The Nativity

Ethan and Eli were very excited about Christmas and what Santa would bring them, but we wanted to make sure they remembered the true spirit of Christmas and why we really celebrated Christmas. For family home evening on Dec. 21, we pulled out the nativity set. We carefully put up the porcelin figurines and explained the story of the baby Jesus. Then we got out the kids fisher price nativity set so they could have a hands-on experience and really understand the story of Christmas and also hopefully be less likely to touch the "nice" nativity. We also watched a short video about the birth of Jesus and explained that Christmas is when we celebrate the day Jesus was born. I think they really enjoyed it and we hope they understood the true meaning of Christmas. They loved "their" nativity set. Well, the next morning while I was making breakfast, I saw them dancing around the table where their nativity was set up and singing "Christmas is when we celebrate the day Jesus was born. We love Christmas and we love Jesus!" Seriously both Eli and Ethan were dancing around singing this over and over again at the top of their lungs. I think they understood what we were trying the teach them the night before. They are such sweet boys!

Merry Christmas 2009

Happy Holidays 2009

January -

*Tim and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary
*Eli got tubes put in his ears to help prevent his frequent ear infections

February-

*Eli had a seizure due to a high spike in his fever and was rushed to primary children’s hospital – it was a very scary time for all of us. All is well now!

March-
* I joined the world of blogging. I love being able to capture our daily moments and look forward to printing out my blog as a journal/scrapbook soon! beth@oasisbb.net
timandbethanyhall.blogspot.com It is private, so email me if you want to be able to see it.

April-
*Warm weather brought lots of outside playtime. Our boys love being outside.

*Ethan enjoyed a couple of preschool field trips
*Our family enjoyed sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and they were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

May-
*Tim and I took a “Love and Logic Parenting” class and really enjoyed gaining more tools to help us with the crazy adventure called raising children !
*We took a LONG road trip to visit Tim’s parents in Iowa. We loved every bit of it- even the car ride. We did come back with a new resolve to get a minivan thoughJ We loved visiting Grandma and Grandpa Hall and even made a side trip to visit Nauvoo, where I served my mission!

June-
*We found out that we were expecting baby #3!!! Due Feb. 23, 2010
* I went to Girl’s Camp with our church and LOVED being in nature with the girls!

July-
* Our family went camping with good friends Dave and Emmilee Wells and kids at Lagoon.
*Ethan celebrated his 4th birthday at Jumpin’ Jacks (he prays for this place every night in his prayers). The kids had a great time on the inflatable slides and bounce houses!!
* Tim and I went on a Pioneer Trek with our church. It was so nice to share an adventure like this together. Thanks to my parents for watching our boys for 4 days.

August-
* Lots of swimming, slip-n-slides and playing at the park!!

September-
*Tim and brother Chris win 2nd place in State Fair Chili Contest!!
*Tim and brothers hike and camp out on Mt. Timpanogas
* I start teaching private voice lessons again after taking a summer break.
* We bought a minivan!!!

October-
* We find out we are having a baby girl!!
* Ethan starts preschool again, plays soccer and starts a music class
* We put our house up for sale & begin the fun & long search of finding our next house.

November-
* We enjoy Thanksgiving in Idaho with Tim’s family and LOTS of little cousins.

December-
* Eli turned 2. He loves to talk and is an amazing child! He and Ethan love their bunk bed.

*I am near bed rest with this pregnancy and have been blessed with the help of family and friends!!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and may we all remember the true reason for the season! I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and the chance we get to celebrate his birth and life at this season and all year round.

Christmas Caroling

Every year our family likes to go to a nursing home or rehab center and do some Christmas caroling. We really enjoy this tradition and wanted to continue sharing music with people this year. I am almost on total bed rest with my pregnancy, so I haven't been able to do a lot of Christmas activities this year, but we didn't want our boys to miss out on giving and sharing the true spirit of Christmas. So, we arranged for a wheelchair for me as we sang songs at the Riverton Rehabilitation Center. It was an amazing experience. Tim wheeled me around and the boys carried stockings filled with candy canes to share with each patient. I was so proud of my boys and their open hearts and love for each person we sang to. We went from room to room offering a Christmas song or two and chatting with them for a bit. Ethan often spontaneously gave out hugs to the old men and women we visited. The people were mesmerized by cute little Eli and the fact that he was typically singing every word to each song we sang. Some of Ethan and Eli's favorite songs that we sang were: Jingle Bells, Rudolph, Silent Night, I am a Child of God and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. I am really glad we were able to continue our caroling tradition in spite of my pregnancy complications. There is nothing quite like singing Christmas music to get you in the holiday spirit.

Christmas Cookies

The boys love baking with Daddy, and even occasionally Mommy :)!! They had a great time making Christmas cookies and decorating them with tons of sprinkles!

Ethan is proud of his sprinkle covered sugar cookie!

