Christmas Letter

I just received my cousin's Christmas letter and I always enjoy reading it. It is one of the few, if the only letter I receive. When ever I read it I think next year I am going to write a Christmas letter but I always forget. So this year since I have already sent out my Christmas cards I am going to post a Christmas letter on my blog.

John has kept very busy this year. Between work, his side job and his calling as 1^st counselor in the Elder Quorum he always has something to do. But he is a hard worker and seems to manage it all fairly well. This summer he bought a bike and has enjoyed riding it. He also loves spending time with the kids. They are always so excited when he comes home from work and all talk at once trying to get his attention.

This year has also proved to be very busy for me as well. In May I was called as the Relief Society President. This has been a challenging calling but has also come with many blessings. I also had the opportunity this summer to compete in my first triathlon as well as my first relay bike race. The bike race was Saints to Sinners and it was a 500-mile route from Salt Lake to Vegas. I ended up riding almost 60 miles over my three legs. One of those legs was at 4 in the morning while another one was in a 113 degree temperature. It was hard race but a lot of fun.

Ben started 2^nd grade this year. He is behaving much better in school this year now that he doesn't have all of his friends in his class. He has also improved by leaps and bounds in his reading. Ben is greatly loved by his brother and sisters. Especially Jacob who is so bored all day until Ben comes home. Ben is a big help around the house and always looking out for his baby sister Elaina. Ben loves playing basketball and is getting much better. He also loves science. He is always watching Nova or some other show about volcanoes or oceans or what ever and then teaching Jacob all of the interesting facts he knows. He frequently tells me things I did not know.

Jacob is in preschool this year and can not wait until Kindergarten next year. Since Jacob is the oldest in his class most of his friends are just older than him and are in Kindergarten this year. This makes for very boring afternoons when there is no one to play with. Jacob loves writing his name and loves counting. He recently counted to a thousand and has done it a few more times since. Jacob also loves to play Lego's with Ben. This is all Ben & Jacob want for Christmas. Sometimes I wonder how many Lego's one family can own. This summer we were able to go camping with some friends on the beach in Carlsbad. Jacob some how managed to fall by the water spigot and ended up with 10 stitches around his eye. He was very brave while getting his stitches.

Katie just turned 3 and is very energetic. She is turning into our little tomboy. She loves to wrestle and will frequently growl at people. She will play dolls and dress up when her friends are over but when she has her brothers to play with she is all boy. She is also very affectionate. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She also loves to tell stories most of which I can't understand. Katie is turning out to take after her Dad in the height department. She soon will probably catch up with Jacob soon and it won't be long before she is taller than me.

Elaina is almost 17-months and we can not wait for her to go to nursery. She is very active and always getting into something. She finds it very funny when I tell her no. She is a very happy little girl and loves to run around with the other kids. They aren't always to thrilled to have her around since she tends to knock down or break what ever they are working on. Elaina has always had a hard time sleeping she currently is sleeping through the night and I hope it last. Usually we get a few weeks of enjoyment and then she is back to her frequent wakings.

All and all we have had a wonderful year. The kids are so funny and frequently make us laugh. These young years are challenging but there is so much joy to be had. We are so grateful for all that we have been blessed with and are so grateful for the wonderful family and friends that give us so much support and love. We hope this letter finds you and your family happy during this holiday season.

Love – The Halladay's

Katelyn's Room

Here is something else I did this summer. Well the wood work was done by my father-in-law and my husband but I did all of the painting. I still need to add a few pictures and maybe a valance but overall I think it turned out really cute.

I swear I did Katie's hair that morning. It just can not stand up to all the rolling around she does.

The dress was John's parents that I repainted and added new hardware.

I got the wall stickers at Target for $14 and that has been Katie's favorite part of her room. For the first few weeks they were up she would drag anyone who was willing into her room so she could show them.

