Merry Christmas to you and yours

  I love Christmas.  It's my favorite time of the year.  This year I have been thinking about Jesus and his life.  I came across a video called "What shall we give?"  It's about giving instead of getting.  It's about service.  The end of the video reads "What will you give Christmas?" If you drop the last syllable it becomes the Spirit of Christ. "What will you give Christ?"  Christ gave us so much and what he asks for is so little and simple.  What do I want to give back to Him?  Just a little thought I wanted to share with you.
  Allow me to give you a quick update on the family.  This year has been a challenging one for our family.  With that being said we have been very blessed this year by miracles.  Ryan still has a job.  He has been working on a house we bought last November.  He has remodeled the house and has done a fabulous job with it.  It's not a huge house but one we hope to get paid off a lot faster.  This summer he took Adrian backpacking for the first time.  He took some amazing photos in the hills of Idaho.  He had the opportunity to have a man's getaway which he really needed to do.  He is Cub Master (I hope I am calling it right....he is in scouts).  LOL!!  He has stayed very busy this year with work and fixing the house.
  I am still at home with the kids.  This past March I turned the big 40!! I had a girls getaway to Las Vegas.  It was wonderful!!  I enjoyed my getaway with family and friends.  We shared a garden with 3 other families in our ward.  It was nice to have fresh fruit and veggies out of our garden.  We grew corn, potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkins, cantaloupe, honeydew, beans and tomatoes.  I canned grape juice, applesauce, apple pie filling and tomato sauce.  I am grateful to friends whom have taught me new skills.  I made homemade bread for the first time this year.  It was wonderful.  I was very proud of myself.  Um....I learned new parenting skills also. LOL!  Let's face it, raising kids isn't always easy.  Come this February Ryan and I will celebrate 18 years of marriage! He is my best friend. :)
  Adrian is our acrobatic comedian.  He is our little break dancer.  He can stand on his head and spin.  It's pretty amazing.  He is in kindergarten and LOVES it.  Especially when they do crafts.  He draws and writes really well.  He is at the top of his class in learning.  His favorite sport to do is boxing.  He thinks it's a fun sport to play.  He has a heart of gold.  He is always thinking of others and wanting to make them things or write them a note.  He is 5 years old.
  Kayla is our little singing toadette.  She too is smart like Adrian.  She can count 1 to 15.  She sings all the time and knows all the words to her songs.  She is very girly.  Bling, shoes and shiny things are her favorite.  She will pick fights with Adrian or tease him.  I try not to laugh but somethings she does is really funny.  If Adrian starts the fight she won't back down from him.  :) She picks her own clothes out.  She is 2 years old.
  Life has been interesting over the past year.  We will be moving towards the end of January. We are looking forward to the new year.  We hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  May God Bless you and keep you safe. We love and miss you all.