Cards and Cookies...

Because we had SO MUCH sickness running through our house I didn't get much done.  Thankfully I got our Christmas Cards done early, but I didn't order enough.  When I ordered the second batch my order never went through, and by that time I was too tired and sick to worry about it.  So I am sorry to those who didn't get a card.

I found this awesome idea on Pinterest and informed my wonderful mother in law what her Christmas Card was going to look like.  Luckily the whole family agreed to take the pictures and it worked out.  I really like the way it turned out!

None of us felt well enough to do neighbor or friend gifts.  I feel so bad about this as we have so many great people in our lives here in Pennsylvania.  But I am sure they are happy we didn't share our yucky germs with them!  I had started some cookies days before Christmas but never got to bake them.  So we cut out, frosted and baked cookies as a family Christmas night.

Nash thought he was silly hiking his pants up so high.  Daddy was super tired and had work at 5am the next morning....ugh I am so happy ICU is OVER!

 Asa was chipper as always.

 The cookies were good but again we didn't share them with anyone because of our yuckiness. :(

Gingerbread house...

Our friends the Lees invited us over to make a gingerbread houses.  It was SUPER fun and I have to admit I only did the roof.  Darin and Nash made the rest.  Pretty creative!

Christmas 2012

 Santa made his way to our house and the children of the house were pretty loved. 

Nash asked Santa for 3 things.  1. Beyblades (check), 2. T-ball (check), 3. Video games (educational video games...check).

Asa got a few hand-me-downs and some other fun toys.

Nash was SO excited about his new beyblades we had to BEG him to open his other presents.

 Asa had NO clue what was going on but he was happy.

Nash and Asa thought their gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Willardson were pretty awesome.  THANK YOU!

 Nash is obsessed with Darin's iPad.  It is not my favorite thing for him to have.  I have to limit his time on it.  We got Nash a LeapPad2 to help him become more interested in letters and learning.  So far it has worked like a charm.
Getting this LeapPad2 was a HUGE process.  We tried to get it on a cyber Monday deal, but they couldn't ship it to our Toys R Us for some odd reason.  SO we had it shipped to Utah and had the Willardson's pick it up and ship it to us.  THEN we found out that we had a LeapPad under our tree the whole time from Granny Cosby.  SO we returned Granny's and Nash got a bunch of games and a charger.  Thank you to both grandparents for your help getting this present for Nash!

I think we had some pretty happy kiddos this year.

  I appreciated Christmas so much more this year.  Nash was like a little sponge learning about the meaning of Christmas.  Here are a few of my favorite things....

Our little family.

 Snow on Christmas morning.

 A pretty and fresh Christmas tree.

 Christmas Cards from family and friends.

What a BEAUTIFUL Christmas!

Christmas Eve FIESTA...

We volunteered to host Christmas Eve in our home this year.  Stacia helped me plan it and then sadly became horridly ill and was not able to come.  But being the awesome person she is, she still sent over all the food we needed.  Thank you Stacia!  Thank you Taylor for going to the store and bringing it to us.  We decided to do a taco bar this year.  It was a little different but turned out great.  I did all the meat in the crock pot.  I LOVE the crock pot...greatest invention EVER!  I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was a little off my game as I had my ear infections and I was holding a baby for most of the party.  That is why most of these pictures are blurry. :)  I need more practice.

After dinner we played some games with the kids.  My wonderful friend Michelle Jones gave me these great ideas.  The first was the balloon game where we tried to pop each others balloon that was tied to our ankles. 

At first it looked like everyone was dancing.

 Then Nick became competitive and helped Ben pop Kristen's balloon.

  

 Kayla and Kristen helped sweet little Katelyn pop Kayla's balloon.  Katelyn was smiling from ear to ear.  Such a sweetheart!

 Nash was running for his life, but Elli was on his trail!  She finally caught up to him, stood and jumped on his balloon and nothing happened...can you tell he was a bit worried.  

 The next game, one person put on oven mittens and a santa hat and used spatulas to open a gift.  While another person rolled dice to get doubles.  It was fun even though Nash was pretty upset about not winning a candy bar.   We need to work on that a bit.

