A Christmas Loss

*Day 29*

This Christmas a sad thing happened. I lost a pair of very special socks. I got this pair of Christmas socks for my 18th birthday. (Yes, I know that was a long time ago.) It was my first pair of Christmas socks. On my 18th birthday I was in California with the cross country team. We went to Fresno to run at the Foot Locker Cross Country Western Regionals. If you didn't know me then, I will tell you that I was a little obsessed with running. Pretty much everything revolved around it. I was excited to be able to finally run at nationals. The race was the day after my birthday. So, for my birthday, my teammates gave me some socks. They were Christmas socks, because my birthday is in December. Well, I decided to wear my new socks for my race the next day. I ran a good race. I ended up 4th place, which was much better than I ever expected to do in that crowd. So, these socks became my lucky socks. Over the years, I wore them in many races. Then when I stopped running, they just became part of my collection of holiday socks. But, this year when I put them on, they ripped a hole in the toe. It was sad to say goodbye to my lucky socks. RIP lucky Christmas socks.


This is me getting my medal at the race. (I'm in the purple shirt.)

When Kristy Met Matt

*Day 28*

Today is our 12 year anniversary. Yes, we've been married for 12 years. Sometimes it seems really short, sometimes it feels like it's been forever. (Not in a bad way.) In honor of our anniversary I'm going to tell the story (my version) of when I met Matt for the very first time.

I was going to Utah State University. I lived in Old Farm with awesome roommates. One of my roommates was helping this guy (Dammond)run for service V.P. She wanted us to help on his campaign. There were also other people and some of Dammonds friends working on the campaign. My roommate was the the campaign manager. She was having a meeting with the volunteers at our apartment. I didn't go to the meeting because I was at the library. I was studying for a big test I had the next day. Being prepared for this test was my main concern at that time. I got home kind of late and ready for bed. When I got there, there were still some people from the meeting there. Matt and his friend Lared were friends of Dammonds and were there to help with the campaign. They were sitting on the piano bench when I came in. My roommate introduced me to them, and them to me. I said, "Hi," and I went upstairs to bed. That was the very first time I met Matt. I must have been very impressive.


This is our engagement picture. It's amazing how young and small we are. I really didn't think I changes that much. It's also not the picture I wanted to post today, but due to computer issues, it's what you get. (I feel your pain Andrea.)

I Do Love Logan

*Day 27*

I went through Logan's baby pictures, found one to remind myself that he is cute. After today, going on next to no sleep, with a headache, and generally feeling not great, I needed that reminder.

This picture is one of his first smiles. They were harder to get in pictures back then because it was before we went digital and could see our pictures before they were printed off. He's about two and half months old.

Grandma Anderson

*Day 26*


Today would be my Grandma's birthday. She was a great lady, and a good example. She raised her seven kids by herself, and did an amazing job. She was aways busy doing something because she was a hard worker. She lived by the saying "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." She used a lot of things to make crafts and did a lot of quilting. For our 14th birthday, we would get pillowcases that she had embroidered. At 16 I got a quilt she made. She made an afghan for us when we graduated high school and a quilt for our weddings. Every Christmas she would give all of us a homemade ornament. And I have other things that she had made. A jewelry box, necklace, dolls. I treasure the things that I have from her. I also treasure the memories I have of her and the hard working lady she was. I hope that I could be the kind of woman she was.

One of my favorite memories was at her funeral. I guess it wasn't really a memory of her, just about her. After the graveside service, the pall bearers were putting their boutonnieres on the casket. Before my Uncle Curtis put his down he took out the pin and said, "You better keep the pins, mom would need them something." It rang so true. Never throw anything out if you could use it. And those were nice, big pins, they could definitely be used for something.

The Gift That Changed Blogging

*Day 25*
Matt came up with the idea to blog every day for a year. Then he challenged others to join him. I took that challenge. So, we've been using our computer a little more than normal lately. The problem with that is that it's cold were we live. Our house is usually cold. But, the computer room is freezing. The computer is in a room that was built onto this house, and it has no heat source in it. If you've been in here a while working on the computer, you can get very cold. I've had a very hard time getting through long posts because my fingers will go numb, and I can't type the right letters. Sometimes it stays that way because it takes too long to spell check, and I just need to get somewhere warm. If Matt comes out of here with his "cold mouse hand", you run, because you don't want to be touched by it. And he will chase you.

