Christmas Festivities

Christmas at our house, this year, was a blast! I love the ages each of our children are at. They have the wonderment and excitement of little kids but are also getting to an age where they enjoy the "GIVING" part of Christmas too.

I love to see how excited they are during the holiday season. You know, the sneaking and hiding of presents. The countdown chains. Checking the Santa.com site every day. The baking of Christmas goodies. Christmas caroling. Everyone being a little nicer. Wrapping presents. 2 hour delays at school. AND the list goes on. It is just such a cool season when it all gets lumped together. It was my favorite season growing up - well actually it still is - and it seems to be my kids favorite season too. There is just such a wonderful and enchanting energy that filled the air and warms my heart. 

Christmas Day was loads of fun at the Ostler's. After all the anticipation, it finally came, and here is a little about how if went for us. 

This years big gift to the kids was a teeter totter. It doesn't seem like you ever see them around at parks or in peoples yards anymore so the kids totally LOVED it! 

Alaina's favorite part of Christmas was being with the family, especially having dad home from work for several days in a row. She loved going to grandma and grandpa's house for Christmas dinners. YUM! (2 sets of grandparents in town = 2 Christmas dinners) Her all time favorite gifts this year were the teeter totter from Mom and Dad and the Hannah Montana Make-up kit from Hailey.  

Ky loved the present his brother Kase gave to him this year. His very own ATM machine to deposit his money and make withdraws when needed. So his favorite part about Christmas morning was that he was the only kid in the family that got money in his stocking from Santa. He had never heard of Santa putting money in stockings before but sure was glad he had something to put into his new ATM machine. Ky said he loved going to grandma and grandpa's house to play with cousins and loved the scavenger hunt that Bryce and Drew sent them on to find their present. Ky got a BB gun, and a remote control car that drives on the walls and ceiling, that he thought were super cool.

Hailey's favorite part about Christmas this year was playing in the snow. She loved the time she got to play with her cousins on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She also loved playing "secret santa" to a needy family in our community this year. Especially the part where the family got to wrap all of the presents for them. She sure got into the spirit of giving this year because another of her Christmas favorites was buying and making presents for her own family. Hailey says her favorite present this year was her huge stamp collection that she got from the Bruns Family.  

Kase's favorite part of Christmas was giving Ky his present. He had a hard time not spilling the beans and telling Ky what he got for him, but he made it and Ky loved it. Kase also loved playing games with the family on Christmas and during Christmas break. A few of his favorite presents were the Teeter Totter, Walkie Talkies, and a book that has his face and name digitally put in it. Spongebob Squarepants meets Detective Kase! Super Cool. 

Hudson loves stockings! Or should I say the GUM and CANDY that come in stockings! He thought that he hit the jackpot when he unrolled his whole roll of bubble tape and shoved it in his mouth. Hudson had fun playing, playing and a little more playing this Christmas. His favorite things were the teeter toter, everything Elmo, and a little bike.

Although the kids got plenty of toys from aunts and uncles and grandparents, Dan and I tried to focus less on giving millions of toys, and focused instead on getting new games, books, and family type things that would help us enjoy more "together time". Board and card games, teeter totter, several books, etc. It was such a fun Christmas and so well received that we will most likely keep our Christmas's very similar. A couple of toys, but lots of family games and books!! We had a great season and hope you all did to. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Grandma Rose's Christmas Eve Brunch

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is going over to my Grandma Rose's house on Christmas Eve morning for our grand daughter brunch. My grandma started this tradition after my grandpa died and has carried it on each year ever since. She always makes us Swedish pancakes with strawberries, raspberries,  jams, whip cream, melted butter  and powdered sugar to roll up inside of them. Yummy! We also usually have orange julius, fruit salad, bacon, sausage or ham and cheese. 

