Christmas Day

Our Christmas was full of smiles, laughter, and simple, thoughtful gifts.

We started with stocking gifts and for Bret, Erika, Derek and Sierra that meant new hats.

Bret giggled the whole time he put on his bearded hat and was happy to have it keep his face warm while he was skateboarding.  Erika Jo didn't take her llama hat off the entire day and even wore it to work the next day.

The minion hats were a perfect fit for Derek and Sierra.  They are masters at making crazy faces and silly sounds and the minion hats only enhanced their skills.

Justin had a hard time figuring out what to give to Levi and with a couple of suggestions from Levi he found a beanie that he was happy with and hoped it would keep his head warm on those extremely cold work days.  Though it wasn't a really exciting gift, it was thoughtful.  The excitement came when he decided how to wrap it.  Levi is also a gum addict so Justin picked up a container of cubed gum and individually wrapped each piece and put them back into the container.  He then put the container in a box and wrapped that.  After wrapping the gum in three different containers, each getting larger, he wrapped the beanie around it and then wrapped the beanie.  After nine wrappings, and an encouraging note on each wrapping, his practical gift was transformed into one he was excited to give.

It took Levi just under five minutes to open it with all of us, but especially Levi, laughing the entire time.

Erika was tucking the little boys into bed and when she noticed one of the blankets they were using she told them about her "Danky".  When the three older kids were little my Grandma Hawkins made each one of them a blanket.  The following year we were traveling to Texas and I needed a way to easily pack their blankets to take with us so I sewed a pocket on each one to make it possible to fold the blankets up into pillows.  Erika called hers Danky.  She told them how she still has her Danky and still cuddles with it sometimes.

Later that night she decided that she wanted to make each of the boys their own Danky.  It was five days before Christmas.  The next day she and Bret went shopping for fabric but then she had work for two days.  On Christmas Eve she was still sewing them together but I knew that she would finish because that's how we do things.  My mom was sewing the buttons on my prom dress when my date arrived and I am well known for finishing projects just in time for a deadline so it didn't concern me at all that Erika's was still working on them late Christmas Eve.  Grandma was very helpful and seemed excited to have a project to do that night.  It made it seem more like Christmas for her.

Erika was so excited for them to open their blankets!  She taught them how to fold them up into pillows and showed them how she used to tuck her feet into the pillow pocket at night.  They cuddled with and dragged them around the rest of the day and throughout the Christmas break.

One of the highlights for Christmas was making our gift for Grandma and Grandpa.  They had received their mission call the week before and were going to be leaving for the Louisville Kentucky mission in February so we wanted our gift to be something they could take with them.  For family home evening we talked about missionary service, sharing our testimonies and our love for the Book of Mormon.  Our activity that night was for each of us to write our testimonies in a Book of Mormon so that Grandma and Grandpa could take them with them on their mission.

It took the rest of us a little time to come up with what we wanted to write but Nathan went off to a place on his own and in a few minutes came back and asked if what he wrote was okay. After reading it I could hardly speak to respond.  He did it all on his own with no promptings from us.  The others wanted to hear what he wrote so he read it out loud. Justin remarked, "how old are you?  That's perfect!".

The Book of Mormon teaches me about the gospel and teaches me good things.  My favorite person in the Book of Mormon in Nephi.  I have a testimony that Jesus is real and that he loves us.  I love you. Love Nathan

I believe that Grandma and Grandpa will be wonderful missionaries and will be inspired when it comes time to pass along our gift.

One day in November Bret called and asked if I could hide something for him until Christmas.  He didn't want Erika to have any idea about it.  His gift was so thoughtful and her reaction was perfect.

Erika very seldom cries and especially not when she is put on the spot or in a crowd.  When she opened her gift it was as if the rest of us weren't even in the room as she pulled Bret into a hug and gently cried.

