Christmas 2008

Tuesday December 23rd

After many hours of laboring in the kitchen making Christmas goodies....I got a call from a friend inviting us to go Christmas caroling with them. It is really embarassing to say but I have never been caroling before, or if I have I don't remember it. I jumped all over the idea of taking the kids! I really wanted for my kids to experience bringing happiness and holiday spirit into people's homes. We had 5 families all together. It was such a fun night even though it was snowing and a freezing 30 degrees outside. We caroled and then went back to my friend's house for cookies and hot chocolate.

Wednesday December 24th

On Christmas Eve we got up early and headed off to Sandia Peak to do some sledding. I love that we only have to drive 40 minutes and we are in the mountains. We had never taken the kids up to the snow before. They loved it and hated it at the same time. It was frustrating for Cody and Eli to walk in it. We had a HUGE snow the night before so the snow was like powder. The kids kept sinking in it. After about an hour, Eli and Cody were starting to get cold and uncomfortable. We made them hold out for a while longer because the other kids were having such a good time. Cooper and his friends could have stayed forever! We had such a good time I think we will make sledding a Christmas Eve tradition. I am so glad that we live somewhere that we can count on snow every winter!
Taylor and Cody heading up the hill


Harrison and Cooper

Some of the Thomas family. Doug, Haley, and Harrison



After our sledding adventure we went out to lunch and then headed home to relax. We had a great evening with our children. We read Luke 2 and talked about the true meaning of Christmas. I love watching my children learn about Christ. They always shock me with their knowledge of the gospel.
We put the kids down to bed and Santa got to work wrapping presents. At about 12:30am Taylor and I finally made it to bed.

Thursday December 25th

At 6:30am I woke up and I couldn't stand the excitement! I wanted to rip my kids out of bed but we decided to let them sleep as long as possible. An hour later we hear Cooper and Cody wake up. We made them wake up Natalie and then we all went down the stairs together. The kids faces were so precious as they turned the corner and saw the Christmas tree. We had a wonderful time opening presents, at one point I thought Cody would explode from the anticipation.
Natalie's roller skates

Cooper roller blades

Cody new bike!


Yes, that is right, Taylor bought me a Dyson vacuum! Ha ha! He wanted to make sure that I knew it was not my Christmas present so he gave it to me a few days before. I guess he didn't want to be "that husband" that bought his wife a vacuum for Christmas! I LOVE HIM! Good job Taylor, you escaped the Dog House this time......

So my "real" Christmas present is a day at a luxury spa up in Santa Fe. It is called Ten Thousand Waves. Is Taylor kidding me? How did he come up with this gift? I feel so lucky to have a husband that would want me to get away from life and enjoy a day at a spa! I am not even going to know what to do with myself afterwards. I am soooooo excited! Taylor talked one of our friends into getting the same thing for his wife so I get to go with my friend!! YAY!
Taylor and his meat smoker! He has a lot of deer and elk meat to cook!


Every Christmas season I find myself thinking about the past year. I try to look back on things I have done that I may or may not have liked and things that I may need to change for the upcoming year. I feel that I need much improvement, but I have to say that after reflecting for the past couple of weeks I also can't help but feel extremely grateful for my life. I really feel like the Lord is aware of me and my family and knows what we need. Taylor and I feel so blessed. We are grateful for wonderful friends that are such great examples to us. We are grateful for the gospel and the relationship we have with our Saviour. I love this time of year and I look forward to what the upcoming year has in store for us.

Here you go Molly............

This is boring for most people, but upon request I must post some pics of our new car. Enjoy!

Latest Happenings at the Haught house.......

