Christmas by Candlelight...

This is what we woke up to on Christmas Eve Morning.

All of us were so excited to have such a White Christmas..

The kids went outside for hours and played. Benjy's 4 Wheel Drive Truck that he has been waiting 10 years for...came in handy getting home! (Background)
Sledding down the rock pile... some exposed rocks (eek) but the guys covered them up.

We had both fireplaces going, thank goodness because...at 4:30 PM the kids put on their annual Nativity program, except this year we actually had a baby to play Baby Jesus. Right after the program the electricity went out and stayed off until 6AM Christmas Morning.
It was pitch black, but the camera flash makes it look like we had light, but this reindeer was all that lit our traditional oyster stew dinner.

The kids ate by the light of this little candle.
Auntie Em snuggled Kyce while we opened gifts in the dark.
Grandpa hung a camping lantern so that he could read the names on the gifts. It was fun.. whoever had flashlights would spotlight the person opening the gift. I almost wish the flash had been turned off so you could see how dark it was...

We all thought it was so cool and a Christmas to remember...but when the temperature in the house started to drop and we realized we couldn't flush the toilets or that the water wouldn't run because my parents have a well and the pump wasn't running, we started to get a little anxious about how long we would be without power.

I guess when my mom was 6 months pregnant with me...they got stuck without power for 3 days and 4 families piled into a little house that had a wood burning stove and they still have fond memories of that experience. I am sure all of us will remember this Christmas and remember to be thankful for modern conveniences.

Something to Make you Smile!

My very talented friend Lindsay and her family made this awesome video and it makes me smile, so I wanted to share it with all of you!

A Rising Star and an Accident

Although Benjy says the local papers will print anything, I know he feels like this is a huge honor, to be recognized by others in your profession as someone who is passionate about your work. I feel very blessed to be married to someone who enjoys his work so much. Benjy absolutely loves his work and it is nice to see that others recognize that, too. So this came out in the paper within a week of his accident and this is what Benjy had to say, "What is even more funny is that this "local attorney" rear-ended a car last week on the highway and stopped traffic for about 45 min. They also put me in the back of a police car to give me a ride to the nearby coffee shop. Don't worry I did not get injured but my "Mija" car was totaled."

So... we are shopping for a new/used car. I told Benjy that I haven't really minded being stuck at home during the day while he has my car at work. I really didn't want to rush into buying something that we didn't love or that wasn't a great deal...However, today.... changed everything! Kaydree hasn't missed the bus in 3 years, 3 years and today... she did! I didn't have a way to get her to school! So....once again, JoDell and Judy came to the rescue and brought her to school for me... thank you, thank you! Let's just say...enough of the one car family..one week to the day is enough. Wish us luck in our little adventure. I hate, yes I used the word, HATE...looking for cars! For an indecisive person, like me...this is torture!

Snug as a Bug..

I feel like these pictures are already out dated. Kyce is growing so fast. He is out of his newborn diapers and almost out of all of his newborn outfits.

Little Nick looks so big holding his baby cousin. Kyce was definitely loved and snuggled at Thanksgiving, however he was very spoiled when we got home. Just as we are trying to have him adjust to some independent time... we know that next week he will be spoiled again and we love it!

Grandpa always loves up the Grandchildren, especially when they are babies!

I have to say Auntie Em, is known as the baby snuggler. She held Kyce most of the time and he slept and slept.

My nieces Courtney (15) and Korin (13) were found just watching him sleep. It made me chuckle, I told them, "We have spent many hours just watching our babies sleep."

Noah and Courtney

Auntie Lori

Uncle Steve

First thing in the morning with Grandpa, they have matching Bedhead.

Snoozing on Dad!

Hanging out with Teresa

Just love those little eyes!

A Great Way to Spend our Time on the Weekend.

