Holiday Festivities

Just a warning.. This will be a VERY long post.  I am so behind on all of our holiday events that I am going to combine them all into one.  Excited?  I am.

November: 

11th:

This little guy decided he wanted to walk.  So he did.

17th:

Our Dad/Grandpa fell and hit his head on ice at the Salt Lake County ice rink.  He was going to help move a broken down Zamboni off the ice before the teams hockey game.  He sustained severe brain injuries.  To read more about his injuries visit www.thisisfordad.blogspot.com.

During the time he was in the hospital, we had lots of help with Colin.  It was so nice to be able to be at the hospital and know that Colin was happy.  A huge thanks to the Pett and Mears families for loving Colin and taking such good care of him.  They were even so nice to send us pictures throughout the days.  Here are a couple of my favorite.

Thanksgiving:

The entire family on the Brown side met at the hospital for a family prayer.  The prayer was given by the family patriarch, Grandpa Brown.  It was such a beautiful and comforting prayer.  It was a special moment that I know will be remembered by everyone.  The Murray hockey moms took time out of their own Thanksgivings to bring our family a yummy lunch.  This act of kindness meant more to our family then they'll ever know.  We were able to spend time with our family and just enjoy the day.

                                                 This was made to hang up in the hospital

DECEMBER

1st-

After two weeks of many prayers, blessings, fasting and downright pleading with the Lord, our sweet Dad/Grandpa returned to his Heavenly Home. While this has been a great heartbreak for our family, we feel at peace with this outcome. We are very lucky that we are left with his wonderful example of what it means to be Christlike. He showed us constantly with his words and actions of his love for us. We still feel it everyday.


3rd-

My wonderful Mother came from Florida to help us with Colin. We had many long days, starting early and ending late. It was a huge relief to know that Colin was not only well cared for, but well loved. Thanks Mom so much for being there for us at that time. We needed you more than to just watch Colin and you helped us so much. Thank you.

8th-

Dad's funeral was the greatest tribute to his life. We were overwhelmed at the amount of love that was given at the viewing and funeral. There was an incredible amount of people who came to show their love for our family and pay their respects. This touched our hearts in ways words cannot describe.  When the time came for us to plan how the services would go, many reached out to the family, offering time, talents and services they wanted to contribute. They all played such a huge part in the day. The talks, musical numbers, flowers, bagpipes at the grave site, hockey players dressed in jerseys, and an amazing video that was made are just a few of those things that made the day so special. I know he wouldn't have wanted or expected such a fuss over him, but I know that his heart was touched as he witnessed all the love being shown for him.

That night we got to be a part of a great event. Our little brother Dakota had a hockey game. He was going to go and dress, but had not wanted to play. Michelle, Maddie, Kristopher and I wanted to be there for support anyways. The team was playing really well, and about 6 minutes left the coach went to Dakota and asked if he wanted to go in. He declined. A minute later the coach came over and told him to get ready, that he was going in. I know Dakota had to muster up strength I'm sure he didn't even know he had. As he skated to the goal to take position, the entire audience rose to their feet with a standing ovation. Everyone was clapping and cheering. He played so well and had many great blocks. The moment the game ended, all the players skated to Dakota, surrounding him. They all skated around the rink, ending in a huddle in the middle, and raised their sticks towards Dad. Everyone was still clapping and cheering. It was this moment that was the perfect ending to such a beautiful day. This moment will be cherished for the rest of my life. I know he was there.

9th-

This was the last night my mom was going to be in town.  We decided to go see the lights on temple square.  It was a really fun night.

12th-

Colin wanted to help Grammy decorate her tree.

17th-

We went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. We got tickets this year and had invited Dave and Michelle to go with us. Michelle's cousin Angie and Aunt Pat arranged it so we could have an extra ticket and all five of us go. It was a very nice night for us. Here's a picture before the concert. Michelle was sitting in a different section, so she wasn't in the picture.

18th-

Aunt Pat invited us to a Christmas party, where her friend was playing the Grinch. It was really neat. The whole gym was turned into Whoville. There was a yummy breakfast and a Whobakery.  They had a CindylooWhoo candy shop.  It was so fun to see Colin take it all in.

22nd-

We had the Brown family Christmas party. It was hosted at our Uncle Mark (David's brother) and Aunt Jamie's beautiful house.
We had fun visiting, eating yummy food, watching the kids act out the Nativity scene (The role of baby Jesus was supposed to be played by Colin, but he was NOT having it), and the kids exchanged gifts. It was a great time.

24th-

We had Christmas Eve with my MIL's side, the Schows. We always have a nice party at the church. It's always fun to get together with them. There are constantly new babies joining this side of the family, which makes it so fun! We again got to visit, eat too much, watch the kids dress up (even my BIL Dakota got in on the action), and play fun games. Michelle's cousin (but were more like sisters) Sheri passed away last year of cancer. Her and David, as well as Aunt Pat's husband Lynn are all buried in the same cemetery. This year were got balloons and wrote messages on them for the three of them. Many of us went over to the cemetery after the party and released them to Heaven. Sherri's youngest children are still really young, and I felt like this was really special to them, as it was to us all. We shared many tears, hugs and laughs. A good ending to the day.

Christmas-

This holiday season we have gotten to see Colin develop a love for all things Christmas. He sure takes after his Grandpa Dave! He loves all the lights, decorations, trees, music, presents (mainly the wrapping paper) and especially all the Christmas goodies. It makes me even more excited for next year. We slept over at my MIL's. Colin was a bit on the sick side that morning, so it took a little bit to get going. We opened all our presents. Grandpa Dave had gotten an awesome pedal car awhile ago that he was wanting to give Colin. Halfway through opening gifts, Dakota went out to the garage and brought it in. Someone had delivered it the night before. It was a very special moment. Luckily the night Dave told us he wanted to get one for Colin, Colin got to sit in one and he loved it! Dave got to see how excited Colin was, and we got to see the excitement on Dave's face as he watched him. We went to breakfast at our Aunt Rox's house. She made the most delicious bagel sandwiches. We came back to the house and got to spend a couple of hours talking to our brother, Elder Parker Brown. He is serving a mission for the LDS church in the Dominican Republic. It was so fun hearing his stories. He made us laugh many times and even sang a tune or two. We miss him very much and are so proud of him for his dedication and hard work. We then went to Grandma and Grandpa Browns to visit for a bit. We had a great day with our family!

New Years Eve-

I have to admit, we were boring. We had dinner with family, and then went to see some of our cousins for a bit. We were home by 10:30 and in bed by 11. To be honest I wouldn't have had it any other way.

New Years Day-

We went bowling early in the morning. It's a tradition on the Brown side. We spent the rest of the day eating, playing games, and hanging out with family. It was a good day.

Consensus is, Colin is not a fan of Santa.  Any shape or form.

Did I not tell you this would be a long one? I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Here's to a wonderful new year!