Christmas is Love

I love Christmas trees, and I especially love my Christmas tree. It is a beautiful, fake, flocked tree with big huge lights. Some may say fake trees are not good -- to them I say...yes, they are!
I love hearing my boys play and sing on Christmas eve. And reading the scriptural account of the prophets testifying of Jesus' birth. And having pancakes for dinner. Awesome.
I love seeing stockings hung over my fireplace, and sitting by that fireplace drinking hot chocolate or herbal tea. Yes, it's a "fake" fireplace, not a real wood burning one, and I love it. No mess, no soot, just warmth and coziness.
I love seeing my boys still get excited over what gifts they might receive, even though they are so grown up and mature now.
I love seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child, or in our case, beautiful twins! The looks on their faces were priceless as they rode their toy cars and horses. So precious!
I love our new family tradition of a talent show on Christmas night. Kinsley and Jessica started us off with a cute poem.
Kyson and Bryce handed out reindeer poop to all of us, with Kyson dressed up as Rudolph. Love!
Our family did a silly rendition of "Hot Potato" by The Wiggles. We decided next year we will perform a very spiritual talent that will bring everyone to tears instead of making them wonder what planet we came from!
Nikki and Stephen read the story of the Grinch, with Jocelyn helping by playing Cindi Loo Who.
Kenny and Megan provided entertainment and a commercial break all at the same time!
Danny performed a piece he has been working on for quite some time on Guitar Hero. It was beautiful!
I love the newest addition to our little family -- our soon to be daughter, Corinne. She brings such joy and happiness to all of us. What a great blessing to have her in our lives!
I love relaxing and visiting with my family after all the presents have been opened, dinner has been cleaned up, and the so called "hustle and bustle" are over.
I love the wonder of Christmas, and all of the magic it brings to us.
I love holding the babies, feeding the babies, changing the babies, rocking the babies, playing with the babies, and everything else about the babies. They remind me of the precious Christ child, so small and innocent and full of love.

I love Christmas because if only for a short time, the world is full of peace, and we remember the greatest gift that was ever given to the world -- Love.

White Christmas and 25 Years!

This year we were so excited to go see Pioneer Theater's production of White Christmas. We weren't disappointed, the show was awesome!




It was our 25th anniversary this month, and the boys and Corinne decided to surprise us with a delicious dinner. This is what my kitchen looked like when they were done -- not too bad!
Michael made steaks, Corinne made rice, Devin made green salad, and Jaron brought Chocolate Satin pie.
Dinner was served in the formal dining room (aka living room) by romantic candle light and the lights from the tree.
Jaron was in charge of decorations for the night, and he did a terrific job! They gave us a framed picture of us on our wedding day and some lovely candles. How sweet is that?
David gave me a ring and 25 roses, 5 of them being white for each member of our family. What a wonderful 25 years it has been, and I am so thankful to have such thoughtful sons who went to all that effort for us!

Crazy Christmas Caroling

Jaron's job is working as a caroler at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake, so we went down to hear him sing.
While we were there, Devin met Santa in the lobby and gave him his wish list.
The carolers: Jaron, Shalee, Gretchen(?), and Branndon.
The Barney boys. Aren't they cute?
Devin and Michael wanted to try caroling too, they did really well....

Lucky for us, the people at the hotel were very patient and didn't kick us out! Jaron did a great job caroling and we had tons of fun watching him. So much Christmas fun!

