Second Half of 12 Days of Christmas, Seth's Blessing, Epiphany Day, and Quick Getaway to Madera

January so far is insanity. it is my own fault i guess. birthday season hasn't even started but just look at the title of this post and you will see just how busy we have been!

the highlights version of the 12 days of Christmas is that on the 8th day of Christmas we went to the temple, just like mary and joseph took jesus eight days after he was born. ridiculously, we did not get a family picture (i blame the grumpy pants ;o])

this time we went to the newport beach temple. of course it was a BEAUTIFUL day! 

we had a little picnic 

took a picture of each of the kids "at the temple" (and i LOVE how each of their personalities shine through in the manner we had to take their picture ha ha)

then just a couple other random ones

and because caleb was literally about to pee on the grass outside we got to go in and reverently use the bathroom in the waiting area. it was so special and beautiful to even get to be inside that small part with them and they were all adorable and awestruck. natalie commented on the beautifully carved doorknob, jenna was posing in front of the stained glass window in the bathroom saying "cheese" like she wanted me to take her picture and caleb said something along the lines of how he understood now what i meant when i say clean like the temple meaning how clean our home should be- i wish i remembered the exact quote! I LOVE THE TEMPLE!

i hope they do too =o]

and we had a Twelfth Night dinner when lots of family was here for seth's blessing:

among the feast foods were king's rolls with a coin inside three of them representing the gold brought by the wisemen, wassail to represent the spices brought by the wisemen to jesus (though i think i will try a different recipe next year), and pears for a partridge in a pear tree =o] (the traditional main course is fish, but we all know that's NEVER going to happen with me as head chef lol)

the three people who find the coins are kings for the day (and traditionally get to go around singing carols and collecting treats and coins) natalie was SO EXCITED when she found one

caleb kept pretending to find his over and over again (after i put the one i found into his roll, shhh ;o]) and ended up with a plate of crumbled rolls ha ha

melissa found one of the coins but graciously let jenna wear her crown =o] 

and then of course there was epiphany morning when everyone got to open their three presents from me of knowledge, time, and experience to represent the three gifts brought by the wise men to Jesus. they each got a book, a homemade gift, and the opportunity to do something new.

melissa stayed with us for a few days after everyone else left so she got to join in on the fun =o] 

here is the quilt i made for caleb (it's WAY too big for his bunk bed ha ha)

he was so pleased and proud =o]

now back to seth's blessing.

kent's parents and his two brothers and one niece raegan got to be here this time, and we are so grateful they made the effort to come! my parents also got to come and brought melissa too. i was sad that neither of my grandpas could be in the circle this time, but i understand that it is getting harder and harder for both sets of my grandparents to get around. i love them so much! i missed them and my siblings for sure. 

anyway, i was worried that seth would be fussy, but he was a good sport all day! he is now officially seth hansen mackay, and the blessing was beautiful =o]

here are some other candid shots from the weekend:

then after a couple fun days just hanging out with melissa we took her back home to madera while kent went on a business trip. 

of course we stopped at the farm to see grandpa jamie at work. can i just say how much i LOVE seeing my kids play in the dirt. seriously. they play happily and for long periods of time out in the wide open air with nothing but their imaginations and nature. good times.  

the kids had a blast on their old stomping grounds playing with all of grammy's toys. unfortunately i didn't get any pictures of jenae or anything else aside from this one of jenna because i had the flu while there and was reminded of how deathly ill i was there for months while once again my mom and melissa came to my rescue and took care of my children while i slept and tried to keep enough energy to be able to nurse seth. i'm so glad we got to go because the kids had an awesome time, but i also look forward to visiting them while well so i don't feel like i'm just taking advantage of their hospitality! 

now we are back home and the christmas decorations are finally all taken down and put away and everyone else is asleep as i type this.
wow. a new year!
we're starting it off with a bang i'd say =o]