Sunnier Days

Dear Boys,

Sometimes life doesn't turn out the way you think you want it to.  Sometimes your brother will get the toy you wanted.  Sometimes your mom and dad won't give you all the attention you want (remind me to give it to you).  Sometimes the girl you like won't like you back (she's CRAZY!).  Sometimes you won't get the job you applied for or get into the school you always dreamed about.  This letter is to tell you that those "sometimes" are life lessons and you will learn from them.

Unfortunately, sometimes the learning isn't fun.

I've learned that kids, teenagers, and even adults have a hard time looking in the future.  When bad things happen, it's hard to see past those bad things and see that good things are up ahead.  Especially when it feels like those bad things keep happening before we get to anything good.  Stay strong.  Live right.  Good things will happen and you will always look back on those bad things and realize why you had to live through them.

This has happened to me and that's why I am sharing it with you.  Don't feel alone.  Don't feel like you are being picked on.  Even with me telling you this, I am sure you will.  But there is a plan.  I wish I knew it sometimes.  I wish I knew right now in my life what the plan was for tomorrow.  However, I just hope that I can teach you (and remind myself) to be grateful for what you have.  Look around you.... You are so blessed.  Remember how much your dad and I love you.  Remember your Father in Heaven loves you.  Remember, when there are gray skies, there will be sunnier days.

I love you boys.

Love,
Mom

"Popcorn, Flying"

Easton has been talking more and more.  It is so much fun.  He also has gotten very "creative" too.

Tonight I found him flying his helicopter everywhere saying, "Popcorn, flying."  I didn't realize what he was saying until I saw that right there, in the cockpit, was a piece of popcorn.

See the piece of popcorn?  Oh, and his classic cheesy smile.

He also would crash his helicopter into the walls and then say, "Popcorn, are you ok?"  Full sentence!  My baby is growing up way too fast. :(

Santa Found Us!

Even with moving and everything, Santa found us!

The boys were so excited.....but even with their excitement, they didn't wake up until almost 8!  I know I will probably never get another year like that again.

lining up on the steps: youngest to oldest

Then "pure joy" began:

Easton only wanted to play with his trains (the first gift he opened).
He had no interest in presents after that point.

Creighton was SOOO excited about every presents.
Even when he got church socks, he held them up in the air and
ran all over the house screaming, "I got Church socks, CHURCH SOCKS."
Please let him always have this zest for life. :)

After opening the Santa presents, we had our traditional waffle breakfast and then got ready for Aunt Melyn and Uncle Jordan to fly into town.  In the down time, we played with all our new toys:

Completion of the Star Wars puzzle

After Melyn and Jordan came, the adults opened their presents:

We were truly blessed this year.....like always.  For the kid's journaling purposes:
Favorite Gifts 2010:
Jackson - leapster, snow boots
Creighton - Star Wars puzzle, leapster
Easton - Choo Choos, and a lego choo choo track
Mitch - coat
Allie - the boys used their "sniffers" and picked me out some perfume and they also got me my new favorite pair of pants.

We ended our Christmas day with the annual Evers Christmas party at "Papa's Place."  We have been having it there the last few years and I think every year just gets more and more fun.  Sadly, no photos were taken.  We had so much fun dueling each other in the blast zone, and even more fun playing lights out in the inflatables (we turn off all the lights in the whole place and play hide and go seek in the inflatables.)  Seriously, so much fun.

With that, Christmas was over.  I hope, however, that I taught my boys something this year and I hope that we, as a family, can keep the Christmas spirit throughout the whole year....because.....

Christmas isn't about ribbons, tags, boxes or bags.  Christmas doesn't come from a store. Christmas.....means a little bit more.

Christmas is about a little baby. in a manger.  A perfect little baby.  And greatest gift I have ever been given. I hope our family can celebrate his birth, each and every day, and remember the blessings we have been given....way, way, way too many to count.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve involved shopping, cooking, eating, and playing.  We are in the process of creating new traditions on Christmas Eve since my grandma moved her party a few years ago.  Here's what we did this year:

- Sit down turkey dinner.
- Christmas Program (generally just turns into my dad telling his version of the Christmas story and Jackson correcting him with the real one)
- Gift from papa and Cousin exchange.  Aunt Josie got my boys swords and helmets and they dueled forever!  They loved it.  It was completely entertaining as well.
- Decorating Cookies for Santa
- Christmas pajamas and pictures
- Kids to bed -- with a fabulous bed time story from my father about the deadly jelly fish (really Christmassy, thanks dad.)
- Santa Scum (our new favorite card game with Christmas Characters instead of president, vice, scum, etc.)

It was such a fun night and it ended great with me completing all 3 rounds being Santa.

Snow Days

Jackson got the cutest little shovel from my sweet Aunt for Christmas and he LOVES it.  The boys had so much fun helping Grandma and Grandpa shovel the driveway.

This is Happy.....

 I have never seen Easton so happy as he was to see Santa.  It actually shocked me.  I thought for sure he would be scared of him.  I could not have been more wrong.  He would just sit and stroke his beard and ring the bells the whole time while sitting on his lap (and while not sitting on his lap too).  The cutest part was that he followed Santa out when he was trying to leave and kept saying, "Santa Huggie."  Finally Santa turned around and Easton gave him a huge bear hug around his legs with his eyes closed.  Cutest thing ever.  (Ok, maybe not to you, but to a mommy it was.)

The other boys loved him too.  They were all so happy.

Picture is blurry. :(

I love Christmas!!!

Moses....the ELF

We were given the book, "Elf on a Shelf."  It came with an Elf and you are supposed to name him.  It gives you some examples of Elf names....like Buddy.  However, after giving them about 10 Elfish names, I ask what they want to name him.

Moses

Moses it is.  So, Moses the elf now resides at our home.  He flies home to the North Pole every night and reports to Santa if the boys are being good.  Moses has asked Santa to take a few toys back (mostly for the Creigh Jay), but I think he has mostly been pleased.  Every morning he is sitting in a new place in the house and the boys LOVE trying to find him every morning.

I am so glad we started this tradition.  It has been such a fun Christmas.

Moses the Elf

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! 

Love,

The Evers Family

Visiting the B's at the P's in Panaca

Mitch and I made the trek down to Panaca to visit our great friends the Bleak's this last weekend.  Unfortunately, we were only able to stay one day because of a scheduling conflict, but we are so glad we still went.  The boys had so much fun.....Mitch had so much fun......and I had so much fun.  We are really going to miss living across the street from them.

Here are some pics from the trip.

Easton loved the food.  The first morning he ate his pancake
and Benson's pancake in the first minute.

We went to Cathedral Park (?) and it was so cool!  It was really cold so we didn't spend as much time exploring as I know we could have.  The falling snow looked really cool though.  

Love this picture!
E & Benson

Jenny and I in Jenny's mom's cute aprons making lasagna.

I didn't get any pictures of Mitch's highlight of the trip.... shooting his first gun.  I guess that's what you do when you live in Panaca.  They tried to talk me into it, but I am a city girl and that freaks me out way too much.  No thank you.  Mitch had fun though.

It was a great trip just way too short.