A Little Bit of Christmas

I absolutely adore Christmas.  This year was no exception.  There was so much more that I wanted to do, but sickness came to our house and hindered quite a few of my good intentions.  But Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... wonderful.

This was our first year celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our own home.  We didn't pack up our gifts and head out of town.  We got to set up Christmas under our own tree.  On Christmas Eve we delivered goodies to our neighbors and wished them well.  We sang Christmas carols and read the Christmas Story from the Bible.  We got ourselves in our matching pajamas and enjoyed the magic that surrounds this time of year.  We watched "It's a Wonderful Life" after setting up Christmas around the tree and then snuggled up together awaiting the coming morning.

Christmas is magical.  The feelings of warmth and love that come without packages and bows are even better than the Christmas morning surprises under the tree.  After opening gifts and taking the time to relax and let everything wash over us, we headed to my mom's house and spent time with family.  Laughing, eating, playing games.  The kids entertained each other.  The fire burned warm and bright.  We talked and laughed late into the night and enjoyed every minute of it for these times don't come nearly as often as we would like.  These times of unrestrained laughter and good feelings despite the late hour, usually only come once a year.  It's the only time where whole communities shut down the daily grind and enjoy giving to each other, relaxing with each other.

May we each try to keep the feelings of good will towards men going longer than the holiday.  Longer than the calendar dictates.  You don't have to have Christmas music to have the Spirit of Christ in your home.  You just need Christ, and he can be with you always.

Merry Christmas my friends.  May the coming year be wonderful.

Scenes From Christmas

Jingle Bells

Stepping into the day

part of breakfast

O Christmas Treadmill, Oh Christmas Treadmill, how lovely are thy... rollers?

How it's done.

 

Merry Christmas from the Sullivans!

Christmas... gone?

I feel a bit torn this time of year.  I have so completely and thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas season that I can hardly believe it's coming to an end.  So much so that I might be fighting it just a little bit.

I understand the reclaiming of the living room, the getting back to usual and comfortable routines.  The getting back to "normal".  This year though, I'm not so sure I want "normal" back yet.

Did you know that the United States is about one of the only places that ties the Christmas season with the shopping season?  It's true.  In countries throughout the world the 12 Days of Christmas actually start on Christmas Day.  The celebration lasts till January 5th or 6th depending on when you choose to end it.  You can check out your friendly Wikipedia page under "12 Days of Christmas" for all the details.  It's a bit baffling but I find that I really like the principle.  It may be because I didn't get all the people visited that I wanted to.  Or the fact that my Christmas card ambition that started in October didn't come full circle and actually get delivered.  But mostly it's because I'm just not ready for all of the Christmas songs to go away.  I'm not ready for the lights to come down and be plunged unceremoniously into the January blahs.  I want to keep the lights that break up these dark days.  I want to continue to feel that "Christmas Spirit" that goes away all too quickly.

So yeah.  I'm the crazy person that will keep the tree up until sometime in January.  You will continue to hear Christmas songs on my playlist, though not as many.  I will still have Christmas on my mind, whether sharing the stories of this year or planning for the Christmas Season of next year.  And for the record, I'm going to try really hard next year not to let the commercialism of the shopping season determine how I will celebrate the birth of our Savior.

May peace on earth, good will to men last a little longer this coming year.

"Twas the Night Before Christmas and...

I have no idea what to do!

For the first time in 36 years I do not have a pre-planned Christmas Eve.  David and I usually find ourselves with family, but since Christmas is on Sunday and we are a definite part of the Sunday program... well.  Just doesn't make sense to go anywhere till after the program. 

It's odd.  I have been looking forward to this time of our lives so much and now I find myself at a complete loss! What to do on Christmas Eve.

So.  What do you do?  Fun family traditions?  Non-traditions?

I'm considering options but I really don't want it to be a "stay at home and clean the house" type of Saturday.  I want something special, just not quite sure what will fit the niche.