Through the years as grandma's eye sight, hands, and body have deteriorated she has needed more and more help. It is sad to see her body stop working in so many of those simple ways, but I guess that is what we all have to go through at some point. So....because she can't prepare the meal like she used to, myself and a few of my sisters and cousins show up early to help make it happen. I love spending this special time with my grandma in the kitchen. She likes to sit on a chair in the middle of all of the hustle and bustle of the kitchen while we set the table, measure, stir, cook, chop, pour, and fry. Truly a fantastic bonding and memory making moment each year. 

As I arrived to the breakfast this morning I was overwhelmed with the deep love and appreciation I have for Her.  I am grateful for every minute that I get to spend with her. She is the last Grandma I have and happens to be one of my very favorites. I admire everything about her and I have always wanted to be just like her. Everyone has their heroes in life, and mine just happens to be this great woman. I love you Grandma!!

    

There are usually about 13 of us that are in town and can make it over to grandma's . This picture is just of a few of the early birds.

 (Me, Grandma Rose, Megan Pratt, Leslie Kelly, Brianna Monson, Megan Rose, and April Homer)

Opening gifts with Grandma and my sisters.

Grandma Rose with the giggles.

Not only do I get to spend time with my Grandma at this brunch but as a bonus I get to spend time with my sisters and cousins. As we have gotten older and our own families get bigger we spend less and less time together, but whenever we get together I am reminded at what an awesome extended family I have and what an amazing job each of them have done starting and raising their own families. I have so much admiration and respect for each of them for all that they have done with their lives and families.

I would love to see this tradition carry on with all of us granddaughters even after grandma is gone. We have always had a special connection as "Rose" grand daughters and I'm sure my grandma has a lot to do with the loyalty and connection that we have with each other.

Anyway, THANKS GRANDMA for such a fun and rewarding tradition, and thanks to all my sisters and cousins that come and support the event each year. I love it, and love you all!

Borgen Christmas Party turns tragic with Grandma's unexpected passing

Our Borgen family Christmas party happened on the Saturday before Christmas this year. December 20, 2008. You know the routine.....every extended relative come from far and wide to spend 3-5 hours eating food, playing games, telling stories, and enjoying the infamous traditions of a Christmas get together as a way of celebrating each holiday season. 

This years Christmas party started out as merry as any ever had, but before the evening was over...EVERYTHING CHANGED. 

Food was first. And the table conversations revolved around getting caught up on each others busy happenings of the past 12 months, as well as plenty of jokes and fun stories. Games were next. The kids went to the shop where they had plenty of room to run, watch movies, play ping pong, darts and much more. Adults stayed close to the living room and kitchen area enjoying more conversation, dessert, a fun Christmas trivia game, and a family movie with all of our pictures from this year in it. (Made by my Aunt Kathy) 

Grandma and Grandpa Borgen were right in the middle of the fun and everyone seemed to be doing well. 

As the evening wore on and the hour grew late, families began to pack up and go home. After a few cars had pulled away, grandpa started up his car to warm it for grandma and to wipe the fresh snow off the windshield in preparation for the drive home. 

Well, this is where things began going down hill. Grandma has been a walking time bomb as it relates to her health. Her heart is really bad. Her lungs are shot. She is on Oxygen and has been advised by her doctors to keep a VERY light load on her shoulders. By very light load, I mean, be careful and slow and take as many breaks as you need to even walking from one room to another within her own home. 

Well, she trucked out through the snow filled sky, out to their car, and after settling into her seat, her body decided to quit working on her. She tipped her head back, stopped breathing, and the panic of Grandpa and Aunt Kathy (the one helping grandma buckle into her seat) began. 

We were inside, wondering what was taking so long for Kathy to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, and out of curiosity I went walking to the window to see what they were doing. My cousin Shelley was already there looking out and she said she thought something was wrong. I went to the front door. By the time I got to the door Kathy was running in shouting for someone to call 911. I raced to the car and following me were the rest of the aunts, uncles and cousins that still remained at the party. 

