Peyton's First Christmas...

We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas with your families! We enjoyed this week very much and are sad to see it end. We always know every year we can look forward to this season! Here's a recap of what we did on Christmas!

Every year my parents take us to dinner (usually Olive Garden) on Christmas Eve. It was delicious! They also did something really neat this year and donated money to Project Hope in our names (Project Hope provides life changing items for people living in the highest parts of the Andes mountains in Peru). We had a great little family time.















Next it was off to the Ercanbrack's to hang out. We had yummy treats, opened fun gifts (and PJ's!) and read the story of the birth of the Savior. We got the cutest picture of the three grandkids in their PJ's, but I didn't take one...so I'll post it soon when I get a copy!















OK...Christmas was so fun (but crazy!) We let Peyton open his presents from Santa and Mom and Dad in the morning, then we were off to the Ercanbrack's and Shoell's for more presents. If that wasn't enough, we ended up at the Neiger's for a fourth round...let's just say Peyton doesn't need any toys or books for awhile! I'll just post some pictures from the day and a video of Peyton opening some of his gifts! We had such a wonderful holiday and received our best gift this year...a healthy child!

Thank you to our family and friends who were so generous and gave us so much! We always get spoiled by both sides of the family and we are so grateful for all that you do throughout the year for us! We look forward to 2008 and have lots of plans to become better people! We love you all!














Look what Santa brought me!




















I loved this rocking horse and had to get it. I'm sure those of you who are Costco junkies saw it there!




















Dad bought Peyton a fun fire truck with blocks! He loves it!




















Peyton is an official "Manning" fan now!





















Peyton and "Papa" Claus...Grandma bought him this cute Santa suit. He thought Santa was pretty cool!















Peyton made out with the whole store! He was loving it!



















Tyke and Peyton with Grandpa Pro















My cute family!















Peyton's music table from Grandpa and Grandma. He loves it!

Pens are No No's!

So Peyton is already into the pen thing...good thing I caught this before he got it ALL over and hurt himself (particularly his eyes!) I'm so grateful this was a short-lived toy. My visiting teachers were over and I forget that Peyton can twist himself around faster than I think! Also, I've started trying the "spike" look for Peyton...what do you think? It's just funny because he doesn't have a ton of hair, so it's more like a little mohawk at the top. Oh well. I was wanting a little change.

Only 5 more days until Christmas! Yeah!

Santa Who?

Peyton met Santa for the first time last night...from his expression do you think he thought twice about it? I was hoping for a smile, but at least we didn't see tears! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Shoell for providing a wonderful Christmas party! Here's a quick recap of our fun weekend!




















Friday night we had such a great time at my friend's Christmas party. Steph...thanks so much for having it at your house! You did a great job as host! We had such a yummy dinner and enjoyed visiting with everyone. Just about all the girls were there, except we missed Sarah, Michelle and Lindsey (I think everyone else made it!) Hopefully we can get a lunch together after Christmas so we can see you guys too! Don't I have cute friends! And if you can believe it, almost all of them have had AT LEAST one baby...they all look so great! Sorry we missed Whit in the picture...we took it a little too late!














Saturday we had two Christmas parties...one at Grandma Shoell's and our ward party. As you saw above, Peyton met Santa and played baby Jesus in the Navity story. He did relatively well for an 8 month old having to sit that still. Poor little Lindsey did so well holding him for as long as she did! Here are some pictures from the evening. Great Grandpa and Grandma have had five (at least!) great grandkids in the last year! There's a pic of all of them in the mix. Also, Peyton put his little arm around his new cousin Alaynah for a picture all by himself. Mine didn't turn out as cute as my sister-in-law's so hopefully I'll get her copies!

Hope You're Having a Great Holiday Season!

We've been busy at our house having fun celebrating the holiday season. December is such a fun month! I love it! Today we were in Orem and Peyton was having fun playing with his aunt Chelsea so I thought I'd post a pic of him since it's been a little while. We also stopped at Grandma's school because we were in Provo and we had to sing the Christmas songs with the kids! We are going to a few parties this weekend so I should have some fun new pictures after Monday or Tuesday.

