Christmas Is Coming, HORRAY!

So I want to talk in this post about some of my favourite Christmas traditions. The first one of the season, other than spending a small to large fortune on gifts, is Christmas baking, YAY! Now I don't know about anyone else, but I LOVE Christmas baking. It smells great, it tastes great, and since everyone else is eating it too, you don't feel nearly as guilty intaking those extra calories. This year I'll be doing all of my baking on my own for the first time. It's exciting, but also kind of sad, because I've been blessed the past few years to be able to do the majority of my baking with my brother. So let me know, what's your favourite recipe for Christmas baking. E-mail me at blynikki@hotmail.com or send me a message on Facebook, I really need more ideas for this year:)

On the first Monday of December we put up our tree. We usually get a new ornament each year, however we made our own last year, and that was lots of fun too. We do this as our FHE activity. When I was growing up it was the first Sunday of December, but that doesn't work in the church with the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional being the same night, so I bumped it to Monday as an FHE thing and it works great.

The next tradition I guess is probably that we would go out looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve, each of us with our hot beverage of choice in hand (mine is either hot chocolate or a flavoured steamed milk when they're available). The past few times that we've done this in Wainwright or Edmonton we all pile into a van, grab our drinks from 7-11 and off we go. Christmas music is optional, but if I had it my way we'd be listening to Christmas music for about half of the year, ha ha.

After we get home from looking at lights it's time for an oldie but a goodie. We each get to open one present. As I was growing up, it was whatever gift we chose, as long as it wasn't a major gift, but John and I have changed this to a new pair of pyjamas. This year just the boys are getting them, since John and I have enough PJs to choke a dead horse. There is usually a book involved as well. I think last year Caleb got Tales of Beetle the Bard. Then we put out a cold drink and snack for Santa before tucking the kids into bed.

I realize I could be opening a can of worms here, but John and I have decided to give Santa a little space in our home. Enough for him to stop, have a snack and leave a movie for each of us. I think that's a pretty good amount of Santa. He's there, but he doesn't overshadow anything.

In the morning we'll be reading from the scriptures about when Christ was born before we head downstairs. I'm hoping this will remind the kids that their Savior should come before anything else in all things. Then it's downstairs to open presents and to have a nice big family breakfast followed by a nice holiday supper that night. This year we're having steak instead of turkey. Mutual decision that I'm very happy about. We'll also have perogies, cabbage rolls, stuffing and some other stuff with a birthday cake for dessert to remind us that we are celebrating the fact that our Savior was born. I'm thinking about doing a cake for April 6th as well.

Boxing Day was also a big day in my family growing up. That was the day that we went and visited extended family and did our Christmas with them. I really enjoyed it, since we got 2 Christmas Days in a row.

So what are your favourite Christmas traditions?

Update From The Bly Home

Oh boy, how do I do an update on here without freaking everyone out...Things have gotten worse for me in the past few weeks, which is super tough, but it has also given us a push to try and do more to find help for me. The boys are spending a few weeks in Magrath with my in-laws, so hopefully that will help both the boys and us here. We're starting to calm down and get things into a more normal state, so hopefully we'll be able to keep things that way.

Ty's birthday went well. We just had a lasagna dinner with us and John's parents and then cake and ice cream for dessert. I think Ty liked his presents, but you can never really tell with a kid that young. Caleb thinks they are his, so we had to keep telling him that they are actually Ty's and that they can share. I don't have any of the pictures up on the computer yet, but when I do I'll post some.

So my SIL and I were discussing yesterday whether you should stop your kids from trick or treating at a certain age, and I was wondering how other people felt about that as well. My SIL is stopping her kids from trick or treating at the age of 12. I am personally letting my kids dress up and go out for as long as they still want to. I think it would be awfully hypocritical of me to stop them at a certain age since I was 16 the last time I actually went door to door and probably would have gone other years if I hadn't made other plans. So what are your thoughts and feelings about setting an age limit?

Cake, Cake, Glorious Cake

I finally found something that I enjoy! Cake decorating! I think I fell in love all over again last night as I decorated my first cake. I'm already planning on doing the other Wilton courses as well. Here are some pictures. I hated the Geomatics wording and wanted to take it off and redo it (people were bumping my table as I wrote it), but John wouldn't let me...