Grandpa just kept shaking her telling her to wake up and by the time I got to the car it was obvious she was gone. I took her pulse and confirmed my thoughts. In a mad rush we flopped her out of the car and into the house. 4 of us granddaughters began CPR. 

I won't go into detail about the kind of experience this was, but for those of you who have gone through this you know what kind of a scene I am talking about. For those who have not, I hope you never have to. 

However, let me say this....In the blur of the moment, and through all the adrinaline and racing thoughts, I do remember vividly thinking thoughts like:

"If this is it, what was the last thing I said to her tonight"

"Did I give her a hug and kiss good bye"

"How many moments did I stop and focus on my conversations with her tonight"

"Did I have all my kids give her hugs and visit with her"

"I wish I would have taken more pictures with her and of her with my children"

" I am so grateful for the loving, unexpected phone call I recieved from her last week"

"I am really glad that I brought her a drink tonight, gave up my seat to her, and found her purse for her when she needed it" 

"I am so grateful I chose to sit by her tonight during our family game"

It is amazing what thoughts become really important to you when you realize you are losing or have just lost someone really important to you. You don't think about the last gifts you just exchanged, or the differences you may have had. You instantly think of the love, the regrets, the relationship issues that revolve around the question - Did she REALLY know how I felt about her, or did I miss my opportunity to share that with her. 

anyway...

The medics arrived and took over. Although her heart had stopped, she was resuscitated and her heart began to beat again. BUT, her lungs refused to breath on their own. The respirator she was hooked up to was the only thing keeping her alive at this point. 

Dan and Gary had whisked ALL the children out to the shop so fast that none of them had to witness any of these events. So after grandma was taken in the ambulance we all recovered our children, sent them home with our husbands and went to the hospital ourselves to see how the night would play out. 

It was at the hospital that the doctors told us they were quite certain that once they take her off the respirator she would most likely not sustain her life on her own. However, they offered that we try one last option to see how much life or brain activity she really had. To do this, they cooled her body into a hypothermia and rewarmed her over the next 36 hours. At that point, they would run a couple of tests on her and give us their final opinion. 

This gave all the family, especially Grandpa, some much needed time to process what was happening, rather than to just loose grandma the way we almost did at the Christmas party. 

When the treatment was completed and the tests were run, the docs confirmed what they had told us that first night. Grandma was not going to live on her own. 

The family arranged to meet at the hospital Monday to say our last good byes and to take her off of the respirator. As you can imagine, a moment like this carries with it millions of emotions and thoughts. All of which were racing through my mind and body all day. 

A few things that I loved about the way everything was happening is that when we came to her bedside on Monday, she looked so much better than the way she looked as we were desperately trying to revive her Saturday night. We had time to surround her, have a family prayer around her, hold each other, and send her off with a little more fore thought and preparation.

This was so much better for all of us to see her go under today's circumstances than to loose her in an unexpected flash at our Christmas party.

However, the hardest part of going through this is the sad emotions that always accompany the death of a loved one. And, that it felt like we had lost her twice, once the night of our Christmas party and then again today. It is sad to watch grandpa most of all. My heart always breaks most for the spouse that is left living. I quietly imagine what they must be feeling or going through and can hardly wrap my heart around it. 

I love her to pieces. I love grandpa to pieces as well. I pray that God keeps him and my extended family comforted through this heartache. 

The Nativity Song

The kids were asked to sing at Church, in sacrament meeting for Christmas. They were scheduled to sing with 5 other kids and a little girl who was going to do a violin duet with the piano accompaniment. Our kids heard the song for the first time last week and made it their mission this week to memorize the song. They went to bed last night very excited to sing in Church today but this morning brought some bad news. Church has been cancelled due to extreme snow/winter road conditions. They were a little BUMMED to say the least.

I decided to grab the video camera and allow them to perform, despite not having an audience. Now at least grandma and grandpa can enjoy it from the comfort of their own living rooms.
Great Job Guys!

