Christmas 2008

So I have been a little busy and pre-occupied as of late. Hopefully things will slow down just a little and I can also get my muttled brain to come together so that I can post more often! We visited Trystan as much as possible because the current chemo treatment kept him in the hospital during Christmas. Aunt Charla and Uncle Victor were visiting Grandmommie and Mom so they took a little time to come and visit at the hospital as well. We traveled to London to be with Tim's family for Christmas dinner. The kids always enjoy being around their only cousin on Tim's side of the family, Kailin! Hope you enjoy our families memories of Christmas 2008!

Family Night of Fun! Making Sugar cookies!

We had a blast making sugar cookies to share with our friends! It was really neat to see each of the children come up with a cookie creation to fit their personality! Although Dad had to to alot of the creating, the kids told him what they wanted him to make. Peighton and Tim are definitely the more artistic ones as of yet. Kami just had a blast playing in the dough, I think Coltin liked rolling in the flour, and Nolan bounced from one sibling to the next just having FUN! This is a tradition that we will continue over the years for sure!

Visit with Santa

We took advantage of the snow day the kids had last week and took them to visit Santa in the Mall! Even the older kids wanted to talk with him!

Gingerbread Boy Play

Kami had the opportunity to participate in a Christmas play at her school and portrayed a little chicken that the gingerbread boy ran away from! Tim and I had to come up with a costume and I have to admit, it was quite fun! Our 2 older kids have been in this same play in the years past because they have all had the same teacher for 2nd grade, but this is the first time that one actually wanted to be "in" the play. When Peighton was in it, she sang in the chorus, when Coltin's class did it, he helped with decorations,scenery, and invitations. This was a real treat for me to see one of my kiddos acting skills! LOL It was really cute and we had a great time!



Kami and the "Farmer" Cameron Garrett


Peighton really wanted to see the play to, so I picked her and a couple of her friends up from school so they could enjoy it as well! Aunt Shel brought Trystan, and Coltin and Keegan were also able to watch! She had a big audience for her acting debut!

DanceBlue Christmas party 2008

There is a wonderful organization at the University of Kentucky called DanceBlue. This organization ran by students, hosted yet another party for children with childhood cancer and their families. Our family went with Rashel, Trystan, and Keegan to the Christmas party and had a blast. There was sugar cookie decorating, gingergread house making, ornament creating and alot of wonderful food. Santa also made an appearance and the kids loved telling him about their wants! Not only does DanceBlue have these great parties throughout the year, every February, they hold a 24 hour, no sitting, so sleeping dance marathon to raise money for the UK Pediatric Oncology Clinic. This was started in 2006 and in just 3 years, has raised over $750,000.00! That is amazing! Please keep your ears open for the next annual DanceBlue marathon on March 6-7 2009.




Trystan, Coltin, and Tim making a gingerbread house.

Kami, Keegan, and Nolan decorating cookies!

Out of the mouths of Babes...

This is a Christmas Cactus that my Grandmother gave me a few years back before she left to serve her mission. She asked that I take care of it and handle it with love so that it could flourish and grow bigger through the years and be a reminder of the love that she has for me. Well, I have to admit the 1st year it blossomed beautifully and was given lots of my attention. However, as our family continued to grow, my time for it seemed to lessen. It is a very hearty plant and therefore did manage to survive each year. I never could figure out though if it was indeed a Christmas Cactus or Thanksgiving one or just when it would bloom! It was always a topic of conversation between Tim, the kids, and I. It did not bloom last Christmas but instead bloomed in like Feb. or March??? So, I set out to love and nourish this little plant back to health so that I would have it to pass down to my grandchildren. Well, again, it has been talked about alot as of late. This week one morning, little Nolan headed downstairs before I did. All of a sudden there was an excited squeal followed by "mommie, mommie, your flower is opening, your flower is opening!" Somehow he to had caught the Christmas cactus bug, and was so delighted that it indeed was "opening" during this wonderful season!






In Isaiah it reads...And a child shall lead them. My youngest Nolan has brought this scripture reference to my thoughts many times as of late. There have been many times in the last couple of years that I would find myself depressed and sad. I suppose Heavenly Father has a way with dealing with my sadness through my children as there is not a day that goes by that they cannot make me smile:) Little Nolan has been doing that alot lately. We were sitting in sacrament last Sunday and I think he tired of drawing or looking at the Friend magazine because he came to me and put his arms up to sit in my lap. With him being the youngest, I try and make these moments last as long as he will allow. Anyway..he was quietly observing all around for a few moments and then he whispers "mom, what if I grow up?" Well, my 1st thought was, I will be really sad, but of course I didn't want to say that so instead I said, "well, will you still come and sit in my lap and snuggle with me and tell me you love me?" To which he replied with a great big smile, "A course mommie!" So I said, "then it will be ok". He then squeezed me tight and went on as if all was right in the world! In the span of 1 week, Nolan has inspired me several times to stop and thank my Heavenly Father for the many blessings I have. I am so thankful for his sweet little spirit and all that he teaches me on a daily basis! I love you my sweet son!