Needless to say, your suggestions are more than welcome.

In all the earth is growing...

I love Christmas.  I love the feelings of warmth and joy that surround the season.  I love the tree and the lights and the songs and decor.  I love the white blanket of snow that covers up the "dead" of Fall.  I love that people are doing things for each other.  I love that it's a bit easier for each of us to feel a little less selfish and look out for the needs of others.  I love that we try to find ways to surprise the ones we love with the perfect gift.

At the same time it does get a little stressful.  The perfect gift is often quite hard to find and sometimes never makes itself known.  It's easy to fall into the trap of commercialism and think that maybe the simple Christmas that you have planned this year is kind of stupid.  That you should budget more or throw caution to the wind and stop worrying about how much to spend.  And then...

You stop.  Remember your goals.  Remember why the good feelings that come with Christmas are actually there.  In sacrament meeting today we sang "With Wondering Awe" for the closing hymn.  It's one of my favorites.  "With wond'ring awe the wise men saw The star in heaven springing, and with delight, in peaceful night, They heard the angels singing: Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to his name!"  I know that Christ is the reason for the season.  It is Him that makes this time of year so special. 

I have the privilege of leading the music in sacrament meeting every Sunday and I have really come to love it.  I have paid more attention to the words of the songs that ever before in my life.  I try to add expression to the words and feel in my heart what it coming out of my mouth.  "By light of star they traveled far To seek the lowly manger, A humble bed wherein was laid The wondrous little Stranger."  "The heav'nly star its rays afar On every land is throwing, And shall not cease till holy peace In all the earth is growing.  Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to his name!"

The message of Christ, His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, is the light of that star.  Every year we get that reminder and it "shall not cease till holy peace in all the earth is growing."

This year we will have a simple Christmas.  We'll enjoy the lights and the music.  We'll give small gifts of love.  We'll skip the debt, the shopping mania and the stress.  We'll enjoy the company of family and friends and thank God for the gift of this season, the gift of good friends, the gift of forever families.  And most importantly we'll thank Him for the gift of His Son.

Blessings

I woke up this morning next to the man I love (that would be my husband in case anyone is wondering) and couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the blessings that are a part of my life.

To start out with, have I mentioned how much I just love my in-laws?  Well it's true.  This Thanksgiving was held at our house.  Usually we are at either my parents or David's parents, but it was a little different this year.  We hosted it at our house and invited my in-laws and my parents.  Ten adults were in our not so large house and the Thanksgiving feast fell to me.

I admit, at first I was a bit nervous but as assignments were made and the cooking was well underway I only semi fell apart a couple of times.  Once was with the pies.  Banana cream to be exact.  First round (fortunately made on Wednesday), the crust decided to not cooperate and balloon up behind my back.  Couldn't fill them if I wanted to.  After a terse round of choice words, I sent my sister to the store to buy some frozen crusts.  They baked up wonderfully so I made the filling.  That wonderful home made banana cream pie filling which I have made several times before and has always turned out so very tasty and perfect and wonderful and this time decided not to set up... not even a little.  We had banana cream soup.  Tasty banana cream soup, but soup nonetheless.

Second almost tragedy was the yams.  When doing a large amount of yams in the crock pot it is best to start them cooking several days before.  Okay. Slight exaggeration.  However, when the turkey was done and we were getting the last of the food all prepared, the yams were as hard as ever.  Thanks to the genius of people who can think with a more level head than my pregnant self right now, into the microwave they went and turned out beautifully!

So, dinner was on the table a full 15 minutes before we had planned and it went beautifully!  And my mother's mashed potatoes were so creamy. We all talked and laughed and laughed and talked and just enjoyed the day.  And then my wonderful wonderful father-in-law did the best thing ever!  He did the dishes!  I mean it! How cool is that!  The rest of the evening was spend playing games and laughing and talking, eating pie and enjoying each other's company.  I was thrilled.  Thrilled to have everyone there, thankful to hear people talking, and just overjoyed that my parents enjoyed it as much as everyone else seemed to.

