Christmas Tag!

Last year I participated in a fun Christmas e-mail of "getting to know your friends" and was hoping someone would send me a new version this year. Well, my friend Annick did and I decided to add it to the blogging realm. Any bloggers out there who wish to add this questionaire to their own blog, "tag, you're it!" (but please tell me in my comments that you're gonna play, so I can be sure and read it!)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Usually wrapping paper, but some odd-shaped gifts go in bags.

2. Real or Artificial tree? Grew up with real ones, and once we live in a place where we can have a real one again we will. But for now we have an artificial one and it is nice to have it up the day after Thanksgiving until New Year's. When we get a real one again, we'll probably still put up the artificial one and have one on each floor!

3. When do you put up the tree? The day or weekend after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? The day after New Year's or so.

5. Do you like eggnog? I love eggnog!

6. Favorite gift you received as a child? The one I remember best was Shannon Rory, my cabbage patch kid. But my best Christmas gift ever is Gavin! After spending a week in the NICU after he was born, we finally got to bring him home on Christmas day last year!

7. Do you have a nativity scene? I have 8 now, and think I want to start collecting them.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Kaleb. I have lots of ideas for him, but can't find what I want.

9. What was the worst Christmas gift ever received? No gift is ever bad, it's the thought that counts.

10. Christmas Cards? Always send them, love receiving them!

11. Favorite Christmas movie? So Many! It's a Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Story, I could keep going.

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually July. I love to though when I'm home for the summer.

13. Have you ever 'recycled' a Christmas present? I've only recycled a gift once, but it was a wedding gift. I've received a recycled Christmas present before- ha!

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Homemade cookies, fudge, candy, you know- sugar!

15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear on the tree, but once we have our own home we'll hang colored outside.

16. Favorite Christmas Song? I adore Christmas music. I like a lot of the old English carols like The Holly And The Ivy, Good King Wenceslas, We Three Kings, etc.

17. Travel at Christmas or Stay Home? Usually stay home, but love it when we can travel to family. It was nice growing up near extended family because I spent the morning with my nuclear family and then the evening with extended family. Wish I could do that now for my kids.

18. Can you name Santa's Reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph. In German Donner, is Donder as Donder and Blitzen means Thunder and Lightning!

19. Do you have an Angel or a Star on top of your tree? A star. I have seen some beautiful angels, but growing up with my dad's sense of humor I have never been able to put an angel on top of the tree.

20. Open the Presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Pajamas on Christmas Eve, everything else Christmas morning.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? That the season goes TOO fast!

22. Shopping...Mall or online? Prefer mall, but since I'm in Taiwan I've done a lot of online stuff.

23. Do you decorate outside for Christmas or just inside? Just inside now, but when we have our home- watch out neighborhood!

24. Favorite Christmas cookie? I love homemade sugar cookies, decorated with beautiful and delicious buttercream frosting. I also love white chocolate covered oreos!

25. Do you own Christmassy clothing or jewelry? I have some red blouses that I wear at Christmas time, but I sometimes wear them for Valentine's too.

26. Do you believe in Santa? Yes I do!

Happy Christmas & Merry New Year!!

Another Quiz

I sent out an e-Christmas letter and my friend Courtney suggested I put it on my blog. Since I plan on having my blog bound into a book I decided to add this for posterity's sake. If you haven't seen this yet, enjoy!

Dear Friends & Family,

To make things interesting we're sending our Christmas letter in the form of a quiz this year. Put your thinking caps on and see if you can capitalize (there's a hint there) on the right answers!

1. Who will celebrate their first birthday on December 17th?
a. Garfield
b. Geoffrey
C. Gavin
d. Garfunkle

2. How has our family grown this year?
a. Conner, nephew
b. Karlee, sister-in-law
c. LaChele, sister-in-law
d. Keegan, nephew
e. Ashton, niece
F. All of the above

3. Where did Leonard get to travel for work this year?
a. Canada
B. Singapore
c. USA
d. Australia

4. Who turned 5 this year?
A. Kaleb & Noe
b. Blake & Marisa
c. Adam & Wyatt
d. Bailey & Kassidy

5. How did Len & Jen celebrate their 10th anniversary this year?
a. A night at the Bellagio Hotel
b. Watching Cirque du Soleil's "O" from the front row
c. Eating dinner at Prime Steakhouse
D. All of the above

