Christmas Tree Decorating- FHE December 2012

For our December preschool, I decided to focus our curriculum to learning about the true meaning of Christmas. Each day we had activities lined up to learn about Christmas symbols and how they help us remember Jesus, with crafts, fun family activities and service activities that went along with each symbol. 

We spent a few days learning about Christmas trees and how they can help us to remember Jesus because they are green all year long, which represents eternal life, which is only possible because of the life,  atonement and resurrection of our savior. 

For a family night activity that week we decorated our very own Christmas trees: upside down waffle cones decorated with green frosting and candy!

Mommy's Christmas tree:

Aurelle with her peppermint kissed beauty:

Minnette's lovely tree:

Aaaaaaaaaand..... Jovi's sweet little HUGE mess (she mostly just licked the frosting off of her waffle cone the whole time- obviously!):

Daddy's Christmas trees complete with a pond and a zip-line:

The Willman Christmas tree forest:

This was such a fun activity, and a great way to take something that we see so much of during the Christmas season (Christmas trees) and turn it into a way that we can be reminded of our Savior and how grateful we are for His birth, life, and sacrifice for us!

Salt Lake Temple Lights- December 2012

No Christmas season is complete without a family trip to see temple lights. This was our third annual trip to see the Salt Lake temple lights, and this time Sam and Raquel were able to come with us!

 

That blue igloo cooler you see hanging from the back of the stroller is actually a batch of white hot chocolate I made that we brought with us! It was still hot when we took our cocoa break and made a seriusly awesome temple lights trip treat. We were even able to share a cup with a homeless man that was sitting outside temple square... he loved it!

 

Sam and Raquel (Thanks for coming with us, guys. You're the best!):

Wake up, Daddy!

On the few occasions that Kyle is still home (and still in bed) when the girls wake-up (he goes to works at 5 am Monday through Friday), he often gets quite the wake-up call:



Thanksgiving 2012

This was our third Thanksgiving since living in Provo, and our second Thanksgiving going solo. Even though it was just us, there was absolutely no shortage of delicious food! We completely forgot to plan ahead this year, so all of this was "planned" and a few additional ingredients were purchased all the night before... and everything besides one meat dish is completely vegan!

Mashed potatoes, asparagus, apple pie, tofu-based pumpkin pie, sour dough stuffing, harvest root vegetable pie, butternut squash maple millet, and of course... no holiday would be complete without a little bubbly (Martinelli's, that is)!

 

We eat very little meat at our house (no more than 1-2 times a week), so I really wasn't wanting to buy and cook up a huge turkey that would leave leftovers in our fridge for weeks that we would never be able to finish. As a compromise with Kyle we opted for a rotisserie chicken  (precooked!), instead! It was the perfect amount of meat to last for one meal for our family- and a lot less work in the kitchen on Thanksgiving day!

Nothing but the very finest dinnerware for our holiday celebrations!

 

There is so much for our little family to be thankful for! So grateful for the opportunity we have to remember and focus on all that we have been blessed with! Happy Thanksgiving!