Christmas Day

Christmas morning was exciting for the kids! Lindsey was the first one to wake up at 5:50 a.m. We had told the kids that we had to wait until 7:00 a.m. to go downstairs. When Lindsey came into my room, she crawled into bed with me and I told her to wake me up at 6:40. At 6:40, on the dot, she woke me back up. She laid there and watched the clock. We all gathered in my parents room at 7:00 and began Christmas morning.

The kids were all so happy and had a great time. The happiest moment was when Jack pulled a whoopie cushion out of his stocking. It was the only thing he had asked for and was thrilled to get it! The kids were all so great and it was amazing to be surrounded by such great family. After we ate breakfast, we exchanged gifts with each other. The kids had gotten one another gifts and it was cute to see them excited to give their gifts away. (This was a tradition that I grew up with. Each kid was able to go Christmas shopping with my mom and pick out gifts for each other. So, this year, I took each of them to either the dollar store or $1 section of Target).

The kids were pleasantly surprised to receive a Wii from my brothers Richard & Peter and my sister Becky. They have loved playing it and we were so grateful for the kindness and generosity of their aunt & uncles. Thank you, thank you!!!

My grandma and Aunt Camille came over after that and we enjoyed gift exchanging with them as well. They surprised my mom with a new 42" flat screen tv! She was shocked! We had a yummy Christmas dinner, relaxed for the rest of the day and even got out the sewing machine that night.

What a wonderful day to reflect on the birth of the Savior, His life, His example, His teachings & His sacrifice! We hope that each of you had a joyful Christmas as well!

$0.52 worth of pure pleasure

My brother Peter with Hannah

The sign of a good Christmas - coloring on the floor

Christmas Eve

We had a wonderful Christmas - as usual! What a special treat to be with family and loved ones again (we hadn't been home for Christmas for about 4 years). Because of snow and closed interstates, we stayed in Salt Lake (rather than traveling to Oregon) and we had a great time.

My parents always start out Christmas Eve festivities by visiting my grandparent's graves. Hannah, Kate, my parents and I went to my Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson's graves first. Jay and Jeannette (who I was named after) are amazing people that I look forward to meeting some day. My grandpa died when my dad was in the MTC (when it was actually called the LTM) and then my grandma died shortly after he returned. Then we all went to visit my Grandpa Clyde's grave. He died when I was 6. I still remember him and love him dearly.

Then we headed to my grandma Clyde's and aunt's house for Christmas Eve dinner. I was able to see my aunt and cousins that I hadn't seen for several years and we had a wonderful dinner together. (Thank you Aunt Camille for making us feel right at home and for the yummy dinner).

Afterwards, we came back to my parent's house to read the Nativity story and then the kids were able to open new Christmas pajamas that my mom had made. They were so excited and have loved wearing them!

We put the kids to bed, who amazingly all stayed in bed, as they anxiously awaited Santa's arrival with threats of him not coming, fresh on their minds. We did let Emily get out of bed and join us for a white elephant exchange and game night with our cousins. She thought that was such a treat and was so cute. It was a great night and we have such fun memories of it.

The kids with Becky (and her matching pajama pants)

The Christmas House Puzzle

For those of you who know me well, know that I love puzzles. I wish that I had more time to do them, because I think they're great. Growing up, we used to do 1,000 piece puzzles together as a family every year, especially at Christmas time.

There is one puzzle is that absolutely my favorite - it's an old one, called The Christmas House. (This is a blurry version of it). It's also a favorite of my sister, Becky. A few years ago, we decided to time ourselves to see how long it would take us to put it together. We set up the border and we sort the pieces. The first time we timed ourselves, it took us an hour and 54 minutes. We are steadily gotten better and better, so we had to try for a new record again this year. The first time we tried, our time was 1 hour 3 minutes and 50 seconds! Determined to do it under an hour, a couple of days later, we did it again! Our time - 53 minutes and 10 seconds!!!! (I know there are some non-puzzle-doers out there - including Jon - who aren't impressed (and who think we cheat by doing the border and sorting the pieces) - but for those of us who do 1,000 piece puzzles - this is great!). Anyway, what a treat! Next time - under 50 minutes!

Oh, the Snow!

I know that all over the country, people are thinking the same thing...."Wow - there is a lot of snow this year!" Being here in Utah, this is no exception! We were so grateful to get to Utah safely (in between snow storms). The kids have LOVED playing out in the snow and building snow forts and having snow ball fights. Utah snow is much better than Ohio snow!