Holiday Parties

The teachers at Hibbard Elementary decided to change the way they did the Christmas program this year.  In the past we would all meet in the gym and have class presentations from each class.  This year the theme was "Celebrating Around the World" and each class had a country that they were ready to present in the classroom.  

Hyrum's class presented Bolivia.  They had and wore traditional hats, learned a song in Spanish, and presented facts about the people and how they celebrate.  They also served horchata and bunuelos (rice drink and pastries).

I loved hearing Hryum sing Away in a Manger in Spanish!  He would quietly practice at home but didn't want me to hear until we were at the school.  Prior to their performance the only part that I could understand as he would secretly practice was "pequeno Jesus" as he cradled the imaginary baby Jesus in his arms.  I choked up every time I saw it. 

Nathan's class presented Germany.  Their classroom had been divided into five groups and each group had spent the past week getting ready to present.  We learned about the language, Christmas traditions, and showed some of the scarfs and clothing that the people would wear for special occasions.

Then the students decorated a ginger cookie for their guests.  Erika was great to jump in and help with the juice and cookies.  

LeRoy had been made the Legal Shield Regional Manager in November so it was our responsibility to host the local Christmas party at our house.  I had to really hold myself back since the tradition is to do it potluck style and LeRoy was grilling his famous salt and vinegar chicken.

    

My part was to smile, shake hands and provide the paper products and serving utensils.  I couldn't resist at least doing a rice crispie tree and stuffing our little candy cane holder.

Justin asked me one morning if I had an idea for a white elephant gift for orchestra....and he needed it in fifteen minutes.  

I quickly put together a packet of donut seeds.

All of Levi's suggestions for Christmas were far out of our budget so his gift was cash, cleverly presented (thank you pinterest).   

Welcome, December

Our first FHE in December was dedicated to decorating the family room and tree for Christmas. We pulled out all the lights, stockings, nativities and pictures and lovingly placed them around the room.  We were lacking in snow outside (for another day or two) so we cut out beautiful paper snowflakes to put in the window.  Erika, Nathan and Hyrum also drew and cut out snowmen.
 

We had our annual popcorn stringing contest which always, always ends up in a popcorn fight.

The popcorn mess usually becomes a vacuum party.  It's the only time of year that they fight over the vacuum.

Oliver thought we had decorated just for him.  His favorite napping spot was under the tree where he could play with ornaments and lights.  After a couple of days we realized he was eating all the popcorn off of the bottom strand of our popcorn string.

By mid December both cats were banned from the house due to their refusal to go outside to do their business.  The first few weeks were torture for the cats (who meowed at the door and snuck in at every possible chance), for the kids (who thought the poor cats were going to die living outside) and for me (because I had to deny those fluffy little faces and console my concerned kids).

* February update: We are still a cat free home with our feline guardians settled into a nice outdoor routine.  It is wonderful having a cat hair free home again and the bathroom sinks are once again used for washing hands instead of a watering trough for our spoiled, picky pets. The biggest difference is that Sierra no longer has to take allergy meds just to hang out at our house.  We've vacuumed, dusted and washed pillows and throw blankets enough that her cat allergies no longer flare up while she is here.

Once the snow showed up the boys (little and big) began bundling for outdoor play.  Nathan, Hryum and Brock (next door neighbor friend) spent many hours playing in snow.

A nice advantage to having acre lots that run together without fences is being able to sled behind the four wheeler.
 
Derek, Chris and Jacob decided to build a snow fort with the wet pack snow.  They began by using the snow blade on the four wheeler to push the snow all together in the center of the yard.

Then they started hollowing out the center while also spraying the outside with water so that it would freeze over.  They intended to eventually spend the night in their fort but within a matter of days the sun had ruined that idea.  By the time the weekend came their fort was already caving in.

Fullmer Family Thanksgiving

It has become tradition for the Fullmer family to celebrate Thanksgiving the Saturday before Thanksgiving so that everyone can either do their own traditions on Thanksgiving day or go to be with in-laws that day.

