Merry Birthday...Happy Christmas?

My poor darling husband has a birthday on one of the most unfortunate days....Christmas Eve. This is of course in my opinion not his. And we all know who's matters most.

Now my dearest is turning 30 this year and I would post a cute little number with 30 of my favorite things about him, or facts that you do not know but really I am not clever enough. That or I don't know my husband that well. It's not my fault he doesn't talk (even to me!)

This blog may be about "our family" but my sweetie is an unwilling participant. This means I am also not allowed to post his picture anymore. What a grump!

So here's the deal. Leave a comment for my honey to wish him a Merry Birthday. Since I am restricted in posting things in regards to him I will leave it to you my trusty friends to embarrass him/praise him/wish him glad tidings of great birthdays etc...

Happy 30th you OLD man! Love, me

My baby turns 2!!!

Happy Birthday Dillon! You are our "Silly Dilly", our "Dill Pickles" and we love you very much. You are the best friend of your big brothers. You give Mommy the best neck hugs. You are Daddy's biggest fan. We hope you had a great birthday.

Jordan really wanted to help make your cake.

You requested an Elmo cake and Mommy really wanted to make one for you. (no laughing grown-ups. It tasted GREAT! Red Velvet Yum-O!)

You had a party at Grandma Karafa's. You got some great presents. A Buzz Lightyear for your brother....oops I mean FROM your brother (that he hasn't let go of since). Some blocks from Grandma Hunt, an Elmo Live from Grandma Karafa, Puzzles from Mom & Dad and Elmo clothes from Nanny & Pappy. A great day!

We glittered...

Well Glendale did anyways!

We took the boys to Glendale Glitters on Friday night. We saw a few minutes of Swan Lake (a very poor performance.....sorry kids! Props for dressing in leotards in the cold weather though!)

Jordan took a ride down the Lightening McQueen slide.

We all enjoyed a frosty treat.

The kids favorite was watching the horse drawn carriages. Especially the two little ponies.

Mommy enjoyed the antique store the closed with her inside. Especially the $4 vintage apron she bought.

But the best moment was Jordan entertaining the crowd of teenagers. He kept saying "Mommy, Mommy". Finally he said "Mommy my PANTS". I looked down and his pants were indeed around his ankles! It was priceless!

Caramel

My Grandpa Vowles made THE BEST Christmas candies. Caramels, turtles, chocolate covered peanuts, almond bark, toffee....basically any delicious candy concoction imaginable. Grandpa passed away this year so I decided to try one of recipes on my own to honor him this Christmas season.

Actually I wasn't on my own per se. I did have two handsome handy helpers.

Dillon gave up after my impromptu photo shoot and headed to bed.

Jordan was a trooper and helped me measure out all the ingredients.

And as always provided me with much needed comic relief.

I learned some very valuable lessons.

1. Caramel takes a VERY long time to reach the needed temp.

2. You cannot leave the stove for any reason or you get brown floaties (from the burned bottom).

3. If your thermometer falls into the pot and you take too long figuring out how to fish it out without badly burning yourself, you can quickly overcook your caramel.

4. While Grandpa's caramel was chewy golden goodness the recipe still tastes great as break your teeth golden goodness. (Think See's Candy suckers)

5. If you slave over the stove for an hour you will feel obligated to risk the health of your teeth to eat your wares.

And last but not least:

6. Christmas time makes you miss your loved ones. Old, dear, far, near or passed on. All of them!

Germs & Gingerbread...

The Karafa family is suffering with a nasty cold that has spread through the troops. It started with Jordan (as usual) and has ended up catching Dillon and I in the last 2 days. One of the best things about being sick is...oh wait, nothing. Moms really don't get to be "sick" like everyone else.

Tonight we had FHE a day late and made a Gingerbread house.

Jordan was really into it. Two thumbs up!!

Dillon was really into eating the royal icing.

They both were really into an immediate sugar rush and chased each other through the house.

Daddy is really into not appearing on my blog.

Mommy is really into trying to create the PERFECT Christmas card. And convincing Daddy that we should all appear in the photo this year. Christmas jammies in bed? Come on!

Boys.....Boogers.....Candy.....Cuddling.....Snuggling.....SNORING...

Just another day in the Karafa house.

Come what may and love it...

I guess it is a rite of passage, that becoming an adult you watch those you love age and pass away. I was sad to read that Elder Wirthlin passed away last night. For an older man he sure was cute! I found comfort in seeing his face at the pulpit and listening to his counsel.

I was a very bad girl this year and didn't watch conference. Lately I have preferred reading the talks in moments of silence so I can truly reflect on the words without distraction. A few weeks ago I got together with my best girl friend for lunch and we talked about life and the struggles of being a wife/mother. She told me that she had found comfort in Elder Wirthlin's latest talk

Come What May, and Love It .

I went home that night and read his words. And they spoke to me as well. Especially the closing line:

As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my mother, “Come what may, and love it.”

Mom- My Real Deal!

This post is for my mom! She turned me on to the best store where I went slightly hog-wild on Saturday. But I must say that I am very much enjoying my quiet time tonight with this on my nightstand:

Even better was they were the only ones in the store and they were 40% off (and I got that extra 10% Yahoo!) The other one has angels and says We wish you a Merry Christmas. So cute! Jordan has it in his room right now. Hope fully it will keep him from screaming bloody murder at his door again tonight.

Oh yeah....didn't I tell you that we turned the knob around and now lock him in his room?I will try ANYTHING at this point. I swear he will be sleeping with us until his Mission!