Holiday Newsletter

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Knit Together With Love

Since this was our first Christmas together for awhile, I was able to get a picture of all our Christmas stockings. Here's the story behind them:

My great aunt started the tradition by knitting the stockings for my dad's generation. So he and all of his siblings have the same design. The same aunt started knitting them for the next generation as well (my mom thinks mine was one of the last ones she made). My Aunt Bev picked up the tradition from there. All 43 grandkids (and their spouses) have them as well as around 30+ great grandkids. What a legacy! Every time I look at my sock, it brings back memories of Christmases together and good times with Aunt Bev. I know she looks down from heaven on us all and enjoys the legacy she left. Now that she has gone, several others from the family have picked up the torch. Thanks to them, this legacy can continue. What a great way to show that we are all connected.

Chinese Food For Christmas

What a holiday break this has been. My parents flew in from Utah on Tuesday the 23rd. They spent time at each of our houses--my brother in Mead, my brother in Castle Rock, and here in Colorado Springs. It was so good to have the family all together. The last time we were all together was June.

What was really fun was our dinner for Christmas. Growing up, we used to go visit my grandma and grandpa Christmas afternoon. By the time we would leave, we would be starving so we went to the only restaurant that's open Christmas Day--Chinese. When my oldest brother called and asked what we should do for dinner, I suggested we keep the tradition alive, only make it homemade. So that's what we did! We had Orange Beef, Sesame Chicken, Egg Drop Soup, Steamed & Fried Rice, crab won tons, and spring rolls. What a feast. It was enjoyed by all. Our family loves food and it was great to catch up with my brothers as we cooked together.

Just call me..."Mrs. Fields!"

A few days ago, Aaron asked me to make some goodies for him to take to work for Christmas. I agreed, thinking that it would be fun. I haven't baked in quite awhile and decided it was time to do some baking (plus, our church choir is going caroling on Sunday and I've been asked to bring cookies, so I can kill 2 birds with one stone...). I have the day off from work today and decided that's how I'd spend my day.


I made chocolate chip cookies, Applesauce Raisin cookies, Chocolate cookies, & snicker doodles (my all-time favorite--and I've only eaten 1!!!). All told, I ended up with about 125 cookies. Plus, right now there are pumpkin cheesecake bars (with gingersnap crust) in the oven for my work Christmas party tomorrow. Wow! I think I might be crazy!!! :-) I don't think I have EVER spent all day in the kitchen! But, even as tired as I am, I feel SO good that I was able to accomplish so much and do something sweet for my hubby.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

BRRRR!!!! Well, winter has set in here in Colorado with a vengeance! Right now it is 7 degrees outside. Yes, I said 7! I don't remember ever being this cold, except when I lived in Minnesota. It makes me so thankful we have a house with new windows (2 new windows anyway) and lots of blankets and each other to keep us warm! Luckily, today was Sunday so we didn't have a lot to do. All we had was church and Choir practice. The rest of the time we have stayed nice and toasted here at home. At least we have been getting snow with this cold. To me, there is nothing worse than it being freezing cold, than to not have snow. I may be weird, but at least the snow adds beauty to the cold. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas Decorating

Aaron and I are decorating our Christmas tree and listening to Christmas music tonight. I just love this time of year! It's so filled with hope and love. I don't necessarily enjoy decorating the tree, but I love it when the decorating is done. I'm taking a break from the tree right now while Aaron keeps at it. He is so good! He will put an ornament on and then stand back to make sure it looks good..then pick up another ornament and stand back to figure out the best place to put it. Then he repeats the whole thing again. He is so amazing! I have trained him well! :)

My decorating "specialty" is our living room. We have 2 nativities and a plethora of other decor to make our main living area festive. (Our tree is in our downstairs family room.) I just love making our home inviting and welcoming. I also like decorating so that all who come to our home will remember why we celebrate Christmas.

It's Official--We are POTENTIAL Adoptive Parents!

Oh my goodness! We received an early Christmas present from our caseworker at LDS Family Services. All of our paperwork has FINALLY gone through and we are approved as an adoptive couple. Jim, our caseworker, emailed us the good news yesterday. I have to confess that I cried when I read it. All I want to do is be a mother and it is just on the horizon. Now our profile can get to the birth mother who is carrying a miracle and the greatest gift we could ever receive. It is hard to imagine that in the near future, I could be holding a child in my arms who would be able to celebrate having 2 moms. My heart is so full right now. What a great blessing to be thinking about bring a baby into our home when we are celebrating the birth of the greatest of all--our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Playing Aunt & Uncle

Yesterday we were so blessed! We were able to have my nieces, Teyghan and Kiari, for the afternoon. Ryan and Laurel (my brother and "sister") went to the BYU vs. Air Force football game while we played with the girls. We had so much fun! I love watching Aaron with them. He is so amazing with kids and they just love their Uncle Aaron. After Teyghan and Aaron romped in the leaves (while Kiari napped and I rested) I took the girls to the library to look at books. We had so much fun. Books are such an amazing imagination builder. We brought several home and read until Ryan and Laurel came home. It was so good to spend time with them and be able to share our love with them. Thanks Ryan & Laurel! (I think us giving you the tickets to the game benefited us all!)

General Conference Musings

WOW! What a blessing it is to know that we have a prophet on the earth today and that we can "sit at his feet" every 6 months and be taught by him and his apostles. There were so many things that Aaron and I needed to hear. Here are some highlights that touched my heart:

• A temple in Missouri and Rome--the gospel is moving forward boldly and is covering the earth. The thought that struck me at this announcement is that we are getting closer to the coming of our Savior. The center of the Catholic church is now going to have a "Mormon" temple there and Missouri, which state drove out the Mormons back in the early days of the Restoration, now will have a prominent reminder that "no unhallowed hand will stop the work from progressing."


• Elder Perry--Don't allow the stress & anxiety of life get to you. Remain positive & optimistic; the best is yet to come!


• Neil A. Anderson--Part of our victory as disciples of Christ is how we act in the face of fear, discouragement, doubt, & feelings of inadequacy.; You don't know everything, but you know enough.; Adapt cheerfully to the challenges that come your way.


• President Uchtdorf--Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness. It is a principle with a promise as well as a commandment!


• Elder Wirthlin--Come what may..and love it!

There was so much more (that's just the first session!) that I won't share here because it would take me two days to post it all and my thoughts and feelings. I'm so excited for the transcripts to be posted so I can learn even more as I read them. We are SO blessed!!

One step closer to having a child...

After years of struggling to have children, we have decided to proceed with adoption through LDS Family Services. The paperwork is GRUELING and is finally in. We have an all day class at the end of the month and several more meetings/home visits before it's "official" and our profile is up for birth parents to view, but we are almost there. Heavenly Father has been leading our steps and actions. It took a "lightning bolt" in the form of a patient at work who didn't want to keep her baby (the third in as many months) to convince me that this was the right time to move forward (Aaron was ready months ago!). Unfortunately, it's not going to work out with her, but she was an answer to our prayers and helped us find the direction we needed to be moving in.

At this time, we want to ask for your prayers in our behalf, that we will be able to continue in the faith and be blessed with a child. Also, please pray for all those birth parents out there struggling to make the decision to place their child for adoption.