Merry Christmas 2010

What a wonderful Christmas season it has been! The best part was family and just being with all of them. I was able to see everyone in my family, which was special. Adam and Meghan were in town from Michigan, with their little boy Steven. On Sunday night, we had a family dinner and open house, in which some of my mom’s siblings and their families came. It was so great to see them again! We were lucky they were able to come for Christmas this year, it’s been a few years. I love Adam and Meghan. Adam is so much fun still, and he is a great daddy and husband. It’s cute to see how sweet he is to Megs and to see him be a parent. He does a really good job. Steven is a little cute boy! He loves to jump and dance. He and Cal had a hard time interacting at first, sometime Steven doesn’t know what to do, so he bites. He bit Cal a few times, which was good, since Cal has been in a biting rut, though he’s getting over it. So it let Cal know that it doesn’t feel good. They chased each other around. Emma just loved him and calls him “Stevie” or “Steves”. It’s fun. Grammie also enjoyed being with the little ones, especially she loves the little boys.

Here's Emma in her Christmas Sunday dress.

Cal wouldn't pose with Emma, so we got pics of the kids separately.

Emma and Steves playing.

The kids beating up Uncle Marko.

Christmas Eve was great! We had French toast for breakfast, and then just played and cleaned the rest of the day. I practiced a bunch of Christmas songs on my flute. When the afternoon came, my parents, Marko, and Adam’s family came over to our place and my mom and I practiced the song we were going to do for the family talent show. At Lois and Keith’s house is where our Stoddard family Christmas Eve dinner and program was held. We ate a yummy lasagna dinner; I made pear pomegranate salad, which everyone loved. I always love cooking, and it’s fun to have everyone contribute. Santa came to visit, as he has the last several years, and that’s always exciting! Emma wasn’t scared at all, but she told me she didn’t really need to sit on his lap, because she already wrote her letter to him, so he knew what she wanted. I told her she could talk to him about other things, like what it’s like to be Santa, or questions about living at the North Pole. She thought that was a good idea, so she talked to him and sat on his lap for a while. The first question she asked was “Why is there so much snow at the North Pole?” It was cute. Cal cried when we tried to put him near Santa. But we kind of expected that. He calls him “ho ho” or Santa. But when Dave or I put on our little Santa hat we have and start talking like Santa, Cal gets very upset, poor kid. Emma enjoyed my younger cousins, and they enjoyed playing with her, Steven and Cal.

Emma and Santa!

Cal loooking up at the Jolly old man!

Then we had the program. Everyone did fun things, some passed, as always, but I always love to see what people do and what they come up with. My mom and I played “While Shepards Watched Their Flocks by Night”. I always love playing together, and Christmas isn’t what it is without Christmas music!

Cal did something he’s been doing this week. I gave Callahan my phone, and there is a little piano application on there, where you can play the “piano” on an octave of keys. He sat down, and just started jamming out on the piano. Then he said “The End” while putting his hands up in the air. Then when we clap, he takes a bow. It was adorable!

Meghan, Steven and Adam did a cute little song along with the actions.

Emma did a science experiment, with Dave as her assistant. She put on her “lab coat”, told everyone she was going to do an experiment and we put vinegar inside a pop bottle she decorated with Christmas stickers and markers. Then we got some balloons and put baking soda inside, and put the balloons over the pop bottle. Emma told them what she and Daddy were doing, and said it was a “chemical reaction” when the balloon blew up by “itself”. We wrote Merry Christmas on the balloon, too. It was fun, and kind of shows that Emma likes to do science experiments at home.

Lois did a game, “How Well Do You Know Your Family”, and that was great. I pretty much guessed everyone. I thought that was a great idea. Then we dashed off to Bountiful to the Ryerse’s, where we celebrated Brian’s birthday. We did our piñata, this year it was a Scooby Doo one. It lasted pretty long actually, thanks to the reinforcing duct tape job. Dave held the rope and swung it around a ton and teased people, that was fun. The little ones knew just what to do. Cal remembered and was all over it. Emma hit it hard this year, and her and Tayla were so excited to go collect the candy. Stacy and I joked we should get two turns, one for the babies and one for us.

