Happy New Year! 2026

On December 27th, we got out of the house once mom was feeling up to it after another round of chemo infusions and drove through Spanish Fork's Light Parade.  Then upon Mom's request, we visited Salem Pond.  (I love Salem Pond this time of year... it's so beautiful and peaceful.)

New Year's Eve fell on a Tuesday this year.  Grandma/pa were going to come over, but Grandma got sick so we celebrated just the 4 of us by watching the movie, WICKED!

We may have rang in the NY 15 minutes sooner bc we were ready to hit the hay.  :)

 

Christmas 2024

Christmas fell on a Wednesday this year.  Wednesdays -Fridays are my hardest days of the week.  But Heavenly Father made it possible for me to enjoy Christmas morning with my family.

2 cuties ready for their Christmas surprises.

Surprise!

Santa brought the kids a 3D printer.

It was making a tug boat when they came out.

Santa also brought 2 little bundles of joy our way - Conner Soren (born July of 2019) and Emma Loryn (born October of 2019).  I couldn't help but buy these babies.  I had 2 miscarriages back in 2018, and have always felt like there are 2 other little spirits that should be a part of our family.  So... one night, when I couldn't sleep, my chemo infested mind decided to buy them.  I held them all Christmas morning and kissed their plastic cheeks.  Weird, I know, but so much has been taken from me in the last few years, and I just wanted them...

Checking out their gifts.

A wicked surprise in our stockings - Dad surprised us with tickets to see Wicked live at the Capitol Theatre in May.

Laynie wanted a Bitzee.

Gavin got a Mario Kart game.

Laynie also wanted an MP3 player.

Gavin got some Star Wars figures.

Barbies for Laynie.

A nice jacket for the boy;

a dress for the girl.

Gavin was being funny opening his gifts.

He gave Laynie a crochet kit.

Matt got a camping lantern.

And a tie and ice cream scoop from Gavin.

Laynie gave Dad and me some socks.

Gavin gave me some slippers to wear to my treatments.

I may have gone a bit overboard in my gift giving - but I think you would too if you weren't sure how many more Christmases you'd have with your children.

Playing a little Mario Kart before Matt took the kids to his parents for Christmas dinner.  I didn't go.  Instead, I slept on the couch for an extended period of time, feeling quite fatigued.

 

An Artsy Fartsy Christmas

Matt has FOREVER wanted to decorate the outside of our home with The Grinch.  I have FOREVER wanted to make it for him.  So... being as how I'm not sure how many Christmases I have left, we finally got around to it.  Despite feeling crappy from chemo, I was able to work on it during my good days.  We projected the images, Matt cut them out with a jigsaw, and I painted them.  Doing stuff like this relaxes me, but it does require a LOT of effort.  I'm thankful my energy levels were up enough to complete this project.  I wrote love messages on the back for Matt.  I hope these yard decorations will last a LONG time and Matt will always remember my love for him when he puts them up each year.

Laynie, Gavin and I spent some time making our own Christmas cards with acrylic markers.  I LOVE those markers.  The colors are so vibrant and I love how I can "paint" with one end of them.

Laynie worked really hard on a piece she submitted to a children's community art competition.  And lo and behold, she won GRAND PRIZE, which earned her artwork to be showcased on the front of the program for the community orchestra concert.

She also received a really BIG prize.  Matt and I weren't even sure she could hold it! lol!

Her prize was a super large art kit.

For Brittney's Christmas gift, I painted her deceased dog, Jyun.  She was blind and really old when she died, but a very special friend to Brittney.  I think she liked the painting... although she cried when she first saw it.  ;)

 

Getting Ready for Christmas 2024

We didn't start decorating our home until the 6th of December.  I think this is the longest we've ever put it off.  I felt bad, but it's okay.  It was still special for the kids.

Laynie put the Nativity together.

Dad and Gavin fluffed the tree.

This little precious moments ornament is Laynie's favorite.

This chicken ornament is a favorite of Gavin's.

I love the twinkle and the atmosphere they create in our home.

There was a neighborhood in Lehi where just about every home had a giant 100 foot Santa.  So of course we had to visit it.  It was pretty hilarious.

We had our Jesus dinner as well and performed the Nativity.

Little LuLu was the perfect Mary.

Laynie was an angel and Gavin and Matt were wisemen.

I narrated.

Ward members from the neighborhood have been doing the 12 days of Christmas to us.  A gingerbread house was one of the surprises left on or doorstep.  The kids had fun putting it together.

Gavin and Laynie helped me make a candy cane pastry.

We also did a little shopping at Walmart and who was to drive by on his motorcycle??  None other than the big guy himself!

Our Christmas Eve movie was "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".  We met at a Chinese restaurant beforehand with a bunch of the Anderson clan.

My sweet chemo friend, Amy (battling breast cancer), owns a clothing store and gave these pj bottoms to us.  The tops came from the 12 days of Christmas - a sneaky neighbor.

I've always wanted matching pjs.  Aren't we cute?