Friday, December 28, 2012

The December Roller Coaster

December is such a strange month for me. I love getting wrapped up in the Christmas season and celebrating our Savior's birth. I love the songs, the decorations, the stories, the excitement on my kids' faces. But I also miss my dad, and from about mid December on, I have a hard time doing things whole-heartedly. I still remember Dec. 19, 2007 like it was yesterday. My dad picked Maisey and I up from the airport and we went to have lunch with my mom at her school. When we got home I was showing him how Maisey had just learned to roll over. I was so proud to show him. But then just a few minutes later I remember having to take him to the hospital. I remember after my mom got there I left because I didn't want Maisey there. I didn't want to go home so I just went to my cousins house and cried. I also remember the miracle it was that he got to come home on Christmas day and spend his last day with his family. We were all home that year, what a blessing. The next day he was taken to the hospital by ambulance. My sister and I followed. We visited with him in the ER and then they were going to move him upstairs so my sister and I waited in the lobby while my other siblings were coming to visit. Once we were all there, our Stake President showed up, and my aunt. We all waited in the lobby until they were ready for us. Well, that never came. A code was called over the intercom and I knew it was him. I remember all gathering together in a room and members of the hospital's clergy team came to meet with us. I couldn't believe that was the end of it, the end of his life. This year it has been harder than usual. You would think after 5 years, it would get better, but it hasn't.

This year, was even harder. I had a childhood friend pass away on the 16th and I attended his funeral. It was the first funeral I've been to since my dad's. I sat next to a family friend who actually was the first non-family member that I had to tell about my dad. The flower arrangements were so similar to the ones that were at my dad's funeral, and the same song "How Great Thou Art" was sung and I couldn't hold back the tears.

Along with all of this, we have been having more issues with my brother. And Miley has just barely outgrown all of the clothes that my Dad had bought for Maisey. It was nice to dress her in something from him on a day when I needed him. It's helped me feel close to him again. And I've had a mental battle with myself all season about a picture frame. My dad bought a frame for Maisey with "Santa and Me" on it and he was going to dress up in his Santa suit and take a picture of him and her to put in it. Well, it never happened because of what went on during the week before his last Christmas. I've never put a picture in that frame. Every year I put in on my window sill in my kitchen and every year the original picture of some little blonde haired girl stays in it. This year, I decided to do something about it. This year I dragged the kids to the mall, had a picture taken with Satna, and put it in. I'm still not too sure what I think of it, but I took that step. I'm sure that's what my dad would have wanted me to do. 

It has just been a hard few weeks. I just need to keep singing to myself:

Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

When thru the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze

When Christ shall come, 
 With shouts of acclamation
And take me home
What joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And there proclaim,
"My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul
My Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art


I know my Heavenly Father is aware of my needs and my feelings. I know He sends little tender mercies to me to show me that He loves me and that He (and my Dad!) know what is happening in my life. During our game night with my mom, the movie The Sound of Music came on TV. That was my Dad's favorite movie and I know that was just a little something to help ease my troubled heart.

 
 Merry Christmas Dad! I can't believe it has been 5 whole years since I've seen you!

 The old frame
The new frame

Christmas Card 2012


Maisey (5) - Loves Kindergarten, primary, dance, and art
Gage (3) - Loves preschool, trains, making messes, and riding bikes
Miley (7 months) - Loves mommy, snuggles, walks, and graham crackers
Dad and Mom - Love days off, family time, and silent nights!

With Love this Christmas Season,
The Grimmetts

Christmas Day

Christmas was super relaxed for us this year. No where to go, no one to host. It was awesome! The kids played with their new Santa toys for a while and then Miley went down for her nap. While she napped, we opened presents and ate breakfast. When she woke up, Maisey was thrilled to be Miley's present helper. It really was such a great morning.

Highlights:

Maisey - Barbie Princess and the Popstar dress-up clothes, transforming barbie, and movie. Barbie motor home, iPod shuffle, Polly Pocket, Cinderella movie, American Girl high chair, salon chair, and clothes.

Gage - Angry birds game and shirt, helicopter, Thomas Trackmaster, Cranky the Crane giant puzzle. Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 and 3. Buzz dress-up. Chainsaw and saftey goggles.

Miley - Mirrored Vanity set, Bongo drums, Monkey ball, books, cute clothes, giant box of graham crackers!

Mom - jewelry, scarf, pea coat

Dad - Remote control helicopter, tickets to BYU basketball game in Portland, BYU tie. Giving Lego sets to the kids!!!!!






 Grammy is opening her present from us. 

We got her a photo phone cover but we (Shaun) sewed it to our family's gag gift that gets passed around a couple times a year, the bunny.




 
 Christmas breakfast of butterbraids, pineapple, juice, and egg nog!




