The Christmas Post...

What a crazy couple of weeks. Before I post anything about the move, I figured I better document that Christmas actually happened this year. We spent the weeks before Christmas preparing for the move, and packed our moving van on the morning of Christmas Eve. Needless to say, Christmas shopping was not the foremost thing on my mind. One nice thing about moving at Christmas time is that everyone gathers to celebrate the holiday, which makes it easy to say good bye to large groups of people that you love. While it was hard to say good bye to everyone, some good byes were particularly difficult. Our aged grandparents definitely fit this category. We were able to spend the evening of the 23rd with my Hale grandparents. We took LOTS of pictures.

After spending the morning of Christmas Eve loading the moving van, Jordan and I headed out for some last minute shopping. That evening we had dinner with Jordan's family and then Grandpa Parker read the Christmas story from the bible. It was hard to say good bye to Grandma and Grandpa Parker as well.

We then went to my parent's house for a Christmas Eve devotional. First, Papa read "The Night Before Christmas".

Then we sort of acted out the nativity. By this time Lucy was pretty tired, so she only lasted a few minutes.

Then, things just got a little silly. Steve looks more like a terrorist than a shepherd.

Then we hung our stockings for Santa Claus. Special delivery for Scott and Rachel!

Christmas day was wonderful. We started opening presents at the Walkers at 7:00.

Emma and Abbi were excited. Lucy was grumpy. She perked up considerably when she realized that the wrapped packages were new toys for her.

My mother-in-law, Kathy, managed to surprise me with the best gift.....a sewing machine!! I have wanted one forever, and am so excited to try it out.

The girls all got matching pink arm chairs. They had a great time watching their new movies in their chairs.

We ate a traditional ebelskever pancake breakfast at Walkers and then went back to my parents for round two of present opening.

Adelaide was mostly interested in playing jingle bells.

Jordan and I decided that with all of the expenses we would be incurring with the new house, we would just give each other one gift this Christmas. Jordan has stacks of old t-shirts that no longer fit him, however, he can't get rid of them because of their "sentimental value". I decided that this would be a great year to make them into a t-shirt quilt. My friends, Bethany and Lindsey helped me every step of the way. For the last month I have been telling Jordan that I was having "girl's nights" while we furiously worked on his quilt. I have never been so excited to give a gift in my whole life. In addition to the t-shirts he already owned, I went to his elementary school and junior high to find old t-shirts so that every school he went to would be represented. He loved his quilt.

Christmas aftermath.

After opening presents we went to church. I love Christmas sacrament meeting. It was great to have Christmas on Sunday so we could focus on the Savior.

The Bubble Watch....

Did you have a bubble watch?

You know what I'm talking about. The cool watch that had bands made of rubber and a water-filled bubble over the face. My watch face was a big, yellow smiley face. Anyone who was ANYONE had a smiley face bubble watch in sixth grade. My smiley face bubble watch nicely rounded out my smiley face ensemble which included a smiley face t-shirt, smiley face earrings, smiley face socks, and my smiley face scrunchie. I was pretty cool.

Whatever happened to bubble watches?

Well, the other night at Young Women's I was telling some of the girls about my smiley face ensemble and my very cool bubble watch. I said, "I would give anything to have a bubble watch again." Well, these girls took this to heart, and tonight they showed up at my door with a going- away present for me.

This is the closest I have ever seen to the originial bubble watch! The watch bands are just like the original! Add some rhinestones, and you've got yourself a pretty sweet watch. These awesome girls searched boutiques all over to see if they could find me a bubble watch. They found this beauty somewhere in the Midwest. Now, as a Young Women's leader you shouldn't have favorites. Let's just say that I'm VERY PARTIAL to Leeloo, Sydnee, and Shayla. I'm going to miss these crazy girls!!! Thanks for the best Christmas present ever!

Two Weeks of Good Byes....

It's just starting to hit me that we're moving six days. This week I started the uncomfortable process of saying good bye to so many people that I love. Saying good bye sucks. I completed my final day of work for Davis School District last Friday. It was hard to say good bye to the kids and staff at Holbrook Elementary. I also said good bye to these awesome ladies that I work with. I tell you, the kids with speech and language impairments in Davis School District are in good hands.

Then, I said good by to my dear grad school friends. These girls helped me through undergrad, graduate school, and have been my lifeline since working.

In other news, Lucy got her second haircut. This time it was just a little trim. She was shockingly good, and held very still so Katie could cut her hair.

That night we went to Abbi's third birthday. One of the hardest parts of this move will be to separate Lucy and Abbi. They have been two peas in a pod, and love each other so much.

Oh so cute.

So, before church the other day I couldn't resist taking pictures of Lucy in her Christmas dress.

Pretty cute, eh?

Jordan and I have spent the last two days furiously packing up everything we own. Since we've lived with my parents for so long, our stuff has been assimilated throughout my parent's house. It's hard to remember whose stuff is whose! It is shocking how much stuff we have accumulated. Hopefully we'll be done packing up everything tomorrow so we can enjoy spending time with our families before we leave next Monday. That's right, we are leaving at 6 AM the day after Christmas. Insanity? Yes, but we need to be in Atlanta at 9 AM on the 29th to close on our house. More moving pictures to come.

He Did It!!!!!!

September, 1990. Jordan starts Kindergarten.

Twenty-two years later he can officially say...............

HE'S DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!!!

Jordan graduated with his Master's of Taxation yesterday from Weber State University. To say that I'm ridiculously proud would be an understatement. The day was such a peaceful, happy day. Look how beautiful Weber State campus is.

The day started with a hooding ceremony for all of the MTax, MaCC, and MBA students. They had a nice brunch for the families and then called each candidate up to hood them. It was such a cool moment when Jordan received his Master's hood.

Then, it was picture time.

The Walkers have finally moved past "student" status. Congratulations Jordan!

A Late Thanksgiving Post...

I get it. It's a little late to be posting about Thanksgiving. I gave a darn good excuse, however. No, I am not pregnant. I have taken so many pictures, that my computer has no more memory. I had to shop around for an external hard drive to load all my pictures on so I could delete several thousand from my computer. Now that this is taken care of, I can load even MORE pictures on. Bwa ha ha. Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. It began with the traditional Turkey Bowl.

Even Lucy wanted in on the action.

These little toddlers wanted nothing more than to play football with their daddies. They weren't thrilled to watch from the sidelines.

The cheering section.

An after game soak, and then time for......

DINNER!

We had 30 people at our house this year, so it got a little crazy. After dinner we took some shots of the Hale grandkids.

Believe it or not, I have actually been on a bit of a crafting kick this past month. I blame my friend Bethany. These are magnet board advent calendars that Annie, Erin, and I made over the break. We ordered the kits from poppyseedprojects.com. If you're looking for some great craft ideas, hop on this website. Anyway, Happy Holidays!