What does it look like when we all get together?

Wall to wall people of all ages.  Laughing, teasing, talking, playing, tickling, crying, and non-stop noise.
The wonderful noise of family.

Of course, there is eating!

Oodles of yummy, delicious, savory, traditional and new dishes.  Something for everyone and plenty of it!

Once their bellies are happy, the kids usually take off for toys and movies.

This year we were able to surprise Grandpa Fullmer with a retirement gift.  Starting as a little boy running the tractor, he continued to work long hard hours his whole life.  He has given his all to provide for eleven children and taught all of us how to work hard.  I know few men who could match my dad in commitment and work.  We all pitched in to get him an iPad.  Something he can take on his upcoming mission with Grandma Fullmer and something that Grandma Fullmer can play all her brainy games on since she is a big part of that lifetime of work and the resulting retirement.

With a little training (thank you, Mike) he was iPad savvy in no time!  I couldn't help taking a picture when I looked over the balcony and saw the men gathered around the table sharing their manly tech skills.

And the women?  It's game time!

It doesn't get much better than the Tootsie Roll Game.  Well, at least it doesn't at our house because we actually eat all the Tootsie Rolls at the end of the game.  When I found out we only got to eat a few Tootsie Rolls instead of the entire stash we managed to acquire throughout the game my mind started wondering how I could sneak a couple under the table.  Really though, game time with my sisters is a blast.  We aren't necessarily competitive, just silly.  I love laughing and being with these girls!

When the kids were all snuggled in bed I headed that way myself.  The morning had started quite early in Rexburg with a long drive to Utah and the nonstop excitement of the day left me exhausted.  However, even as tired as I was I couldn't help but get up to take a picture of the craziness taking place downstairs.  Grandma & Grandpa and many of the adults were playing Catch Phrase. (Are we really adults?  When we get together it just feels like we are kids again!)

I could not refuse a look at the belly laughter that was taking place and when I peeked over the balcony I saw them wiping laughter tears from their faces and some were holding their bellies from laughing so hard. I could not believe (well, if I think about it I can believe) some of the clues that were given and some of the answers they responded with.  My family is the best!

Next year will be very different since Shawn and Kellie will be in Africa and Grandpa and Grandma will be on their mission in Kentucky.  I'm so glad we were all able to be together this year and grateful for my sisters who open their homes to so many guests and such fun chaos.  Thank you, Boyd Family!

Freshman Education

Ninth Grade English required a diorama.  The specifics for this diorama were more along the lines of an architectural floor plan requiring a certain width and height (15"x18") as well as a dramatic artistic flair with examples given in class of spray paint, plastic figures, foam shapes glued in place, coloring, sewing and a not-so-subtle hint that it take at least 3-5 hours to produce.  Oh, and as an afterthought, the teacher reminded them to come up with a theme that would represent Romeo and Juliet (but wasn't Romeo and Juliet) such as zombies (yes, that was suggested in class), Cowboys vs. Indians, or Vampires vs. Werewolves.
"Be creative and have fun!"   

Justin was dreading this project!  He put it off as long as he dared because he couldn't come up with characters that could be (but weren't) Romeo and Juliet and he's not really the crafty sort.  Had the requirements included some sort of 3D rendering on the computer, adding music and making a film it would have been right up his alley but "gluing junk together" doesn't even fall on his list of Fun Things To Try When I'm Bored Out of My Mind.  When he couldn't put it off any longer and still maintain an A in the class, Justin, Derek and I huddled (almost literally) around the kitchen island determined to come up with a theme. We took our top three ideas and tried to draw out a diorama for each theme and how it could somehow make sense to represent Romeo and Juliet.  They all seemed lame to a 14 year old boy but he finally settled on Mario, mostly because we could find characters online that he could print and fold into 3D images required in the specs.  

