On Christmas Day in the Morning

We had a fun morning- another Christmas has flown by! I hope yours was a memorable one.

Our favorite present for 2008- JAMES

Feelin' Grinchy?

Warning- I'm about to complain. Skip this section if you don't want to read my murmuring. I've been sick for almost a week, we've been overflowed with snow, I'm not done shopping, my Christmas cards are not sent- ERRRRRR! I have been sending out Christmas cards for the last 10 years. To know that I'm not sending them out this year would normally make me feel ill, if I wasn't sick already! Procrastination is a plague.

Celebrating the birth of Christ

It's time to celebrate the birth of Christ. The kids participated in the Nativity pagent at our church- Madison sang with the angel choir, Carter was an innkeeper, Grant was a donkey, and James had the starring role of Baby Jesus. Some moments of interest during the Nativity came when Grant's costume started tearing and he walked over to us (we were in the front row) to ask us to fix it. He proceeded to ask us, in a loud voice, why he had to be a donkey AGAIN this year. We fixed the donkey's costume and sent him back to the animal grouping. That's when we noticed our innkeeper crawling around with the animals, mooing and braying. Baby Jesus continued to sleep during the entire event, soothed by the beautiful choir of angels.

Ooooohhh!

James loves to make this "ooh" expression. It makes us laugh when he does it and I finally captured it on camera. I wanted to post a one month picture of James, but his baby acne was a mess. It's finally clearing up and he's almost two months old. Even though he's only been here a short time it feels like he's been with us forever.

Largey Christmas Letter

My favorite talk of General Conference this past October was given by President Thomas S. Monson called Finding Joy in the Journey and a part I loved was...
"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly. Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know."

I'm smack in the middle of that child-raising time period and I'm trying the best I can to enjoy it while it lasts, although I don't think I'll ever miss the piles of laundry!

My children are growing too fast, as usual. Our newest baby- James Harrison Largey- was born in October. We are all in love with sweet baby James! We had forgotten how much fun it is to have a baby in the house. Grant is no longer our littlest Largey and at 5 years old he thinks he's his own boss. He loves to do gymnastics and we suspect he's part monkey. Grant is the biggest giggler in our family and is currently obsessed with Star Wars. Carter, our 7 year old, tried soccer for the first time this fall and he loved it. Since he runs everywhere he goes naturally, it was an easy transition to run towards a ball during soccer. He's working hard at school and soaks up new information like a sponge. Plus he occasionally leaks out a new thing he's learned spontaneously during the day. Madison is becoming quite the pianist and we're all enjoying the Christmas carols she's been playing this month. She's like a second mom to James and I am enjoying the help she gives me immensely. She will be 11 next month and I'm trying to get her to enjoy her last year of Primary instead of wishing she was already in the young women's program at church.

Jeremy and I are busy with our jobs (Engineer and Mom) and our callings (Young Men's Prez and Miamaid Teacher), but we're trying to find joy in the journey and appreciate each moment as it comes.

Love to you ALL and wishes of merriment this Christmas,
Jeremy, Shauna, Madison, Carter, Grant, and James Largey

Comforting Stuff

I am thankful for the comforts of life. Homemade rolls, good books, loving families, comfy pajamas, cozy beds, a warm home, lots of friends.... The list could go on and on. There are so many good things to love!

Bugging Out

We went to a bug exhibit at Woodlands Elementary this week and Carter told me he'd like to have a pet tarantula someday. And not just any tarantula, but a goliath bird-eating tarantula. Those are the size of a dinner plate. I told Carter he'd have to move to South America and live with a different family to have one of those as a pet...I think he's considering it.

Precious Little Fingers and Toes

I love admiring my sweet baby boy- he's perfect. I like to sing the boogie woogie piggie song to him and play with his little pink toes. I also love have him snuggled up against me. The curve of his nose fits just right against my upper arm. Carter likes to say "Everybody loves James. He's so popular".

James's Baby Blessing

James is almost one month old. I wish it wasn't going by so quickly...I want to savor these baby days. He had his baby blessing given by Jeremy at church this week and he was a drowsy guy when he was blessed. The blessing Jeremy asked for was beautiful and I'm grateful James has such a wonderful dad.

Jeremy's 30th Birthday Bonanza

Jeremy's Mom and sister, Amber, were able to fly up to see us and celebrate Thanksgiving, James's baby blessing, and Jeremy's 30th birthday. They helped the kids and I stash 30 presents with varying degrees of 30 involved, and Jeremy got clues to hunt for them. I don't know who enjoyed it more Jeremy or our kids...

Our "Crazy RV Friends" Visit!

Our friends, the Williamson's, sold their house here in WA a few years ago, bought an RV and have been roamin' up until last year. They are now in a house again, but whenever I share stories about them to my friends here I refer back to them as my "crazy RV friends". I admire their adventurous spirits and have to admit that I'm jealous they've been so many amazing places.