Canning

I am very lucky to have in-laws that have a large garden. I like to call it a small farm. From this small farm I receive a lot of produce which I usually perserve. This year I did more than I ever have and thought I would show you all of my hard work.

20 Quarts of Applesauce & 9 Quarts of Pearsauce (2 rows on the left). In case you are wondering the middle row of Applesauce was made with Red apples and the 4 rows on the right were made with Granny Smith apples. That is why they are different colors.

21 Quarts of Peaches, 14 Quarts of Tomatoes

11 pints apricot jam, 10 pints pear jam, 18 pints salsa

Strawberry & Raspberry Freezer Jam. We have already eaten about 1/2 of what I made back in May.

10 bags of peaches, 8 bags of green peppers, 4 bags of rhubarb

8 bags of Zucchini

When I finished the applesauce yesterday I told John no more canning this year. However my friend just found a good deal on pickling cucumbers so I may try one batch of pickles before I wrap up for good.

Thanks again to my great in-laws for all of the food. Also thanks to my friends that were willing to take the extra produce when I just couldn't bottle any more.

Katelyn

Katelyn has been saying the funniest things lately. Here are a few.

When Elaina is crying she will yell "Laina you okay!"

The other night we were downstairs reading before bed and we could hear Elaina fussing over the baby monitor. Katie went up to the monitor and kept saying "Laina go to sleep, Laina it is okay, go to sleep"

Katelyn has been potty training and doing pretty good. The other day I set her on the potty and told her I was going to go use the bathroom too. She came running after me and asked me if I wanted a sucker for going potty.

Lately when Katie is whining I tell her to chill. Her response is "No Mom I not chill"

Funny Things

Here are a few funny things my kids have said lately, that gave me a good laugh.

Ben -

"Mom when Elaina is your age I will be a Great Grandpa." (How old does he think I am??)

I was feeding the baby a bottle and asked John if he would feed her. Ben who is listening says "Mom does Dad have boobs??? I don't think so!!!"

At Sunday dinner a few weeks ago I accidentally spilled some pop on my nephew's plate. Ben leaned over to my nephew and said "Don't worry Forrest sometimes I really hate my Mom too."

Jacob -

"Mom I can't say 30." (you just did)

"Where is the gemote?" (For remote)

"Can I play wiibsports?"

"Can Quarter come to play?" (His friends name is Porter)

Katie

She pushed Jacob off the stool the other day and I ask her to say sorry. She wouldn't so I told her to tell Jakie she loved him. She said "Jakie I not love you!"

It's a Miracle

All of my kids slept through the night. The last time this happened was over 6 months ago and I was pregnant so I was getting up myself to use the bathroom a few times a night. Last night I was able to sleep almost 8 hours with out waking up once. No one came in to tell me they had a bad dream. No one came in to say they had to use the bathroom (why they wake me up to tell me this I don't know). No one came in to say they wet the bed. The baby woke up at 11:00 to eat and then slept until 7. She might have slept longer but I checked on her to make sure she was alive. I was most surprised by the baby sleeping. My baby girl who still wakes up at least twice a night to eat. I know she doesn't need to eat but I am too tired to try and get her back to sleep when I know if I just nurser her she will go right back to sleep. The thing that really makes this a miracle is that it happened on a night when I didn't have to get up early to go to the gym. Now my only hope is that it is not another 6 months before this miracle visits me again.

Fish

On Christmas Eve we went to John's Grampa's house. Every year we play a white elephant game. One of John's cousins got the brilliant idea to give fish as a white elephant. And lucky for us Jacob was the one that got the fish. There was 4 goldfish in the sack. Well since we were going out of town we left the fish with Nana and Papa so they could babysit them. Last week we had dinner at John's parents house. When we first got there the kids immediately wanted to see the fish. Well one had died while we were gone. Ben my oldest says "Papa the Katie fish died. See there used to be 4 fish a Ben, a Jacob, a Katie and an Elaina. But now there are just three, the Katie fish died." Now you know who is Ben's least favorite in the house.