6. What extracurricular activities did Kaleb do this year?
a. Chased the girls and the ball at soccer
b. Hit a home-run in t-ball
c. Swimming
d. KinderArt
e. Acted in a commercial
F. All of the above

7. Noe had fun this year participating in which of the following?
a. KinderArt
b. Swimming
c. Ballet
d. Danced in her first recital
e. Modeled in a fashion show
F. All of the above

8. Gavin got to do which of these fun things with mommy this year?
a. Play the tambourine in KinderMusik
b. Make new friends at Playgroup
c. Modeled in a catalog
d. Got to volunteer at Kaleb & Noe's school
e. Nursed day and night
F. All of the above

9. Jennifer got released as the Valiant 9-12 teacher, but what calling is she still serving in?
a. Nursery leader
B. Activity Day leader
c. Young Women advisor
d. Relief Society teacher

10. Leonard got released as the Ward Mission Leader, and is now the?
A. Sunday School President
b. Elder's Quorum President
c. Temple worker
d. Stake High Council member

11. We got to spend our summer vacation in?
a. Idaho
b. Nevada
c. Utah
d. Alberta
E. All of the above

12. Who got to visit us in Taiwan this year?
a. Gramma with blue eyes
b. Grandma & Grandpa with green eyes
c. The Derry's
d. Steve & Suzette
E. All of the above

13. Jennifer created a family blog at www.jenniferlynnreil.blogspot.com so you should?
a. Check it out
b. Check it out
c. Check it out
D. All of the above

14. Christmas is our favorite holiday because?
a. We get to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ
b. We get to continue old traditions and make new ones
c. We get to help others less fortunate
d. We get to remember our family and friends
E. All of the above

15. We wish you?
a. A Merry Christmas!
b. A Happy New Year!
c. A happy Chinese new year of the Rat!
d. A loving holiday season!
E. All of the above

We hope you enjoyed our little quiz. We look forward to hearing from you!

Love,
Leonard, Jennifer, Kaleb, Noe, and Gavin

Weekend in Bethlehem

Kaleb, Noe, and I got to sing in our ward's production of the Nativity Pageant this year. It was a very sweet, and peaceful event. We missed the first show (scheduling conflict), but performed in the other 3. It was a beautiful event with a fully costumed cast (including a live donkey), awesome set, lighting, and sound (complete with mics for the narrators, pianist and the choirs). Each show began with a different guest choir performing a few holiday songs. One show even had a dance troupe perform. The story enfolded with the silent cast, narrators (in English and Chinese), and our 12 songs. These are the beautiful songs we sang and heard:

Who Would Imagine a King (Primary Chorus)
Silent Night
Away in a Manger
Mary's Lullaby (Women's Trio)
Angels We Have Heard on High (Congregation joined us)
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
We Three Kings (Missionary Choir)
Joy to the World
The Congregation joined us for the last 3 songs too:
O, Come, All Ye Faithful
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Peace, Peace (Pageant Choir)/Silent Night (Congregation)

It was a challenging experience to learn the new arrangements of the songs, but it was so spiritual to hear the sweet words set to the beautiful sound of the piano.


Leonard & Gavin helped out behind the scenes. They helped the kids get in and out of their costumes before and after each performance, and helped with the distribution of hot cocoa to the diligent young singers. I'm grateful my family got to participate in this to help us remember the true meaning of Christmas.

CTOT Party (nobody got drunk)

We had a fabulous time at Len's work party. We all enjoyed a delicious turkey & ham dinner with all the trimmings followed by a to-die-for chocolate cake. The kids had a visit from Santa and our 3 all received a book they had wanted. Kaleb got a book on the human body, Noe got a book of nursery rhymes with 400 stickers, and Gavin got The Very Hungry Caterpillar. How did Santa know those were exactly what they wanted? My camera battery was dying after each shot I took, so I was never able to get a good one. Noe and Santa look a little tipsy in this one, but I assure you the kids only had soft drinks- tee hee.


There were only 5 kids at our first 2 Christmas parties here in Taiwan. This year there were 13 kids!!! It was fun having more little people around. In this picture Kaleb looks tipsy (well Noe does a little bit too), but they were having fun with their good friends Lauren and Justin. I'm so thankful for Len's job, and that we're able to have fun celebrations together each year.

