Christmas 2009 Christiansen Style

This year Christmas took us to the snowy northern lands of Logan, Utah.  Jeremy's brother, Jason, and his wife, Cansas, live there, and were gracious enough to house quite the crowd of Christiansens.  12 adults, 6 kids (including two babies and a toddler) later, I'm not sure they knew what hit them!

We arrived Wednesday night, just in time for some of Cansas' tasty sausage stew (note to Cansas--you should email out that recipe!).  Gavin (their 5 year old) greeted us at the door with a clip board in hand, ready to check us in, give us our room assignment (room 1), and have us draw numbers for our door prizes. Awesome.

Photo courtesy Jeanine

Jason and Cansas had set up a detailed itinerary (emailed out ahead of time) including things like morning calisthenics, sledding in the bowl of death, staring contests, and optional hygiene. It was awesome. We didn't end up doing everything on the itinerary, but there was plenty going on regardless, let me tell you.

Sledding did make the cut, however.

My first time donning a sled... and I must say, it's like Disneyland without a seat belt! And you know how much I love Disneyland. That's Jason and Gavin in the background. Gavin was DIE HARD. Wow. That kid has no fear. As for the sweet snow suits... it was a balmy14 degrees outside when we left the house. Hello Logan.

Christmas eve also brought all sorts of delectable delights (honey baked ham, my favorite cooked carrots, shrimp, waldorf salad, gingerbread cupcakes, and the list goes on).

Photo courtesy Jeanine

Since the babies (Raymond and Chloe) have pretty early bedtimes, we did our little nativity before dinner. It starred all six grand kids in residence. Raymond was a shephard, Chloe was the star, Sadie was a sweet little angel, Bauer was a wise man, Gavin was Joseph, and Bentley was Mary. The kids were surprisingly calm and all caught their cues.

Photo courtesy Jeanine

Isn't he the cutest little shepherd you ever did see? Pretty much.

Christmas morning was a bit chaotic (would you have it any other way?) Lots of toys. Lots of wrapping paper (Raymond was in heaven). And lots of delicious raspberry crepes. So fun!

After that the rest of the trip seems a blur. Let's see. A few games of settlers happened, some fantastic pinini sandwiches, an ugly sweater contest (I think Sadie's was cute too, just for the record), a sleigh/wagon ride and  herd of elk, Harry Potter 6, a handful of casualties (what's a holiday without some sickness?), and some seriously good napping for Raymond.

All in all, it was a party. Thank you Jason and Cansas!

We got home on Monday (Jeremy was one of the casualties, postponing our return a day). I've already taken down Christmas (whew!), tried out both my new vintage table cloth and the beautiful pieced table runner from my mom, and made a dehydrated an apple or two. Hello dehydrator for Christmas, my new permanent counter fixture, let's be good friends. Raymond is in toy HEAVEN. He went from owning a few handmade things by yours truely, to some serious toys. The kid couldn't be happier.

ps. don't judge the photography.  I know it's bad lighting and fuzzy and probably just no good (and mostly taken on my phone). But hey, I'm just plain not good at it.  Maybe Jackie will post her sweet shots soon and I'll replace some, ok?

I say potāto, you say potăto.

So we've noticed a little trend in our house.

Jeremy says TV (accent on the T)
I say TV (accent on the V)

Jeremy says Cedar City (accent on Cedar)
I say Cedar City (accent on City)

Jeremy says Raymond John (accent on Ray)
I say Raymond John (accent on John)


Obviously Jeremy prefers the trochee and the dactyl while I prefer anapestic and iambic meter.

Santa Mouse

I really, really, really wanted to make Raymond a stuffed animal for Christmas. You may recall my desire to make him a monkey before he was born. It never happened. I couldn't find a pattern (ahem, free pattern) that I liked enough. Plus, I've never really made a stuffed animal (the scads of bean bag frogs I've made don't count). So I needed a pattern, of that I was sure.

When I found this mouse pattern, I thought it would be a good place to start. It looked doable. I got a bit of white corduroy out of the $2 bin at Walmart, and used felt instead of wool as the accent fabric. So the whole thing was pretty darn cheap (maybe $2). And it didn't take me all that long either (about two days of sewing and stuffing intermittently). He turned out a bit fatter than I thought he would, but who wouldn't want to take a fat little mouse to bed Christmas night?

Skinny Bones Jones

Raymond John had his 6 month check up today.  I keep trying not to stress out over the fact that his weight is in the 13th percentile (while his height is in the 73rd!). Looks like he's got his papa's genes. I think all the chub of his whole body is concentrated in his cheeks (which makes them oh so kissable). What's a mama to do?

The oft told tale

painting by J. Kirk Richards 

I love, at this time of year, to try to imagine the detail of Jesus' birth.  What was Mary like? What of Joseph? What happened in that small stable when the shepherds came?  Did they notice the star hanging overhead? The other night we watched this program on BYU TV (showen originally Sunday, December 6th at 7pm) about the birth of Christ.  I loved how they slowed down the story and piece by piece talked about the events surrounding that sacred night.  And I am reminded that

"Always at this beautiful season, we repledge ourselves to His work--and invite all people everywhere to join us in our prayers of joy and love and gratitude for the life and teachings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God."  --President Spencer W. Kimball

Giving Good Gifts

Raymond and I have spend a huge amount of time like this (how much do I love the Bumbo my sister loaned me? Mucho):

Me sewing, him playing.  Would you look at that happy face? Naps and bedtimes work miracles, I tell ya.

