Christmas email this year, no time for cards

Hello Family and Friends!

This year instead of sending out a Christmas card to just a few of you, I'm just emailing all of you. I am so grateful for this time of year and all it means to us. I would not make it day to day with out our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He truly is the reason for the season. We have had an eventful year and I would love to let you all know what we have done.

Tucker turned 8 this year and was baptized. We are so proud of him and his decision to do this in his life. It was a hard day because it was also the day that Great Grandpa Powell (Wayne Powell) passed away. I think it will always be a day to remember for him and us. Tucker is in 3rd grade now and in a program at a new school. A.L.L. or accelerated learning lab, is just an advanced class where he can go as fast as he can learn. It has been amazing for him. He is no longer finished before everyone else and he loves that he is learning so many new things at once.

Thadd is 7 and in first grade this year. He had a hard time in the beginning making new friends. His best friend that lives across the street from us, Ira was in a different class this year and went at a different time. But he has made some new friends and is doing so very well in school. He is reading very well and loves that he can read chapter books. Both Tucker and Thadd have glasses now, Tucker got his for his birthday this year, and now you can't tell them apart from one another again. They still play together well and I'm glad for that.

Norma is 4 going 24. She is such a girl and very much the Queen of the house. She is learning to play with others better which is good because she will be going to kindergarten this next year. It has been nice having her home this last year but it will be nice to have her in school for half a day too. She hates when I do her hair but loves playing dress up all day. She has gotten taller and more mouthy with age. We love her though and it wouldn't be our house without her in it.

Kathryn Kristine (Kate) joined our family on March 3 this year. And I have to say that out of 4 children it was so very nice to have one delivery go like they are suppose to go. She is the perfect completion to our family. She is the happiest baby we have ever had and the cutest thing you have ever seen. She is 9 months old now and crawling everywhere. Kate and Thadd have a special bond. From the moment they met, there has been something between the two of them that just can't be described other than wonderfully special. She jabbers all day and sleeps all night. She loves playing with Norma's toys and likes pulling the dogs fur. We are so lucky to have her and it wouldn't be the Powell family without her.

Nate got a new car this year with work. He was upgraded to a Charger and loves it! He works all the time and has been taking classes trying to just get a degree of some kind. We don't see him much but he is working hard for our family and we love him for it. We were able to go on a few camping trips this year and that is all worth it. Kate is our outdoors-man and loves being outside. Nate went to Wyoming for a week this summer for some special training with work and loves that he can notice things about certain cars now.

I have just been a mom and house keeper. I've done a lot of sewing this year and holding a baby. (She is just too cute to put down most of the time.) I made Kate a bunch of clothes and made some diaper bags for myself and friends and then some to sell. I've enjoyed trying new sewing projects and have decided that a new machine is on the list of needs for this next year. I was just put in as the Wolf Den leader for cub scouts on our ward and have 9 eight year olds in my den. I miss my old calling were I just had to make birthday cards but I've had a lot of fun with the boys and I have enjoyed this calling too.

We send our love and hopes of a wonderful Christmas and New Year to all of you! May our Heavenly Fathers love pour down on you all and bless you this coming year.

Love The Powells
Nate, Bobby, Tucker, Thadd, Norma and Kate

To see more of our family you can always go to the blog at nbttpowell.blogspot.com It is private but all you need to do is send me your email and I'll add you. Merry Christmas!

A few things to catch up on.

First off, it's raining. I'm praying that it will turn to snow soon so that our neighbors will stop flooding. Plus I need a white Christmas. I just really do this year.

Last week we had our ward Christmas breakfast at the church. The day before, Tucker was asked to be a wise man and his response was, "It would be a privilege." Yep, that's my boy. So I hadn't even heard about the breakfast til this point so I just thought that Santa would be there like he had been last year. No Santa but I had dressed up the girls in their new Christmas dresses and got Kate's hair in her very first pig-tails!!! She has as much hair now as Norma did at 18 months. I tried to get a picture of them.
This is what I got. She is moving so fast now that she can crawl, I can't get any good pictures of her anymore because she will just not stay still long enough.
Here is Tucker in his Wise man costume. It was a nice morning. I had tried to get the kids to eat before we got there because I knew that they would be asking as soon as we got there about food and when we were going to be eating. Of course they didn't listen and of course, I was right.
Kathryn came to help me with the kids because Nate was doing Shop-with-a-Cop. He really enjoyed his morning and had a boy that got something for his whole family and himself for Christmas. Thanks Kathryn for your help.
Last Thursday Tucker had a Christmas program at his school during school. Since we had had such a hard time with getting a sit at Thadd's program, we went to Tucker's school 45 minutes early. We were on the front row. Norma even was wonderful the whole time. They just had each grade sing one song and Tucker's grade sang first. I forgot the camera, again and we couldn't get a picture with the phones. But it was nice and I just love Tucker's new school.
We have a book that we read a story out of every night before Christmas. It is the book my mom would read to us and now I read it to my kids. I love this tradition and my kids do too. I can't believe that I'm posting a picture of me, but here you go.
Nate got Norma these reindeer antlers with bells on them at the dollar store when I sent him into get some thing else, he always has to get just one thing that isn't on the list. I put them on Kate and she sounds so cute crawling around with these jingling. Again, not the best picture but you get the cuteness. :)
We got to go to Amy's house last night for a Christmas party too. It is so nice to be together as a family! Thanks Amy for letting us come and raid your house! I love playing games and even ones that the kids can play with us. It was good to Glade and Diane too!
I am not sending out Christmas cards this year. Instead, I'm going to email one, so be looking for that come Monday or Tuesday.

Baby-sitting Fail

I have more things to post about but I need to write this one down so I won't forget.

