Christmas 2008

When we returned from our anniversary trip our Christmas visitors had already arrived. Mimi was happy to see Grandpa after spending a week apart and Ellie was excited to have Jakey here for Christmas (although, thanks to Mimi, Ellie began calling him by his biblical name Jacob which was very frustrating for Uncle Jakey). The weary travelers had driven all Friday night to arrive early Saturday morning and Ellie did not understand why they were too tired to play with her. After they rested we had a wonderful week with them and were sad and a little bored when they left. Below are a few highlights from our Christmas.


Ellie telling Santa Claus that she wants him to bring her "presents". After we left she didn't understand why she didn't get her presents. We had to explain that Santa delivers all of his toys on Christmas Eve. She had fun visiting his workshop in the mall and was very patient in waiting for her "presents" to arrive.



Left: Ellie enjoying her present from Santa Claus. Once she found the markers in her stocking she began drawing and had to be talked into opening more presents, which seemed to be the trend for the whole morning--each present brought 20 minutes of entertainment before she could be coaxed into opening the next present.
Right: Jakey searching for his present, an 8GB micro SD card among all the packing peanuts.


Ellie feeding Sushi her new pet goldfish from Uncle Jakey. (P.S. We had to upgrade to a Beta Goldfish named Sushi II when Sushi didn't wake up New Year's Eve. They say beta goldfish are more resilient--I guess we'll find out.)

Side Notes: We enjoyed reading a story about Jesus every day and then Ellie would move Mary & Joseph closer to the manager on our advent calendar. The second day she was a little discouraged by the distance that Mary & Joseph had to cover and she said, "Mom they needed a car not a donkey."

One of the stories we talked about was when Jesus was on the cross and he asked John to look after his mother, Mary. Ellie asked where was Joseph? Good question. After a little research we discovered that nobody really knows but it is thought that he had passed away years earlier.

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

With the 5 Year milestone drawing near and Britney finally starting to feel better we decided to plan a trip for the two of us to Orlando. Mimi was nice enough to come and babysit for us (and even begin the potty training process for us--maybe we'll have to make this a tradition every time one of our children needs to be potty trained :) ). Our trip was wonderful! We spent a day at the Kennedy Space Station on Cape Canveral, a day at Disney's Epcot Center, we shopped around Downtown Disney, went to the Orlando Temple, and spent a day relaxing by the pool. We missed Ellie, but it was nice to be able to sleep in and not have to worry about what to make for breakfast as our hotel had a hot breakfast buffet every morning. Here's to another 5 and another 5 and another 5 . . . .!!!




































Above: Steve in front of a Transformer built entirely out of Legos at Downtown Disney.

2008 Season's Greetings!

Dearest Friends, We hope this season finds you well. It has been a wonderful year for us full of adventures and blessings. We are still here in Tucson and enjoying the lovely weather this time of year. Steve is making progress on his research at the University and we hope to graduate by the end of next summer (keep us in your prayers because there is a lot to do between now and then--like write a dissertation). In Steve's spare time (which he doesn't have much of thanks to the research, Church callings, and the honey-do list which was fairly lengthy the last few months) he likes to work on the Datsun Roadster. He recently got the rebuilt engine in and is waiting to purchase a new battery before he starts it up. Ellie loves to spend time with Dad in the garage. One Saturday as Steve was getting dressed Ellie asked, "Dad are you going to work?" His reply was, "No I don't have to work on Saturday." "Are you going to scouts?" "No I don't have any scouts today." With excitement in her voice, "Dad are you going to the garage? Can I come?" Steve generously shares his screwdrivers and wrenches with her and he has to ask if needs to use one of them and you had better believe she knows how many of each and what color and size they all are.

As for me, I took a leave of absence from work starting the beginning of August to be home with Ellie. I love being here with Ellie and finding fun projects for us to do: we took a Tumbling class through the Parks & Rec program, we love story-time at the library, lunch-bunch where we share food and recipes with friends, and taking care of Daddy. A few days after my departure I found out I was pregnant and became quite ill with baby#2 (hence the long honey-do list for Steve). The baby is due April 18 so after the holidays I believe my life will be filled with preparation for another young one. As for the gender of the baby, Ellie was certain of a little brother. No matter how you phrased the question she would say boy or little brother. At our last ultrasound the doctor says she is 90% sure it is a girl which we are all excited about. I told Ellie that her and her little sister could play dolls together and she thought that would be "neat". I asked her what we should call the new baby girl and she said "Little Brother". I guess some answers never change. :)

We feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and send you the warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas!

Love,
Steve, Britney, & Ellie Moore