It's About Time

I've never before had a kid this big or this old still sleeping a crib, but this cribbie has been Ben's happy little home for over 3 years now. He spent the first 6 months sleeping in my closet in his little portable bassinet, but since then, the cribbie's been his world. Ben's sisters all moved out of the cribbie before now because there was always another sibling on the way to take over the crib. For Ben, this hasn't been an issue. He has always loved his cribbie and never even climbed out of it until about a month ago. But, as his 4th birthday inches closer (now within 3 months), I guess it's time to retire the cribbie and time to grow up a little.


Ben is very happy with his new little bed. Granted, at almost 4, he probably should have gone directly to a twin, but . . . he's our baby - so the toddler bed it is! (Hey Lacey can still fit in it and she's 8, so leave me alone!) His new bed is just perfect for showcasing his new quilt made by Grandma Judy.

Looking good! Ben says he's definitely a big boy now. Anybody need a cribbie?

Peaceful Christmas Day

Another Christmas has come and gone, and I am reminded, once again, of how very quickly we pass from one Christmas to the next year after year. As I was putting out my Christmas lights at the beginning of the month, I could have sworn that I had barely put those lights away. And, I know that next year, when I go to once again wrap my trees and bushes with tiny white, red, and green lights, I will, again, swear that I had just packed the lights in their boxes to store in the garage until next year. So it is with everything in our lives, huh? Time marches on and we can either deliberately choose to enjoy it or lose ourselves in the vastness of it.

As I experience the whirlwind of the month of December, I am amazed that amid all the business and craziness that I always seem to surround myself with, there are moments of pure enjoyment when the Christmas spirit abounds. Some of the highlights of this season for me have been singing in the Christmas program at church with our ward choir, visiting Grandma Jo and going to the live nativity in St. George, and going to our friends house to hear their children play amazing music on the piano & then singing Christmas carols as they played their guitars. Every year I promise myself that I am going to get more of my holiday "to-do's" completed by the beginning of the month so that I can just relish the whole season, rather than just tiny glimpses of it, but I never seem to be successful. Perhaps next year . . .

Though I am always a little sad when Christmas day arrives, because I know the season is over, I am also a bit relieved at the fact, that the season is over. I always love Christmas day because after all the gifts are opened, it is truly a day for peace, quiet, rest, and family. My children, thankfully, don't wake up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. We have never opened gifts in the dark, though I know of many families that do. This year we went downstairs about 7:30 am to see all that Santa had brought to our kids and then open our gifts from each other.

I loved the "just woke up" dazed look on Lacey's face. I am pretty sure that a similar picture of me when I was about Lacey's age exists in the archives of the Zobrist family.

Here's Lacey - still dazed - checking out the guitar she got from Santa.
Santa also brought her a Baby Alive.

. . . and later - a little less dazed.

Santa brought Katie an iPod touch - just what she wanted! :)
I think she's growing up - *sniff sniff*

Ben was excited about his Handy Manny motorcycle and helicopters that Santa left for him.

Santa brought Madi speakers for her iPod and some picture frames for framing her photography. I don't have a picture of her with her Santa gifts - but here she is opening a gift from mom & dad.

Daddy bought Ben Rock'em Sock'em Robots. In reality, this gift was for Brad, but we'll just pretend that it's for Ben.

Present time - Christmas morning surprises are the greatest!

Madi claims that she was being really cheesy on purposed when she posed for this picture, but I think she looks really cute.

Katie was very excited to open her new nap blanket.
Madi opened one earlier and Katie was very envious.

After we open presents, Brad always makes a delicious breakfast that includes his semi-famous blueberry pancakes. We feed my mom and dad, and Mike and Karla usually come to join us too. After we eat, we open our presents from my parents. My mom loves to give gifts and we are very grateful recipients. She buys multiple gifts for every member of our family - that's over 30 people! She's a little crazy, I'll admit, but she loves it - can't you tell by that look on her face?

The kids got an extra-special present from Brad and I this year. We bought them a new TV and DVD player and set it up in the playroom so that they can play their Wii games and watch movies.
They have hardly come out of the room since Christmas afternoon.