Go Celtics!

Kaleb is on the same soccer team as last year, the super cool Celtics! Of course, his daddy is coaching him again too. He has a fun team made up of 9 boys and 7 girls, and he knows all of his teammates from school or his previous sports teams. Last year the kids ran after the ball with reckless abandon. This year they're a bit more intimidated. I don't know if it's because last year all of the 4 year olds just played each other, whereas this year the league is combined of the 5 & 6 year olds, and our team is all 5 year olds and maybe they're nervous to play against the 6 year olds? In any case it's still fun to watch them, and I hope they'll all have fun playing!

Busy Day!

Our Saturdays are always quite hectic, but today was crazy! This morning Kaleb & Noe had a shoot together at this park. Noe had done a job here in the summer of 2006 wearing winter clothes. She had 4 layers of wool on in the blazing heat and humidity. They kept giving her ice cubes in between shots to keep her cool. Today the kids wore summer clothes in the chilly weather. It wasn't freezing, but cold enough that they wrapped up in blankets in between shots. I love the parks here with the different plant life. It's December, but there are beautiful hibiscus flowers in bloom. I do miss a white Christmas, but you gotta love the weather of a sub-tropical island.


I normally don't take pictures of the kids at their jobs, but this was Kaleb & Noe's first job together since September 2006, and this was the only shot they did of them together. Of course, I'm not the professional photographer, but I still think they're sweet.


Gavin is such an easy-going guy. He hangs out in his stroller on all of our little adventures, and is usually just happy to be. So I went off on a tangent at the beginning of this post. After the shoot we went straight to the school for soccer team photos, practice, and the game. After that we went straight to Len's boss' house for his work Christmas party. After that we went straight to the Nativity Pageant. We missed the 5 pm show, but performed in the 7 pm one. When we finally got home 13 hours had passed since we left. Yes, it was a busy day, but as Kaleb said, "a fun, busy day!"

Visit from Rudolph

Rudolph came home, I mean Kaleb came home from school today with this cute Rudolph hat. I have great memories of making holiday things when I was in Elementary School. It's so wonderful now to see my children making their own great memories!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends & Family,

It's our favorite time of year when we get to tell you all that we think you're wonderful and that we love you! We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Joyous Happy New Year!

Love,

Noe, Kaleb, Gavin, Jennifer, & Leonard

PS- We'd love to hear from you, (even if we haven't met yet) so please participate in our little quiz!

1. What is your favorite Christmas memory?

2. What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?

4. What is your favorite Christmas movie?

5. What is your favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Now, click on the "comments" below to see my answers and most importantly to post your own! If you don't have a blog, you can go to http://www.blogger.com/ and sign up. It's FREE, easy, and you don't have to create a blog if you don't want to. You'll be able to leave comments though, and who knows you may just want to start blogging. I'm warning you though, it's fun and addictive! I can't wait to hear from you!

Claus Collector

While my nativity sets are my favorite holiday decorations, my Santas are dear to my heart too. I'd like to share why I love Santa:

• He's jolly.
• He's crafty.
• He's a list-maker.
• He's generous.
• He doesn't leave anyone out (even those on the naughty list get coal- tee hee).
• He loves kids.
• He's a world-traveler.
• He loves cookies & milk.
• He doesn't care if you're rich or poor, he loves you just the same.
• He knows that we're ALL God's children.

This is our simple advent calendar, but I do it backwards. Instead of putting the star in the "1" pocket on December 1st, I put it in the "24" pocket, as we count down 24 days until Christmas.


In our living room are 3 large shelves. Our center one is holding our Heartwood Creek nativity, and this shelf is on the right of it. Over the years I've made, bought, and received as gifts this Santa Claus collection.


This is our shelf on the left, and our stockings are hanging under it.


Noe received this Santa village from her cousin Payton for Christmas 2004. She loves to play with it every year, and most days she'll let her brothers play too.


A few more Santas- our candy dish, Christmas card holder, and our roly-poly Santa & Mrs. Claus I made when we were first married.

*My aunt has a statue of Santa kneeling at baby Jesus in the manger. I would really like to find a statue like that and add it to my Nativity and Santa collections.