Decorating for Christmas 2008

With the Thanksgiving Holiday over, our family quickly got into the Christmas spirit. i was a little surprised to be honest. Not by getting into the Spirit, but by Tim wanting to decorate so early! We usually wait until a week or 2 into Dec. But this year between our little Nolan asking every hour or so "when can we put the tree up?" and everything that we have to be Thankful for, I think the bug hit us all a little quicker. We had a wonderful time as a family decorating the outside as well as inside of out home. The boys(Dad, Coltin, and Nolan) started by putting the reindeer and spotlight in the yard. This year we found some really neat twinkling snowflakes and they lined the sidewalk with them. Meanwhile, the girls(mom, Peighton, and Kami) realized that the window wreaths needed new bows. So as a team we managed to make 14 new bows! Dad decided to let the boys help on the 2nd story windows as well unbeknowst to mom! When my heart finally started beating again, I was able to snap some pictures! Dad did get a little scared of heights at the end and instead of climbing back down the ladder, went in through a window!! After the outside was completed, we came inside to decorate the banister and tree. Nolan had already went through the ornaments and put aside the ones he wanted to hang. He had about 20 ornaments in a 12 inch spot on the bottom of the tree! It was really sweet. Kami and I made some banana bread and we all had a piece! At the end of the night, Dad was aching all over(I think that had something to do with the Annual Turkey Bowl the day before tho!) and mom was really tired! It was really an awesome day!!

Thanksgiving at Grandmommie's 2008

Elfed!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Potlatch

Kami's class had a Potlatch at school to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday. They made vest, headband, skin bag w/ a good luck charm in it, and a necklace. There was vegetable soup prepared, beef jerky, dried fruit, popcorn, sunflower seeds and much more! It was a really nice celebration and the children learned alot about their history and heritage.




The class also made an awesome totem pole!

Halloween 2008

A visit with Grandmommie

We had a great visit with Grandmommie and she really enjoyed all the excitement of the kids and her great-grand dog Zoey!
Zoey jumped right into Grandmommie's lap before we even knew it! Nolan also enjoyed talking and being with her.

Kings Island

We were able to go to Kings Island during Fall Break and we had an amazing time! The lines were super short and the weather was awesome! Hallofest was also going on so there were some extra fun things for the kids to do. Kami had no fear and rode just about everything. Coltin and Peighton were able to ride everything they wanted and Mom and Dad were able to ride the things they wanted and some they didn't!! Overall we had a wonderful time and the memories will last forever!

Our Computer got SICK!

Well, it has been a while since I posted and the reason being is our computer got a really BAD VIRUS!! Uncle Scott is working on it and hopefully it will be well before long! There has been alot going on so hopefully I can post pictures soon.

Coltin's 10th birthday

Coltin wanted me to bring brownies instead of cupcakes to share with his friends at school. I am just glad that he isn't "to big" for that yet!!

We celebrated Coltin's 10th birthday on the 30th. He is saving his money to buy some video gaming system so all he asked for for his birthday was money. Hence the money bag themed cake!Aunt Raina showed her awesome cake making abilities yet again!

We were in London all weekend for Coltin's last baseball tourney. His team came within 3 runs of taking the 1st place trophy home, but after a total of 5 games, 3 of which were all in one day, we were ever so happy to bring home the 2nd place trophy! The boys played really well and had a great end to their season!
Before we left for London on Saturday morning, Nolan had a t-ball game. Here he is playing pitcher and as you can tell from the look on his face, it is NOT his favorite position. I think he doesn't like the helmet/mask he has to wear!
This is SERIOUS business!
Coltin's team and coaches. Nolan and his friend Carter are honorary team members so they also received a trophy and I think Nolan is more excited about it than his brother!

Tim and I have some dear friends Rob and Natalie Call that were blessed with a sweet little angel. After many years and obstacles, they were finally blessed with a little boy only to find out the day before the c-section that his little heart had stopped beating. I cannot even begin to imagine there grief and pain, but their strength and testimonies has strengthend me. I wanted to share their sweet little Branson Jack Call with everyone. Here is the link:

http://www.bransonjackcall.com/

Between baseball and his bike......he couldn't be any happier!

Nolan riding his bike without training wheels!!

Nolan was by far the easiest Yantz child to teach the 2-wheeled bike thing to! I know where we will be spending all of our free time for who knows how long now!! It makes me sad to know that our baby is growing up so quickly!

Peighton is taking Home Economics in school and she was able to be a "mom" for 12 hours. She picked up her baby right after school and had to keep it over night. She was really excited to begin with, however, after a sleepless night with a crying baby, not so much!! It was a real learning experience for all of us!
Can't you just see the happiness all over her face?!?!?! This was the morning after!
Here she is with the record of when the baby cried and what she had to do to console it! Again, it wasn't all she thought it was cracked up to be!! Kami enjoyed being able to help out when Peighton would let her!

We celebrated Kami's 7th birthday on Monday! It is so hard to believe that 7 years has passed since she blessed our lives.
Grommie sent her a beautiful bouquet of flowers to school for her birthday! Peighton, Nolan, and I took cupcakes to her school to celebrate her birthday with her friends. Peighton was able to go along because she has streppe and can't return to school until Wednesday!
Kami and her friends on the playground after lunch and cupcakes.
She got a hermit crab for her birthday. Here all the kids are observing the hideous looking creature!