His pencil drawing of a soon-to-be awesome project:

A view of the flat printed characters, soon to be 3D characters, ready to be cut and origamied (too bad if that isn't a word, we used it enough times over a three day span that it now has a place in our family dictionary).

"Mariontague" required no glue or tape, just a sharp exacto knife and a good hour of patience.

It took us 4 episodes of Psych to get our characters cut out and origamied together.
I helped with the cutting, Justin did all the folding.

  

At times we both felt like we were going cross-eyed and occasionally we cut the wrong spot or made a slit to big but we did it! 

Even though Princess Peach fit the Mario theme, she didn't fit the rival part of the Romeo and Juliet story since Mario and Peach are on the same "team" so we went with another Papercraft character, Princess Buttercup, now known as Princess ButterCapulet.

A good backdrop is all this couple needed to bring on a dramatic romance.
Justin, with structural suggestions from Derek, created just that.

On the morning of the Diorama Due Date, Hyrum and I planned to deliver Justin to school.  Hyrum kept insisting that I needed to print a Bowser for him and though we were in a hurry I didn't want him to think that Justin was the only one who deserved my attention (though it may have appeared that way for the past three days as I helped, encouraged and cheered Justin on) so I took the time before school to quickly find a Bowser and print it.  He carefully cut it out and presented it to Justin to tape onto the castle.  He wanted to be helpful "just like Mom and Derek".

Our family efforts paid off.  We had many late night hours laughing together and Justin got the "A" he hoped and worked for.

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Speech class was torture!  The speeches were stressful but he managed fine.  However, he was docked for what he was, or rather, wasn't wearing.  He was told to dress "professionally".  After putting together the most professional outfit he could from the options offered in the boy closets at our house he headed out for his first speech.

Okay, admittedly, the shoes could have been more professional but his speech was about his first gymnastics competition and for his visual aid he was going to be doing a back flip so he had to keep the shoes realistic. The tie, long sleeve shirt, belt and dress pants were already making a back flip harder than necessary and he didn't want his shoes to slip out from under him.  Therefore, he chose the rubber soles instead of the "slippery" dress shoe soles. 

He came home completely frustrated after that speech.  Because he didn't wear a full suit - with a white shirt AND suit coat -  the teacher docked enough points that he only had a B.  To add to that she marked him down because he didn't "warn the audience that he was closing the speech".  Seriously?  When I was in 9th grade speech class I clearly remember our teacher telling us to never say "I'd like to close my speech with..."  He was also docked because his visual aid wasn't enough.  Are you kidding?  Showing his 5 medals and  back flip in dress clothes in the small area in front of a classroom on a tile floor wasn't enough?  He got a C.  

This teacher heard from me (as well as many other parents) by e-mail, addressing the fact that providing a full suit to a young man in the growth spurt years was not within our budget. The closing paragraph began, "I'd like to warn you that I'm closing my email".  Not one of my classier moments but I hope she caught how stupid it sounded and how ridiculous the clothing requirements were.  Needless to say, the "full suit" requirement was dropped boys and the "full dress, not skirt and shirt" was dropped for the girls. 

He quickly learned that he had to impress the teacher visually and through humor and even if the information and his written work was lacking he could get a good grade.  By the time he did his persuasive speech on a topic that he drew out of hat he was ready.  His topic was "Why Boredom Doesn't Lead To Trouble".  The hardest part for him was that he does believe that boredom leads to trouble so he stretched his mind, found ways to make it humorous, used his computer skills to put together a clever power point presentation and he nailed it.  So much so that he found out during the 2nd trimester that the teacher used his presentation as a demonstration for her classes.

His final speech was Demonstrative.  He and his friend were going to show how to defend themselves from an attacker.  Justin chose to be the attacker. Luckily (?), Levi could offer advice on how to dress and talk to make a convincing attacker and even provided the wardrobe for him.

