Monday December 9th Matthew turned 15. I can't believe it has been 15 years since the night he was born. He has an interesting birth story. I knew at lunch time the day Matthew was born that labor would start soon. I took a nap in the afternoon and thought that I hadn't felt the baby move much that day. I had a Primary Presidency meeting planned for that evening and Neil was supposed to take the Young Men to play raquetball. We didn't do either of those, we went to the hospital instead. When we got to the hospital the Dr. didn't like how his heart rate wasn't fluctuating at all. They decided to shock him and see if that helped his heart rate. It helped some, but I could tell that the Dr. and nurses were nervous about how things were going. One nurse told me that the baby wasn't liking labor at all. They started to talk about what we needed to do and the possibility of a C section. Luckily for Matthew and for me, he was born on the very next contraction. I just told the Dr. to catch the baby because he was coming now. He was on tangled up baby! Dr. Ellis said he had never seen a baby so wrapped up in his cord. He must have been turning somersaults. The only place the cord had pulled tight was around his ankle. He had a bruised ankle for the first several months of life. I felt very blessed to have a baby to hold and love. He was a sweet and good baby. So loved by his three older sisters. He has grown into a fine young man. I really enjoy Matthew's sense of humor and listening to him share his vast trivial knowledge. I also love how he wears a BYU shirt almost every day, just like I used to. I am proud to be his mama. I love you, Matthew!
Along with turning 15 comes getting a driving permit. Neil took Matthew to Cody on Thursday after his birthday to take the driving test. He passed and came home with his permit. He is a good driver and really likes to drive. Friday after getting his permit he asked me if there wasn't anywhere I needed to go so he could drive.
December also meant school concerts. Emma had a concert on December 10th and David's was December 17th. Both of the concerts fell on evenings that Neil had to teach. He barely made it as the 7th grade band was getting started. Emma was glad he could get there. He didn't make it to David's because his class had their final that evening and the test went long. Both Emma and David did great! It was the first time David has done a school concert. It was fun to go back and watch a Parkside program. They still did some of the same songs the older girls did when they went to Parkside. Fun memories! Bethany and Julia enjoyed watching Parkside again. Christmas music and concerts are always fun. I'll include video of the concerts in the slideshow below.
We had a great time decorating the house together. We wanted to have Bethany home to help and with busy schedules we didn't get it done as early as most years. I love watching the children get excited about getting the decorations out and feeling their excitement. It was a fun evening together. We made cookies and had hot chocolate while decorating. Good times together!
Rebecca flew home for Christmas on Monday the 23rd. We were so excited to have her here with us for a few days! Christmas could finally come because everyone was here together.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were perfect (at least until we went downstairs to put kids to bed on Christmas night and discovered the sump pump had flooded). I loved having everyone here together. We did our traditional Christmas Eve activities and dinner. We had ham, potato soup, clam chowder, rolls, cheeseball, red jello and green punch. It was delicious! We all took part in our annual Christmas Eve concert, even Mom who forgot to practice much and wasn't sure the song she was playing was the one she practiced. We also read the Christmas story from the Bible. Next, we headed out to look at the Christmas lights around town in our slippers. When we got home the children watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas on tv. Lydia LOVES the Grinch! She watched the animated classic every chance she got. This was the first time she saw the live action version. She was so excited to see baby Grinchy and was enthralled to stay up late and watch. Our tradition is for the children to wait at the bottom of the stairs for Mom and Dad to come get them for Christmas. 7:00 am is the set time for us to come down. It is fun to listen to them talk and sing as they wait for us. I love Christmas morning! Everyone was happy with what they gave and received for Christmas. I love to watch the children as one of the gifts they have bought for someone is opened. They get so excited to see how much the person receiving the gift will like it. They love giving gifts.
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| Eagerly waiting to see what Santa brought |
Joshua's wish for his birthday was to hold a real baby puppy. I mentioned it to our neighbor, Tina, who is a dog lover. I figured she might know someone who had puppies. She took it seriously that he wanted to hold a puppy. She thought it was the sweetest thing she had heard. She found a couple from Frannie (about 45 minutes away) and talked to them. They were kind enough to agree to bring their family and two puppies to our house on Christmas day. Joshua held the puppies a little bit, but he didn't stay with it for too long. Rebecca and Emma loved holding the puppies. They were totally surprised when I let the puppies come in the house. It was so sweet of the family to spend part of their Christmas sharing their puppies with us. They offered to let us buy one at a reduced rate, but we said no thanks.
Friday Neil, Matthew and MaryAnne took Rebecca back to Cody to fly home. It was so great to have her here with us for Christmas! She had to get home to pack up her stuff and move to another house. She and her roommates are moving as soon as they can.
December was also busy with clogging performances. We have one last one today. Emma and I drove home from the first performance in the worst snowstorm I have ever driven in. It didn't help that the power was out in our subdivision and I couldn't see any houses. We made it home, but we had to stop a time or two and decide if we should go on or not.
We also made a trip to Bozeman to pick up our van. Neil drove the van and I drove the Kia. Matthew, Julia and Emma went with us because we went after a youth temple trip to Billings. Bethany was good to come and stay the day with the younger children. It was an all day trip. It was interesting that when we stopped to get gas part way home the Kia wouldn't start. We had to jump it at the gas station. We had just bought a new battery and it was no good. The store tested it and then replaced it for us. Now both cars are running which is a good thing.
Here is a slideshow of December pictures and happenings. Hope you enjoy seeing what is happening at the Waite house. We hope each of you had a Merry Christmas!!
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| This digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox |
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