Christmas Break

I can't help but feel disappointed that this break is quickly coming to an end. We still have today and tomorrow, but then it is back to school and our regular routine. We have had so much fun spending time with family and friends. My sister Megan and her family came home so we have had lots of fun spending time with the WHOLE family. Over this break my grandma Kramer passed away which was very difficult, but also nice because we were all able to say goodbye (something I've never had the chance to do before). This provided lots of opportunities to reflect on her legacy and my personal testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. When I think about the life of my grandma and her example I think of the way her testimony was always reflected in her actions. She was very knowledgeable and shared her testimony constantly through conversation and deed. I am so grateful for the relationship that I had with her. I hope that I can take from her example and become a better person.
Along with spending lots of time with my sisters we have been able to spend time with Gustavo's family. Laz and his wife Emily came home for Christmas too and we always love spending time with them. We're glad that they will be back out here in just a few short months to see the babies. Yolanda, Gustavo's little sister, is due in 3 weeks and so they'll come out in April to see her son and our little girl.
We all met Christmas morning at my parent's house for breakfast where Elena offered a prayer which included "Please bless that we will all like the presents we open at Grandma and Grandpa's house." Her prayer was answered because we got a Wii! Megan has spent many hours playing Guitar Hero and the girls have all enjoyed bowling as well as the other games.
On New Year's Eve all of us, except Eleanor because she was in Vegas with her friend Matt, went over to Em and Corey's house to eat lots of food and play games. The adults and Emily's oldest girls Anne and Abbey were upstairs playing Guitar Hero and Ticket to Ride while the little girls were playing throughout the house.

As many of you know I have 9 nieces and 1 nephew. My baby will be the 11th grandchild and 10th granddaughter. It is great because most of the kids have come in "batches." Emily's oldest are 9 and 7, but then all three of my older sisters have daughters that are 5 and daughters that are 2. The 2 year olds are still a little scary together because they are 2 so they all want the same toys and don't play with each other yet. The 5 year olds are hilarious. They all love each other... most of the time.
I took this picture of the 3 girls while they were playing. As you can see in this picture where they posed themselves, they are usually best friends. Of course, they don't always get along. It couldn't have been more than one minute after I went upstairs from being with the girls that Eowyn was sobbing and Olivia came running up to inform us that Elena threw something at Eowyn so she was bleeding. Sure enough Eowyn had a bloody nose. Everything calmed down quickly, but all of the chaos throughout the night had my head spinning with the fact that by next year we will have another baby to add to the mix. Overwhelming, but exciting!