Christmas 2012

Sweet Boy

Our traditional birthday cake for Jesus breakfast, with bubbly! A sugary way to start a sweet day.

Lest anyone get a head start! I'm grateful that we inherited a tradition to start Christmas after breakfast. Everyone slept in until 9:00! Good thing because Clint and I had the flu and we were not feeling peppy.

This is the unfinished denim/fleece rag quilt made for Cole. Talmage's was still in squares! I wanted to make all the boys twin-sized quilts so their beds wouldn't be such hodge podges of random blankets.

The hit of the day was the Nerf fight sets that came with fuzzy vests, velcro darts and safety glasses!

Trace got a V-Tech camera.

Legos and Lord of the Rings combined? Cresap heaven!

This is Trace's quilt. I had it machine quilted and I still need to do the binding.

Jack's quilt was the only one I finished in time for Christmas, but I did start it when I was expecting him eight years ago! It's high time I finished!

Trace got a DiscoveryToys vehicle set that you build and take apart with a screwdriver. "I always wanted this my whole life!"

And the Nerf battles continued throughout the day.

The shocker of the day was this sweet bike from Clint to me! It weighsless than 20 pounds, even fully tricked out with the computer, pedals and tri bars. He also got me shoes and a trainer for indoor riding!

Here are more great efforts from Clint. His annual pixie present cutting board glue-up. This year we got a request from a friend to make one for her brother for a wedding present. So we sent one to Kentucky, one   to Mike and Lisa Hale, one to our friends the Nielsen's and one to Clint's Aunt Megan Cresap. And did I mention Clint makes Dad Hale's jerky every Christmas in our smoker? Smells like Christmas and makes me so happy.

Spreading Holiday Cheer

My boys must be getting more independent because more and more lately (shhhhhh! don't tell! It's a secret!) I've had a lot more freedom and time to get things done. I actually feel like I have to work consciously to fill my time. Taking care of just one very independent 4-year-old during the school day is not that hard. So this year I got a little carried away and made 25 cookie plates. Hey, be proud that I listened to my saner side and cut the list down from 50! So one day while the boys were at school I made three different kinds of cookies, two kinds of chocolate covered pretzels and pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins for the holiday plates. The boys love "Boo!"ing around Halloween so I really had to talk them out of dinging the doorbell and running. I told them this time it would be nice to have a little face to face and tell our friends Merry Christmas. I love baking. In fact I must have heard from five other middle-aged moms that week how much they also loved baking. There is something very therapuetic about mixing butter and sugar and knowing that even if it's not pretty, it's going to taste good and make someone happy. Cole told me once "Mom making cookies is pretty much the best thing you do." I wasn't sure how to take that!
And it is true that as you cast things upon the waters....we got more treat plates than we ever have received in our lives! Out the window went my sugar fast (dumb idea in December anyway!).

Holiday Programs

Trace got a special chair at Miss Wendy's program to keep him from being so social. Trace's best friend, Will is in the plaid shirt.

The choir program was lovely and I was impressed that they managed to get through eight songs without one mention of Christmas. But they threw in a Jewish song and a Kwanza song to make sure no one was offended. I know Jewish people and African Americans and I'm pretty sure they are not that sensitive. I guess it doesn't hurt to be considerate.

Live Nativity in the Hood

Clint looks so awesome as a shepherd, this year we had to invite the whole family to come and see.

We gathered at the Pulsiphers for pizza and good company before walking down into the gulley. It was so warm (high 40s) we didn't need all those layers we piled on!

Vicky was cute, because she's always cute.

Our happy hosts

The youngest and tallest couple there. I think we made them kiss under the mistletoe.

P.S. I've got to remember to bring my real camera. The phone pics are unsat.

Oh Yeah, We Went to Grover for UEA

Thanks to the Malmborgs and Laffertys who lent us four wheelers and Chad McKay for lending us the trailer, we looked like full-fledged Utahns driving down south to Grover.

Our friends the Nielsons from St. George met us down there.We kept ourselves busy chatting, riding the four-wheelers, shooting at Clint's 3-gun range, exploring, running and moutain biking (at altitude-choke!). We never even left the Ranch. We had a great time.

No texting, but how about shooting while driving your 4 runner?

Don't let her sweet exterior fool you. Kristin has her concealed carrier permit. Although, I'm pretty sure that was Tyler's idea.

Bryce and Chelsea with the sweet 22 in the Lower 80.

