Maughan Family Christmas

For Christmas this year, we got stuff for a little boy who was so in need. It was fun to wrap for him and then we sang some carols. The kids had such a great time playing with their cousins. Mallory and Annalee shared their chew toys so nicely :)

Eating Snails! Yuck! She ate two...as if one wasn't enough! But Caleb...he ate seven. Definately not a product of me!

Trying on Clip on earings! Courtesy of Great Grandma Maughan

The Lights at Temple Square

After the 50th anniversary party, I really wanted to see the lights at Temple Square. Noah and Max would not cave in and give me the ONLY thing I wanted for Christmas. They stayed at grandma's with Annalee. Matt and Porter, Jessica, Hattie and Spencer came along though. We all piled into the Suburban and off we went!

When we got there though, Salt Lake City was crazy! There were so many people! And we all know just how much Ryan loves a crowd! Needless to say, he dropped us off and drove around with Sam while we all jumped out in the middle of the street!

First stop was, of course, the POTTY!
I totally took for granted the ability to be at Temple Square in 20 minutes when we lived here.

It really is true, that when you can't have something everyday, you treasure it more when you actually get to see it again!

The girls were so excited to see the castle! and play on the stairs of the beautiful palace!


There is just something so magical about Temple Square at Christmas time! I love it! The lights are amazing, but the feeling is so awesome!
The crew!

This picture doesn't do it justice! Every single branch on the trees were covered with lights, even the tiny ones! So much work. Loved that we got to go!

50 Years!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful parents! 50 years...that is no small feat!

What wonderful examples to me they have been. Examples of faith, hope, endurance, perseverance, kindness, unconditional love, kindness, charity, and unselfishness. Not to mention how to stretch a dollar, make it do, and raise a family on a small income!

Love you mom and dad! Thank you for being who you are!
We had a small gathering for them! All my family was able to come, except my youngest sister Meredith! We missed her!

Spencer, Porter, Max!

Hattie, Greyson, Emma

Sisters

Addy

Cami, Sam

Maria, Caleb

My dad and his two sisters!

Mara and Mike!

Annalee and Chloe

Emma and Mallory!

So grateful all could make it! It was a good day!

Christmas Program

This is an all day event for us. When your kindergartener starts at 9:30 and your sixth grader doesn't end until 1:30, it makes for a long day. But the kids did awesome, and it was so fun to see them. Max had a funny part that he had to speak. He was so nervous...I could tell, but he did really well. Right after they were done, we took off for Utah.

Christmas {C}ard

Because we can't always be serious!

Merry Christmas from the Crazy Arkoudas’ 2011
*Ryan *Melanie *Sam *Noah *Caleb *Max *Mara *Emma *Annalee

This year was full of tons of changes and exciting times!
Sam played basketball for the first time this year and loves it. He was recently diagnosed with juvenille arthritis, but has such a great attitude and has learned to eat things that don’t cause flare-ups. He will be 14 and advanced to a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood the 19th of this month.

Noah is in the sixth grade, and received the Aaronic Priesthood this summer. He is enjoying going to mutual with Sam and dad, and finally found his smile. He and Caleb want to raise a sheep this year for 4-H in addition to their pigs, so our farm will have baby lambs this spring.

Caleb will be 10 in January. He is still our animal lover and this summer, when we found a gopher in our garage and the older boys caught it under a bucket, he freed it when the boys left to find something to kill it with. He is still about the same size as Max, and is hoping for a growth spurt anyday. He was my goat man all summer and he has the most promise for being able to actually milk them for me.

Max’s smile is permant and infectious. He is 8 and got baptized this year, the day before Noah got the priesthood. It was an eventful September. He is in 2nd grade and loving it. He finally, FINALLY! got the hang of reading and has taken off with a zoom! He has lost 3 teeth this last week and we wonder if he will be able to eat anything at Christmas. He is looking forward to raising a pig this year with the older boys.

Mara, 5, started kindergarten this year, much to my dismay. She thinks she is as big as the boys and is still the little mother. She is quite the helper with Annalee and carries her all over. She has amazed me at how fast she learned to write and read. She is mine and Ryan’s shadow, and I love it.

