the GIFT of GIVING

i truly enjoyed the gift of giving this holiday.

the gifts i was giving are what i was most excited about. really, i was so excited about these two projects, i'm surprised i even kept them a secret!

first, alex made this sign to put at the corner of my parents' driveway. their house is a bit away from the road, so it is like their own private road to the house. the work he did is just incredible. i am always more and more impressed with his talents and abilities, and the effort and work put into projects. this picture looks small, it is actually about 3 ft. wide and is mounted on a 4x4. there is aluminum with a reflective coating behind the letters to illuminate it at night.
it looks awesome!!

also, i made a quilt/blanket for alex's mom kelly.

her mom, whom she was very close to, and i had grown close to, passed away in october after a 3 year struggle with ovarian cancer. this was very difficult on the whole family. kelly plays the role of caretaker in her family, she is very pragmatic and always holds everybody together through trials and all difficult situations. she takes great care of everybody, so i wanted to do something for her. kelly had cleaned her mother's closet out and brought the clothes to my house for meto wear if i needed/wanted them.
natalja really misses Nana, Narvie and gets pretty emotional, so i thought of using a couple of her clothes to make natalja a small blanket to sleep with or just cuddle when she got sad. that is what led to the idea of making a larger version for kelly.
i found items that reminded me of Narvie most for one side of the blanket. on the other side, i use the turquoise because her bed comforter, many walls in her home, and her couch were that color and the leopard print because she loves it and she wore a nightgown with leopard print almost every day. she even had a set of dishes that are leopard print with turquoise accent! it was just perfect to have found that fabric!

it was so exciting to give this to kelly!!
there isn't a whole lot i can do for her (while there is a whole lot she does for me), so this was a very special opportunity.

a set of new wheels for all!

kelli and i, christmas eve.




































natalja and eli were getting way too big for their bikes, so we got all of the older kids new bikes bigger for N & E, better quality and BMX style for J, N & E.
kelli must included in everything so we knew we needed to get her something similar. she has tried the scooters before, so we got her one with 3 wheels that she could control and balance better on.
it was so exciting getting everything ready and then going outside as soon as they could! of course, it was raining quite a bit, but we got out there during a quick break. there is never as much rain out at the ranch, so we brought the bikes when we went out there for christmas lunch/dinner. their cousins Creed & Cole got new bikes too. they all had a blast riding in the rain(just a mist, not too muddy)!

Chrstmas Specials!

I found out just how talented my mom is when she made these adorable dresses and ties for all of her grandchildren this past month. The kids have worn them to 3 different wards over the month of December. Every time, we get compliments on how adorable they are, how fancy and everyone agrees that they look designer and they are all so impressed that my mom made them.

this was my gift from alex. i just had to show it off!
i was NOT expecting to get a little black gift bag from ZALES
handed to me on christmas morning!

CHRISTMAS FAMILY NIGHT

Christmas family night is a tradition my mom started when she was 15. It is a night to share special stories or experiences that are Christ-centered to remind us of the first Christmas- Christ's birth. My mom and her 3 brothers all have their own families now, as a group each family has a bit of time to share with the group. With the family expanding, it is the only time throughout the year that I see some of them, so it is a night we all look forward to.

getting ready for the nativity presentation...

LIVE NATIVITY--- christmas family night

Christas Family Night is a special night during the holiday to pause and remember Christ's birth is the reason for the season. For the Wilson family's portion of the night we create a live nativity with all of the children.






The children get all dressed up and it is so precious! (this is actually the first year that baby jesus wasn't one of my babies :)) The children show what a pure, innocent moment it really was.

SAN DIEGO TEMPLE

This beautiful white nativity is so symbolic of His purity, and how we should treat this time of year with simplicity. I couldn't keep these beautiful pictures to myself. Cherish and love your family during this holiday season!

still on the topic of beauty...there is not a better place to get in a good workout! This is the basketball court at uncle Brad's house in Tenaja. So, for those like me, the scenery with dirt and rocks to occupy the kids is great incentive to exercise!

Father and Son...Aww, how cute!

Dallas is saying to Shea, "well, you know with this great young body, I don't need to stretch. I won't pull anything! Hahaha!"

(I kid, I kid!)


Another layup by Cody before the rest of us even make it down the court :)

we have been so blessed to go to the temple so frequently lately. my mom watches our kids everythursday and

we have gone to the temple every other week(about).
what a special place to be.

FUN FAMILY DAY AT UNCLE BRAD'S HOUSE!

on saturday we went up to alex's uncle brad's house so all the guys could play a few games of basketball. we all had a fun day and played into the night! they only had 9 guys, so i(kayli) was invited to be the 10th 'man'. playing a competitive game was great fun and a great workout!! i didn't do too badly either, i did make one basket!
we are so lucky to have so many family members around us and their homes to be in such beautiful locations.

this last picture kelli is showing us her broken teeth! she smashed into the metal frame of her new bunk bed.
what made it worse- the night before, alex's mom, kelly, was knocked over by her dogs and landed on her elbow while we were there. the end of the ulna that makes the ball of the elbow completely broke off. so, alex took her to the e.r. and stayed w/her until morning to take her to the surgeon. so, my kelli was in total pain and i still had to take the other kids to school, drop bret off w/my friend and then take her to the doctor. there is no nerve damage, just the one on the right is pushed up and crooked into her gums. we will wait to see how much it drops before taking her to the dentist for caps. while, we are there, we will get jared's front tooth capped also which was also broken in half a while ago just while running on the sidewalk and tripping...unfortunately his is a permanent tooth.
what a week!