Catch up Central

I want to catch up before this little girl arrives because
I know it will be awhile before I blog about anything but HER.
We had a great Holiday season.
Just look and see.
(if you want to read the captions, click on the collage to enlarge)

We had Christmas visits and Christmas preparations.
(check out Isaac's powerful sniffer, and my cute new hat from my sister! Thanks Jenny!)

Family Parties.

Train rides, Santa Sittings, and Preschool Performances.

Snow days.

And Christmas Eve magic.

Christmas day spoiledge.

And don't forget those family pictures!

We hope your Christmas was Merry and Bright!

Holly, Jolly--

Merry Christmas!

We love this time of year because we get a chance to reconnect with so many loved ones. We are doing well and hope you are too!

Kyle is busy making his business, BlackLedger, a success here in Utah. He is also busy keeping his pregnant wife happy, which includes; helping to keep the house clean (even cleaning the bathroom occasionally…gasp), bringing home take out weekly, and giving amazing foot massages at least once a day. He is in high demand and amazes his family daily with his constant support and love. The boys especially appreciate his tolerance for their favorite games—which usually includes some type of bodily harm (inflicted by the wrestling loving boys of course).

Emily is over 8 months pregnant. Need I say more? She is sore, tired, maybe a little bit cranky, and anxiously awaiting Ruby-Lillian-Jane-Olivia-Abigail to arrive. She hasn't been able to choose just one name, so she just might have to go with 5. Emily enjoys reading, taking millions of pictures, eating peppermint ice cream (a holiday limited edition), keeping in touch with friends she has made in her many different living locations, and most of all, spending time with her family.

Isaac the bear will be turning 5 on February 1^st. He is extremely social and loves going to preschool every day. His favorite thing to do is play with his little brother and friends. He reminds us constantly that he will not grow up to be anything but a big boy. He just doesn't want to leave home—ever. Isaac's hobbies include politics (he is very happy that Obama won because he "looks cooler than the other guy"), flying spaceships around the house, adopting neighborhood cats, making up new song lyrics to all your favorite songs, and developing his vivid imagination. Isaac has many talents but one that never goes un-noticed is his sense of smell. He has the most powerful sniffer which sometimes forces him to walk around for hours plugging his nose. It doesn't always have to be a "bad" smell. It could be too minty or too fruity and if your breath stinks, he is very polite and will say, "you smell but it isn't nice to talk about it so I'm not going to talk about it." Isaac's new favorite thing to do is threaten those he is unhappy with. So far, his most powerful threats have included, "I'm not going to play with you for an hour" and "I'm going to stomp on you like a bug." Thank goodness he hasn't followed through with any of them yet! Isaac is such a good worker and is always helping his family. He is very protective of his little brother and is very excited to have a new baby sister.

Luke is our monkey boy and will turn 3 on March 6^th. You can always tell where he has been because he leaves a nice trail of animals and other favorite toys --including mommy's decorations, video tapes, shoes, cars, trains, and kitchen utensils. Don't bother cleaning them up because he will just make more trains, schools, houses, towns, or what we like to call "surprises". Luke also enjoys books and music. He is passionate about his music and will not allow you to sing it "wrong". He likes it loud so he can dance (or run around in a circle) for hours. He does not like boring music or girl music. Luke wants everyone to be happy and if he sees that you are sad or frustrated, he will apologize for something he did hours earlier, hoping that it will make you happy. He is a very loving little boy and loves playing with his brother. He is also very excited to have a new baby sister and has already tested out her toys, bed, and bows to make sure they are safe and ready for her.

We are so thankful for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for this time of year to celebrate his life. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy and successful New Year!

Until we meet again—Peace out!

Love,

Kyle, Emily, Isaac and Luke Widdison

P.S. As you can see, we chose 2 Christmas cards this year. We just couldn't decide.

Broken.

Either I have some undiagnosed disease, or my camera broke. Santa came a little early and replaced it but I still need to put a new program on my computer to download the pictures...I'm just being lazy, but soon blog--I promise, you will have some non-alien pictures to host.

We have had fun with lots of family and friends this holiday season!!

Introducing...a few weeks early!!

Our little baby girl!
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Or at least what she might look like...
(you have to click on the first picture to enlarge it to really see how adorable she will be:)

Luke had WAY too much fun putting bows in his hair. After I put them all in his hair he ran around the room fighting bad guys as "super girl." He wouldn't let me take them off and wanted to go outside to play super girl. He was making mean faces and trying to fight off the bad guys the whole time he was wearing the bows so, at least he is a very masculine girl!:) I wouldn't let him go outside though.

Turkey Day!

This Thanksgiving we had people eat with us at OUR own home for the very first time! It was fun! My parents came to town and helped with the preparation for the big Turkey day. My dad's only job was to make my Grandma's special "Boston creams". These, I found, are very difficult to make. The first batch didn't turn out. They are supposed to be like a fudge, but they were just like caramel. Everyone was extremely disappointed so I thought I would recruit Kyle to help me with the next batch (my dad did the first one). My dad didn't take to this too well I don't think he could handle his failed attempt) so he jumped up and went to work on his second batch and it worked out great! You can see from the pictures how intense it was. We all took turns watching the candy thermometer and I had to stop watching because the pan almost boiled over (onto my newly cleaned stove) a few times. It was quite scary.

First batch...deemed unsuccessful.

My dad eating the Carmel.

Kyle helping with the second batch. Notice how close the bubbles are from flowing over the pan!

Everyone helping out.

The second batch is on the left and it tasted great. Funny thing was, overnight the 1st batch set up too! So, we ended up with 2 great batches. Yum!

The boys were very interested in cutting up the bird and they each took a turn helping Kyle.


Our table with our traditional turkey treat "baskets".

Luke and Isaac waiting for their grub. When we went around and asked what everyone was thankful for Isaac said "Luke" and Luke said "Jesus". I immediately thought, "I'm a good mom!"



I forgot to take a 6 month picture...and we're a little late here
getting a 7 month picture, but oh well. 7 1/2 is good enough.

We were so happy that Brian, Jill, Jill's mom and their new baby Cedric could join us. The more the merrier!


Isaac and Luke had so much fun jumping on the tramp with their Grandpa. I hated watching because my dad just sat in the middle of the tramp and let them jump all over him. I kept waiting for HIS tears to come, but he gave up being tough when they started to jump ON him.

Grandpa reading stories on Thanksgiving night.

Grandpa being grandpa.