Merry Christmas 2008 and Happy New Year 2009!

Hello Family and Friends! Wow it’s already been a year. Sometimes I can’t believe it and other times it seems like ages ago. What to say in a page that covers the lives of a family over the course of the entire year. Life is Crazy, life is good, and our year has been just that crazy good.
SOMETIMES
Sometimes there’s ups and sometimes there’s downs. Sometimes you feel like climbing and sometimes you just need a bath. Sometimes we are the big fish in the little pond,

and sometimes our shoes, and mittens feel like they’re just too big. Sometimes you feel like your going over the edge.
Sometimes you feel caught in a tight place,

and sometimes you just need a peak at what’s going on out there. Sometimes you just have to have some patience, and Sometimes… you just want to chill. Sometimes you just need a nap. Sometimes you feel like your digging for treasure, and sometimes ……………you find it! And Sometimes everything just works out. Although life can be crazy, Life is good, and we are living it. Life is an adventure. We hope that all is well with you. And that you and yours can also feel the wonderful love of our Savior. His love is always not just sometimes. Love the Stangers; Kip, Leejean, Wesley, Lily and Madi.

Christmas Tag

Merry Christmas Season!!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both.
2. Real tree or Artificial Tree? Real
3. When do you put up the tree? As soon as we can after thanksgiving day.
4. When do you take the tree down? After New Years
5. Do you like eggnog? Love it.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? One year my whole family pitched in an saved to get me an electric key board.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Kip
8. Easiest person to buy for? The kids
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Four, counting our tree ornament. I love nativities.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Both
11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can't think of one.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? My family watches the Christmas Carol, every year. But I also love Miracle on 34th street, and the Hallmark christmas movies.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever it crosses my mind throughout the year. Definately in November, through December.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not a Christmas present.
15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas candy with peanut-butter and chocolate. ah but that's probably my favorite candy year round.
16. Color of lights on the tree?Multi-colored
17. Favorite Christmas song? I love it all. especially the kids songs.
18. Travel or stay home? Christmas Eve in Richfield with my family, and Christmas day in Hansen with Kip's family.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and of course Rudolf.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A Star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning except what we get at Grandma and pa Ellis's
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? We keep it pretty simple, so it's all good.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? No theme, all ornaments are accepted.
24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? Actually It's be christmas breakfast with our very own sugar cereal with bananas and milk.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I can think of things sometimes at other times but when asked at christmas time, my mind goes blank. go figure.

I tag Stephie, Mollie, Janet, Johanna, Shannon, Julieanne, Akeey,

Merry Christmas!!!

Fishing YEAH!!!

A friend of mine told me of these ponds over in Filer that the fish and game stocked for kids to fish this Friday after Thanksgiving. On friday they even had guys out there with free tackle for kids to use. So we thought we'd go on saturday and see how it was. We had so much fun. And the kids caught tons o' fish. We all had a blast. It was our most productive fishing expedition ever.

Ah.. the booty!

Each of the kids caught at least 2 fish. It was so exciting. Even Madi caught two.

Here's wesley with his two golden trout. he caught more than that but that's what we have pictures of.Madi caught a fish. But when they flopped on the ground they scared her. She loved looking at them though, as long as they weren't flopping at her. :)

Lily with her first fish. She probably caught the biggest fish, besides one of Grandma's.

Grandma coming back from the big pond. YEAH what a fisher-woman.

look at all the fish! We caught all but two. Someone gave us two. So we caught 16 total. Grandma Stanger caught three on the adult pond. Lily caught two on the adult pond with dad's help. And the rest, the kids caught on the kid pond, with only a little help from dad, mom, and grandma.

Happy Birthday Wesley!

Wesley turns 6. Wow, he's getting to be such a big boy. Sometimes I just watch him and am amazed that I am his mother. Then I just feel greatful.

This year he wanted a pirate cake. The sails' say "Captain Wesley and 1st Mate Preston" the smaller sail says, "Princess Whitney".

