Yes, Virginia...

There is a Santa Claus. His Holiday Spirit is very real and we are so grateful for it. We don't know who our Secret Santa(s) is/are and if you even read our blog, but we feel an overwhelming need to thank you and this is the very best way we can think of.

Just the other day I was listening to a concert from a local musician on the radio. He spoke about how he had been hospitalized last winter due to a serious medical condition. He explained how difficult it had been for his pride to know that friends and family were shoveling his sidewalk and taking care of his home and family while he was confined to the hospital. One day he was thinking about the lyrics to one of his favorite Christmas songs and the words, "Let Earth Receive Her King," really struck him. He realized that part of "receiving His King" was being humble enough to receive those who wanted to serve their King by serving him.

It's no secret this past year has been a difficult one for our little family. We are doing fine--we really are--and are probably doing better than most people in our situation would be. Our cupboards are far from bare and Santa Claus certainly wouldn't have forgotten Garrett and Abby, but the kindness and generosity of our Secret Santa has brought a feeling of magic and joy to our house we really needed this Christmas season. Just knowing that somebody took the time to remember us, in spite of their own holiday hustle and bustle, means more than we could ever express.

The prideful part of us wants to track you down and pay you back (or at least properly thank you), but we are trying to be humble and just remember that when we gratefully receive you, we are also receiving our King. I can't help but think of the lowly circumstances in which our Savior--the Greatest of all-- was born. Perhaps of everything we could learn from Him this holiday season, humility is the lesson we need most of all.

So to whoever you are, where ever you are, we thank you from the very bottom of our humble hearts. This Christmas is going to be our best one yet and we will remember it for the rest of our lives. Thank you for your goodness. God loves you, and so do we.

A Family in Need

Cache Valley is grieving this Christmas for a family who lost two young sons Saturday morning in a tragic car accident. A good-hearted friend is organizing an online auction to help raise money for them. Please read the news story, visit the blog, give whatever you can, and share this message!

A Christmas Compromise

You may remember reading about our very sad Christmas tree biting the dust. I wanted to get a new (decent) one, while Greg wanted to fix the old one or get a real one.

BEHOLD The Compromise:


Why is this a compromise? Greg built this lovely stand to get us through this Christmas and we will shop for a new one on the after-Christmas sales. AWESOME!

Look at this beautiful tree... (Okay, it's a bit crooked and the ornaments are mostly hand-me-downs, but we like it.)


We took the little elves to see St. Nick at the town library. You never know how it's going to go, but both kids did great. No tears were shed--a Christmas miracle!
When Santa asked Garrett what he wanted for Christmas, Garrett responded with, "A present." DONE AND DONE, little boy! So easy to please.

May I just add how much I am loving Christmas this year with Garrett. He loves it all--the lights, the songs, the stories, the snow, all of it! He is old enough to enjoy it, but still too young to be greedy. He loves the Nativity every bit as much as he loves Santa (if not more) and he has been so sweet. He loves to talk about Bethlehem, the baby Jesus, the Shepherds, angels, etc. (A very nice change from the Witch kick he was on there for awhile.) We are loving this holiday season and every day is bittersweet because it will be over way too soon. (That's all my opinion, by the way. I happen to be married to Mr. Scrooge/the Grinch and he would be all too happy not celebrating Christmas at all. Unfortunately for him, he married the wrong girl on that one.) :)

Grandpa Willy gave Garrett an early Christmas present--his very own tool bag and tools to work with daddy. He loves it!

Abby reached a major milestone in her life: the Pebbles Flintstone hairdo. Love, love, love it!

'Tis the Season...for 50 Free Christmas Cards!

Sending out Christmas cards is something I've really enjoyed doing, especially since I've had kids and an excuse to take family pictures. But let's be honest, for a young family on a Christmas budget, it adds up quickly to buy the cards/envelopes, print the pictures, and then drop 50 bucks at the post office to mail the darn things. Hence the reason I am SO VERY EXCITED about this killer Christmas card giveaway from the awesome folks at SHUTTERFLY! I have had so much fun looking at their website and browsing their cards. I kept thinking to myself that there must be some sort of catch--like maybe they display their cutest designs but make you choose your free ones from the hidden ugly collection, but nope! You really get to choose your favorite from their literally hundreds of delightful designs and get 50 FREE CARDS just for blogging about it. Seriously, it's that easy. Well, it's really not that easy because you have to agonize over which darling card you are going to add your mugshot to, but at least it's free, free, free!

