Christmas

Merry Christmas!

(even if it is a little late!)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday. We definitely did.

The highlight of Christmas for me was my darling Grandpa Hanson coming to visit. My birth father passed away when I was 17 months old, and this is his dad. Grandma and my Uncle Thom passed away last year, so he decided to spend last Christmas and this one with us. He has always been very special to me and I am so thankful to have been able to spend time with him.

The very sad thing that happened this year was that Sienna found out about Santa. Unfortunately, at an activity another girl said that her parents had told her the truth about Santa, and an adult said "that he's really your parents?" or something like that. She came home and started asking questions and was very distraught to say the least. She was sobbing and I was right along with her. I was so devastated when I found out as a child and I just felt so bad for her, remembering what it was like. We were hoping to at least have her still believe this year.

I do have to add that we told her that she could help us get the Santa gifts ready for the other kids, and help eat the cookies. It makes it more fun to be involved and she seemed to feel better about that.

We are so thankful for the beautiful Christmas season and the reminder of our Beloved Savior, Jesus Christ, and His life and sacrifices for us. We hope that the spirit of the season touched you all and that you had as beautiful of a holiday as we did.

Yes, my son's Santa gift was a toy kitchen. It's what he asked for. What can I say?

Sienna's Santa gift

Madelyn's shirt reads: "Yes we can, Obama '08"

My brother Paul thought that it would be hilarious to give to her for Christmas.

My brother, David, me and Grandpa, and Mad hiding in the background

(notice the Viva Lavida shirt from the fantastic Coldplay concert)

Lily

I just need to post a little about Lily.

I think about her every day lately.

She is in my thoughts constantly.

One week and two years ago today, she returned to her mother.

I don't know if this is harder than normal for me because Madelyn is close to the age that she was when she left, and she is also a bright blue-eyed baby girl, or if I was just distracted more last year with a newborns demands. I honestly don't think that this will ever go away.

I pray she will be able to feel me missing her and know that I love her even when she is in a home of abuse that I can do nothing about. I wish so desperately sometimes that I could just steal her from Cadie and run away somewhere to keep her safe and loved. I do trust in Heavenly Father and I know that things were supposed to be this way for whatever reason. I just wish the state didn't make it so hard to take an abused child out of their home and place them somewhere safe. These are just my thoughts lately.

How lucky am I that I had her as my daughter for 5 months though? What a joy she was in our lives; a treasure to cherish always.

Lily, even if you can't hear me, I will love you forever!

A walking baby, Temple Square, and a tag

Oh my gosh, I can't believe that I STILL haven't posted about Madelyn walking! I am the worst Mother, ever! She walked a month ago, but she is such a silly little girl, she will walk a bunch for a while and then the next day she will act like she can't walk because she is scared. We lost the cord to the video camera so I filmed it on my camera, but the format it is on doesn't work here so maybe someday I will post it if I can ever figure the blasted thing out! Here's a cute picture until I can get that worked out.

This is her favorite cupboard to play in.

We decided to go up to Temple Square to see the lights on Saturday. It was a little nuts, since it was the 1st weekend that they were on, but it was still great to get out and see them. Sienna said she hadn't ever been there before, but it hasn't been that long! We are just making an effort to get out and enjoy all the wonderful things that are in this area, since we don't know how long we will be here. There are so many things that we have taken for granted.

This one is a little nuts, but I thought it was cool so I had to post it.

My Friend Tiffany tagged me so here is that too:

Everything that I have done is in BOLD

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child (this counts to me even though it was never finalized)

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung Karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance [not the patient]

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check [not on purpose]

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

I don't tend to tag people, but if you think it is cool and do it let me know!

What I am thankful for

I love Thanksgiving. I get frustrated that so much of the holiday is skipped over and almost forgotten in the rush into the Christmas Season. In our home, I refuse to put up any decorations for Christmas until after Thanksgiving is over. I feel very strongly that we need to take the time to feel grateful for what we do have, before we start thinking about what we want to get and to give. So I want to list the many things that I am thankful for today.

1. My Savior, Jesus Christ, and through Him, the Church, my testimony, My loving Heavenly Father, the Prophet Joseph Smith and our living Prophet today, Thomas S. Monson.

2. My Husband. Who would have thought that the dumbest decision I have ever made could have also been the best. He strengthens me, he adores me, he makes me laugh, he helped me feel that I am lovable and that I am worthy of being loved. That has been a true gift to me.

3. My beautiful children. I am so grateful for them. I truly feel so thankful every day that the Lord has given these amazing little people and thinks that I will be able to be the mother that I want to be for them.

4. My trials. I know that may sound strange to some people, but I have grown the most in my life during the hardest times. They have strengthened my testimony, made me learn to rely on my Savior and are truly refining me into the person that I need and want to be.

5. My Family. They have helped shape me into who I am and I love them all so much. They are always willing to help, they make me laugh, and I just adore them.

6. My Friends. I am so blessed to have so many people around me that love me for who I am and put up with me. I don't feel alone while surrounded by so much love and friendship.

7. Our jobs, our home, food to eat, our health. There are so many little things that I don't want to bore anyone with, but I am so blessed, much more than I am sure I deserve. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and his patience, kindness and long-suffering with me. I am thankful for my life.