 

 

Then we calmed down and prepared for the nativity pageant.  When we first planned the party there was going to be 7 little boys, and 6 little girls.  Plenty to do the nativity.  Well we lost 5 little boys and 1 little girl before the production.  We begged Adam Ockerman who is 12 to be our Joseph.  The poor kid really had no choice and filled in nicely.  I wouldn't say we got a smile out of him but he did it nicely. :)  Amy O. was our beautiful Mary.  Asa was to be the baby Jesus but he couldn't hold out so the only doll we had was curious George.  Bella Long, Aubrey and Katelyn Brinton were beautiful angels.  Alana Dowling and Easton Long played the roles of the sheep hilariously.  Nash was the three wise men and shepherds combined.  He was so excited about his role he wore his costume to greet everyone to the party.  Riley read the story while the kids paraded in.  It was cute as always.

 We decided afterwards to actually watch the Christmas story on the projector so the kids would understand better what they just performed.  They watched the movie pretty intently and when it was over Bella (5 years old) stands up and says "Well I really enjoyed that!" haha That made the whole night worth it.

 

We then enjoyed YUMMY dessert made by Kristen.  It was a tres leche cake and it was to die for.  I begged for the left overs and yes I ate them all myself!

  We are so happy we could spend Christmas Eve with our "family" here in Pennsylvania.  This is our 4th Christmas with the Ockerman's.  My heart ached a bit when I took the above picture.  I said "just think this is the last time you will ever have to endure a Willardson Christmas." everyone laughed but I wanted to cry.  I love all these families and I feel very blessed that we got to have them in our lives.  Thank you Ockerman, Dowling, Brinton and Long families! Smith family we missed you!

When it was time to send everyone home it was a sweet surprise to have snow on the ground.  I love a white Christmas!

Sickos...

This Christmas season was a little rough.  We had A LOT of sickness running through our house.  I had a double ear infection, sinus pain and NO energy.  Nash had a cough, runny nose, fever and NO energy.  Darin had a cough, runny nose and NO energy.  Asa well Asa was HAPPY! haha

 Nash hasn't been a good eater lately especially since he has been sick.  I went to put Asa to bed around 6:30pm.  I told Nash to try to finish his dinner while I laid Asa down.  When I came back he was dead asleep under the table.  Poor buddy. :(

 Nash had a cute Christmas program at school.  I video taped the whole thing and took no pictures.  After the program we had refreshments and there were cupcakes with marshmallow snowmen.  Nash touched another cupcake before he saw the snowmen and I made him take that one of course.  So I promised him we would make snowmen at home.  Nash was not impressed with my version of these snowmen.  But they were happy to give me a happy smile.  AND yes this picture was taken at 3pm and we are still in our jammies.  That is what happens when no one feels good.  I think that was the only activity we did that whole day, but boy was it fun!

These boys make my life so fun!

Louie the Elf....

Louie our Elf on the shelf came to visit us again this year.

Hi Nash and new little bro Asa!

I am so happy to be back to your house.  I heard you LOVE to find clues.  I asked your mom if we could play a clue game until Christmas.  She said yes.  She gave me all your Christmas books.  I took them to Santa.  I will be watching you everyday.  If you are a big helper and are nice to your family I will be hiding somewhere in your house with a book just for you.  If you are naughty I will not go see Santa and will not bring you a book back.

There will be a clue for you to follow each day to find me and your book.  Look in the Christmas tree on the piano EVERYDAY for a new clue.  It will tell you where I am hiding!

Today you get to read the book about me!

I can't wait to play with you!  

LOUIE the Elf

This letter to Nash and Asa changed our world! I am not even kidding.  We were having so many behavior issues with our little Nasharoo that I wanted to cry.  He took this elf on the shelf challenge SUPER serious, and so did I! It made be take time and think about what I wanted Nash to learn about Christmas. Louie each day brought a clue, an activity for the family to do, a scripture and a book.  It was so fun!  Nash was excited every morning to read his clue that was in a advent Christmas tree.  With the clue was a little note as well about something Nash did that was so great the day before.  He felt so proud to hear that positive reinforcement, it warmed my heart.

Clues & Positive Reinforcement:
-If you are in a hungry mood, go here first and find some food. (kitchen)
**You did a good job helping your mom put the lights on the tree.  Great job in eating your dinner too.

-Up and down, and up and down you climb these everyday.  You've likely seen the clue on these, but passed it anyway. (stairs)
**You were a fun friend to Alex yesterday.  Way to go on eating your dinner.