Happy Eli also LOVES sprinkles!!

Birthday Bath Fun

Eli got some great bath toys for his birthday. Both he and Ethan were very excited to get in the tub and try them out. One of their favorties was some blue foamy soap. They nearly used up the whole can in one bath. They had great time cleaning themselves, eachother and the whole tub.
Ethan cleaning Eli with the foam. The boys are totally loving it. I love hearing them laugh together!!

Ethan's Fort

So, Ethan loves to make forts and caves lately. The other day I discovered this in the bathroom. I asked what it was and he explained it was a fort. Really it was just a big pile of blankets, pillows, and bean bags stuffed into the bathroom. It was so funny. He insisted that we leave it there all day, so we all kindly complied and used another bathroom. He was a little upset to find it was taken down in the morning, but he eventually got over it and made another one somewhere else. Ethan sure is creative!!!

Eli's 2nd Birthday

Elijah David Hall turned 2 years old on Dec. 14, 2009. We had a cousin birthday party on the 12th with the Hall kids. They made suckers, ate lunch and a yummy birthday cake and Eli opened some fun presents. He especially loved the bath toys and foamy soap. On the 13th we had a Newman side party. He was so excited to get a big self standing basketball hoop from the whole family. He and Ethan love playing basketball almost every night now. On the 14th, his actual birthday, we made a football cake for him (he requested a football cake - so cute!). We went to Artic Circle in the afternoon and played and got ice cream cones to celebrate! I think he had a great birthday weekend. I can't believe our little Eli is getting so big. He is such a sweet boy with such a big personality. He loves to talk and can express himself so well. He speaks in full sentences and loves to count to 20. He is always amazing us with what is on his mind. He loves to dance and sing and play basketball. He is starting to test his limits; some days his favorite word is 'no.' We love our little Eli and look forward to watching him continue to grow! We love you, Eli and Happy Birthday!!

Sitting on Santa's Lap

On Dec. 5, our ward had a Christmas party that Santa came to. Ethan loved sitting on Santa's lap last year, so we thought he would be excited. The next few pictures tell a different story. He did not want anything to do with Santa. Eli began to feel the same way as he watched his older brother keep a death grib around his daddy's neck.

Ethan really even starts to cry and will not let go of Tim to even look at Santa.

He finally gets the courage to look at Santa.




But he will still not touch him at all.

We decide to let Eli have a try. Nope, he doesn't want anything to do with Santa either!

Finally, we go out into the hall and let the other kids have a chance. We tell Ethan he doesn't have to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas. He starts to think about it and realizes maybe it would be to his advantage to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas. So, we go back in and try again. He actually sits on Santa's lap and even gives him a hug. Eli also sits with Santa and they both realize that "Santa is really nice!"

Not the best picture in the world, but they really were happy to sit on Santa's lap in the end! Ethan asked Santa for a weed wacker so he can help Daddy in the yard, and Eli asked for a laptop for Christmas!!

Thanksgiving in Idaho

We spent Thanksgiving in Idaho this year with Tim's family. We stayed at Chuck and Laura's house and had a great time. There were 11 cousins there ages 8 and under and 11 adults. It was such a fun, crazy, chaotic party!! We played the Wii, stayed up late watching movies and playing cards. The kids had a great time with their cousins playing anything and everything and doing crafts. The guys played disc golf and the girls went to the movie "New Moon" and went shopping on black Friday starting at 5am! We even had an adult night out. We all chipped in for 2 babysitters to come and we adults went bowling and out to dinner. It was a great 5 days!! Thanks to Chuck and Laura for hosting us. We had an amazing Thanskgiving meal and all shared what we were thankful for. I am so thankful for my sweet family, especially my cute husband. I am also thankful for our temporal blessings like our home and financial stability. (I know that sounds silly, but especially in todays market, I am thankful Tim has a good job and we really don't want for anything major!) I know that I am truly blessed and I am glad we had such a great Thanksgiving holiday with so much wonderful family!

Bunk Bed Buddies

Well, we finally did it. We made the transition from the crib to the bunk bed for Eli. We bought the bunkbed several weeks before, but I was nervous to make the transition. Things were just working so well how they were, but we made the plunge on Nov. 18, 2009. They did so great and loved sleeping in the bunk bed together. They stayed in bed so well and went right to sleep; I was so proud of them. Eli even takes his naps so well in the bunk bed too! They are such big boys!!

Mannheim Steamroller

On Nov. 18, my mom treated me to the Mannheim Steamroller Concert at Abravanel Hall. It was a great way to kick off the holiday season. The music was wonderful. I had never seen them in concert before, but I had always loved their CD's. Of course it is always fun to be with my mom. I am so lucky to have such a fun mom who is also my dear friend! Thanks for the fun night Mom, I love you!!!

