Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We started off the holidays with the ward Christmas party. My 2 older ones were angels in the Nativity play. Alana led the music with her arms the ENTIRE song. We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We spent Christmas Eve at Grama and Pagah's house with an amazing rib dinner. Then Grama read the Christmas story while the kids acted it out. We caught a special someone on camera!, the kids got new jammies and then everyone got spoiled Christmas day. Grama and Pagah joined us this year for Christmas morning. Alana was very worried that Santa wouldn't know where to bring presents for them. Santa remembered and we had a great day.Halle, you will wear that adorable outfit that is way too small for you!

I love this Christmas picture. Typical Cothran shot.

Alana was determined to catch Santa on camera this year. She talked about it... a lot. So, I told her that on Christmas Eve we would set up the camera. I set the "timer" so that when the "motion detector" went off it would catch Santa in the act! We couldn't believe our eyes Christmas morning when jolly old Saint Nick was in our very house! I will upload the video soon. AMAZING! We gotcha Santa! Ho Ho Ho! This is a still shot of the video while he was checking out the goodies on the table.

Our sweet Christmas baby

New jammies from the best old folks around!

What a group. notice that Mac is dressing the chicken?

What a beautiful spread! Yummy.

I need a new camera but seriously, this was the CUTEST thing ever! Halle loves this scripture bag that amazing auntie Jenna made for her. She puts toys in it and totes it around. Maybe we do have a diva after all?

Christmas morning! Santa did remember Grama, Pagah and Zorro! My, what a lot of stockings there are!

Every year daddy gets into something. This year it was "star wars toys." The boys each got their own ship with their own droid? and guy. Dad got the "big" ship and a lot of guys. Thanks dad!

Christmas was kinda crazy this year. Usually I feel like I have some time to relax and enjoy the season. My best experience was giving a talk the Sunday before Christmas. I talked about the condesension of God. I gained a firmer testimony of the reality that Jesus truly was born as the Son of God on this earth to a mortal mother. He truly lived and chose to suffer and die for each one of us. We are here because of our dear brother, the Savior Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Life...

Life happens so much faster the older I get. Here we are in the middle of December and I don't even know how we got here! I am still in July baking in the hot sun. An update on my mother, she is doing much better and still wearing sexy jammies. As for our non "little" family, we have been keeping busy. These are some random pictures of the last month: Daddy and Halle with the first piggy tails! Oh, I just LOVE it!

Thanksgiving morning with Ammon's own private Turkey bowl. It was seriously the cutest thing ever. I secretly recorded them through a slit in the door.

Run Ammon!

Then I had them "pause" for a photo, so cute.
I love that our daddy likes to play all the reindeer games! He really is the coolest.

Thanksgiving morning, peeling potatoes

Alana set this beautiful spread, great job girl!

Oh, and what would a holiday at the Cothran's be like without some kind of destruction?
Yes, ripping out the downstairs bathroom. The shower and toilet had seen better days.
We are still... working on it. :)

I caught these cuties reading with the flashlight. Busted. But how do you get upset at that? Alana is such a good sister and the boys really love her.

Decorating the Christmas Tree!

And the stockings were hung...
And Ammon learned how to write, a lot!
There are many requests for a 6 year old boy. Santa MUST know about ALL of them.

And then there was this sweet little Halle Gracie. I had the brilliant idea to take pictures of her AFTER church. Such a smart mommy. (Nap time!)
Halle is 11 months old! (on Dec 3rd) She is walking everywhere and gets mad when someone is in her way. She knows what she wants! She has 6 teeth and is already getting her molars! She has the sweetest curls in her hair. She has started to develop her own little Cothran temper but is still sweet as ever. She loves to play peek-a-boo and has a deep little belly laugh. Oh how we love this Halle baby!

Happy Holidays from Halle

Halle at 11 months.

