Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas 2009

Oh what fun the Harkers had this Christmas. I don't know if it's because we have a bunch of kids now or what, but every Christmas seems to be more fun than the last, even though we had less money to celebrate with then some years. Maybe simpler is better! We began our Christmas Eve celebration at Jeff and Suzie's house with a feast of every kind of "finger food" you could imagine. Yummy!
Then of course it was the traditional nativity play. Suzie's mom had made these awesome costumes to use this year and everyone looked adorable! Miles was supposed to make his acting debut as baby Jesus, but fell asleep just minutes before he was supposed to perform. Oh well. I had a cute Joseph, Shepherd, and Wise Man.
We also played chimes, sang Christmas carols, and had some of the best desserts ever! After the party we went home to lay out cookies and chocolate milk for Santa and watched "The Nativity" and "Mr. Kruger's Christmas." Then time for bed to wait for Santa.
Mitchel slept upstairs with the other boys and brought up his alarm clock. I told them they could not leave the room until 7:00 am. So right on the button, Mitchel was up and waking up his brothers (who probably would have slept for another hour) Then I made them all wait upstairs while I got my video camera ready to film the first reactions as they came down the stairs.
This was Mason's Santa gift. The Extreme Shake 'N Go Raceway. He also got a walkie talkie in his stocking.
Max was thrilled with his lego Star Wars set. He knelt down on the ground, held it high above his head, and said, "Thank you Santa!" Priceless! He got the other walkie talkie in his stocking.
Miles got this cute ball rolling down the track thing. I'm sure he'll like it a lot more when he can sit up on his own.
Everyone was happy!
Miles loved rolling around in the wrapping paper. It's a good thing, because the only gift he got was the one from Santa.
Mitchel's Santa gift was an extension set to his Geo Trax railway. He can now build track that covers the entire living room floor.
Next it was off to Grandma and Grandpa Miller's house for more fun and lunch with the Miller clan.
Thought I better get at least one picture of me on Christmas day. My mom has a tradition of giving all of us girls slippers every year. I love it because I wear them EVERY day so mine get worn out and a new pair every year is awesome! That's what was in this bag.
Then it was off to visit Grandma and Grandpa Harker. While we were there, Uncle Matt came over and surprised his parents with a 40" flat screen T.V. and gave Mitchel and Max these awesome remote control cars. This was a relaxing way to end our Christmas day because none of the other siblings or grand kids came over. We spent time just talking and playing with the cool helicopter Grandpa Harker got.
The next night, the Harker family had our Christmas party with all of Mike's family. We took a family picture outside in the snow with all 12 grand kids. I hope it turns out. Then we had soup and exchanged cousin gifts and just relaxed and talked and laughed. It was wonderful!
So really, the 2009 Harker Christmas was one to remember. When it was all over, I asked my boys what their favorite part was, and all of them said something about spending time with the family. And really, isn't that what it is all about! Loved it!!!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

6 months old!

Tomorrow is Christmas of course, but it is also Miles' 6 month birthday! Isn't it cool that his birthday and Christmas are exactly 6 months apart? Makes remembering it pretty easy. I think he will like getting presents in the summer and winter for the rest of his life. He has been such a joy to have in our family. I love his soft, fluffy hair, his cute giggle, his melt-your-heart smile, and his cry-baby face (it makes me laugh) The other three boys sure are loving him too. Now that he has more of a personality, they love making him laugh and smile. What a blessing it is to be his mom! Thank goodness he is the best sleeper ever and pretty easy going. He brings me joy every day! He has just started playing with his feet and socks and putting everything into his mouth.
I love you so much Miles and am so glad you are my baby. I can't wait to see how you grow and change over the next year!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

More Christmas Fun

The Larry H. Miller family is so incredibly generous and does so much for our community. I heard about the free Christmas sing-along at the ESA and thought we would give it a try as a family. They gave us a free ride down town on the TRAX train, free hot dogs and drinks, a free concert, free singing, and as we left, we all got a free Jazz ticket, Bees ticket, and free popcorn at the movies. It was a great night and we think we might make it a tradition every year (especially if it stays free.) Here we are waiting in line to get into the ESA. We were joined by THOUSANDS of other people who also took advantage of the Miller family's generosity. Thanks Larry!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Ho-Ho-Ho

The "real" Santa came to our ward Christmas party this past weekend. He was so beautiful and cute with the kids! The best part was we didn't have to go to the mall or pay $20 for a picture with him! Max asked for some Walkie-Talkies.
Mitchel asked for Team Geo-Trax.
Miles asked for a hug.
Mason followed the lead of his big brother and also asked for some Walkie Talkies.
I have also been a very good girl this year and asked Santa for some peace and quiet. I think I will get some come January 31st when Mike and I take off for a cruise around the Caribbean!! My wish will be granted! That is why I still believe in Santa Claus!