If you want something great to read about Christ, they reprinted a talk President Maxwell gave in 1976 in the December Ensign (page 44). He shares such a beautiful testimony and it was perfect to read to remind myself of Him and why we have a Christmas season at all. I hope you enjoy it as well!

"For One More Day"

OK...so I don't know how many of you watch Oprah on a regular basis, but I really enjoyed it yesterday. Mitch Albom was on the show who wrote "For One More Day" which is a book about what you would do if you had one more chance with someone (Albom also wrote "Tuesdays with Morrie"). I read the book awhile ago and really liked it, still not my favorite Albom book, but it was good. Anyway, Oprah also had the wife of the man who wrote "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" on because he passed away last year suddenly (which I didn't know he had!) It was just a reality check for me that we really don't know when, where, why or how any of us will go. Hopefully we'll get to say everything we want and leave everything peacefully as we go, but we just don't know. I'm not saying I think I'm going to die tomorrow or anything, but I want everyone who visits our blog to know that we love you and hope you know we care so much about you! Life is too short to stay angry and not find joy! We really are so blessed and what is there not to be happy about! If you're able to watch Oprah (such as the power of Tivo!) from yesterday, I would suggest it! Oprah also sponsored the making of the film version of the story...it's on Sunday night at 8 on ABC (I think!)

It's Christmas Time!

I look forward to this time of year all year long! I love the holidays and all the fun things that come with it! It's also such a good time to reflect on all that we've been given and remember it's true importance, our Savior. Our family has been given so much...I really try hard not to ever take it for granted. Anyway, we're gearing up for a great season. Thursday night my Mom, sister and I went to the Festival of Trees! Besides bad parking, the evening was great! Thanks Mom for making that a great night! We had so much fun...and the trees were so beautiful. If you've never been before, try to go next year (sadly it's already over for this year). I've also had my decorations up since the day after Thanksgiving and just having posted pics yet...so here you go!















































Also, very exciting news...I felt Peyton's first tooth yesterday! It's not significant enough to take a picture yet, but as soon as you can actually see it, I'll post it! It's fun to see them hit these milestones. He's also starting to want to move his way around. No, not still really crawling yet, but I guess all babies move at their own pace. And I don't mind that he'll just sit there and play!

Can you say AWESOME Finish!

We can't believe the Cougars came back on the Utes for a SECOND year in a row! That was an awesome finish! I thought for sure it was over on 4th and 18...but never count BYU out I guess. Other than the last few minutes, the game wasn't all that great. Let's just say it was nice to pull that out with a win! We took a few pics in our BYU blue! Also, it was awesome to hear the basketball team beat #6 Louisville. They also put up a good fight against North Carolina. Dumb rankings didn't put BYU in the top 25. Oh well. Takes a miracle to gain national respect sometimes. We had a fun sports weekend!





























Also, McKay gave Peyton his first "trim" on Friday. It wasn't too drastic, but we shaved off parts that were much longer than the rest to try and get it to grow even now. Hopefully it will work! We've had a wonderful weekend with McKay off from work. Too bad it's Monday tomorrow and he has to go back! We'll look forward to his Christmas break in a few weeks! I think it's a whole week! Yeah!














We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I couldn't resist and had to put my Christmas stuff up on Friday. I'll post some pics sometime this week!

GO COUGARS!

So this is rivalry week and due to my gratitude blogs, I haven't put in my two cents about the COUGARS! I'm always excited/nervous for the Utah game. It's the best game of the season, but such a downer if BYU loses! All we have to do is think positive thoughts right! May the best team (BYU) win!

#1 - McKay

I am so grateful for a wonderful husband. I look at my life all the time and wonder how I got so lucky. McKay and I have been blessed with a great life thus far and I look forward to many great years ahead. He does so much for our family and I'm grateful for his love and support. We've been married just about 4 1/2 years now! I don't understand how the time goes by so fast! He is such a wonderful Dad to Peyton...he loves him so much and I love to watch them interact. McKay is also an extremely hard worker and does all he can to provide a great live for us. I appreciate his patience towards me...I can get a little feisty sometimes and he puts up with it quite a bit! I love you McKay and I hope this is a wonderful holiday season for us!



















I'm also grateful for our eternal marriage. How blessed I am to be sealed to my family for eternity. Being a member of the LDS church has been such a blessing in my life. I'm so grateful for all the blessings it has brought me.

