Christmas!

We had a great first Christmas with our little ones. They were very excited about opening presents. Timothy and I are concerned about the way Christmas has become over commercialized and a time of greediness for children. We made it a point not to ask them what they wanted for Christmas, but to think about what others may like or want. They got to pick out presents to give to Mommy, Daddy, each other, cousins, grandparents, and their former foster family. We also tried to make a point during the opening of presents about giving to each other. So, they each took a turn finding the gifts that they had gotten for others and handed them out. During the day we spent a lot of family time playing and exploring. After ham and rice for Christmas dinner we went on a walk to try to unwind the children from their sugar high. We sang carols as we walked and stopped at one neighbor's house to sing to them. We also took the time to watch a DVD about the birth of Christ Christmas evening.

On Christmas morning we let them get their stockings when they first woke up. After breakfast and getting dressed we began the giving of gifts. Hyrum started, although he wasn't sure he wanted to let go of the gifts he had. He got excited when Bekah gave him one to open.

Here is Brigham giving Daddy his present


The children opening the presents I gave them- New Towels!!


Timothy gave Brigham and Rebekah tents and Hyrum got a flash light and ball to go along with the theme


Despite the fact that Bekah has so many dolls she was very excited to get three new dolls for Christmas from various people.

Brigham got a wooden puzzle train (sorry, had to delete the picture temporarily)

Hyrum got this raccoon from his "Nana" (previous foster-mom) and loves it!

We hope each of you had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a wonderful new year!

Teaching about Christ's birth

We've been talking to the children about Jesus' birthday since we set up the Christmas tree on December 7th. That's what they think Christmas is all about and I'm glad. They couldn't even name Santa when they saw him at a church activity- for that I am glad too. We've been trying to focus on Christ and giving. We let the children pick presents for each other and for us. We've been teaching them "Away in a Manger". Their friends started singing Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nose reindeer and they couldn't sing along. But whenever they hear Away in a Manger they can sing along. I have also been teaching the "When Joseph Went to Bethlehem" and Timothy's been teaching them "Silent Night". Those are the types of songs we want our children to associate with Christmas, not the Santa and Snow ones.

By tonight (Christmas Eve) they have a little idea about the story of Santa and are looking forward to their stocking being filled, but we've casually mentioned we're pretending Santa is coming because we don't want to lie to them. I'm sure many of you do things differently in your families and it's okay to have differing opinions, this is just the way we have chosen to handle the mythical characters in our children's lives.

Anyway, tonight we helped them act out the nativity while we read Luke 2.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.


They really seemed to enjoy it. We also sang some carols and talked about the symbols of Christmas.

We helped them set up their stockings on the couch before we got them into bed.

Timothy made the stockings, don't they look great?! I helped a bit with the white and put their names on.

We hope you all are having a great Christmas! Remember Christ as you celebrate for He gave us the most glorious gift of all!

Merry Christmas

Blessing Day

In our church when a new baby is born the family usually gets the baby blessed in the first few months. A Melchizedek priesthood holder (usually the father) can give the baby a name and blessing and that's part of creating a record for the child in our church. Then, when children of record turn eight they can be baptized and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.



Well, since we adopted Brigham and Rebekah we were able to have Timothy bless them and create a record for them. We had to wait until the adoption was final and then we were trying to find a time when the family members who wanted to come could make it out here. So, everything came together for the children to be blessed on Sunday, November 29th.

We dressed Brigham and Rebekah all in white and Timothy blessed them, assisted by his father, Loren; his brother, Dan; and our bishop. We were able to get a few pictures afterward.




These are the same clothes they're going to wear to the temple when we get them sealed to us. (As I've mentioned before, we're waiting until Hyurm's adoption is final and then we're going to seal all three of them to us.) We're looking forward to that blessed day!

Hyrum

Hyrum is our sweet, happy little guy. He is officially a toddler. (Now I have three toddlers!) He began taking his first steps right around his birthday, but hasn't started walking well until this week. Now he walks just about everywhere he wants to go. (Sorry, I haven't capture his new skill with the camera yet.)

He's also learning how to talk. He has his favorite words that he uses regularly, but he also says a miriad of words when we are talking to him. He'll copy us or respond to something we say and shock us by the things that come from this baby's mouth.


He's learning to self-feed and enjoying it to the fullest!


He is learning how to play more and more and really enjoys playing with balls.



His Daddy is his favorite person in the whole world. When Daddy's at school he's happy to have Mom, but when Daddy's home he wants Daddy to hold him, and Daddy to play with him. "Dada, Dada, Dada..."




Hyrum's nick name is Happy-Handsome-Hungry-Hyrum. And it fits him well. He is such a sweet little boy. I can't believe he's growing so fast! We sure love him, and feel so blessed to have him in our family.

PS- We're still waiting to finalize his adoption. Should be another 3-6 months.

Rebekah

Rebekah is a little "Helper". She's always the first one to jump up when someone spills and needs a cloth. She wants to be involved in everything that's going on. She has recently become aware of how she looks when her hair is fixed or left a mess. She's started preferring that her hair is fixed when we're going somewhere, but doesn't care when we're staying home. She also has begun to prefer that I curl her bangs.


Yesterday she wanted her hair curled, so I straightened it and curled the ends. She almost looked like a different girl. She's very beautiful.



Here she is with her girl cousins, Kiera and Sierra. They all wanted their hair done the same way. (Cousins and Uncle Dan and Aunt Cindy came for Thanksgiving.)




She is also developing a strong personality. She likes things done her way and when they're not done her way she lets you know. She went through a short (luckily) phase where she would throw her hand at me when I said or did something she didn't like. Timothy says she's developing her conducting skills.



She has also tried throwing fits, but they're usually short because she's learning that they get her no where with Mom and Dad. (Except maybe her bedroom.)





But, overall, she is a delightful little two-year-old. Her helpfulness comes in handy, and will continue to be a blessing to us as she is able to do more. She is very loving and loves her brothers and us very much. We are so grateful she is a part of our family. We sure love her!

Brigham

Lately Brigham has been "inventing" things... He gathers up a bunch of toys and spends 20-40 minutes arranging them just so in order to create something.



Here is is explaining his creation to me. This is his "TV" that he invented.



This is his culinary masterpiece- he made "dinner" for me!




After giving my boys a similar hair cut I took a picture of them, I think they are starting to look more and more alike. I love my boys! I'm not sure I like their hair this short, but it'll grow. Brigham and Hyrum are starting to learn to play together a bit. It's so fun to watch them, and Hyrum wants to be just like Brigham and do everything he does. Luckily Brigham is usually a good example.

Brigham has a sweet personality. He likes to get attention and if we can catch him and give him positive attention before he tries seeking it in negative ways, then we don't usually have any trouble with his behavior. He has mastered the art of using "please" and "thank you" on his own at appropriate times. He is thoughtful of everyone in the house and is getting really good at cleaning up his messes. He's also recently learned how to use the bathroom on his own without help. (That's been really nice for me!) He's still working on dressing himself, but he gets closer and closer everyday!

He is a happy and fun-loving little guy and we're sure glad he's a part of our family!

For those who check this blog regularly...

We've been sick and then we had family in town and then we've been trying to catch up on life after missing two weeks because of illness and family visits. I'm getting closer to being caught up and then maybe I'll post some pictures and stories. So, don't loose hope... there will me more from us soon!