Way to go!!!

The big news this week is that John did it! He finished his 4 year degree and is now officially a college graduate. We are so proud of him. We will have to have a party soon or at least when he does the graduation processional in April. Laura took pity on dad and I last night and cut and colored my hair and gave dad a much needed hair cut. And, they both helped with my Primary project so thank you very much. We are expecting Km and Daniel and family to arrive tonight. We are so excited to have them come. At least we had a break in the snow storms so the roads should be clear. They are going to freeze while they are here! I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. I hope it is a very special day in each of your homes and that we are all filled with a sense of gratitude for this miraculous birth and the sacred mission of our Savior. We love you!

And yet another birthday and other cool happenings

Happy Birthday Darren! Today is your day. He had a pretty rude surprise though. I am sure Christie will write about it (if we can ever get her to blog again!), but something got into his chicken coup last night and killed 6 of his chickens. Whatever it was, it was big. So that didn't start his day very well. Hopefully the rest of the day will be better. They had their primary program today and that was great. I was sitting by Zack before they went up after the Sacrament and he was so proud to show me his little hymn book with his name on it. He put the page marker in before we sang the songs. But the thing that touched me was that he followed the words and sang all the songs in a clear sweet voice. I just love that. It seems so hard for kids to start and keep singing when they are little and in their teenage years (maybe it was just mine that were stubborn) but that made me happy for him to sing. Friday night we had the fantastic experience of going to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. One of the ladies I work with happened to get a couple of extra tickets and offered them to me. Being the homebody I am lately, I hesitated but knew I would regret it if we didn't go. Then I again wondered if I had made the right decision because traffic was so bad and dad was very impatient and drove like--well you all know. We had left at 5:40 and had to be in our seats by 7:00, so I thought we were in good shape, but traffic is a race to dad. So after many silent prayers we made it and found the parking lot and had a rapid walk to the conference center. Dad did so well, he kept up with me and you all know I walk fast, especially when I am cold. We got to our seats and saw the beautiful stage and I was so glad we were there. Then, this fantastic orchestra, and the fantastic choir--well it was so awesome. They also had a guest---Brian Stokes Mitchell--I hadn't ever heard of him, but his voice was so good and he was so gracious, that it was pretty much a perfect evening. When the choir started the Hallelujah chorus, everyone just rose to their feet, and then the closing number--Gloria--it was very moving. I wish you all could have been there. I love music! Dad said that was the most Christmas thing we have done all year. The Lamoreaux Christmas party was on Saturday and it was so good to visit with everyone. Not to mention the great food. Margo had hosted the work Christmas party on Thursday and everyone was amazed at all she did and the delicious spread she put on, then she turned around and did Saturday for us. It was sad that not many of our family could come this year. Only Darren and Christie came. Dad went and got some of the kids because their van is broken. We had to laugh at Lucy though. She was walking behind dad then started to mimic his walk. Grandpa looked at her and said, "Lucy, I don't walk like that" to which she replied, "Grandpa, you don't walk, you waddle!" He got good laugh--especially with all the gait training they have been trying to do with him. I knew you would all love seeing pictures. Jane and Russell came with Jackie and their 3, Josh's 2 and Susette's 3 girls. (Susette's twins are doing great by the way. The little boy--Gabrielle, I think is almost 8 lbs now) Carolyn and Drake are brand new grandparents. Kevin and Erin had a baby boy last week. Allyson, Neil and Gennie--Allyson has only one more semester of school before she graduates Tom had to come by himself this year Pam and Rick's family. Pam always puts me to shame in the grandma department--she had her annual sleepover for the grand kids on Friday. We ran into each other at Macey's earlier in the day and her shopping cart was filled with food for them. We missed Jason & Sarinah and their oldest, Jeff & Penny, and Travis. (If you haven't seen their family picture, check it out on Amanda's blog--it is so fun) Megan and Dave and cute Tyler I didn't catch up to Jim and Margo together--they were so busy entertaining and doing what they do best so I got them and the girls separate. Phillip didn't make it either. Isn't Margo a cute grandma? The girls are so cute! Christie had the best time visiting with them during dinner. They told her about their dates, etc (not Corry of course!) Jim and Margo had to spend a lot of their time on the floor fixing the train. The kids loved it. Especially JD. He had to tell Jim all about it. It was such a nice evening. Wish you all could have been there. We so appreciate Jim and Margo for doing this every year. Otherwise we may not see each other. John is in his final week of school! Yeah! Kim and Daniel are coming the end of the week I think. Kristy has been really sick with a bad sore throat, fever and everything that goes with that, so hope she is better soon. Hope everyone else is doing great! Have a great week! Much love!

Birthdays!!!!

This is a full week of birthdays! Happy Birthday Sidney! Happy Birthday Taylor! They had a their birthday Monday and then got to celebrate it again yesterday with a fun princess party. Saturday was Jenna's special 8th birthday! She also had a party yesterday and got another special present. Notice the ears. There is a reason she is wearing a ponytail on her birthday Today we celebrate Allison's birthday and Kim's. This is the last year Kim can truthfully say she is 29 and not one more time. I had to search for pictures for these two--you can tell they are really dated. Are you two really that camera shy or have I neglected you both? I have decided I don't have my camera out enough for the adults. Hope you two have a fantabulous birthday. I just know your husbands and kids will outdo themselves this year! Hope everyone is well into the season as it is coming and going so quickly. I have a goal to get through all my Christmas CD's at least once this year. Christie and Darren and Tom and Kristy had their Christmas party last night in SL. Christie reserved me to tend first (she had the inside scoop on when it was) so Kristy reserved a babysitter from the ward. She had confirmed with her and her mom a few days before and told them she would call with the time. However when she tried to call on Saturday there was no answer. She left messages, sent Isaac over (all in between the birthday party stuff) and started to panic around 4:00. They were supposed to leave at 4:30. So they got on the phone and called everyone they knew--even Jim and Margo's girls but no one was available. I really didn't want them to miss so I volunteered me contingent upon Christie's approval, so we tended all 10 last night. Well, I wasn't the only one--unfortunately the computer was on a lot for the boys. And, dad--well sometimes he helped. The girls played pretty well for most of the time. They were so funny at supper cause they were singing "Kiss the girl" from Little Mermaid and it truely was hilarious. Averie is doing the "kiss" but you can imagine all these little voices singing at the top of their lungs! The kids looked so nice for their "dates". Notice how buff Tom got after eating that big meal! I did get to stop by Laura's work for a few minutes yesterday. It is such a cute shop--I felt like I could be on a sight seeing tour just to see cute and unusual baby things. She was so nice to pose for me--even though it started to get pretty busy just as I was leaving. Got to see Liz at her Dr's appointment this week. The babies heartbeat sounds great. I love having family and friends come into work! We did get the renters in the house. We feel so very blessed to have this happen. Thank you, thank you again for your prayers on our behalf. We hope everyone is having a great day. Much love!