Friday brought on a breakfast of Dutch pancakes and bacon and then a loading of the car as people traveled back home.  David, Abby (my sister who is living with us now) and I then pretended to clean things up but really didn't.  Sat in our pajamas, watched three movies, played board games, ate leftovers and stayed in pajamas the entire day! The most glorious Black Friday ever.

So today I am here.  Overwhelmed a bit with thankfulness for all the wonderful people in my life.  For my family on both sides.  Both sides of which I just absolutely love.  Words almost cannot express how much.  Thankful for my home, for our neighbors, our ward family, our friends.  Thankful for the incredible women of book club and the joy and laughter they bring to my life.  Thankful for my friends at work and the support they are to me.  Thankful for the bestest husband ever who makes me laugh and understands me when I go crazy.  Who loves me.  Thankful for the little guy that will be a part of our lives even more in February.  Thankful for doctors who know what they are doing.  Thankful for God.  For his blessings, his tender mercies, his hand in all parts of our lives.

Today we will decorate for Christmas.  Get a tree, put up lights, and start making our own magic of the season.  That magic that comes because of this special time of year.  When we think of others and how we can give to them.  When it is a little easier to follow the teachings of Christ and put the needs of others before our own.  To celebrate his birth and the miracle of his life. He is the reason for the season.

Our's was good...

It's time for some pictures.  And for the record, I think I'm funny.

 Hope your's was just as good!

Happy 4th!

The Fourth of July.  A day celebrating independence.  Though the holiday traditional celebrates the independence of American from the British there are many other reasons to celebrate ones independence.  This day, this 5th day of July in which David and I had the day off, we celebrated our independence from the tyranny of landlords and freed ourselves from the oppression of a portion of our overgrown yard.

Before:

After:

It's hard to tell in the picture, but you will notice a patch of dirt where no less than 4 different bushes once held root.  Hands are sore, muscles are tired and all in all it was a good day.

Aside from today's events though, the weekend was marvelous!  We spent Friday with friends and watched the fireworks.  Saturday brought friends for dinner.  Sunday a much needed breather from daily life complete with a walk around the neighborhood.  It has been a full weekend, but I'm still not ready to go back to work.

Almost done

K, so sorry about the long absence on the blog thing.  For those who don't know, we've been in the process of moving and my oh my what a process it has been.  We have yet to spend a weekend at the new place and it looks like we may  not be doing that for awhile.

How about a recap:

May 7:  We get the keys and actually bring one carload of stuff over because we can.

May 8:  Official move day, spend entire day lifting and loaded and unloading and sweating. (thanks TONS to those who helped with manual labor as well as dinner!)  Stay up till 1 trying to get things in some kind of order.

May 9: Head to Grace for Mother's Day,  Alex's farewell, and family pictures.

May 10:   I can't even remember what this day was...unpacking of some sort and cleaning I'm sure.

May 11:  Head to Salt Lake with family to go to temple, do Ruby River dinner and hit the 10 pm movie (we left the hotel at 9:57 and still made it! Nothing like running around the Gateway after steak! ugh.)

May 12:  See Alex off, go to Ikea for ideas, come home, David goes to work, I hit the cleaning of the old place hard.

May 13:  Thoughts of going to the other house make me want to cry.  Instead I put more things away in new house.

May 14: Renewed effort at going to old place still make me want to cry so we call it a day and vow to do better Saturday.

May 15:  Saturday.  We hit the 14th ward swap with all our old DIable stuff.  Get breakfast.  Clean out other place with a vengance, still don't get done.  Buy a lawnmower.  Take our old table for a ride around town before putting it back in the kitchen where we found it.  Make two trips to the DI.  Pick up new chairs (new to us) and table from Tawnya and Isaac.  Mow lawn, buy groceries, think about dying with sheer tiredness.

