Christmas Eve with the Spanglers

Christmas Eve with the Spangler clan is wild and crazy, but so much fun! We all take turns hosting and this year, Steve and Stacy were the lucky ones. Each family brings one appetizer and one dessert to share. We eat and talk and laugh and eat some more. The kids (all 19 that live in WA) draw names and exchange a $5 gift. They love it! Then the adults have a white elephant gift exchange. This is always such a riot because the Spanglers actually prepare and search for the perfect gift all year long. This year, Don gave a beautifully framed picture of this...

And it was stolen the maximum number of times. Ridiculous.
Yes, that is a "polly pocket" doll holding a slug.

A funny

This morning Ethan handed me a picture he had just created...all scribbles.
Ethan: "Here, Mom, I made this for you!"
Mom: "Oh, I love it! What is it?"
Ethan: "Um...Um...I scribbled on it for you!"

Ethan's Tooth

By now, I am sure most of you have heard this story, but since this is for posterity and a few of you haven't heard, I will share the gory details of my poor baby's little mouth. On Thursday, 2 days after Ethan's b-day and 5 days before Christmas, I was feeling good. Shopping was finished, most of the presents were wrapped, the stockings were hung, cards were out, we were way ahead of the game. I was caught in a weak moment and allowed four of my children to invite a friend over for the day. It was actually great. They all played well together and everything was happy, until.....Ethan comes inside through the back door, covered in blood, crying a very sad, painful cry. Davis had been outside with his buddy practicing swings with his metal golf clubs, and yep, Ethan walked in the wrong place at the wrong time. Smack! Right in the mouth.

Of course, my friend had just arrived with her four children, so we had a house full! I grabbed Ethan and noticed his lip was split open, thinking this is okay...lips heal fast. Don reminded me, "Check his teeth". My heart sank because I knew there was too much blood for just a split lip. I peeked inside and there was his tooth (the size of Texas) sitting in his mouth and a cavernous hole was in it's place.

That meant TWO of my five children lost their teeth at a very young age! Why does this happen to me?? Oh yeah, because I have obsessions with teeth. That's why. Anyway, we calmed him down and I called my dad, forgetting he was recovering in the hospital. I called my dentist friend who said there was nothing we could do to save the tooth. Ethan finally fell asleep in Don's arms.

Hours later he woke up and didn't want dinner. I figured he would be getting "sick" soon because I was sure he had swallowed too much blood. He did get sick, but it didn't stop! He couldn't keep anything down and was so sick for almost 3 days. At first we were worried it was from the trauma of being hit, or something, but when his sisters started throwing up, we realized it was just the flu. By now, it was Sunday, and Monday was Christmas Eve. Poor little Ethan had to deal with being so sick on top of all the pain and trauma of his little mouth. Thank goodness we were "ready" for Christmas because all we did those 3 days was hold him.

I took this picture of him sleeping because he slept more in those 3 days than I thought was possible. Poor baby. Even though it was such a sad, horrible thing to watch him go through, we know it could have been SO much worse and know that he was protected from any major harm. Sure he'll be toothless for the next 4 years, but we've already dealt with that one!

Family Pictures

All I can say is... Is there anything I am more happy to be done with than planning and preparing and taking family pictures? I LOVE to have them, but boy are they stressful!

The Creche

For any of you Moms out there who still have time for a meaningful Christmas craft, here's one that is fast and easy and so sweet. This was a station at our Stake Creche Exhibit. All it is, is a peanut shell sliced lengthwise in half, then wrapped in gauze. Draw a little face on and place the baby in a bed of straw and a manger made from toilet paper rolls. So cute. My friend Trudy created it and every child got to make one. They also had a room decorated like a Nativity with clothes for children to dress-up like Mary and Joseph, or angels and shepherds. I didn't bring my camera! It was such an amazing exhibit and the kids loved it.
(this is Ginger's. She was so cute to make a little pillow for baby Jesus. The sample there was wrapped more like a baby, covering the head a little more)

The Nutcracker Ballet

I got to go see the Nutcracker Ballet last weekend! My sister-in-law, Kelly and her mom-in-law, Rusty were going and had invited Don's mom, but since she was in Nebraska helping take care of our new little niece, I got to go in her place. To be honest, I thought it was going to be fun and neat to watch, but I was a little concerned that I would get tired of watching ballerinas for 2 hours with no dialogue. Boy was I wrong! It was thoroughly entertaining and fascinating to watch. The scenery was incredible and the dancing and music were sensational. I loved every minute of it! The drive there and back with Kelly was half the fun, too. We got lost a million times, but laughed and laughed and had so much fun together. Thanks Kelly, Rusty, Mom and Dad for the experience!

