Tessa started talking about this "polar bear with doctor stuff" while we were in UT visiting. It's all she ever talked about when you'd ask what she wanted for Christmas. Steve and I had already bought her a big gift by this time, so my grandma (Tessa's great-grandma) was the life saver and was able to find exactly what she was asking for :o)
This past Christmas was the first Christmas, since Steve and I have been married, that we actually spent it with just our own little family. It was so nice! We slept until 9am, went down and opened stockings, had a nice breakfast and then opened the rest of the presents. The rest of the day consisted of watching football, taking naps, and going to a friends house for dinner and games. The day was great and so relaxing. Though we missed our families, we were very happy to be able to have had this Christmas to ourselves before we move home this year. 
Tessa was so excited to get things started. Though she hasn't really played with anything she got. She carries it all around in her "special" bag and won't let anyone touch it, haha! Silly girl!
Beckham wasn't sure about what to make of everything, but once we started to pull toys and candy out of his stocking he thought it was all pretty fun. 
Great G-ma and G-pa Arntson gave this to him....Dapper Dan is his name. Beckham loves him!
This book was from G-ma and G-pa Arntson. Because she is so obsessed with her Papa, this is her favorite book!
The kids also got some great gifts from mine and Steve's parents, but they came late so the kids got to have another fun day of gifts :o) just didn't get any pictures from those...sorry
On Christmas Eve the kids are allowed to open their Christmas jammies. I was so excited this year when I found matching one! They both loved them and looked so dang cute in them too!
Very excited for their new PJ's
Love that Tess posed in this one. Not a fan of my pose though...need to remember not to put my head back like that anymore...hello double chin!
Putting cookies out for Santa. Steve told Tess that Santa made a request for Egg Nog instead of milk because he was getting tired of milk, haha. And, thanks to Suzi, we had some super yummy home-made sugar cookies to leave out :o)
On Christmas Eve we had some friends over for dinner. We each brought soup and a treat. It was all so yummy and I think we all over-ate :o) After dinner we sat and talked and the kids sang some Christmas songs for us...VERY CUTE. We had a great time and we're very thankful to have such wonderful friends to have shared the holiday with!
Kids singing for us...Kassidy, Tessa, and Breckon
The Robinson Family. Kenny, holding Sadie, Lacey w/ Breckon (who wasn't a fan of taking pictures)
Our little fam. The Black family. Levi holding Kaybree and Suzi holding Kassidy
Thanks for coming you guys! It was so much fun!!
note: the Ganz were also there, but had to leave early, so just thought I'd give a shout out!
Beckham turned 1 on Nov. 19th! He's been such a wonderful little guy to have in our family. He's been through a lot his first year and has been a champ through it all. We thank our Father in Heaven every day for allowing us to have him in our lives. He's always so happy and easy going. Loves to laugh and play. There's not an ounce of him that's not little boy, haha! We love him so much and look forward to all that life has in store for him! We love you Beck!!
We want to wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! We hope the holiday and New Year treat you well. May the spirit of the season fill our hearts and homes at this wonderful time of the year :o) Much love!
Pic on left, Tessa on the Cow Santa at Chick-fil-a ....we frequent there on Family Night
Pic on right, took the kids to see Santa. Tess was pretty sure she liked it, but Beck was not a fan.
PS...I promise to do better on posting. I've got a TON to blog about, just don't have the time.
Got this story via email and it was too good not to share. It's a great reminder to all moms as to the importance of our job, as hard as it may seem sometimes. Thanks for sharing Suzi!!
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously, not.
No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands,nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? & Can you open this?Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer,'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around5:30, please.'One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ...Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned tome with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied,'Because God sees.'I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I seethe sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my daughter to tell the friend she's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want her to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to her friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot see if we're doing it right.And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