New Family Pictures

We recently had family pictures taken. My sister-in-law Katie took them for us and did a great job. We just went to Wheeler Farm and found some great shots as usual. I just wanted to post a few of my favortie pictures. She took about 100 pictures, so it was hard to narrow it down, but here they are!

A fun family picture of us walking down the dirt road. Ethan was actually complaining the whole time we were walking because he had dropped his favorite stick :)

Don't worry, we went back and found his precious stick after we got some good pictures :).

I love these pics of the boys smiling together, especially with Ethan looking so sweetly at his little brother!

Our sweet little Ethan -

almost 4 1/2 years old.

Cute little Eli - he'll be 2 years old next month.

Veteran's Day Parade

On Veteran's Day last year we stumbled across West Jordan's Veteran's Day Parade. We really enjoyed it, so we made it a point to go this year. The boys really liked all of the flags and soldiers and of course candy - what is a parade without candy?! I explained what a veteran was to the boys and later I heard Ethan telling his cousins that a "veteran is someone who fights to keep our world safe!" Unfortunately Eli wasn't a big fan of the LOUD firetruck horn and siren, but other than that it was a fun time for everyone. Thank you to all of the men and women who help keep our country safe and fight for the freedoms we enjoy!


Watching the parade!!!

Story Time

On Nov.11, I caught this cute moment with my camera. Ethan and Eli love to read books and it was so cute to see Ethan "reading" this book to Eli. They will sometimes do this for nearly an hour; so fun!!! I love seeeing my boys enjoy each others company. I hope they continue to be good friends!

Eli's Sweet Dreams!

So, I ask Eli every morning if he had sweet dreams and what did he dream about. Lately he has been saying nearly every morning,

"I had sweet dreams about Jesus!"

Well, this morning I asked him the question at breakfast and he answered with a mouth full of food. I told him to wait and swallow and then tell me. Here is how it went:

"I had sweet dreams about Jesus and Hinckley."

"Really?! Hinckley - you mean Pres. Hinckley?"

"Pres. Hinckley, the prophet!"

"Wow- that is neat. Was he nice?"

"Yes, very nice!"

And that was it. Then we went on to play with his food or something - he is only 23 months old! Man, I wish I could see this kids dreams! I didn't even know he knew about Pres. Hinckley since now we talk about Pres. Monson, the current prophet. Eli, you are a pretty special little boy with some awesome dreams!!! Thanks for sharing them with me!

Mommy and Ethan Date Night!!

Sometimes you just need a little one-on-one time with your child!! I had been getting a little frustrated with Ethan lately just for little things or not listening to me and that everything he did would take so long to do and trying get out the door to go to this and that, etc. Well, it was time for a Mommy and Ethan date night where we could just go and have fun and he could be in charge and take as long as he wanted to do anything and I could be totally patient because we didn't have to be anywhere else, except there being together!!!

So, our date night began. He planned the whole thing. He said he wanted to do 4 things:

1- Go to the library and pick out books and a movie for later that night!
2- Go get an ice cream cone together for dessert!
3-Go swimming at the rec center!
4-Come home and watch our movie and eat popcorn


We had an awesome time together!! He really wore me out with the swimming. The pool has a playground in the water and the water is only 2-3 feet deep everywhere. Needless to say I was pretty pooped after catching him on the slide and walking on my hands through the shallow water, trying not to drag my pregnant belly on the bottom of the pool :) (I know, not a fun mental image). I love being with Ethan and sharing his enthusiasm for life and being able to take time to listen to everything on his mind!! (and there is a lot on his mind ) It was so nice to have time devoted just to him and not have to be in a rush to do anything else. I know that life doesn't always allow us to not be in a rush or not have to be somewhere, so it was nice to create this little bubble of time that was just for Ethan and me!! I love you my little Ethan boy and I can't wait for another date with you really soon!

Halloween Trick-or-Treating

Well, Halloween finally arrived!! The boys were so excited to go trick - or-treating. We decided to go to Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood this year! They had a great time and got sooooo much candy.

It was fun to have grandma and grandpa with us. Ethan and Eli kept saying, "Don't worry Grandma. Don't be scared, I have a flashlight in my bucket." Eli especially liked to repeat it to us over and over again to make sure we were not scared!! It was so cute that they wanted to protect us. Ethan even helped his Daddy out with the candy. Ethan doesn't like Almond Joys but he knew they were Tim's favorite, so whenever that was available he would kindly ask if he could have "two please." It is nice to have our kids looking out for us :) Thanks for a fun Halloween boys!!

Halloween at Preschool

Ethan got to dress up for his Halloween party at preschool. The preschool kids even got to go trick-or-treating to the high school kids and sing Halloween songs for them. He had a great time and just LOVES preschool, escpecially at Halloween!

Ethan with his teacher Miss Wendy!

Ethan with his good friend Natalie Watson! These two just love eachother- so cute!