The Birthday Boys

Don's b-day was on the 13th and Ethan's was on the 18th. Poor Don was gone for most of his birthday, but flew in from Maine at around 7:00pm. We didn't do much celebrating (with the kids) that night, but definitely partied the day after instead. We did stuff like tow both of our cars to get fixed, prepare and take our family pictures, and visited our Stake creche exhibit. Poor Don. We did go to our favorite Mexican Restaurant in Port Orchard, Los Cabos, and then had our little family party at home and another party at Don's parents. I am struggling with the fact that I have a 35 year old husband! Yikes! Thank goodness I am MUCH younger than him.


Ethan got a bit gypped for his birthday, too, but he didn't even know it. Why do I have TWO December birthdays? We actually had to celebrate his b-day a day early because with church meetings and school functions, we weren't go to be together as a family on his birthday. All he asked for was Spiderman cupcakes and I couldn't even deliver. That day was the craziest day and I didn't have time to go all over the place trying to find the stuff I needed. So, in a pinch, I offered chocolate cupcakes with a Spiderman sweatshirt. He was thrilled. Thank goodness for 3 year olds. I went to go wrap his presents and realized I really only had stuff for Christmas, except for one hand-me-down big one. So, Don told all the kids to go find something of theirs that they would like to give to Ethan and wrap it up. They were so excited and so cute, trying to find something they knew he would love. It was really a sweet thing to observe. Ethan LOVED every gift he opened and the kids LOVED giving it to him. Whoever said you need to spend $ to make a birthday special? You can see the hand-me-down gift from his cousin Hank...the Shake N Go race track. That is the coolest, most perfect toy for little boys. We all spent hours playing with it. You have to shake the car to get it powered up and then the 2 cars race around the track so long, depending on how long you have shaken it. His birthday ended up being so much fun and so special for our little family.

"I'm THREE!!"

Highly Unusual

How many of you have ever had TWO cars towed out of your driveway on the same day? Probably none of you. Well, we are lucky enough to be having problems with BOTH of our cars right now...enough problems that they are undriveable. Don's car has needed a new alternator for weeks, but he has been gone or so busy that he hasn't been able to take it in...until the very day my car starts acting up! I drove the kids to school and on my way home the 'check engine' light started flashing and the engine started to sputter. I was worried I wasn't going to make it home. Well, I did and when I called the dealership, they said I shouldn't drive it, and that they would send a tow truck and check it out. Luckily, it's all under warranty and should be taken care of at no charge. It will just be an interesting day trying to handle kindergarten pick-up and other errands that needed to happen today, and of course, our scheduled family Christmas picture this afternoon. It just might not happen this year...

Our Little Guitar Man

It was Davis' turn to show off at the school Winter concert last night. He was incredible on that guitar! (He takes after his Uncle Rod)

It's inevitable!

Why is it that the SECOND I schedule any important picture, someone gets a black eye? We decided to take our Christmas family picture this week, and hours after that decision was made this happened. I was babysitting my little nephew, so I had to switch the car seats all around in the car and didn't know that Ethan was sitting on the floor of my van. Whack! He caught the sharp corner of the bottom of the car seat right in the face. Poor baby. Don't tell anyone, but he will most undoubtedly be wearing make-up in our family picture this year.

Gingerbread House Making Time

Last night for Family Night, our good friends, the Bushmans, invited us over to make Gingerbread Houses. John and Tina have five children and I was amazed that they were willing to take on five MORE children with such a sticky activity. It was definitely a welcome invitation since Don is in Maine for the week and I needed the diversion. To my children's delight, they each got to create their very own house! It was a major discussion on the way over to their house..."I wonder if we are all going to be making one house together, or if we each get to make our own little one, and even take it home...that would be AWESOME!" Well, the Bushmans are pretty awesome and my kids were thrilled to get to make and eat their very own creations. Ethan DID NOT want to make a house, but I think he inhaled the equivalent of at least a house, or two! My five children created quite the sugary, sticky mess over there, but John and Tina were great and we all had a wonderful evening. Thanks again, Bushman Family! (pictured with Ginger is her good friend, Emily, and one of my new primary kids!)