On Christmas night, we usually go back to my mom and dad's to eat our Christmas Eve leftovers, which we did once again, this year. It's fun to get together and not have to worry a lot of food preparation. I am very thankful for the peaceful Christmas days of my life that have often followed a month of non-stop activities. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

For the size of my family, this year's Christmas Eve celebration was a bit meager with just my family and my brother Phillip's family along with my mom and dad. My other four siblings were either celebrating on their own or with their spouse's family. Although we missed everyone, a small group has its benefits. There's not nearly as many dishes to do and not nearly as many screaming, wild, overly-excited children to cause total anarchy.

We enjoy staying home for Christmas, and since my parents live just up the street, we usually find ourselves at their home each year to share Christmas Eve dinner. Our family's tradition has always been to have a big dinner on Christmas Eve with ham and in the past several years, a prime rib along with what we call special potatoes (better known as funeral potatoes), homemade rolls, salad, and other side dishes - anyone attending dinner contributes in one way or another. This year I made the potatoes, rolls, and a red jello (always a request of my parents). My mom set up a lovely table in her dining room for our feast. It's a big deal when the kids get to eat in the dining too, because most of the time, the "adult" table is in the dining room and the "kid" table is in the kitchen. Probably not a big surprise to anyone.

Continuing with our tradition, following dinner, we always read the story of Christ's birth in Luke 2 of the New Testament, and whatever kids are present, play all the parts. This year, our high school freshman, Sophie and Madi were our narrators.

Because so many of the kids are getting older, and consider themselves much too grown up to dress up anymore, we were very short on actors and actresses for this year - with a grand total of 4. Lacey and Kara played dual roles - first as animals and later as an angel and shepherd. The last couple of years, these 2 have always played Mary and Joseph, so it was a great opportunity for them to branch out :)

Ben was old enough to play Joseph this year - so this was the first year that we have actually had a boy portray Joseph.

Annalise was Mary - aren't they the cutest??

Our final Christmas Eve family tradition, which I think is a tradition shared by just about everyone I ever meet, is to open up new PJs on Christmas Eve. This year I opted to buy just the bottoms because that's all the girls end up ever wearing anyway - plus it saved me money!

Ben, however, always loves a good pair of flannel, "grandpa" style pj's, so he got matching tops and bottoms. He also got some Spiderman sunglasses, so he thought he was very cool, as exhibited by his pose here in front of the Christmas tree!

Happy Birthday Granddad

Granddaddy Ken turns 70 years old today! He is the youngest 70-year-old I know! He is so active and so youthful in body and spirit that you would never know he was 70. I am very thankful to have Ken as my father-in-law. He is the greatest dad and granddad.

I am very fortunate to have a wonderful husband who is the product of the two people in this photograph. The person Brad is today is a direct reflection of the type of parents Ken and Judy were as he was growing up. I just feel fortunate to have married into such an amazing family.

Ken is an example to his family. He is dedicated, kind, and easy going. He is easy to please - just hand him an oreo or a jar of peanuts. He is Brad's fishing buddy. Ken loves to fish, and since he has retired, can be found on the river at least once a day all summer and as late into the fall as possible. Brad will frequently receive phone calls from his dad to tell him about the results of the day's escapades on the river. Ken's also a pretty handy guy to have around, and I am so glad that he imparted this talent to Brad. Once he came down for a visit so he could help Brad move and rebuild a closet in Katie and Lacey's room. Ken also spent time helping build our school playground, a memory my children will always hold dear. Everyone in this house loves our Granddaddy Ken! Happy Birthday!

A New Christmas Tradition

You would be hard-pressed to find something that could get you more in the Christmas spirit than spending an hour fully enveloped by all the grace and goodness of your grandma who has lived for 100 years, followed by viewing a live re-enactment of the Christmas nativity. Yes - most definitely hard-pressed. Our little Saturday-afternoon and evening trip to St. George to visit with Grandma Jo has been a true highlight in all of our holiday festivities. In fact, on our ride home, we decided that this little trip needed to become a new tradition that we do every year, and one that I really wish we would have started a long time ago.

Grandma wanted to see the picture in the camera right after I took it. Then she declared that she looked pretty good for 100! Absolutely - she looks great!