Thanks for humoring me and letting me list these things. Hopefully it hasn't been TOO boring for you, but it's been great for me. I'm hoping to learn how to publish my blogs so I have it as a journal...if anyone knows how to do this, let me know!

-Lindsay

#2 Peyton

Oh my...what a perfect gift I've been given! Peyton is such a little sweetheart. He really is a great baby and is so much fun. We could be entertained by him for hours with his sweet little laugh and interest in the smallest things. I am so lucky to be a mother and to have him in my life. I want so much for him and hope we do all we can to raise him right and give him the same gifts in life that we've been given. It's so much fun to enjoy this holiday season as a little family! Thank you to everyone who has already made an impact for good in his life. In this world today, he'll need all the positive influences around him he can get. I've posted my first video of Peyton on our blog, so I hope it works. We did this on Halloween...he is so funny in this jumper. He loves it! So now that this list is just about complete, can anyone guess what #1 might be? I'll let you know tomorrow!

#3 My Mom and Dad

Wow...this gratitude entry could take forever! But I'll try and keep it short and sweet. I think my respect, admiration and gratitude for my parents has grown so much since Peyton was born. What a sacrifice (but joy) bringing a child into the world is, and I'm so grateful my parents decided to have me 25 years ago. They have done so much for me and our family, there really aren't words to thank them for everything. From being wonderful grandparents to Peyton to calling me up randomly to see how I'm doing, they truly represent was great parents should be. Mom and Dad...thank you so much for being so wonderful. I am blessed to be in the Neiger family...I wouldn't be where I am without you! Dad--thank you for your strength and leadership you bring to our family...we are so grateful your health has improved. We hope it will stay that way for a LONG time! I appreciate your determination to see me graduate from college...and for giving my the opportunity to go to college by working at BYU. And...thanks for passing on the love of BYU football to me. It brings me great joy (and hopefully not sadness after Saturday!) Mom--you are such a sweet person! When people find out I'm your daughter, they have nothing but good to say about Sherry Neiger. You are constantly serving and giving to others (including your cute kindergarten class). Thanks for all your advice and friendship!

We love you both!

#4 - Jack and Chelsea

I am SO lucky to have a great younger brother and sister. They are both awesome people and we share MANY fun memories together. My brother Jack is one of the most calm, laid back people you'll ever meet. He has always been the peacemaker in our family. He does the best impersonations of people too :) If you know him, ask him to do one sometime! Chelsea is a sweetheart (and a very pretty girl!) who is always willing to help you when you need it. Growing up she was always the one to share whatever she had (sadly I was the stubborn oldest sibling who usually didn't share as much...) She is such a big help with Peyton these days. She usually helps me with him at least a couple of times a month...and last Friday she spent all day at our house doing my hair! Jack and Chels--I love you so much and am so grateful for your friendship!

#5 - The Ercanbracks

I love my in-laws. They are wonderful people. My father and mother-in-law would do anything for us. They love Peyton so much and can't see him often enough! And as for my brother and sister in laws, I lucked out as well. They are all the best! For those of you who don't know my in-laws, here's a quick synopsis of the family... (One cool thing about this picture is that this was the day we found out we were having Peyton!)...and sorry, this entry turned into a long one:)

Wayne and Pam (middle, standing) live in Lindon where they've lived for a long time (I couldn't tell you how long for sure, but I think they've been in their house about 20 years...) Wayne is retired from his brick mason business and Pam helps on the school buses for physically challenged children. Like I said before, they love their grandchildren so much! They often have us over for yummy bbq's and dutch oven dinners...Wayne is a pro dutch oven chef! We love them and are so grateful for everything they do for us.

Dan, Wendi and Tyler Asay (left corner, standing and little boy) live in Mapleton where Dan has a dental practice. We're so glad they decided to move from Alaska a few years ago to be close to us! Tyler is such a sweetie and we love him and all the cute things he says. He's not afraid to give us big hugs and tell us he loves us. Dan and Wendi are very genuine, caring, giving people and we couldn't love them more!