With the onset of colder weather I guess I need to be prepared for flu season. I just had no idea that it was going to come into our home with such force. I started getting sick about 2 weeks ago and it has taken until yesterday for me to start feeling normal again. I ended up getting a sinus infection along with an ear infection. Probably the worst pain I have ever felt in my life! I now have sympathy for my children when they get ear infections, which is close to never, but anyways I now know how they feel. The antibiotics have kicked in and I am on the mend. Cody has been on and off sick for seriously a month now. I finally took him into the doctor. The first time I took him in was last Thursday. I did not see my normal doc it was the nurse practitioner. She told me it was just a cold and just to treat the symptoms, there was nothing she could do for him. Not even a day later his symptoms got a lot worse and he was complaining A LOT. On Sunday afternoon his ear drum burst and he had fluid coming from his right ear. I took him in to my normal doc on Monday. Cody had a fever of 104.2 and was very lethargic. They rushed us straight back. They doped him up with Tylenol and the doctor confirmed that his ear drum had burst and started him on antibiotic and ear drops. If the stupid nurse would have checked him more thoroughly on Thursday my sweet boy would not have had to go through all of this! Anyways, he is on the mend now and I am grateful for that. Nobody else in the family has been stricken with this illness yet so keep your fingers crossed for us. I want us all to be well for Christmas!!
On a funner note, Eli has started the fit-throwing phase of his life. I think it is hilarious! I actually busted out the camera and started taking pics of him on the floor kicking his legs. I know it seems mean that we took pictures but I wanted to document his fit so that I can show him when he gets older. I have learned to ignore the fit and eventually he will stop. I hate that he knows how to throw fits but I am grateful that he is so persistent about what he wants. I guess I should expect very stubborn children....they have Taylor and I to blame for this attribute!!



Our new addition, Oliver, is doing wonderful. He is a huge cuddler and very patient. The kids love him to death. When he is done playing (or being picked on) he will just find a place to hide out for a while. He has never scratched or bitten any of the kids....knock on wood!! We love him a lot. Even Taylor has taken a liking to Oliver!!
That is about all the news from us for now. I need to finish Christmas shopping and get all my goodies made so I can deliver them to friends. I feel really behind this year since I have been sick. I have a lot of work to do to catch up!

A Lost Tooth

For the past few weeks Natalie has been complaining about her tooth being loose. Taylor and I had made several attempts at pulling the tooth but it was never quite ready. Finally, on Monday night after the special delivery, Taylor had heard enough of Natalie's complaining and he convinced her to let him rip and tear on her tooth. I hate seeing my little girl uncomfortable! I could tell that it hurt while Taylor was pulling and I just wanted to scream at him to stop. Before I knew it I heard Taylor say, "I got it!!" I don't know who was more thrilled Natalie or me!! We held strong and endured to the end! YAY! Now she can eat and talk without worrying about her tooth hurting!


Natalie had to hold a paper towel on it for a while....it was a real bleeder!!

An Early Visit From Santa

Our family, or should I say Natalie, had a very eventful week. It started like this......

On Monday night as we were cleaning up dinner and getting ready for Family Home Evening our doorbell rang. Of course the kids run to the door first and fling it open expecting to see someone standing there. Well, there was no person there at all!! Guess what the kids found sitting on our "Welcome" mat. It was a small pet carrier with a KITTEN inside!! The carrier was wrapped in a big red Christmas ribbon and it had a note attached to it. The note read,

To: Natalie

I had heard you wanted a kitten for Christmas.

This little kitty was getting cold at the North Pole

and couldn't wait to meet you, so I am making

an early delivery. Merry Christmas!!

From: Santa

Natalie immediately started crying and laughing. She didn't know what to think! Natalie hurried and grabbed the carrier and brought it inside. With tears in her eyes she reached in and grabbed the cat. I have NEVER seen her smile so big! She was so excited! Santa did a great job being sneaky while he was dropping off the kitty. The kids never even knew he was outside. Thanks Santa for bringing us a new addition to our family......sweet Oliver!

Heidi tagged me................

Here it goes......

8 TV shows I like:
1. General Hospital
2. Dr. Phil
3. Law and Order
4. What not to Wear
5. Jon and Kate Plus 8
6. Designed to Sell
7. Dancing with the Stars
8. Peoples Court

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Took kids to ABQ Jump
2. Washed Dishes and folded laundry....a never ending job around here
3. Changed diapers
4. Went to Sports Authority to Christmas shop
5. Read many books to Cody.
6. Got Taylor ready for his hunting trip
7. Talked to my mom
8. Baked cookies

8 Things I am looking forward to:
1. My kids faces on Christmas morning. I love watching the excitement!!
2. Having our Christmas decorations up.....hurry home hubby so we can do it together!
3. Being pregnant again....I am sooooo baby hungry!
4. Warmer weather
5. Having my kids home for Christmas break
6. Baseball season to start again
7. My kids being able to drive themselves around
8. My 10 year wedding anniversary and a cruise with Taylor

8 of my favorite places to eat:
1. Pappadeaux
2. Mattas
3. Zios
4. Dions (love their subs and salads)
5. Chilis (but only for their desserts)
6. Bostons
7. Panda Express
8. Cold Stone Creamery