The girls so excited!

Julie helps Cal take a turn.

Dave takes a whack!

Cal loved it!

Emma showing off the goods.

Emma wearing Scooby's head and eating some treats!

Then we did presents, cake and ice-cream. Brian had a friend over, as well as Shirley’s daughter Colleen and her son Brennen visiting from Canada. They died when we sang our Happy Birthday song. I would, too. I did the first time I went over for a birthday there. Happy birthday, Brian!

Then we hung out, talking, and got the kids ready for bed. Then the kids went to bed, and some of us went to 7-11 to get Slurpees, and then play Santa. We went to bed pretty late. I went to bed about 1, and Dave went to bed at 2. Here are the kids in their new Christmas jammies. I love that Cal had to pose like Emma did!

I woke up Christmas morning, and yes, it was a green Christmas. No snow on the ground at all, it was green! It happens to be snowing right now, but all the last few weeks it’s just been raining, which has melted all of the snow, or dry. Everyone else was asleep, and I lay in bed, reading some scriptures dealing with the event of our Savior’s birth and pondering on the miracle of his birth and his miraculous life. I am so grateful for the humble way in which he came to the earth. I am grateful that he stayed humble and obedient his entire life. I’m grateful for his love for me and my family, and for giving us the best gift of all – his life. I’m thankful he always knows how I feel and what I’m going through. I’m grateful that he endured, and because of that, we can all have joy in the eternities. I then got on my phone and wished everyone a merry Christmas on Facebook, eager and anxious for the kids to wake up. When you’re a parent, it seems to be more exciting than when you’re a kid! I love seeing them so excited and helping to make their wishes come true. I kind of woke Cal up, and we woke Dave and Emma up. They were so happy to see that Santa had made it! We opened up presents.

The present Emma really wanted was the blue fairy Silvermist dress-up dress from the Tinkerbell movie. Cal wanted trucks. They got that and books, candy, and other toys. And then they got spoiled by their Ryerse grandparents! They had tons of clothes and so very many toys. Probably too many. But Sue goes crazy and loves to give give give. Emma was nice to Callahan to help him open gifts, but Cal started saying “Mine!” a lot that day.

Trucks!

Santa brought Emma her Silvermist dress!

Cal playing with some stocking stuffers.

Emma and her Tangled barbie, wearing her new dress up.

We made breakfast and ate, and played with toys for a while and cleaned up a bit. Then we got ready, and went over to my parents to join all of my siblings and parents. We had a great time eating a ham lunch, of course it was delicious since my mom made it. Then we opened more presents. Emma and Cal got their pillow pets – Emma got a unicorn and Cal a dog. They were so excited about those and have been waiting for months for that! We visited during the afternoon a lot. Grammie also came over, so it was great to have her there. Then my mom’s sister Debbie and her family came over, along with the Jenkins, longtime family friends and Mark’s friend Mayella. We enjoyed each other and just chatted away. It was so great having the family all back together, it always is. That’s probably my favorite part about Christmas, all being together. How sweet it is!

Our little family. Amy took this pic, thanks Am!

Our family!

All of the siblings + spouses (someday soon, Marko!)

The kids getting ready to open some presents at the Stoddard grandparents.

Emma's unicorn.

Boys on their pillow pets. They love them!

Grammie and Emma having so much fun! Grammie is a tease, and Emma loves it!

Cal playing around with one of Grandma's Christmas ornaments. He was playing the little banjo from her tree.
Grammie with the great grandkids. She is so much fun!

Oh there's nothing like homeade for the holidays!

I put the finishing touches on the last gifts this year. I’m done, with three days to spare! Wahoo! I love all of the personalized things I get to make at Christmastime. There’s nothing like homemade for the holidays!

I made Christmas symbol jars for good friends for gifts. Each of the jars contains the symbols of Christmas, along with a copy of the “Teach The Children” story. We do this for Family Home Evening, and the kids love it! We take turns being Santa and pulling the objects out of the jar. It's a lot of fun to make and a great tradition for the family.

