Christmas Eve

Well it is Christmas Eve and I am waiting for Rudy to come home from the store. We needed to buy some milk etc. for Christmas breakfast at Jane's. We always have breakfast at her home, and we always bring the milk, OJ and choco milk. It has been one of those "perdition" things. (Terek used to say perdition instead of tradition). I hope Rudy gets home soon because we have neighbor gifts to take around...I wanted to last night, but as you can see Rudy got his way. I cannot believe it is Christmas eve already. December has flown by so fast. Where has it gone. I guess with all the shopping, candy making, visiting and parties, I have lost track of the time. The older I get the faster the years go by!!!
I wish for everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope we will not forget the "reason for the season", and remember the birth of the baby in Bethlehem. May we keep the joy of the season in our hearts all year long!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

If I only had a Brain!

I think I need to go see the old Wizard of Oz and get me a new Brain...me and the Scarecrow!!! Yesterday was filled with shopping day and night! Not again, you may be saying!!! Oh yes, it is true. However, we didn't go at 2:30 in the morning, only from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Then off again at 10:00pm. You would think I would learn a lesson. I guess, I have to learn the hard way. Good thing it was Sunday today, so we had a time limit last night! Midnight was the curfew, so we pulled into the garage at 12:30.( It took us a few minutes to get home ). I have asked myself, why do I put myself through this torture. I have no reasonable explanation. I thought you were suppose to get smarter with age????? Apparently, not me. You see for the last few years, we didn't have a lot of extra money. Now that Rudy is getting his SS we have a little more. Not much, but we have been saving, so we can get each other Christmas presents this year. The last four years we decided to forgo presents for each other, so we could get presents for family and friends. It was much simpler then! None of this crazy shopping all day and all night! I focused more on the reason for the season, back then. I think this year I have gone way over-board! Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy getting Rudy surprises for Christmas. It is so fun to see his face on Christmas morning, opening presents. And to be honest with you I like getting presents too! But this year I have been so focused on the gift buying and not the gift that Heavenly Father gave to me. Even though it is better to give than receive, I am going to focus on the gift of my Savior and receive him in my heart this Christmas season. Without his birth we would not have the Savior's life or Atonement. There is no better gift to receive than the gift of eternal life. Maybe you can teach an old dog a new trick, or least an old codger like me. I think I have definitely learned my lesson this Christmas season.

We are NUTS!!!

You might say we are certifiably crazy! We are looney toones, nutso bravo, insane and a bunch of other things. We had an adventure last night. We had a quick nap in the early evening and then got out of bed and messed around with the new camera and Rudy's new iPod thingie (which he opened before Christmas...bad boy, no tacos for you!..now he won't have anything to open on Christmas morning). We played around until about 2:30am. We had planned from the beginning to go shopping in the middle of the night (morning) all along, but I didn't think Rudy would go along with the plan. So at 2:45 we left for the all night shopping spree! This was our "black Friday", only we didn't wait out in the cold and we had the store all to ourselves. I swear I didn't see anyone else in the store, except employees. We went to the Lindon Wal-Mart at 2:45 in the morning!!! Now think about that. Carol and Rudy Benoit going shopping in the middle of the night. It blows your mind, right? Well, it blows mine!! We just don't do anything like that. We decided to live a little and besides there are no crowds to contend with. There are some pros and cons with this adventure...if you know what you want or just want to browse it is great. If you have any questions, forget it. Those employees don't know anything about anything. I guess they mostly clean-up and restock the shelves etc. We pretty well knew what we wanted so we didn't have to bad of a time. We went up and down and all around until I was no longer in the adventurous mood. It was stink'ng 6:00am. Three hours is all about I could handle! I was dang tired. When we got home, I took my water pill and went directly to bed. I slept for about one and a half hours, before the pill kicked in. When I got up, I had a second wind. But, Rudy did not take a nap, he has been up since we got home this am. Can you believe it? I cannot!!! He had to go over all we bought, and made sure we got all on our list (and more, I might add). Then back to the iPod Touch thingie. He is obsessed with it! But as I recall the last hundred years we have been married, he gets so excited around Christmas time...remember the post where I explained he has to show me what he bought for me???? I think he will soon crashing. He really needs to rest, because tomorrow he is doing the "elf" thing again for a ward in Lehi. But, I might be going again tonight with CJ, Ardis and Sarah. We will have to see if I can open my eyes. To think about going again, I must really be out of my mind!!!! It was fun and oh what an adventure we can laugh about in the future!!! Ya gotta love it!