Best Brothers

I love Saturday morning. It is my day to be lazy and sleep in...'til 9. The kids are really good about either sleeping in, too, or getting up quietly and letting me sleep. Last Saturday morning, I heard the boys up early, like they usually are on Saturday morning. It's amazing how EXHAUSTED Davis is everyday before school, but on Saturday and Sunday morning he is up at the crack of dawn with endless energy, and just can't seem to resist waking up Ethan. This past Saturday, I awoke to the sound of the boys on the trampoline. I was positive that as I peeked out the window I would find them both in their pajamas, but to my delight, Davis had them both all dressed, complete with matching beanies. (Davis is acutely aware of what he puts on everyday and tries very hard to match Ethan, or his Dad.)


Davis is SUCH a good big brother to Ethan. This past year has been so fun to watch Ethan get a little older and see Davis and Ethan play together more and more. Ethan worships the ground Davis walks on, too. If you ask Ethan what he wants to be when he grows up, he says, "I'm going to be a soccer player like Davis." And anytime Ethan wants to do something it's, "Can Davis and I go", or "Can me and Davis do that?" They are the best of friends and I love my boys!

It's working...

Tonight our Home Teachers stopped by and brought with them a Lifesaver Sweet Storybook for each one of our children. So cute of them. Unfortunately, our kids had JUST finished brushing their teeth and were on their way to bed when they stopped by. I quickly informed them that they could open the box, read the story, put their name on it and then hand it over to me until tomorrow. They were all totally fine with that (except for Ethan, of course) and did just as I asked. As soon as they finished, I told them to go sit by the Christmas tree since Don would be home any minute to do our Christmas scripture reading and singing with us. Ginger promptly came right over to me, wrapped her arms around me and just gushed with love, "You are the best mom, you are the coolest mom, I love you so much, we're so lucky you're our mom", etc. (I figured this was prompted by my allowing them to sit and wait around the Christmas tree, instead of in their beds??) So, I replied "thank you, Ginger, but why?" She answered, "Any other Mom would just let us pig out on all the lifesavers and our teeth would rot and we would be ruined for life".

My first child is officially brainwashed. ONE down, FOUR to go...

My Talented Girls

Ginger and Gillian have been working hard! As part of their Activity Days they have been working on quilts to donate to the Humanitarian Aid for Christmas this year. The quilts were already put together, but they tied them all by themselves. Gillian came home from one activity night and said, "That was so much fun, Mom. We just felt like old ladies, sitting their, talkin' and sewin'!"
Tonight the girls had a concert at their school called "South Colby Stomps"! They sang a million songs and played various instruments. Ginger's class played "Oh When The Saints Go Marching In" and Gillian's class performed "Taps" on the guitar. It was quite impressive that the whole class could play a song on the guitar, when most had never touched one. Their music teacher is so great and she LOVES my girls because if any of you have ever been in primary with them, you know they like to sing, really loud!

Winter Wonderland

We woke up this morning to boring, old, dark and dreary day. No rain, just very cold. Don left early this morning for a full day (8-5pm) of Tithing Settlement, so we were just going to be hanging out all day at home. Well, at about 12:30 this afternoon, the sky started to flutter and within a half hour, it was a full-fledged snow storm. What a way to welcome in the month of December! It snowed for about 2 hours straight and finally created enough of a playland for the kids. I was talking to my sister on the phone and before I knew it, they were all decked out in layers of snow gear (even though we don't really have snow gear). I ran outside with my camera to catch a few shots in a short-sleeved shirt and no gloves and the next thing I know, I am helping build a snowman, while frostbite is settling into my fingers! Yikes! I ran in and got dressed and really enjoyed the fun day the weather provided. It really got us all in a holiday mood! "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...

Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen...

We had some VERY special visitors the other day, right in our own backyard. Santa's reindeer! We have only lived here in Washington for 3 years, but are still getting used to the fact that we get one or two or even three deer grazing our property and neighborhood on occasion. But, the other day we were astounded to count SEVEN deer all together in our backyard. I don't know how they ended up way out here, especially when they are surely supposed to be getting ready at the North Pole this time of year, but what a treat it was for my kids to see!


Watch them in action...

Reindeer

So Thankful...