(You'll notice that Kate and Lindsey are not in these pictures - they get cold super quick and came inside before I could get their pictures).

We were planning on driving up to Oregon yesterday to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Jon's parents and several of his siblings. We woke up early in the morning to find that the major interstate was closed and the alternate route was opening and closing as well. We waited a couple of hours, called truck stops (thank you to the very kind people at Flying J), watched the internet and decided to stay put in Salt Lake. Jon has such a short period of time that he needs to get back to Columbus in and we decided it would be better safe than sorry. Being the mom, I was really worried about making the drive, in the snow, on bad roads, on a longer route, with 5 little kids - and then possibly turning around Friday and doing the same thing. I let Jon make the final decision but I know that he was really disappointed that we didn't make it up. His family is wonderful and we love them dearly. Hopefully we'll be able to see them soon! We are so grateful to be able to spend Christmas with my parents and siblings and so much appreciate their kindness and generosity (and not complaining about having 7 more people around!!).

We hope that everyone is safe in their travels! If possible, enjoy all this crazy snow!

Anniversary date

Jon and I had a wonderful time celebrating our anniversary this week. My wonderful mother and sister watched the kids for us and we were able to go out for several hours.

We had tickets to see a group called Voice Male. It's a group of six men that sing accapella and it was spectacular! The music was amazing, it was funny and really a great thing see! This picture is us at Abravanal Hall in front of a blown glass sculpture.

Anyway, we loved the show and I think it will be an annual tradition from now on.

Then we went to the fine dining establishment of Crown Burger! Hmmmm.....delicious! It was such a treat to sit and visit. For part of our Christmas gift, Kirsten gave us a list of things to ask each other and talk about. It was so much fun and one of the papers was - Top Ten Memories of the Past 10 Years. I don't know if we came up with 10 yet, but here are some of them:

1. Our wedding day - such a beautiful, incredible day!

2. The birth of our 5 kids! We are so grateful for the safe arrivals of all of our babies. All were accomplished with the help of epidurals and monitors (which I think saved each of their lives by warning us of heart rate drops, etc.)!

3. One morning Jon and I woke up on each other's side of the bed. Neither of us have any idea how, when and why we changed places! (It's never happened again).

4. I've yelled at Jon twice in our marriage. One time during a church basketball game. He was the ref and I yelled at him for not calling a reach in foul on my opponent. The second time was while on a trip to the Oregon coast with his entire family. I got tired of waiting for everyone to make up their minds, so I finally lost it, yelled at Jon and marched in the wax museum. Oops!

5. More top 10 to come....

10 Years!

Today is our 10 year anniversary! I can't believe how quickly time goes and that it's already been a decade! Along with every day being amazed that I have a blond daughter, I am even more amazed every day that I was lucky enough to find and marry Jon.


We first met in June 2008. My mission companion, Julianne Gentry Heaps was at BYU and invited me and another missionary companion, to come to Provo to go to the Manti Pageant. Jon was finishing up his degree that summer and happened to be walking to the grocery store when Julianne's roommate saw him and told him about a group going to the Pageant that night. He wasn't doing much else that night, so he did. Jon and Julianne were in the same ward, so when we got down there, she introduced us. We visited for a few minutes and then went on with the evening. He did end up coming home in my car.


Then a few days later, it was the 4th of July weekend and Julianne invited me back down to Provo (I was living in Salt Lake). Somehow we saw Jon again and he convinced me to run the 5K in the morning. He helped me borrow Beth's shoes (again - thank you Beth!) and then after the race we ended up spending the whole day together. I met his other sister Anne and some of her kids, we had a BBQ for lunch, we swam, we went and saw "The Truman Show" and watched the fireworks that evening. It was so easy to talk with Jon and I knew there was something great about him.

The next day, I called Julianne and asked her to find out what he thought of our day and me. What a great friend! She did and then we started calling one another and going out. He had already accepted a teaching position in Nampa, Idaho and was moving in August. We dated for those several weeks and then he moved. We talked on the phone and took turns visiting each other about every other weekend. We were engaged in October and then married in December! It was great!

I married a high school math teacher and I was a secretary for the Idaho Attorney General's office. We began our lives together and never imagined the adventures the next 10 years would bring. Within the first few months of marriage, we got pregnant with Emily and decided to take the path of medical school. Jon had considered medical school before and knew that even though he liked teaching, it wasn't what he wanted to do forever. We finished the school year in Nampa and then moved to Utah so that Jon could take classes to get ready to take the MCAT and apply to medical school. He taught at Murray High School for three years and then accepted an offer from Ohio State to attend medical school. Now, 10 years later, we have 5 amazing children and are finishing up residency - yeah!

