Christmas

I have finally uploaded my pictures from my camera, thumb drive and cell phone and will be posting a million times in the next little while. Hopefully this will make up for not posting very often.

Christmas was really fun. It is always fun to have a small child while putting up Christmas decorations. Landon was only 1 last Christmas and couldn't care less that it was a holiday. This year, he loved the lights most of all. When we would drive at night he would say, "Look mama!!! Christmas lights!!" I found him and Brynlee lying under the tree looking at the lights.

















Landon asked Santa for a Polar Express train and Brynlee asked for a new doll and doll clothes. Well, that isn't entirely true. Brynlee actually asked for the Touch N' Brush. If you don't know what that is then you don't watch much daytime TV. For lack of a better description, it is a toothpaste dispenser that Brynlee has fallen in love with. I put my foot down on any "infomercial item". This included the Touch N' Brush, Pillow Pets, Snuggies, Bendaroos, Aqua Sand, and Landon's personal favorite...the Big Top Cupcake. So while she was thrilled with new doll clothes from Santa, she was "over the moon" when Grandma Fugal gave her a pink Snuggie. She wears it every day!!

Brynlee with her doll.





















Landon with his Polar Express wooden train set.






















We had an additional blessing this year from Corinne's friend Amanda and her husband Jason. They (Santa) sent Brynlee a bathtime Ariel. She has been taking showers for about a year but has switched back to baths just so she can use it. She has taken it to the St. George condo and played with it in the pool. She loves it!! They also sent Landon "My First Remote Control Train". To say that Landon loved it is an understatement. We took a video of him the first time we used it. He is shaking with excitement. It is the funniest thing!! Hopefully we will get our technical difficulties fixed so we can upload it. Thank you Stremels for your kindness to our family! We love you and are so happy that you found each other!!

We also were blessed to have several visits with a friend of Eric's from his mission. She is a Korean girl named Jinsuk. Landon helped me make a tie quilt for her for Christmas by putting pins in it to hold the edges.


















She also brought the kids traditional Korean New Year's outfits. In Korea, the children make a specific bow to their parents in the outfits. The parents then give the children some money to put in their purse (that attaches to the outfit's belt). The money is supposed to bring them luck for the coming year.

Jinsuk helping Brynlee tie her hair back, as part of the way they wear it.





















Brynlee in her outfit. The rounded cuts along the waist signify that the person is a princess. A nice touch that Brynlee loved!





















Landon in his outfit.






















Brynlee & Jinsuk


















We spent the morning at Grandma and Grandpa Nydegger's house. We don't have any pictures of their house because it's Murphy's law that on Christmas morning the camera and video camera were both malfunctioning. So let's just say the kids had a BALL!! Grandma Nydegger made the most adorable skirt for Brynlee. In the Nydegger tradition, Grandma made new pillow cases for the kids in super soft fleece and gave them a new pillow. The kids have not parted from them since. It was so fun to play with cousins.

Next we went to Grandma and Grandpa Fugal's house. The kids had a ball. Brynlee got her beloved Snuggie from Grandma & Grandpa. She also got some ponies from her Mellor cousins. This was a surprise because we had decided that due to everyone's economic situations, we would bypass the yearly rotation of gift giving this year. So while we were a bit surprised, the kids LOVED their gifts. Landon got an electric Thomas the Train set from Grandma and Grandpa. If you don't know, Landon LOVES Thomas the Train anything!! He also got the cutest robotic puppy from Mellors. It has a bone remote control with 2 buttons. One makes the dog bark and the other makes it walk. It's just perfect for him and he loves it. The only down side....it is his favorite "quiet item" for church on Sunday and I have a hard time explaining that a barking, walking dog is not a fitting toy for sacrament meeting. :-)

So while this has been a long post, I hope it fills you in on Christmas at the Fugals. It has been the toughest year of our almost 10 year marriage. It has been filled with a larger number of downs than normal and it has been almost unbearable at times. But we made it through it with too many blessings to name. We are thankful that Mark is still gainfully employed, despite a marked slow down in work. We are thankful to have a home that is filled with 2 happy, healthy children whom we loved more than we can say. We are thankful that the garden continues to produce enough sufficient for our needs and has some left over to share with others. While we are saddened at the passing of our sweet friend Heather Christensen, we are thankful to have reconnected with old friends and found that old bonds never break. We are thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and for the love of our Heavenly Father. We are thankful to be a family. We feel very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Thank you all for your kindnesses to us this year. We love you all!!