Just in case I don't get around to mailing out cards

Will and I just wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas! We are so thankful for the birth, life, and Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ and we're grateful for this chance to celebrate Him. May your holiday season be joyous and safe! Oh, and Chuck and Clyde wanted to get in on the season's greetings action, but they were too busy arguing over who the 'man of the house' is . . .
(Seriously, that's what they're doing. When asked, "Who's the man of the house?" Clyde points to himself and says "I want to!" and Chuck points to himself and says "I want to!" and so it goes . . .)

The closest to the North Pole I'll probably ever get

Chuck and I ventured to the mall on Tuesday afternoon, little boys in tow, to do some Christmas shopping and happened upon a virtually wait-free line to see Santa Claus! And better yet, instead of using their photographer we were able to take pictures (albeit only two) with our own camera for free! Although Clyde knows who Santa is (thanks to his new favorite movie, Elf) I still knew he wouldn't sit up there on his own, so I joined in on the fun. Will was very interested in the kindly old gent and got a good hold of his pinky

Aren't their little jackets too cute? My mom's friend Bonnie picked up one of them at a garage sale a while back and Clyde wore it last winter, then I found the other one last week at Savers. Ah, the fun of dressing children like twins without actually having to have two babies at once!

The closest to Bethlehem I'll probably ever get

Sadly, our little family was a little slow delving into the Christmas spirit this year. This, of course, was not by choice - Chuck picked up a few extra shifts the first week of December and I've had a slew of projects, papers, and presentations for school. I did pull out the Christmas boxes the Sunday after Thanksgiving and put most of our decorations up, but we had to wait until this past Friday to get a tree. Chuck and Clyde picked it out together while I finished a paper and we decorated it Saturday morning. There's something about having the tree up and well-lit that makes life feel much more Christmas-y and I love it! Chuck took the weekend off and we were able to go to our ward's Christmas party at church. The activities committee did a great job re-creating Bethlehem and it was fun to don bathrobes (Chuck and Clyde), sheets (me) and pillowcases (all of us) to fit in with the scenery. The Elder's Quorum was in charge of one of the food-serving booths so Chuck got to magnify his calling as 1st Counselor and dole out grapes.Clyde happily stayed in his getup for most of the evening - until about thirty seconds before we went to take this picture (of course). Thanks again, Jared, for being our volunteer photographer!

An earlier shot of Clyde helping Daddy with the fruit

Troy, the Elder's Quorum President, and Chuck at their 'blacksmith' shop

Will is so close to crawling on his hands and knees!

After dinner there was a really nice program with an acted out reading from the second chapter of Luke. Hearing that account of Jesus Christ's birth never gets old, and obviously helped up the Christmas spirit around our house as well :)

It's been so nice to have Chuck home for a week, and after an all-day training followed by his regular shift tomorrow, we get him for another whole week - yay! We decided today that we should just win the lottery since it's so fun to both be stay-at-home parents (Alas, we don't play the lottery, and I think that's actually one of their slogans: You can't win if you don't play). We'll just have to be thankful for the semester almost being over and vacation days!

Turkey Day wrap up

We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. Sam and Terri graced us with their collective presence, which meant that Clyde and Will got lots of extra love! Clyde's favorite things were riding in Sam and Terri's car and Terri's magical, shiny purse with its ziploc bag full o' candy. Preferably blue candy :). Will's favorite thing was being picked up and cuddled each and every time he fussed - ah, the benefits of a two-to-one adult to child ratio! Thanksgiving Day we had a scrumptious dinner at our house with Sam and Terri, my mum and Cody, Leslie and Matt, and their kids Keyan and Jazlyn. We put two tables together in our living room, and I finally got to use my super cool Fiesta dishes that we received for our wedding (thanks Aunt Iris!). There was lots of yummy food and afterwards we played a host of different games. As an adaptation of the "five kernels of corn" deal, before dinner every plate had five Reese's Pieces on it, which could be eaten after the person shared five things they were grateful for. Since I've had a few handfuls out of the candy dish today, I should probably make a longer list of what I'm thankful for (warning, it's REALLY long):

* my husband, who is sweet and caring and takes amazing care of me - he actually made ME breakfast last week on HIS birthday * my Clyde Monster, who made me a mommy and prefers me to almost every other person alive (save Daddy, his 'best friend') and who kisses the owie on my elbow every time he sees it * my baby Will, who proved lightening can strike twice - in the form of darling baby boys, and who, despite having two little teeth now, hasn't bitten me once * my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ, who love me (and you!) unconditionally * my mum, who supports me and believes in me and who taught me how to be a mommy * my brother Cody, who teaches me about compassion and grace and about the Israel-Palestine conflict * my brother Sam, who provides wisdom and married Terri so I could have a sister to be on MY side (thanks Terri - I'm grateful for you too!) and who finally thinks I'm cool . . . right, Sammy? * my brother Quinn, who is sacrificing so much to provide service to his fellow man and to his God and who I miss every day * my dad, who gave me blue eyes and who gives me new perspectives and who treated the little boys and myself to a yummy lunch a couple weeks ago! * Chuck's family who gave me more super cool brothers and amazingly sweet sisters and who made me an aunt to five darling kids (so far!) and who we're excited to see in two and a half weeks! * our nice, roomy house to stretch out in and decorate for Christmas in! * Facebook/blogs/Internet in general to keep me sane and connected to the outside world * my favorite jeans, and the fact that I fit into them (yay for almost pre-pregnancy weight - doesn't that mean we're ready for another one?) * gas prices at $1.62 a gallon * school being almost done for the semester * Boise State being 12-0 * Clyde (and Will, for that matter) being binky-free for a couple months now mostly by their own accords (after I stressed and stressed about how we were going to get him off of it) * the acceptance we've felt in our ward and settling into our callings * the security of Chuck's job (there will always be juveniles with problems, unfortunately) and his willingness to work extra hours to keep me at home * ice cream * my blanket and my bed - hmm, I think I'll go be extra grateful for those right now!

Good night!