Harry Potter Party Pictures

Wow, that title is a tongue tangler! I know it's way late, but I talked about my Mom's Harry Potter party, and we just got pictures so I needed to post them. It was so fun to to dress up, play games, take quizzes, make our own potions and even make clay sculptures of a Harry Potter scene. I have to say thanks to my darling mother, who is so fun and creative, and also to my darling friend, Adria, who made amazing costumes and let us borrow them!

Us as Harry and Ginny

The Gryffindors and our sculptures
My brother Paul, his fiance, Kelsey, and brother Adam as the Weird Sisters

(which is a band from the books)

Coldplay

For most of those of you who know me, you know I adore Coldplay. I love their music and the fact they write all of it; Chris Martin is amazing on the piano and the guitar besides singing. I just LOVE them! Spencer, his sister Carrie, and her husband, Pablo, and I were all able to go on the 22nd.

Since life has been a little rough lately, this was exactly what I needed. I got out away from my kids with my hubby and our buddies, and I was able to truly let go and relax. There are not many things better for soothing the soul than a little singing and dancing to your favorite music. I am really able to not worry about what people think of my dancing or singing while I am there, which is normally hard for me to do. It's all about me enjoying the music. I still can't believe how great I feel after going. So any of you that don't know Coldplay or their music, I highly recommend them. They are even more amazing in concert.

On a side note...Am I nuts for thinking that it was a little rude for people behind me to ask me to sit down? Almost the entire arena was standing, but the people behind me wanted to sit so I had to too? Weird! It's like the time I went to Sarah McLachlan concert and some ladies next to us asked us to not sing, since they came to hear her. Remember that Janell? Ah fun times!

Halloween

I am really late about posting this, but the Internet wasn't working for a little while so I have several posts. Sorry!

We had such a great Halloween this year. Aidan got to dress up for pre-school and after we went to see Sienna at her school's parade. I ran around trying to find a wig to make Spencer look like Snape, and then I couldn't find the amazing full length wool coat I made several years ago for him to wear. I was pretty heart-broken about that. It was my blood and sweat! But luckily, my amazing friend, Adria, who always does fantastic costumes let us borrow her Harry Potter and Ginny (or Hermione) costumes. My Mom had a Harry Potter themed party the next day and we needed to dress up. When I get the pictures from that I will post them. Spencer looked super cute as Harry.

We went trick-or-treating just around our little loop neighborhood and the next one down. The kids got plenty of candy and then we had our tradition of donuts, hot chocolate and a Halloween movie after. This year we watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." I love Halloween so much. It ranks just barely under Christmas for me. It is so much fun to dress up and celebrate the Fall season.

Me as a blonde GinnySienna as a witch, Aidan as Jack Sparrow, and Mad as Eeyore

Sienna has glasses!

Sienna went to the eye doctor and got her first pair of glasses. She was hesitant about it, but I just told her that there are a million cute styles out there and that we would find the perfect ones for her. She is so cute and I think these frames just show off her darling little face. I couldn't wait to pick them up!

Witches Night Out

My girlfriends and I have a tradition of going to Witches Night Out at Gardner Village. Sienna is getting so big and growing up so fast that I decided that I needed to bring her along for the fun. We get together with about a million other witches at Brick Oven and then head up for the festivites. It was pretty chilly, but we still had fun dancing and seeing all the other costumes. I am so grateful for my sweet little girl and the fun times that we have together.

Bekah, Me, Siomara, Jenna and Sienna

It's Official...

Spencer has been hired to work in the Shock/Trauma ICU unit at Intermountain Medical Center at 5200 S. in Murray. It is a brand new hospital with a Level 1 trauma unit, which means that if you come in there, they have doctors in every kind of field that you might need, so you have access to treatment of any kind (I think that is pretty close, I might be slightly off). We are very excited about this. It will mean a commute, but we feel the benefits outweigh the negatives. This hospital is one of the best in the State for Spencer to get the experience he needs for Anesthetist school.

We were starting to get frustrated, after Spencer applied for two Critical Care jobs at Utah Valley, but did not get them for reasons we still do not know. The nurses that were hired were significantly less qualified than Spencer, who is a charge nurse and another charge nurse that works on his floor, who also applied. I know he felt bad about it even though he never really said so. But he went up for interviews on 2 different ICU units at I-Med (as it is referred to) and was offered a job in either floor. I think this boosted his confidence, that 2 different ICU Managers both wanted to hire him at a higher level of hospital.

One benefit about the new job is that he will work nights about 60% of the time and days 40% of the time. I know it will be a difficult transition, but since he is already switching from nights on and then other nights off, we are hopeful that it will not be more difficult than that. I am stoked to be able to have him here at night more often. I won't know what to do with myself, since he has worked only graveyard shifts for 6 years.

His commute would be to drive to a church by UVU and take a bus to the Trax station, which then stops directly across from the hospital. It is even closer than the parking lot. He will at least have some time to study for his GRE, CCRN, and O. Chem. and not take time away from the family when he is here. Sorry for rambling; we are just very excited to see that things are finally progressing in the way that we need them to. We truly feel that we have been guided by the Lord and know that this is where we need to be. After much searching and prayer, we both felt that it was right for Spencer to apply, interview and accept a job if it was offered, which was not a normal thing for us since commuting was not an ideal prospect. But here we are and we are extremely grateful that we have been led to this point. Wish us luck in our new adventure!