May 16:  Studiously avoiding our own messy house, we head to Grace for church and dinner with the parents who have found themselves incredibly bored without Alex around to shake things up.

May 17:  Finish cleaning old house, get almost everything out of garage, wonder if it is even worth it.

That brings us to today.  Looking forward to a nice weekend of not running around... but alas, tis not so.  David's last Grandfather has passed away and his funeral is in Hurricane UT on Saturday.  We will leave on Friday and come back on Monday.  (This was a blessing and not entirely a surprise by the way.)

Week after that we are headed to Grace for Memorial day because that's what we do.

Week after that it's back to Hurricane and a lovely cabin on Mt. Kolob.

We may need to take a loan for gas money.  sigh.

How have you been?

Happy President's day to Us!

Nothing says Happy President's day like a new recliner.  Unless of course that is two new recliners.

K, so I may not fall prey to the Valentine's commercialism, but a good deal on new furniture was just too much to pass up.  And there is good reason behind it too.

I may not have any children, but I'm not altogether clueless when it comes to comfort and essentials to raising children.  As we've been waiting to be chosen by a birth mom, we've made a list of "essentials" that don't cause too  much heartache if the wait is longer than expected. 

Let me explain.  If we were to go out, buy cribs, swings, baby curtains, and other things to make a nursery, then it has a fairly large chance of causing more pain than excitement in the long run.  While there is hope of "if we build it, he/she will come" we do have to be realistic.  We aren't entirely unprepared though.  We do have some money set aside so when we get the call, we've got the funds.

However, there are a few things that we can enjoy right now that are in all reality a preparation for the baby.  Like a comfy recliner that lends itself quite nicely to rocking a baby to sleep when the time comes with no heartache involved while waiting.  See, there is method behind the madness!  Meanwhile, we get to enjoy... as you can see, it didn't take long for David to enjoy.

Happy President's day!!

Ghost of Valentine's Past

I don't like Valentine's day.

Really and truely.  I don't like it.  I don't like the hype, the pressure, the combination of pink and red.  Just not my thing.  I'm not sure how my husband feels about this revelation.  And in truth I'm not sure how I feel about this revelation.  What kind of person doesn't like the day the known world has set aside to shower one's object of affection with cutesy stuffed animals, chocolate roses, over-priced jewelry and truck accessories? 

I'll tell you who, me.  And the reason why is simple.  Though I have had 5 whole years of Valentine's day goodness with the man I love, I had at least 13 years of bitter disappointment at days of Valentine's past.  I remember all too well what it's like to sit at the office and have the only non-flowered desk in site as well as no prospects of any waiting at home.  Or how about that one roommate who had 5 guys ask her out for Valentine's day while you sat and watched "First Wives Club" in order to make it all go away.  That was a good year.  And then there are always the Valentine's gone wrong.  A few examples:

1. At the tender age of 16 I baked a heart shaped cake for the boy I loved.  He in turn said he didn't like cake.  That may have been when I got the other half of the earring from Ed.  Did I mention he was on house arrest?

2.  The year of the stalker was a good one.  I was 19 he was older.  After one date he said he thought he knew me from the pre-existence and we were meant to be together.  I said I didn't think so.  He yelled at my roommates when I wouldn't answer the phone.  He grew me a rose because it's more romantic and meant more that just a store-bought one.  I changed my phone number and moved.

3.  And then there's the socks.  Nothing says Happy Valentine's day like an over-sized pair of men's wool socks.  Yeah, that had to be true love.  At least they were red.

The 13 years of Valentine's yickyness have skewed my feelings towards a healthy loving outlook on Valentine's Day.  I'm hoping that a few more good ones may rectify the situation... or maybe counseling...  Prozac?  Just for the weekend of course.

This year of course I have nothing to fear.  My wonderful husband is in the kitchen right now whipping up a wonderful dinner and caramel brownies have just come out of the oven.  We have the rest of the day to ourselves and are very much looking forward to it.  This will be a good one. May yours be as well.

