Christmas festivities

Well it's been a little while since I last blogged, mostly due to laziness, if you can call being a busy mommy lazy. :)
We've been snowed in since last weekend when the heavy snow hit our neighborhood. It's raining a fine, misty rain right now. I can only hope it keeps up and melts the snow away. THAT would be my Christmas wish!
Last Saturday we went to the Elizabeth Gregory Home's 3rd annual Women of Worth Christmas party and Ryan played Santa, borrowing Dad's Santa suit. He looked great, even if he chose not to wear the Santa beard, just the wig.
After that we went to our ward Christmas party and the boys were in the Nativity. Tommy played a shepherd in the field, and Will was THE Inn Keeper who allowed Joseph and Mary to use his manger. It was very cute and they did a great job. We got to hang out with our friends, the Waletsko family, who moved to Maple Valley recently. We really miss them, as I got really close to Kearsten, the mommy of the two young kids, Emma Rose, who is 3 but wears a size 5T! and the baby, JJ, short for Justus J (I forgot) and the kids absolutely love them. Emma calls JJ "Baby JJ" and loves it when he comes over to play.
Well, Merry Christmas to all and have a very happy night in preparation for tomorrow. As the kids keep singing from the Spongebob Christmas Special, "Santa's coming tonight, tonight. Santa's coming tonight!"

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On family prayer and the fun we have after...

...or what kids say.
The last two days Tommy has had this awful cough, and per the NP at our pediatrician's office she suggested a teaspoonful of honey to help with the cough during the day. Well, Tommy told me that maybe he needed some more honey because it was bedtime and he was still miserable.
So we had prayer and Ryan kept teasing him, saying, "Tommy, stop coughing!" :) Always with a smile on his face and a lilt in his voice, as only he can. Tommy told him that he couldn't stop, that he needed more honey maybe to stop his cough. So Ryan said, "No, Tommy, what you need is a kick in the pants!" You have to understand that this is a running joke in our family of a kick-in-the-pants pizza, a kick-in-the-pants anything. So Tommy, my literal-minded son, said, "No, Dad, that would just go to my bum!" So Ryan laughed and finally was able to say, "No,Tommy, that would go from your bum up to your throat and out your mouth!"
Boy did we ever have a hoot over that one! How did I get so lucky to have a family who uses humor in every aspect of our life? What a blessing my family is to me.

Seattle Temple on December 6. Torah! Torah! Torah!

Last Saturday as a family we went to the beautiful Seattle Temple to honor some of our family that have gone on before us and give them the opportunity to accept or reject the true gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I was privileged to be baptized for 30 women that went before me. After 20 names, the Temple recorder asked me how I felt, and if I felt like doing more. I told him that absolutely I would do more, that I would do as many as needed to be done.
So my brother-in-law, Geoff, continued dunking me under that warm water 10 more times. I can only hope that all 30 will accept the true gospel, but at least I know that my part was done for them.
I've always wondered if the people having the work done for them really do come and take part with us while we're getting wet for them, since they no longer have a physical body. I'd like to think so. I do know that when I did the work for my Aunt Harriett a few years back that I felt her with me. Grandma Helen, when I told her this, was shocked that Aunt Harriett was receptive to the Gospel, since in life she wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. But I had always felt a special kinship to her because as a young girl I remember meeting her and then when she got a new carpet, I got it in my bedroom in the downstairs room in the house in Edmonds. It was that green carpet, and I loved it. Who knew my sentimentality would continue into forcing me to do family history work? Funny how the cycle goes on and on, isn't it?
Anyway, after the baptisms finished and we were dressed in our street clothes and walking to our cars to go home (at 10:00 p.m., I might add!), I was awestruck with the breathtaking beauty that is the Lord's House. I took some pictures, but none really turned out well except for the Nativity, which you see. I tried to get the fountain with the lights shining on it, but it didn't come out. Darn! It was so pretty.
I love my family, past, present and future, and hope that all will join in the graet Celestial Room of Heaven with our Father.

Happy Birthday to Tommy

Last night was Tommy's 5th birthday and we had such a fun time. I made the cake and frosted it, then Tommy wanted to put the sprinkles on himself. He dumped the entire bottle of sprinkles on the top of the cake. I tried to salvage the appearance of it with the rest of the sprinkles and spread them around the cake. So it isn't that pretty to look at, but sure did taste wonderful!!!
Anyway, he had fun, and then took a bath with Will to play with his new toy! They had a great time. So much so that Tommy took a bath with his sister today to play with his new toy in the tub.
The good night song? Another rendition of Happy Birthday, this time Dad's version, the Happy Birthday you smell like a monkey....at his request.

Kids say the darndest things

Today during Sacrament Meeting, Will looked over at me and told me in his joking voice, trying to be serious and wondering probably if I would think it was as funny as he did, "Mom, do you know what a Pow Wow is?" I told him that I did, but what did HE think it was. He told me, "It's when you give someone a "pow" in their face (ouch!) and then they say, 'Wow!'" What a silly boy. I giggled as quietly as I could, then he told Ryan the same joke that he had just made up. Just one of the many funny things said lately in the Shuler household. As I think of more I'll add them to this site.
Have a wonderful night!

Halloween fun around Kent and Auburn

Hello all and I hope you had a safe and fun Halloween. We sure did at our house this year.
The kids dressed up as Goldilocks, a Cop, and a Gangster. I wonder if you'd guess who was who just based on their personalities? :) Of course, Emma was Goldilocks, Tommy the Cop, and Will the Gangster. Tommy took extra pride in knowing he could arrest his big brother as many times as he wanted to. Very fun. He was even trying to arrest Goldilocks on suspicion of breaking and entering (B and E in cop lingo), criminal trespass, damage to personal property, etc. Very cute.
We went to Ryan's old neighborhood, per our usual, and had fun visiting the old neighbors that he knew growing up. An old high school teacher, his old babysitter, the lady across the street whose kids played with Ryan and his brother, Wes. It was fun.