 
 We set up Gage's angry bird pigs on some gift boxes and let him knock them down. He loved this!

 Watch out, he's heading for the trees!

 This was how the afternoon was spent. . . Lots of Legos!


Lots of "Thank you" Christmas hugs!
 




 




We finished the night by some snuggle time while watching Alvin Christmas!

It was such a perfect day!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Christmas Eve Eve and Christmas Eve

We had two Christmas Eves this year. One on Sunday with my mom and then the other on Monday with just our fam. It was a little different this year, but that's ok!

SUNDAY:

We had our big dinner on Sunday.
Ham, potatoes, rolls, Jell-O jigglers, Christmas salad, and corn. Everyone's favorites!

Daddy had to go to the church to deliver Christmas gifts from the giving tree, so we decorated sugar cookies while he was gone.
Grammy showed them how to spread the frosting out!

Once Daddy got back the kids sang some Christmas songs and just when it was starting to get wild, we stopped singing and started playing Christmas BINGO! The kids had so much fun that I think Christmas BINGO will be our new tradition.

Once we got the kids in bed, the real party started!
Games and snacks, just my style!

MONDAY:

We started the day off with this adorable little girl!



We met up with a bunch of friends to go caroling at a local retirement home.
We have a great group of friends!
Gage was a little on the wild side. He almost opened an alarmed door, rode a lady's walker, climbed a banister, pulled ornaments off a Christmas tree, and played with the little figurines in the Christmas village.
But it was all worth it on the way home when Maisey said she felt good inside because of the good deed we had just done.

We made gourmet grilled cheese (can any grilled cheese really be considered gourmet?) for dinner then got all bundled up to finally walk the Christmas light route in Keizer. We had driven it several times already this year because it was always too rainy to walk. But Christmas Eve was perfect weather.

The kids thought Santa in the tub was funny this year!

We let the big kids run most of it to get all of their energy out. . . it worked!

We got home, read scriptures, got in jammies, left a note with some cookies and egg nog for Santa and put out stockings. The kids were in bed by 7:30!
Gage signed his own name this year.

 Santa visited early in the night so she, I mean he could go to bed!

Christmas Morning is coming up next!

Christmas Activities

December is always a busy month, but we were sure to spend lots of time as a family creating memories. I love being with my little family and I'm grateful for the fun things that we get to do!

At the beginning of December, we went to Target to pick out ornaments for the kids this year. We do this every year and the kids get to choose something that represents them that year.
Gage chose a 5-pack of Thomas ornaments. Those were perfect for him and the fact that they came in a 5-pack explains his deep obsession with trains this year.

Maisey had a really hard time choosing between a 5-pack of Barbie ornaments or a Taylor Swift guitar that played a song. She asked everyone in our family which one she should choose, and ended up with the guitar! That thing was well worth its money this year. 

Gage got to make mini gingerbread houses at preschool. Maisey and Gage devoured that thing at lunch the same day!

Maisey and I did some Christmas activities during our "fun school" time in the afternoons. We let Gage join us for this ornament and he cut his Santa's boots off.

Maisey had her Christmas dance performance. She actually was supposed to perform on 6 different days, 5 for local schools and retirement homes, and 1 for the final performance. We only made it to 3 of the extra performances because of school. She did such a great job at every single one of them. Her teacher would tell the other kids in her class to watch Maisey because she knew what she was doing!


Grammy and Miley at Maisey's final performance

Maisey's class

One proud Mom!


We went to our ward Christmas party
We were asked to do the nativity 
(Miley was being grumpy so we ended up using a doll)

Miley met Santa for the first time. . . not too sure

But we still got a smile!

Gage asking for every train on the planet. . . and a helicopter

Maisey asking for Barbie Princess and the Popstar stuff

The year we went super easy and useful for our friend gift.
The kids picked out rolls of wrapping paper and we attached these tags to each of them.

Maisey had a craft day at her school and I got to go volunteer. It's always fun to see her in her school element.
This was a rosemary wreath she made with the 1st grade teacher.

We went to Bridgeport Village on Maisey's first day of Christmas break. Grammy came with us and Daddy met us there during his lunch.
This kids are lucky to have such a great Grammy!

This is the whole reason for going to Bridgeport: the Train!

Gage was so giddy! He got to ride that thing 4 times!

We met a real live Frosty! He was walking around and playing in the "snow"

Here is a "snow" picture. They had machines blowing a soap mixture out that made it look like it was snowing. The kids thought this was pretty neat.

We went to the mall by our house for a picture with Santa.
  
It's been a pretty good month!

(I had some videos that I tried uploading, but they wouldn't work. :( Maybe I'll have to do a whole video post if I can get it figured out!)