Visiting with grandma was an absolute delight. She shared stories of her childhood with the kids, and we talked about what she did on her 100th birthday. She was surprised by her son, Doug, with a long drive to Alamo, Nevada to visit the places of her youth. That little town is apparently steeped in tradition and history because she said it was still the same in many ways. I've never been to Alamo so I'll take her word for it. We also heard about what grandma does each day. She was very proud that she still washes her own hair, & she's not too excited by food anymore, so she drinks a nutritional shake a few times each day. The highlight of her day is when Doug comes to her room to get her in the evening so they can watch a movie together. Grandma also showed us a couple of the hand-crocheted bandages that she works on everyday to donate to our church humanitarian effort. I can't help but wonder if that little bit of service she does each day is part of the secret to her longevity - that and the rootbeer floats she and Doug go get twice a week. I was curious if she went to the dr. to at least check her blood pressure or her heart - the answer is "No." She's just a little tiny miracle, quietly living each day being the very best 100-year-old that she can be.

I talked to grandma about how we have been reading some of her life story as a family and that we liked the part about how, as a child, she was always singing. She immediately started to sing some of the songs she remembered from her childhood. I told her that Madi was just like her and was always singing. So, of course, grandma wanted the girls to sing her a song. They were shy and didn't want to oblige, but we finally begged long enough and they eventually succumbed. Madi and Katie sang a beautiful song then we all sang a couple of Christmas carols. It was sweet. Ben was shy, but decided it was OK to be close to grandma if he sat on his dad's lap.

It was a joy to spend a little time with Grandma Jo, and I mean that sincerely, it was pure joy to be around her. I could feel of the goodness and righteousness of grandma's spirit and I felt blessed to be in her presence. She is such an example of enduring to the end!


After our visit with grandma we went to the Tuacahn outdoor theater (which incidentally was founded by Brad's uncle Doug) to see a live re-enactment of the nativity. We walked in and sat on the front row. It was simple and short, but just perfect for helping find that Christmas spirit in this ever-crazy and distracting world.

Ben and dad keeping warm in the outdoor theater.

The girls tried to keep warm by putting Lacey on their lap. Poor Katie, who wore flip flops for the trip and brought socks to change into, couldn't find her socks - so her feet were freezing! She wrapped Lacey's scarf around her feet in an attempt to warm them, but it didn't work too terrifically. You would think, by the look on Madi's face, that she was the one with cold feet - but no - it was Katie - who kindly smiled through her pain :)

The highlight of the nativity was the live camel - check him out on the far right.

One more shot of the camel - leaving the stage at the end of the presentation.

Of course there were beautiful lights outside the theater.

While in St. George we also drove by the temple to see the grounds all decorated with lights for Christmas. Next year we will make it point to get out and walk around there too. The lights were fabulous - almost a little mini Temple Square going on there.

We made a quick stop at Harmon's grocery store to buy some cinnamon bears and gummi raspberries as well as a gift card for my dad for Christmas. These are little indulgences for himself and all the grandkids. He brings the candies to church every Sunday and passes them out to my kids (I manage to score a few myself, as well) and the grandkids all ask for them when they come to his house. Every time he goes to the cabin he stops by Harmon's to get his candy stash, so - I figure he will definitely use a gift card from there. It was a relief to check that gift off my list since my dad is one tough guy to buy for! My dad says Harmon's cinnamon bears are the best. I believe him.

Our final stop before heading home was to eat dinner at The Brick Oven. I was very excited to find out that my favorite restaurant from my BYU days in Provo was now in St. George - only 2 hours away, rather than 6! Yay!

It felt so good to drive home that night, knowing that we had spent a memorable time together as a family. Everyone was in good spirits and the kids all actually got along for the 2-hour drive home. Christmas spirit was in plentiful supply that night! Joy to the World!!

The Big E-i-g-h-t

Has it really been 8 years since that little curly, dark-haired newborn baby girl was placed in my arms. I couldn't believe she was mine. No - I mean I really couldn't believe it! Surely this chubby-cheeked, olive-skinned, furrowed-brow, short, chubby baby girl with more hair than I had ever seen on a newborn belonged to the hispanic family down the hall.


But there were enough eye-witnesses to attest that she was indeed mine, and oh how I loved this little baby girl. I remember feeling blessed to have 3 beautiful daughters. Life. felt. perfect.