We have LOVED our lives together. I love Jon more and more every day and I know that tomorrow, I'll love him even more. He has made all of my dreams come true! Every coin thrown into a fountain, every birthday candle blown out and every turkey wishbone broken, was that I would meet and marry a wonderful man and be able to be a mom! He made both of those things come true! I love you Jon - thank you for these 10 years and here's to the next 10!!

Jon and I on Christmas Eve 1998

We had just gotten back from our honeymoon

10 years later

Christmas with friends

We have had a great December so far (with more yet to come as we go visit family!). We got to celebrate Christmas with two of our great friends this last week. We celebrated Christmas with our friends the Larson's. (And stupidly, I didn't take any pictures). The kids had a great time playing together and eating dinner together. For part of my gift, my friend Becky gave me 3 whole hours all to myself! Wow! It was great! I took the kids to her house on Saturday morning. Doug took Lindsey to basketball practice and the kids all had a great time. They played, made cookies and tried to keep Hannah happy! (Again Becky, I'm sorry she wasn't very good for some of it - she got a stern lecture when she got home). But me? I had an even GREATER time!!!! I had my sewing machine out and sewed and sewed. I had forgotten how much I can get done in a 3 hour block of time with no interruptions! It was wonderful - thank you so much again!

Then we also celebrated Christmas with the Rasmussens! Another WOW! We went over to their house, we visited, the kids played, we ate dessert and exchanged gifts. We seriously have the greatest friends! Kirsten also had my kids earlier that day while I had a root canal re-done (and it's still not finished). She managed to dip pretzels while holding Hannah and then kept Jack and Kate for extra hours - this time I got packing done! Thank you guys so much for having us over, for the amazing gifts and for EVERYTHING!

Happy, excited kids (all 9 of them)!

Kate (with a new haircut) excited about a Charlie Brown book (she had just told me the other day that her favorite people were Dora, Diego and Charlie Brown)

Best Buddies

Poor Ammon - he always ends up with lame Disney on Ice tickets

Best Buddies

New Glasses

It's happening! Our kids are growing up! To prove that to us, Emily got glasses today! She had been coming home from school complaining of headaches and when the school nurse tested her eyes, they weren't perfect, so we took her in. The optometrist said that her eyes are just a little bit off, but not too bad. She was pretty excited to get glasses, so we went ahead and ordered them for her. She is supposed to wear them at school, but not during recess, lunch, gym, etc.

She's a little worried about what the kids at school will say tomorrow, but it was sweet to hear Lindsey & Jack tell her how cute she looked. Lindsey even wrote a little message on Emily's chalkboard about how cute she is.

Great job big girl! We love you!

Jack's Christmas program

Jack had his little preschool Christmas program yesterday and it was so cute! They have 18 kids in their class and 2 great teachers. We've been at Covenant Preschool for the last 5 years with our preschoolers and we've loved it. It's a Presbyterian Church and they do a great job. About 1/2 the class are LDS kids, which is amazing out here! They sang songs, did little finger poems and the teacher read the kids a book.

I'm almost embarrassed to post a picture because our camera is not working great - again! Rest assured that not all the children in Ohio have blazing red eyes! Great job Jack - you sure are cute!

Job Offer!

We've known for a little while and some of you already know, but Jon got an offer from an ER group in Utah and he has accepted the offer. We feel so blessed to have a job, especially in today's economy and feel very grateful for the particular group that he'll be working for. It is very bittersweet to know of our move back to Utah! We are so thrilled to be moving back home and back to our wonderful families! Oh, how we have missed them these last 6 1/2 years! Our kids will be able to be near cousins and have grandparents cheering them on at games, events, and activities. BUT, it is with heavy hearts that we think about moving away from the wonderful land of Ohio!

For those who don't know, I served my mission for our church in Columbus, Ohio and came to love this great land and people many years ago. Coming back and living here again has been greater than I ever could have imagined. It is a wonderful place to raise a family and we have been so happy here. We have met some of our dearest friends, who we'll just always consider family from now on! We have seen our children turn down going to birthday parties because they were on Sundays. We've welcomed three of our five babies while we've been here. We love this place and will enjoy every moment we have left. I hope that we are leaving Ohio a little bit better of a place!

Anyway, we're excited and sad! Excited to be moving on to the next phase of our lives - which has taken us nearly 10 years to get to - and sad to be closing another chapter in our lives.

