White Christmas

We had a white Christmas, we did we did. Jared was in charge of the still photos this year and let me tell you, 63 pictures! I trimmed them down for the slide show don't worry. We had a very nice Christmas. Jared's parents are so great to come in the morning and watch the kids open their gifts. Todd came this year too, and he made us french toast! That was a nice gift for us. We opened our Christmas box first and read all the nice things we did for each other and others this month. Then it was on to presents.(Excuse my pajamas and robe, no one wanted to wait for me to take a shower on Christmas morning.) Savanna's favorite gift was her digital camera from Grandma and Grandpa Schauers and the scooter from mom and dad. Fiora got a camera too in her stocking and loves it! Weston loves his red ryder bee bee gun from his daddy and hulk shirt from the Snows. We visited my wonderful Grandma Rappleye and she gave me my favorite gift of all -- purple pajamas! Thanks grandma. And Wendy Snow gave me comfy slippers to go with it. My parents and siblings came over for gift exchange in the afternoon and Jared and I were the lucky recipients of $40 gift cards from Holly and Bill. My parents very generously gave us some nice clothes and books we all love. We had soup and my family left to beat the storm. What a blessed day! Thank you everyone for the wonderful gifts and love you give us.

Jareds 31st Birthday

Somewhere in the Christmas melee fell Jared's 31st Birthday. Jared wanted to keep it low key this year what with all the Christmas celebrations going on. I made him breakfast in the morning and he got his traditional gift of meat/cheese/mustard box sets they sell this time of year that he loves. We went to my parents house that evening and had barbecue chicken pizza and sang Christmas songs. I made him some brownie trifle and the Barretts sang the Birthday cantata to him. He is a good sport about our desire to celebrate. It was a lot of fun singing with the family-thanks everyone! And Happy Birthday Jared!

Images of Christmas

This is our Christmas Box, wherein we put slips of paper that have good deeds written on them that we have done for one another. We will read them before opening presents Christmas morning, our Gift for the Lord.

This is the gingerbread house made out of graham crackers and chocolate frosting. What a messy project! But the end result looked alright.

Here's us on the Sunday morning before Christmas all festive, handsome, and ready to go to church.

This is the poinsettia we let beatuify our kitchen and put on Lillian's grave Christmas day. I hope we can find her headstone in all this snow!

And the stockings, unoriginal and inexpensive, but very coordinated. Our coats and hats have been tossed all over the livingroom without the coat rack.

bandwagon elfers

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I've seen this all over, couldn't resist doing it with us five! So funny.

Final Final

I Heather took my final final today! The semester is finished. HOORAY Special thanks go to my husband Jared, Shelene Westover, Julie Valora, Jennifer Gomez, Wendy Snow, Lacey Weight, Jesse and Kelsy, Kaylin Skousen and Kelly Hill for helping to make this semester a success. Thanks for helping watch our kids during classes and tests so Jared could work and do his calling. We love you!

Now, here is a celebration You Tube clip from the 80's now that we have time to browse the internet and watch really funny stuff. All those my age or older may know the actual words to this song, I think this is a major improvement.

Yay

Fiora: Savanna, will you make me some cinnamon toast?
Savanna: Sure
Fiora: Yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay
Savanna: Fiora stop saying yay or I won't make it
Fiora: Can I say it one more time?
Savanna: (sigh) OK.
Fiora: Yay
~After a pause~
Fiora: Cinnamon Toast Cinnamon Toast Cinnamon Toast Cinnamon Toast . . .
Savanna: (sigh)

Merry Merry Merry Merry Christmas

I stole this Youtube light display from my friend's blog, I saw it last year and loved it. So amazing what people can do with their lights!

And here is a link to listen to beautiful Christmas music for hours on your computer from the mormon tabernacle choir.
Merry Christmas

Saturday is a special day

Sometimes blogs get sugarcoated. :) Lest you are under the notion that every day is rosey over here at the Schauers home let me tell you about Saturday, which really was pretty typical of any day here.
6:30 AM enter Weston, climbing in Heather and Jared's bed. After 15 minutes of squirming he requests pancakes. Heather tells him its too early and go downstairs and watch something.
7:00 Girls alarm clock goes off. Savanna's feet hit the floor and she turns it off, Heather hears a banter "Why did you set the alarm?" "I didn't do it!" "Yes you did!" and a few slaps. Enter Fiora telling Heather Savanna hit her. She climbs in the bed. Enter Savanna, Heather asks her why the alarm went off. "Fiora set it!" "No I didn't!" Heather tells them to go downstairs.
7:30 Enter Weston crying, "Savanna touched my foot!" Heather rolls out of bed. Heather makes pancakes.
8:00 Eating pancakes, cleaning the kitchen, getting dressed
8:30 Jared gets up and asks when I am exercising because he has a lot to do. Good thing he didn't ask me what time it was because I would have to reply, "Time for everything but me."
9:00 Heather exits house of chaos to go exercise, kids try to get ready for program rehearsal at 10:00 Sunday best by themselves.
9:45 Heather returns and practices a musical nubmer with Jesse and Kelsy and gets the kids out the door takes a shower and runs to the rehearsal, Jared leaves for work (yes on a Saturday)
10:30 Heather finds out they aren't doing the song she is playing today, she goes home
11:00 Some silence, should Heather go back to bed? read? clean? She sits on the couch in a daze and does none of the above
11:30 Kids come home and want lunch. Heather takes the kids to Little Ceasars and gets a $5 pizza
11:45 Weston insists on holding the pizza and drops it in the garage on his way out of the car
12:00 Heather serves dirt covered pizza to kids whilst Weston cries "It was an accident!"
12:30 Heather climbs under the covers and wimpers, defeated. Kids run amok
1:00 Jared comes home. He assesses the situation and takes the kids to Macey's for food fun and Santa claus.
2:00 Heather emerges, makes two pies for the Ward activity that evening
3:00 Jared returns with food and kids, Jared put away groceries, Heather sulks that he brought home more work for her, and the kids watch Mr. Megorium
3:30 Heather has a melt down, Jared turns therapist and tries to talk me through it,("Are you mad because I slept in?) Weston breaks an ornament (why do they play with those?), Heather is sorry and thanks Jared for the nice food
4:00 Jared naps, Heather practices "Chocolate in my Stocking" with Savanna for the Ward activity
5:00 Everyone getting ready to go, fight with Sav about her hair, appease Fiora who didn't get a "shirt like Savanna's"
6:00 Ward Christmas dinner, mom and dad Barrett come with to see Savanna perform
7:00 Savanna does a flawless performance, although stone statue still, for over 200 people!
7:30 Santa Claus comes to the party, kids sit on his lap. Fiora asks for my little ponies, Savanna asks for a Scooter, and Weston asks for a candy cane. Weston got his wish.
8:00 come home put kids to bed and Jared and Heather sit by the Christmas tree and relax. Whew!

PBJ

Weston's body cells are comprised 80% of peanut butter and jelly and bread. He opts for this food selection at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I offer him everything under the sun but he only wants his pb&j. The other 20% of his diet are cereal, meat off the grill, and apple juice.



We were somewhat disappointed it did not snow this past week. We usually like to take the family sledding the day after Thanksgiving. Instead the children had to stay in the house and entertain themselves. All my ideas are tossed by the wayside, the kids like to do only what I haven't suggested. Too bad all the fun things to do are so expensive, except sledding.