Benjy and I were able to help with the Faces of the Nativity this weekend which is a special holiday season event sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Hundreds of creches, or manger scenes were on display at the Anoka Stake Center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. On Friday night, Benjy and 6 other "Elders" men from our church had the opportunity to serve as the SECURITY TEAM...from 9 PM to 3 AM. They brought snacks and played some games. Benjy said it was Blast. I am sure they were all tired on Saturday. Then on Saturday night we brought the kiddos to hear the Mormon Chorale sing at the display. It was absolutely beautiful. Our two good friends, Nicole Bator and Janice Anderson were singing in the choir. We then walked through with the girls and it brought tears to my eyes. It was amazing the quiet reverence that you felt just looking at all the different Nativity Scenes.

This picture really doesn't do the entire display any justice. It was mouth dropping, unbelievably beautiful in there and to hear the Christmas music quietly in the background was just so peaceful. I was so bummed that I forgot my camera on Saturday, so I told Benjy that I wanted to go back after church on Sunday just to get some pictures. Funny thing was that Benjy forgot that he signed up to help out on Sunday from noon to 3, so I freely volunteered to do it for him. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the rest of my day and I was so excited!

Here are some of the ones that really touched me. There were 530 different ones. INCREDIBLE!

How does one preserve a chocolate Nativity for 20 years?

I saw this one and said, " Oh, that is a pretty glass one." Wrong... I later heard through the grapevine.... that it is a Waterford Crystal one...estimated at $2,000. Now you know why they took security so seriously at this display. Not only were some valuable monetarily however I think the value was in the meaning behind each Nativity. There were ones from all over the world, Family Heirlooms, treasured gifts and many memorable missionary moments that some represented.

I only displayed 3 out of my 12 Nativities, and I happened to be assigned to the area by mine. The cute little coconut one from Hawaii was in my area and I just loved looking at the detail.Benjy's mom went to the Holy Land almost 2 years ago and brought us back the Holy Family made out of Olive Wood. It is the one in the front on the right hand side. There were a lot made out of Olive Wood.
My dad has started my collection for me. He started giving me a Nativity every year for Christmas nine years ago when I was pregnant with Kaydree. I love them all but thought this one was amazing on display with other ones just like it and especially with this picture behind them. Mine is the back one on the left, furthest away from the picture.
I don't know if these picture touched me so deeply because we have a beautiful baby boy this Christmas season or if it was just the spirit that I felt at this display. I kept looking at this picture throughout the day and just felt overwhelmed with gratitude not only for our little miracle we have been given but especially for the miracle of Eternal life that our Savior has provided for us.
I actually had the thought, I wonder if Our Savior was a sweet little baby? It felt like an odd thought to have but I am just in awe over our sweet little baby. In all reality aren't all babies just so sweet? November started out a little rough with the early arrival of Kyce and ended very tough with the loss of my beloved Uncle Lee. I am so thankful that December started out with celebrating in the true spirit of Christmas...the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A sign by this also said, " Each of us is an Innkeeper that has to decide if we will make room for Jesus."

Just Not Ready to Say Goodbye,

even if it is temporary. This picture was taken of my Uncle Lee and my Grandma this summer, over our 4th of July Family Reunion. Lee is my mother's only brother and the "Big Brother" to my mom and her two sisters. I struggled with blogging my thoughts and emotions towards the end of the summer because Lee was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer on August 6th. There were so many times that I wanted to blog and plead for prayers, however it just felt like a time to remain silent and respect a need for this to be endured privately as a family. There were many days and nights that I would sit and cry out of helplessness and at the thought of the pain that Lee and his family were going through. I watched my Grandma deteriorate over the summer physically, mentally and emotionally and even more so after Lee's diagnosis . I watched my mom and her sisters try to support Grandma and Lee's family in any way that they could. At times, I could feel the tender Mercies of the Lord pulling us closer together as a family, even though the pain and the suffering were so great. And yet at times it was obvious that each and every one of us in our own way were struggling to keep some type of normalcy during this time.Three Months and Three weeks after being diagnosed, Lee passed away on Thanksgiving Day. Pancreatic Cancer is a very painful and absolutely horrible type of cancer they estimated that Lee lost almost a 100 pounds in those 3 months. I have tremendous faith in a Father in Heaven and his plans for all of us as his children and yet I am really struggling to try to find the tender mercies in the passing of my Uncle Lee. Why does life here on this earth have to be so much harder for some than others? Lee lost, Roben, his infant daughter to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, his first wife Betty in a tragic car accident and his father to cancer, all taken too early and now Lee has been taken from us, too early and yet... I know we will all see him again. It is our time that we have left on this earth that feels so much harder without him here to share it with.

