We had her hips checked out at Primary Childrens' Hospital and found that they are perfect little hips.  I always knew she was a hip chic.

I was really impressed with the hospital.  We were in and out of there in about 15 minutes with diagnosis in hand.  No waiting for results like you usually have to do.  Even though we had a great experience there, that is the most time I ever want to spend in that hospital and I really feel for anyone who has to spend any more.

Overwhelmed

"When I am feeling overwhelmed with the meals to be cooked and clothes to be washed, I take comfort in knowing that when we do for others what they cannot do for themselves, we become more Christlike.  Young children need a great deal of temporal care.  When we recognize that nurturing our children is a spiritual endeavor, finding joy in our everyday labors becomes easier."

--Miranda H. Lotz

Please help me find joy in caring for a baby that cries......a lot.

Wedding Bells!

Kina, the guest of honor.

Shauna (my sis), Ginnie and Hayleigh (my twin nephews wife to be and wife)

Katie (my neice) the master waffle chef for the waffle bar!

Mom, Shauna (my sis), Beth (my neice) and Karen (my sis)

Kimberly (my neice) and Charlotte (my sis) the master match game and puzzle makers!

In this family we are all about the competition. We have to play this matching game at every shower because it is so fun and lets us fight for the title, until next time at least!  Here we all are with our game faces on!

This month in the Neeley family, there are a lot of festivities going on! All the girls got together to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Kristina, my niece. It is really fun to get together and have time to catch up with on another.

Enamored!

Making friends! Already, Kate is loved by all, especially her adoring sisters!

Scrub a Dub!

At first I really didn't like my bath. I would cry and make sad faces. But now, I really love it. I could soak there all day. Maybe it is because I graduated from the bowl on the kitchen counter to the big tub! What were you thinking, Mom??