Giving Thanks

We were so excited to have Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. I was happy to have all of my boys home, at least part of the day, and all of Debbie's kids except Jessica and Bryce were there as well. (They were in California with Bryce's family)
After a yummy turkey dinner, we went to a movie (our Thanksgiving tradition) and then we played some fun games for prizes. Michael beat Jaron at blowing a card off of the table in Minute to Win it. Jaron was laughing so hard that he ran out of air!
We played Pit, which got a little bit too loud for grandma, but it was seriously fun!
Devin was happy with his prize of a jar of Jelly Bellys. That's his happy face :)
Jaron won a water bottle and some popcorn. What more does a college student need?
It was fun having Corinne with us for the first time. She found out that holidays with the Barneys/Hirschis can be pretty entertaining! Nikki, Stephen and Danny also won some sweet prizes.
Kenny and Megan joined us and provided a delicious dulce de lece dessert. I probably spelled that wrong, but it was mui bueno!
My mom hates getting her picture taken, so this is what she gets for not smiling for the camera! We were so glad she was able to make the trip out to be with us! We love our little mama!
After eating a huge dinner, playing games, going to a movie, and scanning all the ads for the best black friday sales, we were all pretty exhausted. Debbie and Karl needed a little nap.

I feel extremely grateful for my family this year. I don't know what I would do without each one of them. This year has proved to be more challenging than I ever could have imagined, but with the support of our family, and the strength of our faith, we have made it through.

I was a little bit of a scrooge when the holidays came around this year. I had no desire to decorate my home or start Christmas shopping, when usually those things bring me great joy. But then I talked to a dear friend of mine who is living in a foreign country, far away from her extended family, friends, home and everything familiar to her. She only has a few decorations to put up, and only the bottom half of her Christmas tree was shipped to them. But she is making the best of it, not complaining, and has a spirit of gratitude. I realized after talking to her that my life here is good, the holidays are worth celebrating, that I am blessed beyond measure and my cup is overflowing. Today and every day, I will give thanks for all that I have. And that's a lot.

Cancun

We didn't plan to go to Mexico twice in one year, it just kind of turned out that way. But, we definitely love it there, and would go a third time if we could! This visit was to Cancun, and we had a blast! We visited the ruins at the ancient city of Tulum. It was beautiful, and it felt like we were on hallowed ground there. It was a site of an ancient Mayan temple and homes.
We went with Debbie, Karl and Danny and had a great time being with them. We always manage to have lots of fun!
We visited the island of Cozumel and rode scooters around the island. It only took us about an hour and a half to go all the way around.
Devin spent most of his down time swimming in the pool. He loves the water!
A really cool place to visit if you are ever in Cancun is Xplor. It is a place with underground rivers where you can swim, canoe, drive amphibious vehicles, and ride zip lines through the jungle.
Once again, we got to wear stylish helmets. I guess they didn't want us cracking our skulls open, so we were happy to oblige.
Devin particularly enjoyed the Mexican lemonade. They make it extra lemon-y and sparkly and delicious!
Posing for a picture by an extremely large Mayan head sculpture. What more can I say?
We had lots of great food to eat during the week. The restaurants have to compete for your business, so the food is always top notch.
This was our home away from home, the Royal Cancun. It was very nice and we can't wait to go back again!

Sundance

Last weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Our family had access to a home at Sundance, and we were thrilled to go and have some family fun together.
The leaves were just beginning to change color, and, as usual, that meant taking some family photos.
The seven bedroom home was gorgeous, and just the right size for all of us to hang out in.
It felt so good to have my family around me, and to feel the love that we have for each other. It was a very healing experience.
This is the entrance to the beautiful mountain home we were privileged to stay in.
We took the ski lift to the top of the mountain and the scenery was absolutely stunning. I could simply not believe that such beauty exists so close to where I live, and I had never seen it until now.
My mom was able to come and join in on the fun. We were so glad to have her there with us. We all love her so much.
This weekend was extremely special, because the previous week, we almost lost Jaron. That experience had us shaken, upset, and emotionally drained. So to come to such a peaceful, beautiful place was just what we all needed.
I believe in miracles, now more than ever. I know that it is a miracle that Jaron is still here with us, and that God watches over his children and helps them through their challenges and trials.
Life is so very precious. It is a gift from our loving Heavenly Father. He loves us more than we can possibly understand or comprehend. I am so thankful for the gift of life, for my family that is always there for me, for friends who are so concerned and supportive, and for those who worked so hard to save Jaron's life. I can never say thank you enough to all of them, and to my Father in Heaven for all he has done for me.