Christmas in arizona

this was our first year spending Christmas at home. of course i missed going to utah or california but we were lucky enough to have family here. nanna and papa came from california and we got together for christmas eve at laura and kevin's house. my sister steph and family came over and we had some old friends, the modrells from our california ward there too. that is one of the cool things about marry people from your home stake you always get to keep in touch.

christmas eve we had the traditional christmas dinner that we all contributed to and then the little kids performed the nativity. jack was the star of david and he actually kept his "star" on his head.




after the nativity there was a small talent show, with original songs as well as some of the traditional favorites. jack sang jingle bells all by himself. we were worried that he would get stage fright and not want to do it but he seemed to really relish being in the spot light.

christmas morning was very nice and relaxing. jack didn't want up until 6:30 and we came down to find that santa ate jack's treat that he made him. yes jack actually helped me make santa rice crispie treats, a first and hopefully not the last. opened our stockings and saw what santa left for jack. the presents were opened in about 15 minutes and then it was time to break out jack's ultimate gift. this year we bought jack a bounce house which he loves but also serves therapy purposes. after playing with our presents we went to denny's for breakfast, a newer family tradition that i really quite like.

jack discovering that santa came and ate his treat

in his stocking he got a notebook because he is really into blues clues and he needs a place to write down his clues.

opening his presents

that's right we have the bounce house in our living room!

later that morning nanna and papa came up to spend the weekend with us and we had a second round of presents. jack got a 500 piece marble coaster that john was lucky enough to set up. all in all it was a really wonderful christmas and we got a chance to reflect upon the things that are most important about the christmas season, the Savior, family and friends. we hope you all had a wonderful christmas and have a happy new year.

jack loves his papa

the early stages of setting up the marble coaster. doesn't john look so excited to be doing this?

the finished product and it only took him 4 hours

Christmas cards?

this one is more for me because i didn't get a belly picture with jack, but the new man cub is in there.

i wasn't really feeling the need to do an official chirstmas card this year but i thought i would just do a little update on the family on the good old blog.

we have been living here in anthem, arizona for two years already. time really does fly when you get old. we are blessed to live in a really safe and family friendly little town. as much grief as i give john about living here i really do appreciate all that anthem has to offer. we have a great ward and i can finally say that i feel like we are finally feeling like we are a part of things. john has been serving as the teacher's quorum advisor/assistant varsity scout leader. i've been in the primary as a teacher for almost 2 years. they "officially" released me several weeks ago but asked if i could keep teaching until they find my replacement, which of course they still haven't. my new calling is as an activity days leader, i'm really excited to be able to work with the girls i taught my first year in the primary.

john is still working for citi financial as a district manager for 7 of arizona's branches. it keeps him really busy and traveling quite a bit. lucky for us this means he gets to rack up the hotel points. hopefully in the next year or so we will have enough points to be able to come and visit our friends and family. the job is still challenging for john, which means he isn't bored yet. we are just truly grateful and blessed to have a job during such unstable times and take nothing for granted.

jack is in his second year of preschool and still loving it. he is making huge strides with all therapies and we are lucky to have such great people in our support system helping us. jack loves to play the wii, much to my dismay. john assures me it is really helping him with his hand/eye coordination, i'm not sure i buy it. jack also performed in his first primary program and did a great job. he continues to amaze us and keep us on our toes. we love this little man and are glad to have been blessed to have him as our son.

i've have been keeping busy trying to keep up with jack and all that he has going on throughout the week. this "spring" we will be blessed with another baby boy and we are very excited for the new arrival. i'm nervous and excited and can't wait to see how jack deals with not being the center of attention all the time. i'm sure he will be a great big brother. pray for us that i will be able to keep this baby in a little longer then i did jack.

we hope that you all have had a great year and we wish you all a very merry christmas. we love you all, come out and visit us sometime.

love,
john, shannyn, jack and baby yet to be named.

drum roll please

so it looks like we are going to be welcoming another baby boy into the family. i'm really excited and kind of relieved because i know what to expect with boys. everything during the ultrasound looked fine, the man cub has everything he is suppose to have.