Christmas

We had a fabulous Christmas this year! Christmas Eve was spent over at our friends the Drapers. One of our traditions that we started a few years back is to make traditional Scandinavian pancakes called Aebleskivers. They are basically stuffed pancakes that come out in a ball. The kids love them! Since Debbie's family has been making them too since she was a little kid we thought it would be fun to do them together. It was a fun Christmas Eve spent with friends.

It wouldn't be Christmas Eve without acting out the Nativity.

The whole gang

The kids in their new pj's on Christmas Eve.

The kids woke us up at about 5:50...not too bad! What fun it is to see your kids so excited!

Abbie and Jake feeling the love!

New helmets for the girls

Jake playing with his new toy from Nana and Papa.

For out traditional Christmas Day matinee we went and saw Alvin and The Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquil. Jake and Jessica spent the day with us and that evening after dinner we played a new game called Quelf. What a goofy game but I don't think I have laughed so hard in my life! We have so many blessings to be grateful for all of which are centered around our Savior.

It's all about the countdown!

As I was putting away all the Christmas decorations I realized that I have quite the Advent calendar collection. I love each of them and they have become part of our family Holiday traditions.

This is a new one I got this year from my sister Jodi. I LOVE it! The kids had such a blast opening up each box every day before Christmas. Sometimes there was a treat or sometimes there was a piece to an adorable nativity. However, I think my kids favorite day was the day they opened the box to find notes for each of them from their cousins!

The boxes have a magnet on them and then attach to a metal board. Aren't the boxes adorable!

This is an advent that Cumorah designed and I made and taught at our wards Super Saturday. I love how it turned out!

This one has to be my favorite. Another fabulous Christmas gift from Jodi. Who knows how many hours she spent sewing each individual piece. It is absolutely adorable. Each day you add another piece to the nativity scene. It is a treasure that I will enjoy forever and I am sure my kids will be fighting over who gets it after I am gone!

Here is another Jodi creation. This one is one of my kids favorites. Each door has a jar attached to it that I fill will treats, stickers, lip gloss, or whater I can find that will fit. Such a fun holiday tradition. I think this one was my first advent calender. I love it!

My creative cousin Cumorah designed this one and taught it at a class. All I had to do was put it together. I love having some advents that focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

Jenco Retreat

Way back in November we had our Jenco retreat. We decided to stay close to home this time (last year we went to Mexico) and stay up in Denver for a couple of nights. We had such a great time! I feel fortunate that Kent works with two fabulous men who have fabulous wives that I love and are so easy to get along with. We had lots of good food, went to a Nuggetts v. Lakers game, and then to top it off we enjoyed going to see Wicked together. It was the perfect weekend and I can't wait to see what next year will bring.

The Nuggets killed the Lakers. What a fun game!

Wicked

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is such a difficult thing to do. I have never been good at it. I don't like being away from those I love. Some goodbyes are just for a short time and some are longer. All goodbyes are temporary though. What a blessing it is to know that we can be with those we love forever. What a beautiful gift we have been given from our Savior.

Michelle's memorial service was a beautiful tribute to the life she lived. She touched many lives and left behind a legacy of love.

Her family found a beautiful spot for her to rest up in the mountains at one of her favorite spots. What a difficult day that was for everyone.

For several days following Michelle's passing little Jake would ask where Shell was, as we were coming and going from their house. Each time my heart broke for the great loss we all are experiencing. He misses her too. She was always so attentive and affectionate towards my kids. It became somewhat of a regular thing in the mornings, after I got the kids on the bus, for Jake and I to stop in for a short visit with Michelle. I loved those few minutes in the morning and so did Jake.

This beautiful talk given by Elder Worthlin brings me a tremendous amount of comfort.

Michelle's family at Helen Hunt Falls

The gorgeous view

Kent and Beth planting some tulips

Love, Faith, and a little John Denver

November 5th 2009 will not be a day I soon forget. I was up in Denver helping Kent celebrate his birthday when I got a phone call from my dear friend Michelle. She was on her way home after having received more scans in her long battle with cancer. She had been in lots of pain lately and was needing some answers. She had just left the Dr's office and was in the car with her mom driving home. They told her that her cancer had continued to grow and that there was no more they could do for her. Hospice was the next step to try and help her control her pain. My heart broke. We sobbed together on the phone. The next morning we were able to spend some time together. That moment, and several that followed, felt like one of those sacred moments that are so precious and life changing. How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father for placing Michelle in my life when I needed her most. She changed my life forever. She lost her battle with cancer on Dec. 3rd and returned home to her loving Heavenly Father. I will miss her so much! When the neighborhood heard about Michelle's devastating news about having to go on Hospice everyone decided to put out silver and white balloons. The backyards and the path from the Twiggs house out of the neighborhood was lined with balloons letting her family know they were in our thoughts and prayers. My kids would count every day how many people had balloons out. I think the number got close to 20. What a wonderful and supportive neighborhood we live in!

On Nov. 22nd Jamie organized a special concert for Michelle in their home. John Denver is one of their favorite musicians. They danced to "Annie's Song" at their wedding. A great guy named Ted Vigil was kind enough to fly in from Seattle. Doesn't he look so much like John Denver! It was an amazing evening that I felt so blessed to be apart of. There were moments of joy and celebration and some very tender moments of love and hope and sadness. I felt the Spirit so strong in a home full of close friends and family that more than anything shared a Christlike love for this sweet mother who has been such a tremendous example to us all.

This is not one of the most flattering pictures of me ever taken. My eyes are all red and puffy and well...I'll just say that the angle isn't the most flattering. Michelle took this picture of us on the night of the concert. She suffered tremendous pain the last several weeks, and this day happened to be one of her worst. Even in her pain, she asked me to hand her the camera so she could take a picture for us. She was laying down because it hurt too much to sit up. For me this is just a reminder of the kind of friend she was to me. Loving. Selfless. Thoughtful. Kind.

Annie's Song...one of Michelle's favorites! There was not a dry eye in the house.

Kent's 40!

Kent turned 40 this year (way back on Nov. 5th). I wanted to throw him a big party...he didn't want one. So, since it was his birthday I decided to go with his wishes! We celebrated with the kids in the morning and had a big breakfast and then blew out candles on his coffee cake. Later that afternoon we headed up to the temple and then stayed in Denver to celebrate.

I decided to surprise Kent with some indoor skydiving. He has talked about wanting to do this for a long time. What better day to do it than on his 40th birthday!

Don't we look awesome in those attractive goggles!

We had such a blast! Kent is already talking about doing it again

After skydiving we went to Maggianos and had a delicious dinner. Kent blew out more candles over some spumoni ice cream.

Launching Pumpkins

Abbie's 5th grade class did a unit on simple machines. For the final project of that unit each student had to make a catapult that would launch either a marshmallow or a small pumpkin at least 15 feet. Abbie chose to do the pumpkin. She and Kent spent hours in the garage cutting, screwing, bolting, and launching. They practiced in the street several times launching all kinds of things with the neighborhood kids. It worked like a charm. Of course, the day of the launch it took 4 trys before they could get it to work...the pressure was too much! But finally success was theirs...her pumpkin went 45 feet 4 inches!

To say Abbie's was the biggest would be an understatment! Now we just have the task of taking it apart. (we just got a note from our HOA that we were in violation because some "wooden object is in view from the street")