Though he was hesitant, he knew the visual was important so he went with it, hoping he wouldn't get kicked out of school for wearing the "wife beater" tank, bandanna and hat, sagging his pants (not near enough, according to Levi), and appearing as a gang member.  He ditched the idea of the tattoos, chunky cross necklace and chains and the skull t-shirt and he did know well enough to take a Nerf gun instead of the something from Derek's weapon collection.  Cameron and Justin did a great job on their speech.  They did teach and demonstrate but they also had the class laughing, which seems just as important to the teacher as the actual demonstration.

After each speech, and doing extra credit work, he checked his grades and watched his grade grow from that first C graded speech all the way up to a final A for the trimester.  At times we wondered if it was really a speech class or a theater class but the required speech class is in the past and he kept his 4.0 which was his ultimate goal.

Speaking of 4.0....amazing!  We strongly encourage good grades but it's never been necessary to get on Justin about it.  He is a perfectionist on his own, he doesn't need me to add any expectations to that.

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His latest adventure is Driver's Ed.  The driving alone may be an adventure but so is getting up at 5:30 each morning for four weeks and surviving such long school days.  It took us a few days to get used to the new early schedule but he always had a smile and was cheerful.

It was just the two of us each morning.  I was so impressed that he would get himself up and was ready without any nagging.  My part was to provide a breakfast that would last long enough until lunch and to drive him to the school.  I quite enjoyed our early morning time together.  However, once the class was over it was nice for both of us to "sleep in" until 6:30.

P.S.  Bret, Daymia and Sierra have taught my kids a whole new level of bargain shopping! I've tried to teach them to look for sales and head first to the clearance rack but together they watch for and warn each other of good deals. The outfit Justin is wearing above is a perfect example of their great skills.  The shirt was $3 and the shoes were $6.  Booyaah!
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This doesn't fit under the title Freshman Education but let's jump for a second to Senior Year.  Derek is trying to finish up his Advisory project.  That drawn out four year project that just seems like busy work to many of the teachers and the students.  We actually found out that in two years they will be doing away with the Advisory program which means Justin won't have to do it.  Erika and Derek claim that it's not fair that Levi and Justin didn't/won't have to suffer the same torture they did.

Anyway, Derek needed to get his community service project in.  LeRoy was volunteering his electrical services at Krupp Scout Hollow for some new cabins being built there so he took Derek along.  Come to think of it, he took Justin too.  I guess this does qualify as Freshman Education.

They experienced the first cold storm of the winter but got the work done with the required pictures taken and hours logged.  Now he just needs to get that 3" binder all organized and the paperwork done to finalize Advisory.

My Baby Girl is 20!

Bret's brother Aaron was getting home from his mission on November 15th so Bret and Erika decided to cash in their coin jars and surprise the family by showing up in Colorado to be part of his home coming.

The trip also became a birthday vacation for Erika which was just what she needed mid semester.  The Hellbusch family gave her a relaxing, laughter filled break from the stress of college and work.  They did a mini family trip while everyone was together.

I adore these two people!  They take life with a healthy dose of humor and are not afraid to be and show exactly who they are.

We could look back through Erika's baby album and a familiar theme would be her tongue hanging out.  Silly girl!

When they got back from Colorado I planned to do a simple birthday dinner for Erika.  When I asked her what she wanted for her special dinner she gave me a hug and said "but momma, I want a Krim-a-lee Jo party".  Done!  November needs a good party.

I can't figure out, and neither can Erika, why she is in love with llamas but they are her absolute favorite.  She claims that she is a llama; she wants a pet llama; she squeals and makes Bret pull over if she sees a llama; her favorite zoo animal is the llama (which she wants to steal from the zoo to give it a bath and the love it deserves).   The llama birthday was a must!

We started with coloring.  I found enough llama color pages online to provide everyone with a booklet of llamas.  Erika's only question, "you do have extras for me to take to church, right?".
Llamas are great but combined with coloring it's the perfect activity.

