December comes to a close

With 2010 looming just hours away, I realize that I have neglected to update my blog with some awesome December moments. So, what better way to show these experiences than with pictures!


My brother-in-law retired after 20 years of service in the Air Force...

...so we headed down to San Antonio...







Although it was a quick trip for B & K, we were really glad to be able to go down and be there as Joe and his family were honored in his retirement ceremony (of course, we also get to tease him about being "retired!")


Christmas brought with it some ups and some downs. My dad was hospitalized for an infection in his leg, and I battled a sinus and upper respitory infection. Despite these downs, the ups of the season were greater.

We got a little snow...

Maddy made us smile...








We ate yummy treats...






We gave gifts from the heart...

My gift to Brian was a "Brown Bag Special" (brown bag gifts are a huge tradition in my family) containing 30 cards (1 card to be opened each day for the next 30 days) with each card depicting a characteristic or trait that I love about him:

Brian's gift to me was a "Year in Review" letter with pictures and memories describing the different experiences we had in 2009 that were meaningful to him:
(plus an I-Tunes gift card because he's just sneaky!)






2009 was filled with many fantastic days for B&K and now we look forward to a new year filled with more great opportunities to experience and memories to make.

Happy New Year!

Up Too Late (a Christmas tradition)

Well, since staying up too late is really most every night of my life, I guess it doesn't really fit into the category of "Christmas tradition!"

However, the couple of nights leading up to Christmas are a little different than every other late night in my life life because I am usually putting together gifts during these late hours - as was the case tonight. And the gift I was working on tonight is awesome!

Brian and I have a tradition where one of the gifts we give each other is "A Gift from the Heart." This is a gift that is meaningful, personal, and follows a very important rule: you can't buy it.

In years past, I have had no trouble coming up with my Gift from the Heart to Brian, but it seems that the creative side of my brain has recently turned to jello and I have been floundering around trying to figure out what to do this year.

Don't get me wrong, at the beginning of November I had some stellar ideas, some big plans, actually I was planning the grand poobah of all meaningful gifts... I just couldn't get any of them going (much less finished) because of this problem I have called: TIME MANAGEMENT (I have none, therefore it is a problem).

So, here's my novel idea for next year (I'm sure nobody has thought of this yet!)....start working on those stellar ideas, those big plans, and the grand poobah of all meaningful gifts DURING THE YEAR! Yeah, right... a girl can wish it now. It's just that when spring rolls into summer, which rolls into fall, which rolls into... you got it: Christmas again, I realize I am not organized enough to get it done during the year.

And now, enough rabbit chasing ... back to my post about being up too late tonight.

Even though none of the amazingly awesome gifts I had planned earlier got done, tonight I finally figured out my Gift from the Heart for Brian and I have worked my tail off getting it done.

I loved putting it together and can't wait to give it to him!

I love this Gift from the Heart tradition, it is one of my favorite things!

Sing a new tune with me!

Pause the music player at the bottom and sing along to...

Kirsten's version of "Deck the Halls"

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
(This year we'll just keep it real simple)...

Tis the season to be jolly
(Doing things that bring us happiness)...

Don we now our gay apparel
(Who needs that we'll just wear comfy clothes)...

Troll the ancient Yule tide carol
(Spending time together matters most).


This season B and I are trying to to do something together each day to help us focus on what this season is really about - family, friends, and our Savior.

So, while "Decking the halls" and putting our tree up together is one of the things we have done (and one of the things I LOVE!), it is just part of what we have included on our Days of December calendar.

The interesting thing about our Days of December quest, is that I am really finding that no matter what we do, when we purposefully take time to do something that brings us closer together or closer to others, we are also drawn closer to our Savior, and that is helping ME to find the true Spirit of Christmas in a busy world where buying gifts seems to matter most.

What about you? What do you do to find the Spirit of Christmas?

Sing with me

Pause the music player at the bottom so you can keep the tune in your head while you sing...

Kirsten's Version of "Jingle Bells!"

Dashing through the door

Christmas is on it's way

the days will quickly go

laughing on their way.

The boxes must come down

we'll decorate tonight (NOT!)

the ornaments and shiny things
will dress our house up bright.

Oh... December Days, December Days

they fly by in a haze

the hardest thing for me to do

is to avoid the craze.

December Days, December Days

I want to use them well
if anyone knows how I can
please leave a note and tell!

So... with all of the busyness of the season how are YOU managing your December Days?