Snow for Christmas

It has been snowing all day! I am so glad we do not have to go anywhere. We can just snuggle here and watch it snow. I am up for some hot chocolate...Rudy makes the best...then it is some more Christmas movies. I think we have gotten 6 or 7 inches of snow just today. Like I said before, it is to cold for it to all melt. Also I think there are more storms coming.

We had Jack over again today. He loves Rudy!! All the little ones are drawn to Rudy, he just has a knack with them. Jack loves our fish and he likes the movie "Finding Nemo", so we watched our fish and Nemo. He snuggled right up to the Rudester and was so good watching the movie. We got some pics of him waving etc. I will have to have Rudy post them, so all can see how cute he is.

I think it is now my turn to snuggle with the Rudester. Until later!!

Great Day with my Rudy!!

Rudy and I had so much fun today. We went shopping and got a few gifts for Christmas. We went to several stores, from the mall to a scrapbook warehouse sale. It was so busy and the traffic was insane. I offered to drive...big mistake!!! It was like Salt Lake traffic at it's worst. Maybe even worse than Salt Lake traffic. Where do all the cars come from. I will never know. But even with that, we laughed and had such a good time. It is always a good time when I am with my Rudy. I loved the scrapbook sale. We got so many bargains. Rudy is such a better scrappie, crafty shopper than I am. He always finds the cutest things at the best prices. I think he knows my taste better than I do. Some of the stuff was suppose to be my Christmas present, but as usual, Rudy can't wait to let me see the things he chose for me. So I guess part of my Christmas came early today. I try and tell him to wait, but he is so excited to give me stuff, it is hard to tell him NO! So this is probably futile, but, hey Rudy, no more early Christmas presents. Wait until Dec. 25th to give me a anything else. Do you think he will wait?? If you want to, vote yes or no, but smart money is on NO.

Tonight we were just hang'ng out here at home and the doorbell rang. There was Becky with her little Jack. She needed us to watch him for a bit, she had an urgent meeting and Jayson wasn't home yet. Anyway, Jack stayed with us for awhile. Not long enough!!!! He watched Rudy's train go round in circles. He looked at all the Christmas decorations and loved the Santas. Then we got to the business of playing. He wanted me to read to him, so we got "Finding Nemo" and looked at all the Nemos and Doris etc. He knew who they were. He is so dang cute. I love his cheeks, they are the chubby, good kissing kind! He snuggled right up to me and then gave me a kiss. I was in seventh heaven. Before we knew it his dad was here to pick him up. He got bundled up and waved good-bye and off they went as quick as that. We were so glad he came over and "played" with us. He had not been over in a while. We will take any of our littles friends whenever we can. We love them all!!!!

Thank you Rudy

Rudy has taught me a great lesson today. When he wrote the post about forgiving, I was humbled. I need to forgive and forget those who trespass against us. I will follow Rudy's lead and try not to harbor feelings. See what a great man and husband he is. I love him so much. What a good example for me. I know it will feel good to let those feeling go. We can only do so much and then put it in the Lord's hands. Thank you honey...I feel so much better.

OK. So I Have Some Work to Do!

After reading an article in LDS Living, I was reminded that we must forgive those who hurt us...
Please Read #2 especially-

"31 Ways to Make Christmas Meaningful

A shiney red ornament on a Christmas treeThe holidays are so full of things to do: presents to buy, goodies to bake, cards to write. We get wrapped up in accomplishing so many things that a lasting feeling of joy and happiness never takes hold enough to sink in. But you can make this holiday season one to remember for all of the right reasons. Here are 31 ways to make your holidays a little more special this year.

1. Declutter and donate. Help your kids go through their clothing and toys and donate them to a local charity. Also, go through your holiday decorations and donate any you no longer use or love.