Happy Valentine's one and all.

New Year Thoughts

The missionaries came over for dinner tonight. Mostly because David forgot to find people from the ward to have them over dinner, but truthfully I didn't mind one bit. It's been a long time since we've had them over and it was a nice chance to sit and remember my own mission. I won't bore you with the details since it's only really interesting to me, but I'm sure getting a replica of my head in the mail (pinata style of course) was also interesting for Sister Pratley. If she had any doubts about the sanity of me and my family up to that point it was solidified that day.

Anyway, back to the here and now, it was nice having them in our home. It has prompted me to reflect on my life right now. And since it is a time for "new beginnings" then why not! In one of my meetings a spiritual thought was given and I wrote it down. "If you are not as close to the Lord as you used to be, who moved?"

I've been thinking about that statement. I remember well the mission days when 2 hours of gospel study was the norm. Praying always was a way of life. I knew that coming home would introduce new challenges, and there really was no way that I would have realistically expected 2 hours of gospel study to continue being the norm. However, I also didn't think I would be as casual as I sometimes am when it comes to gospel study either.

I don't write this to make myself or anyone else feel guilt or remorse, but simply to take a good look. Is this where I want to be? Am I comfortable with my level of faith in God? Do I really trust him? Do I really know him? The theme for Primary this year is "I Know My Savior Lives". The instruction to Primary presidencies is as follows:

Through the witness of the Holy Ghost, the children will learn that because of the central role of Jesus Christ in our Heavenly Father's plan, they can have faith in Him. The children will also learn that their faith will grow stronger as they keep the commandments, serve, share the gospel, follow the example of the Savior, and prepare for His Second Coming.

It's the simple truths that are taught in Primary and yet I feel so inadequate. It's a good thing that this is the Lord's work and not mine. Can you just imagine the mess I would make! Sheesh!

So that is my pondering for the coming year. Sure I could make resolutions to lose weight, take up painting, go sky-diving, and any other number of things, but who's kidding who? I'm going to be lucky to make it out of this year alive! What I really want is to be closer to God so I can enjoy life more even when things don't turn out according to plan. I want peace of mind. Really that can only come one way. And with God, that might not be too much to ask for.

May the New Year bring all that you hope for and if it doesn't, at least keep a smile on your face.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas Day

Christmas Day.

We woke up bright and early

and watched nieces and nephews open presents.

We spent the night at Jarom and Melissa's home

and got to spend the morning with their three kids.

It was so fun being able to watch

their faces light up with joy.

Isn't it that much more fun to watch a child

rather than spend it without.

Unfortunately I didn't get photos of our actual Christmas morning

but I was able to get some at mom and dad's

though even then I failed miserably at getting pics of everyone.

oh well!

The boys playing with Christmas.

See what I have to put up with!

What is it with kids and little chairs.

Axel couldn't fit but we sure got a kick out of watching him try.

To the founder of the feast.. or at least part of it.

Alex dazzled us with his dutch oven prowess.

Just us, enjoying the day.

The Weather Outside is...

Cold. Yep, that's pretty much it.

Christmas seems to make even the bitterest cold weather a bit more bearable. I love turning on the lights we have strung across our porch and around our windows and looking outside from the safety and warmth of my home to see the light reflect off of the snow. It seems to just warm everything up. I think that's why Christmas lights are so popular. Not so much because of the season, but because in this dark and dreary time we need to create our own light to brighten the darkness.

So go ahead, I dare you to humbug the season while looking at the magic twinkling of thousands of pinpoints of lights. How can it not raise the spirits.

My spirits are high today. I just have one of those good feelings that everything is falling into place. All is exactly where it should be. Part of me thinks I should be looking around the corner trying to see where it's all going to fall apart. Thankfully the bigger part of me is more than content to bask in this wonderful feeling of peace. All may not be right in the world, but all is right in my heart.