-If you want your teeth to shine, pick this up and spend some time. (Nash bathroom)
**You were a great Samuel the Lamanite. Good job in listening to the story. I am so proud of how good you rode your bike and ran with your mommy!

-I am hiding where mommy likes to work and daddy takes a nap. (master bedroom)
**You were such a great helper while your mommy is sick.  It is fun watching you make Asa laugh.

-When families are well-organized they park the car in here.  But otherwise it's full of junk and not one inch is clear. (garage)
**Santa's helper was so happy to see you at the Christmas party.

-Keep it clean and keep it dry, can you guess? Come on, just try! (laundry room)
**WOW your gingerbread house looked great!

-Now you're on your second clue, these go on before your shoes. (sock drawer)
**You played great with your friends at the sandbox.  Congratulations for earning your white sash at kung fu!

Big green and pokey you need to give me a drink everyday. (tree)
**You were AWESOME at everything yesterday! Your mom said you obeyed, did not whine, you listened carefully and was a BIG helper.

-If you want to learn and grow, turn the page, get in the know. (book shelf)
**You sat so good while Stacia cut your hair. It looks so great! I liked watching you play with Asa.  You are a good big brother!

-Mirror, mirror  on the wall who is the silliest one of all. (Picture of louie on mirror below.)
**WOW what a helper.  I liked watching you vacuum. You asked your mom if you could carry things for her. You even helped your brother giggle!

-You're almost at the very end, but this is where your guests come in. (front door)
**You were a good listener in Primary.  Sister Ockerman said you were a great helper during class.

- Rub-a-dub-dub there are dinosaurs in this tub. (master-bathroom)
**Nash you were the best little bird in your Christmas program.  You did so good making yummy cookies.  I had a little nibble. :)

- AWWWW WATCH-OUT this dragons BIG and it's going to burn me! (dragon in the basement stairwell)
**You were so good and helpful at the doctors office and grocery store!

-Sleep little baby don't say a word mama's going to buy you a mocking bird. (crib)
**Way to help your mom move furniture.

-Tick-tock, tick-tock the mouse ran up the clock.
**WOW you were so great at helping paint, I liked hearing all the nice things you said to mom and dad.

-Ho! Ho! Ho! I came in a package from Granny. My name is Santa.
**Nash you have been a very good listener.  Thank-you for eating all your food.

-Dear Nash,
You said thank you many times today. You are such a nice little boy. I decided to stay my last day in the sweet little house. It is my favorite spot in your house. (gingerbread house)

And then there were some notes left that were not so happy:
-I am still on the tree.  I was sad to see how you were not thankful for the food your daddy made you. Try harder today and I will bring you a book tomorrow. -Louie

There were a few others that must have been lost. The couple of notes that said no books, were pretty devastating to Nash, although we saw a HUGE improvement that day.  He is such a sweet little boy and he really made our Christmas magical.  One day he asked if he could take pictures with my phone.  I found a couple of pictures of Louie.  I would find Nash talking to Louie.  He would ask me if Louie could see him, when I would say yes he would straighten up immediately. He was so excited to tell everyone where Louie was that day and what he brought him.

I loved the activities that Louie brought.  I needed to focus on Nash and Asa after coming out of a crazy  fall picture season.  We spent time together as a family reading and teaching Nash about the Christmas story and focusing more on our Savior.  Yes it all was a lot of work but this was my favorite Christmas season, and I plan on keeping it a tradition. 

Dear Nash and Asa (oh and mom and dad),

Thank you so much for letting me stay with you this month.  I had so much fun!! I got to climb the Christmas tree, read your books, sleep in your room, play with your toys, and even nibble on the ginger bread house. :) Awesome! I really liked listening to your excitement every morning when you found me and a book from Santa.  But my favorite part everyday was watching you be good little boys.  Nash you did so great singing in church yesterday that was so brave!  Asa your giggle is so fun to hear.  Keep being best brothers and good helpers.

I have to go back to the North Pole now to help Santa.  He was a BIG night ahead of him since it's Christmas Eve.  He needs all ELVES helping out so all the gifts are delivered on time.  I'll be sure to let him know what good kids you are and that you should definitely be on the NICE list this year.  I'll see you next year!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Your favorite Elf,

LOUIE

PS: Have fun at your party tonight with your friends!