No pictures, but a great Christmas

Sorry to everyone, there are no pictures from Christmas because I can't find the battery that goes to our camera and we forgot our Flip video camera. We had a wonderful holiday though, so you'll just have to imagine some snap shots of us smiling, Matt unwrapping his presents and us resting from a joyful overload. "Santa" was good to Matt this year; we were able to get Matt some good stuff since we started shopping earlier in the year, like in October. He got a new table and chairs to play and color on, lots of cars, clothes, and lots of fun toys from his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I got Nate a live scribe pen. I know that a pen sounds like a really lame gift, but this is not just an ordinary pen; it is like a computer in a pen that has a sound recorder as well as recording everything that you write so that you can download it onto the computer. Nate got me a new sewing machine that we have been saving up for since my birthday. So, lots of really good stuff this year.
However, even more important than the stuff we received this year, we got a lot of really good quality time with family. It was great to spend time with my family on Christmas eve, we had a lot of fun together, especially listening to my brother's family share their talents of singing and guitar playing with us. My sister even played the guitar for us, and she's pretty good. My mom shared stories that she wrote with my sister in law that were really touching and we enjoyed listening.
We had a fun Christmas eve party with Nate's Kresser side of the family where Nate ended up with a golf range finder and I got a bird feeder. We enjoyed the time with Nate's family and he and I were also able to spend time over at his brother and sister-in-law's house watching a movie and talking. This is the last year for a while that we will spend Christmas in Utah, so it was great to see everyone and enjoy each others company.
Nate is studying right now for his OAT (the test he has to take to get into Optometry school). It's a pretty hard test, but I think he is going to do great! He has some shadowing this week with some Optometrists here in Logan and after his test he can send in his application. There's a lot to do the next couple of weeks, but I'm confidant that he will get accepted.
Today Nate and I celebrated our 3rd year anniversary by taking Matt with us to dinner and shopping. Don't worry, we have a date this weekend where Matt is going to have a baby-sitter and we are going to dinner and a basketball game. It was really fun to have Matt with us today though, because 3 years ago we were sealed to each other and to our posterity and we are so happy to be a family! I love Nate so much; he is a wonderful provider, kind, gentle, funny, and a great husband and father. Sorry if this is so nauseating, but I really am glad that I have him, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend eternity with. I'm also really happy to be a mother, this has brought me more joy than I've ever known. Matthew really is a special boy and I'm so glad to be his mom and hopefully the mom of more precious children in the future.

Hmm...

So many of you, since I think 3 people read this blog, know that I don't really particularly care for my current occupation. Driving around town, with what seems to be a bunch of crazies, isn't exactly my idea of a good time. And it seems that the bus provides opportunities for the worst of human nature to come right to the surface. Schedules and moving people seems to do that a lot. Well, Thursday night I had an experience that made think that driving bus isn't all that bad really. That not only does it bring out the worst in people (sometimes) there is opportunity for the best to shine on through as well.
Thursday, up here in Logan, was a frigid cold night. I was glad that I got to stay on my heated bus and felt a little sorry for all my passengers who had to walk to and wait at the stops in the near zero temperatures. I was getting ready to leave the transit center and I saw someone running to the bus and figured I had time to wait for her. She was so thankful that I had, she had no gloves and her coat was falling to pieces, if she would have had to wait she would have froze. She sat down and started talking to another passenger and mentioned that she had been out in the cold for over two hours and it felt could to be somewhere warm. I was glad I waited. The best part of this whole story is when I pulled into a stop, and as a woman was about to get off she slipped off her own gloves, set them in her (the original passengers) lap and whispered "Merry Christmas". Tears rolled down the face of the receiver as the giver got off the bus and walked away. It was a little bit hard finishing my run as a watched how the countenance of this woman changed. December is really a good time to be a bus driver.
I am hoping that this holiday season we can all be on the look out for someone we can help in a small and simple way. Opportunities are all over the place we just have to look for them and be brave enough to act on them when the Spirit speaks. Merry Christmas.

MATT MAN!!!!

We have the cutest kid in the whole wide world. Really we do, you might doubt it but all the evidence is right there. For this week's blog post a few stories from our favorite MATT MAN!

-Matt has decided that the mini-stapler from the drawer is actually a phone and who ever he is talking to hears "Hi" a lot.
-On Thanksgiving he was naughty and hit his cousin on the head. Amy told him to say sorry and this is what happened.
Little injured cousin: "Sorry"
Matt: "Thank you" as he happily ran away.
-Matt frequently jumps on his bed to go to sleep and right after he wakes up, it is pretty much his favorite thing to do, I think.
-Matt has a new beanie that looks like a tiger; when we were leaving my parents my nephew Gabe said "Goodbye Tigger" it was so cute. We now call Matt, Tigger. (so that was more Gabe being cute but it works, I guess)
-Matt really loves having bananas for breakfast and when we have them around he will happily say "na-na, na-na, na-na" until he gets one.
-Matt will frequently walk around the house in Amy's high-heels and winter boots that go up to his knees, it is pretty athletic actually.
-Matt is very fascinated by his new Christmas stocking, but it's not just fun to look at, he likes to utilize it. Especially by putting his sippy and snacks inside, to eat later.
And the cutest thing about our little Matt right now, is his pink, goopy, half closed right eye. The poor kid picked up pink eye for the second year in a row. Needless to say he will be seeing the doctor (out of his left eye) in the morning. So we love you all but stay the heck away!! BIOLOGICAL HAZARD!