The filming of "The Ostler Family Nativity Video"

Today was the filming of the Ostler family Nativity video. 

It's always lots of fun to make and awesome to watch on Christmas Eve together as a family. These videos are always funny because the actors range, in age, from 9 months to 9 years old, which of course has "America's funniest home videos" written all over it. Especially if you watch the un-edited version. As you can see by the pics, the costumes are very home made and practically scotch taped together, which of course adds to the humor of it all. 

But, by the time David edits it, and gets a music sound track laid over it, adds the narration, which is the reading of the nativity as told in the new testament, the video always ends up being spiritually uplifting and touching. These videos will be something to treasure through the years.

This years film Stars: Kylie as Mary, Kaden as Joseph, Eli as the Shepherd, Alaina, Ky and Kase as the Wise Guys, Hailey as the Angel, Hudson, Eddie, Johnny and Tiancum as Sheep and Nickey as a horse.

Alaina also plays "Mary's Ride" (A Donkey)

Besides being a Wise man, Ky also ran the Holiday Inn.

Kase also had fun playing the Inn keeper of the Comfort Inn.

Can't wait to do this again next year!

Santa's "Wood "shop

Ky has been working really hard lately to pass off goals in his Cub Scout book. A few of the goals had to do with building things out of wood. So far, Dan has helped Ky build... book ends, a recipe card holder and tonight they built these stilts. Ky has a lot of fun being out in the garage with his Dad and of course LOVES using all of those manly tools. (Insert Tim the Tool Man's grunts here) :)

Ky loves the new stilts! They are a lot more fun to play with than book ends or a recipe card holder. He has been walking around the house all night trying to master them.

After seeing how much fun Ky was having building things with Dad, Alaina asked for her turn to build something cool with Dad and his tools. She chose to build a birdhouse and this is their creation. She is super excited to paint it and put it outside for a whole family of birds to live in.

I'm glad to have a husband who is willing to spend time with our kids doing the things that THEY enjoy, and think is fun. He is always so patient with all of them and a great teacher too. The kids always have fun with their dad whether it is playing a game, going to the park, or doing chores and yard work. He's just a great Dad! I am so grateful to have him as my partner and to be able to learn from his awesome example daily.

Our first Snow of the season...Brrrrrrrrr!

I love the snow. It's the Zero Degree Temperatures that accompanied this years snow that turned me off. The kids were super excited to finally get their snow gear out and have some fun in it though. Normally they would play outside in the snow for hours but with how cold and windy it is this week the kids only make it about 30 minutes before coming back indoors. Kase came inside today saying, "my face is burning, I think I have a frost bite!"

The kids have been begging me to take them sledding, but with them only being able to stand 15 minutes of the freezing temperatures, it seems like so much work to get everyone all bundled up and drive to a sledding hill when we will be turning right around and coming home after 2 times down the hill.

So I had an idea! Why not make a sledding run in our own backyard??

I piled snow on my deck and a small picnic table and Viola!! Who needs White Pass or Leavenworth when you have a mothers creative genius. (or as some might call it... laziness)

Alright, so the ride was short lived from the top to the bottom, but the kids got a kick out of it and it allowed for me to enjoy the festivities from the comfort of my cozy warm home. 

The baby and I watched from indoors while the kids rotated from indoors to outdoors, thawing themselves out every 1/2 hour or so. 

Hudson spent most of his time watching them out the window.

This is him saying, 

"OUT... A-SIDE... SNOW"

(Repeated 9,364,729,894,157 times)

And this is Hudson saying,

MOM...HELP...STUCK

(Repeated another gazillion times)

Once this freezing, snowy couple of weeks is behind us, we will definitely need to replenish our supply of hot chocolate and marshmellows :)

Attn: 4 year old TriCities boy threatens to put Office Max out of business

So I walked into the office today to see Kase standing at my printer/copier. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Just making some copies." The kids are always bringing something in to copy so I didn't think twice about it.