But, I got a gift for Christmas that might make blogging just a little bit nicer. I got a Snuggly. You've seen it on TV. The blanket that wraps around you, with arm holes so you can still read or whatever. It's home (as soon as I can get it off of Logan) is going to be the computer room. Maybe our blogs will get longer, and have less typing mistakes if we can stay warm.


This is Logan being a Jedi in my Snuggly. He calls it a snoogli.

Growing Up

*Day 24*


Around Logan's birthday each year we take some time to mark how tall he's getting on his growth chart. Last year he seemed to grow out of his clothes so fast. I think he's slowing down little this year. He's grown 3 inches since his birthday last year. He is now 4 foot 1 inch. I hope he keeps going and going. I'm not a big fan of buying clothes every other month, but it would be so cool if he could get a little bit tall.


His growth chart. A football for everytime we measure; birthday, summer and whenever Logan feels like playing with a marker.

Merry Christmas

*Day 23*


Opening Christmas presents when it is light outside is not something I was used to growing up. But, Logan is a kid who needs his sleep. And now I don't mind that he didn't get up on Christmas morning until 9:00. Except that I had been awake since the normal time wondering when he was going to wake up. He finally got up and got dressed, then came in to see if he could go downstairs and see if Santa came. He took so long to come back up stairs, I started wondering if he had started opening presents without us. So, I started to get up. Then he came up to report that Santa had come, and he turned on the Christmas lights. Then he told me that he sorted all of the presents for us.



The great thing about Logan is that he is just happy to get something. He's not real picky about what he wants. He'll take anything, and he'll probably end up liking it. Sure there's some things that he would really like, but he's really easy going about it.



It's been a good day to spend with family. Having fun, playing, relaxing, eating way too much junk. And Logan lost another tooth today. He finally just pulled it out at breakfast so he could eat.

Memories of Christmas Past.

*Day 22*


My mom would always tell us that we couldn't get up on Christmas morning until 6:00. My brothers were always up hours before that. They would have everything scoped out around the Christmas tree, and by the time they came and woke us to see, they could tell us exactly which gift was for who. Without looking at tags. But because we weren't supposed to be up, we thought we needed to be sneaky. We would spend weeks, whenever my parents were gone, trying to find ways to sneak up the stairs without them squeaking. We would try different things, and the person staked out in my parents bedroom would tell us if they heard us or not. But, by Christmas morning, it didn't matter. The boys would come wake us, we would go upstairs and look around. We would sit around tree for a while and watch the clock. And, at 5:00 we would decide it was close enough to 6:00 and send the little kids to wake mom and dad up.

One year, like a good mom will do, my mom had us cleaning our rooms on Christmas eve, with the threat that we couldn't open our presents if our rooms weren't clean. Well, Christmas morning we got up as usual and checked out the presents around the tree. Me and Renae and Sherry all had identical packages. What could it be? Well, me and Renae didn't get to find out. My mom came in and really sent us to our room to finish cleaning it before we could open our gifts. We sat in our room, cleaning, of course, and crying and complaining that we were cleaning yesterday, and Sherry told mom that we weren't and now Sherry got to open her presents and we couldn't. Well, we finished cleaning our room, and we did get to open our presents. But, Sherry already opened hers, so we both knew what we got. Magic Curl Barbie. (Just like Sherry.) And, I don't think it was quite the same to sit there and open our gifts by ourselves, without dad passing them around. I don't think my mom ever had a problem getting to clean for Christmas again.

Party on, Logan!

*Day 21*

I wasn't really looking forward to doing birthday parties. (I think I spend quite enough time with other peoples kids, thank you very much.) But, last year Logan had a birthday party. We told him we would do parties every other year. As his birthday approached this year, his friend asked Logan if he was going to invite him to his birthday. Logan said yes. Then me and Logan had a talk that resulted in Logan almost crying and me consenting to let a few friends come over and play on his birthday. Here is Logan's birthday party.


Logan wanted to do a craft project. We made Snowmen out of popsicle sticks. This is Jessica, Sam, Dax, Tabbitha, Thomas and Logan.


We played some games from my childhood. We blindfolded the kids and had them scoop cotton balls off the ground into a bowl. Jessica won that game. Then we tried to drop clothespins into a jar. Thomas wan that game.


Then, or course, we blew out candles and had cake and ice cream. The cake is supposed to be light sabers, but don't talk to me about the cake. It was a frustrating night.


