Farewell 2013

Well, since I've hardly blogged this year, I know anything I write about this year at least most likely won't be redundant.  So, it may not be recent news, but it may be new news.  There were some hard things that came along this year.  Probably some of the most difficult I have had to face, but with that came many blessings, along with good times as well. 
Some highlights of the year for my kids were as follows:
Anna started walking, and not a moment too soon, as she was 15 months when she finally took off.  She is still not talking much, but she does say Mom, Dad, Yea, Hi, and Eyes (as of yesterday).  Anna knows the true power of a pointed finger: that it generally gets her what she wants and takes her where she wants to go.  She loves being held, she dances, sings, and makes music on our piano, and can throw some great tantrums when she doesn't get a piece of desired candy or a spoonful of Nutella.
Kimball is the best of times and the worst of times at our house.  He loves to give kisses and hugs and loves siblings to play with him.  He's full of energy and full of laughter and good times.  However, he can throw a mean punch or kick, and he's not afraid to throw things at his siblings when they aren't playing just the right way.  Just yesterday he decided he was done playing a game of tag with Dad, so he came around a corner swinging a 4' long 2"x2" at his dad's head.  Whew.  That boy is intense.  He is finally poddy-trained though, and that is a relief, and he is starting to get interested in learning his letters.
 Elsie is loving life this year!  There are so many games to pretend, so many stories to imagine, and so many adventures to take.  She is tenacious and sweet and learning lots.  I have a hard time getting her away from her imagination, but when I can, she loves to cuddle with me and practice her reading and write stories.  She puts up with a little math, but doesn't enjoy that as much.  She is still enjoying her ballet, as long as the classes have more of a free-lance structure to it.
Peter turned 8 and was baptized this year.  He is making lots of good choices, and when he doesn't, Elsie reminds him of his new responsibility.  Peter is a good older brother and Mike and I have enjoyed watching him develop good character attributes of honesty and kindness.  He likes playing the piano and doesn't mind school too much.  He loves his Science class, and enjoys playing with the classmates from there. 
Mike and I just try to keep up, get some things done, and have a little fun in the process.  This year we took a trip to Goblin Valley and LOVED it.  We all had a great time exploring through the valley and hiking through a slot canyon.  Mike and I also went on a youth trek with our ward this summer, and that was a memorable experience.  This year, Mike's sister was diagnosed with cancer, and although it is a hard road, she is expected to make a full recovery.  To support her, Mike and his 6 brothers all shaved their heads.  The kids were a little uneasy about their dad for a while, it was pretty funny.  As I have mentioned before, my sister was also diagnosed with cancer, and although her recovery is uncertain, she is doing well and finds joy in little things.  She is a great example to me, as well as the rest of my family as I have seen so much faith and selflessness from everyone these past six months.  I love them so much.  We are grateful to be together and look forward to a new year.  I thought I would include some pictures so you can walk down memory lane with me.

Mike went on a helicopter ride with the 16-year-old boys in our ward

We celebrated Mike's Dad's 80th birthday this year!  They all loaded up in the ancient family blue dart.

Mike went with his brothers to the Wind Rivers.  They even had a bear encounter there!

We thought Anna would love the butterflies, we were wrong.

Goblin Valley=perfect lizard hunting grounds!

Elsie's showing off her mud after a good slip.

 Last, but not least, this is Elsie's small performance of the Nutcracker.  She takes lessons in a neighbor's basement, so it's way low key, but lots of fun.

 

Christmas Thoughts and Events

Christmas season can seem so overwhelming.....most of the time.  All the shopping, decorating, cooking, party going, children's concerts, getting letters out, finding quality family time, and serving are all fun, but added together, even scheduling a night by the Christmas Tree with the kids can seem exhausting.  Anyways, that's how I was feeling this Christmas.  I'd remind myself to search deeper for the Christmas Spirit, and then I honestly started wondering, what exactly is the Christmas spirit and is it possible to attain amongst all this hustle and bustle?  Where was my example?  Was it the mother who adds yet another thing and sews her daughters beautiful Christmas dresses?  Was it found in the poor family whose mother stays up all night boiling the last squash to extract some sugar to make cookies?  Was I supposed to simplify, and if so, what in tarnation was I supposed to cut out?
I was in the shower one morning when the answer came to me...duh.  I started thinking about Mary, Christ's mother.  How overburdened she must have felt as she traveled 80 miles on a donkey, expecting a baby any day.  When she and Joseph finally arrived in Bethlehem, I'm sure every innkeeper's first look at the soon-to-be mother was part of the reason why they found themselves destitute without a place to stay.  A filthy stable was where Mary had her precious baby, followed by stranger shepherds coming to visit soon after.  I'm sure, for Mary, through the months of carrying the Christ child and leading up to the blessed Christmas night, there were heavy sighs, tearful nights, and heavy shoulders.  However, Mary continued to stay close to her God and find joy in her blessed burden.  Amongst it all, she found peace, love, patients, and happiness.  Yes, to me Mary embodies the Christmas spirit, and once I understood this, the spirit of Christmas rested a bit on my heart.  Christmas is supposed to be a time of hard work and sacrifice, but hopefully, through it all, we can find what Mary found and come that much closer to God and hear a little clearer the heavens rejoicing, for Christ truly was born and came to save us from our sins.  What a wonderful story, and what a wonderful truth.
That said, I've posted some pictures from our Christmas Traditions.
We always love when Santa comes to our little town and calls our children by name.  Kimball has yet to sit on his lap though, and apparently this was the first year Peter decided he was too old for Santa's lap.  Sigh.  I guess kids grow up.  Elsie, however, was prepared with her list, and cozied on up.  She is so fun.

 We have a neighbor from Scotland who introduced us to Christmas crackers.  You pull on them, and out pops (literally) a little surprise, a paper crown, and a sometimes funny joke.  It's a great tradition that I think we'll adopt.  It was a perfect addition to our candlelit Christmas Eve dinner. 

 Christmas morning started at 6:30 in the Jeppson household.  Baby Jesus was found in his manger, and after a quick but heartfelt prayer, it was time to open presents!

 Stockings are always so fun, and perhaps everyone's favorites.  Santa fills our stockings with oranges (and this year a pomegranate), a little candy, and fun little toys.  Everything (almost) is wrapped, and it's always fun for the kids to see if the little package they're about to open is a fun toy, or tic-tacs.

 Anna loved the chocolates in her stocking!  She carted them all around, opened each one, took a bite, and left the rest on the floor for someone else to find later.  The kids had to hide their candy 'cause she took liberties of her own with theirs as well.

 This was one of Kimball's favorite gifts.  The gun lights up and makes really loud noises.  I think Santa was trying to help Mom out by finding a gun that didn't leave little nerf bullets or discs lying around the house everywhere.  It helped her back, but not her hearing!

 An excited Elsie.  She loves little things, so the legos and polly pockets she got for Christmas were perfect!

 Peter was really excited about all his presents, especially this one.  The Tron movie and a toy to go along.  Thanks Grammy!

 

I just have to note what Mike got me for Christmas.  He is so sweet.  I have these children's book I love called the ValueTales that are out of print.  I look for them whenever I'm in a used book or second-hand store.  Well, he hunted really hard and surprised us with eight new ValueTales!  I don't know how he did it, but I think he's pretty amazing.  To top it off, he even got me a blend-tec.  I really feel spoiled and loved.  He's so great.

And now it's all over.  Ahhh.  Christmas is fun.  Happy and excited kids are great.  These past couple days we've really enjoyed playing with new toys and bored games together.  Hope everyone had a great Christmas!