Eleanor loves pulling kleenex out of the box so I gave her a full box and it entertained her for 2 minutes. The past several months I've been working for an internet rater company and I've been required to work 10 hours per week. I started looking for a job during the summer time when we knew Aaron would be done with the military in August. This work from home job seemed like a great set up. I didn't pass the required test the first time and then tried again and passed. 10 hours doesn't seem like a lot, but it's been tricky trying to find 10 hours to sit in front of my computer for that long during the week. With the money, I was able to purchase all of our Christmas gifts and pay for Aaron to get a suit. This job was an answer to our prayers during this time. We've also been so blessed as Aaron was able to work for the reserves that provided us additional income we weren't expecting. Aaron also has been translating and I've been working for a friend who runs an Air B&B. I decided to quit this job in preparation to Aaron leaving in a few weeks. When he's gone, I'll have more responsibilities on my shoulders as a single mom so I've decided it's best to not add more stress to my life, even for a few extra dollars. But I'm grateful Heavenly Father has provided so many opportunities for us to work!! And I'm even more grateful than before that Aaron makes it possible for me to focus on being a stay-at-home mom FULL-TIME!! :)
Austin helped me dip some pretzels, my favorite Christmas treat. Eli was at school and we missed him! We saved him a sprinkled covered pretzel for an after school treat.
And I finished listening to this book this week. Oh I loved it and definitely felt the true meaning of Christmas. I think I'll make it a Christmas tradition to read it every year.
The kids played nicely as Aaron and I worked at my friend's Air B&B for a few hours. Actually, Aaron did most of the work and I answered any questions he had since I've been looking over the house for the past 6 months.
Thursday night was stake temple night! I completely forgot the temple would be decorated with the nativity! We were able to do sealings for our family names. It's an amazing feeling taking family names to the temple. Eleanor had a slight fever the day before our planned temple date and I was so grateful she was feeling better so we could leave the kids with a babysitter. I love dating Aaron!
And Friday evening Alex and her kids came down after school to meet us at Bass Pro to see Santa! It was magical! I need to post a picture of our kids sitting on Santa's lap! Alex treated us to dinner at Costa Vida for my birthday. Thanks, Alex! It was the best birthday celebrate with family.
Saturday morning was our ward Christmas breakfast. It was simple and lovely. The kids wore their PJs and loved seeing another Santa. Our neighbor and her three kids joined us. They've come to the primary program, the Halloween trunk or treat and now the Christmas breakfast. I didn't even have to text her the address this time. :) It's funny, because each time I've invited her, she's said YES! Hopefully this will blossom into something more. Maybe it won't. But she's definitely boasted my confidence to just invite others before assuming they won't want to participate.
Saturday morning the boys and I made sugar cookies. They're a lot of work and always a mess, but it's worth it. I make these cookies twice a year - Christmas and Valentine's Day.
And in big Eli news - he has glasses!! He looks so intelligent, which he is! The glasses are to help his reading and writing, which I can tell an improved difference already.
On December 5, we celebrated 4 years in Colorado!! How is the even possible?? Oh it's been a happy time. Aaron calculated that he's been gone for 13 months of those 4 years. Crazy, right? Although our family has been stretched and there have been challenging times, we've also added Austin and Eleanor to our family and have made millions of happy memories together and love living close to extended family. We sure love you Colorado!