Another Kindness from a Stranger

The morning after Haley died our doorbell rang. We looked outside and found a bag of warm bagels and all the fixings. I saw a woman running away who I didn't recognize. If that food wasn't there I'm sure we wouldn't have remembered to eat. It was the last thing from our mind. There were enough bagels to last us for several mornings. It was such a nice service.

About a year later I was taking Talmage for a walk in his stroller around the neighborhood. We lived in base housing and there was a little horseshoe of officer four-plexes on one side of the street and a horse shoe of enlisted four-plexes on the other side of the street. I was walking around the whole circle and was on the enlisted side of the street when a woman approached me. She told me that she had been looking out her window the morning that Haley died and had seen the whole scene and that she had brought us the bagels the next day. I hope I said thank you, but I don't remember what was said I was so stunned. I was stunned that she understood what she saw---the medics wheelling her out to the ambulence. The ambulence taking her away at slow speed, no sirens. There was no rush, it was too late. Clint and I getting into our car and following. She had seen all of that and cared about our situation and thought carefully about what she could do to serve us in a helpless situation. She was moved to action for someone she didn't even know. Every time I think of her I want to be a better person.

Strangers Who've Changed My Life for the Better

I've been thinking today about strangers whose wisdom and kindness have changed my life for the better. The first is a doctor a the National Health Institute. I can't remember her name, but she wrote a paper on Histiocytoid Cardiomyopathy, the name they gave to the heart condition that killed our daughter Haley. I read her paper, which catelogued the 50 known cases, when I was seven-months pregnant with Talmage. I was alarmed to see that about 50% of the victims also had siblings with the same condition. I called the NIH and asked to speak with her. I'm afraid, that was one of the situations where my tough exterior did not hold up and I started crying on the phone. The public information officer told me to get control of myself and he went to call the doctor to the line. I asked her what we should do to keep this disease from affecting our son, soon to be born? She said, "Pray you never see this disease again, because it cannot be treated." I don't know if she meant "Pray" in the conversational sense or pray in the faith sense. But I seized onto that. If the doctors were at a loss as to what to do, I could turn to my Heavenly Father with complete confidence in his skills and judgement, and I would ask my family to pray for Talmage as well. And did they ever.

I told her that I'd always wanted to have five or six children and I didn't want to lose more children. She told me it's possible I could have more children and they'd all live to adulthood. She didn't tell me percentages, just that it was possible. Of course it was and that was a fact. I've always been very guided by logic and so it was one of those moments that helped me begin to go forward with my life and not let fear prevent me from acheiving my hearts desires. It brought to mind a quote that my seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Clark,  wrote on the chalkboard that I've never forgotten. "A coward dies a thousand times." I've experienced death. Not my own, but Haley's. That is not the kind of torment I needed to undergo unless it really happens.  And here I am today with four healthy boys with no heart defects and a lifetime ahead of them. She'll never know the affect she had on me, Clint and four other lives.

What strangers have affected your lives for good?

Toys for Tots

Our Cub Scout Pack did a Toys for Tots drive and the Cresap boys really enjoyed standing guard over the collection at the ward Christmas breakfast.

We were treated to a musical number by our 99-year old neighbor, Lowell Hicks, on his vibraphone. He's a genius. You should hear his ragtime renditions of the hymns!

A Long Expected Journey

We were so excited about The Hobbit, we bought our tickets a month before the opening day.

We dressed Trace as Bilbo.

We researched and decided to go to the Clark Planetarium to watch it in IMAX 3D.

I did not disappoint. But we probably made seven trips to the bathroom! Sorry neighbors!

A Decade of Cole

Breakfast and presents in "bed." Cole prefers to sleep on the playroom couch.

A new pet budgie! Cole instantly named him "Cloudy."

Mom invented lemon cake with smarty candies! It wasn't a hit. But we were still full from Dad's cake the day before!

It was only 24 hours before Cole had Cloudy finger and shoulder trained! Cole has a calm approach that Cloudy responded to better than all of our approaches. Cole you're a good dude.

Happy Birthday to Clint!

Clint and Cole, by virtue of their December birthdays, get to have their presents under the tree.

Clint accused me of giving him things that I wanted. Like V's chocolate frogs and a head massager? Who me?

A cardigan from Grammy and Papa, so Clint could fit into the neighborhood. They forgot the bowtie.

The Pulsiphers joined us for the blowing out of the bonfire cake! Forty-three candles on that bad boy.

 

Clint's XO (aka executive officer, his No. 2 guy), Steve Jones, has quite the sense of humor. This is how he and the other office staff decorated his office.