I made these cute picture frame stacks made out of 2x4’s our parents and a few best friends. I thought they turned out so well! Here's the one for my in-laws, Grammie, and our best friends. My sister, Marko and I did them together, they were fun to make.

I finally finished my cross-stitch stocking this year, working my hands like crazy to cross-stitch and assemble it. Mine has some snow men caroling on it. Dave’s is a Santa, Emma’s has an angel on it, and Cal’s is a snowman stocking. So we all have a stocking now! And I’m even starting on the baby’s stocking already, because they do take a long time to do. But I’m so glad everyone’s is done…finally. I thought I could finish Dave’s the first year we were married, his took two years! It seems like I have been behind ever since. Hopefully I can stay on top of that now!

The first cross-stitch stocking I made. Dave's Santa stocking, since he's my Santa Baby.

Emma's angel stocking. She is our little angel!

Cal's Snowman sock. A cute stocking for a cute boy.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

We’ve been trying to teach Emma that making something yourself is sometimes more special than going out and just buying it (though there is nothing wrong with that). She made little homemade bead ornaments for all of her little friends this year. They were so cute. She was so particular about what she wanted to make for each friend – candy cane, bell, butterfly, heart, star, and put great thought into each one. She also had a ball wrapping them (and other gifts) up this year! It’s been great to see her get into the spirit of giving, instead of just receiving, something we’ve been trying to teach her. Because "it is more blessed to give than receive".

Merry Christmas - our Christmas Card from us to you!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours! I made handmade Christmas cards, like I usually do. Though they take longer, homemade cards are very much worth it. I love making them! This is what I did this year.

And on the inside of the card:

2010 Ryerse Rant

Callahan – Began walking and then talking. Had health troubles growing, found out he was allergic to nearly everything. Was put on a strict diet, later tested and now only allergic to eggs, milk, and peanuts; he’s growing well now and very healthy. Started going to Nursery. Just turned two and loves tagging along with his big sister, doing the things big kids do. He is very busy and fun, and enjoys getting into everything!
Emma – Started a neighborhood Preschool and Primary in January, she enjoys them both. She feels so grown up going to school and says her favorite teacher is “mom”. Our four-year-old is growing up so fast and likes to get together to play with friends, dress-up, read, do science experiments, sing and dance. She always says something that makes us laugh.

Melanie – Loves staying home and being a mom and wife. Worked for the State Health Department for the Gold Medal Schools program in some local elementary schools. Played piccolo and flute with the Ogden Concert Band. Teaches flute lessons. Serves as Relief Society Pianist and a Wolves Cub Scout Den Leader.

David – Started his first “real” job post-graduation in January at the University of Utah Orthopedic Center as a Patient Access Coordinator. Working towards his medical coding certificate, and studying for the GRE. Applying for grad schools that offer his Hospital Administration Masters degree program (Minnesota, Arizona State, Washington, and Washington State). Serves as a Sunday School teacher to the 16 to 18-year-olds.

As a family, we went to the Sand Dunes, Spokane WA, and did some local camping. Expecting Baby #3 (a girl) the end of February!

“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.” -W.T. Ellis

Wishing you and yours a very, merry Christmas! May the Spirit fill yoru days and hearts this Christmas season and throughout this upcoming year! Love, the Ryerse’s

And then we put a picture in there to go along with the card. My sister suggested we do a picture she took of us dressed up like KISS for Halloween, and I thought that might be fun for a change. So we did it. We were going to do the collage, but then just decided to go with the one KISS picture.

Merry Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Though it's mostly been raining, and melting all of the snow and doesn't look much like Christmas outdoors, it looks a lot like Christmas at our house! The day after Thanksgiving, we put up all of our Christmas decorations, like always. Emma was so sad to take down the Halloween decorations, but I told her we’d replace them with Thanksgiving ones for a few weeks, and then Christmas. “Well, that’s even better!” she replied. It’s always fun to pull everything out, and I loved how Emma remembered a lot of the decorations and would say “I remember this one!” Her favorite thing was probably her Chicken Dance ornament. Cal loves the Christmas lights, and whenever he sees them in our house, or when we’re out and about, he loves to look at them on the houses and say “Christmas!” He also likes Santa Claus and likes to say “Ho ho”. My favorite thing is my nativity that Dave gave me as a gift the first year we were married. That will probably always be my favorite decoration. I love it! And don’t forget, our leg lamp light string. One of my friends was over last week, and had never seen the movie. She kept looking at our little tree all funny, so I explained and made her borrow the movie.

