It's a New Day, It's a New Blog, It's a NEW YEAR!!
So where do I begin? First, I want to thank Michael for this incredible Christmas present. I was surprised and so excited when he unveiled this wonderful present by having me unwrap business cards with my website address. I knew he had been working on something special for me for Christmas for many days because I was forbidden from going into his office, but I really had no idea it would be this!! A definite out-of-the-park, world series ending, grand slam home run! Thank you, honey.
I also want to thank Mike Sterling and Jeff Herboldshimer for taking time from their busy lives to make a comment on my new blog! I sincerely hope your Christmas was filled with loved ones and happy memories!
Speaking of loved ones and happy memories, 2008 is now a part of history. Another year filled with moments- good, bad, ugly and beautiful. My hope is that 2009 won't get away from me because I will be able to document all of those moments for not only my own recollection, but for my kids and other loved ones. I hate to not know every detail of the lives of those I care about and I equally dislike forgetting one precious memory. So Michael creating this website and blog for me really is a dream come true for me. Please help me make this a success by taking the time to comment whenever something strikes you or a good thing happens to you. Or a funny thing. Or an irritating thing.
I probably am doing this blog thing all wrong by writing such a long entry. But you know me...I can't keep my comments short and sweet!
This Christmas we spent it once again at my mom's house in Cedar Hills along with my sister, Sherri, who lives with mom; my sister Lisa and her two kids, Alex (18) and Dylan (16); my brother Jay came home from So Cal; and a new addition to our family-The Andersen's--All 8 of them! That's mom, Bernice, Elias (16), Harrisen (12), Stensen (11), Yana (9), Mariana (6), JuJu (4) and RiRi (4). We welcomed them to Utah and into our family on July 3rd and have loved having them live so close to Grandma Webb and spending Sunday dinners together and every holiday and birthday! The extended Webb family can be a lot to deal with and although 8 new family members is a lot to add in one fell swoop, I know I speak for everyone when I say we love each of them and feel blessed to have them in our lives!
Christmas morning was once again filled with little kids' joy as they opened presents from family and Santa. I was especially proud of my kids as they were able to be gracious and grateful in the middle of chaos and present-opening and after each present was opened, would take the time to go thank the giver. Sorry if that sounds like bragging. I just wanted that memory down on the records so when those times happen that they come across ungrateful, I can remember there were times they were grateful!
We didn't have Juli's family or Wendy's family, but they said they each had a wonderful Christmas and they missed us as much as we missed them.
One thing I love about my kids is that each holiday, especially Christmas and their birthdays, they proclaim IT as THE best (fill in the blank) ever! I love that! It's never, oh, last year was so much better or when I was blank years old was the best birthday. Nope. They always say, "Thanks mom and dad! This was the BEST Christmas ever!" or "This was the BEST birthday ever!" Always makes a parent feel good like you were able to top the last one. And it is not because we were able to top the last one. It's just because they love the moment they are in and enjoy it fully, I guess.
We also celebrated Aaron's 11th birthday on December 21st and Haily's intro into teenager-dom with her 13th birthday on December 31st. Now we can catch our breath again until March 8th when Adam turns 15.
Well, here is todays QUESTION for you to respond to: What was your favorite gift(s) you gave this year? You can have more than one, if you can't narrow it down.
As for me, I was really excited for both Lisa and Bernice to open up the afghans I crocheted them. Lisa has been waiting and begging for a while now and Bernice needed a blanket to keep her warm. Both of them were very excited and expressed a lot of gratitude, which is always nice! I also was excited about the BYU memorabilia book I co-gave to Dave. Tim and I split the cost cuz it was over the budget we were supposed to stay in. I KNOW he loved that, and Tim was so excited to give it to him, too, which neither of us could have afforded without the other one. So thank you, Tim. Was he surprised? Also, both Aaron and Adam got rock climbing harnesses & gear and they were thrilled out of their minds when they opened them. Doesn't make me any less worried about this new sport their dad has them starting! But that is another topic for another day. We surprised Jessica with a new IPOD and that was also great to watch her be excited about. For Haily, I knew she would love her new assortment of socks, which may sound silly but she loved them just like I thought she would, as well as her new soft sweater and cool new shoes. So, see, I told you it was okay to write more than one. But you don't have to.
Well, here is to a new year, a new blog and a new beginning of keeping in touch with those I love!
Thank you, Michael, for making this possible! This was the BEST Christmas ever!!
I also want to thank Mike Sterling and Jeff Herboldshimer for taking time from their busy lives to make a comment on my new blog! I sincerely hope your Christmas was filled with loved ones and happy memories!
Speaking of loved ones and happy memories, 2008 is now a part of history. Another year filled with moments- good, bad, ugly and beautiful. My hope is that 2009 won't get away from me because I will be able to document all of those moments for not only my own recollection, but for my kids and other loved ones. I hate to not know every detail of the lives of those I care about and I equally dislike forgetting one precious memory. So Michael creating this website and blog for me really is a dream come true for me. Please help me make this a success by taking the time to comment whenever something strikes you or a good thing happens to you. Or a funny thing. Or an irritating thing.
