Christmas Greetings!!!!

From our house to yours, we write a special note,
This year has seen change, even owned a goat.
But alas the goat's gone, and so is the year,
its time to reflect on our blessings so dear.

Our newest blessing is our little Lil'
she's so very sweet-definitely no pill.
Her eyes are so big, her feet twirl 'round
Holding her in your arms is the best blessing around.

Hannah's so nice, she can light up a room.
Her smile's contagious, She cleans with a broom.
She brings us much joy and also much laughter,
We're happy to have her forever after.


Sissy is schooling in preschool this year.
She's smart as a whip, she has little to fear.
She's such a blessing and we love her so much
She's quick to console others with her gentle touch

Drew is growing tall, strong, and brave,
He always is helpful and good to behave.
Drew builds and constructs and figures things out,
He's a great worker - of this there's no doubt.

Jeannette is the cutest and loveliest gal,
Whenever I see her I say out loud WOW.
She cleans and cooks and nurtures so well,
She's everything to me, I love her as you can tell.

Jed has some issues
His is definitely no winner,
This morning he made breakfast
From the previous nights dinner.

OK, now it is Jeannette's turn to write,
Jed is too humble
So I must make things right.

Serving and working are things Jed loves to do
He does it quite often, he's a good father too.
He fixes, helps clean, and changes diapers as well.
He's such a trooper, we all think he's swell.

This year has been wonderful, joyful, and great.
So many things for us to appreciate.
We hope all is well with our family and friends,
Finding you happy, healthy, and grateful for the blessings God sends.

Merry Christmas!!!!
Love,
the Denning Family
Jed, Jeannette, Drew, Madelyn, Hannah, and Lily







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Random Bunch of Pictures

So there was not much of a transition from fall to winter. This snow hit us after one of the most beautiful fall days we had!

I don't really know why this picture is here. I don't think it was the picture I was wanting to upload....and I tried to delete it, but no....so here ya go. This is Jed and I messing around with the camera.

Lily was giving the cutest biggest smiles, and I could never quite get the timing right to capture them. So it looks like she is not even happy, but she really was!! I still think it is a cute picture of her and my dad.

It took a really long time before I could let Hannah hold Lily independently and feel half-safe about it. She is doing pretty well, but you have to be there constantly because suddenly she will say, "I done." And then she totally lets go.

One day I found Drew running off with my kitchen dishes, and later he asked me to come see what he made. He was quite excited to introduce me to "Woody." I think we watched Toy Story 3 the night before...

I made these cupcakes for Thanksgiving and while the rest of us were entertained, Hannah decided to pull up a chair and have a taste test. I am surprised to say that she exercised self control and ate a single cupcake entirely by herself--practically licking the wrapper clean.

See?

Here Jed was singing some songs and Lily was completely captivated, and just laid there and listened. I thought it was sweet.

Madelyn turns 5!!!

Madelyn had a birthday November 15th! This was the most anticipated birthday of any in our family I think. Madelyn also started preschool on her birthday, so it was extra special!!

She got to open her presents before Daddy left for work and Drew left for school. She loves getting clothes....help!!!

All ready for the big first day of school.

Just a cute shot of my grown up girl!!

It's party time! We had family come over to celebrate in the evening.

Poof! Surprise!! You cracked that normal looking cake open to find a rainbow!! This picture is really bad, but it was the only one I had with Madelyn and her cake. We love you Madelyn!! So happy that you are in our family!

Sisters

In the mothering sphere, it's moments like this that just bring a smile to your face!! I walked in my bedroom to find Hannah laying right next to Lily on the floor. Hannah put on a movie, and yes she can do that all by herself without being taught. I just saw them being SO cute together!!!

Our Logan Trip

The first weekend of November, Jed and I headed down to Logan to see my niece perform in the play "Suessical the Musical." It was a really fun play that our whole family got to go see. The kids are still singing the songs, and it has been a month! I'm a little behind in blogging.... We stayed at my sisters house and had a campout in their basement. Hannah was WAY too excited about camping out and didn't go to bed until 2:30 A.M.!! Luckily we made good use of the wee hours and skyped my sister Julie who now lives in Abu Dhabi. It is 10 hours ahead there. It was so fun to "chat" with my sister and "see" where they live!! I'm sure we will be looking into skype for ourselves soon!
In the picture above, Lily is sucking on my sister Pam's thumb while staring at her pacifier. We just thought that was kind of funny. Here are some pictures of our children playing with family in the leaves on the very last beautiful "fall" weekend!!






And I really thought this picture was cute. Lily was playing with her feet all the way down to Logan...well in her waking hours of driving I suppose. So this is all I could see on our drive. Cute.

Thanksgiving Daily

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We were able to spend Thanksgiving with Jed's side of the family at his uncle Mike's house. It was a really nice dinner and it was a good chance to see some of Jed's cousins we don't see very often....or else I don't since I don't work with them! The next night we had another dinner at Jed's parents house with Jed's immediate family. That was delicious and really fun too! Then Saturday it was off to Rexburg for another delicious Thanksgiving dinner with wonderful company too! It really was so fun to spend so much time with family!! I love all my family and feel so blessed to be able to have so many of them nearby!!

This season has definitely had me considering all of my many many blessings. We had a family home evening where had many of our blessings listed on paper. It was fun to listen to our children's thoughts on what was most important on that list. Here is my list of things I'm most grateful for:

I'm grateful for a Savior and Father in Heaven who love and watch over my family and I. I'm grateful that through the atonement I'm able to repent of my many mistakes and shortcomings. I'm so grateful that through the atonement I have hope! What a wonderful gift and blessing.

I'm grateful for a wonderful and loving husband. I'm grateful that he has work. I'm grateful that through that work he is able to provide for the things that our family needs. I'm grateful that he is supportive of me in my goals and calling. He is there 100% with no complaints. Thank you! I'm grateful that we have eternity together, because it really will take that long for some of his admirable characteristics and traits to rub off on me!! I truly do feel so grateful that he took a leap of faith and married me!

I'm grateful for four beautiful healthy children who teach me so much!! My life is blessed daily for being a mother. I love those little ones so much, I don't know what I would do without them. I'm grateful that they are so forgiving of me and love me despite my several weaknesses. I'm grateful for their warm hugs, smiles, kind words, and help.

I'm so grateful for so many things, but those are the ones dearest to my heart! I hope I can walk with a spirit of Thanksgiving each day for all the blessings which come to me, large and small!