Bum leg

My mom is one AMAZING woman! She has done more in one lifetime than most can do in 2. Unfortunately, she had to have hip replacement surgery last Tuesday. What a horrible thing! She has been in so much pain! It was quite the surgery with quite the scar. (I have been forbidden to show the scar but I do have a picture of it. It is like 8 inches long! oweee) So my Grandma Butler had the same surgery at age 83, my mom now had hers at age 63, and I am preparing for mine at age 43. Seriously, let's all hope NOT. She is just now getting around OK with her walker. She can't bend over past a 90 degree angle and has to be careful not to pop the new hip out or she will have the same surgery again! The Xrays are pretty amazing, showing a new hip socket that is pounded into her bone marrow. They have to cut the leg, then move and cut the muscle in order to cut and take out the old bone to put in the robot one. Amazing what modern medicine can do but still very hard on a body. My boys keep saying she is now a robot :)
I love you mom! So sorry you have had to go through this ordeal. Hang in there!!! We love you and get better soon! (now we are just praying she won't have to do the other leg next summer)

Halle is 10 months and walking?!!

so big with her cute curls!

Halle in her first piggy tails!

Uh oh!

look at me! Spaghetti!

Halle turned 10 months old on November 3rd. She has been taking steps on her own since the end of 8 months! Today she took off and just started walking! She is so proud of herself too! Alana walked at the end of 10 months so this is our earliest walker. She is so dang cute with her little curls and happy personality. She dances whenever she hears music and gets so excited when her siblings play with her. She sleeps well but she has been so sick the last few weeks with ear and eye infections and a runny nose. Poor baby! We love this girl so much! And walking!!!!!

Happy Stinkin' Halloween!!!

I don't wanna be a cowgirl!

Our favorite sight of Halloween! Grama and Pagah, sitting out in the cold on a Halloween night... BOO!

The crew: A witch with a mop? 2 Musketeers (one is missing his hat!) a very sad bunny/pumpkin and a happy daddy!

An even happier (or scarier?) daddy! And you must know that these expertly made musketeer outfits were made by Auntie Amber and Nana years ago. Fabulous and perfect!!!

Ammon is adorable! OK, the story of the mop... Alana was going to be a cowgirl until the night before! So, after looking for a broomstick she decided to spend her own money at the dollar store and get a mop, the closest thing to a broom.

Marrick putting faces on his pumpkin...

Alana carving... (a bat and ???)

Ammon carving... (a bull head? He likes the long horns I guess)

Halle, our sick pumpkin

Yummy! raw pumpkin

Happy fall and Halloween!

Elder Cothran-Draper

Our nephew Bryan flew to Utah from Texas on Monday and entered the MTC today to serve in the Riverside, CA mission. It was such a privilege to have him in our home for the last few hours before his mission. Uncle Aaron made it a point to wake him up early and show him a few key principles he might need to know in Cali. He had some good serious times and had some time to just hang out before serving the Lord for 2 years!He would put on ring tones for Halle and she would hold his phone and dance. So cute! When we got Bryan on Monday, he was so tired!

Aaron had some good flashbacks with how to pack your shirts just right (on the hangers and all) to how to put on your badge one handed. Bryan had kept this badge from after Aaron's mission all of these years. Perfect for pictures.

Oma (grandma Draper) helped him by hemming his suit pants just in the nick of time! She was so sweet and was sooo helpful! (and so cute!)

Here he is all handsomed-up in his suit. Kim... be proud.

He looked so good in his suit!

Halle just LOVED Bryan (but what kid doesn't?)

We told Bryan that this was his last kiss before his mission with a beautiful girl.

Bryan's camera came in the mail literally 5 minutes before we walked out the door. So instead of the nice, sit down meal we had planned, he opted for Burger King.
Yum Yum.

We got to the MTC and were ushered in by traffic helpers. There was a line up of cars and a huge line up of missionaries with a tag that said 'HOST, New Missionaries.' The van had barely stopped when an elder opened the door and started taking out Bryan's luggage. These were the Elders at our station.

We had time for one hug... (Bryan told Aaron, Now I'm excited!)

Then this Elder in front of Bryan just started walking away and Bryan was following. I yelled stop! I need pictures!

And then he was gone! Gone are the days of the sit down goodbyes. We seriously barely turned off the car.

Heavenly Father will bestow Power, Love and Protection upon his faithful sons.

(from the blessing Aaron gave him this morning)

Have a great mission Bryan. Thanks for being such a wonderful example to all of the cousins. We love you!