Christmas Eve

Tonight we enjoyed some festivities with Honey's family. What fun we had! We played basketball, floor hockey and card games. We feasted, and opened presents. We even enjoyed a white elephant gift exchange. And the kids loved the gifts they received from Grammies and Grandpa Livingstone.

When we returned, as we were getting the kids ready for bed and waiting to say family prayers, I had a little time to reflect. I wonder how Mary felt in the little stable knowing that she would shortly give birth to the Son of God. Did she sleep? Probably not, maybe not so much from discomfort, but I suppose that she was wondering how she would ever raise this special Son. I wonder if she was visited and given some peace as she continued on her divine mission. Did she worry that her first child would be born in a dirty stable? She had traveled so far, did she worry about the long journey back to her home? I can only imagine she felt somewhat inadequate, not only because she was having her first child, but she was charged with raising the Son of God.

I wonder about Joseph, being a father for the first time. I'm sure he worried about the coming days, from birth to how he would raise the Son of God. What could he offer? What would his Father want him to do? I'm sure he felt the importance of the event and was even more frustrated that he couldn't arrange more comfortable accommodations.

What about our Father in Heaven. I'm sure His omniscience helped Him find comfort in the mission His Son was beginning. I wonder if He was even slightly worried knowing that His Son would eventually suffer and die at the hands of His other children, and that the Savior would have to do it alone.

I can't help but feel bad about the attention I've given this holy time, namely the lack thereof. What an amazing event, a miraculous time. What an honor to serve Him. Let us all remember Him, His mission, and His love. We love you and pray that His spirit fills your home.

Merry Christmas.

Ryan and Honey

Snow Angels

So, am I an awful mother if this is the first year that my kids have been fully equipped to be in the snow?? It's not that they haven't played in snow, it's that they haven't had snow pants to play in the snow with. I don't even have a good excuse as to not having gotten them them earlier, like if I had lived in a warmer place where we didn't need snow pants. Nope. So, just this last Friday we were venturing around Target and "stumbled" upon snow pants. I have wonderful memories as a kid playing out in the snow with Reecy after school in the dark. It was a great time! I've realized though, that I think it is (or was) only in Canada where they actually sell children's winter coats with ski pants, combined. That would really help with the whole matching idea also! During our move, we also 'misplaced' our bag of hats, scarves and gloves...these were the best we could come up with. Anyway, here are the kids fully enjoying the snow.



Lucy's not sure of all of this outdoors business. I think she liked her snow pants on better in the house.

Christmas Lights

I love Christmas decorations and lights. Yes, even our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree with only half the lights working.

We found something fun this year though. We replaced our entertainment center a few months back with a large armoire. Well, when it came time to pull the Christmas decor out, we had to be creative in where to place our little village. Here is where we decided..right in our fireplace.

My Happy Birthday

I had a great birthday on Sunday and it so nice to talk with so many people. I appreciate all that called, thank you! Ryan was so nice to bake a cake for me, however it didn't turn out as he had hoped. Let just say it had a few divides. But if it were frosted as the earth, it would have been perfect. It still tasted good and I appreciate the gesture. Ryan, also took me out for brunch the day before and as he mentioned in his post, we had a wonderful Stake Conference. It was a great day all around and many of you made it that way. So, thank you for thinking of me and wishing me well. I'm 27 now, BRING IT ON!!

Wedding Bells!

Our congratulations to the happy couples who are now "officially" engaged! HOORAY!! Aaron (top) proposed to Angela Friday night and Michael proposed to Katherine the following night on Saturday. We are so happy for them all and look forward to having them in our family! We love you guys! Way to go!

Faith and Miracles

As you probably notice, I don't post here very often. Over the past several weeks, I've been assessing our life and counting our blessings. Our experience with baby Honey has helped me realize the fragility of life and made me grateful for so many things, things that I used to take for granted. As I've thought about all of this, I could often hear the many voices in my life that have said we are crazy/courageous for having so many kids, for getting married so quickly and so young, for jumping into a condo and now the house, for pretty much making every big decision in our life. I am in no way ashamed/embarrassed/regretful of any of those decisions. Our life has been a great adventure, and we have been greatly blessed.

This weekend we had stake conference, and our mission president made a comment that has really stuck with me. As I've thought about it more, I realize that the principle he taught has been thoroughly active in our life. He said that he teaches his missionaries the following:

When you feel doubt, replace it with faith, go to work and expect the miracle.

Let me explain. In our life, we have, at times, questioned the decisions we were making. We prayed and probably wanted that huge revelation with angels and lights and visions and the like. Many times, we received very little. Many times we felt very little. Most times, Honey and I had looked at the decision, analyzed our options, prayed about it and were still "left on our own" to make the decision. We felt good about our analysis and acted on that knowing that we would receive guidance as we acted - as Elder Bednar said, feeling the nudging of the spirit to go in one direction or the other. When we made the decision, we jumped in knowing we would make the best of it that we could. When things became difficult, we prayed more and went back to work. We became committed. Only after much analysis, prayer and action did we actually see results. Looking back, those results have been truly miraculous. We are blessed with four healthy, beautiful children, one waiting for us, and a host of blessings too long to list.

When you feel doubt, have confidence in the decision you've made (replace doubt with faith), go to work and watch the miracle come.

Lucy

Lucy is our spunky little girl. She's 18 months and loves to be around people. She is very sweet and happy, but when she's not either, she is sneaky and scowley. She loves to walk around in anyone else's shoes and do what her siblings are doing. She does do something though that none of our other kids have done, on a regular basis. She diaper dives! If we don't catch her in time, she gets messy and it is gross!! Just last night, we caught her dipping her binky in the toilet! N-A-S-T-Y. Aside from her gross behaviors, she makes us laugh. She learned to twirl a couple weeks ago. It's more of a pivot, but twirling none the less. If she hears any music, any time, any where, she stops to get her groove on. Here are some pictures of our little Lucy:

Our little thespian

This is the second year that Rylee has been involved with her acting class. It's called Acting Apprentices and she has it after school Monday. Last Tuesday was their performance and she was a donkey owner. I don't recall the name of the story, but she did her part (2 lines) fabulously. Last year, she was the little red hen and had quite a few lines, so it was nice to have an "easy part" this year. She has such a great time and enjoys her teacher, Mrs. Gregory.