The adult table:
Krisette, Craig, Stacy, Steve, Heidi, Scott, Don, and Karen

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we enjoyed this year. We were jam packed with family, even though we were missing so many. Craig and Krisette hosted it this year and it was really nice. Everything turned out delicious and we ended up staying past bedtime because we were enjoying the company so much. Krisette even invited all the girls to stay for a sleepover with the cousins. Hosting Thanksgiving dinner and then having an 8-girl slumber party on top of it...Krisette...you are my hero! We are so grateful this time of year to be surrounded by so much family. We are so blessed!

I got "Tagged"!

I guess those long summer days of playing “tag” with my brothers and sisters as a child aren’t quite over. Apparently my little sister is still holding a grudge that she could never quite run as fast as I could, so she has “tagged” me the only way that is possible. So, now I have to rack my brain and come up with 6 weird, quirky things about myself and share them with the whole world. Thanks a lot, Ginge! Here goes…

1. I have an obsession with teeth. I have a really hard time talking to people and looking them in the eye, instead of at their mouth, or teeth. I am sure this obsession comes from the fact that my dad is an orthodontist and I spent many years working alongside him perfecting teeth in the world. Not only do I ALWAYS look at and admire people’s teeth, I have an overwhelming desire and NEED to yank teeth from my children’s mouth the second I find out that they have a loose tooth. My poor kids. The older ones don’t even tell me anymore and if I find out, they lock their mouths shut! Then I have to resort to bribery...in all forms. It always works and I get the joy of playing “tooth fairy” yet again. One of my favorite visitors this summer was my niece, Krista, because she had a loose tooth and insisted that I do the yanking. Oh, happy day for me!

2. I love to sing… in the car…. REALLY loud. I can’t sing and seriously think I am tone deaf, but singing in the car with the music blasting is the key, because then I can’t hear myself singing. People are always giving me strange looks, but oh well. I’ll sing anything from Ingrid Michaelson to the Wicked soundtrack to Primary songs or Carrie Underwood. Actually, anything I know the words to, I will sing along.

3. I am the Queen of “To Do” lists, although I never actually complete the list, or even half the list, I just like to “cross off”. I will even write things like ‘take a shower’ or ‘pick up kids’ on my list just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing them off. I make long lists everyday that are completely unattainable and I usually end up writing the same list over from the previous day, because I didn’t really do anything (on the list) the day before, except shower and pick up my kids, of course. For some reason, it just makes me feel better to write it down with the hope that I will do it. Ridiculous.

4. I hesitate to admit this one, and more importantly, share it. I am a very messy teeth brusher. My husband calls me “Mad Dog” anytime he dares come near me while I am brushing my teeth. For some reason, I do not feel like my teeth and mouth are clean unless the toothpaste is allowed to dribble out of my mouth, down my chin. I know, totally disgusting. But, the times I try to do it neatly don’t satisfy me and I usually have to do it again. So revolting. I promise to work on that one.

5. I almost NEVER wash my face before bed. I know, that’s terrible. I think I heard Oprah on her show talking to a dermatologist guru and she said, “Isn’t that the worst thing you can do for your skin, not wash your face before bed?” And the lady said, “Yes!” Well, even that didn't help, I never do. Then again, my toothpaste probably takes care of half of my face, right??

6. Last, but not least, I LOVE food in the “raw”. No, not sushi, but cookie dough, pizza dough, bread dough, cake batter, muffin batter, even pie crust. It isn’t a very strange thing to like these things if you are on MY side of the family, but the Spanglers think it is disgusting that I will eat handfuls of pizza dough and lick the spoons of every mix I make. Delicious.

There you have it. Now I get to tag 3 others. Tina, Laura, and Mom, you’re "IT"!

The Party Goes On...

On Thursday, the day after my birthday, a group of my girlfriends met at the Victorian Rose Tea Room for lunch to celebrate my birthday and my friend Marci's b-day. It is the perfect place for girls! I love the Tea Room. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is so quaint and charming and feminine! We had a really nice time.


Don got home just minutes after I did and nothing could beat having my husband back home. We played all weekend long and just enjoyed being together as a family. I got to have another party at home and that one was the sweetest of them all!

My 32nd Birthday!