Gibble Gibble

There is a story behind that. When John and I were first trying to teach our niece what a turkey said, she always said "Gibble gibble". Anyways, yesterday I made my first turkey dinner on my own. I was so nervous about it. But it turned out really good, I was really happy with it. We had turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mixed veggies and apple pie with ice cream. I don't do pumpkin pie, the only one I've ever tried that I even remotely liked is one that my future SIL made a couple of years ago. I also made cabbage rolls for the first time on my own, but we didn't have them for dinner because they couldn't fit in my oven while the turkey was in there. It's a good thing I'd already intended to cook the stuffing in the slow cooker. Anyways, on the topic of the turkey, am I the only one who gets grossed out by having to take stuff out of his insides and then clean him off and out? Ick!

Today I have to make and ice my cake so that it is ready for my cake class tomorrow night. I'm making a butter pecan cake with butterscotch filling. This is one of the cakes that is going to John's work. But I'll take pictures of it first. I'm super excited about it. I also have to make up about 8 or so cups worth of butter cream icing BEYOND what I already need to ice the cake with. Just so we're clear, that's 3 cups worth of Crisco and about 12 cups worth of icing sugar, not to mention the other ingredients. So glad that this stuff is not all being eaten at home, John would gain back the entire 30 some pounds he's lost so far. Oh yes, he's broken 270lbs now, YAY! I'm so proud of him.

So anyways, since yesterday what Thanksgiving, I'm wondering what each of you was grateful for this year. So leave me a comment and let me know. I'm grateful for the gospel, my family and even more, the fact that I went an entire long weekend being able to control my feelings and thoughts and didn't lose control of them. HORRAY!!!

Late Thankful Thursday

Sorry Christal, I need to steal your Thankful Thursday for the day and mention some things that I'm ever so grateful for...

A loving Heavenly Father who still loves me through all of my emotional and mental turmoil.

A Saviour who understands all I feel because he was willing to sweat blood from every single pore for me.

A wonderful husband who will get up in the middle of the night and sit with me and hold me as I cry because I've lost the ability to control how I think and feel.

A beautiful miracle named Caleb who doesn't mind me coming into his room in the middle of the night and snuggling with him in his bed until I feel peace again.

A smiling giggler named Ty who just melts your heart every time he grins.

A gorgeous little princess named Lauren. Oh sweetheart, I owe you so much more than I can ever repay you for. Thank you for giving me my life, for helping me to finally find a life that was worth living. You are the greatest miracle that has ever happened to me.

Two loving people who were able to give Lauren was I wasn't able to. You were the only people that she was ever meant to be with, and the fact that I've always known that has helped me to never once in the last 5 years to ever regret making the hardest and best decision that I've ever made.

Music that I can cry to, music that helps me to feel the spirit, music that gets me moving, music that makes me happy, music that allows me to vent all of the emotion that has overloaded my system lately. There is a Jonas Brothers' lyric that says "Music's in my soul" and I truly understand that line.

Christmas. As much as I don't like snow and cold weather, it always means one good thing to me, my favourite holiday of the year is coming. The time when I get to buy presents for people that I loved and have my husband home for some family bonding time.

As hard as this time is for me as I wait and wait to get into the specialist to figure out how to deal with the fact that I'm losing my ability to control what I even think and feel, it's so nice to know that I'm so blessed...(And a special thank you to Alana for taking me out for a birthday treat on Tuesday and for Heidi, who I've only really met once but has become one of my favourite people to talk to.)

My Birthday Present To Myself

Well, reaching 100 posts on my blog was one of the items on my bucket list, so it is my birthday gift to myself that I can cross that one off on the day that I turn 25, horray!

So 25 years ago on October 5, I was born in Nova Scotia at 2:16pm. I was 7 lbs 3 oz. I was delivered by a c-section that Mum was asleep for. She did better than Dad, though, he wasn't even in the country. He was on his way back home from a tour in the Middle East. I guess the military felt that him coming back a week before my due date was more than enough time to get home in time for the big event. Yeah, right...Babies work on their own time table, I know that QUITE well. Anyways, I was the first child and only ended up with 1 sibling, Mr Kyle Mattson, who was born just over 2 1/2 years later. Kyle was one of my very best friends growing up and I spent most of my summers and grade 12 year hanging out with him more than anyone else. In July 2002 I gained a step-dad, Bob, and step-sister, Kirby. As for moving, here's how it goes.

