Christmas Eve

So I just realized that I haven't posted this whole month yet...lame...I've been getting ready for Christmas. I can say that yesterday morning I wrapped my last gift, which is not my usual routine! Most years, I'm up really late on Christmas Eve wrapping stocking stuff and am so tired the next day. I'm excited that tonight we can watch our Christmas movie (Home Alone) in our p.j.'s and go to bed at a normal time and hopefully be un-crabby tomorrow morning. :)

Today the kids and I made our cookies for Santa and they each wrote their letters to Santa (Uncle Ray, also known as Satan Claus, haha). Sydney is at such a cute age this year and loved putting the sprinkles on the cookies. It would have been so great if I had thought to take pictures, but alas, I did not--we were too busy having fun!

On Monday, Jake and I are heading to Texas for my family's reunion, for 5 days. I'm so excited to see all my siblings and the parentals. The only bummer is that Tim has all of next week off with the kids, and I will miss almost the whole thing. I wish I weren't missing his time at home. But it will be so nice not to have to worry about the older 3 while Jake and I are away.

Since I still haven't gotten my cards/letters in the mail and won't until after Christmas, here is a copy of our Family Christmas letter for 2009. Consider yourselves informed and loved! And for all of my family, I'm hand-delivering your letters on Monday...doesn't that make you feel special?!?!?


It doesn’t seem right that it’s already time to write another Christmas letter. Didn’t I just do that?!? To say that this year has flown by is an understatement. We have had many adventures, good times, and blessings. It’s good to take some time and list them and remember to be grateful. Our biggest family adventure was a week-long trip to Disneyland and San Diego in July. We had a great time and were grateful to Cathy’s mom for keeping Jake—he can come next time.

Tim had a memorable year this year, finally drawing for a bighorn sheep hunt in August. He trained for months and still wore himself out on the hike up the mountain, but made memories to last a lifetime, even though he was unable to find a ram. Maybe next time. Last month he was released from the bishopric (on his birthday, haha) and was called to serve on the Stake high council, where he’s still trying to learn the ropes.

Cathy spent most of the year trying to keep up with the four kids. They keep her busier than ever, but in the small amount of spare time she had, she enjoyed re-joining her singing group, where she played piano, sang, and sewed many, many costumes. She also helps in Sydney’s class each week and loves watching the kids in their many different sports. She is the Primary secretary in church right now.

Brandon is 12 now! He received the priesthood last month and is so happy to be out of Primary! He also started middle school this fall, which he says is SO much better than elementary school. He played basketball and football again this year (football is still his favorite). He also enjoys hunting with his dad and shot another turkey this spring. He is now old enough to hunt big game, but couldn’t find a deer this year. He just earned his Star rank in boy Scouts and is well on his way to Eagle Scout.

Ryan is 9 years old and in the 4th grade. Last May, he won a brand new dirt bike for perfect attendance and good scores on his state testing. He was thrilled and has gotten a lot of use out of that bike. He played baseball and basketball this year and says basketball is his favorite. He still loves his video games and is a great help with the baby. He earned his Wolf badge in cub scouts and is working on his Bear.

Sydney is 5 and started kindergarten in August. She loves going to school like her older brothers and has become an awesome reader in such a short amount of time. This spring she took tumbling and dance, and her favorite part was being able to wear make-up for the recital…she’s going to be a handful one day! She loves playing with her friends and rides her little bike all over the neighborhood. She learned how to ride without training wheels before her 5th birthday (much sooner than her brothers did).

Jake will be 15 months old at the end of the month, and has been the cutest addition to our family! He started walking about a month ago and now thinks it’s time to run. He loves music and sings along and dances to it. We call him Ry-Ry all the time, because he reminds us so much of how Ryan looked as a baby. He definitely completes our family and we’re so glad to have him.

Best wishes to all of you and we hope to see you or hear from you soon.

All our love, Tim, Cathy, Brandon, Ryan, Sydney, and Jake Bryson

Long week...but great ending

So the flu, or at least the stomach flu, hit our house last week. Jake was the first on Tuesday, followed by Ryan and Sydney on Thanksgiving afternoon, me on Friday, and Tim and Brandon on Saturday. Sheesh!!! The smell of vomit just never gets any easier to handle, especially when it's in the carpet...thank goodness for me carpet cleaner! It was a long holiday weekend, and I didn't get as much shopping or decorating in as I would have liked to, but at least we are all healthy now and life can get better.

On another note, Tim was released from the bishopric and called to the High Council yesterday at church. I'm hoping that his new assignment will be easier, or at least that he will get to sit with us at church most of the time from now on. He is excited to be over the Young Men and Young Women for the stake and help plan the combined camp next summer. It was a great birthday present!

Happy birthday to my man :)

Yesterday this good-looking guy turned 37. How I love that smile!! Of course, the best smiling photos of him are from when he just killed something, haha! Why not pay tribute to what he really loves on his special day...well, the day after his special day. What can I say, I was busy catering to his needs yesterday, like any great wife would have been. :)

It's been 15 years since I met Tim, and it didn't take long at all for me to decide he was for me, and I was going to make sure he felt the same way about me, too. I was determined, to say the least...