This song came on my pandora station and I love the feel of it so I'm sharing. Enjoy!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

... thy leaves are so unchanging

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,

Thy leaves are so unchanging.

Not only when something or other

but also in na na na na

Who knew that so few people know the words to "O Christmas Tree"?!

Last night was my big family Christmas party. The one that I was putting the music together for. As crunch time came, my visions of a re-usable song book bound together for everyone's singing pleasure, came crashing to a halt. Due to lack of time, my vision took a drastic change to "just get the stupid words on the paper so that they have something to look at". Since I had approximate 1 hour to finish the job and get it printed, I opted not to write down the words to all the songs. Seriously, who doesn't know the words to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "O Christmas Tree"?! That would be my family.

The party went well though. And people got a kick out of my typos... or maybe I just got a kick out of my typos. Best one: In "Sleigh Ride" I typed "Let's take that road before us and sign a chorus or two". Best part is that without fail everyone sang sign! Oh the power of the written lyrics!

Enough of that. This week's highlights:

1. Most funnest book club ever! (it's my blog I can write it how I want to) We read "The Bright Side of Disaster". I quite enjoyed the book even with the bit of language that seemed to be stuck in their now and then. It was odd to think that some of the things that she was dealing with, I may never go through myself. (It was about a woman having her first child. It's more complicated than that but it does give you an idea.) Mostly I loved getting to know more about the delightful women who are in the book club with me. It was soooo good to laugh uncontrollably with everyone! Looking ever forward to next month.

2. I attended Activity Days for the first time of my entire life seeing as Activity Days came after my time (which kind of makes me feel old.... oh well). It was such a boost to have the girls happy and even excited to see me! Seriously, there really is nothing like Primary kids to give you a huge self-esteem lift.

3. The afore mentioned family Christmas party has come to a close. Sigh.

4. I didn't eat sugar for 5 whole days!!! Wow huh! For those of you who know me, that's like a Christmas miracle itself. I usually form a severe addiction to all things sugar/chocolate on Halloween and it lasts until roughly Easter. This new achievement actually started thanks to my husband. For the drive home from Hurricane after Thanksgiving, our "meal" consisted of Mountain Dew (my caffeinated beverage of choice), Nibs, Cheese Nips, and an embarrassingly large bag of Reese's Pieces. The Reese's Pieces and Nibs I blame entirely on Cecil by the way. We were both really quite ill by the time we got home and new we would be but didn't care. And the saddest part is that neither one of us would have changed a thing in retrospect. That's when we knew something had to be done. Sugar free week-days and sugar weekends. We have to do it together or we'll both fail. Seems to be working well so far.

Music/video to start the week with:

Giving Thanks

It's been a while since I have written and I truly have so many good things to be thankful for. But first, a book quote. I just finished reading "One True Thing" by Anna Quindlen. The main character, Ellen, has moved home from a very successful job in NY to take care of her dying mother whom she never really knew. One passage reads:

"If I knew you would be happy I could close my eyes now and rest." Her voice was beginning to sink and die, as though it was going down the drain, rush of words to trickle of whisper. "It's so much easier."

"I know it is. I wish you could."

"No, not that. The being happy. It's so much easier, to learn to love what you have instead of yearning always for what you're missing, or what you imagine you're missing. It's so much more peaceful."

I love that passage. It's the essence of what so many of us are trying to be.. happy, but failing at because we are searching for it in the next phase of life that is always so unreachable. I'll be happy when... You fill in the blank. Don't we have a right to happiness now? Haven't we all worked too hard to not enjoy what we have? I give you my incomplete list of thankfulness.

