Christmas is upon us!

We celebrated Patrick's 9th birthday a couple weeks ago. My gosh has time gone by so fast! He loved the presents his family got him. One thing we like to do around Patrick's birthday is put up the Christmas tree. I wanted to do a real tree this year but didn't want to get one until the second weekend in December so it would still be fresh, but Patrick said he really wanted it up so we went to storage and got our fake one out and put it up complete with train around the base. We decorated the outside just before the snow started really flying. I was happy about that one. We are getting the house cleaned up for Christmas. The boys have really been trying better to get along. Not sure if it's the together-ness feeling of Christmas or what but we are enjoying it. We have a lot of plans for this Christmas season. The boys don't know it yet, but my parents should be here Friday and stay a week or so. They are going to love spending time with their grandparents. We are looking at going to see Frozen again for our Christmas movie. We really liked it and my parents haven't seen it yet. We are going to make Christmas candy and hand out to neighbors and friends, and go to Salt Lake to see Christmas Street, a family tradition and favorite for some. We went to Layton City lights and ended up going around and around. I would like to take them into Ogden for the village but am not sure we will be able to make it in. Work has been really cold but still really loving it! The City has been one of the best places to work for. They really treat their employees good from what I have experienced. I am so grateful I learned from a young age the correct way to layer to stay warm. I love getting out of the house and am so glad I have friends who are willing to watch Jack while it's too cold for him to be out with me. The friend I have watching Jack also watches Patrick in the morning and lives in the bus area so Patrick gets to ride the bus to school every day which he missed since moving here. I can't help but be humbled and blessed to be in the home and neighborhood we are in. We have been welcomed with open arms and are making life-long friends here. We started receiving the 12 days of Christmas from a "secret Santa" and the boys are loving every minute of it. I have been on the delivering end of many 12 Days of Christmas, but never the receiving end. It is so great! Sunday, in addition to the 12 Days of Christmas gift, we had someone ring the doorbell and run leaving a bag full of toys for the boys. It was so sweet and they loved it. Jack is still doing really good in Joy School and knows his ABC's and counts to 30, knows all his colors, and Kindergarten will not be too much of a transition at all. It's really done wonders for his separation issues. He doesn't mind me leavnig him because he knows that Grownups always come back. He picks up on songs very quickly and sings all the time. We had drawn out for Tabernacle Choir Concert tickets this year and were so happy to finally be able to take Patrick and his friend who's also 9. But the day of the show he and I came down with the flu or something, and were too sick to go. Luckily one of the members in the ward was able to snatch up the tickets and take her family to it. This has been a year filled with blessings and amazing travels. I would have never believed you, if you told me a year ago we would visit the Coast, take a tour of a submarine, sing with rastafari's, go on a boat, swim in natural pools, fly in a helicopter, and travel through 5 states in one year! I would have thought you were lying to me! These boys truely are loved, blessed, and have an amazing family. Things can be really hard for us, but we fight through it and come out smiling throughout. Attitude truely is the secret to getting through just about anything. That and having an eye for the future and not just the here and now. You have to remember to live life like you play chess, always thinking 4 moves ahead. The Lord sure has been teaching us that. We hope that you are having a joyous year and that all is well with you and your family. We love the interaction and the good times we have had and hope to have more good times and interaction in 2014. Have a safe and prosperous new year!!! Andrea