A Christmas to Remember

We had such an amazing Christmas this year! It was so good to be with family and friends to celebrate the Savior's birth, and we are so grateful to everybody for the gifts that we received. We didn't take pictures of everything we got but here are two presents Jason and I received that were very special.

These beautiful pictures were given to us by Jenilyn and John, and I just about died when I opened them. For a long time, Jason and I (me especially) have been looking for the perfect pictures to hang above our bed. I had a good idea of what I wanted and was describing it to my sister Jenilyn one day. Well, she remembered and she and John found these and framed them (after some phone calls to Jason to ask a few questions), and drove them here all the way from Utah. I love them!



And speaking of presents that made their way here from Utah...this one caught me so off guard on Christmas morning that I just started bawling! Mom and Dad gave us this beautiful Simon Dewey painting called 'Living Water'. My sister Rose had been shopping one day at Costco in Orem and there was Simon Dewey, with a bunch of his paintings. She called my Dad, who picked this one for us, and had it signed. I love this story in the scriptures too, so it was a very meaningful gift. Thanks mom and dad!



The flower pictures will hang just above our bed, and the Simon Dewey picture will probably go near the bottom of our stairs.


Hope you all had a merry Christmas this year!!

Christmas morning at the Mixa's

We had so much fun together Christmas morning, and the best part was that we were all there.

Here's Dad holding his prized BYU football signed by the team (thank you to Casey Tanner for doing all the work!). It's even better since BYU's amazing victory at the Las Vegas Bowl.



John and Jenilyn



Here we snuck over to the Nartker's for a few hours and Dallin received a John Deere lawnmower from grandma and grandpa- he played with that thing all day!



Dallin's other favorite toy, a truck from Aunt Cari



Evie being festive



Josh and Rose (Josh is obviously very excited about Christmas :) and Rose was such a good sport all week- for being 36 weeks pregnant she was not a complainer)



Beth and Cari



My boys!



Wes was so cute, he got so excited about that Ernie doll!

Family Time

Hooray, cousins together at last! Jenilyn, Wesley, Dallin and Grandma reading a story. Wes is Dallin's only cousin on the Mixa side (at least until Rose and Josh's little girl is born next month!)



Here's Wes looking cute as usual



And Dallin continues to demonstrate his solemn, doe-eyed pose. I promise he's a happy, energetic kid!



Pretty Aunt Beth

mel's major milestone

December 18th, 2007 was a very significant day for me. It marks 5 years since I finished chemo and radiation treatment for Hodgkin's Disease (which I was diagnosed with in July, 2002). These are pictures of me 5 years ago at Christmas time, and today at Christmas. I can't believe that much time has passed by already! The five year mark is significant because the possibility of the cancer returning drops dramatically. Just thought you might want to celebrate with me!

Thanksgiving with the Nartkers

We hosted Thanksgiving again this year, this time for Jason's family. It was so much fun! I couldn't choose just a few pictures so here's everybody...



One of the only pictures I have where I think Evie looks a lot like me as a baby






See now she looks like Jason























Josh







Dawn







Teri and Evie







Justin, Erin and Eli







baby Mads







Tristan







Rachel







Kevin, Grandma and Grandpa
























Gigi






I told Noah to say 'cheese' and he said he was busy cleaning (how cute!)






Noah and Gigi







Emerson

What year do you belong in?

Hey, at least I'm in the same decade as Ashley....anyone else?

You Belong in 1959

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Halloween!

Dallin was so excited to be a "ho-see" this year, he loved putting on his costume. Here's some pictures at our ward Halloween party and on Halloween night.

Daddy's little girl

Awww... I thought this one was so cute. Daddy and little Evie.

More baby pics...

Okay, here's the story...
On Monday night, October 1st, I took two ounces of castor oil at 9:00. By 10 I was having regular contractions (though I had been having false labor for over a week by now). By midnight they were 4 minutes apart and 90 seconds long so we went to the hospital where they told us I was only 2 cm (I had been for 2 weeks). They told me to walk the halls for an hour, which I did, and still nothing. So they sent me home with a pill that would put me to sleep through the pain. We were so disappointed. We got home at 4 AM, went to sleep, and I woke up at 8:00 with painful contractions. So painful that I was already doubting whether I could handle it much longer. I said "Jason, get me back to the hospital, I think I'm in transition!" We got to the hospital at 9 something, finally got a nurse to take me seriously and check me, and I was 7 cm! By the time I got the epidural they were telling me to push, and it did not have time to kick in! Evelyn was born after about 8 minutes of pushing at 11:53.

Our little sweetheart is here!

Here she is! Sorry it took us so long to post.

Evelyn Dawn Nartker (she was born on Jason's great-great grandma's birthday, whose name was Evelyn, and his mom Dawn's birthday. What are the odds!)

October 2nd, 2007 11:53 AM

7 pounds, 13 ounces 19 inches