I probably am doing this blog thing all wrong by writing such a long entry. But you know me...I can't keep my comments short and sweet!
This Christmas we spent it once again at my mom's house in Cedar Hills along with my sister, Sherri, who lives with mom; my sister Lisa and her two kids, Alex (18) and Dylan (16); my brother Jay came home from So Cal; and a new addition to our family-The Andersen's--All 8 of them! That's mom, Bernice, Elias (16), Harrisen (12), Stensen (11), Yana (9), Mariana (6), JuJu (4) and RiRi (4). We welcomed them to Utah and into our family on July 3rd and have loved having them live so close to Grandma Webb and spending Sunday dinners together and every holiday and birthday! The extended Webb family can be a lot to deal with and although 8 new family members is a lot to add in one fell swoop, I know I speak for everyone when I say we love each of them and feel blessed to have them in our lives!
Christmas morning was once again filled with little kids' joy as they opened presents from family and Santa. I was especially proud of my kids as they were able to be gracious and grateful in the middle of chaos and present-opening and after each present was opened, would take the time to go thank the giver. Sorry if that sounds like bragging. I just wanted that memory down on the records so when those times happen that they come across ungrateful, I can remember there were times they were grateful!
We didn't have Juli's family or Wendy's family, but they said they each had a wonderful Christmas and they missed us as much as we missed them.
One thing I love about my kids is that each holiday, especially Christmas and their birthdays, they proclaim IT as THE best (fill in the blank) ever! I love that! It's never, oh, last year was so much better or when I was blank years old was the best birthday. Nope. They always say, "Thanks mom and dad! This was the BEST Christmas ever!" or "This was the BEST birthday ever!" Always makes a parent feel good like you were able to top the last one. And it is not because we were able to top the last one. It's just because they love the moment they are in and enjoy it fully, I guess.
We also celebrated Aaron's 11th birthday on December 21st and Haily's intro into teenager-dom with her 13th birthday on December 31st. Now we can catch our breath again until March 8th when Adam turns 15.
Well, here is todays QUESTION for you to respond to: What was your favorite gift(s) you gave this year? You can have more than one, if you can't narrow it down.
As for me, I was really excited for both Lisa and Bernice to open up the afghans I crocheted them. Lisa has been waiting and begging for a while now and Bernice needed a blanket to keep her warm. Both of them were very excited and expressed a lot of gratitude, which is always nice! I also was excited about the BYU memorabilia book I co-gave to Dave. Tim and I split the cost cuz it was over the budget we were supposed to stay in. I KNOW he loved that, and Tim was so excited to give it to him, too, which neither of us could have afforded without the other one. So thank you, Tim. Was he surprised? Also, both Aaron and Adam got rock climbing harnesses & gear and they were thrilled out of their minds when they opened them. Doesn't make me any less worried about this new sport their dad has them starting! But that is another topic for another day. We surprised Jessica with a new IPOD and that was also great to watch her be excited about. For Haily, I knew she would love her new assortment of socks, which may sound silly but she loved them just like I thought she would, as well as her new soft sweater and cool new shoes. So, see, I told you it was okay to write more than one. But you don't have to.
Well, here is to a new year, a new blog and a new beginning of keeping in touch with those I love!
Thank you, Michael, for making this possible! This was the BEST Christmas ever!!
Kudos to the Leavitt kids at Christmas. I felt so good about the transition to getting them thinking about the giving rather than the receiving. The gift exchange idea that Shelly came up with for the extended family worked great and will be even better in the years to come as the idea gets expanded and adopted.
I especially like the joy and anticipation that our daughter Jessica had as she waited several days for Christmas to arrive for me to open my present from her. It was a special tool that I had to borrow from a friend when I installed her new convertible top on her VW Rabbit. I am glad to finally own a pneumatic staple gun... Seems silly, but it will be that much more special to use this new tool in the future.
Good luck Shelly as you learn the ins and outs of your new blog and website. Your first entry was great!
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Well yay for blogging, that's what I say! That was a good summary of your Christmas. I think I told you, but Dave loved the BYU memory vault. He keeps it by his desk for when he gets bored with working.
I think my favorite gift was my gift to Dave, which was a series of things that make him comfortable (blanket, towel, socks, bathmat, pillow). I liked that I had a theme, and that he figured it out.
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This is great, Shelly! Welcome to your lovely spot in the internet.
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I am so thrilled that you decided to do this, Shelly! Remember when we did that group phone call thing with all the girls on Sunday nights like 20 years ago? Remember when I would "secretly" talk to each one of you during the 2-3 hours we would be on? So clueless and funny. This website proves that we have come a long way, baby! I am very excited to stay up on your whole family's lives! Thank you!!! Happy 2009!
I love you and all of you who might be reading this......
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