Hannah - 4 months old

Yeah - I'm back! Between Jon using the computer most of the day for the past week in order to put a presentation together and then having to completely blank out our computer and start over, I've not had much computer time! (I don't have any good pictures on the computer yet).

Back at the end of November, Hannah turned 4 months! Boy - where is the time going? She is still such an amazing baby! She loves, loves, loves watching her older siblings. It's cute when she finishes nursing, I sit her up to burp and she looks around to see what is going on. Her little life is never boring!

She had her appointment last week and she weighed 14 lbs. 12 ounces (70th percentile for her age), she's in the 70th percentile for height and 60th percentile for head size. She's also about 10th percentile for hair growth!! (Okay - that I'm not sure on, but she's pretty bald!). Her other new trick is sucking her thumb!! If she is laying on her back on the floor, she'll turn to her left hand and get her thumb in her mouth. She sucks on a pacifier, so we're hoping to just keep it at that (much easier to throw away than a thumb).

We love you Hannah! Thank you for being such a sweet girl - although very much a mama's girl!

Christmas Tree & Lego Display

One of our favorite Christmas traditions in Ohio is to go cut down our Christmas tree over Thanksgiving weekend. We had found a really nice old man who grew them on his property and then let's you come and cut them down. His wife also makes wreaths, so for the past 5 years, we've gone to his place to get our tree. Beth & Jeff have also come with us and so we get 2 trees, tie them to the top of the van and drive home like the Clampetts.

The kids love picking the tree and I must say, we've gotten quicker. The second Christmas that Jon and I were married, we went to get our tree. He dragged me to 3 or 4 lots in search of the best tree at the best price. I swore I would never Christmas tree shop with him again! But, he's gotten quicker & less picky! We found one we like and the kids helped Jon saw it down.

After we got our tree, we went to McDonald's and then the Rasmussens were able to meet us to go on yet another adventure - to a Lego display! On the freeway though, our Christmas trees were getting more and more air under them, so we did have to pull over once to tighten them down.

There is a town about 25 minutes away called Groveport and they had a free Lego exhibit at their art gallery. I love Lego exhibits, and secretly would love to be one of the people to assemble them, so we decided to go. It was really cute! They had a huge table that was full of houses, stores (including McDonald's and Pizza Hut), farms with animals, buildings, a boat area and train that was going around it. It was great!

I loved the details (including a little Lego man of Karl Malone in a Jazz jersey)!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! I always miss being at home with family, but we have our wonderful Ohio family that make holidays wonderful! Jon had the day off on Wednesday and we (or rather he) spent the whole day making pies. He made apple, pumpkin, chocolate cream and cherry pie. I love that he is so good at making them and that they taste so good! (pies and bread are the two things that I just am scared to make). We were completely exhausted by the end of the day, so we went and got Sonic for dinner. Our area finally just opened a Sonic and it was fun to eat some yummy food that I didn't have to cook!

Thanksgiving Day was great too! Jon didn't have to work until that night, so he got up and played football with members of our ward. He loves playing in the Turkey Bowel and always complains of soreness for 3 days afterwards. He got home and we got everything finished up. We had Beth & Kyle, the Rasmussen family and the Arrey family over! (Our friend Heather came over later that day too, after she got off work). I love squishing everyone in our kitchen and eating Thanksgiving dinner. Kirsten & Beth made so much of the meal that it was easy to put it together. Everything tasted great! We had two turkeys, mashed potatoes & gravy, stuffing, rolls, creamed corn, green bean casserole, rainbow Jell-O, and strawberry Jell-O salad. I think as the years go by, Jon eats less and less for Thanksgiving dinner (he calls himself a "lightweight") and I eat more and more. Wow!

We then just got to enjoy each other's company. The kids played and watched "Babes in Toyland" and the girls chatted and worked on projects and the men...well, the men slept. Jon HAD to sleep because of his overnight shift and Ammon crashed in the living room too. It was a great day and always makes me stop and think about ALL that I have to be grateful for. Thank you to our dear family and friends for making another Thanksgiving so fun!

Ammon & Kirsten with their famous rainbow Jell-O (which takes hours and hours to make!)

Hailey, Brynlee & Kate at their table

Ethan, Emily, Lindsey (and Jack) at the "medium table"

Ahhhh, the sign of a good meal!

Grandpa in the movies?

My dad is a well-rounded guy, who is talented in more ways than can be counted. My kids are realizing this more and more. The other day, I checked out the old Disney movie "Babes in Toyland" from the library. Jack was looking at the back cover and saw a picture of the Toymaker, played by Ed Wynn. (He's also the actor in Mary Poppins - the uncle that floats to the ceiling by laughing). He pointed to him and asked me "Why is Grandpa in this movie?" I laughed and laughed.