Lived around Digby, NS after I was born. In 1986 we moved to Mynarski Park, AB. Uh oh, there's another baby on the way in 1987, we move into our own house in Penhold, AB. Mum and Dad separate in 1990, Kyle, Mum and I moved back into Mynarski Park, AB. 1994, the base is closing down next year and Mum is posted, we move to Denwood, AB (base at Wainwright). 1996, Mum buys a house and we move into town in Wainwright. 2000, the unexpected posting, we trek off to Lethbridge, AB. 2001, Mum retires from the military to get a proposal out of Bob, we move back to our house in Wainwright, which we'd been renting out that year. Mum and Bob are engaged and Bob is about to undergo surgery in 2002, we move from our house into Bob's house in Wainwright. 2003, I go to live with Dad so I can go to school at NAIT in Edmonton, AB. Later in 2003 I realize that I need to move back home for some reason, back to Bob's house in Wainwright. Very end of 2003, I attempt living with roommates for the first time in Wainwright. One of my roommates bails on us and I find out I'm pregnant, and move back home during the last week of 2003. In 2005 I finally get my act together and move up to Grande Prairie, AB and in with some friends who are also members of the church. I do this on inspiration and have no idea what I'm walking into. Oct 2005, I am engaged!!!! I go to live with my future SIL, Amy, for 6 weeks. Nov 2005, I go spent my last weeks as a singleton back home in Wainwright, AB. Jan 2006, I move in with my husband in Grande Prairie, AB. Feb 2006, John gets a job offer and we find out we're expecting, we move in with my dad in a rush move to Edmonton, AB. May 2006, we move into our 2 bedroom apartment in Edmonton, AB, our first proper home in our marriage. July 2007, I am tired of being to scared to take my child out for a walk and we move into Mission Glen in Edmonton, AB into our 2 bedroom townhome. August 2008, we are within months of having another baby and move 3 doors down the road into a 3 bedroom unit, and here I sit! Well, there are my moves...

And finally, the winner of the prize is *drumroll please*...Alana! Since I decided to base the prize on the winner since I knew some people would like certain things and other people wouldn't like them so much, Alana gets to choose what kind of cookies she would like me to bake for her this next week, and then I will deliver them to her. She's the only person who commented that I'd have been able to do this for...Oh, and here's the better part of the prize, she gets an afternoon of her choosing SANS Landon, cause he'll be hanging out at my house.

My Other Family...

Last night the boys and I went to visit one of the most important families in the world to me, the Orr family. I guess being stuck in Wainwright while John's in Vancouver on a business trip has at least one perk. The husband of the Orr family, Jason, is really special to me. He started as a friend, but became like another dad to me, was my seminary teacher, was a witness at my temple marriage and is also the reason for Ty's middle name. He is such an amazing person. He was a bishop before in Milk River and is now the Branch President in Wainwright. His wife, Lori, has been my visiting teaching companion before and was also my bridal escort or whatever they call that. She was there for me through the adoption process and was even at the placement. The kids and I get along great. The younger 3 all treat me like I'm another sibling. I am 2 years older than the oldest B, I think. B1 is currently serving a mission in California. B2 and I took seminary together and I think I even got him to do a semiary homework lesson one time, lol (we had home study). B3 has grown into such a beautiful young woman, she makes me jealous. B4 has become an amazing young man who I happily call my brother. B5 is still to me that adorable girl I taught in primary with such a strong testimony for someone so young. Even though she's almost 12 already, she'll always be that adorable little CTR girl in my mind who when she was told she could draw a picture of anything that she wanted to chose to draw a picture of The First Vision. As far as I know, I still have that picture.

Anyways, while I was over there, Jason gave me a blessing for the emotional and mental trials I've been struggling with so badly. It was a great blessing and I'm so grateful for the power of the priesthood and that men like my husband and Jason choose to live so that they are worthy to be a mouthpiece for the Lord when people need it.

Anyways, so you know how you get those rhetorical questions asked during church lessons sometimes? I was once asked if there was a couple that I wanted to strive to be like. Jason and Lori are that couple. They are so strong in the church and do their absolute best to do the right thing for their children. Even though B2 hasn't been active in the church for a long time now, they still show nothing but love for him. They truly amaze me and I hope that John and I can grow to be the strong pillars of strength that they are.

Next post is #100, YAY!!! So, in the spirit of celebration, I will be announcing on the next post who will win a prize. It will be announced with the winner. The winner will be selected from whoever comments on this specific post. I don't know when I will post again, but it will definately be within the next week, as my birthday is on Monday, so I'll probably be doing a post for that.