So I've been steadily working on Christmas gifts for a solid two (plus) months now.  Planning and scheming began in September, sewing officially began in October. I'm not quite done (although hopefully all the needed supplies have been purchased).

From the beginning I've prayed earnestly and sincerely to be able to give "good gifts."  The Christmas budget was tight and the plan has been to make everything. It's required thought, prayer, and work.  Over and over, almost daily, I've been praying to be able to give "good gifts." Do you know what I mean? The kind that is a pleasant surprise, an unexpected thrill, and most importantly, a tangible evidence of my love for that person.

In my family we don't draw names at Christmas, we give to everyone.  While I have had a few moments of feeling overwhelmed with the enormity of it all, I have loved thinking about each person throughout each step of planning, sewing, and wrapping. It has been a sweet, sweet experience.

In Jeremy's family we draw names.  I've had mixed emotions about it.  On the one hand, I would be making an additional 14 gifts (added to the more or less 25 already on my list! I would definitely have to start earlier. Like in January.)... on the other hand, I keep finding myself sad that I don't get to make or give anything to most of his siblings.  Often while working on a gift for someone else, I've thought, "this is something Cansas would like!" or "Maybe I'll have to make one for Sadie anyway and give it later!"  I've missed not getting to think about them as I make for them, you know?

While it has been an intense couple of months, and I don't plan on making all my gifts every year, I've already come to treasure this Christmas. I've learned so much about what it means to give good gifts (which sometimes means giving what I would want most to someone else, and sometimes means taking a lot of time to make something that isn't my style at all, but I know the other person would love). Even though most of my gifts are small, and my sewing is imperfect, each one is filled with love and time and sacrifice.

Yesterday's quote on my advent quote calendar summed up my thoughts on gift giving this year:

"Christmas gifts should be in memory of the divine gift--the life of Jesus Christ.  His gift gave us eternal life; our gifts should enliven with joy those who receive them. His gift was teh sacrifice of his earthly life, our gifts should represent personal sacrifices on our part." --John A. Widtsoe

 I hope that you're Christmas is filled with the giving of good gifts (made or bought) and that the gifts you give are in memory of the divine gift.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

How much do I love the Church's topic pages (always found in the left-hand sidebar of lds.org)? So much. This one even has coloring pages and activity ideas for kids. Not to mention great ideas for how we can focus our Christmas on what matters most.  And a sweet little Mormon Messages video. Go and make yourself at home.

Merry Christmas!

Our wee man child

A day late and a dollar short, I know. I was all set to post pictures yesterday when we had some serious internet woes. When it finally decided to kick back on, Jeremy needed the computer to finish a paper. But, I promise not to disappoint today. Oh me, oh my, the pictures! If you don't want to gobble this boy up after seeing them...

He sure loves his papa.

And he patiently endures all our kisses and rasberries.

Would you look at that sweet face?

It seems we have a smiler on our hands, folks!

Oh the sweetness of cousins...

Chase, what's wrong?

Oh how that pacifier works wonders!

Yeah, I'm just chillin in my chair.

Raymond has an uncanny knack for raising one eyebrow at a time. Really, it's just a flicker, so I wondered if Stanford would capture it on film. Here it is, folks. I see this fun face a hundred times a day, and I never get tired of it!

So can you believe it's his half birthday on Saturday? Me either. Six sweet months in mortality.  Oh how we love our Raymond John.

Thank you, Stanford, for so many wonderful photos (I didn't even post a fraction of them). You captured all his personality perfectly.

Goodness gracious (Thanksgiving) gravy!

 photos by Jeremy

I have always loved Thanksgiving. For as long as I can remember we have gone to my Aunt Chris's house in Redlands, California.  She now lives in the historic side of town (in a 100 year old house... see picture above), and I love it. I love everything about her house (from the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves or the chickens in the back). And I love everything about Redlands. It is, as Jeremy has come to agree, a perfect town.  And I love, most of all, spending Thanksgiving there.

As is tradition, the setting of the table is as important as the filling of the plates. This year did not disappoint. My aunt has special Thanksgiving china (in appropriate browns and creams) that compliment her beautiful crystal goblets and sterling silverware.  The effect is always so beautiful. 

photos by Stanford

The day itself is never overly stressful (minus the 30 minutes before mealtime). We lounge about, read books, chat, watch football (well, the boys do), take pictures, munch of the goodies strewn about the house, slowly get the meal organized. And then dinner is somewhat of a fancy affair. As little kids we had to change our clothes and look nice. It's not super formal by any means, but we try to match the festiveness of the table at least a little bit.  I love it. All that polite "Please pass the potatoes" and "where's the gravy gone?" does my heart good.

I think Quinn officially did the honors of clicking this one. Stanford did the arranging.

This year's big excitement was that Tate (my Aunt Chris's son) came home from anesthesiology school in New York and was bringing his new fiance, Eleece. It was so fun to meet her and welcome her into the family.

That, and the excitement of having a photographer in the family to take all sorts of fabulous pictures. Stanford took some so-cute-I-want-to-cry pictures of little Raymond John. I would post pictures of that, but I've been working on this post for nigh onto 24 hours now. I must move on with life. Cute pictures of Raymond promised tomorrow...