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Halloween Was Just Yesterday and Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day

I know I’m not the only one who wonders how we got to 2019 so quickly. Time flies!

One late evening, after the kids were in bed and the dishes were done, I sat down to balance the checkbook. As I flipped to the last entry, I discovered I had not updated the balance for two months. Yikes!  Autopay could be blamed because I’m not forced to sit down with the checkbook to pay bills every couple of weeks, but the real culprit is the usual craziness that accompanies the holidays. You’d think online shopping saved me some time—it did, but no matter the conveniences technology brings, I still find myself struggling to keep up. 

It’s true that I have adjusted my schedule to make time to go to the temple once a week. Being there once a week has been a huge blessing for me even though I wonder if I should dial it back to every other week. I often worry that 3 hours a week is too much, but other times I feel sure the sacrifice is worth it since we have a temple just 35 minutes from the house.

In the end, it’s not that I don’t have enough time to balance the checkbook, go to the temple, or update our family blog—it’s a matter of how I prioritize things. So today, while I sit at kids’ dental appointments, I’ll try to update you on the past few months without getting overwhelmed by the many small details or happy moments I’m omitting. 

Gavin took a nap in my room.  Instead of coming to see me right when he woke up, he explored my closet and bathroom. He expertly applied my Lipsense lipstick to his nose and eyebrows and was very upset when we all laughed at him. He was even more distraught when the long-lasting lip color was not easily removed. 

We enjoyed having my parents visit for their 40th anniversary. It was a joy to have Aunt Judy and Uncle Bill too. 




The Sunday Mom and Dad left, I got a horrible migraine. While I spent the evening drugged in my room, Rick made lots of treats with the kids. 



I gave up a morning of last minute Christmas shopping to visit Brooklyn at school for the Grinch party. Gavin loved it. 

And I was able to snag a picture of Brooklyn’s spotlight board. 

We have taken the dog on lots of walks. Sometimes I can take her on a run by myself or with Gavin in the stroller. I count the 2.5 miles in 30 minutes as my exercise. (I’m so slow!). Other times, we go even slower because the kids join me on bikes or on foot. On these walks, we go about 1 mile in about 40 minutes. Maybe I’m not all that slow after all!

Brooklyn wore this hat on Christmas Eve and Christmas. 
Christmas pajamas!

Acting out the Christmas story. 





Santa came. 



Trying out the new bike and helmet from Santa.

Cathy and kids surprised us with a visit. 

We visited Tanque Verde Falls. It was a tad chilly. That’s ice. 





Our search for a good sledding hill failed, but we found a cute little petting zoo. 



And went roller skating. 





Makayla planned a cute birthday party for David and Lilly who turned 11 and 15. 

(Not sure why I only have a picture of Gavin in his birthday hat. I have a few cute videos, but those are more difficult to post). 

And the next day, we woke up to more snow!

Winter loved the winter weather. 

The kids built a snowman named Benito. 

And then, they built Benito a girlfriend and named her Benita


It was a great surprise visit. Two days later, Karitza surprised me with a visit. Karitza, her kids, Amanda, and her son Ben came to spend the weekend.

Karitza pampered us with facials and good food. 



Andrew was sick for about a month. Maybe you can’t tell from that picture, but the lymph nodes in his neck are very swollen.

He spent most of the break like this:


Poor guy. It was a rough few weeks. He finally went back to school today. At the advice of a couple of doctors, he will be getting his tonsils removed—probably in March. 

And now we’re caught up!  I’m hoping to finally put Christmas decorations away this week. Do you think I can do it?

Gavin is such an articulate young man. Here at the dentist, he is surprising everybody by using complete sentences and explaining why it’s so important to brush your teeth. 
 




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