2. Forgive someone. We only end up hurting ourselves when we hold onto grudges. Give yourself a gift this holiday season and forgive a person who has wronged you. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you condone their actions, but allows you to let go of the pain. We may think of forgiveness as a sign of weakness, but it shows strength of character.

3. Take a day off. We often get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget to enjoy this time of year. So give yourself a day off from shopping, gift-wrapping, and baking. Take a walk and breathe deeply the crisp air. Or call a friend and enjoy a leisurely lunch.

4. Call someone you love. Our days are often filled with piano lessons, carpools, and field trips. Take time out to call a loved one that you haven’t talked to in a long time. Let them know how much you truly care about them.

5. Write a thank-you note. I’m not talking about a “Thanks for the pink sweater, Aunt Esther,” but a from-the-heart letter full of gratitude. Maybe you want to thank your mom for enduring your rebellious adolescence or finally write your third-grade teacher who sparked your love of science.

6. Find a way to serve others. This could be a year-round goal, but we often feel more charitable around this time of year. Do something that you enjoy to help others. Read aloud to an elementary school class. Knit scarves to donate to a homeless shelter. One friend of mine who is Jewish volunteers at a soup kitchen on Christmas Day so that the regular volunteers can celebrate the holiday at home with their families."

We will forgive My Daughter and clear our hearts of anger and hurt because that is what the Lord would have us do and we Love her and hope the best for her and their little Family, we hope and pray that their hurts will heal some day and accept we cannot change the past only mend feelings to build a future. -Rudy

Christmas Cards

Can you believe anyone would be offended by getting a Christmas card?It is true! Crystal Powers, someone we use to know, wrote us a nasty email telling us she wanted nothing to do with us anymore, after receiving our Christmas card. It was a simple card wishing her a Merry Christmas.We couldn't believe someone would be such a "Grinch" or "Scrooge" at Christmas time. We have been estranged (not by our choice, but hers) for a while now. She didn't like our blog because she was not mentioned in the first post. She blames Rudy for every wrong thing that happened in her life. You see, her mother left Crystal's father and took the children off to Montana and wouldn't let their father see them. The mother told the children all sorts of stories (lies) to her daughters about how terrible their father was. When he sent money or presents, the mother told them it was from her. The girls learned to hate their dad. Even when he tried to get in touch with them, the mother wouldn't have it. Crystal has been carrying a big block on her shoulder for many years after hearing all of this hatred. A few years ago she decided to get married and ask Rudy to walk her down the aisle. So we went to Montana, very happy I might add, to be part of her life. It has been such a roller coaster ride since then. It seems if we don't do what Crystal expects us to she gets mad and wants nothing to do with us. We kept trying to get to know her better and Rudy even apologized for all the wrongs he had done. He told her his side of the story (because there are two sides to every story) but she didn't like his version. Well, we just kept trying until finally it began to be to hard to hear all of the negative crap she would spew about her dad. Yes, Rudy sadly is her father. I, being not as patient as Rudy, wrote off a email and told her to grow up and put all the bad stuff behind her and give her father a chance to be in her life. Because I think she would see what a wonderful man her father is, if she would just let him in, I told her to stop being such a brat! Now after getting our Christmas card she wrote back and said she wants nothing to do with us ever again. So, sadly we are going to comply with her wishes. After so many years of trying to be a father and friend to her, we cannot take it anymore. It hurts to bad. We have taken her off our Christmas card list, our email list and every other list we have. It saddens our hearts but what can you do. She has two wonderful little boys (Rudy's grandchildren) that she will be depriving them of the best grandfather that could be. And she is depriving herself of a father who loves her so much and wants nothing but the best for her. I just wanted to be her friend, never would I take over being her mother. I too, love her with all my heart and wish her well. I love those little boys and know how much Rudy loves them. It hurts our hearts that we cannot see them grow and mature and give them all of our love. I hurt for Rudy most of all, because he has tried so hard. I know he thinks about her every day and we pray for both of his daughters. Someday I hope she realizes what she is missing and decides differently. But, for now she is someone we tried to get to know, once upon a time.