Here are a few of my faves:

Aren't they just the best? And aren't you just so hoping to be on my Christmas card list this year? :)

Don't wait--head on over to this site right now and check it out!!!

P.S. Don't forget to add ME to YOUR Christmas card list because I can't wait to see your fabulous SHUTTERFLY card!!!

TWO GLORIOUS DAYS...

...is all we enjoyed with our lovely Christmas tree before it was broken by this little elf.



We're still not sure what happened. I was in the bathroom getting ready when I heard the dreaded crash/shattering. I walked out and Garrett said, "It's really bad." I asked him what happened and he responded with, "I broked our tree."

I probably shouldn't have been, but I was actually really surprised because for the whole 2 days it had been up, both Garrett and Abby had been really good at leaving it alone. The tree itself wasn't anything super special--just an old one Greg's cousin's grandma (did you catch that?) gave us the first Christmas we were married. Somehow the plastic stand on the bottom broke in the fall, so the tree is currently propped up against the wall until we decide what to do.

Mrs. Claus would love to just get a new tree--you know the nice ones with the lights already on them that come in three pieces you just snap together and then plug in and decorate? (Mrs. Claus spent multiple hours assembling this old tree, fluffing each branch and then putting it in, wrapping the lights around the tree, etc.) Santa Claus, on the other hand, thinks he can fix the old one or make a trek into the hills and cut down a "real" one. The only problem with this is that Santa Claus is a busy man this time of year and I would like to have a functional tree before New Year's Eve.

Stay tuned to see what happens...it should be interesting.

Sadly enough, the only ornament that didn't survive the fall was this darling one I brought back from NYC a few years ago. Sad. :(

For Mal and Mike...

He's gone. As of 1:15 yesterday afternoon, Greg's darling baby brother is now an "Elder" and the MTC in Provo is enjoying the Matt Phillips show we've all enjoyed for the last 19 years. (Okay, not all of us have known him for 19 years, but close enough.)

This post is lovingly dedicated to Mike and Mal, who happen to be living the high-life on the other side of country and missed the festivities. It was a perfect day: A teary Matt gave a wonderful talk, the chapel was filled with lovely ladies who are hopefully now home baking cookies and writing spiritual epistles in hopes of impressing the handsome Elder, the food was FABULOUS, the company couldn't have been better, and it only dumped about a foot and a half of snow the morning of his non-farewell. Yes, it was all great.

La Casa de Phillips was overflowing and many of Matt's guests ate quickly and left before I had a chance to get pictures, so here's who was left when I finally busted out the camera.

First things first: Miss Abby-Cakes. She's missing her bow and a shoe, but at least she has Grandma's scriptures. :)

Cute Cousin Adrianne and Baby Jack. Abby and Jack are only 12 days apart, so it was really fun for Ady and I to chat and watch them play together.

A portion of the dashing Darke family.

Uncle Gary and his two darling daughters.

Garrett giving Uncle Gary a big squeeze.

The Man of the Hour himself with sweet Aunt Rosalyn.

A precious picture of Grandpa and Grandma Riddle. So sweet!

Speaking of sweet....

Notice Aunt Diane's weepy eyes...bless her heart. :)

I love this picture of Greg with his Grandpa. Undoubtedly sharing hunting stories...what else would you talk about with Grandpa Riddle?

Cousin Amy and Matt. Notice her teary eyes as well...she must get it from her mom.

Eric and Cute Gini.

Grandpa Willy and a sleepy-looking Abby.

The G-Man and the Elder.

Josh with his lovely lady, Becca.

I love this picture of Greg's cousin, Isaac. Check out that smile.

Grayson, Shannon, Miles, Carla. We were so thrilled when Shannon told us she is expecting a baby girl this Spring. You can't tell in this picture, but she has the cutest little baby bump! YAY!!!
Awesome picture of the missionary with his parents. At least you can always count on Jan to smile and look nice in a picture.

