Christmas 2015 At A Glance

I love it when the presents are all wrapped and looking pretty under the tree. I just wish I had them there earlier in the season so I could enjoy this view more than a day or two.

We woke up to 10 inches of snow! It hasn't snowed this much in years.

Whitney gave me this sweet note/promise and the DVD of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (which I picked out and paid for but was "from" her).

Whitney made Randy this great Dad of the Year picture showing how he has won the title every year and has it locked up for next year as well.

I surprised her with this Supernatural poster.

Whitney made me these adorable miniatures of the photo cards and tags I make and little packages because I love them.

Landon pretty much only wanted money this year so he was happy every time he unwrapped another present holding a $20 bill.

Our kitchen and laundry room windows look like this, so pleasing.

The guys were out there shoveling for over an hour!

We made the scary drive to Salt Lake to Adam's house, and Andrew was already all set up watching Monster's Inc.

Their living room made for a lovely sight.

Everyone was gathering in the kitchen to load their plates as my parents looked on.

Lola got A LOT of food scraps and was trying to squeeze her face between my knee and the leg of the table to get some from me.

Andrew was beyond happy to get a new Woody doll.

Lori gave all the kids a notebook (chosen just for them) and a Sharpie. They were a BIG hit.

Whitney was using Lola for a table, so funny.

I got Lori a t-shirt with a quote from the oft-quoted movie Mean Girls, "You Go Glen Coco".

My mom grosses us out by wrapping up the cartilage from her recent

 knee surgery as a white elephant gift.

Amy set up the tripod and camera and we got 4 tries to get a decent photo,

 it's no small task to get both Lola and Andrew to look up at the same time!

Sunday Thoughts

Just in case you were wondering, I LOVE primary.

I conducted today (which I don't usually do because I'm the secretary, but the Primary President was out of town so I filled in for her) and it didn't take long for me to be in tears. In Junior primary (ages 3-7) I became a weepy mess in just minutes as a 4 year old stood with his mouth against the microphone and gave a talk as his dad whispered words of truth into his ear. It was painfully cute, but what did me in was the presence of the Spirit as he spoke. I think the kids all felt it too because the room was remarkably peaceful for our large junior primary. It was also cool to watch the boy's mom stand in the back watching her husband and son together like that, I know she felt great too.

Then in Senior Primary (ages 8-12) I lost it again after an 11 year old boy gave his last talk in primary since he will be turning 12 and moving on to Young Men soon. I have seen him grow up and I remember his older brother (who is now 17) whispering in his ear years ago to help him give a talk. Now the older brother is getting ready to go on a mission and this boy is now a confident 11 year old who did a fantastic job by himself and closed with his testimony. I had to pull myself together after the combination of this memory and his talk.

The gospel is remarkable, and primary is the place where the kids learn it in its purest form. I love the lessons we learn as we sing and I often look around the room and see the adults actively engaged and learning right along with the kids...we're never too old to be in primary!

Sunday Thoughts

I've been thinking lately how thankful I am that most of the people I associate with are comfortable talking about spiritual things. This is because I live in Utah and am surrounded by fellow church members who believe the same things I believe, so that means that most of my friends, most of my co-workers and many of the people I encounter around town share my feelings. Though this also means we don't have a whole lot of diversity around here, this post is NOT about diversity. Ha.

I have been touched by various conversations with people I work with and am so thankful to be united in our beliefs. The other secretary in the front office (Wendy) has a son on a mission in Texas and she tells me stories every week about how he's doing and the miracles going on in his life. It is not unusual for us to both be in tears after one of her stories. 

I've gone walking a couple times recently with my friend Cathy (who I know from church) and have loved that as we do laps around the temple we can talk about spiritual things. I sometimes tell her about Relief Society lessons she has missed while serving in primary and we have both gotten choked up as we discuss them. It is a blessing to be able to speak freely about the Atonement.

As I speak with other women it is apparent that we all feel the weight of our responsibilities as women in the gospel, as mothers, friends, neighbors and daughters, but we all feel comforted by our heavy reliance on the Lord and the ability to turn to Him in prayer. We are all trying to do our best and are there to help each other do likewise. I love the gospel and I love being surrounded by people who love it too!

I feel like a huge part of myself would be left out of every conversation if I had to keep spiritual things out of my conversations. How does the rest of the world function?

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: It's emotionally exhausting to lose two streets of families from our ward! That's 58 people we love and who add so much to our ward family...wahhhh!

