Let Earth Receive Her King

Rose and Kaleb

marshmallow baby Jesus!

I would have to say that Christmas Eve was the best day we had this holiday season.  We spent the afternoon in Kirtland Ohio.  We saw nativity sets from all over the world.  Big ones, tiny ones, beautiful ones, silly ones (marshmallow baby Jesus).  It was a nice way to remind us what Christmas is all about.  This room was just for kids, and it was great!

Number Eight

Welcome
Alonzo Christopher Guerrero
Born 12-21-11
5 lbs 15 oz
19 inches 

Keith and I now have 8 nieces and nephews as we welcome my little sister Kristen's newest little one.  Kristen's birthday is in December, and her daughter, Layla was born last December.  My sister will always be extra busy during this month with birthdays and holidays!  My sisters are keeping Kory Harward busy as he will deliver a baby boy for my sister Kelly in the spring.  We are looking forward to our trip to Utah in April to see all of these little ones!  

Naughty List

Christopher comes every year on Thanksgiving day

He really helps Kaleb stay off of the "naughty list".

He "pops" in every morning in a different spot.

Looking for him is so much fun!

He made an appearance at the museum downtown,  The kids can touch this one.

A real reindeer, cool!

We found him upside down on this particular day.

We found a lot of upside down things that morning.  Kaleb said, "don't worry mom, I'll help you clean it up", and he did!  What a good kid.

I wonder if Santa's elves ever get on the naughty list?

 's

I'll bet "Christopher" was nervous when he did this, worried that Kaleb might wake up.  I'll bet Kaleb stirred right as "Christopher" finished, "Christopher" probably made a run for it and it reminded him of being in high school, doing the same thing in "his" neighborhood, getting caught, and then getting picked up at the police station by "his" dad at 2am:)  

Christopher Pop in Kins is one of Santa's elves who really wanted to see real boys and girls.  Santa gave him a special job of popping into children's homes to keep an eye on them until Christmas Eve, when he reports back to Santa.  He cannot be touched and everyday he is in a different spot.  This year he brought Kaleb a mailbox which is sometimes filled with notes, candy, coins or small toys.  Kaleb really loves this little guy, and it really helps him focus on good behavior.  Kaleb has quite the imagination, but mom is running out of ideas:)  We never know what he is going to do next!  It's been a long time since I have t-p'd anything, and yes it was me who was picked up at the police station.  My dad was really mad that I got caught!

Breakfast with Santa

Breakfast with Santa up at Akron Children's Hopspital has become a tradtion for us.  What a great way to kick off the holiday season.  They always have the neatest trees and the funnest displays.  You wouldn't believe the hours people put into decorating and then donating their work to charity.  We all loved the manger scene tree.  I didn't get as many pictures as I would like to, but dad's favorite was an Ohio State themed tree, my favorite was a tree that came with $500 in Giant Eagle gift cards, and Kaleb's favorite was a blue WalMart tree with Wii games of course!

Hannah, Ryan and Kaleb

Real bacon!  (mom always buys turkey)  What a treat.

Giving the big guy his wish list

One of our favorites.

Happy Holidays!

Keith Beth & Kaleb

They always have the cutest trees.

A great day!

Pillow Pets

Marissa and Sasha

 We have had our dogs for about 13 years so my nieces have practically grown up with them and they are very close.  They have a lot of fun playing with them when they come over.  Sasha is always with one of the girls, getting dressed up, in a blanket or curled up asleep right next to one of them.  Sometimes I find her in the most interesting places doing the most interesting things.  Sam loves the girls, but doesn't get into it like Sasha.  Maybe it's a girl thing.  They put on shows, do "experiments", and just love to play.  So sweet!  

Victoria and Sasha

Sasha loves the attention

I find her in the most interesting places

The girls were pretending Sasha had surgery and they were taking care of her. 

dressing her up

Sam usually hides from the kids and I found him here, trying to blend in.

Ugly

It was cold

moist

dark

dingy

boring

and then

panels went up

insulation

hide the sump pump

a storage room

drop ceiling

walls that are replaced if damaged and never need painted

walls can be removed if needed

lighting

carpet

4 days later

lighter

brighter

not boring at all!

I was looking through some old pictures and came across these pictures of our basement.  I had forgotten how ugly it was and how much I hated it before we finished it.  The process that the Owens Corning company does it truly amazing.  Our basement was finished in 4 days!  It was the fastest anything has ever been done in this house.  We have enjoyed it for the past few years and it was worth every penny.  If only they could come back and add a deck, a fence, a shed, a little excavating, a little more landscaping and a lot of painting, we'd be in good shape!  Oh well, just gonna sit in my basement and forget about the rest for now!

Grandpa Bradley

Kaleb and grandpa playing computer games

Grandpa bought Kaleb these Scripture books for Kaleb's first birthday.  We read from them every night.  Kaleb enjoyed having Grandpa read to him during his visit to Ohio

I really enjoyed spending time with my dad!

Visiting from Provo Utah, is my dad, David Bradley!  My dad was born and raised in Ohio.  We lived in Utah when my dad worked for Marriott Hotels.  During that time my parents fell in love with the mountains and everything that the west had to offer.  We would love to have dad closer, but he loves Utah, and has 5 children and several grandchildren that reside there.   We really enjoyed spending time with him.  I can't believe it's been 2 years since I've been out west, and 5 years since Keith and Kaleb last saw my dad.  Kaleb had a hard time with the concept of having a Grandpa in Utah, and now I know that he will not forget him.  He loved reading scriptures with Grandpa, and everytime he saw him, he said "read to me Grandpa!"  My dad also enjoyed spending time with his mother who lives in Ohio.  She is 92 years old!  We won't wait so long next time to go see Grandpa.  I have a cousin getting married in the spring in the Manti temple, and two more nephews that will be born in the next few months.  A good excuse to plan a family trip to Utah in the spring I say!