Thankfully, we have many friends around us. We love you like we would our own. There are so many of you who love us for who we are and accept our faults. I hope you all know what that means to us. We have so much love to give. It is so nice that you all (and you know who you are...everyone) loves us back unconditionally. Thank you for sharing your children with us. We are proud to be called Grandpa or grandma or just plain Carol and Rudy. They mean more to us than you will know. Thanks again to all of our dear "family".

It is Snowing

I looked out my window and low and behold, there is snow. Finally, we will have snow for Christmas. I hope it doesn't melt by then. It has been to cold to melt!!!

We had a wonderful FHE at Ray and Paula's last night. I love being around family. Knowing how much we love each other is such a blessing. The little kids (their grandkids) opened up the "cousins" presents last night. It was so cute to see their excited little faces. We forgot the camera!!! We are not use to having a camera, so we completely forgot to take it. We need to write notes to ourselves...or have a secretary!!! We had pizza and tacos and I read my Innkeeper story. Ray and Paula gave us a beautiful book of Christmas stories. It was a great evening! I wish Rudy had family closer. Bill and Randy are not to far, but far enough to not see them often.

Colder than cold

How does the saying go...It's colder than a step-mother's kiss? I think that is it.
Anyway it was very cold this weekend and continues to be cold today. Saturday was a lazy day for us. We sat around and did nothing. One thing Rudy did however, was make us hot chocolate. It warmed me clear down to my toes. What a great guy!!! Sunday was a kinda snowy day. Not to much snow, just enough to make it slippery. Church was very uplifting and I enjoyed it all. I love to sit in a class and hear every ones comments. I can see different perspectives, which helps me learn.
I sat by the Smith girls in RS. They are such good people. I love to sit back and listen to them sing with Angelic voices. I want to adopt them (or at least rent them once in awhile). Cute Ardis brought me back a beautiful silk scarf from her trip to China. That was so thoughtful. How nice was that???? So nice!!! Sarah is home from Idaho for Christmas break. I was so glad to see her. I just love those two!
My wonderful visiting teachers, Lindsay and Melissa came by yesterday. Melissa gave a very inspiring message. I am grateful for caring visiting teachers. This is the second month for these sisters to come. I am getting to know them better each visit. Change is good and I am happy for the chance to get to know others in our ward.

Shake the Benoits!

Click the Globe to Shake things up!

Snow Globe Toy & MySpace Layouts at pYzam.com

One of my Favorite Things!

Last night was book club. It is one of my favorite things to do. I love, love, love those girls and enjoy being around them. I love, love, love to read, so when you combine the two things, there is so much love go'n on. To be serious for a moment...I seriously enjoy book club. I enjoy the discussions about the books. I always learn something new and can see the book through others eyes. I have read many books I probably would not have chosen to read (and liked). Through book club I have read books I had never heard about (and liked). It has expanded my horisons. Thanks to all you book clubbers!!!

Hooray for Home and Visiting Teachers!

My poor Rudy is still suffering from his cold/cough/feeling awful! Our Home Teachers, Bro. Hussy and Bro Anderson called and said they were bringing dinner over last night. Right at 5:30, here they were at our door with a wonderful dinner. How nice of them. I think it made Rudy feel somewhat better. I cannot leave out my wonderful Visiting Teacher, Sis. Budge. She brought dinner last week when I was feeling under the weather. Both of these acts of service are what VT and HT is all about. What good examples to emulate.

Since we have been down with colds etc., we have spent alot of time watching TV. We have been watching the Hallmark channel. At this time of the year they have so many of those "two-tissue or more" movies. We cuddle under blankets on the sofa, with the Christmas lights on and watch these shows. It has really brought the spirit of Christmas to both of us. This is the only good reason I have found to suffer through a cold... Christmas movies (down-side...we have gone through tons of tissues, both blowing our noses and wiping tears! TMI). If you channel-surf you can find all sorts of Christmas specials. Lifetime channel has had some good ones too.