Yes, that is Logan's tooth. He lost it while eating his cake. (The cake wasn't really that bad, his tooth was just that loose. But, he wants it to come out by itself. No one may touch it or help it.)


Gifts! The part everyone was most excited for. Logan got a lightsaber, some bakugon, color by number, and some puzzles.

The kids had fun, and it really wasn't so bad.

Happy Birthday Logan

*Day 20*

I don't know how 7 can sound so much older than 6. But, today, it does. Logan turned 7 today. But not until dinner time, he reminded me this morning at breakfast. It's been a great year with a lot of changes. Logan finished Kindergarten, which he loved. He started 1st grade. Where he has become very social. He loves to read, and is very good at it. Here are some of Logan's other favorites.

He loves cats. Every time he gets a wish that's what he wishes for. Then he tells me we will need a house so he can get his wish.



He is still an outdoor kid. Anything to do with climbing or digging, he loves.
He also loves to build.



This year he got pretty good at video games. I got so tired of hearing about Lego Star Wars, that I was almost glad when he misbehaved at school and I could ban it.



He is very interested in what goes on in the kitchen and loves to help cook and bake.

His favorite food is macaroni and cheese. At other times he will list salmon, stuffed peppers, chicken and rice, and cheeseburgers as his favorites.

His favorite colors this year have included gold and red. His current favorite is purple.

He seems interested in almost everything. He's very curious about the world around him. He likes to explore and discover.

He has quite a cute sense of humor. It's fun to see his personality develop.

He loves to play games. Board games, or card games, or ones he makes up. He likes to be with his family.

His favorite TV shows are Americas' Funniest Home Videos, and Phineas and Ferb.



He likes helping in the garden. (After all, it is outside.) This is the zucchini he grew. It took first prize for largest zucchini (youth division) at the Cache County Fair.



I love Logan. I love that he is still cuddly. He is thoughtful. I love that he likes to learn and explore. It helps me learn and explore. I love that he loves his family and loves to spend time with them. All of them, Grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, mom and dad. I (usually) like playing games with him. It's nice to have someone to go and explore trails with me, and drag me on adventures. It helps keep me feeling younger and appreciating the world and things we can do.

I'm glad you're here to help keep our lives exciting Logan. You're the best!

The Best Christmas Party Ever

*Day 19*




Christmastime. Busy for so many reasons. I guess I really wasn't worried about that when I planned to get married in the same month as my birthday, which is also the same month as Christmas. As it turned out, Matt's mom and grandma also have birthdays in December. That left Matt a lot to worry about in one month. So, I don't know why he wanted to curse it by saying, "As long as we don't have any kids in December..." Well, when the doctor told us I was due on Christmas day, I laughed. Logan wasn't born on Christmas, he came early enough that we could be home on Christmas. Logan was born on December 22, during the Breinholt Christmas party.

We went to church the morning Logan was born. I came home early because I wasn't feeling well. I was having contractions, but trying to time them was a joke. There was nothing regular about them. Besides I'd been having contractions for three days and nothing had happened. By this time, they were just getting annoying. I tried to sleep, but couldn't manage it. Finally, It was time to leave for our party. I remember I stood up to put my shoes on, and froze. I couldn't move. I heard the doctors voice in my head say, "If you have contractions hard enough to stop you in your tracks, go to the hospital." Matt asked if we should go to the hospital. I said we should go to my mom's and ask them what we should do. Besides, we had to go to the party because we had gifts for the little kids. They would be so disappointed if we they didn't get anything. Matt suggested we take my bag, just in case.

We got to my mom and dads'. My sister, Sherry, and her two boys saw us pull up and come out to help us carry our stuff in. I got out of the car, and froze again. Sherry (who had three children) looked at me and then pushed me back to the car and said, "Go to the hospital." I said something about gifts for the little ones, and went inside. I was inside long enough to get a blessing then we left. I had one more big contraction on the way to the hospital. I looked at my watch to try to figure out how far apart my contractions were. I knew they would ask when we got there. It was 3:56. (Remember this time.)

We walked into the hospital, and I told them I thought I was in labor. So, they took me in to check me. (That's what they told us in our classes they would do.) the nurse checked me. Then she said she was going to get a second opinion. I was wondering what was wrong. Another nurse came in and checked. She said, "It looks like a nine or ten." Well, I guess that's good. I was hoping for a 5 or 6. Then they snapped into action. They said they needed to get us to delivery before my water broke, and that someone should call the doctor so he could be there before the baby was born.