Andrew's Joyous 24th

Our family gathered at our house Friday evening to celebrate Andrew's 24th (wow!) birthday. My parents had picked him up from "work" around 3:00pm and had taken him out to kill some time before the party. One of Andrew's favorite places is The Disney Store, so they took him there and let him wander happily.

He was drawn to a new set of Woody and Jessie dolls because his well-loved dolls looked like amputees. My mom texted the family to see if any of us wanted to go in on them and we all did! Andrew was sooooo happy! He arrived at my house and immediately showed me his new treasures. It took me about 10 minutes to free the dolls from their insanely thorough packaging and he held onto them the whole time I tried to do that!

I spied a smile!

We don't usually have themed parties for Andrew, but this time we had Toy Story balloons and table cloth.

Our self-portrait.

Landon set Andrew up in the bedroom where he could eat his pizza, drink his soda and watch Toy Story in peace.

We ate spaghetti and meatballs, salad and garlic bread...it was deluxe and required some aprons.

The girls ate outside and had a role-playing game going on while they did so.

Landon watched the BYU/USU game on TV.

Robyn made this amazing turtle ice cream dessert.

In addition to the Woody and Jessie dolls, we wrapped up a bunch of Andrew's favorite snacks so he'd have more to open. He unwrapped 2 boxes of Ritz crackers, some Apple Jacks and some Fruit Loops, plus Lori got him some spinning Disney toys that light up.

This photo is a miracle, he never smiles like this!!! I think he was amused that we put a candle in his bowl of ice cream. It was awesome to see him so happy like this!

The end of the night found the kids crowded around the computer watching an episode of "Good Luck Charlie". I never understand how they can stand to watch shows this (only the person in the chair is ever comfortable) but they never seem to mind.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: Even though today is Tuesday, it's really Thursday in my work week since I'm taking Thursday and Friday off for a Girl's Weekend in Escalante with Amie, Melinda and Michelle, woohoo!

Blissful Conference Weekend--In Pictures

**How was your Conference Weekend?

Did you hear what you needed to hear?

What did you eat?

Did you take notes?**

Comment Window Tidbit: We watched and listened to every word of Conference and loved it. I was weepy several times during every session. I feel refreshed and recommitted!

Creative Friday--On the Verge Edition

It ended up being such a gift that I didn't end up having to start my new job until Monday, because it meant Michelle and I could have one last Creative Friday (though it was on Thursday this time).

As I gathered my supplies, stopped by Sonic and pulled up in front of Michelle's house I had to keep myself from thinking too much about how it was the last time I'll be doing these things for awhile. I actually had to remind myself that I wasn't moving far away or dying...just starting a job that will no longer allow us to have our weekly sessions of creativity, talking and life-saving therapy (no big whoop right?).


Eva was at the table working on some writing when I got there, and even that choked me up because I've been sitting at that table (actually an older table before this one) since Eva was just a wish Michelle was hoping for.

Here's a vintage Creative Friday flashback to tiny Eva.


And a flashback to SUPER tiny Eva!

I can't remember what I said to Michelle, but I got all choked up and managed to squeak out, "I can't talk about it" so she knew what I was feeling, but that it was best we not explore it. Instead she said, "Will peanut butter M&Ms help?" Of course they did.


I love this picture because it captures my photo cards, plus Eva in deep concentration while saying something at the same time, and has Michelle in the background making us lunch. Just thinking of all the fabulous lunches she has made me over the years causes a swell of emotion.


We got back to our lunch roots with some homemade chili on baked potatoes with some of Michelle's fabulous homemade grape juice.


Though we were fighting a severe bout of melancholia we managed to have a good, productive day.


Michelle assembled more sets of her genius Paris Colors cards, which she will be selling in a soon-to-be-created Etsy shop near you.

Oh happy, happy stash of goodness.

You'd think after all these years we could have managed to take a self-portrait without a sun spot on my face, but no. Apparently that's an art that takes decades to perfect.


We did a little fake cry for the camera to try to capture the sadness of the day, but it was as I was leaving for real and we hugged goodbye that I started to lose it for real.

I sobbed most of the way home.

To the casual observer all of this would most likely appear to be melodramatic and ridiculous. But to those who have been reading my blog for a long time or who know me in real life know that this is nonnegotiable, weekly event and has been for like 10 years! I went back and found my first post about it and wish I had documentation of our gatherings for all the years previous.


Our kids have grown up with this weekly tradition, and have become good friends because of it.

How could they have ever been this small?

I think we've done a good job of teaching the kids about friendship, creativity, service, thoughtfulness, and motherhood. I hope they will always remember those times at Michelle's house and will look back fondly on those weekly visits.