Emma, 3, is our chatter box! She never stops talking. My adaptation skills have allowed me to ignore her, so often I hear her say “Mom, Mom, are you listening to me?” She is amazing at what she thinks about and how in tune she is with all that goes on in our family and what she picks up. I hear her repeat things others have said that I had no idea she was even listening to. She tries to pick up Annalee too, and I am constantly telling her to “leave the baby alone.”

Annalee was born in May, just 5 days after my mom and dad got home from their mission. She is the only one, other than Sam who went to their due date. She must have been waiting for grandma. She was born at home and it was the most amazing experience. She has brought such a calm, loving influence into our home. She has her daddy wrapped right around her little finger, and is surrounded by constant smiles and loves. I don’t know if there has ever been a baby as loved as her. She is so calm and happy all the time! Often I am asked if she ever cries and I have to say…what is there to cry about? She is always held, fed, and changed. There is always someone to entertain her. But she is just a content little soul.

Ryan was made scout master in additon to his responsibilities as first councilor in the bishopric. He took all the boys to Melita Island Boy Scout camp. Sam and Noah got to go and they all LOVED it. Ryan was also made manager over the weed department, so he now is in charge of all the weeds and mosquitos in Cascade County.

I am loving the slowness this year has brought. I love being a mom, and seeing these kids grow and change.
At the end of January 2012 we will have lived here in Montana longer than anywhere else our entire married life. I wonder what this year holds. We love our land here in Great Falls, the animals, and the responsibility it teaches our children.

We are continually in awe at how much we are blessed by our Heavenly Father. We don’t feel like we deserve the abundance of blessings we receive but are so grateful for them. We hope this Christmas season finds you happy and safe. We love you all and are so grateful for your influence in our lives.

Annalee's 1st Christmas!

Rosetta Stone

In ECS Noah get to learn a new language. He chose Irish, since no one else did. Does that make sense? He picked a language that no one else wants to learn? He's quirky like that. anywhoo, he practices at home and it is really funny to listen to. The other night he was up late practicing and I snuck around the corner to video him. He is just Awesome!

Ward Christmas Party

{CHRISTmas} Devotional

Tonight we got invited over to the Diede's to watch the First Presidency's Christmas devotional. We were excited that we would get to watch it sitting on comfortable couches instead of hard chairs crammed around a computer. (We don't have cable and thus have no T.V. A thing I love except at conference and Christmas devotional time)
The Diede's made us popcorn and we took cookies and I loved the messages this year.
I loved how President Uchdorf said: "The Lord does not require us to move mountains, but he does expect us to walk forward one step at a time to climb the mountain."
Those words really hit home hard for me. I am continually amazed at how mountains appear in my path and they seem impossible to climb, but with prayer and with constant movement in a forward direction; even if that movement is a hairs breadth, I somehow seem to find myself on the other side of the mountain looking back. That look back is always with eyes of understanding, and wisdom, relief that that trial is over and often with joy at the learning and great wisdom that I have received. Now don't get me wrong, those climbs sometimes are more than I can bear. Some of them are flat out gut wrenching, and not enjoyable in the least. There have been times that I have truly wondered if the Lord had heard my prayers, or if he was even mindful of me. There are trials that I am facing that I wonder why guidence was not given to me so that I could avoid the struggle, but really that questioning is so short lived(though it is awful in it's fullness) Because I truly know that the Lord is mindful of me, and that at times, I am lifted on wings of angels. Often those angels are those that know me best and lift me with a kind word, a smile or a hug. I know where my strength lies, and like I always say...whatever I have to go through to get me where I want to be in the end, well then it will be worth it.

I have never like the saying..."I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it." It has never seemed right to me somehow. Especially when sided next to "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." When I take a second to look with an eternal perspective, it is easy, and all things are possible.

{Tree's Up}

Oh how I wanted to venture up to the mountains for a fresh one this year, but I wanted more to have the tree up this week instead of waiting for the weekend, so we pulled out ol reliable.
Thing is, he's not so reliable anymore. The lights were glitchy, some came on, some didn't, then they switched midstream what would work and what wouldn't.

Emma, played in the box.

Caleb pretended to be a tree.

The girls were thrilled with the excitement! Especially Annalee. Her first Christmas!

We even got the train set up around the tree!

Max was playing a game with Annalee. He would drop the santa hat on her head, and in less than a second she would have it pulled off. He was giggling so hard! We tried to capture her with the hat actually on her, but this was the closest we got. She is QUICK!

Here....we got her in the Elf Hat though!