Lee has always been the rock for this family and especially after my Grandpa passed away from cancer, too. Kaydree was trying to comfort my mom at the funeral, yesterday and said, "Grandma, you know that you will see him again, someday." My mom said, " I know, but sometimes I really need to have him here to talk to."

For me, Lee in some ways was like a second dad. I look at my relationships with my Uncles and they have all helped shape me into the person I am today. They are second dads to me in a way that my children have uncles that are also like second dads.

I had a unique opportunity to work as a "mud tender" for Lee in his Masonry business. During the summer of my Sophomore year in college I was complaining to my dad that I couldn't get enough hours as a cashier at Shopko. He told me, "I bet your Uncle Lee would give you enough hours if you worked for him." I said, "Really?" Then my dad started laughing and said, "Kristen, you wouldn't last a day, working for Lee." Lee was well known for being a hard "A" to work for. (sorry didn't know how else to explain it) At the time he was laying brick on the Fox home in Marshall, so I asked him if I could try a day and he didn't even have to pay me, just to prove that I could last a day. Well he had me striking joints that day, which is the easiest thing I could have done! I thought it was a cake walk and really fun. At the end of the day he said, "Well, are you coming back, tomorrow?" and then I worked for him the rest of the summer and the next summer as well.

What I learned:

You work until Lee told you to wrap up the extension cords.

You don't complain or you would get twice as much to do.

You made it look like you are busy working even if you weren't.(don't lean on your shovel-ever!)

You always did it right the first time.

You always did it right every time!

If you dumped a wheel barrow full of cement...you would never hear the end of it.

You don't question who he told to do something (especially if it was me instead of Tim)... even if it didn't seem fair, or he would give you a look that could kill and make you wonder if he was going to jump out of the hole to let you know that you don't question him.

And most of all... he taught me...

TO LOVE TO WORK. I RESPECT HIM IN A WAY THAT I CAN'T PUT INTO WORDS.

It has always been fun to point out places, houses, buildings that I helped build with Lee to Benjy and the girls. It is crazy to think about how many building foundations, structures, basements, driveways, waste water plants, Casey's Gas Stations and the bricks that he laid around Marshall and the surrounding areas.

My Uncle Lee was amazingly talented at building things, but most importantly he built a beautiful family that loved him very much and will miss him dearly. Looking around at all the people that he loved and that loved him, yesterday, I was humbled. It seemed so unfair to watch my Grandma say goodbye to her son, my aunt to her husband, my cousins to their father, and their children to their grandpa and my mom and her sisters to their brother. I will be forever grateful for my uncle Lee and for all of the lessons I learned from him. Time spent together as a family will not be the same, however I look forward to spending time with him again, in the Eternities to come!

We are Learning..

That Kyce loves to sleep all day and be awake all night. This should be fun for the rest of the family at Thanksgiving...;-) Should we apologize now?
This is what your heels look like when your Mom has gestational diabetes and they check your blood sugar too. Along with being checked for Jaundice every other day. Kyce cries if you even touch his feet. (Bad memories for him, I guess?)

He loves to be held.. notice it is daytime and he is sleeping.

He loves being in the sun which helps his Jaundice. It is a flash back from when Kaydree was a baby. He looks so much like her and we use to have to put her in a diaper in the sun, too. She also loved the same Nuk. Karsyn didn't take one and Kyce loves the same one Kaydree loved.

