Christmas Card Update

Merry Christmas from our humble kingdom!

Things have been quite hectic around the castle this year - where to begin??

Colby of course has quite the tale to tell at the end of 2012 - one that began at his job at the Dept. of Human Resource Management here in Utah, then whisked him off across the country to lend his talents to the Romney campaign in Boston, and then came to a somewhat disappointing but still satisfying end that brought him back home to Utah & his dear family, who were of course both happy and sad to see him returning home for good.

But wait! A surprise twist ending!! In the final hours of this already-packed year, a new job calls him away again just days before the end of 2012, this time to {{{drumroll}}}....

Washington D.C.!! Once I can get everything packed up and sent out, we will follow as well. It will be unspeakably hard leaving behind all our family & friends, that of course goes without saying. But, if I'm being honest... We're kindof East-Coasters at heart - and I'm kindof super excited. :)

As far as the other subjects of Harmondom: Emma has become quite a big girl this past year. It seems like every time I look at her, she's matured another year. She's just about the best big sister I've ever seen (most of the time, hehe), and she's become especially good at carting her baby sister around the house without any help from Mommy!  :) (Mommy is super-happy about that...) She is blazing her way through kindergarten, and she's become our official book-reader anytime the kiddos want a story. However, I do think that if she gets any more beautiful, I'm going to seriously have to consider a full-perimeter fence & guard dogs to keep the boys away... ;) Just the other day she was standing with a boy in her class when we picked her up from school; when I asked her about him later, she replied "Oh that's Ian. He's a guy in my class." Ahem. A GUY in her class?? "Yeah, he's a guy in my class. We're just a pair." Dear heavens, we're in trouble.

Adam - where to begin about Adam?? To put it simply... here, this will do the job better. I'd like to introduce you to Adam:

Yeah.

Let's not forget that by day, dear ole' Hulkie here is a mild-mannered, respectable, bright young man who loves Oreos, racing, and anything with wheels. Who somehow learned all his letters without any assistance from his parents, and has successfully made the transition into big-boy undies! This young man is undoubtedly the most adorable, hilarious, loving, precious little boy currently walking this earth.

But, put the wrong shoes on him... give him 4 chicken nuggets instead of 3... try to give him a kiss when he wants a hug instead... and, well, get ready to butt heads with the big raging green guy. :) I mean, he's still adorable; but it's mitigated by the fact that he's beating on you with his tiny little fists.

And now we come to little miss Lily. I have a picture for this one too.

:)

You know that part in the new Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, when Willy Wonka is going down the line of kids kinda summing them each up, all their nasty little habits & whatnot? And then he gets to Charlie. He looks at Charlie, and he just says, "Well, you're just happy to be here, aren't ya?"

That's my Lily-Belle. She's just happy to be here. Whether she's had a nice nap or she's tired, whether she's hot or cold, whether it's calm or rowdy, whether her tummy's empty or full - she's always just happy to be here. She's gorgeous, giggly, tall & skinny, wide-eyed, wondrous, and pure heaven. The way I figure it, she's my gift for letting Colby go off for 6 months to live his dreams. She's my gift, and I get to keep her, always.

Which leaves me in the midst of all the rest of this, just lil' ole me. Getting a little exercise here, a little sleep there, trying to keep up on my couponing & failing to keep up on my blogging. :) My house is sometimes clean, my children are occasionally bathed, my hair is seldom styled. But my body is healthy, my family is happy, and my heart is full - especially at this time of year, when we can reflect on everything we've been given this past year, and give a few gifts of our own to those we love most.

If you're reading this, then you must really love us & you're definitely one of those we love most. This season, we wish you joy & happiness as we step back from life to gaze upward at the night stars; watching for a red bolt to go soaring across the skyline; watching for those beautiful snowflakes to drift peacefully down to earth; watching for an echo, a remnant of that one star from long ago, that brought such good tidings of such very great joy. Of all gifts, I'm most thankful for that gift. I'm most overwhelmed, most overjoyed - most awed & shamed & humbled by that gift. I thank my Father in Heaven for that new star, that new sun: His Son, the light of the world. 

Merry Christmas to you all, and a Happy New Year!!