Wesley shares his birthday with two of his cousins Preston turning two, and Whitney turning one. Here he is standing with Preston.

And here is cute little Whitney devouring her one year old cupcake, and using it as a facial mask as well. Maybe frosting on your face really does keep you looking young, he he.

Thanksgiving crafts

I have a friend who loves to do crafts and has many projects. Right now she says she's trying to de-junk and wanted to finish these crafts quickly, so another friend and I went to help, very willingly, I might add. She had started these cute little scarecrows. She already had the head and bodies stuffed, the legs and arms sewn and the shirts made. So we stuffed legs and arms, sewed them on, dressed them, gave them hair, faces, and a hat. They turned out so cute. We did have to get together two different times to finish them but we did 17 of them. It was sooo much fun. Everyone should have such a friend.

She also had lots of little straw hats left and another project, lots of felt feathers and turkey parts. So she gave me the parts and my kids and I put turkeys together. My cute chilluns picked out their own feathers, colors, all parts, and then I hot glued them on.

My cute kindergartener has been learning about patterns and picked great color patterns for his.

Lily just loves pink. We each did two, so that makes 6 all together. So now we have turkeys hanging on walls, from door knobs, and anywhere else they can think of to move them to. The kids really had a fun time and it wasn't that hard.

The Parable of the Pool

Just some more of my thoughts. I wanted to record this where i could find it, before I forgot it altogether. About 4 summers ago we bought an above ground swimming pool, it's 16ft. in diameter and 3.5 ft in depth. The first time in the pool Wesley fought it, and even with a life jacket on he clung to me with his arms wrapped tightly around my neck and cried. With floaties, however, he was finally able to have fun and not cling to my neck.

After days of going in the pool, Wesley got really good. Then he realized that he could touch and would walk around the pool and have fun without a life jacket or floaties on his arms. Then one day we added more water.

The next time we went out to go swimming, I knew that the water was deeper than Wesley was ready for so on the way out I convinced him to put on a life jacket. He finally decided to put it on and climbed into the pool. He quickly realized that the water was deeper than before, but the life jacket kept him from going under. However, the new situation made him a bit nervous and he clung to me for a little while. But he soon realized that he was ok with the jacket on. After a while he figured out that he could stand on his tippy-toes and tilt his head up and still touch without his jacket, and off he went to have a great time.

As I watched this process unfold I couldn't help but wonder about how our Heavenly Father feels as he watches, nudges, and helps us from beyond the veil. He has given and continues to give us all the tools and help that we need to get through the trials he knows we will face.

Just as Wesley was scared the first time in the pool, we are scared as we face a trial we know is there. We cling to what we know and hopefully to the Lord, and cry, not knowing or realizing that he has already given us what we need to succeed and have fun. When faced with a new calling or new trial we are first overwhelmed with what lays ahead. But as we strive to do it anyway, staying in the pool, little by little we realize that we do have what it takes, and then we learn that we can touch, and off we go. However in life, as in the pool, nothing stays the same. Eventually the water will rise.

I'm always amazed, humbled, and feel truely blessed when I react to a prompting, or even just in keeping the commandments, I find myself prepared for a trial that I didn't even know was there. I'm sure the Lord knowing what lays ahead of us is always trying to convince us to put this "Jacket" on. " Yes, I know you didn't need it last time, but you may need it this time". And if we listen we may feel a bit unsettled or a little overwhelmed by the new situation but then quickly realize that if we stand on our tippy-toes, and tilt out heads back we can stay above the water and continue on, and even find joy in the journey. Then there are always the times we might not listen and find ourselves drowning for an instant, before we reach up and take the before offered "jacket". Thankfully even when we don't listen Heavenly Father, like mothers at the pools edge, is always there to help and pull us up. I'm so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who prepares and helps me through my trials, the known and the unknown, in this journey of life. He even knew from the beginning that we would need a savior, and prepared the way. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ.

