December Thankful Thoughts

What a great year. We've had so much to be thankful for.

1. On the top of the list is my gratitude for our health and the health of our families this year.
2. Living in Ohio, and really loving our friends here.
3. Visiting family as much as possible. And, having family visit us.
4. The Gospel of Jesus Christ and how grounded it allows me to be.
5. Taylor finishing up his dissertation (and really feeling good about it -- finally)
6. A husband who works hard to provide spiritually and temporally for our family - and is great at it!
7. Vacations with Family (skiing, hiking, and theme parks)
8. Vacations with Friends (camping, skiing, and indoor waterparks)
9. Nights out -- with girlfriends or my Boyfriend (AKA Taylor.)
10. Jacob and Luke: the most rewarding and most exhausting part of my life right now. Ready for one more -- I guess. :)

Meeting up with the Buckeye Gang..

This last year -- 3 of our really good friends we met in Ohio, moved to Utah. It's quite ironic they all moved the same year, taking into account they all 3 had great jobs in Ohio and Chicago. I am so glad we were able to arrange a time to all get together.

Jake's little buddy for his first 4 years of life was Carter Brostrom and he was counting down the days to visit him in Utah. Luke had only been without his buddy Noah Crockett for a few weeks, but was also extrememly excited to see him again.

Our cute hubbies and kids. Thanks to Jessica, we have 2 sweet girls in the mix -- but we are definitely boy heavy around these parts!! I think it's the Ohio water. Keetch's only got their girls once they moved to Chicago! :)

Taylor and I hadn't seen Chad and Jessica for a couple years, and we all had such a great evening together! After Taylor sat around and caught up with the boys, he was convinced we should be moving to Utah for good. Not that we need much persuasion, we love Utah and want to be close to family again so badly!!

The girls -- Ali Crockett, Me, Jessica Keetch, and Nina Brostrom.

Aren't they friends beautiful! I think these ladies are so great inside and out. They have made my experience in Ohio one of a kind. I will always cherish their friendships for years to come.

Christmas Activities 2008

We had a GREAT time in Utah over the holidays. Here are a few pictures to illustrate the fun.

After a rough travel experience (who would have guessed Las Vegas would be getting 6 inches of snow the day we traveled), we made it to St. George and only 3 short days later our bags arrived! Good thing for mom and sister who I borrowed cloths and make up from. Thanks!

I love this picture. It shows the legacy my Mom and Dad have created. 23 grandkids to date and one more SOON to come.


My boys LOVE their cousins and know ALL of them by name (which surprises me, because they only see them about 2 times a year.) I can't wait to be closer to cousins on a permanent basis.


At my mom's house, we have a tradition (like many families) of having a talent show and then acting out the nativity from the scriptures. Jake was excited to play his piano piece for everyone and Luke sang his scripture mastery songs he's learn from seminary. What cute boys I have!
Here is a picture of just my siblings and their spouses. I think I have such a good looking family. I love them all, and love spending time with them. We are lucky to have such great relationships. I think it's pretty rare. Pictured also is my Grandma Hafen who is 96 years old. She is such an amazing lady and I love whenever my kids and I can spend time with her.

After a week in St.George, we headed to Bountiful for a week.. Here is a picture of the long awaited Christmas morning. Taylor made the boys replay the morning just like he always did ... waiting on the stairs till you just can't wait any longer! We were glad Aaron and Alison were able to be there with us Christmas morning too -- it was so fun to watch the kids open presents.

Christmas morning was pretty much by the book. Santa came and ate his yummy cookies and the reindeer ate all the oats we sprinkled on the ground outside. It was completely white outside from the snow and plenty of presents to go around.

Luke and Jake of course loved the nerf fighting set they received (I don't know why we encourage that kind of behavior, we get enough of it without initiating anything!). They also got a digital camera and a leapster to keep them busy during our travels.

They especially loved the shaving kits they recieved -- JUST LIKE DAD! Bathtimes are much more fun these days.

