Christmas

Christmas was crazy and hectic and full of fun and Porter enjoyed every second of it! Unfortunately for us, Tommy had to work half day Christmas Eve, but was able to meet us at 1:00 for the annual Christmas Eve movie which was "The Princess and the Frog". After that we hurried home to help Ruth Ann prepare for the giant Adams Family Christmas Party that would host upwards of 70 plus people! Pure craziness!

After dinner, we were able to participate in one of my favorite traditions, taking our Sub-for-Santa to the family. We headed over to my mom's to do jammies with Porter and then loaded up the car with the gifts. We caught the tail end of their festivities with the Nativity and Christmas Program which Porter enthusiastically wanted to participate in requesting various songs (although Book of Mormon Stories and Popcorn Popping aren't traditonally Christmas, we humored him) Although we were exhausted by this time, my mom was overjoyed that we stopped by since Christmas Eve is the only real celebration in my family. Oh the complications of switching off and being fair to our families!
We like to stay anonymous with the Sub for Santa because it could be awkward especially because sometimes the family may know us, but I love the little glimpses you see into the family's Christmas. Sometimes you hear squeals of excitement, but I love the feeling of giving up some of what we have to help someone much less fortunate. It is very humbling to do your Christmas shopping after you have seen their list and they are requesting basic things like beds. It is hard to always work this drop off in on Christmas Eve and poor little Porter fell asleep before we got home, but I couldn't give it up.

We were "fortunate" (yes notice the quotations) enough to sleep at my parents Christmas Eve because it was pretty crowded at the LeBarons. So we tucked Porter in and went back upstairs to open the traditional one Christmas gift. And finally, we headed to bed to wait for Santa. After a rough night, we woke to find that Santa had indeed come! Porter was thrilled with every aspect of Christmas morning and insisted that he get to enjoy each gift for a good 10 minutes before we moved on. I love that little boy!After we finished opening gifts, we headed back to the LeBarons to help prepare for brunch, gifts, and finally dinner. Porter was down for a nap for most of it, but was excited to make his way up later to still find some cousins there. Christmas was wonderful but especially being pregnant, all the preparations and cleaning and festivities have left me feeling exhausted. Christmas was truly magical for Porter this year and I can't wait to have another child to share the magic of the season with.

Santa Claus

So to respond to a question posed by some bloggers out there (you know who you are), here is my short but concise defense of Santa Claus:

"Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus.. . Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see."
(Take time to read the most reprinted editorial ever to run in any newspaper in the English language.)

I think adults need Santa Claus more than children do. He gives us an excuse to enter into the magic of Christmas and see it through a child's eyes. There is nothing more magical than watching a child get caught up in the magic of Christmas.

And from Miracle on 34th Street:
Dorey Walker: "I don't think that there's any harm in not believing in a figure that many do acknowledge to be fiction."
Kris Kringle: "Oh, but there is. I'm not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If... you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt. "

David O. McKay said, "It is glorious thing to have Old St. Nicholas in our hearts and in our homes today, whether he enters the latter through open door or creeps down the chimney on Christmas Eve. To bring happiness to others without seeking personal honor or praise by publishing it is a most commendable virtue."

One of the most memorable figurines I remember growing up is that of Santa Clause, hat in hand, leaning over the manger of baby Jesus. Could there be a more perfect depiction of what Christmas is all about?

In our family, we will forever celebrate the magic of Christmas and Santa, never forgetting the true meaning of Christmas which is the birth of our Savior.

Christmas Is Upon Us. . .

Here we go full swing into the Christmas Holidays! Porter is so much fun this year so we are trying to do everything we can to help him enjoy every part of Christmas. He thinks he understands all about Santa and that he says "ho ho ho" and brings presents. He adores nativity scenes where he gets to play with Mary, Jesus, "Joe", the Kings and "donkey boy". His favorite set is at my mom's which is of course the most expensive one. The baby Jesus can be put in the manger or in Mary's arms and he insists on playing with it for hours, closely monitored of course. We set up a train around our tree and he has a small train in his room to go with his tree and that also occupies lots of our time. We went to Zoo Lights on Thursday which he absolutely loved! (it was like 10 degrees so we didn't get good pictures and walked a quite a rapid pace through the lights, but he loved every second of it) We also made the trek down to see the Lights on Temple Square (that almost didn't happen because the freeway was closed and it took us almost an hour to find parking) Porter loved the lights, but in the end this was his favorite part: walking in the snow on the way back to the car. In the words of Porter, "Snow is CRAZY!"