Ahhh the price of SWOOP

My beloved kindergartener wore through the toe is his tennis-shoes. Therefore, alas it is time to re-invest in footwear. So off we go to the store, looking for a deal. We get to the kids section and I see that all of the kids "charater' shoes are on sale. And as much as He liked the shoes with the hulk (his choice of halloween costume) he informed me that they didn't have swoop.

Now my mind instantly goes back to a few weeks ago as I was wearing my tennis-shoes and Wesley said he liked them because they had swoosh. I remember thinking that was interesting and asked a few questions to try and disern just exactly what swoop was. I wasn't sure but figured out it had to do with the toe of the shoe.

So, now standing in the store the investigation becomes more intense. "Does this shoe have swoop?" "No" "ok, does this one?" "yes." Wonderful, I have now figured out that swoop is the shape of the toe. A perfectly rounded toe to be exact. Then that I discovered that the shoes with swoop were not "character" shoes and therefore not on sale. So this time SWOOP cost me an extra $5.

My sister, Jo was with me and just laughed, "Wait until he's in highschool and has to shop at Holisters for "swoop". Well, at that time he will have to pay for his own swoop.

Life is good.

Happy Halloween!

Here's my cute goblins.

The Hulk, Snow White, and our cute little pegasus.

Thanks Jessica for the costumes.

Madi ran around the house saying wheeehehehe

Check out those muscles!

What a little princess!

We had a blast and got lots of candy. Which we were amazed that when offered the choice of a surprise under their pillows they traded their candy for it. The surprise ( from the halloween witch, which they knew was really daddy) turned out to be their own pack of mints and then some gum the next night. Which they were surprisingly pleased about. Yeahhhh! But we did keep their candy and are giving some back to them a little at a time. So moms happy and their happy. We sure lucked out this time.

Getting ready for Halloween

We finally carved some pumpkins. It's fun, Wesley and Lily know their shapes so they got to pick the shape of each feature. Dad drew and mom cut.

This must be our serious faces. Soo cute, oh ya and the pumpkins are too. :)

The Great 8 Tag

Ok-i'll be tagged, but only cause i love ya Tiffanie.

8 favorite TV shows
1. Probably PBS-Curious George, cause my kids love it and I can get something done in that 1/2 hour.
2. Sid the Science Kid - it teaches investigation and asking questions about your surroundings.
3. Super Why, and Word World - they teach letters and putting words together. My kids love to point out "super-letters" as we drive around town. It's tons of fun!
4. Cyber chase - cause it teaches math in such a fun way for kids. I love MATH!
5. The Biggest Loser Hmmm... nuf said eh? :)
6. Chuck
7. Life
8. The office

8 favorite places to eat
1. My mom's
2. My mother-in-law's
3. Relief Society Enrichment Meetings (always such good food)
4. The Olive Garden
5. Johnny Carino's (my sister works theres)
6. Applebee's
7. Ling Hung (mongolian BBQ) Loooooove it!
8. Anywhere with my cute hubby as a date.

8 things I did yesterday
1. I got up..... he he....and got wesley on the bus.
2. I did lots of computer work for my church calling. (but it's done now :))
3. I folded a batch of laundry.... and got it put away.
4. I went on a "fall colors" scavenger hunt with my kids for Wesley's homework.
5. I had a Math tutor session, and worked with factoring polynomials, oooooo, so much fun I know. Actually it is for me. he he he wierd I know.
6. I cut up veggies for a stew, and I let Lily and Madi put them in the crock-pot.
7. I pushed Madi in the swing outside. Her favorite thing to do.
8. I finally got in bed and went to sleep. Ahhh heaven, I love our bed.

