December

December 5 - A trip to Price

Amitee

We met this new baby girl for the first time today. Amitee. A beautiful and precious baby sent from heaven to her parents, Josie and Kayden.

I love the story of the Ute hat. Misty said she found it after Steven's death, neatly folded up in some paper. It was a surprise when she found it. I'm sure this was a gift, only Steve would think of, as he wrapped it up and tucked it away until this wee little one would come to earth. It was his secret. I wish he would have been here to give it to her. But it brings my heart comfort to think he surely met and got to know her before she left her home above.

Hailie

Hailie is a beautiful grand daughter. She is so quiet, sweet, and shy. Her skin tone is so perfect and pristine. Her heart is full of love! I hope she knows how much I love her. I need to find a way to spend one on one time with her when I go down to visit the kids. 

Hailie decorated the tree, and displayed it in her room, with her dad's favorite... anything Ute's! I love the purple and blue balls, too.

Christmas Messages

Messages of love for our two special Angels in heaven. How strange this is. How can it be? Going through the motions... because they are gone. Really? Missing them like crazy. Loving and hoarding all the memories I can. Merry Christmas Shaniel and Steven. Oh... it's so hard to do these posts. My children should still be here. With me. Their families. Their siblings. I can't stop the tears. 

Bates Family Christmas Party

Trying to get my composure together after the post above...

The Bates family Christmas party was very nice. Bill and Alisa were in charge this year. Soups, ham, salads, rolls, and lots of treats! 

I was in charge of doing the nativity. I had Annie organize the kids. It was very overwhelming to me. Is it any wonder that school teaching was not for me! 

The nativity turned out so dang cute. The kids gobbled up the costumes and played their roles superbly! 'Izzy was the holder of the new star and she held it there for a long time! The kids acted out the nativity as Morgann read the story of the first Christmas. And, what could have been more convienent than finding a stable, the straw, and manger on the stage. Perfect! Watching the kids perform was the highlight of the party!

I was taken back to my own childhood days, dressed as an Angel, appearing to the shepherds who watched their flocks by night... on this very same stage. The Spring Glen church house. The church house of my youth... 50 years ago! It was still the same. Oh, happy heart!

December 7 - Decorating for Christmas

This year I wanted simple. That's all I could do. Willow Tree Angels on the tree. Silver stars with the names referring to the Lord, Jesus Christ. That is all I wanted to think about. Our Savior. My children in heaven. And my family here on earth. That's all that matters!

December 9 - Twas the Night Before Christmas

Every December the Christmas books come out. I usually try to get a new book every year. The selection of story books are growing. Today, Alia and Ben picked out "Twas the Night Before Christmas", by Clement Moore. 

It's nice when the kids get old enough to read themselves. Today, Alia read the story to Ben and Emilee. Ben was all ears! This is always a favorite out of the stack of books. And it was one of my favorite... if not my favorite... Christmas stories when I was a child. 

December 12 - 1st Hair Cuts

Best day ever for these two. Emilee's long hair was beautiful, but with her thick hair it was becoming too much for brushing through. It was always "hurting"! We girls understand that! We've either been there or we had girls there. 

Emmy's new hair cut is perfect for her. The style is so complimentary to her cute little face. I love it, her mommy loves it, and so does she!

First hair cut for this little guy. This made his grandma happy! Audrey was trying to wait it out until the end of the year, when James turns one. But, yes! She finally relented. 

James new hair cut turned him into a handsome little fella. I love it! And, I think he does, too. He can see now! I think his mommy likes it, too!

And oh... I so love those baby blue eyes! Grandpa Bates' blue eyes. And, he looks so much like grandpa's baby pictures. Cute, handsome, charming, a ladies man! Is it any wonder James was named after him? Oh, and there are a lot of other reasons why, too. 

December 13 - Christmas Chains

Christmas isn't Christmas without counting down the days. I didn't have it in me to do a countdown calendar, as in years past, so the kids came up today and made some chains. They had fun cutting, tapping, and linking the chains. James can always find "fun" whether he is old enough to actually join in the activity or not. He loves to play and does a good job at entertaining himself.

December 14 - Snow

The snow is coming down today and it is so beautiful! A gift from heaven. Postcard perfect!