Speaking of cute pregnant gals, here's Cathy! She said absolutely no belly pics. At least she has a lovely face!

As things were winding down, Garrett settled in to watch his new favorite movie, "Bednobs and Broomsticks." (Garrett is obsessed with witches to the point that it's getting embarassing/disturbing. Okay, that's slightly exaggerated, but it's pretty funny. More to come on that in a later post.)

Garrett wanted me to "way" by him, and I was more than thrilled to oblige. The night before had been a rough one with a teething (or something) Abby and I honestly don't think I could have gotten more than 3 hours of sleep. I was out before my head even hit the pillow. Thanks to Greg for taking such lovely pictures of the little man with his Sleeping Beauty (or "Mrs. Beauty" as Garrett would say). Have I ever mentioned how much I love being the #1 girl in Garrett's heart? He'll discover there's better options out there soon enough, so I'm trying to enjoy every moment.

Here's a few more sleepyheads...

Matt was "set-apart" as full-time missionary on Tuesday night. Here he is with Bishop Albertson and President Call.

The night before a missionary leaves is always so bittersweet. Laughing one minute, crying the next. Poor Garrett didn't know what to think about it and was quite concerned. Whenever Matt got teary, Garrett would give him a big hug and say, " It's okay, Matt." Super sweet. It was also really sweet when Matt asked Garrett if he wanted to be a missionary. His response: "No, I'm good."

Abby was just happy to be there. (Mal, this picture is for you. Check out her little boots. Totally ridiculous, but oh-so-cute!)
This fine couple has now sent off FIVE missionaries. WOW! (Matt says they saved the best for last. Naturally, I'm inclined to think they hit the jackpot on the first one, but Matt is a close second. ) :)

I was really hoping to get a good picture of Matt with the kiddos, but forgot about it until they were in their jammies and totally beat. This is the best we got. Oh well.

It's so crazy to think that Garrett will almost be 5 and Abby will be Garrett's age when Matt "returns from his mission in glory." (Name that movie, anyone???)

And there you have it. Unfortunately, Greg had a project going at work he really needed to be home for on Wednesday, so we had to come home and miss the Brick Oven lunch/kick the Elder off at the MTC curb experience.

Maybe next time...which will be Garrett in about 16.5 years...WAAAHHHH!!!

Good Times in November!

"The Great Blizzard of 2010" has come and gone and I should be sleeping, but I figure I'm about due for a blog post with pictures. It's been a busy couple of weeks and we have lots to catch up on!

Abby and I attended the Aggie game a few weeks ago while Garrett went pheasant hunting with Greg. The Ags even won this particular game and Abby was a very good girl. (Sorry, no pics of the mighty hunters.)

Abby is a crawling machine and likes to explore and make messes. She loves to crawl underneath the end table in our living room and eat the magazines. Does that mean she's deficient in a mineral or something if she likes to eat paper?

The past few weeks have been full of sickness for our little family. Every single one of us has had a yucky stomach bug of some sort. As previously mentioned, Lucky Greg got sick enough he ended up in the hospital, but the rest of us were just miserable for a day or two.

Garrett woke up fevered on this particular night and thought the thermometer would make a great phone. (He's really into talking on the phone these days and can turn just about anything into a phone. When we ask him who he's talking to, his usual responses are "some everybody" (my personal favorite), "Claudia," "Grandma," or "Jenna.")

Look at how red his little cheeks are in this picture. My poor little guy.

Abby has discovered a new friend and thinks that she is just the greatest! Maybe one day I'll actually get this mirror hung--until then, it provides some nice entertainment while it is propped up against the wall.

I'm afraid that Miss Abby might be just as adventurous as her big brother. Heaven help us! She is quite fond of climbing in the laundry basket and thinks it is just hilarious when she falls out. She has also discovered how to climb up the stairs. (We didn't know she knew how to do this until I found her halfway up them one day. Awesome.) We need to get a gate, but just have a box in front of them for now (W.T. babyproofing, I know). She is a sneaky little thing and watches for the box to be moved. If she sees even the slightest opening, she checks to see if we're watching and then makes a beeline for the stairs. (I really need to get a video of her doing this. It's pretty funny.)