The kids decorating the house...

Or, decorating themselves!

My Nativity. I love it!

It’s Christmas baking time! We’ve made gingerbread men, I made basketballs and the Jazz team. I didn’t take any pictures, but they turned out pretty cute. We also made sugar cookies. Here are some reindeer ones we did. The kids love helping in the kitchen! Emma is actually getting good at cracking the eggs, and Cal loves dumping dry ingredients in the bowl. Then, I got together with my friend Lori to make homemade Christmas candy. She’s never made anything like that and really wanted to, so we had a baking day. We made peanut brittle, fudge, pretzel bark, peanut butter balls, candy cane popcorn. We had a blast, and took the goodies around to some neighbors, who were excited to receive it.

It was so cute! One night, Dave and I heard Emma go into the living room after we tucked her in and then she went back in her room. Dave went in to check on her, and this is what he saw. Emma put a little Santa hat we have on, and went right to sleep! She slept in that all night.

Christmas lights, we love ‘em! We have driven around to go look at Christmas lights, we really like the house in South Weber that sets their lights to music. We say we’re only going to stay for a few songs, but end up staying a lot longer, because it’s so enchanting! We went to the Bountiful City Electric Light Parade. It was pretty short, but a lot of fun. The kids thought it was great! They threw out lots of candy because there weren’t many there, and the floats were fun. Here's a burn out. That was Cal's favorite things.

Watching and waiting for the next float.

Emma got a kick out of the "parade in the dark"!

I thought this tractor/carriage was cool!

Our crowd. We went with my parents, Dave's parents & Aunt Julie. It was a fun night!

Bountiful City Power float.

Cal keeping warm.

The Jolly Man himself!

And nothing starts the holiday off right like the First Presidency Christmas devotional! We made some popcorn and watched it together. I loved their messages of focusing on the Savior and the simplicity of his story. Truly, he is the only reason for the season. And the music was gorgeous, like always. If you weren't able to watch it, follow this link, and you can watch individual talks or songs, or the entire thing:

http://lds.org/broadcasts/archive/christmas-devotional/2010/12?lang=eng

We were also lucky enough to be able to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert this year. We always sign up for tickets the first day, but are never selected...we always joke maybe we're the wrong blood type or perhaps belong to the wrong tribe? It's been five years since we were able to go! But Randy, Dave's brother, got some tickets, and so we doubled with him and his date, Amy. Yahoo! Thank you for letting us come with you! It was wonderful! This year, David Archuletta and Michael York were headlining with the choir. Everything was amazing! The choir, special effects, performers, dancers, special stage decorations, it was all perfect!

Last week, we went to downtown Ogden to see the Ogden Christmas Village with the Miller’s. This is the third year we’ve gone together, and it’s always so much fun! I used to go as a kid, we’d go with my mom’s friend Ann and their family. The only thing I remember that’s still the same is a group of caroler statues. It was so cute, Emma and Tavin were holding each other’s hands nearly the entire time, on their own accord. And the little boys, Alec and Cal were actually into it this year! Cal loved all of the “Christmas lights”! The best part for the kids though was riding Jupiter, the train that runs through downtown Ogden. They got a kick out of that. There was a Santa Claus walking around, and much to my surprise, Emma walked right up to him and said “Hi, Santa!” Santa asked if she had been good for her mom and dad, and Emma said she had, which is right! Hopefully the big guy brings her (and Cal) something good this year! (: I'll get some pictures up soon from that. The pictures we took at Christmas Village weren't great, since we forgot our real camera, so these are pics from the phones. But they give you an idea, right?