Ben, Ashley (left side, kneeling and sitting) and Alaynah live in Highland...Ben owns a brick/stucco/rock company and Ashley is on break from being a dental hygienist to be a new Mom! Alaynah is a cutie and is going to be great friends with Peyton! They have an awesome HUGE screen TV in their basement where we've watched some great football games (particularly the Colts!) Thanks Ben and Ash for opening your home to us to hang out...you're the best!

(McKay's in the middle of the family)...

Kimball and Melissa (right side, kneeling and sitting) have been married about a year and a half now (she waited for him during his mission!) and they live in Orem...Kimball (or "Pick") works with Ben. They are a cute young couple and bring lots of excitement (and practical jokes) when we get together. Melissa is a beautiful dancer and I had SO much fun watching her dance with Odyssey the past few years! She also shares my love of shopping and cute clothes (even if they aren't the best deal sometimes!) We love you guys!

Our little sis Angel (middle, sitting) is on a cruise line right now dancing! Living the dream right? We hope she's doing well and love to hear from her. You can get this girl hyper in 5 seconds and she's the life of every Ercanbrack party. We're excited to have her back in March!

At my baby shower one of my friends commented on how lucky I was that all of my sister-in-laws were so cute and was amazed at how well we get along...it's so true...I love you guys so much and am so blessed!

#6 - Grandparents

I am lucky to have three sets of wonderful Grandparents (I inherited the Shoells when McKay and I got married :) They have all taught me so much and have always been so great to me! Here's a little summary about all of them...



























Grandpa and Grandma Neiger are such fun people. They live in California, so I have many memories going to visit and taking a trip to Disneyland or one of the other fun amusement parks every time we went. My Grandpa also bbq's the BEST filet's and my Grandma always makes her famous homemade mac and cheese and yummy cupcakes when we visit. And of course we always have many rousing games of marbles (Aggravation) and the "washers" game when we go. They have always been so great to me...I love you both!















My Grandpa and Grandma Johnson are world travelers, so I've been able to see them quite a bit throughout my life, even though they live in Washington State. They also own time share condos so we've been able to go on many fun family trips through the years to places like the Oregon Coast, Leavenworth and most recently St. George for my Grandma's 75th bday! Around Christmas time, my Grandpa has made a tradition to take the grandkids shopping and to lunch which has been fun! They have always shown so much love to us and are wonderful people. Grandma scared us this past year with a knee surgery gone bad...we are so glad you are doing better and we love you!















All girls don't get lucky and marry into a great family, but I did! Grandpa and Grandma Shoell treat me like one of their own granddaughters and I appreciate their love! They are SUCH giving people and would do anything for anyone in their family. They still have the big family home evening get-together at their house once a month. And soon we'll be having Santa visit the family at their house...I'm excited to see how Peyton reacts!

We love our Grandparents so much...thank you for everything you do for us. We'll miss those of you we can't see throughout the holidays, but we'll post lots of pictures for you!

Also, we are so grateful for all of our aunts, uncles and cousins. You are all good influences in our lives and we love you too!

#7 - Great Friends

All my life I've been blessed to be surrounded by great friends. In 9th grade my parents moved my family from Bountiful to Orem. I wasn't exactly thrilled about it...mostly because I'd have to make all new friends. A group of girls at Lakeridge Jr. High soon became my new friends and I'm still close with many of them today! A lot of us ended up cheering together in high school and we share many funny, crazy stories (like racing down the freeway to get Backstreet Boys tickets!) I was also able to live with two great friends Stephanie and Sarah during college...and we were all dating our future husbands at the time :) Just about everyone has found a husband and many of us have cute kids now! It's crazy what happens when you grow up! But I want all of you to know that I am so grateful for your friendship...it means the world to me!



























Also, when I met my best friend McKay, he introduced me to two wonderful people, Davy and Lisa. On weekends you will often find us together (now with two boys in tow!) We're to the point where we can order each other's meals, pick out houses for each other :) and say pretty much whatever is on our minds! Davy and Lisa - we love you guys so much and are so grateful for you!















I've also met many wonderful people through our neighborhoods, wards, at BYU, work etc. You all know who you are (if you visit this blog, I'm sure you're a friend of ours!) We owe so much to so many of you who have done so much to bless our lives! We love you!

