The Bredensteiners: December 2008

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Family Christmas Newsletter (preview)

Every year I write a newsletter for my friends and family that live far away. I do have some friends that I don't send it too and my friends here don't get to see it so I decided to post it. Those of you who normally get it in the mail- it is coming soon so you don't have to strain your eyes to read it here. Just a tradition that I enjoy!

Christmas Time

I love Christmas time! Here are some things that we have been up to:

Picking out a Christmas tree with the Higgins at a tree farm in Redmond.
I think it took the Higgins half the time to find the "perfect tree" that it took us (this is a very serious endeavor for me).

Chopping down the tree with dad.

Of course, candycanes were there.

On a hayride.

Presenting- The Bredensteiner Christmas tree 2008!

Ta-Da!!! All decorated with a cute crooked look.

Clay and Ephraim were in a live Nativity this year that was presented at our ward Christmas party. Clay was the first innkeeper; when Mary and Joseph knocked on the door at his inn, he said, "No, this Inn is full!" He did a great job and wasn't nervous at all. Ephraim was a shepherd (Clay also joined the shepherds) and had no speaking lines, but they both sang all the songs which were so cute! At one point Ephraim had his stuffed sheep "skewered" at the end of his walking stick, roasting it over the "fire"...I'm pretty sure even if the shepherd's were hungry that they didn't do that...sigh, little boys.

"No, this Inn is full!"

My cute little shepherd.

Jon and I went on a double date with our good friends the Withers to a ceramic painting place. We had so much fun! We happened to come on date night so they gave us a couple of roses, some sparkling cider and a big piece of chocolate cake. Below is my creation, so cute huh (Jon's turned out great too but his is a present so I can't put a pic up)!? We had such a great time.

Snow is falling all around, on the housetops, on the ground, snow is falling on my nose, on my head and hands and toes!

Finally, our winter is hear. I have to say I prefer the white snowy day to the dreary rainy day! My boys have enjoyed a little bit of snow time. They love to eat the snow and today I think we will go make a snowman!

(On the negative side of snow, I wrecked my van last night! I was going down a slight incline and my van tires couldn't get traction to slow with my brakes so I slid into a huge mound of dirt and got stuck. I cracked and dented my front bumper (AGAIN!). Luckily, a lot of very nice men stopped to help. The man who finally towed my van off of the dirt with an old rope and a tow hitched to his truck, told me that he had seen me on his way home and thought, "Look some idiot got themselves stuck" and as he drove on he said God told him to come back and help that idiot, so he went home, got his tow hitch and rope and came back to help me- he said for me to thank God- so I DID!!! I'm so glad we hit a mound of dirt and not another car!)

We are headed to California for a warm Christmas with my family this weekend- we can't wait! We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

The Bredensteiners

Funny Things my Kids Say

Eph: When we both grow up and live next to eachother maybe when your mother (wife) leaves and my mother (wife) leaves I can sneak up and go to your house and we can play. Clay: Adults don't play and it's not your mom it's your wife.
Mom: Ouch, my foot is really hurting! Kai: You're still alive Momma.
Kai and I were going back and forth with the,"I love you to the moon, I love you to the sun, etc." I said, "I love you to Venus" and Kai responded, "I love you to the penis"...LOL!
Clay: Ephraim, why do you always copy me? Ephraim: Because I love ya.
Kai was playing with his train the other day and I overheard him saying, "You can do it Thomas" and of course I was thinking Thomas the kid's engine, and then I heard him say, " You can do it, Thomas Monson"...LOL!
Kai always sleeps in my bed. One day I asked him why he didn't like his bed and he said,"It's too fluffy."
Whenever asked any question from "What is your name?" to "What do you want to do today?", Kai always responds with "Quesadilla".
Kai spent a couple months calling everyone "boob-butt" (boob was taken from the recent Horton Hears a Who movie).
When Kai wants to be picked up he says, "Grab me".
All my boys sing the song Paradise City by Guns N' Roses...embarassing.
When you ask Kai his name he says "Coc-head"- he means coconut head.
In between Conference sessions they played the movie "The Other side of Heaven" and during the scene where the rats are chewing on his feet Kai yells, "Wake up Dude!"
Ephraim says' That's ridiculous!"
When I ask Kai anything he shakes his head violently and says, "No-no!"
Clay told me that he was making funny faces in his class and that the girls were laughing. I asked him if the boys laughed too; he said, "no, they got mad". He told me he likes girls better then boys because they're "pretty". Oh boy!
Clay had some food stuck in his throat and I told him to drink some water to wash it down. He said, "I think I need to use a screw to get it out"- OUCH!
I told Clay that if he ate all his veggies he would be big and strong like his daddy. He said, " Well, that's not strong enough".
Clay turned to me after a meal and said, "Thanks for making dinner Mom". Then he turned to Jon and said, "Thanks, Dad". Jon responded a bit surprised, "What for, I didn't do anything?" Clay replied, "For working". WOW!
Josh came over and was checking out our pear tree in the front yard and Clay put his face up real close to him and said, "Jesus made the pears, Uncle Josh." Josh said he felt like he was in church! HA HA
Clay was being a stinker and I told him to "please be more obedient Clayton Ryan" and he responded, "I'm not Clayton I'm Nephi" and my mom told him that Nephi would be obedient to his parents. So, after some thought he replied, "Oh, I'm not Nephi".
When they don't like a food the boys say its too "spicy".
When something is too hard for the boys to do they say its too "heavy".
My boys both say, "I don't want that ever ever again, so there!"
Clay informed me the other day that he also liked Momma's milk (like baby Kai). I told him that he drank cow's milk like Mommy and Daddy and after a moments thought he said "No, I just drink seahorse milk!"