December 15 - Dancing with the Stars

So... we like to watch Dancing with the Stars on t.v. This year we thought it would be fun to watch them in person after the season got over. Well... don't waste your time! Only one "star" who really wasn't a star at all, showed up and danced maybe a minute or two. Not even an entire dance. And, only one or two professionals danced. We didn't even know any of the others. It was disappointing to say the least. The only thing that was worth seeing was the technology in lighting and stage scenes. That was awesome! Loved that. But this was our first and only time we will go to DWTS. The tickets were outrageously expensive.

One good thing... I did like dressing up. I've been losing weight and fit nicely into Shaniel's purple sweater and scarf. The silver snowflake pin pulled the sweater and scarf together to make me look all festive! Don't you think!

December 16 - Smarty Pants Preschool Christmas Program

Ben is so shy. But he pulled through tonight. He did some actions on a couple of songs. With some vigor, I might add. The Christmas program was so cute. And the school gym was filled to capacity. His teachers are awesome! They put a lot of time and effort into everything they do. Ben is one lucky ducky to belong to the Smarty Pants Preschool!

December 18 - Reader's Theater

Alia played her part with gusto as she read her story for the Readers Theater today. She was dramatic and made great voice inflections throughout the story. It's such a treat for me to watch the grand kids perform and participate in their school programs. 

A Christmas Carol

For Family Home Evening, the Mecham clan and Dave and I went to the Old Barn in Garland and watched "A Christmas Carol". It was so good! The stage is in the middle of the barn, having seats, only four rows deep, surrounding each side. You have the "best seat in the house" no matter where you sit. It was especially fun tonight. One of Mike's room mates from CEU played the part of Jacob Marley, Scrooge's business partner who came back as a ghost. He was my favorite character. Can't wait for the next play to come out. Live theater is one of my favorite things to do. And... I think it is for the kids, as well. 

December 23 and 24 - A Family Christmas

Amie, Riley, and Nicole came up and spent Christmas with us this year. I'm so glad they did. It was so much fun to have them. It seems strange that I have just these three girls left. But, I'm thankful I do. And, I'm thankful to have Shaniel's children and Misty, Hailie, and Jarrett too. 

This year we started our Christmas festivities out ice skating at the Olympic Ice Sheet at Weber State in Ogden. Ice skating and kids just mix so well. They are natural at it and it's so much fun to watch them. 

Christmas Eve dinner did not include Clam Chowder this year. No one likes it but Dave, Mike, and myself. I've been told that loud and clear! So, I didn't go to the work. We did add something fun, though. When Dave and I were in Germany a couple of years ago, we went to about 30 different Christmas Markets. We collected a unique mug from each one. This year we got them out and put numbers in a bowl. Starting with one, that person could pick the mug they wanted to drink from. It was fascinating watching the kids pick what one they liked. The personalities came out! We will be doing that again and again.

I bought a flying cow ornament and a flying pig ornament in Germany, and as hard as I tried to find a jeep this year, or something that reminded me of Steven, I couldn't. So the flying cow was the next best thing. He had cows on his farm. He liked them and he liked to farm. I love the Angel wings on the cow. This suits him well.

Shaniel's ornament is so her. An Angel nurse. What could be more perfect than that! Next year I'm going to have some jewelry metal tags made with the year they passed away and add it to their ornament. 

December 31 - Happy Birthday James!

It was a celebration today! Not the kind that brings in the new year, but a birthday celebration. In fact, both Mike and James share a New Year's Eve birthday. Audrey went all out and invited some friends. And that brought lots of kids, too. 

The food was delicious! Shrimp, Ben's favorite! And, mine, I might add. Crackers and cheese, a deli tray with all the fixings for sandwiches, salads, and fresh fruit. We had cake. And James had his own cake. It took him awhile to dive in, but once he did, he didn't stop! And, I'm a grandma... I was worried about the tummy ache that would surely happen from all the cake and frosting. Why do I worry about things like that? 

Dad's Christmas Cactus

Dad's Christmas cactus blooms every December (except for the year I was in Germany. It actually waited until I got back home). 

Its blooms are so perfectly pink and delicate. I love the light and dark hues. Dad's Christmas cactus is my favorite house plant. It fills my heart with happiness and brings color to my life in the middle of winter. I love it so!

Wide Angle Lens

Dave bought a new wide lens for his camera. And since I have the same camera, it fits mine as well. I hope to use it. I like that it gets the entire house from the end of the sidewalk. My normal lens doesn't do that.

Month in Review

December Birthdays

I think these two boys are pretty lucky to have a special day, the last day of the year... New Year's Eve, as their birth date's. Every year is a celebration!