The kids are fascinated with that thing. When they first discovered how to work it, they used it to duplicate their drawings so that they would only have to draw one picture and make copies to give to each member of the family their own copy.

Then they figured out that they could copy just about anything in the house. Toys, underwear, gloves, keys, hands, face, money, etc. Hours of fun for the kids and a very spendy ink and paper bill for mom and dad.

So back to Kase. I sit down at my computer to start on some work and I notice that the copies just keep coming and coming. I ask him, "Hey Kase, what are you copying?" He says, "Paper." I look over to see blank sheets of paper being printed out of the printer. I asked him, " Why are you copying a blank piece of paper?" and his reply was, "We were running out of paper, so I'm making you some more." He lifts up his copies to show me that we are now down to only 2 pieces of paper. He shows me the new paper he has just created and he tells me, " For some reason they all have a black line at the top. Do you like that kind of paper?"

I couldn't help but laugh out loud. HE'S A GENIUS I thought. Why didn't I think of that before. And all this time I was going to Office Max to get more paper when all I had to do was print more.

It was so cute! He seemed so proud of himself for making mom some more paper and probably thinks that all of us adults are a little slow that we haven't thought of that before. I could just see his chest puff up and head held high as he waited for a big "thank you" from me.

Now that we have let the secret out...Let's see how long Office Max can stay in business. :)

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

So my kid is in love with Sugar Cookies!

Some youth from our church dropped off some frosted Christmas sugar cookies last night and the challenge of keeping them out of the kids reach began immediately.

3 attempts have been made by Hudson today in his quest for this sweet, delicious, sugary substance. (And the day is only a few hours old)

Attempt #1

While I was on the phone in my office, Hudson pulled a chair over to the counter to reach the plate of frosted sugar cookies sitting just out of his reach. Caught him just before he could get one into his mouth.

Attempt #2

I moved the cookies to the top of the microwave which I new he would have no way to reach them now, then headed back to my bedroom to get dressed. Kase came running into my room screaming, "Hudson is going to fall, he's stuck up on the counter!"

Sneaky little devil.

K, so the cookies went in the garbage and are now out on the curb.

Problem solved. Or was it?

Attempt #3

Last night at our Young Women's craft night we frosted Christmas Sugar Cookies. At the end of the night I dropped all of the extra frosting and supplies in a box and brought it home, then set it on my counter to unload later.

Well Hudson must have a nose like a hound dog because he sniffed that box right out, climbed up on the kitchen table, snagged the color frosting of his choice (red) and began to feast.

If you'll notice he started with his fingers first, but must have noticed what a mess it was making and decided to remove the middle man (his fingers) and just go straight from frosting tub to mouth.

I can't imagine where his love of frosting comes from??? :)

(Let me just say, it's not Dan.)

So...I've had enough frosting patrol for one morning. Is it nap time yet?

Young Women Craft Night

My assignment/responsibility at church right now is to work with the young women of our ward. (We have 31 girls ranging from ages 12-18.)

Last night I was in charge of a little craft night for the girls. We made magnet boards with next years young women "theme" written on them. They were lots of fun to make, turned out super cute, and only took an hour and a half to finish. 

Here's a few examples...

While the paint was drying on their boards, the girls moved to other tables to make their magnets, frost sugar cookies, and make Christmas chains.

It took hours and hours to get the project ready to go for tonight, but all of the preparation and hauling of supplies was worth seeing the girls have such a fun night. 

I love serving these girls!

I wasn't alone in the preparation though. Thank goodness!

To All the other leaders who helped pull this event off... THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Christmas Cards in the mail, CHECK!

Just got the Christmas cards in the mail.

One more thing I can check off my long list of things to do this week.

I helped my Mom and Dad with their Christmas Card this year also, so our great family picture wouldn't go to waste. It isn't very often our whole family is all together for a nice family picture like this, so I thought for sure they should send some out this year.

