Christmas Video's

Here is Brenna opening up her big present from us, her cheer class. I thought it was too cute!

Don't ask me why I filmed this sideways! Ryan took the kids out to play in the snow. Brenna lasted about 30 minutes, but Cannon stayed out there till his hands and feet were bright red and frozen solid! But before then, Ryan found a huge patch of ice and went sliding! It is too funny!

Christmas Morning

Brenna's loot included: an Easy Bake oven, Walkie Talkies, and signed up for a Cheer/Tumbling combo class. Cannon's loot included a Fisher Price car garage, Car's book, magnets, bath toys, and a much needed quiet book for Church! (We'll see if it works!) The presents were opened and a pancake breakfast was started by 7am! Too early, but lots of fun!

Christmas Eve

We left a plate of cookies for Santa and Buddy the Elf, and a bowl of oats with steamed vegetables for the reindeer! (Leftovers from our soup!)

Here the kids are in their Christmas pajama's. (Brenna calls her pajama's Mrs. Claus dress!) We had a great night reading "Twas the night before Christmas" and "Elf on the Shelf" and the Book of Mormon's account of Christ's birth (Luke 2 was last night). The kids were very excited to go to bed, and actually fell asleep pretty fast. We spent the rest of the night wrapping presents and watching "Julie & Julia" (very good movie). We had a greats night sleep, until Cannon woke us up at 6:30am!

Feast for an Army!

We had planned on having a family Christmas Eve dinner. I made my families traditional meal of homemade chicken noodle soup (even homemade noodles!) with mashed potatoes in the bottom of the bowl with soup on top, and rolls. For dessert I made a full pan of chocolate mint brownies. With our huge blizzard, we were stuck and so was the family! So we had 36 rolls, a huge pot of soup and mashed potatoes, and a full pan of brownies all to ourselves! It was delicious! But what else do you do when you are stuck at home but eat? Enjoying every minute of it!

Oh, the weather outside is FRIGHTFUL!

Brenna has been praying over the past few weeks for snow in Utah (from Grandma and Grandpa Cameron) and in Oklahoma. Grandma Cameron called and informed Brenna that they have received snow. I didn't think her prayers would be answered here in Oklahoma. Especially to this extent! It has been snowy and blizzardy all day. We will have a beautiful white Christmas. Thank you Brenna! Now....what else should we ask her to pray for?

GO BYU!

We enjoyed watching BYU trump Oregon State at a die-hard BYU football fan's home, Tuesday night. I sported a blue and white t-shirt, and the kids were outfitted in adorable BYU attire provided by my parents. (Brenna would be in this picture, but she was sulking about something in her room.) GO BYU!

Brooklyn loves the bath! I love hearing her laugh! And she does a lot of laughing and talking and kicking and splasing!

Last Thursday evening we visited Santa at our local mall. He has been there for several years, and is amazing. I was shocked how comfortable Cannon was, Brenna was a little nervous but did great! I guess afterwards, Santa told Ryan that he might be dropping something off tonight. Sure enough, underneath the tree was a present wrapped up...

The Elf on the Shelf! This is an elf, on loan, to help report back to Santa how the kids are behaving. Every night he leaves to the North Pole, and in the morning, he is found somewhere else around the house. The only rule is that you can't touch him, because he will lose his magical powers and have to return to Santa. So far the kids have done great with it. Brenna is very bright, and asks skeptical and inquisitive questions. So far, we've handled them all well! It comes with a great book, explaining the Elf (whom our kids have named Buddy). And the Elf, itself! I love starting our own family Christmas traditions!

Weekly Regimen

14 Sulfasalazine

+ 7 Meloxicam

+ 6 Methotrexate

+ 1weekly injection of Enbrel

= 1 week of medication!

So far, the first three medications I have been on hasn't made a dent...unless you count some of the side affects! But I have done 2 Enbrel injections (tube looking thing that is a "Sureclick" needle, which is much safer with little kids around than a syringe!) and can feel some difference. Not 100% yet, but some improvement. Cross your fingers kids that we've found the right pharmaceutical cocktail! I feel like I will be glowing green and should wear a bio-hazard sign!

Mr. Funny Man

Cannon is finding his sense of humor. One night at Cub Scouts, Ryan had Cannon and Brenna. They started telling "knock, knock" jokes, Cannon quickly caught on. Here was his attempt:

"Knock, knock!" (Yelling it!)

"Who's there?"

"Da-ba-da-ba CAR!!!"

"Da-ba-da-ba car, who?"

"KNOCK! KNOCK!" He also loves to imitate voices. He will say, "Hi, Mom!" in a high pitched squeally voice. After I repeat it back in the same tone, he drops two octaves. "Hi, Mom!", in a deep voice. He's also learned the phrase, "I funny!" He loves making people laugh, and can sense when it is inappropriate, which makes it more appealing. At my nephew's blessing, during Sacrament, Cannon got into an across the chapel shouting match with his cousin, Brandt. Cannon said "no!", no where near Cannon, Brandt responded "yes!" Which made us chuckle, so Cannon continued more loudly "NO!", Brandt replied "YES!" I was crying from trying not to laugh. He also loves to spin, make himself dizzy, then watch the world spin around him! He is crazy, but we love him!

Four Months Old!

Time flies! Brooklyn is four months old (yesterday)! She is such a sweet baby, and so happy! She has found her voice (video as evidence) and loves to talk. And she is also past the newborn cry, it is more of a yell like "Hey! Pay attention to me, I'm hungry!" She loves being held by Brenna and smiles at Cannon everytime he gives her any attention. She is rolling from side to side, and LOVES to take a bath. I can tell she will be a fish just like Cannon. She is not a fan of the car at night, but is easy to cheer up. We just love her!

Thanksgiving!

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the OKC Zoo had a free admission day! Rachel, Todd, and Henry were visiting from Illinois, so we made a morning trip to the zoo! It was perfect weather, and the kids had A LOT of fun!

One of the highlights were the gorillas! After basking in the sun, they sat up and started picking their noses, and eating it. All the kids watching laughed, and then the gorillas moved from their noses to their bottoms! Then the kids all shouted "EWWW! Gross!!!" It was hilarious!

Thanksgiving day began at our house with a filling pancake breakfast. Who would have thought that I would have to times the recipe by EIGHT! And I think I could have kept going! Ryan bruised himself up at the Church's Turkey Bowl. The rest of the day was spent baking and preparing for a HUGE thanksgiving dinner at Heather's. We had 12 adults and 13 kids! (And 3 dogs). It was a full house, but yummy food and great company!

Friday was spent relaxing and gearing up for a busy weekend! (And shopping!) Saturday was Jacob's baptism, and Sunday was Luke's blessing. We enjoyed all of the family time, and are THANKFUL for holidays to bring us all together!