New Background

I loved the background with the Three Magi, but felt it was a little hard to read. I guess I complained a little to much, so Rudy changed it. As you can now see we have snowmen and snowflakes. I collect snowmen, so this is apropos. (look close to the background behind the posts for the snowmen...I had to too). I really think I should learn how to change the backgrounds, but I want Rudy to feel needed, since he rarely writes posts. Next I need to learn how to do the pics. Oh ya, I forgot to announce we now have a NEW CAMERA!!! Christmas came early to the Benoits. It is a beautiful new Cannon and is very easy to use. It has to be for electronically-challenged me. In fact I took the pictures that are posted of the Christmas party. Good job, huh...no it is just a good camera.

Ward Christmas Party

Isn't he the cutest Santa ever!!

Hey Cute Alli Girl

Smile Noah...I love his golden curls!

Santa, I want....

Bryce wants his two-front teeth for Christmas

Emails up the wazoo!!

I probably shouldn't say wazoo (if that is even how you spell it) cuz it sounds kinda crude. Oh well, this is me! Love me, like me or leave me!
Back to the emails. I opened up my inbox yesterday and had 87 unread, new emails. I did what everyone else would do... or not...I promptly closed her up. I was in no mood to go through all of them. That's what you get when you let your computer collect dust and not use it for a few days...weeks!!! So today when I went in and I had exactly 100. Bugga!!! I started going through and read those I wanted to and deleted a bunch of craft and catalog ones, got bored and decided to blog. So here I am. Oh, I had forgotten facebook too, so I wrote on lots of walls. That is pretty fun. I like seeing what everyone is doing. Can you say stalker??? Not really...I do not stalk...I snoop...just kidding. I am nosey. That's it...I confess, I'm a busy-body. It is really entertaining to me to see what people are doing, or complaining about, or having fun and I'm not!!! You know how it is...come on confession time. I guess I also should confess, I blog-stalk. Is that what it is called? I like to look at friends and neighbors cute kiddies and fun times. They are so cute. I enjoy seeing what high-jinx the children are getting into. Having no little ones of my own, I live vicariously through others. Can you say "Grandma Carol" Alli girl??? So thanks goes to all you mothers (and fathers...how many fathers blog???) for letting me visit
(I know, I know...stalk) your blogs.

My cute Alli came over today for a play-date. She is so funny and adorable. She would say "thank-you" when I gave her something or did something for her. Can you believe at 2 years old she knows manners. Some adults haven't learned them yet. When her Mommy came to pick her up, we gave her and Blake some before Christmas presents. (it was suppose to be for Christmas, but as usual we couldn't wait) Blake got a cute movie and a M&M's watch. Alli got "princess lights" (and watch). They have Disney Princesses and are like Christmas lights. I think you can hang them all year round. They are so dang cute and she was so excitement she remembered to say thank-you and give both Rudy and I a kiss and hug! So did Blake. How can you not love little ones like them. We forgot Tyler!!! I just thought of that. Oh no!!! Memo to Rudy...Tyler!!!!

Blogging is so much more fun than going through some of my emails. Don't get me wrong, I love to email from real live people, but I hate all the ads and junk. I need to stop some of the on-line catalogs etc., or check it everyday like I used to. Ok, Ok, I will stop complaining and just do it! Like President Kimball said..."Just Do It". But right now I need something to eat!!! (just kidding)

Is it Larry the Cable Guy that says "Get 'er Done"??? Or Scarlett O'Hara that said "I'll think about it tomorrow"?? And then there is Rhett Butler.."Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a d_ _ _"?Besides being a busy-body, I am a procrastinator. I'm going, I'm going!!

December Already

Rudy changed our blog background for Christmas. I hope you had a chance to shake the snow-globe. He does such a good job with the "artsy-fartsy" stuff!! So I thought I better get on the ball and do some blogging. It has been a mucho long time since I blogged. I get the hint and the nudge, honey! Thanks for keeping us current with the backgrounds etc. Your a good man!

