Christmas Day

Jon got mandatoried on Christmas Day. Since he had to switch stations, he asked the guy he was relieving to stay over a couple hours so he could be home for 2 hours to watch the kids open presents. I'm glad you were home. The kids were mostly excited about their stockings because I have carried on the tradition of my mother's and we all get to pick out our favorite sugary cereal. This is a real treat to them because we don't eat cereal.Some of the fun things Rylee got was a large Ariel doll, Tinkerbell kite, the Beast, Disney Princess Castle, a Rapunzel doll and a large princess stickerbook.
Brody got a Lightening McQueen bike, a Disney Cars Garage, Disney Cars Mack truck filled with cars and large Cars legos and a huge Cars stickerbook.I love this picture. The kids were so sweet. They just ran over and gave me a big hug and thanked me for the gifts. I do have the sweetest children ever.

Christmas Eve

Grandpa Little had got the kids this cardboard playhouse and they are painting it. Here is the before.And this is the after math.I don't know how much paint got on the little house. From the looks of it, not much. Maybe if they used a paint brush instead of their faces to paint the house? Rylee said she was doing Brody's makeup. HA! HA! HA!After cleaning the kids up, we got all dolled up to visit Jon at the fire station. When we got there he had made a whole turkey and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans and bacon, stuffing, rolls and pumpkin pie. He is AMAZING! The dinner turned out great and all the fire fighter families loved it. I was sad that we never got a piece of pie though. Anyhow, thanks for inviting us! We sure do miss you lover!
After we got home from the fire station we put out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Rylee and Brody had a fun month telling the Elf on the Shelf what they wanted for Christmas. I over heard Rylee telling him she wanted a kitchen the size of Mommy's kitchen and a baby Jesus set like the one Mommy has that I am only allowed to look at. She's sweet.

Temple Lights

I always want to make this our tradition every year to go see the Oakland Temple lights. This is the place we need to be. I love the reverent spirit there. This time we went through the visitors center and watched a video on Christ's birth before we walked around the grounds. The kids had so much fun looking on the city lights and having races up and down the parking lot. More protein equals more energy, GO RUDNICKI'S!!

Christmas Star

This year Jon's Fire Dept. decided to sponsor homeless children. Anyone could sign up and receive a star which contained all the christmas wishes the child had. We were assigned Adrianna. It's sad to think that there are children out their that are homeless and in need of the bear necessities. I know we've bent over backwards for our children to ensure they are provided for appropriately because we love them. We decided to try to make christmas special for this little girl by giving her everything she asked for. We are not allowed to have contact with these kids, so this was the only way we could show her our love. We even included a Book of Mormon, so maybe someday she will know how much her Heavenly Father loves her. The kids had a lot of fun picking out fun things for her. I hope she was as happy to receive as we were to give to her.

Ice Skating in Folsom

Jon had a day off so we decided to go ice skating. Luckily there is an outdoor rink close by. Rylee was so excited because she just got a Pinkalicious book called Pink Around the Rink. She wanted pink ice skates, but we got brown, she was ok with it. I was really impressed with Rylee! Last year she was bearly pushing the chair around on the ice and this year she was holding one of my hands and going fast. We almost ate it a couple of times, but never did.Brody did so great as well. He stayed in between our legs and loved going fast! This sport is definitely harder than it looks. But I guess that goes for any sport. When you only watch the best you expect it to be so easy because they make it look so easy.Taylee was a great sport just watching us from her car seat! Today was definitely a good day!

Dance Recital Christmas Benefit

I was so excited for you to perform. Your class has been working really hard on the dance for the past 2.5 months. You did a ballet routine with tambourines to the song Jingle Bells.Jon and I could not be more proud of you! During your dance you were the most beautiful and the only one who knew what they were doing. My favorite is when you pushed the girl in front of you to go! Jon leaned back after you were done and gave me a 'high 5'. We were so happy that you had fun out there and did your dance with a beautiful smile plastered on your face! I can't wait for your recital in June!! Afterwards we went for pizza with our good friends the Gowdy's. Great job to you too Addie!Old friend Abbie Thum. I worked with her parents.Your fancy voiced teacher Miss Georgina.Thanks family for all your support!

Family Home Evening

This is turning into a tradition for us. A family who builds together, stays together...as long as there is candy involved! Great job Jon, Rylee and Brody! I just ate the candy.

Just hanging out

Finally eating some real food. Rylee loves to feed her and Taylee loves making messes.I love you guys and I love this season!

A Christmas Carol

Jon, Rylee, Brody and I went to see the play The Christmas Carol put on by the El Dorado Hills Music Theater. Taylor watched Taylee. It was phenomenal. I was so impressed with the music, the props and the acting. They did a great job! I hope to they do it again next year!

Ward Christmas Breakfast

I love this season and the spirit that it brings to everyone. For some reason in our house the spirit gets lost because of work. Next year I hope we change all that. I'm glad we got to start off this month on the right foot. This morning we had a Ward Christmas breakfast. I made a breakfast casserole which was full of BACON, "because everything's better with bacon". After eating a Christmas program followed that included the Primary children singing "Picture A Christmas" and "He Sent His Son". Sometimes I wish I wasn't behind the piano so I could see Rylee singing her little heart out. She loves to sing and I love watching her in Primary. I am so grateful for my husband and wonderful children. I want to always be grateful and not take them for granted. This season I hope to take it slow and enjoy everything the Christmas stories, the lights, the smell of real Christmas trees and hot cider, and especially the music. I am so grateful that Jon got me the piano. I love having music in our home, especially the kind we create. Thanks lover and I hope we see more of you this coming year!I love this photograph by Mark Mabry. He does some beautiful touching pieces.