Greg is not such a big fan of pictures of himself while in the hospital. (I wonder why.) Some pics of him getting loaded into the ambulance to be transferred from Logan to SLC probably would have gone for big money on this blog, but no such luck. (He did insist on putting on his regular clothes and looked pretty funny as he was being wheeled out in his jeans and cowboy boots. He tried to talk the ambulance drivers into just letting him walk out, but no luck there.)

The life-flight helicopters took off and landed right outside his window--much to the delight of Garrett and cousin Annabelle. We spent some quality time looking out this window!

The rooms in the hospital in SLC had these nice boards in the room for the patients to fill out. Greg's board got filled out a few times, but I never saw Greg anywhere near it even one time. It gave us a good laugh and his visitors something to do. :)

I did manage to sneak a picture of Greg in his hospital bed, just because this was so funny. He was reading a double-issue magazine (thanks to Sher) and from where we were sitting, it looked like he was reading it upside down. Another good laugh!

More fun facts about my dear Gregory...

Some lovely visitors! Sorry to everybody else who visited and didn't get your picture taken. I know the only reason you came to see Greg was because you were really hoping to get some public recognition on our blog. :) I just happened to have the camera out because I was taking a picture of Greg's board and of him reading the magazine upside down, so I snapped a picture of this crew while I was at it.

My niece did borrow my camera to take this awesome picture of her dad totally sacked out in the waiting room. (Yes, he's really asleep. Like, REALLY asleep. We're talking drool on the bench and everything. Doesn't that just look so comfortable?)

Once we were finally home again, Abby didn't waste any time getting herself right back in the laundry basket!

We had only been home for a day or two when Garrett woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me he had barfed all over his bed. Great. After getting him bathed and cleaning up the mess, I got him back to sleep and my head had just touched the pillow when Abby started fussing. I went to get her and was thrilled to discover she had had a major blowout. ARGH! I got her cleaned up and back to bed and it seemed like I had barely closed my eyes again when it was time to wake up. It wasn't too much later that the stomach bug bit me and I wasn't feeling too hot, either. Needless to say, we had a rough day or two at our house.

The next evening I was worn out and dare I admit it, maybe feeling a bit sorry for myself. Everybody was asleep and I was cleaning the bathroom floor (Did I mention that Garrett has decided to potty-train himself in the midst of the madness? Great timing, huh?) when I glanced out the window and noticed this:

Seriously the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. I've seen some good ones in my day, like the sun setting over the beach in Hawaii, but this one takes the cake. I was tempted to keep my rotten mood and just keep cleaning, but I set everything down and walked out onto the front porch. I tried my darndest, but it was impossible not to feel hope while in the midst of such incredible beauty. It sounds corny, I know, but I realized that this is life--my life--and it is always going to be full of ups and downs and highs and lows. The trick is learning to enjoy the ride and to find the good things, even during the hard times. I thought about the story I had just seen on the news about all of the people sick with cholera in Haiti. I realized how lucky we are to be sick in a house with running water and toilets that flush and tubs to bathe in and sinks to wash our hands in. I don't particularly enjoy cleaning up barf or the other stuff, but at least I can wash dirty sheets and clothes in a washing machine--and I have extra of everything we need, so I don't even have to wait for it to be washed to have clean clothes and a comfy bed. It didn't take me very long to decide that my life isn't too bad after all.

I walked back in the house and couldn't resist taking a picture of my sleepy little buddy. Notice the cute little giraffe sleeping by him. This giraffe once belonged to a very sick girl who eventually died of a brain tumor. Her family sold her stuffed animals at the Relay for Life to raise money for cancer research. Garrett fell in love with this little giraffe and we brought him home to live with us. Garrett sleeps with Mr. Giraffe every night. I often wonder what stories this giraffe would tell if he could talk to us. I can only imagine the heartache and tears he has seen. My mom would always tell us when we were growing up and feeling sorry for ourselves, "No matter how bad you think you have it, you don't have to look very far to find somebody who has it worse."

Thank you, Mr. Giraffe for reminding me that our sicknesses were only temporary and you've seen much worse.

And just like it always does, the sun shone brightly the next morning and life goes on. The kids and I are all better and Greg is working on it. As Thanksgiving approaches, I have realized this year that we have so much to be thankful for. Especially times like this: