All I Want for Christmas

On Thanksgiving day, our computer crashed. It was devastating. I was ready to do a post on my blog about my blessings.

Sadly, I was never able to do a post about what I am thankful for.

For the past month, we have been talking to Cozette about Santa Claus. She does not completely understand the concept of Santa, but she is quick to say that he is bringing her a fire truck and toys on Christmas morning.

I do hope that Santa will bring Cozette a little fire truck.

We were pleasantly surprised last weekend when Cozette greeted Santa with a big smile when she quickly sat on his lap. Truthfully, I believe he was just as surprised too.

"What do you want for Christmas?" He asked her.

"A fire truck and toys." She responded like he was an old friend.

He laughed at her little request and gave her a hug and a candy cane.

Then she got off his lap and said, "I want to eat my candy corn."

Cozette calls candy canes "candy corns."



What do I want for Christmas?

Nothing.

I have been richly blessed.



Well... I would like to receive a stop watch.

And to stand under the mistletoe with Brad.

Merry Christmas.

Mr. GQ and Miss Gap

I do believe I am married to the cutest boy in the world.

This is his "pump you up" pose.

Tonight Kayleigh walked into the kitchen wearing her zebra coat with her umbrella opened.

Even her sunglasses have a zebra prints on the sides of them.

She said she hopes to get into modeling school so she can be in a Gap commercial.

Oh goodness!

Sweet Home Alabama (Part Two)

Click here for part one.

After traveling with three little maniacs for almost five hours, Quincy's beautiful home was a holiday vista. We were greeted with the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmastime.

Little cousins waiting for us on the driveway as they chanted hello.

Christmas goodies.

And lots of love.

We went to be with Quincy this weekend to attend the Madison Stake Christmas Festival. Kirk was invited to sing in the choir. Words fail to describe the spectacular Christmas music. It was stirring to the soul. Heavenly choirs could not have sounded better. The unique arrangements of traditional Christmas carols literally brought tears to my eyes.

It was one of the grandest productions I have ever attended.

Posing with Quincy in front of a Christmas tree made of presents.

Another highlight of the Festival are the hundreds of nativities and Christmas quilts. The gymnasium was transformed into a Christmas wonderland. The walls are lined with a collection of Christmas quilts. Nativities from all around the world are displayed in front of them.

There is also a live Nativity.

If you're wondering why Zoe and Kaija are not in any of the pictures, it is because they went through it about 15 times!





Previously, I mentioned that I had traveled with three little maniacs. I hope I can accurately depict the events of our trip. I purposely kept Cozette up all day. I just knew that she would quickly fall asleep when we left for Alabama at 5 pm.

It back fired!

She was so exhausted that she fought falling asleep.

She bucked and screamed for a full 55 minutes.

There was nothing we could do to console her.

Here are some of the frustrations that Cozette screamed over and over and over and over the entire time.

It went something like this:

"I wanna go to Kincy's house!"

"I wanna eat popcorn at Kincy's house at the little table."

"Toys."

"I want to play with the toys."

"I want baby Susie."

"Right now."

"Out. Get me out!"

"Please."

"Let me out."

'Daddy."

"My Daddy."

"Let me out."

"Baby Susie."

At this point, I am shaking in my boots.

We asked Kayleigh to sit by her. She and Everett were sitting at the back of the van.

Kayleigh politely cooperated.

"You go back day-ah, Kayleigh."

"Go back. Go back day-ah!"

"Day-ah" is the southern two syllable version for "there."

Kayleigh promptly left and I tried to sit by Cozette.

"Mommy, you go back up front."

She screamed this as loud as she could through the saddest tears.

I did not know she could express "up-front."

Trust me, I went quickly back to my seat.

She even screamed at Everett.

"Stop it Everett! Stop it!"

The poor boy never even said a word to her.

So it continued for an eternity and then she literally passed out from exhaustion.

When she finally fell asleep, I had to stare into the darkness for a little while to recover.

Brad said he has never witnessed anything like it.

And he will not ever have to again.

I'm driving next time!

Please forgive me for talking about the girl.

She couldn't help it that she wanted to be in Alabama!

This is Sir Prancelot.

I believe Papa made him while I was away at college.
Quincy inherited our little friend several years ago.

Zoe faithfully runs as far and long as she can as we drive away.
She yells, "I love you."
It puts a lump in my throat every time.

We decided to have a family race today.

The contenders were Quincy, Kayleigh, Everett, Zoe, and me.

I truly believed I had a fighting chance.

After all, I can run a whole mile now.

I beat Everett when I was expecting Cozette.

Oh! I was so hopeful.

Here are the results:

1st place: Everett Simpson. We were eating his dust. I didn't know he could run so fast. It blew me away.

2nd place: Quincy Sorensen. I never had a chance against the Queen!

3rd place: Kayleigh Simpson. To put into perspective how fast we were running, she can run an eight minute mile.

4th place: Me. I lost by a split second. Maybe it was a little more than that.


Maybe.

Try and Try Again

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. I kept repeating this to myself as I took Cozette to have her Christmas pictures taken. Last week's session was short of a fiasco. The above picture was about as good as it got. Little Cozette did not want to smile and we attempted every trick on the planet for her to cooperate. If you're wondering whose hands are holding the box--they're Brad's.

"I want a lollipop." was all Cozette kept repeating over and over mixed with lots of tears.

So we gave her one.

But that did not motivate her at all. We finally gave up and rescheduled for today. She was not in her best frame of mind this morning and I almost canceled.

I am glad that I did not give up.

Cozette decided she would smile for the camera today:





Cozette is talking in sentences now. She says the most adorable little words. The other day she told me that she wanted some cheese sticks. I prepared some as part of her lunch. She decided that she wanted to crumple them up all over the table instead.

"Cozette it hurts my feelings that you are not eating your cheese sticks and making such a mess on the table." I firmly said to her.

"Well, my feelings are hurt, too." She responded in her most southern accent.

I tried not to laugh.

Cozette has a very southern accent.

One of her favorite past times is crawling on the floor like a little kitty cat.

" Me-ow-ah." she purrs in three syllables.

When ever we ask her if she wants something and the answer is yes, she responds, "Yay-yah" for yes.

Cozette is very independent.

"I wanna egg!" She insisted the other day..

She then proceeded to go downstairs to get a frying pan and an egg and butter out of the refrigerator.

When I walked into the kitchen, the frying pan with the egg and butter in it was on the floor. She had pulled a kitchen chair across the floor to the counter and was standing on top of the chair reaching for a spatula.

I simply could not believe my eyes!

I told her that she was a very big girl and that I was very happy that she knew how to get all of the things needed to make an egg.

The other day Kayleigh lovingly remarked, "Cozette is such an important part of our family."

"Yes, love, she really is." I agreed.

The Road Less Traveled

Kayleigh and Everett anticipate going camping with their Daddy and Papa every year. Viewing Papa's slide show of this years trip to Unicoi State Park was quite enjoyable. I was particularly impressed with this picture of my children. I thought of their bright future and the roads that await them.

They have many ahead to choose from.

They will travel some together.

And some they will walk alone.

I thought of their goodness and know they are on the road that will take them home.

The road less traveled.

The ending of Robert Frost's poem made an impact on me when I first read it in the 7th grade.

"And that has made all the difference."

I pray they will always stay on this road.

Introducing Everett's girl friend Anna Ruby.

One Step at a Time

There are some things that need to be mentioned. I would like to share that I ran a mile tonight for the first time in 20 years. The last time I ran was at BYU in the Spring of 1990.

This was not an easy task for me to accomplish.

You see, I am not into exercising.

I have been preparing by walking three miles at the park since early last summer. The first time I walked with my sister, I could barely keep up, and I knew that I was going to faint as I practically crawled up some of those hills.

But I kept at it.

Then there were weeks at a time when I did not go walking.

Getting back into the habit of walking is not easy.

One day I attempted to run.

It was not very far but it was a start.

Then I became strong enough to run up those monster hills.

And I noticed my endurance was lasting longer and longer.

Friends motivated me to run with them at the track.

I love tracks.

It's easy for me to measure my distance.

I was able to run one time around the track. (Three times around is a mile).

Then two times.

And tonight a mile.

I did it one step at a time.

It feels great!

Get Down On It

We went to a Disco Party last night.

I was a dancing queen.

Posing with Betsy.

Goin' to Gammaw's House

If you're in the mood for some good barbecue and sweet potato fries,
just drop by this little place.
John McCain even campaigned here!

For the rest of my life, I will remember this trip to South Carolina as the one that Cozette had absolutely nothing to do with me.

Seriously.

Whenever I tried to hold, love, help, console, or feed her, Cozette would say, "No Daddy do it."

There wasn't anything I could do.

I told Shirley that it was "almost" embarrassing. Shirley laughed. We both agreed that there could be worse things in life than having a little girl who loves and adores her Daddy so much.

On the way to Bill and Shirley's, Cozette must have said 821 times, "I wanna go to Gammaw's and Granpaw's house!"

When she was not repeating that little phrase, she was crying and saying over and over that she wanted her Daddy.

Nikki was the lucky person to sit by Cozette for the entire three and a half hour drive.

I really shouldn't talk about the girl this way.

Please forgive me.

When Brad left to go work this morning, we instantly became best friends again.

Until he returned home tonight!

A view of the Congaree River.

We love going to Congaree Park.
This was Nikki's first trip with us.

Cozette loves her Grandma and Grandpa!

Kayleigh said the best part of our trip was going to the Columbia temple with her Grandparents.
"I loved the ride in the car with Grandma and Grandpa. They are so nice. I will always remember this special experience I had with them. We love going to their house and we are already counting down to spending a week with them at Christmas.
It is always a big party at their house."

Everett said that he really enjoyed spending time with his Grandma and Grandpa.
"Grandpa always buys me Doritos when I come to visit. He knows this is my favorite food. Grandma and Grandpa are special. They are so nice to me."

I asked Cozette to give me a big smile.
She sure did give her very best.

It's always so sad when we have to leave.

Let me tell you something:
These two are very special people.

See you in about 48 days!

Do You Like Tricks or Treats?

I would like to eat this treat.

This little Piglet is a treat.

Having a WWII bomber pilot and a hippie in the family is a treat.

Creating a center piece for the Halloween party was a trick and not a treat!

A fairy godmother granting wishes is a treat.

The Coach smiling at me is a treat.

Being with my Mom and my daughter is a treat.

Playing tricks on Nikki is a real treat!

I like treats.

Not tricks!