Where do I begin? November was here and is now gone. It is now December 8th already! Wow how time flies when you are busy, sick and having fun! Which is what I have recently been doing (all three)! So much has happened in the last week or two. I just do not know where to start, so I will just start somewhere!!!
I didn't finish my month of Thanksgiving, bad girl...no tacos! I think I had five days left so I will write a short list of five things I am thankful for and call it good...
1. I am thankful for visiting friends from far away places---Jennie Gordon came to visit the day before Thanksgiving. She brought the children. My how they have grown. She was here from San Diego for the holiday and stopped to see us. It was so nice to see her and visit with her for a short time. Don't you love those kind of friends you can just start up with where you left off?Jennie is one of those friends. I just love her and love our visits. I miss her so much and was so thankful she stopped by!
2. I am thankful for the Holidays. To me, holiday means family and friends. That's just what Thanksgiving was this year. We had dinner at Ray and Paula's. It was a small gathering---Mother, Ann, Aunt Lorraine, Melissa (no boys, they were with their dad...missed them much!), Ray, Paula and of course Rudy and I! The other Coddingtons were at their in-laws, but dropped by later. We had a very good dinner and such a nice visit. Just before we left Jane and her Amy stopped by to plan out the usual "black-Friday" shopping spree. So it was a very family day!
3. I am thankful for "live" theater! We were treated to a night at Hale Theater in Orem, for the production of "A Christmas Carol". Nyle Smith was the "Ghost of Christmas Present" and other parts, like narrator etc. It was an enjoyable night. Before the play, we went to The Brick-Oven in Provo for dinner. We met Nyle and CJ there. Sarah brought a friend and we had a mighty good pizza dinner. It was a excellent way to start the Christmas season.
4. I am so thankful for cold medicine. Saturday the 29th I came down with a cold. (Rudy, poor guy, started feeling yucky at the play). So I promptly started with the "Day and Night Quils". It took over a week to finally feel better. I still have a bit of a cough. Poor Rudy is still not all the way over his cold. I guess I am just tougher than he is. (actually, Rudy took better care of me, than I did him).
5. I started my list with Rudy and middled my list with Rudy and I will end my list with Rudy. I have said it so many times before, but I am so grateful I have my Rudy. He is the love of my life, my eternal companion and my best friend. I love him so much!! He makes me laugh, feel like a queen, think, push my self to be better and lets me know how much he loves me!!! I am eternally thankful that we found each other and know without a doubt we will be together forever. I thank my Heavenly Father each day for his plan of salvation, and know I need to live so that I will be worthy to return to live with him again, and I will do it with my Rudy. I love you so much, Honey!!!


We have had a couple of Christmas parties so far this year. First of all we had a Relief Society Enrichment Christmas Talent night. It was such a wonderful night. Some of the sisters in the ward shared their musical talents with us. The music was so beautiful and soothing to the soul. I love Christmas music and love to see and share in the talents of others. I flimpantly (is that a word?) said I didn't have a musical talent to share and someone said I could read a story. Knowing I had a pretty good collection of stories I have saved through the years, I signed my name!! What had I done??? I looked through my stories, but so many had been shared before. I decided to write a story of my own...what am I thinking??!!!?? I had always thought the innkeeper in the story of the Nativity got a bum rap. I think most people try to do the best they can, so I decided to write how I thought the story played out (in Carol's world). Because who knows... the scriptures only say there was no room in the inn. Well, I think the story came out ok. Since reading it, I have tweeked it some and it is a little better. Rudy want me to try and see if it could be published. Published????now I am dreaming!!!! But he is pretty good at talking me into things---we'll see what happens. Up-dates later.

Saturday night we had our ward Christmas party. The activities committee did such a good job. It was decorated so nice...everything was done so nice. There was even a good program. I enjoyed myself. Rudy was "visiting with friends" so I had to sit alone and wait for him to finish. I didn't really sit alone though, Mabeys and Applegates sat at our table. Also Ellie Ables sat by and talked with me for awhile. Some of our other smaller friends came by and talked with me. The Munfords...Issac and Ethan, Jack McGinnis, Noah Harper and of course my Allie Palmer stopped and chatted!! I love all those little ones. How precious are children. They are so sweet and fun to be around. Both Rudy and I love when we get to talk or play with the little ones. Rudy even let me man the new camera. I took some good pics if I do say so myself!!