Random Houses

What do you do with old Halloween candy and a box of graham crackers? Make random, hodge-podge "gingerbread" houses of course! (I use the term gingerbread lightly). We spent Friday after school decorating our masterpieces. They looked HORRIBLE but the kids had fun and I got all the Halloween candy used up! So it was a success for everyone. (Except now they won't let me throw them away and they are cluttering up my counter top and are quite ugly to look at). Look at the concentration!
All done!

Mason just wanted to use as much candy as possible. The red laffy taffy on top is supposed to be fire!
Mitchel made a "spy" house complete with a diving board off the roof and a protective tootsie roll fence.
Max's had dynamite on top and fire coming out of his roof as well.
Watching these guys make this reminded me that I am surrounded by BOYS! Everything about what they did was so random and either had to do with guns or blowing things up or fire. There was no thought given to beauty or symmetry or matching colors or anything like that. Oh well. It was a fun, Christmasy thing to do.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Christmas Time is Here!

At the beginning of the Christmas season, I have to admit I was kind of a Scrooge. I wasn't looking forward to getting out the mess of the tree or shopping or any of the Christmas things. Well, it's a good thing I have Mitchel. He got me out of my funk right away by playing Christmas music as loud as he could and begging to put up the tree. My sister came over to help us and this is by far my favorite Christmas tree we have ever had! That really got me into the spirit. Then we've really simplified and stuck to only 3 gifts per kid this year and that has helped me feel less stressed about shopping. And then I remembered all the wonderful gifts I already have, like these adorable little boys who make me smile EVERY day! If they were all I had in this world, I would be happy.
I have to say that most the time, I hate that our front yard is a hill, until it snows! I love that my kids can go sledding right in our own front yard and I can just watch out the window toasty warm in my house. They have such a great time. And this last storm, I actually got out there and joined them. It was so fun!
Another favorite tradition is Grandma Miller's famous cookie party. All the cousins got together to frost and decorate yummy sugar cookies and then ate themselves silly. My kids would rather spend time with Grandma Miller and their cousins then anyone else in the world, so we had a great time.
Their decorating skills sure have improved over the last couple of years. It used to be just one crazy mess, but now their cookies look good enough to eat.
I also went to Temple Square to see the lights with the YM/YW and hope to get my family down there before Christmas is over. It really is a great time of year and my Scrooge attitude has completely disappeared! Only 10 days to go!!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Hand-Me-Downs

One of the great advantages of having all children of the same sex is the handing down of clothes. I love that I haven't had to go buy all new wardrobes each season for all of my kids. My favorite thing to pass on is pajamas. These are by far my favorites. I found them when Mitchel was about three and Max was about 6 months old. I now have pictures of all of my kids in the same pajamas. Cute huh! Mitchel and Max

Max and Mason

Mason and Miles
(we've lost the bottoms now for the bigger pair. Who knows where they possibly could have gone??)

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Missing Person

Please help find 32 year old woman who used to be organized, punctual, neat, sane, and "had it all together." She has been missing for a few months now and is missed very much by her owner. She used to live by the motto "A place for everything and everything in it's place." It has now been replaced with, "I have no idea where anything is," and "what are all these piles of crap doing everywhere?" She used to get everything done with time to spare. Now she lives by the skin of her teeth and hopes that somehow, everything will come together at the last minute. She used to get bored sometimes. Now days go by and she has no idea where the time has gone and has nothing to show for all the hours she spent doing whatever it was that she was doing. She used to remember events and could keep track of everything. Now, she frequently forgets appointments or events or lessons or anything else that is not written on the calender. She used to live in a clean house. Now the garage, basement, every closet, every cupboard, and every drawer is jam packed with "stuff" that may or may not be important. She used to never go anywhere without her makeup on and hair fixed. She was recently spotted at her child's school in her pajamas and slippers and went to a wedding reception with hair in a matted pony tail and only mascara on for makeup. She used to have plenty of time to scrapbook, work on home movies, watch T.V. and take naps. She now finds time to check her email and facebook accounts and Yahoo new stories, but not much else. She used to think that a dirty bathroom was the worst sin a wife could make. Now it can be weeks before the sinks and toilets get a needed scrub and the bathmats only get washed when they no longer look white. She used to love going to movies with her husband. She can't remember the last movie they saw together.

Anyway, she is missing, and if anyone knows where she is or when she'll be back, will you be sure to let me know? Thanks!
-Meredith