Grandma's Tree

It has become tradition that each year the grandkids help Grandma Mansfield put up her kid Christmas Tree. Grandma buys each grandkid an ornament each year. The kids put up all their ornaments and then they decorate with all of grandmas other ornaments (which is a lot, if you know grandma). They all have a great time. I always enjoy watching the bigger kids trying to get their ornament the highest on the tree. And the little kids think that all their ornaments need to be hung from the same branch (or light strand). Grandma is in charge of handing out the ornaments, and Grandpa helps the little kids reach high places. The parents even get involved a little, mostly taking pictures. You should see how many flashes go off in that room. Then when the tree is all decorated we all get to enjoy Grandmas delicious homemade eggnog. My favorite part. I was especially grateful for this tradition this year. It's nice that the kids got to help decorate some tree. We haven't put our tree up yet. We thought we would go back to our roots and try out an old German tradition of putting the Christmas tree up on Christmas Eve. Really, we are just waiting for our new house to be finished. We would really like to have Christmas there. The way things look, I think we will get to try out that German tradition after all.

Look Janice, there is actually a picture of me on this post.

Sweet Reunion

My mom and dad have been on a mission in Little Rock, Arkansas for the last 18 months. This week we were able to see them. They stopped by our house for a couple of days on their way home. It was so great to see them again and to be able to spend time with them. We enjoyed hearing about their mission and the people that they have grown to love in Arkansas. It was great to see their love for missionary work, and their desire to work hard when they get home. I think we all could do a little better at being member missionaries. It was fun to see the kids as they enjoyed spending time with their grandparents. They just loved having them here. They all wanted the spotlight and wanted to be with grandma and grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa did great giving them all their own attention. They read books to the kids, played with the kids, listened to them, and just made them feel special. Sadie was only 8 months old when my parents left, so I didn't know how she we do with them, but she did great. It didn't take her long to warm up to them. Everyone was excited to have Grandma and Grandpa at our house. Grandma even made cinnamon rolls with the kids before she left, which was an added bonus. Thanks for coming to our house Grandma and Grandpa. We love you and we look forward to seeing you more often now that you are home.