I thought it would be hard to have a newborn at Christmastime, but truly, it was one of the most beloved and cherished times of my life. I remember laying on my bed for the first few days of her life, just holding her while she gently slept on my chest. We had some quiet mommy-baby time while daddy took Madi and Katie for a little trip to visit Grandma Judy and Granddaddy Ken right before Christmas. That Christmas, more than ever, I thought about the mother of another baby - and how she must have felt after giving birth to the Savior of the World. Amy Grant's song "Breath of Heaven" became my favorite Christmas song that year. For truly Heaven visited our earthly home that Christmas in 2001, and oh how I loved that baby girl.


And now - Heaven is replaced with mostly chaos, interspersed with an occasional quiet moment, but life is still as perfect as can be with this beautiful 8-year-old daughter.


Lacey at 8 is fiesty, smart, independent (when she chooses), the baby girl (when she chooses), a great speller, lover of math, interested in playing a musical instrument, Nintendo DS player, Sponge Bob addict, soccer playing, mother to her dolls. She is a watchful big sister to Ben and pesky little sister to Katie and Madi, and oh how I love this 8-year-old girl.

She finds the kitchen table to be an ideal napkin and she cleans her room by stuffing everything (& I mean everything) under her bed. Her fingernails are frequently dirty and she doesn't like braids or fancy little-girl dresses. She likes her shirts to be tight-fitting, and she loves when mom reads her a story. She begs dad to take her to 7-11 and buy her powdered donuts and a slurpee. She's rather bossy and extremely persistent. She's a debater, always ready to negotiate her point, and oh how love my 8-year-old girl.

Rather than do it herself, she prefers to have mom or dad make her toast, get her a drink, pour milk on her cereal, or dish up her dinner plate. She likes to be tucked in at night, although she is starting to resist hugs and "I love you's" - unless she initiates such behavior. She is loving and sweet, yet capable of being naughty. And occasionally, she gets really, really mad. But always, she is a bright and shining light in our home. She is our Lacey Grace and oh how we love her!

Lacey's 8th birthday ended up being a 3-day celebration. Here are a few highlights -

The Big E-I-G-H-T Part One

The day before her actual birthday, Grandma Judy and Granddaddy were in town and we had Sunday dinner with them, Mammy and Poppy, and Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Russ's family. Lacey opened presents from the family that evening. She also had a pretty, pink birthday cake. (For some reason I forgot to pull out the camera until cake time so I missed getting pictures of the family - bummer!)



The Big E-I-G-H-T Part Two

Lacey's birthday was on a Monday, so bright and early that morning, we headed to the school for Lacey's annual birthday circle. During her birthday circle we show pictures and share highlights from each year of her life. She carries a globe with her, and each time she walks around the circle, it represents the passage of another year of her life. It was a special treat to have grandma and granddad there.

Lacey shows photos to her classmates from the 5th & 6th year of her life

Everyone oohed & ahhed as Lacey showed her class the beautiful, warm and cozy handmade quilt that Grandma Judy made for her.

Lacey blowing out the traditional candle in the center of the birthday circle.

Grandma and granddad left to go home right after the birthday circle. That evening we celebrated as a family by going to see some amazing Christmas lights. Our first stop was the garden atrium at the Bellagio Hotel, where they decorate with fresh flowers and plants. This polar bear is made completely of flowers.

My favorite part of the display this year was this gingerbread house - again made from flowers.

Ben's favorite part of the display were the 2 trains that went around and around at the entrance. We could hardly tear him away.

Our next stop was the M Hotel where they had the world's largest living Christmas tree on display.

I had to take this up-close picture to show that the tree is definitely REAL.

You could see the tree from miles away!

Our final stop of the night was the Ethel M Cactus Garden where we met up with Uncle Jared and Aunt Katie and their kids. The gardens were as beautiful and bright as ever. This is one of my favorite stops every Christmas season.




The Big E-I-G-H-T Part Three

The final chapter of Lacey's 8th birthday was her big movie party that Friday afternoon. It was the Friday school got out for winter break, so there was double reason to celebrate! Mammy and Poppy were gracious enough to let Lacey invite a few friends and use their movie theater for her party.

Friends from school and church, along with cousin Kara all helped celebrate this grand occasion.

Getting ready to watch "The Grinch"

Presents and cupcakes in the shape of an "8" ended the night