Cousin time!!!

John, Myrica and Aiden are in town this week. We've had a lot of fun with them and, of course, Jocelyn was SO excited to see her baby cousin! It is very exciting that he can play, crawl and follow her around now! There's nothing cuter than cousins playing together!! We had pictures taken and I love how they turned out! Especially considering we had to wait for SO long for our turn!

Walking out of the restaurant tonight...

Me singing: "Jesus once was a little child, a little child like me..."
Jocelyn: "Mom! Don't sing!"
Me: "I thought you were happy! Are you having mood swings?"
Jocelyn: "The MOON isn't even out yet, Mom!!!!"

Preschool party!

Jocelyn had her preschool Christmas party today! It was so fun! They made ornaments with their picture in it, sang songs for the parents, exchanged gifts and had lunch together. She loves preschool and is going to miss it next month when her teacher has her baby!!!!!!

Snowed in = Time for gingerbread houses!!

We got our first snow! I really don't like snow, especially when I have to worry about Graham driving to and from work in it! I do love when it snows and are all home together and can snuggle up and enjoy it together. Albuquerque is great because the snow usually melts the next day, which is nice!


Some of our activities and plans were canceled for the day, so Jocelyn and I decided to make our first gingerbread house! We had lots of fun!

She is just like her Mommy! She wanted it to look just like the picture, so she would line up the candies on the table in a pattern and then put them on the house. So funny!

It's not completely done, but we were having friends over so we took a break. We need to finish the windows and the trees, but I think it looks great so far!!!

A FIRST FOR JOCELYN...

Well!! I am in shock because at our ward Christmas party last night, Jocelyn sat on Santa's lap!!!!!!! I didn't think it was going to happen. We see Santa in the mall and she does not want anything to do with him. Of course, the one in the mall is about seven feet tall so he looks intimidating!!

I don't know if Santa being at our church made her feel more comfortable or maybe seeing all her friends sit on his lap before her. Who knows! Last year it was funny b/c she would stand about two feet from him, but would not go any closer for a picture and kind of ran past him after she was done!

I know she doesn't look too excited here, but I am still amazed that she is sitting on his lap!

This picture is funny because they are looking at her shirt to see what it says. It said "Elf Sized" on it. She doesn't seem too thrilled with them being that close and her face pretty much says it all.


After church we went over to my sister-in-law and brother-in-laws house to celebrate Anne's birthday. When we got home, Jocelyn was bound and determined we should get a puppy. I don't know WHY this was such an urgent need, but we tried to explain that you need a good backyard with grass for a dog and you need money to buy a dog and take care of it. She was very upset that we didn't go right then and get a dog...

So she searched all over the house for money so we could get a dog. Trust me, it wasn't as cute as it sounds. Like I said, she was very upset! She decided she didn't like Boomer anymore (poor cat!) and she just wanted a dog!! This is a picture of her searching my purse for loose change. She found some too, but we still don't have a dog! :) Later in the evening, she got over it and told Boomer she loves him. Hopefully we won't go through this again for awhile! :)

Carrots and baths

At dinner while she was eating carrots and chicken...

Joc: "One time, I fed a horse carrots! They like carrots like me!"
Me: "Bunnies like carrots too. Did you know carrots help keep your eyes healthy?"
Joc: "Oh! Yeah! Did you know chicken helps your NOSE stay healthy?!?!"


In case you missed the quote on the side of my blog...
During a bath...
Jocelyn: "Jesus wants us to go in the water and then come up. When I'm bigger, I want to be BATH-TIZED like Jesus wants us to be. Okay, Mommy?"

A wonderful Christmas story!!!

The Meaning of Christmas

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room, and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. "What are you doing?" I started to ask him.

The words choked in my throat, as I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement, TEACH THE CHILDREN!

I was puzzled: What did he mean? He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree.

As I stood there bewildered, Santa said, Teach the Children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that a now-a-day Christmas has forgotten!
Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it on the mantle. Teach the Children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind. All the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven.

He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. Teach the Children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of that promise.

He then reached into the bag and pulled out a CANDLE. Teach the Children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness.

Once again he reached into his bag and then removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree. Teach the Children that the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection.

He then pulled out from his bag an ornament of HIMSELF. Teach the Children that Santa Claus symbolizes the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December.

He reached in again and pulled out a HOLLY LEAF. Teach the Children the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent blood shed by Him.

Next he pulled out a GIFT from the bag and said, "Teach the Children that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift. Teach the Children that the wise men bowed before the holy babe and presented Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We should give gifts in the same spirit as the wise men."

Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. Teach the Children that the candy cane represents the shepherd's crook. The crook on the shepherd's staff helps bring back strayed sheep from the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper.

He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. Teach the Children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang 'Glory to God in the highest, on earth, peace and good will.'

Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL. Teach the Children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of a bell, it should bring people to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.

Santa looked at the tree and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, "Remember, teach the Children the true meaning of Christmas, and not to put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One who is, and I bow down and worship Him, our Lord, our God."

A couple things...

Jocelyn went to a friend's birthday party yesterday. They had a clown who did magic tricks and painted the kids faces! Jocelyn wanted to be a puppy! Pretty cute, huh?!? This is after she ate cake and ice cream, so the red painted tongue had pretty much been licked away. My sister in law and nephew came to visit. We had a blast while they were here! Danny is SO cute and Jocelyn had a lot of fun with him! PLUS, I got to see Twilight for the third time with Janiel! We love it! They loved the bubble table!


Jocelyn and Bryson were playing house...or something. They were in bed on the floor and then one of them would say "cock-a-doodle-doo" and wake them up. This is them all mad b/c the rooster woke them up. Jocelyn would tell Bryson to go outside and "take care of that rooster!" It was pretty entertaining to watch them. They giggled, fought over the blanket and fake snored. So funny.

GLORY!!!

Jocelyn and I were in the car listening to Christmas music. "Hark the Harold Angels Sing" came on. It was a very lively version and at the beginning they were singing "GLORY, GLORY, GLORY, GLORY to the newborn King." Jocelyn said, "Mommy!! They are singing about you!" I turned around and probably gave her a very confused look. She said, "Listen, they sing LORI, LORI, LORI!!"

I listened to the next verse and sure enough...they did not pronounce the G in GLORY, so it did sound like LORI. I was laughing so hard. She must think she has the coolest mom considering I have a Christmas song about me!!!!!! :)

Side note: Yes, my name is spelled Lauri, and my family doesn't prounounce my name as "LORI" but Jocelyn hears me called Lori all the time and I actually gave up correcting people a LONG time ago. Sorry, Mom. It got old. :)

Me: "Jocelyn, why don't you go straighten up your play room a little bit?"
Joc: "Naaah."
Me: "When Mommy asks you to do something, I don't want to hear Naaah."
Joc: "Mom. I am your child. I know that you are frustrated but sometimes childrens don't want to do anything. They just want to sit on the couch for awhile. Okay?... Mom?..."

Catching up...

We have been really busy the past few weeks and I have not been blogging very much! Here is my attempt to catch up...
This past week, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures! I'll have to steal some from Mom. Dinner was fantastic and we had fun spending time together! On Saturday, we went to see The Nutcracker. It was at Popejoy Hall, which is the same place Jocelyn had her ballet recital. She loved it! Her favorite part was the toy soldiers, she says. We sat in the sixth row, so she had a great view! Thanks to my Mom for a really fun evening!!

The previous week, my Mom surprised Graham and Dean with a flight on a WWII B-17 Bomber. We met at the airport near our house. I drove out there and when I turned into the airport, I saw the B-17 sitting there and immediately told Graham to CLOSE HIS EYES!!! I did NOT want to ruin the surprise before Mom got there! So I parked the car facing away from the runway and watched Graham TRY to sneak a peek in the mirrors! Anyway, it was the best surprise and they had a blast!! We ended up seeing Graham's Opa and his cousin there! Opa actually use to repair the radio equipment on the B-17's after they were damaged in combat!




Jocelyn texting. She was very good the whole morning, but by this point she was tired of standing around and waiting!!






Pilot Jocelyn. When the man told her she was going to go fly, she was a little nervous about that! She said, "Don't let me go too high!!"

The last thing I wanted to write about was our Twilight Party! Two of my friends and I threw a party the day before the movie release. We had a lot of fun! I was in charge of games (thanks Kristi!! haha), so we played Twilight Feud and a quotes game. There was also a game that went with the food we served. Each item represented something from the book and everyone had to write down their guesses. We also made candied apples to hand out with our invitations. We doubled the recipe, which was suppose to be enough for 30 apples and it barely covered 18! UH! The party was a blast, but also tons of work and I think the three of us decided to retire from party planning!!!!!


Some of our decorations. Quotes from Bella and Edward in their handwriting and pictures from the movie.



My Twilight Feud game board. The top red square would hold the category title and the bottom red square had the answers, each covered by a strip of black paper until a team guessed it. The teams were divided into "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob". We handed out vampire teeth to the winners! A few of the categories were, "Edwards 7 sexiest traits", "Top 4 things about vampire baseball", "5 reasons you want a werewolf as a friend", "4 ways to ditch Dad", etc!!!

Okay, I lied. One more thing. My Mom bought Jocelyn these Christmas pajamas and Jocelyn wore them to decorate our tree. I just had to post a pic b/c she is just too cute! (I know, I say that all the time!) Also, one of her with chocolate all over her face. She was helping me cook Chocolate Wonderful for Thanksgiving! Silly girl.