Some favorite Christmas moments...

2011 was the year of two trees.
I have been wanting to use blue, silver and white (a childhood thing) in my Christmas decor for awhile now so this was the year I changed things up and put a blue and silver tree and all those winter-y decorations in our big room and brought our warm and cozy kid's Christmas decor into our family room.
I loved having both!




I like to keep the decorations up until the new year rings in.

The cutest elf.

Christmas morning mayhem.
It's so fun to sit back and watch it all unfold through the eyes of our kids.

Our annual get together with the Slades.
One of my favorite parts of our Christmas activities.
Yummy food, even better company and the family photo!

We eventually get one that works!

And the newest addition to the family is this absolutely delicious piece of heaven...
Elliott.

And underneath that stocking hat are ginger curls galore.
He's a keeper.

Whatever your Christmas traditions and activities are,
I hope you feel as blessed and happy as I do.

Merry Christmas!

Dear family and friends,

Here we are at the end of 2011. We’ve had an eventful year so let’s get started on the details!

To celebrate the milestones of our 20th wedding anniversary, Maddison turning 16, Davis being 12 and receiving the Priesthood and Cooper turning 8 and being baptized we made an unforgettable trip to Nauvoo. Brent and I had been planning and saving for three years to make it happen at this particular time when our kids were all at just the right ages. Kansas City was our first stop. We saw ALL the church history sites; the highlights being Liberty Jail and Adam-ondi-ahman. We ate lots of BBQ, went to a Royals baseball game and toured the Truman Library. We stopped in Hannibal, MO and got a giant dose of all things Mark Twain. It was lots of fun and so beautiful being right on the banks of the Mississippi River. Four days in Nauvoo allowed us to explore and enjoy it to the fullest. No stone went unturned. The highlights were Carthage Jail, the pageant and trips to the temple for Brent, myself, Maddie and Davis. Although the summer heat and humidity was intense, Nauvoo in the summer is the time to go. There is a tangible feeling and spirit there that made you want to linger. Keeping the “Nauvoo Spirit” alive in our family is a joke we often make but honestly it is real and something to treasure. It will be a life long favorite memory for us.

Maddison is a Junior this year and turned 16 in June. She celebrated in fine fashion with 50 of her closest friends. HA HA! Dating and driving are two of her favorite pass times and I do have to say that having an extra driver in the family is very nice. She spent a week at BYU this summer enjoying EFY and making lots new friends. Playing basketball at her high school and being an excellent student keep her out of trouble and plenty busy. Our time with her is going too fast. How do you hang on??

Davis made his theatre debut as Daddy Warbucks in the school musical “Annie” in May. He took the stage with a freshly shaved head and all! It was great fun to see some of his many talents shine. He played baseball in the spring and worked hard in Scouts all through the summer. He is a Life now and planning an Eagle project. Davis began Junior High this year and loved playing 7th grade football. He is trying wrestling now and learning that if it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger.

Cooper is in the third grade. He turned 8 in February and it was wonderful to celebrate his baptism surrounded by family and friends. He is most happy on a baseball or football field. He loved playing Little League this year with his Dad coaching them to end the season as Champions. Football this fall was a good lesson in learning you can’t always win when they lost the Championship game by a touchdown. Life lessons are good! He enjoys Scouts and is now a Wolf with a shirt and belt full of accomplishments : )






Brent keeps extra busy now that he is the Young Men’s President. He is excited to have this calling a 2nd time as the first time around he was 10 years younger and less “wise”. I am still a ward missionary and enjoying the spirit of missionary work in our ward and neighborhood. Brent had a business trip to Seattle a couple months ago and so I tagged along. Being back in our newly wed stomping grounds was a romantic and fun way to celebrate our 20th anniversary. It was a wonderful five days!

We send our love and warmest wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a new year filled with much happiness.

Love ~ Brent, Andrea, Maddison, Davis and Cooper

a birth day story...

How each of my children made their way into the world has their similarities and differences.

I'm an epidural girl but when I was in labor with Davis, the meds never caught up to how quickly he was making his entrance.  The meds finally kicked in when it was all over and he was in my arms.  Because of that I was totally aware of every little detail during the process of getting him here.  When Davis was born I was actually sitting up enough that I was able to see him emerge and bring him up to snuggle into my warm, spent body.

That moment ~
It took my breath away. Truly.

I can still feel it.
The emotion of when I caught my breath.
I've never felt so close to God.

He's offically a teenager now and somehow I know he'll glide through it all.

I knew from the moment I saw him that he was going to be something special.

And he has been.  And is.  And will be.

Happy Birthday my beautiful boy!

Cooper has been busy...

Cooper finished up another season of flag football.  He loves it!
His favorite part of the week was when Friday finally rolled around and he could go to practice and look forward to a game the next day.

The Vikings were a great little team.
Undefeated until...



The final tournament game when they went up against another undefeated team for a chance at the title of
CHAMPIONS!

They lost by just a touchdown but by the look on my little man's face you'd think it was by a mile.

Maybe losing by only a touchdown is much worse than losing by a mile.
As a mom, I'm still trying to figure that one out : )


Cooper also enjoyed Cub Scout Day Camp a couple months ago.
We took almost 30 boys to Usery Park and hiked the Wind Cave trail and in so doing I made a mental note to myself that hiking really is not my thing.

But he's worth it.

Oh! For the love of Pete...

Just in case you missed this indulgence this year...
I'm giving you plenty of notice for next year.

No thanks necessary : )

Don't let this one pass you by!

It's Day 5 on our ADVENT...

How far that little candle throws its beams!

So shines a good deed...

~ Shakespeare

It's time to pull out the advent and start the countdown.

As I was pondering how to pull it off this year, I was inspired by Rachel's idea of a service advent.

She put much thought into her countdown using Christ's words from the New Testament.

So I'm taking her inspiration and tweaking it here and there for my family.

Instead of pockets being filled with treats, cash or instant gratification, the pockets will be filled with opportunities for our family to look outward and let our little candles throw their beams.

Oh, I haven't let the other things go completely.  For instance, on one day when we read Luke 6:31-46, it teaches us "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise."
So along with this invitation (and we have to report at dinner time) I have included some Christmas Tic Tacs that say "here's a little something to keep your smile and words of love to others minty fresh!"

And so it will go throughout the season...

I'm hoping it will be a memorable advent this year.

Starting December off right...

Please enjoy this Christmas message of pure love...