I left Tucker and Thadd home by themselves tonight while Norma went to a birthday party and I went to tithing settlement. I was sitting in the driveway waiting for when I could go get Norma so I wouldn't have to take the baby out of the car so many times when Abby, a friend from the ward came up and gave me a plate of goodies for Christmas. She said that she had been there just 5 minutes before and had knock on the door. Tucker had stood up, looked out the window and sat back down. So she knocked again. Tucker turned and looked at her again and then shut the blinds.
I'm laughing so hard just writing this again. I had told them not to answer the door. Guess they listened. :)

Thadd's 1st Grade Christmas Program

Thadd's Christmas program was on Wednesday night. I am a little peeved about the whole thing but won't go into it. Let's just say I'm not happy with his school at the moment. Anyways, it started at 6 so we showed up at 5:30 thinking that we could get near the front. He had told me that he was on the first row and I knew that if we didn't get to the front, we would not be able to see him. Well, it was so packed already, the only place to sit was in the back. I could not believe it! I saw some one from my ward in the middle front and asked her what time she had gotten there. She had been sitting there since 5!

So to the back we went. Tucker and Norma were really sad that they couldn't see Thadd and I was really sad that I forgot my camera. This picture is from Nate's phone. Sorry it's so small and blurry. I tried to edit it and that made it worse. :)

Kathryn was able to make it and she took Tuck and Norma up to the front to sit on the floor in front of everyone. I'm so glad. I was just going to have them stand on their chairs. ;)

Thadd did amazing! I was so proud of him! He did all the actions and even when the kid next time him kept standing in front of him, ( that always happens to him) he didn't throw a fit but waiting til the first song was over and asked him to move over. He has been so excited for this program and it was wonderful to see him participate and enjoy it so much. The teachers had taken pictures of all the kids to do a slide show with and we were happy to see Thadd got on there twice! I asked him how he managed to do that and he said that someone had missed the day they had taken the pictures and he was the first to raise his hand to be in the picture with her. I love that kid!

Sub-4-Santa

I have been touched by this story and I really have a strong feeling that I need to help this family. I've been so worried about having a Christmas for my own children that I need to focus on some one else who needs help this season too.

Please go here and read this story. It has struck me hard this last week. I know that I can't do much to help, but I'm going to do what I can and maybe by sharing this, that will be enough.

9 Month Stats

Kate is 9 months old! I can't believe how time has just flown by. She is crawling, babbling all the time, eating anything she can get her hands on, loves playing with Norma's kitchen and food except when she pulls the kitchen over on her. She is learning to pull herself to a stand, she is really close to getting her first tooth and she has a smile that just melts our hearts.
At her appointment today she weighed in at 17 lbs 7 oz. (25%) She is 28 in long. (66%) Her head is still big at 46.1 cm. (94%) I asked the doctor if he was still concerned about her head being so big. He said that where it leveled off from last time he wasn't. She is very healthy. There is one thing though. I didn't know that they checked babies iron levels at 9 months. So they pricked her toe, Norma was impressed that she didn't cry, and her levels came back low. With the machine they have at the doctors office, I now have to take her to have a full-blown blood draw to see if her levels are really low enough to put her on iron. I'm not so sure about this. But it is something I will have to do. I was on iron when I was an infant and have been for most of my life. So Monday I will be taking her to the lab. Anyone want to take her for me? :)

Christmas Tree Adventures

Today was the day that it worked out for all of us to go get our Christmas trees. The boys got to sluff school for it. We had quite a bunch going. I had to find a sitter for Kate just so we would have room for everyone to fit on the way up. Amy, Thank You for taking her. It was good for me to know that she was with you and that she was in good hands. Thank you for doing that for me!
We all got loaded in. Nate, me, Tucker, Thadd, Norma, John and Celest in our car and in Dad's truck; Dad, Mom, Winni, Gerald, Reanna, Joe and Ashley. (Friends of Geralds.) We always go up past Danials Summit to the Main Canyon road. Well we got there and they had plowed the snow over the road. We couldn't make it on the road. We went a little farther hoping to find a road that we could make it up. That's when Daddy got stuck.
Everyone piled out, shoveling out snow and hooking the truck up to ours and trying to pull it out. It took about 20 minutes to finally get it out.
About this time, Daddy found out the water pump was going out on the truck. We wondered if it was a good idea to keep going but we didn't want to leave without a tree so we kept going.
We found another road and... Daddy got stuck again. Worse this time. So we let the kids get out and walk around. We tried to find a potty because some of us didn't go at the house when we make the kids go. (Me.) No potty was found. They got Daddy unstuck and we drove to find a potty and eat our lunch. We talked our options and went back a ways to find another road that we could make it up. We saw some trees a little bit from a road that we could drive down and ended up hiking to get to them. They were tiny, scrawny things but it was better than going home empty handed.
I have to say that is this the smallest tree that my parents have had in a long time. But Gerald hiked for Dad to get it for him and Dad did say that he wanted a small one. Mom told him he had to decorate it this year so he didn't want a big one. He wanted a smaller one than this one even.
I forgot to take the camera back with me when we hiked back to the trees, so I'm hoping that Celest will email me the few she got of Norma and Walle trying to walk throught the snow. Norma was swimming through the snow. It was so funny! And Walle... poor thing, couldn't be seen half the time because the snow was so deep.
I wish Thadd wasn't making a face in this picture. Oh well. Norma loved her scarf and my mom made these shirts for them. They were their, "cutting tree" shirts. It was an adventure this year, cutting down our trees, but we got one and that is all that matters. We may have not finished in time for Nate to make it to class for a quiz he really coulndn't have missed and we were half an hour late in picking up Kate from Amy's but it is all about the memories that we make. This will be one of the years we talk about forever.