12--December 2008 Posts

Happy December! Actually, it's March 2009 now, so I'm slightly behind on our posts. These posts are about some of the things that happened in December 2008.

12/11/2008 Anuhea participated in the Drug-free poster contest for Seminole County here in Florida. She was one of the 3rd place winners! I say "one" of the winners, because they had 4 winners for each (1st, 2nd, 3rd) to fill the 12-month calendar. Some of you received a copy of the calendar, which shows Anuhea's drawing in October. Here's a picture of Anuhea's drawing for those of you who didn't get to see the calendar.



We attended an awards ceremony, Anuhea and many other children received awards, and we enjoyed delicious food. Congratulations, Anuhea!

12/13/2008 to 12/24/2008 Another highlight this month was being surprised by an anonymous family from our ward. They gave us 12 days of surprises before Christmas. Each day we received a poem that goes with the 12 Days of Christmas poem/song; however, the poem included something about the gift we reveived that day (usually food/snack). It was fun to receive the surprises, and nice to have someone choose our family.

1. On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree. (We received a basket of pears.)
2. On the 2nd day of Christmas. . ., two turtle doves. . . (a package of Dove chocolates.)
3. On the 3rd day. . ., three French hens. . . (a loaf of French bread, and an ornament of a silver angel blowing a horn.)
4. On the 4th day. . ., four calling birds. . . (chocolate coins, instead of real coins for making calls. Clever, huh?)
5. On the 5th day. . ., five gold rings. . . (glazed doughnuts; you know, they're shaped like rings.)
6. On the 6th day. . ., six geese a-laying. . . (a basket of plastic eggs filled with chocolates. I think our anonymous givers know I'm a chocoholic.)
7. On the 7th day. . ., seven swans a-swimming. . . (goldfish crackers)
8. On the 8th day. . ., eight maids a-milking. . . (eggnog)
9. On the 9th day. . ., nine ladies dancing. . . (a CD with Christmas songs)
10. On the 10th day. . ., ten lords a-leaping. . . (They said the lords were stuck in a snowdrift and it was like watching popcorn fly, so we got a tin can of popcorn.)
11. On the 11th. . ., eleven pipers piping. . . (Instead of pipers, we got instant hot chocolate mix for something "piping" hot.)
12. On the 12th day. . ., twelve drummers drumming. . . (a plate of mint chocolate cookies)

We never found out who we received all the gifts from, but we're grateful to them for helping us enjoy the days leading up to Christmas.

12/18/2008 Leiohu learned to sit and crawl all in one day! We can't believe how fast she grows and learns to do new things.

One of Anuhea's classes at school is Chorus. They perform once a semester, and Jason was able to attend the performance this month.

12/25/2008 Merry Christmas!

The children woke up early, but not as early as I thought they would. Before we got to gifts we talked about what Christmas means to us. It was nice to hear what they children had to say, and to share our own thoughts. This is a time to remember Jesus's birth. We also think about Jesus's life, teachings, and example. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and that Heavenly Father sent Him to earth.

Gifts came next, and we (mainly the children, of course) were blessed with many gifts even though we don't have a lot of money while Jason goes to school. We also watched the Disney parade on t.v., and had a huge meal for lunch.

12/31/2008 The year 2008 is over, and we have a lot to be thankful for. Now, we can look forward to a promising year in 2009, and many more wonderful experiences as a family.

Happy New Year's Eve!