The Live Nativity

Blessing Baby Baylee

Thanksgiving

Snowball Fight!

I love kids playing in the snow. Something about it just makes me happy. The other day we barely had enough snow on the ground to play in, but it didn't stop my kids. They rounded up some friends and had a boys vs. girls snow war going in our back yard. Each team built a fort and stocked it with snowballs in preparation. Then the battle began and so did the shrieks and giggles.

Wii!

What could be better than cousins and a Wii? Nothing! They can get out all their energy and excitement without ever making physical contact. Love it! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Besaw - one of the best Christmas presents ever!

Battle

It is a very odd thing that my kiddos all get along so well and have so much fun playing Battle! They run around the house play-fighting. It is hilarious when they play-die; it can get quite dramatic.

It is frustrating as a parent, though, that so often when they don't play Battle, they really fight. I mean, grrr: What the heck!? Why is it they can't just get along and stop fighting about such stupid things?

For me, the real battle seems to be to keep the peace. Harmony in the home is such a beautiful thing; I just wish there was more of it!

Eat Your Veggies!

When Melissa made this meal I insisted that I take a picture because it really does mark a major milestone. When we got married, I was hardly a vegetable eater. I mean, I ate vegetables: potatoes, carrots, beans, and peas. (Ha!) One day I came home to our newlywed little apartment (in Provo) after having gone to class and smelled a really foul odor: "What have you been cooking that stinks so bad?" After Melissa sheepishly informed me she'd just had cauliflower, I said, "Please make sure that if you ever cook that stuff again, I am in a different state!" Okay, maybe it wasn't that exaggerated, but to this day Melissa repeats the story with some sort of similar outlandish declaration that is quite akin I'm sure to what I actually did say.

Everything pictured in this meal is from our garden or the community garden. The kids loved it, and even I loved it! That's right, I actually eat cauliflower now...and broccoli, beets, asparagus, zucchini, and squash. I still hate tomatoes, though, which is funny because everyone else in the family LOVES them. Last Thanksgiving I even tried Brussel sprouts just to demonstrate to my mother-in-law that I had in fact learned to appreciate vegetables. I'd have to say, though, that I hope to never eat Brussel sprouts again.