8 things I look forward to
1. hm.... getting comments on my blog. Now that i'm addicted. he he
2. seriously? moments that I get to play with my kids.
3. My birthday
4. My husband's birthday- 4 days later.
5. Holidays
6. Family vacations
7. My husband getting a day off. Cause he works aaaaalllllll the time. Really, just ask my family.
8. Dancing

8 things I love about Fall
1. I love fall.
2. The feeling in the air that something is about to happen.
3. The relief from really hot weather.
4. The colors
5. The mums (fall flowers)
6. Watching the kids play in the leaves
7. Playing in the leaves he he he
8. Thanksgiving. (yams with brown sugar and marshmellows, and stuffing, etc....)

8 things on my wish list
1. A separate room for all my health stuff. ie) My zone therapy stuff, massage table, my husband's inversion swing, etc...
2. To lose X amount of lbs.
3. To visit my old mission areas with my family - anaheim CA
4. Family vacations
5. hm.... I guess I have every thing else I want.
6. oh, ya some extra $$ to pay off bills.
7. And to go shopping and not have to worry about the $$$
8. a small farm with horses.

thanks Tiffanie that was Fun. More fun than I thought it would be.

I tag janet.... and any other of my sisters that reads this. But I know that janet will.

Second Snow

Yesterday must have just been a warning. Because today it's been snowing almost all day.

I just can't resist snow covered flowers. It seems like such an impossibility and yet, there it is.
The same roses as yesterday, just more snow. More snow pictures!We've been out in it twice now, and of course "have" to have hot chocolate every time we come in out of the cold. But I can't complain because it's the best kind of snow. It sticks.

Meet Frosty, in October? I actually came in after this and listened to some Christmas music. Yeah!

And who can't resist a snow fort. It was so much fun. We had a BLAST.

The First Snow of the season -I dare you to pick a favorite.

It started snowing, I was looking out the window and noticed the snowflakes collecting on my roses. It was so pretty I just had to get a picture. I was hard pressed to pick a favorite, so here's all of them. I'm glad I went out when I did, because about 20 minutes later the snow was melted.

Fighting for My Freedoms

I've just been thinking, which as of yet is still my "right". In listening to the presidential debates and hearing the two different plans on health care, I am reminded of a similar scenario where two plans were presented.

One plan was Heavenly Fathers plan to allow all of his children to go down to earth and receive a body and have their own agency to choose what they will do. The other plan was Satan's plan. He wanted all of Heavenly Fathers children to return to Him also, but instead of allowing us to make our own choices satan's plan was to FORCE everyone to do what was right and therefore all would return. Thankfully, satan's plan was rejected, and we all came to earth with our own agency and opportunities to choose and find our way back to God.

In the debates one plan (McCain's) although not perfect does open state lines for more CHOICES. Where the other plan (Obama's) will FORCE everyone to have health insurance, because if you don't he will fine you. Now unless i'm mistaken the main reason people choose to not have insurance is because they can't afford it. So if they can't afford insurance they certainly can't afford another fine. I know their plans are more complicated than that but that's the basics.

Now, too often we think of fighting for freedom as done by the soldiers. However, if we as American's don't step up and fight for our own freedoms in this election we may lose them to Obama who will take them for our own best interest. Because he thinks he knows what's best for all of us. As for me I believe that I know what's best for me and my family, not the government. And what's best for me is Patriotism as defined as loving ones country, not as obama says in how many taxes you pay.

I can't believe that a man who would turn his back on the American flag, refuses to wear the flag on his lapel because he might offend someone, among many other things has made it this far in an American presidential election.

Well, I am someone and I am offended. I am an American and although it's not perfect, am proud of my country. I'm thankful for the freedoms that I have and am grateful to all those who fought to give me these rights. The American Flag represents those freedoms and those men and women who fought to give us a country. It represents working together to help each other.

Fight for your Freedoms. Don't give them away. Although I don't agree with everything McCain talks about at least I know that McCain loves America. Has fought for it, and respects the flag.

Well, that's just some of my thoughts. If you agree GREAT. If not, well, that ok, too. aren't you glad we still have the right to disagree. We can even agree to disagree. HAVE A GREAT DAY.