Wednesday was my birthday and Don was STILL gone. I had no expectations for the day, just anxiously awaiting my husband's return on Friday night. The kids were super cute all morning, helping their younger siblings make their beds and get dressed and doing everything to keep me happy. After dropping the kids off at school, I got to go play volleyball with my friends all morning and then enjoyed lunch at Mary Mac's with my friend, Jeanette, and my sister-in-law, Krisette (who shares the same birthday as me)! At 3:40, I went to pick up my kids from school, and to my surprise, Ginger, Gillian, and Davis were each holding a bouquet of flowers, while half the school watched and waited in anticipation for me to arrive. They ran to my car and handed me the flowers, saying, "Happy Birthday! This is from Dad!" Don had set the whole thing up through his dad and I loved it. It was hilarious to hear the girls tell me how terrified and nervous they felt when they were handed a note that read, "go to the office immediately after school". Gillian told me her heart was beating so fast she could hardly concentrate at school and Ginger just kept telling herself, "I didn't do anything wrong." Poor girls. Davis, of course, didn't even bat an eye at the note.

That night, I got a call from my sister-in-law, Stacy telling me that she was taking the kids for the evening and someone would be coming to pick me up for dinner. My good friends, Shelly and Jolayne from my old ward came and took me to dinner at Cosmo's and then to their Enrichment Meeting for a program and dessert. It was so fun to be with all my friends from Manchester.

So, what I thought was going to be a very uneventful day, turned out to non-stop fun and partying. I felt so loved by all of my family and friends. For a perfect ending of the day, Don called to tell me that he would be leaving the next morning and would be home by early afternoon on Thursday! That was the best present of all!

We miss Daddy!

It has been EIGHT long days since Don left for Maine and we still have 4 to go. I know, I am a big, fat baby! The kids are holding up surprisingly well, but definitely missing their Dad. Yesterday after sacrament meeting, the lady behind me leaned forward and said, "Kids a little wound up today?" Yeah, they were definitely out of sorts and in need of some Daddy time. It's funny but ever since Don left, if Ethan gets in trouble for getting into something, he quickly responds with "But, Dad said I could"! He uses it with everything. Smart kid. We all really miss Don. He has such a positive, powerful influence on our home and family and we can't wait until he is back home! My heart really goes out to military wives and single moms. I do not know how they do it. Twelve days is most definitely the longest I will ever agree to. And for future, five days is the limit!

Here's a little song the kids wanted to perform just for you, Don. We love you!

Daddy's Homecoming

We love Primary!

Last Sunday was our ward's Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting and it was wonderful, as all primary programs are. I thought it would be fun to let you hear the talks that my children gave to give them just one more chance to shine. They worked so hard memorizing and practicing that I had to capture it on video. Ryan had hers memorized very quickly, but broke down in tears at the first practice, refusing to say it. The second practice was better...no tears, but wouldn't say it without the Primary President whispering every word in her ear. The day of the program arrived and she still DID NOT want to do it without help, until the promise of a "princess coloring book" was mentioned and she was hooked. She did it, and did it perfectly!

Happy Halloween!

What a night! I am exhausted, but we had a great time. The ward Trunk or Treat was really fun and thankfully, it wasn't too freezing cold. And let's not forget to recognize the fact that it didn't rain. It's a miracle! We also did some traditional trick or treating around the neighborhood, but we didn't last very long. We ended the night at Grandma and Grandpa Spangler's house with lots of treats and lots of cousins. It could have been the perfect Halloween night, if only Don were here with us. Boo Hoo!

Pumpkin Carving Time

It was very sad to realize that it was time to carve the pumpkin and Don was not here to do it with us. For those of you who don't know, Don is in Maine for the next 11 days (but who's counting?). So, obviously he won't be here for Halloween tomorrow and we are so sad about that, too. We had two pumpkins to carve and Don and I always compete against each other, so it looks like I win this year for the coolest looking pumpkin. Sorry, honey. You can carve yours when you get home!

Pumpkin Day & The Halloween Parade

What a treat it was for me to get to volunteer in Ryan's class last week. It was their special Pumkin Day on Thursday where the kindergartener's got to pick their very own pumpkin from the "pumpkin patch", then weigh it, measure it and wash it. Then on Friday, Ryan and her class got to parade around the school in their Halloween costumes. It was such a treat for Ginger, Gilli, and Davis to see their sister come through their classrooms all decked out as Snow White. Ethan loved every minute of participating with the kindergarteners and actually behaved himself. Thank goodness for shy kids!