1. I have the best husband ever! Caring, kind compassionate, and he makes me laugh.
2. I love my in-laws complete with quirky behavior! yep, all of them!
3. I love my new snowflake Christmas lights. They cheer my spirit.
4. I love my calling. There's nothing like children to lift the spirits, even if they try them at the same time.
5. I am thankful that I get to read so much.
6. I am thankful that Heavenly Father is very much aware of me and my needs.
7. I love my family! I love get togethers, chaos, and the peace of knowing you belong.
8. I love that my parents stay at my house sometimes, even if we aren't there. I'm getting to know a different side of both of them.
9. I love that God gives us so many chances to try again, to learn, to grow, to little by little become like him.

An incomplete list. Feel free to start your own. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass... and great happiness achieved.

(By the way. We are approved for adoption! Someone thinks we are fit to be parents! Now we just get to wait to be chosen. If any of you know of someone whom we could help out of a tough situation, please pass our info on to them.)

Little of this, little of that

So I have been meaning to blog all stinkin' week, but alas... I had excellent topics of conversation for it as well. For example, at work we got a flier in the mail from the "be well, sustainability, can't we all just get along" group here on campus. It said:

Slow Food Movement at USU

followed by:

Gentle Yoga

Then we got a package delivered from Ultimate Support

The rest of the day went downhill from there. I couldn't control my sarcasm to save my life and had to run around pointing out how funny it was much like a 13-year old boy who's main sense of humor hovers in the bathroom. Perhaps it's a blessing that I didn't blog about it sooner.

Well, enough of that. Life has been, in a word, busy. Extremely busy. I would love to cut things out but I simply don't know which activity I would give the axe to. I enjoy the newly started book club and am half-way through the book already (thanks to the elliptical at the gymn, one of the many skills I picked up in college was reading while exercising. It may be my most profitable skill yet!) I enjoy knitting and hope to someday finish the hat I started. (Who knew that a hat would be so difficult!) I love my Primary calling. That is never made more manifest than when a child you thought could care less about you gives you a hug at the most unexpected moments. I thoroughly enjoy the "scheduled creativity" of my the stamp club that I'm part of. I even enjoy my job despite some, shall we say temperamental co-workers. I don't even mind cooking. It's good on our budget and I think that David likes me more when two Banquet beef pot pies and a baggie of veggies don't have to be his lunch of choice. I have even taken on a few other projects to round things out... you know, to fill up my spare time.

My family is having a big Christmas party with my mom's side of the family. It's become a much loved tradition and despite all efforts, it can't be put to a stop. It's really like a big family reunion at Christmas time. The problem is finding space that is "homey" for 65 people and counting. We usually have it at my parents house but not this year. Instead we are doing it at Jarom and Melissa's. They have an attached garage that is going to be the staging area for the food. The big basement will house the hordes of children and the adults can talk anywhere, appropriate or not. Should be fun. My job in all of this is to put together a Christmas Song book that can be copied and distributed to all for our singing session. It is the thing that we love the most. There is just something magical about gathering around as a family and singing Christmas carols. Makes everything worth it.

So, onward and upward. This season of magic is almost upon us. For some it's already here. I kind of like to warm up to it a bit though. Getting hit in the face with Christmas, especially in the form of mobile displays on the lawn and blow-up figures of Santa getting chased up a Christmas tree by a dog (and thus revealing is blue boxers with snowflakes on them) is just a little much for me. I prefer something a bit more simple. Less Santa, more feeling. The peace of the birth of our Savior that comes with the season is often forgotten in the shuffle of holiday shopping and gaudy lawn displays. I feel like it should come gently... like falling snow. Providing a hush in the world and a little bit of magic.

In passing...

Another week has gone by. Highlights:

1. I've been systematically killing people at work... and they like it. For Halloween (my favorite holiday) I have been making headstones to put in the windows at work. Headstones don't mean much if they aren't for the people you work with, know, and love. And of course there are those that you just want to harass a little bit. The joke now is don't mess with catering or you'll end up with a headstone. I love it.

2. Diwali, the festival of lights. David, myself, Tawnya, and Isaac attending the Indian Festival of Lights last evening put on by the Indian Student Association. Thank you Tawyna and Isaac for putting up with it. The food was good, but the entertainment portion was long... we even left early and it was still long. But hey, didn't have to cook!