I love him for many reasons, but mostly because he is a truly good person, he is a great leader, and he makes me smile. I married him for who he was at the time, but also for the great potential I knew was in him, which I have seen come to fruition. He is my guy and I'm so blessed to have him.

I'd better stop or this will get even mushier...


Happy birthday, Honey! I love you!

Happy 12th birthday Brandon Hunter!!!!!

I can't believe it--my firstborn has reached the ripe old age of 12! Tomorrow he will receive the priesthood and start into Youg Men's. It feels like I have aged 5 years overnight. Yikes!

He is such a great kid! Last weekend Tim and I went to the BSU game and Brandon babysat all 3 of the other kids for almost 6 hours straight. He did awesome, and even had to change a diaper! It has been so fun to watch him grow and mature and become a relatively responsible, mature young man. He is a great example to his younger siblings and a huge help to me.

He has always been so creative. He still loves to write stories and daydreams a lot. He has a wild imagination, unlike me. He is super-smart and has all A's in this first year of middle school--we are so proud. He had a great year in football, and basketball is just around the corner, so he's been practicing for that lately.

Today he is old enough to hunt "big game", so he's out with Tim and Tim's dad trying to find a deer right now. Hopefully he's having a great time and gets a shot at one.

I'm so glad to be his mom and be able to know him. Love you, Brandon!!!!

Jake's New Hat...Part 2

I promised some awake pictures....I'm amazed how quickly I came through on that. He really does seem to like his hat, and I LOVE that he loves it. :)

My favorite is when I took it off since I had enough pictures, and he kept trying to put it back on--with no success, but cute, nonetheless.

BTW, the picture in the center is my favorite...I love the "duh" expression on his face. And yes, he IS standing in some of the pics...he's been thinking about walking lately...

Random mommy memories...

Last week, I found Jake cleaning the toilet with my toothbrush--seriously. Nice. It just made me laugh...one of those "mommy" moments that I don't think I'll ever forget. It got me thinking of favorite memories that the other kids have given me over the years. And in an effort to never forget any of these in particular, I'm including them in my blog so they'll "live forever."

Two from Brandon come to mind instantly.

#1 "I have sad eyes." and "Look at me: I'm sad!!!" He said this all the time when he was about 2 or 2 1/2. Just so cute! He wanted to make sure you knew just how sad you had made him...haha!!!

#2 When he was about 2 1/2 (he was potty-trained at this point), we started making him have time-out in his room when he was naughty. We were very clear that he was not to come out until we came and got him. Once when we were just implementing this new punishment, he cried really loudly when we put him in his room. Whatever... Then after a couple of minutes, the crying seemed to change and intensify. I finally went to calm him down, and he was standing right behind the door, all wet. He had needed to go to the bathroom, but was too scared to come out. Poor kid...sometimes Mom can be really scary...

Here are 2 from Ryan:

#1 When he was big enough to start sleeping in a "big boy" bed, I would try to tuck him in with the blankets, but he wouldn't have it. He threw off the blanket, pulled up his pajama shirt, and said, "My belly is hot." He has always been naturally hot and still wears shorts in the winter. Maybe we're not really related...I'm always freezing!

#2 When Sydney was a baby, he was 4. One day he noticed I was nursing the baby and asked what I was doing. I tried to explain that I was feeding the baby. "What is she eating?" he asked. I then tried to explain that mommies' bodies make milk for their babies. Then his eyes got huge and just lit up. "I LIKE MILK!" he exclaimed...haha!

Now for a couple of Sydney memories:

#1 One of my favorite things about her is how she talks. There are so many words that she couldn't say correctly for a long time. One classic is "cub scouts." She said "SCUB scouts" for a long time. Gosh, was it cute! Then the boys had to go ruin everything by teaching her the right way to say it...rude! Plus, I like how she says, "Hey, chow-duh," but that's another story for another time... At least she still has a challenge saying her R's and I can enjoy some funny words a little longer.

#2 We used to have to lock her in her room at night. Once she got a "big girl" bed, she loved being able to come in our room all through the night. We tried more conventional methods, but they never worked. So we put a doorknob lock on her room. It worked. :) The really funny part was in the morning, when she was ready to wake up, she'd have to yell for us to come let her out. "Mom, I'm awake!!!"

This mom thing is hard sometimes, but man is it funny sometimes, too! I can't believe I am the mother of 4 now and that Brandon is going to be 12 in a few days. When did this happen?? I can't wait to see what other funny Jake memories there will be to add to this list. For now, I think the toothbrush in the toilet is enough...haha!!!

P.S. I love how "scub scouts" just showed up on my spell-check.

That made me laugh. :)

Jake's new hat

Today was SUPER windy outside--the kind of windy that makes you worry that your car door will literally break off when you open it... Jake's jacket didn't have a hat on it, so he was just freezing while we ran our errands. So when I had to go to Wal-Mart to return something else, I got Jake a new hat. Who knew he would actually keep it on his head?!? He wore it the whole time we were at the store, then in the car, at Sydney's school, and finally at CostCo. He looked so stinkin' cute! I wanted to get some cute pics when we got home, but alas, he was out.

So I settled for carseat pictures instead.

Better than nothing.

I'll try to get some "awake" hat pictures later if I remember.

P.S. I sure hope he NEVER loses those cheeks (or those eyelashes)...love them!