Last half of December through January

Christmas was wonderful! Carolyn was Mary in the big Ashton Party. Several people on facebook commented that she was the sweetest and gentlest Mary they've ever seen.

 ....And she looks so grown up and beautiful with straightened hair....

 She had fun this year singing, "All I want for Christmas is my FOUR front teeth!!!!" :) :)

 Daddy brings the family home our meat! He was able to shoot the elk this year. It was actually really fun family time cutting those legs up and bagging them up. Love that we do it as a family.

 Emily giving the Elk "five." Weird parents this girl has...at least her dad is :) What lucky girls to have such a crazy dad.

 Carolyn put together a little scavenger hunt for Angela before we left to Utah.

 Letter to Great Grandma from Carolyn...

 Emily helping to grind the meat. She LOVED doing this with me! :) SO grateful we broke down this year and budgeted and bought an electric grinder!

 Teaching Emily's preschool class is one of my favorite parts of my life right now. I love it and love preparing for it.

 The last few times we have made puppets where the puppet only likes food that starts with the letter we are learning. So, Leo the Lion only liked foods like Lemons, Lollypops, etc. The kids think it's soooo sooo funny to watch the puppets devour or spit it out.

 We made beef jerky this year with the elk. I learned a few things to do different next year but I am excited for take-two next year :) It was good and will be better next year.

 Neighbor gifts! The Bishopric challenged us last year to incorporate our testimonies or faith in Christ in our neighbor gifts and our family has taken it upon us to be a traditional goal of ours. This one this year was so easy and fun.

 Carolyn missed her first violin recital in December. Her teacher had it on Sunday. It was a wonderful missionary opportunity and I was so happy for Carolyn and her decision she made to not do the recital. She got to perform for the entire Ashton Family Reunion (which was big). She did so wonderfully! What a beautiful gift music is to us that Heavenly Father has given us.

 Emily was a wiseman in Ashton family nativity...

 Redberry always comes to Ashton Family Parties (Santa's Elf)

 Cooper Jeppesen, Carolyn Kim, Jaxon Jeppsen. Yes, Carolyn is crazy :) !!!!

 Grandpa Owen Ashton with his grandchildren on the "This is the Place" train ride.

 The two Rebekahs

 Angela was IN HEAVEN at Nana and Ponka's house. Just in heaven. One of her many gifts that Heavenly Father has given her is her love of nurturing and caring for babies. She loved taking care of her two baby cousins (Brandon and Carter Platt). They are so cute and we were so happy we got to meet them so little. Angela LOVED caring for them. What a little angel mama!!!!

 Big smile as she cares for her baby cousins...

I am so blessed to have such a little mama in the house for when our baby #4 comes!

 Singing Christmas Carols around the piano with Nana (Carolyn Hansen Kim).

 Daddy snuggling his sweet Angela while singing. Another gift of Angelas....singing!

 Decorating the Christmas tree with Ponka (Randy Kim). So nice of him to save the decorating for when the girls came. They loved it.

 LOVE this picture of my amazing and sweet family. Seriously? I've got it good :) My cute family at a BYU basketball game. SOOO fun being back on campus where I met my Andrew!!!

 Ryan Platt and Crazy Carolyn.

 Seeing Santa Claus at the mall

 Grandma and Grandpa Ashton visited us at Nana and Ponka's house and brought us gifts.

 Acting out the nativity at the Kims. Angela sure makes a beautiful and sweet Mary.

 For our talent show on Christmas Eve, Emily sang "Jingle Bell Rock" and Carolyn and Angela played a duet of "Jingle Bells." Carolyn on the violin and Angela on the piano.

 Chantal and Andrew sang "Silent Night" with Nana on the piano.

 Lucky for us, Ponka is a friend of Santa's and invited Santa to drop by on his travels on Christmas Eve. LUCKY US!

 My girls snuggling up on Christmas Eve. Angela looks quite excited! :) :)

 Christmas morning! Santa came!

 So so blessed are we to get to spend Christmas with our sweet Great Grandma Della Hansen. She gave us her husband's family history book for family history. We've been using (and some of us reading it) for our Family Tree Gatherings. AMAZING!

 Angela picked this doll out especially for her sissy, Emily.

 Angela got a Karoke Machine. Our family has gotten insane use from it....and will continue to! So fun. Especially nights like last when the girls and I were downstairs and we heard Andrew from upstairs jamming out by himself while singing in the pink machine :)

 Angela with Brianna Platt singing! She is so cute! We sure miss living by Chantal and Dave Platt's family. The girls names a lot of their dolls and stuffed animals after their family. I guess that way we feel that they are still with us here in Colorado :) It was so fun to be with them again.

 Making gingerbread houses with Nana

 Chantal and Ryan Platt

 When we were in Utah, we went to visit the gravestone of my of my heros!!! Dan Jones. I love him and can not wait for the day to meet him and thank him with all my heart. He sacrificed much to go to Wales and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people. Nearing death on a few occasions, he did make it to Wales and Thomas Evans and Sarah Jones were the first people he baptized in Wales. It is because of Him on that line that I have the knowledge I have in my Savior and Redeemer. I can't wait to thank him some day and know that the best way I can thank him is to continue the work he was doing on this earth when he left. How blessed are we to have such amazing heritage.

 Coming back to good old Colorado! I should probably mention the BEST gift of Christmas. We are expecting a baby!!!! To tell the family, the news (because they didn't know) I wrapped a big huge box that contained a lot of smaller and smaller boxes that were wrapped. My family continually unwrapped the progressively smaller gifts until they reached the final small gift. Inside was a pacifier with "August 27, 2015" written on it. Andrew cried. We feel so blessed. We know it is the prayers of righteous mothers and others who have been praying for our family to be blessed with a baby. I was continually told that when the time is right, a baby will come. We are happy that time has come and I couldn't be more grateful for the time we had to wait for the baby to come. I have grown closer to my Savior than any before. I am so grateful for trials we are faced with and how they help us to know our Savior and grow stronger testimonies of His atonement and His strength. So happy to be having a baby. The girls and Andrew and I just couldn't be more excited! :) Best Christmas ever!

....and yes...this is us in Colorado again. The girlies playing in the snow. LOVE watching them play together. One of my favorite things to do.

I must have accidentally erased the snowman picture I had taken of the girls. The girls and I made a little snowman family with a Dad, Mom, and kid...it was cute. You'll just have to trust me on that one.

One of my best friends in the whole world (Yvette) has had it hard since last Friday. So, it's been 8 days. Her sweet daughter (Corrina) has been extremely ill in the hospital. We just love Corrina. She is one of the sweetest girls I know. She was in Angela's kindergarten class last year. It happened a few times that Angela would say that people were being mean or inappropriate...but then she would stop her story and say "everyone but Corrina." Angela always recognized that Corrina was never one to be being mean or talking inappropriately. She's the best and we love her!! Andrew got to go to the hospital today and give her a blessing. He said the spirit was very strong. Heavenly Father loves that angel here on earth.

I love Yvette and Corrina and their entire amazing family. Lots of prayers for them! It's Corrina's birthday tomorrow and the girls are praying that she can atleast be able to eat some birthday cake in the hospital tomorrow. What a warrior - Corrina and the entire family!