Merry Birthday!!

At 3:30 am Christmas morning I awoke to a surprise... my water had broken. Not only was this the first time I have had my water break at home, but our little one wasn't due to arrive for another two and a half weeks! Due to some complications we hurried to the hospital. Thanks to technology we Deric and I were able to watch the kids open their gifts via Skype on the computer. Later in the day 5:33pm to be exact, our sweet little baby Roy was born. He weighed 10lbs 2 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. What a special Christmas gift! Here he is with his dad for the first time!

Roy with his Mom, only minutes old. Notice the blood splatter all over... that is from the spray that occurred when Deric cut the cord (that has never happened before!!)

Later that night the kids all came to receive the greatest gift of the day... a new baby brother. Here they are seeing him for the first time. Individual shots to follow!
Roy with his Grammie Pam.

Christmas Concerts

This year we had two different Christmas concerts to attend. Jessica's was first on December 15th. It was a performance called "candle light" and it has been a part of the Ephraim Christmas celebration for 70 years! Jess did a great job at her part!!


Sarah, Carrie, and Sam had a traditional school Christmas concert on December 20th. Each grade sang a song and then the entire school sang one together. I love that it is a short and sweet performance. I actually sat longer before the concert (if you aren't there early you don't get a seat!!)

"The Christmas Eve Show"

On Christmas Eve this year our children gave us a wonderful gift. They put on a performance of a few different Christmas songs. They had been practicing for weeks. Part of the gift (for me) was the cooperation that they had been displaying for the entire month of December as they prepared for the "big night!" Here are a few snapshots of our show...

Sam, Jess and Sarah singing "Away in a Manger," "We wish you a Merry Christmas," and "Silent night" all of which Samantha hand wrote into their own song books.

Here is Jessica "helping" the boys sing "Jingle bells." Can you tell Wally is really into it!!
This was the main performance, the one practiced over and over (not that I overheard). The girls preformed "Rudolf the red nose Reindeer." Can you guess who Rudolf was played by? It was really cute and you could tell that they had so much fun doing it.
The final song was done by Jessica on her baritone. Sam makes a wonderful music stand don't you think!

Deric and I really enjoyed our show. It was indeed one of my favorite Christmas gifts. Having my children work together and have fun working to create a gift is such a wonderful thing. We are truly blessed!

Christmas Letter 2011

Happy Holiday

2011

This year we write in gratitude for:

Our Family. Deric is now working as an Assistant Manager at Little Cesars pizza while he continues to go to school full time at Snow College. He is doing very well in his studies! Muria has been busy with many school events and the PTA, church activities, teaching lactation classes and the overall busyness that six children bring!

We have been so blessed to have a house full of energy filled loving children. Each has grown and changed so much in the past year. Jessica is now eleven and in 6^th grade at the middle school. She is enjoying band and playing the baritone. Samantha, almost 10 is in fourth grade. She is very social and is always having fun with her friends and siblings. Sarah, who is seven and a half, is very focused on her next birthday and getting baptized in April! She is in second grade and her passion this year is books! Carrie, six next month, will be asking Santa for her two front teeth this year! She is LOVING being in kindergarten. Nelson, four on New Years, is full of fun and energy. He is turning out to be quite the artist this year as he colors and cuts and pastes picture after picture! Wally is indeed TWO and we will just say he lives up to what they say about two year olds!!! He is full of energy and mischief, but he also loves to snuggle and play with his siblings. Last is Roy… due to make his arrival on January 5^th. We can’t wait to meet him and enjoy his sweet spirit!!!

Our Home. After being in Ephraim, Utah for a year now and moving 5 times we are soooo grateful for our new home. We bought it and moved in September 1^st. It is cozy with plenty of room for us.

You. Our friends and family that light up our lives and support us in all that we do. Our lives are so much richer because you are a part of them. Near or far, if we see you often or not, we love you and are grateful for you.

Our Faith. This time of year we reflect on what really means the most. We are grateful for our savior and what his birth and death mean for us. We are grateful to be able to learn of his teachings all year long.

We pray this letter finds you well. There are so many blessings to reflect on, these are just a few. May you reflect on the blessings in your life and find many things to be grateful for this holiday season!

Love, Deric, Muria, Jessica, Samantha, Sarah, Carrie, Nelson, and Wally

All I want for Christmas!...

Yeah, she did it. Now Carrie can sing "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." She will have to do a duet with her cousin Evan who has a very similar smile right now!! She is very excited to be sporting this new look.

34 Weeks!

I lost my camera battery and couldn't put this picture up right away. I was about 34 weeks when it was taken but I was measuring almost 42!!! Little Roy is definitely not so little! I am now almost 36 weeks and if you can believe it I am quite a bit bigger!!

One tooth..

I am hoping that this is the first of two teeth to be lost this month by our cute Carrie (lost on Tuesday 11/29). She worked very hard to get this one out today. Now I have her working on the other. I'd love for her to be able to sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!!" The other tooth is quite loose so it is a possibility!!
























One tooth down, one to go!!