Oh, The Holidays!

It is that time of year! The time when you get so caught up in the buying, packing, planning, and traveling that you forget the little things that fill the rest of your time.

It's been a while since I've written last, so I just want to take a little bit of time to write about the Kjar family happenings over the last month.

This is the time and season for sick bugs!! Ahhh! Not only have sicknesses been circling the families in our church, but it has been circling around our family as well. Ugh. Kaleb was sick the entire week before Thanksgiving with a stomach bug. Not fun. On multiple occasions I was called to go and pick up my husband from either school or work with the report that he was not going to make it through the day. I just hoped that he would get feeling better before our plane ride to California.

The time for travel arrived and Kaleb was feeling much better. Lilly was fantastic on the plane (she slept the entire time!!) and we enjoyed a week with family celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, Kaleb and I made a Cranberry Relish recipe that scored  with the family. This is a recipe that I've played around with a little after first receiving it from one of my friend's moms. If you're interested, I suggest you try it out!

Cranberry Relish

(Makes 3-4 Cups of Relish)

Ingredients:

• 2 green apples, peeled and diced
• 1/2 C orange marmalade
• 1 bag fresh cranberries
• 1 C frozen raspberries
• 1 C sugar
• Water

Instructions:

1. Chop apples and raspberries
2. Boil cranberries in sugar with enough water to keep them from burning (basically, enough to cover the bottom of the pot)
3. Once cranberries have popped and formed a thicker mixture, combine al ingredients and stir together.
4. Refrigerate until you serve!

Four Generations!

One of my favorite things to do when I am back home with my family is to have our Mario Kart marathon. We play every single level of Mario Kart and learn who is the overall best at the game. We love doing this and it just brings us all closer together. Also, for having not grown up with video games like I did, Kaleb did pretty well in the marathon and even beat me a handful of times! :)

While there, Lilly received no shortage of attention. People were coming over left and right just to see her. We got some really big smiles from our little girl this trip and she loved spending more time with Grandma and Grandpa :)

On the return trip back to Utah, Lilly wasn't nearly as happy. She actually made it through the entire plane ride okay, but our journey through the airport to the gate was horrendous. We barely made it on time due to the lines and how slow everyone was moving and Lilly screamed at the top of her lungs from check-in all the way to the gate. Needless to say, nobody was really itching to sit next to us. Too bad it was a full flight...

These past few weeks right before Christmas have been... interesting to say the least. However, we have started our December advent calendar and have been loving the activities for each day. I would tell you what our advent calendar is this year, but I keep that a surprise from Kaleb (since Lilly isn't old enough to care). And besides, he likes the surprise and the sporadic gift opening throughout the month as well. I will make sure to write another post about our Christmas traditions :)

What has made this month especially interesting is finding out that we had a lot less money in our bank accounts than he had hoped. Due to Kaleb being sick and missing a fair amount of work and our leaving over the holidays, our bank accounts are running dry--something that is pretty scary at any time of the year. But, in order to counter this and still feel in control, we have taken some precautions:

1. Create an Emergency Fund. Over the course of a year, Kaleb and I have been distributing our paychecks into various accounts, making especially sure that we have two emergency accounts; one for small emergencies (like, we temporarily can't pay our rent or we get into a fender bender) and one for large emergencies (like we are out of work for extended periods or we need to travel quickly due to a family emergency). 
2. Reevaluate your Budget. We have reevaluated time and time again our accounts and budgets, making sure that we are not spending more than we really need to in any area, especially in this time of low income.
3. Utilize your Resources. We have utilized our community and government resources. Things like WIC and Medicaid have been absolute lifesavers during this time and we are SO LUCKY to have such resources available to us. I mean, going to the doctor and not having to pay a dime is one of the biggest blessings that we could have had throughout my entire pregnancy and even now. 
4. Take out a Loan. For me, this is a last resort. I don't like the idea of owing a chunk of money to anybody, but, it is a great resource, especially for those still trying to pay their way through school. 

Even though sometimes it seems that life is a little rough, I know that I have been blessed beyond belief. If I ever doubt that, I just look at my little girl and remember that she is mine forever and ever. And who couldn't be grateful after knowing that?