8 Things I wish for:
1. My hair to grow longer faster
2. More time with my hubby
3. My kids to grow up happy and have a love for the gospel
4. Someday live closer to our families
5. Be financially secure so that Taylor can retire early
6. To live on more land so my kids can roam freely outside
7. Eli to stop crying all the time. Supposedly, he is fine when I am nowhere around. Go figure!
8. A glimpse into the future to see how my kids turn out

8 People I tag:
1. Mom
2. Kelly
3. Laura
4. Mindy C.
5. Rachael
6. Tasha
7. Karen
8. Marlene

Thanksgiving Day

We had a great Thanksgiving day! We spent the morning with my family and then headed over to eat with Taylor's family in the afternoon. Unlike in years past, this year was very relaxing and we did not feel rushed or pressured between families.
We got to take some family pictures. We got all the grandkids together, which was a huge task in and of itself!! There are 14 of them under the age of 9. CRAZY! The pics aren't perfect but at least it is something.
All the Grandkids After looking at this pic I noticed that my boys are VERY outnumbered. Taylor and I have the only 3 boys in the whole family. Fortunately, they hold their own!!
From left to right: Cody (ours), Natalie (ours), Riley (Brian and Courtney's) holding Eli (ours), Ashley (Alex and Wendy's) holding Jenna (Alex and Wendy's), Megan (Alex and Wendy's), Breanne (Alex and Wendy's) holding Reagan (Marlene and Ben's), Cooper (ours), Amber (Karen's), Hannah (Brian and Courtney's), Olivia (Tracy's) holding Campbell (Brian and Courtney's)

My Family Thanksgiving Day

Marlene, Ben, and Reagan

Cooper, Amber, and Cody watching movie


Cody and Tylie playing (Thanks Laura for the pic)

Then on Saturday night we went to the Mesa Temple lights. I forgot how pretty the Christmas lights are at the temple. I really stunk it up at picture taking this trip. All these pics are courtesy of my sister....thanks Marlene.
Cathy, Eli and I at the temple

We had a really good time in AZ. It was so nice spending time with our families. It makes us miss them but we are really happy in NM. Our frequent visits home are definitely bitter sweet. I miss my brothers and sisters a lot!!
From left to right: Me, Marlene, Tracy, Brian, Alex
In front: Karen and Glen (twins)

Being Thankful Cont'd

My family!

We got back to AZ late Tuesday night. I missed Cody and Eli so much so I was happy to be back. I think Cathy was relieved too! Cody and Eli can be a real handful!
I am so thankful to her for watching the kids. Houston and Rachael were there too helping out and I know that made all the difference.
Wednesday night my whole family (minus the children under age 3) went ice skating. I was hesitant at first because I have never been on ice skates but it ended up to be a lot of fun. It was hilarious watching all my brother's and sister's struggle with their spouses to stay standing. It was a great time and I am grateful to my mom for setting it all up. It was a blast. Definitely something we will do again in the future. Cooper and Natalie enjoyed themselves. We were all tired by the night's end. Taylor is not in the group pic but he was there. Cody ended up going skating with us. He was not about to stay back with the other kids, he had already been left earlier that week.
Some of the kids

My sister, Tracy, and I

My sister, Marlene, and I

Cooper and I

Taylor helping Natalie ice skate

So Much to be Thankful For..............

Our whole group!

The first thing I am thankful for is family vacation!
On the Thursday before Thanksgiving we headed to AZ to start our ten day vacation. For months we have been planning on taking the kids to Disneyland. Cody and Eli are just too young to enjoy it so we opted to leave them with Taylor's mother for the 3 days we were gone. My brother (Brian) and his wife (Courtney) and their two older girls (Riley and Hannah) flew in from Tennessee to go with us as well. THey have a third little girl Campbell but she stayed in AZ with Marlene. So altogher we had 4 adults and 4 children. Perfect size group! We had such a blast!!! It was a nice trip with no strollers, no diapers, and no crying babies. I don't think our younger children would have had fun and it definitely would not have been worth the money if we took them. Did I say we had a great time?! It was awesome! The kids were so giddy and excited and they loved every ride....well, The Tower of Terror scared them just a bit, but afterwards they were glad they went on it. I loved watching their reactions on all the rides. Thanks Brian and Courtney for coming along with us.
Kids in their very own bedroom at the hotel!


Christmas tree at California Adventure. The decorations were so pretty this time of year.

Kids being goofy waiting in line

Natalie was so happy to see Minnie. It made her trip!!

Cute girls!