And of course, Christmas morning breakfast started off with an AMAZING display of german pancakes. I think the name my family uses (Hootin Annies) is much better description, because Grammie Nadauld does a lot of hootin' each time they rise up in the oven like that. My kids love her expression so much, that everytime we make them here in Ohio, they want to call and tell Grammie just how great they turned out. No one's expression is quite as good as hers -- just look at the picture. :)

Tayor's family has a lot of the same tradition as mine -- we all sat around and the grandkids acted out the Nativity while Grandpa read from the bible. I just love Luke's get up here -- notice his nerf protective eye wear he got for Christmas. He is one stylin' shephard.

After the nativity, Grammie played a few Christmas hymns and we all sang together. It really brought the spirit into Christmas for me.

Then of course was the talent show: Jake again, playing his piano piece "up on the roof top" and Luke reciting all the scripture mastery songs he knows. 4 so far.

In the Nadauld family, you are pretty motivated to perform a talent, because after you do -- you earn a Christmas present from Grammie and Grampie. SO worth it!

The big kids exchanged presents too. Taylor was really proud of his gift for Lincoln. Full body (footed) pajamas.

Lookin' good Linc! Lookin' good.

Each year, Taylor's grandma holds a fun Christmas party for all his mom's family. It is always a great time to renew acquaintances for the in-laws and for the immediate cousins to remince all the Manti Christmas adventures. We sure Love grandma great, and look forward to her parties each year.



This picture is of Taylor's entire family taken at Grandma Dyreng's party. After our baby is born, and Rebecca's (due 3 weeks later) we will have 40 family members. Wow -- pretty amazing!

Jacob's FIrst Recital

What a proud moment for a parent. Jacob had his first piano recital tonight. He was so nervous. On the way to the recital, he asked what would happen if he started out bad and played the whole song wrong? I told him that probably wouldn't happen, but that he would have the next recital to do better if that did happen.

He did pretty well performing. He got a little nervous and made a couple mistakes. But due to bad weather, we had a small crowd so he was able to play the song again a little later and did much better. The big piano and big room must have been a little too exciting. I'm just impressed he can read piano notes already.

Here is his teacher and one of my good friends, Joy Laurence! She has much more patience than I do -- I can't even keep my temper under control when we are practicing -- how does she teach these little ones on a regular basis!? :) She does a great job and we are so glad we are friends with her and her cute kids.

SO -- keep on practicing Jacob. We loved attending your recital and hope we have many more to look forward to.

School Christmas Programs..

Luke's class was first and boy was he a ham! Everyone was laughing at him and his animated singing and performing. He LOVED it. Everyone commented on how outgoing he is.

Here are his teachers Mrs. Young and Mrs Simmons.

And this is his whole Class

Jake's Class program was the next day, and was about the same program as Luke's. A few songs and finger plays and a couple Christmas stories.

I didn't think Jacob would be the star of the show like Luke, but he really likes to perform. He sang all the words to his songs very loudly. :) afterwards I had several people commenting to me how fun it was to watch him too.

Above, is Jake with his teachers, Mrs. Richardson, and Mrs. Hutchinson.

Below is a picture of his whole class.

We sure love preschool around here!!

Time to Get Ready for Christmas..

Since it's officially snowed around here, we need to get in gear and get our decorations for Christmas up. We don't have many decorations -- but we have a small tree that we like to light up.

Here is a picture of me and the boys stringing our popcorn and cranberry garland. It always turns out so cute, and the boys really did a good job with their needles and thread. They both were able to make their own strands. After the garland is finished, we hang candy canes in all the perfect places to make the tree look especially yummy. :)

Grandma Heaton got Jake and Luke these darling Christmas suits. The boys can't wait for Sundays and ask if they look like a "million bucks" in their new cloths. Of course they do -- sometimes, they even look like a "zillion bucks."

The first Real Snow Fall of the Season

It has flurried a few times in the last month, but today was the first good snow of the season. We actually had snow plows out on the roads.

The boys were very excited to suit up and go play. They started by helping Dad shovel the driveway and then off to the sledding hill.

As you can see the grass through the snow, we only got a few centimeters/inches out of the storm, but it was definitely enough to get the sleds moving!

As Jake says, "it's Christmas time, there is snow out!" We sure are excited for this time of year.