My dad is a great actor (he's actually once starred in a commercial for the Salt Lake Buzz - the baseball team)! But, I must say, he is much more handsome then Ed Wynn! I tried to find the same picture of Ed Wynn that was on the back cover of the movie, but I couldn't. But, here is a picture I found.....Does anyone else see the resemblance?

My Pride & Joy

I wake up every morning and am amazed at these 5 little individuals that I love so much!

Jon & Kate Plus 8

Okay, actually it's "Jon & Jeannette Plus 8." (If you don't know what Jon & Kate Plus 8 is, it's a show on TLC about a family with 8 kids. I think it's a fun show to watch and Jon thinks I'm crazy for watching it because our own lives are chaotic enough and why would we need to watch someone else's chaotic life). Anyway, we lived Jon & Kate Plus 8 this last week.

We had three of the Rasmussen kids stay with us while Kirsten went to her sister's wedding reception with Karli (their youngest). We had them from Wednesday afternoon until Monday night (but their dad, Ammon had them all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday). Ammon had to work and was amazing at taking care of the kids whenever he could!

Ethan, Brynlee & Hailey were GREAT! They were so good and we loved having them with us. I think the only part they didn't like was being squished in the van a couple of times. In the mornings, I'd get Emily, Lindsey & Ethan to their respective schools, Jack and Brynlee to Covenant Preschool and then Hailey & Kate to their activities. We did ice skating lessons, dance lessons, gymnastics, piano lessons and a trip to Graeter's for icecream.

The kids were great about going to bed at night and we never heard a peep! We loved playing Play-Doh, building Legos, coloring pictures (I think the kids literally used up an entire coloring book), and playing games. There were lots of drinks of water and snacks to get, coats to put on, bathrooms to use and lots of smiling faces (some with dimples!). Thank you Rasmussen kids for being super duper good!

Kate & Brynlee playing with Play Doh

Ethan, Jack, Lindsey & Emily playing "Ticket to Ride"

I had a lot of good help!!! Emily reading a story to the three girls

Quick trip to Utah

Kate, Hannah and I had a great trip to Utah last week. We went to see my dad receive his award (see previous post) and it was such a treat to be there. We got up really early on Wednesday morning and flew out (this was all thank you to Kirsten for taking Emily, Lindsey & Jack the night before and for Beth and Kyle getting up at the crack of dawn to drive us to the airport). Kate and Hannah were perfect on the flights! We got to Salt Lake by 11:00 in the morning and enjoyed that day at my parent's house. That night was the award ceremony for my dad.

On Thursday, we went and visited my aunt and Grandma. It was fun to see them again and visit with them. Then, we treated ourselves to a trip to the quilt store (always a Utah favorite!). Since I only have 18 unfinished projects in my quilting closet, I thought it was necessary to add 3, no 4 more to the stash. (Hey - it keeps me sane - well, sort of). I made my mom drive through Crown Burger for lunch and then it was naptime! (Kate had been up since 4:15 in the morning for the second morning in a row). Then we went and visited my dad and friend Emily at work. Kate brought my dad a pack of Smarties ("Parties" as she calls them) and they ate them together.

On Friday, we visited my brother Peter at work and then headed to another quilt store (yeah!). Then, that afternoon, my mom, my dad, Kate, Hannah, Candy (my sister in-law) and I went to the Disney on Ice show. My cousin's husband got us tickets (Thank you so much Paul!!!) and so we went. I love these ice shows and it was wonderful. Kate was thrilled to be sitting there and when my mom asked her who her favorite was (meaning what princess was her favorite), Kate pointed to my dad. It was a great show! Then we all went to Sizzler for dinner. We then had to get up super early again on Saturday morning to catch our 6:30 a.m. flight. Once again, the girls were great! I was worried because Hannah got my cold while we were there, so I worried that her ears would hurt, but she was great and Kate was great too!

What a treat to be at home with my family for a couple of days! Thank you mom and dad for letting me come! Thank you Becky, Peter, Michael & Candy for spoiling the kids! Thank you Jon and Kirsten for taking such great care of the older kids so that I didn't have to worry about them at all! (I think they're all a little sad that mom is home and all the fun is over!).

My grandma, Kate, me, Hannah & Aunt Camille

Kate waiting for Disney on Ice (she looks so grown up!)

The best sports - my mom, dad, Kate and Candy