#8 - My Hobbies

I'm so grateful for the many different hobbies I have...it makes life fun! Some of my favorite things to do are scrapbook (which includes taking pictures of Peyton:), reading, shopping, home decorating, listening to music and running. I also love to go out on dates with my husband (dinner and a movie is one of my favorites!) I always look forward to time in the day when I can do some of these things (it usually happens when Peyton is asleep!)

I've Been Tagged

So my friend Whitney tagged me...believe it or not, this is the first time I've been tagged. With how much I update my blog these days, I'm surprised it's the first time! Anyway, here are six things you may (and probably do) know about me...

1. I love being a Mom. After about our first year of marriage, I started wanting to have kids...McKay would probably say the day after we got married I did, but I don't think it started until a good year after. Now that Peyton is here, I'm glad McKay and I had that time alone together, but I wouldn't trade him for anything now. He is the best thing to happen to our family and I am honored to be his mother.

2. I am an avid reader - I will read any book anyone recommends to me. My friend Lisa was an English teacher and always has a good option for me...I'm still working on the long list of recommendations from her (thanks Lisa!) Right now I'm reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter. So far it's great!

3. I would love to be an event planner someday. When my kids are all at school, I'd love to go back to work planning weddings or big corporate events...the only problem is that jobs like that are usually more time demanding than part time when the kids are at school. But maybe someday it will work out...or I would love to write a book. Then you get the royalties for years!

4. I love watching movies (especially chick flicks) with probably my favorite being Sweet Home Alabama. We have a small movie collection which always gets bigger around the holidays. I'm working on our Disney collection now and just realized we don't have a few key ones (like Lion King and the Jungle Book...I can't find Lion King yet though...maybe it's in THE VAULT!)

5. I could go to a Tim McGraw, Faith Hill concert every year for the rest of my life! My loving husband let me go last year and then he was kind of enough to come with me this year. I think I've seen Tim 5 times now! They are the best!

6. New York City is probably my favorite vacation destination...definitely not relaxing, but so much fun. Broadway shows and shopping all day...what could be better (although I must say Hawaii with my husband was incredible!)

So now I get to tag people who have already been tagged...I'll just put it for fun, but don't feel obligated to do it AGAIN! Angela, Heather, Steph, Sarah, Lisa, Jessica, Beth, Michelle.

#9 - My "Things"

All I have to say is I think I would have been a horrible pioneer (well, hopefully I would have made the most of the situation :) I am SO grateful for a nice home, warm bed and soft pillow, air conditioning, heating, running water, a car, computer etc. My whole life I have never gone without and I feel so horrible for people who don't enjoy even the simplest of blessings (like a roof over their head). It makes me realize how important it is to give of ourselves and look out for the underdogs. If I deserve all of the comforts of life, so does everyone else!

Top Ten Things I'm Grateful For...#10

So here it is...My Top Ten List of Things I'm Grateful For. These are somewhat in a particular order, but all rank right up there as some of the things I am most thankful for in my life...the first few are a bit more trivial, but we all must be thankful for the little things too right?

Before I go on about my "trivial" #10, I also want to mention my gratitude for the country we live in and for the men and women who are helping to protect our freedom. Happy Veterans Day to them. How blessed we are to live in a free country!

#10 - BYU Football, Basketball, the Utah Jazz and Indianapolis Colts
These are our favorite teams around our house. We love to watch sports...I am a die hard BYU football fan. It's funny because when we get invited to go watch games I'm sure the wives would rather do something else but no...I want to be right there watching the game. I think my Dad passed this onto me, which I'm grateful for...although I get really nervous in close games and don't want to watch! My father-in-law also has four season tickets to the basketball games, so McKay and I frequently get to go which is a lot of fun!










I love it when Jazz season starts because there's a game to watch at least three times a week! And they are doing awesome lately so it's even better!









And...my husband got me addicted to the Colts...we had a blast last season watching them win the Super Bowl. I wouldn't say our son got his name from Peyton Manning, but it doesn't hurt to have the same name as an MVP quarterback right? We were bummed at the sad ending to the game last night, but I guess you can't win them all!









So there you have it...something you may not have known about me! I am a sports lover (just too bad I'm not actually good at playing any of them. I'll stick to running!)