3. Jarom and Alex came to stay with us on Tuesday night. They were here in the "big city" to sell potatoes. We ended up staying up till 1 am. Everyone had a lack of sleep headache the next day, but it was totally worth it. So dang fun! And I bought custard cups and made individual molten lava cakes for dessert! Am I the coolest sister or what!

4. Mom and Dad also spent time with us, Friday night to be exact. After the shock of learning we had cancelled our cable ( I swear Dad lives for the news sometimes) they took us out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Yummy and very filling.

All in all it's been a good week. Even today went well. We split our bulging nursery of 28 kids into two rooms and not once did I hear screams of displeasure emitting from either nursery! It was great. The nursery leaders didn't even look frazzled by the end of the day. Finally a winning decision! Woo-hoo! Perhaps the beginning of a winning streak? Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Aaaahhh....

A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Today was the completion of the Primary Program. In the LDS world it's the most popular Sunday of the entire year. Grandparents come to see their grandchildren, parents who haven't set foot in a church house for the entire year manage to put on their glad rags and watch their child say their part and sing their songs. It used to be my favorite Sunday of all time until I got put in charge of it. Yes, a huge sigh of relief at the end of Sacrament meeting.

Now on to the rest of life.

I want to be able to enjoy these last months of semi-warmish weather before the long Logan winter hits. I know this is jumping the gun a little, but it is almost October after all.

Things I want to accomplish before the snow falls:
1. Find the garage, I know it's there but where?

2. Do something with the backyard. Borders, trimmings... it's all needed.

3. Go to a corn maze. I don't know why, but it's been awhile since we've done a corn maze. Every year I think we should go and then we don't. Such a simple things, why don't we do it?

4. Finish Christmas presents. ** explanation forth coming.

5. Walk around every possible evening with my husband before it gets too cold.

6. Remember my hobbies and why I like to do things. It always bothers me that I forget or neglect the things that I really like to do. I haven't played the piano in a shameful amount of time. I haven't done anything with a picture though I've taken tons. I've also neglected my journal and my blog (I know, what gave it away). I promise myself reform.

So let's talk about Christmas. This year David and I have decided to do something different. Instead of hunting around the stores trying to find the perfect item that either doesn't exist or is way too expensive, we're doing a homemade Christmas. So far we know what we want to do for siblings on either side and at least one and a half set of parents. Jury's still out on one of the possible gifts, but overall I'm excited. I've never been the type of person to just throw a gift at someone, it has to mean something. It has to speak to me, telling me it wants to go home and be given and appreciated. The world is full of "stuff". I want the "stuff" to have meaning.

So we're making gifts. And by we I mean me. David is excellent at helping come up with the idea, but let's face it. Craftiness is not his cup of tea. Even if it was he certainly doesn't have the time to do it. Wish me luck.

Spooktacular Events

Well, as you all know, Halloween was last Friday. And what a Halloween it was. David and I decided that we would skip out on the festivities here in Logan and go for something far more exciting... yep, we went to Grace. We stayed at my brother's house and watched scary movies. Well, scary is really not quite the word I'm looking for. How about, weird and kind of stupid mixed in with a healthy dose of crazy. We watched "Willard". It was about a guy who made friends with rats... That's really all I have to say about it. We did stay up till 2 a.m. though... still haven't recovered from that, not sure I ever will.

Anyway, I did get there early enough to go Trick or Treating with the kids. And it's a good thing too cause I had my costume on and everything. Halloween is one of my all time favorite holidays. I LOVE to dress up! So I went to work as a witch and wore the costume the whole stinkin' night! I made it successfully through Trick or Treating with only a few mishaps and then the kids thought it would be fun to scalp me on the way home. For some reason they didn't believe that it was my real hair. Odd huh. All in all it was a good night.

Laurelin, Griffen, and Nessa

Me, of course.