They got us into delivery. The nurse asked Matt if he had a camera. He said it was in the car. She told him he better go get it. While he was gone, he called my mom to let them know what was going on. Everything from then on, went fast. Nurses came in to have me sign papers between contractions. They had to draw blood, again between contractions. She barely finished that. I saw her look up at the monitor and panic. I hear that they have monitors that measure your contractions. I never got see to them. Logan came fast. My family finished dinner and was at the hospital to see him before the doctor finished fixing me up. Logan was born at 4:56. Less than an hour after we got to the hospital.

We got to take Logan home on Christmas Eve. They wrapped him in a stocking. Santa visited before we left and gave him a gift. I don't know how the rest of the Christmas party went. (The only one I ever missed.) But, I hope that it was as memorable for everyone else as it was for us.

Family Christmas

Day 18


Yesterday we got to go to my family Christmas party. I love spending time with my family. They are so great and so much fun. We had a really good time sharing food and laughs, some carols and the story of Jesus' birth. Of course, there is also the exchange of presents. I have to say that I think Logan got the most coveted gift. After he opened his present, and went of to test it, the room seemed to empty of children. They all followed after Logan to have a try too. Logan got a nerf gun. (Thanks Renae and Gregg.) It kept him busy so that we could have more time to visit with family. Today we had some contests to see who was a better aim. (I think dad was the winner.) This is what it turned into.


"Hey dad, hit me in butt!" Unfortunately it ended with "It's all fun and games until someone gets their eye shot out." (Logan's OK, it's only nerf after all.)

Hardware Ranch

Day 17




My sister Renae and her family came up to Logan to visit. We decided to go to Hardware Ranch. Hardware Ranch is up Blacksmith Fork Canyon. During the winter they feed the elk there. You can go up and ride on a sleigh through the field and get a good look at the elk. It's pretty cool to be so up close to these amazing animals. It can be awe inspiring. But, this is what you get when you take five year old boys. We were all looking for the biggest elk, except my nephew Naythan. The sleigh stopped, and Naythan pointed down to big pile of elk droppings and said, "mmmmmm berries." I think that Logan and Naythan spent more time looking at elk "berries" than elk. My sister insists that he knew it was poop. But that's why we take our kids to do these things, to build memories. And this is one of our favorites.


Elk "berries"

Winter Fun: Ice Skating

Day 16




Back in the olden days, as I hear it, they used to make an ice rink outside at the park every year. People enjoyed skating there as part of their winter traditions. Well, we moved down the street from the park 6 years ago. We have watched them every year prepare the field for the ice rink. But, it never comes. Until... last year. Logan was so excited that he finally got to skate at the park. Maybe it will be cold enough this year to go skating again. They're packing down the snow to get it ready. Now we just need it as cold as it was two weeks ago.

The Best Christmas Pagent Ever

Day 15



Every year the primary kids act out the nativity at the church. This year, at the last minute, Logan got upgraded from oxen to angel choir. He was really excited. I don't know if it was because he didn't like crawling around, or because he got to be one of the big kids. But, he played his role well. He was an angel. (In light of recent events, I really wasn't sure whether or not he could pull it off.) He would look straight at me, but he wouldn't even smile. All business, flipping through his song book to the right page, giving the angry head shake to his friend when he tried to talk to him, and actually singing. I was really impressed with him, and the other kids. It's always a good time. Kudos to the ladies (and men) who pull off this stunt every year.


Logan is about in the middle, holding the blue book. Yes, just standing quiet waiting to sing again.


There is Matt doing his job as crowd control. He's trying to blend in with the curtain. (And doing a good job.) I missed the picture of him waving to the audience over the narrators head. Well, they can't all be perfect angels. Where would the fun be in that.

Night Time Visitors

Day 14



I was not very excited to see snow on the ground this morning. I wasn't expecting it, and didn't wake up early go get the shoveling done. But, when we went outside, I was glad there was snow. Because we could see evidence of the visitors we had during the night. There were deer tracks up and down the driveway and in the backyard! Logan followed them into the backyard to see which fence they jumped over and saw even more deer evidence. (We didn't take a picture of that.) We were excited to know that the deer had visited our house.