Happy Birthday Porter

Porter is two! It's hard to think that much time has already passed with this little boy. I love his enthusiasm and zest for life. To Porter, everything is "awesome" and he is constantly and literally jumping with delight at every new thing he discovers. My favorite thing is finding him playing with toys in his room when he doesn't know I'm looking. I love hearing him act out characters and talk to all his guys. He loves bath time in the "sub" and his new favorite thing is watering his very own Christmas tree (watering the tree is of constant concern at our house). He loves all the new toys he got for his birthday and always tries to drag one of us into his room to play. And who can resist? He incessantly talks about the zoo, and although we manage to make it up there quite a bit, it is never enough for him. His favorite phrases right now are "awesome", "sure", and "come on mommy." Oh, and let's not forget about my favorite "mommy's mean". Endearing, isn't it? His favorite place to be is nursery and wishes he could go there every day (maybe I need to go back to work and put him in daycare to make him happy?). We love our little boy and feel blessed to have him in our lives and are excited to see his excitement in this upcoming Christmas season.The Cars Cake

THANKSGIVING

We had a wonderfully busy Thanksgiving day. Tom and I started the morning helping the LeBaron's prep for their dinner and then headed over to my mom's house where we helped prep some more! Dinner was great and Porter had tons of fun playing with my cousins. The next morning we packed up and headed out to Wendover for the annual Christmas Tree Cut. Porter thought this was the greatest day ever! He loved climbing on the "truckies" (4-wheelers), running around finding his tree, helping dad cut down his tree, and snack time climbing around in the car.Porter's Tree

I CAN'T HELP MYSELF

As most of you know I have a hard time keeping my thoughts to myself and I've really tried with this one, but I can't. Let me start by saying that Max Hall acted like a moron. Regardless of how he feels about the U or the program or the coach or the players or the fans, he should know that when you are a public figure who represents a University, you shouldn't just spout off like that. I realize he had a lot of pent up emotion about how his family was treated but that is no excuse and I am embarrassed for him. He has publically apologized and it should be accepted as such. He shouldn't have let the actions of one fan be representative of U fans in general. Likewise, we shouldn't let the statements of one player represent BYU fans/players or the program in general. I personally hate the entire rivalry and think it is often taken too far. As one of my only close classmates to attend the rival university in Provo (the horrible bubble that prays in their classes and is full of molly mormon members) I have felt poorly treated and judged for my choice by many friends who attend the U on more than one occasion. My 75 year old grandfather had a similar experience to the Hall's when he was up there attending the big game and had alcohol dumped on him too. (yes I said 75 year old grandpa!!) However, this is not to say that I'm sure there are BYU fans that have treated U fans poorly as well. I personally cheer for the U when they aren't playing my team and appauded their wins and ranking last year and I can only hope that if BYU is ever in that same situation U fans would do the same. I guess my point is that it is a rivalry and I'm sure there are a million University of Utah fans out there that HATE BYU and hate their program and their coach and their fans. No need to point fingers or make generalizations but honestly rivalries are nasty and this is just an example. Max Hall made a mistake and should watch his tongue and not let his emotions speak for him but lets not pretend for one second that many of the other players on both sides felt the same. Max sadly put a dark shadow on BYU's win. But regardless I'm happy for the win so that my bishopric won't wear red ties to church and bear their testimony about the U!

The Zoo

I know I am horrible with pictures, I'll get better. Porter and I went with my mom and her friend and daughter Haven to the zoo on Friday. Although it was slightly chilly, it was wonderful weather for the animals and Porter couldn't be happier. We stopped at the playground first where he noticed some ducks. Ask Porter the lesson he learned and he will tell you that the duck will bite you. He continues to inform us of this fact a number of times throughout the day. They have even more cute babies there now, but Porter has his favorites. He was entranced with Zuri the baby elephant for twenty minutes. As we were moving on, we stopped to see the Rhino. He leaned over the fence and yelled, "Hey Rhino, it's me Porter!" followed by a funny motion with his arms yelling, "and my friends!" As if he and the Rhino knew each other and he was introducing us. Hilarious! He keeps coming up with the funniest phrases. I can't believe he is almost two! He can and will let you know that it is his "bir-day." He also already opened one of his presents while I was in the shower! Naughty! But the naughtiess doesn't stop there. He has once again gone on a hunger strike, he thinks he is justified in biting me when I tell him no, he loves to climb and has now started into full blown lay on the ground basket-case temper tantrums. Oh, how I feel horrible for being that same child when I was little for my mom. Although at times i find it quite humerous, I hope this is only a phase. But if tantrums have anything to do with genetics, Tom and I are in it for the long haul. I am also a bit concerned for the safety of this unborn child since Porter's new form of recreation is to try to push the baby doll in the stroller at Nanny's down the stairs. Am I in trouble here?