He looks so sweet and innocent, but he still loves to wee, wee all over us and his outfits, his hair, blankets and he even managed to get some in his ear? Karsyn and I have started a tag team effort of blocking his efforts. We are about 50% successful.

He hates having his little hands covered. Also, it is nighttime and he is wide awake!
Again, he was laying on his blanket so nice and then I noticed a stream...(next picture)

Yep, he is guilty again, it came right out the side. The laundry has doubled since this little one came home!
He loves to play with his hair, just like Karsyn. She still twirls to go to sleep or drink a cup of milk. I love seeing how much Kyce already is following in his sister's footsteps! It is fun noticing the similarities and differences and what makes him special and unique and yet very much apart of our family! Karsyn is starting to love up her little brother. He is no longer something that has upset her lifestyle but very much something she looks forward to seeing in the morning and when she gets home! Yay!

Things Don't Always Go As Planned.

Although we got off to a tough start in the Level Two Nursery and things didn't go exactly like we planned, we were still able to have many tender moments with Kyce. We would have loved to have him in our room with us but my heart just aches for those parents that have gone through a lot worse than we did. We saw babies in there that made Kyce look like a giant, babies that have been in there for 6 weeks and babies that can't be held at all. If I think about it, I still get teary eyed. Having Kyce in the Level Two Nursery was difficult for us as I am sure it is for every parent. When Kaydree and Karsyn were born, they came to bring Kaydree to the Nursery once and they got half way down the hall and Benjy wanted to go and get her. So she had one short trip to the Nursery in 3 days, maybe an hour or so. When Karsyn was born they took her on the second night after we reluctantly said they could take her between a feeding and they actually brought her back to me and said she was waking up all the other babies. So obviously we had to let go the idea of how we wanted things to be with Kyce in the room with us as much as possible. Our little peanut loved this little snuggly thing they have in there. We thought it was so cute how it looked like he was praying with his feet. He still does this at home sometimes.

When we would get up every 2-3 hours to go feed him, Benjy would often look at me and say, "Aren't you tired." I have to admit, I don't know if it was the hormones or the pain medication, but I couldn't wait to go see him again and didn't feel tired. Often times the nurses would come in to wake us up and I was standing there waiting for Benjy to get up so we could go.

I would nurse him, but then we would do extra supplementing with my milk through a bottle, just to make sure he was always getting enough. Benjy did the bottling and was very good at it!
Once again, we threw out the idea of not giving Kyce any bottles for a couple of weeks, so that he would be a great nurser. Whatever...he is a little lion when it comes time to eat. Giving him the bottle doesn't seem to have effected that in any way. Bonus: He takes a bottle really well... great for the day after Thanksgiving Shopping Day and going to see New Moon!

I love those little toes. He looked like E.T. except the light was on his foot instead of his finger!

We have had so much fun already having him home. Although after the first 8 hours we had an entire full load of laundry of just Kyce's blankets, onsies, pajamas, socks and burp cloths. I mean really. I can't even tell you how many times we have been tinkled on! In fact Benjy took him to the room to have a little talk with him about this tinkling on us, himself and everything else. In fact if you ask Benjy about it , he could go on for hours about how ridiculous this is that we can't seem to get control of this little issue.
Finding good socks that stay on his feet is a task!
He looks so tiny in his little car seat. I told Benjy when we found out we were pregnant that this time, the hospital was going to have to kick me out before I would go home. I went home a day early with both girls because Benjy was ready to get home and get out of the hospital. Well this time I was the one who was ready to run out the door of the hospital. Other than two not so good experiences, overall we had a great nursing staff. I just couldn't wait to get Kyce home in order to have unlimited access to him, to be able to hold him for hours, to be able to watch him sleep and have him with us at all times! I seriously watch him with the girls and I am just so, so happy! I feel like he is our miracle little baby that for a couple of years, we just didn't think would happen and I thank my Father in Heaven and my husband for the blessing of this beautiful little baby.