Damon, with Realife Photography, always does a great job on our pictures.

I can't imagine ever using anyone else. I guess unless he gets sick of us, which wouldn't be hard because I love me some pictures:)

Happy 29th Birthday Leslie!

A few of our FAVORITE things...

I asked the kids what their favorite things to do around Christmas time were, and here's what they came up with...

On the top of their list was playing in the snow

Because it snows very little here the kids enjoy every inch we get.

They love to...

Make Snowballs, Snow angels, Snowmen, and Igloos.

Getting pulled behind Dad's truck.

(We probably won't be attempting this one this year. 

Our family can only afford one big accident a year :) 

Skiing!!!

Sledding and inner tubing.

Our family goes to Leavenworth each year, for inner tubing with the kids. The nice thing about this hill is the tow rope. At least for us parents who get tired after one trip to the top, hauling 5 kids and 7 tubes. Hooray for tow ropes!

You just hook your tube up to the tow rope, sit back and enjoy the ride to the top. 

And as you know, once at the top it's all down hill from there.

While in Leavenworth we usually walk through the little village shops, 

have lunch and dinner, and see their awesome Christmas lights. 

( Leavenworth is a couple hours away. Fun day trip if you've never been.)

The kids love looking at Christmas Lights

We usually go up to Christmas carol lane and then hit some other houses around town, but their all time favorite lights are at Senske Lawn and Tree Care. They deck out their building and all of their trees with over 70,000 lights. Then the lights flash on and off and change colors in sync with Christams music. You just tune your car radio into 101.7 to listen. Senske does this daily from 5pm-midnight. Lots of fun!

(Here's a video of one song, but it's much better in person) 

(Turn off the music at the bottom of my blog before watching video)

The kids also like to check in on what Santa is up to

They go to emailsanta.com or northpole.com to check in on Santa and see what's going on at the North Pole. They check out his naughty or nice list. They can email Santa a letter and Santa will email a personalized letter back instantly. They especially love to check these sites out on Christmas Eve to see where in the world Santa is and where he is headed next.

Going to Steve's Cabin

The kids would choose to go to Steve's cabin over a trip to Disneyland or Hawaii. 

Crazy I know, but they love it that much.

Acting out the Nativity Story is another favorite

A couple of years ago David and Linda Bruns (my brother and sister in law) video taped all the cousins acting out the nativity with costumes, narration, music and the whole works. It was fun enough, and FUNNY enough that it happened again the next year. I think now it has turned into sort of a tradition that the kids look forward to, and that we parents get a kick out of. We usually all sit around on Christmas Eve to watch the video production together.

And last but not least, they love turning themselves into Elves

(Before watching this video, scroll to the very bottom of my blog

and turn off the music.)

K, so the kids aren't the only ones who enjoy being elves!

Yes, these elves are actually Dan and I.

It's a hard-knock life... for a 2 year old.

Life can be tough on a 2 year old. Sometimes at the end of a long hard day you just want to kick up your feet, and have a little time to yourself, to relax and unwind.

I got this foot massager a few years ago for my birthday. I had it out last night because my legs and feet were KILLING me, after a long hard day.

It was still out in the living room today, and I couldn't keep Hudson away from it. I think he just needed a little pampering too. You know, with all of the pressure, stresses and demands that are place on a 2 year old these days.

It was funny when I caught him using it for the first time, sitting up there on the couch with his little feet dangling down. He was fascinated by all of the vibrating, rolling and squeezing. He would stick his feet in for a while, then his hands, then checked to see if his toys liked it too.

I don't get this foot massager out very much, so I have often wondered if it was a very good investment. Today that question was answered... It was a great investment and will pay for itself 10 times over. Not only does it massage your legs and feet.

It babysits and entertains kids.

It kept Hudson entertained all day. And that's priceless!