Letter's Home

Day 13



Obviously, someone is not worried about whether or not Santa is actually watching him at this time of year. I guess grandparents can still cover if Santa doesn't come. And he knows there's nothing his parents can do about that.
( And stop laughing, it's not funny to have a kid who gets in trouble at school.)
The funny thing about this is that Matt read the note and then asked Logan why he got in trouble at school. Logan told him it was because he pushed a kid. Busted! Now he's in trouble for two things! Good thing he can't read cursive, or we'd only know half of what was going on at school. Interesting to see who thinks what is a big deal. For Logan it's pushing, but for the teacher it's flushing things down the toilet. Oh, And if I was writing this letter home to a parent, I wouldn't have signed it "Thanks".

Away in a Manger

Day 12

There is a farm out in Nibley that puts on a live Nativity. We went for a hay ride to the barn, and saw the animals (even a camel), and listened to the story of Christ's birth. It was fun, and freezing cold.

Merry Chirstmas! (Not a typo, sound it out.)

Day 11




We have a boy at daycare named Diego. He's an only child, but he spends so much time with my niece, Jessica, that he calls her his sister. He really likes her. Well, Jessica is 2. She loves me (of course) but she can't say my name quite right. I used to be Tersty. Now I am Kirsty. We're getting closer. Diego's mom's name is Krista. So, Jessica calls her Kirsta. Diego used to get mad at her for saying it wrong, then he decided it was cool to talk like Jessica. So, Diego started calling me Kirsty too. (on purpose, he thinks it's funny.) He did it so often, it must have become a habit. His mom came one morning and told us that he was dreaming when she tried to wake him up. He was talking in his sleep and told her he needed the reindeer. She asked him why, and he said because Chirstmas is coming. We laughed that he got into such a habit that he pronounced it wrong in his sleep! So, I wish you all a Merry Chirstmas!

A Christmas Dance

Day 10



Logan was so excited to decorate for Christmas. One of his all-time favorite things is Christmas lights. He always wants all the Christmas lights on and the regular lights off. So, as good parents will do, we bribed him with Christmas decorations. He helped us decorate. Then, to encourage him to get ready for bed fast, we told him that if he got ready on time we would turn on just the Christmas lights and let him see them. He went up stairs and got ready for bed. Me and Matt turned on all the Christmas lights. So, when he came down stairs, just the Christmas lights were on. He was so excited that he broke out in dance. He just started doing little leaps and spins around the living room. I had no idea he loved Christmas lights that much. It was quite a cute dance. I'm sorry I don't have a video of it to post. I really didn't expect a dance. So, this picture will have to do. (He's in the middle of a spin.) Use your imagination for the rest of it. ( Don't mind the smallness of his pajamas. He's getting some that fit for Christmas. Just don't tell him.)

My Mother-In-Law

Day 9



I came into work one day after Thanksgiving one year and some of my my co-workers were talking. They were complaining about how horrible Thanksgiving was. I listened as they traded stories about how terrible their mother-in-laws were and the things that they said and did. I remember thinking "I thought that only happened on TV." Because that is never how my mother-in-law has been. She has been wonderful from the very beginning. She did a good job raising a wonderful son. She has always been very supportive of us and willing to help if we need it. She treats me just like one of her own. She has even put up with me teasing her like I do my mom, when I forget that she isn't my mom, and isn't used to that. I feel very blessed to have found a mother-in-law who accepted me so easily as part of the family and has never made me feel like I don't belong. Thank you for everything! I love you mom! Happy Birthday!

My Favorite Christmas Decoration

Day 8

I think this is my favorite Christmas Decoration. It's the same garland that we used as wedding decorations, and that made our first Christmas tree. (See yesterdays blog.) When we got a real tree, Matt attached lights to it so we could hang it on the walls. (But not in a Christmas tree shape.) The thing that makes it my favorite is that this is where we hang Grandma's Christmas ornaments. The most special (in my opinion) ornaments that we have. My Grandma Anderson gave us a homemade ornament every year for Christmas. It was something different every year. And she had one for everyone. All of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. All made by her. They are some of the most beautiful and original ornaments I've ever seen. She was so talented. I love having them hanging in my house to help me remember what a fantastic Grandma she was.

Beaded Wreath

Pine Cones

Plastis Canvas Cat

Crocheted Ice Skates

Gift Box (Made from old Christams Card)