Dinner was everything she requested.  Sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, lemon salad, sever layer salad.
She is so easy to please.

Once our tummies were full we were ready for some llama games.

She and Bret were ready to adopt the Bingo Llamas!  Erika especially loved the signs "Warning!  I'm a llama trapped in a human body", "Spit Happens", and "F.M.L.  Fluff My Llama" but she was also giddy for each fluffy llama on her Bingo board.  Bret was especially fond Bat Llama and the Obama Llama.  It's a Bret thing.

Each time someone got a Bingo they would tell something they liked about Erika.
I wrote it all down and later printed out a copy for her to keep.

After Bingo we made balloon slingshots.

We used our slingshots to shoot dried marshmallows into the hungry llama's mouth.

Erika informed me that this llama was going to live with her.
Perfect!  I wasn't sure what I would do with it after the party.

The prizes that went along with the games were llama leftovers (unwrapped Tootsie Rolls that resembled llama droppings, hehehe) and llama chow (muddy buddy Chex mix).  After all, in Erika's world llamas eat and poop chocolate.

Gifts were next.

Fuzzy gloves, a singing book from Hyrum (that she immediately danced too but caused Bret to hide under the gift bag because he doesn't like singing Elmo), a Llama Llama book set from Nathan ("so she can read them to her kids"), a gift certificate to her favorite clothing store (Down East) and Bret gave her a shirt with her all-time favorite book as the logo (The Little Prince).

The cake was triple chocolate goodness with chunks of chocolate and a fluffy layer of white and milk chocolate frosting all over it.  Did I mention that she loves chocolate almost as much as llamas?

The only problem was convincing her that we could eat the llama cake.  She just wanted a photo shoot.

But the ears started to tempt her and soon she was blowing out the candles

and she and Bret ate llama ears together.  They ate chicken nuggets rather than wedding cake at the back yard wedding party, why not llama ears for a birthday party?  Again, I LOVE these two!

Oh, my sweet Erika Jo.  I have adored you from the day you were born!  My hopes and dreams were that we would grow to be best friends.  There were early days that those hopes were coming true

but many hard years came between us.  Now we both know that the those very difficult struggles only pushed those hopes and dreams to come to a full reality.

I am not only been blessed to have you as a daughter but my life is wonderfully blessed to have you as a very best friend.
I love you, my Eeka Jo!!

It's My Birthday!

I don't think I have ever written about my birthday.  I have had a hard time in the past even liking my birthday.  It's all just a psychological thing but my birthday is the beginning of a gray winter.  November and February are by far the hardest months of the year for me.

BUT, I liked my birthday this year!  I was calm.  I enjoyed the day.  I was surrounded by people I love.  It was a great day.

How could I not enjoy the day with all this pretty, fragrant, yummy stuff?!

Erika Jo decided that at age 40 that birthdays start going back down so on her card she wrote Happy 38th Birthday.  It completely confused all the boys since they thought I was turning 42.

Google even celebrated my birthday!  When I got on the computer that day this is what I saw:

At first I thought it was cool that Google was celebrating with me but as I researched it and found that Google gleans personal information from my computer in order to do it I was a little concerned.  Whatever, it doesn't matter.  I'm just going to enjoy November.

Brotherly Love

I love watching my boys hang out together.  I love seeing the older boys sharing in the silliness with their younger brothers.  I love their laughter (and even the squealing) that echoes throughout the house.  I love watching them cuddle together for stories or electronics time.  I love seeing them wrestle and karate chop and ninja turtle each other.  I love being the one they run to as their safe "base" and the one they cry for when the injuries interrupt the fun.  I love the heading-out-the-door-for-church prayer circle as I stand surrounded by these strong, brave, charitable Sons of God.  Being their mother is a joy and privilege!


Huddles around a 4x2 inch iPod screen

Learning, laughing, loving.


After Derek read Hugless Douglas for their bedtime story

they chose the upside-down hug for their goodnight hug.