The Most Celebrated Birth

We are grateful that we get to celebrate Christmas each year. We have some special nativity sets that help us remember why we celebrate, for it is the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.


I made this nativity our first Christmas married at a Super Saturday in Utah (1997).


I made this one at another Super Saturday, but in Nevada this time (2000).


This was made at yet another Super Saturday, but in Ontario, Canada (2004).


This is the first Nativity Set we ever bought. I was holding out for an olive wood one from a visit to Jerusalem. Then I realized I may never get to Jerusalem, and I found this one by Jim Shore that I just loved. Len loved it too, so we bought it. (Ontario, 2004).


For Christmas 2005, I ordered this Little People set for the kids to play with. Since we moved to Taiwan it actually arrived just a couple days after Christmas. My kids didn't care though and they happily played with it until New Year's. They love to play with it each year, and Gavin does too now.


This beautiful Taiwanese set is from our very generous Secret Santa (2005).


After receiving our gorgeous Taiwanese set I really wanted to collect a set from each continent we have lived on. When we were in England I bought one for my parents, but not for us. We decided to order a Santon set from Southern France in memorial of Leonard's mission there (2006).


This set was a sweet gift from my sister, Amanda from her trip to Panama this summer. I hope we get to live in South America someday. I previously bought another set from Mexico for my parents too. It is just remarkable to me that so many different countries and cultures all have their own way to celebrate Christmas, but the center of it is always Jesus. It has been so great getting a new set each year and I would really like to continue the tradition (at least for each continent we live on). Leonard is a bit more apprehensive as he doesn't know how we would display more, but I have faith there will always be a way too! (2007).

Red, Gold, & Green

We put our Christmas decorations up the day after Thanksgiving and put our tree up the day after that. I just LOVE it when our home is decorated for Christmas. I was thinking that there are many cool color combinations for Christmas- red, & white; icy blue & silver; all winter white; bright multi-colored. But my favorite is the traditional red, gold, & green. Our tree, wreath, table centerpiece, and stockings all reflect that.


O Christmas Tree!


Deck the Halls!


Holly Jolly Christmas!


The stockings were hung...
not by the chimney (since we don't have one), but with care. I'm so happy that we could add Gavin's stocking to the rest of ours this year. The company I ordered them from changed a few things, but I don't care- they still make me smile!

Just call him Mark

A couple of weeks ago one of our agents asked that I bring all 3 kids in for a fitting. When we got there they had 3 different things going on. Along with the fitting (for Kaleb & Gavin) there were auditions for 2 different commercials. They asked Kaleb & Noe to audition for the first, and Noe and Gavin to audition for the second. Since we were already there, I thought what the heck, they probably won't get it anyway. Wrong! They wanted Kaleb for the lead role for the commercial for Allianz Global Investors (from Germany). I told them no thank you, because our schedule is already full and I didn't think it was something we could do. They called back 3 times begging for him, until I finally gave in.



There were 16 actors for this commercial, 1 teacher and her 15 students. The teacher had 2 lines, and a little girl had 2 lines too, but they both used their real names. Kaleb had 10 lines!!! We received his script the night before the shooting, so I practiced with him a few times before he had to go to bed. Kaleb is just learning how to read, so I made up "picture" cue cards for him (great tricks you learn from Primary Choristers). However, when we arrived the next day they had changed all of his lines slightly. I was panicked, but Kaleb did great. I practiced with him a little bit before they began filming and he remembered the changes better than I did.



This was a fun experience, but after 16 hours! in the production house we were both exhausted! At the end, I joined the production crew and was calling him by his character name, Mark (just to tease though- tee hee). I am really proud of Kaleb though, he was a super trooper. He has never acted before and was nervous at first, but then he relaxed and he just blew the socks off of me! I kept thinking "all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." I wonder what the future holds for this little boy, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with a career as a public speaker. I hope he will keep his confidence with him.

*Have I mentioned though that I am NOT a showbiz mom? I don't ever want to do that again! However, they wanted Noe too for a background role, but in the interim of me changing my mind from no to yes she committed to a catalog shoot, so when they asked to have her for a Nissan commercial I said yes. This way they can each have their own commercial, plus I was promised that one will only last 5 hours. It would be fun for Gavin to be in one too, but I don't plan on ever letting my kids audition again. I used to think acting was an easy job, but now I think they definitely work hard for their money!