mystery gift

familia,

i have to assume that the mystery gift from the north pole which showed up on our doorstep a couple of weeks ago is from one of you. what fun! the book was nice and all, but the real fun has been trying to figure out who sent it. my only clues: mailed from orem and spells my addy incorrectly (its Shelley, like the poet) - since all of you stewart kin do that, that doesn't do much to narrow things down for me... 

so thank you to whomever sent it!

i'm not sending out Christmas cards this year. i've been so overwhelmed with all the things i have to do this season that it just got shoved aside for too long. still, i want to wish you all our very best wishes for a happy and safe holiday. and may it be filled with peace and joy and all that good stuff. 

Merry Christmas!

Coldest Temps Warmest Hearts

If any of you ever get the chance to travel through northern Utah you come upon the small town of Woodruff there you will be greated with a sign that reads "Coldest Temps, Warmest Hearts" Which is exactly what you get here. Yesterday morning it was - 21 degrees. For those of you who have never expericenced such extreme temps let me paint a picture for you. When you walk from your house to your car your nostrils freeze, your lungs ache and you are chilled down to your bones. The "Warmest hearts" I've never meet more down to earth people, they are the type of people who would give you the shirt off their backs if you needed it.

This is a picture of Anthonys car tire after he came home from work, the car had been outside all day in the sunshine, yet there are still icilces hanging from the tire well.

This is a picture of the icicles at our church, Before the young men and women got to them there were some that were 6 feet long.

This is our cute little mail box, notice the icicles hanging from the top. When the temps are in the positives (ie, 1, 3 or 5 degrees) the kids bundle up and enjoy the snow! Enjoy your warm weather for me!!! (anything above 10 degrees! :) )

Thanksgiving with grandma dawna

we decided, last minute, to drive out to see grandma dawna in Nauvoo for Thanksgiving. 9 hours of driving was worth it. it was a memorable trip for our family and a nice way to spend the thanksgiving holiday with missionaries so full of love. we had a thankgiving dinner with all the missionaries and then got to back to grandma dawnas for a second yummy thankgiving dinner!
the spirit in nauvoo is wonderful and it was great for our kids to learn and see so much about the city and the church! we got to watch grandma dawna in 2 performances in which all the kids even little carina thought was fun. they liked seeing grandma on stage!
the kids had been studying pioneers in school so it was fun for them to take a wagon ride, oxen ride and make rope. after 2 days of experiencing pioneer life we went to carthage jail. what a strong spirit there. when we walked up camille looked at the statue of joseph and said, mom look there's joseph smith! if you get a chance go while grandma is there, it's a time you will not forget! we will always remember our thaksgiving in Nauvoo and the spirit we felt!
-crystal, kris and kids

favorite baby must-haves

Firstly, Paysonites, Slade and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the Thanksgiving weekend with you and wish now that we would have extended our stay with you longer, rather than go up to the resort so soon. We'll plan better next time. I'm particularly sorry I didn't get to hang out with you Burtons a little more.... I don't think I even really said good-bye. Sad. All this just makes me want to come back, so I say plan a reunion for the summer, when Grandma gets home. In the meantime, thanks for the company and hospitality and also for the pies.

mmm... those pies....

So here is a question for all who may feel inclined to respond. I'm compiling a favorites list of baby item 'must-haves' for Isabella, and really anyone who has babies. (Even though I'm on my third, I'm still discovering great items).

You can either log in as me and edit this post to add your ideas or you can just respond through the comments part. Hope to get a few good ideas out of this!

Big Hugs to all!
Jennifer

Favorite Baby Stuff

bouncer seat

slings that are still comfortable after 15 min

burts bees baby wash or mustela, if you can find it

bumbo seat (despite their recent recall)

blanket "sleeping bags" with sleeves

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I'll add to the list if I think of more things.