The YW taught Primary the first Sunday of November. They did such a great job! They all showed up and were prepared to teach their lessons. Ava taught Senior Sharing Time. I missed it because Grayson was getting set apart as the Teacher's Quorum President (we were all cringing a little bit because the room had a waft of vomit). In this photo the YW are displaying a wreathe they tucked notes into for a YW who was missing for a few days. We also had a cute white Christmas tree in the YW room through the month of December decorated in the value colors.
December 3, 2018 Letter to Mallerie:
Wasn't the Christmas devotional wonderful last
night? Before it started I said, "I always hope they will sing my favorite
Christmas song, The First Noel." So when it was announced as the opening song I was so happy!
That song sung by the Tabernacle Choir is Christmas to me. We were so cozy in
the basement watching the devotional around the tree even Po was slumbering silently. Then
during President Nelson's address the recording stopped. Graham said,
"Ahhh we were all listening so peacefully." Dad scrambled to hook up
his iPad through the TV so we could finish. I am glad he did because our
Prophet gave a very powerful testimony and the closing song; Hallelujah is also one of my favorites. I just listened to it again. Chills.
Our Sabbath was also
special because Ava got her patriarchal blessing. She had some wonderful
promises made to her in it. I remember when you had your blessing my stomach
was being so loud! This time I had a hacking cough. While we were all chatting
before the blessing I got a coughing fit but was able to get it under control.
I did not have another one during the blessing. Patriarch Gardner
asked how you are doing on your mission. It is hard to sum up that question when
people ask. It is so much more than, "She is going well, or good, or
great" or, "She is enjoying it" because I know your mission is
now such a part of just WHO YOU ARE! I think it is all so amazing and
wonderful. Hallelujah!
Dad took the kids to
the Cottages for the Children on Saturday before seeing the new Grinch
movie. Graham has been looking forward to seeing it but he said, "I was
disappointed." That kid goes through life with such high hopes that I am
afraid he will be disappointed a lot. Like the song says, "He's got
high hopes, he's got high hopes. He's got high
apple pie in the sky hopes."
Looking at the picture of the beautiful mountains reminds me of a day I went over to the 9 am water Zumba class at the Aquatic Center. I have added a Tuesday morning water aerobics class to my week but I had slept in that day. The later class was nice because it was light outside and the view of the mountains was spectacular. I stayed after class and swam around for 15-minutes or so because I had the pool to myself. It was very invigorating. I came home and took a shower in my new marble bath and I felt very fancy.
A Real Christmas Tree!
We stuck with our new tradition and got fresh tree for the living room. We
found the perfect one at a lot in Midway. After a lot of back and forth from
Heeb's to get the truck from Ava at the Heber Valley Railroad we got the tree home
and in a bucket of water on the back deck. By the time we got home it was too
late to make dinner so we had sushi and donuts. The next morning the bucket of
water had frozen solid! I had to roll it into the dining room to defrost so we
wouldn't have a slanted tree in a Home Depot bucket. But now it is up and
decorated and Graham says it is his favorite real tree yet. He gets very
particular you know. He wanted the tree in front of the window so I had to
re-arrange all of the furniture. It is fun to put up Christmas decorations and
get the house festive.
Callie's letter to SANTA:
Dear Santa, Merry Christmas! Okay I would like some new head fones. because I dont have any and the school ones are bad! and maybe a fhone. because i would like to text. and also think about the phone first. before the headfhones. well by santa! and a happy new year! P.S. I've done my best to be good!
White Christmas
Tuesday, December 4th was
the BEST DAY in the temple. I drove down after dropping Callie off to school in the
morning. I have always wanted to perform ordinances for someone from start to finish all in the same day. I started in the baptistery, followed by confirmations. Upstairs I performed Initiatories and then went downstairs to the cafeteria for a bowl of soup. After lunch, I then went back upstairs with all of my stuff (snow boots and all in my arms). A worker saw me and said, "Lets get you a locker!" I then went through an Endowment session followed by Sealings. Lastly, I spent some time in the Celestial Room. You wouldn’t think being in the temple all day that I would’ve gotten in a lot of steps, but I was up and down those stairs and floors, getting in and out of lockers, and ended up with 5,000 steps. I can tell you the back way to the cafeteria, laundry, etc. It was pretty much a 9-5 day! Provo Temple really is my fav. It was so cool to see December 4th stamped
on all of the boxes for a woman named Sarah Perry. All the names I brought were
family names: Five baptisms, four initiatories, one endowment, and 11 sealings. I
was very un-rushed so I was able to just enjoy the peace that comes from being
in the House of the Lord. I would love for this "White Christmas" to become a yearly tradition for me.
Maybe I will need to ask Sarah for a favor one day. And that day is today.
On another spiritual note, Poe is the most spiritual cat I know. Our family and Poe just finished reading the Book of Mormon for the ninth time as a family.
Cozy Christmas at Home
Lindsey sent a picture of her decorated tree and I thought it was so lovely. I am sure she will find that ours is very similar;) I loved looking at our tree at night but the neighbors across the street put a blow-up BB8 on their porch. I didn't like looking at it through the window so if BB8 was out in the evening, the curtains were closed. Hehe.
I love remembering the reason for the season and am so grateful for the one who has borne all our ills and who truly understands me. How blessed we are for the gifts of the Savior. I love the way Callie placed the figurines to surround the swaddled babe.
A Christmas Carol
I was happy to have a date with Matt to look forward to. We went and saw A Christmas Carol at the Hale in Sandy the first weekend in December. I love the storyline; I found the play to be a spiritual experience. I laughed, I cried, I sang along in my head. It's goooooood.
When we rolled back into town we could see the tree at Town Hall and it was magical, along with the lighted trees up and down Main Street.
"Hey, Betty Crocker"
The next day while
all the kids (and Tyson) went to the local theater, I stayed home and baked the day away.
Since we didn't host Matt's family for Thanksgiving this year and Grandma Donna
and Grandpa Mike were coming for Sunday dinner the next day, I decided to make a full-on
Thanksgiving dinner! It was so fun to make and I really enjoyed every minute of
it. Ava took Callie to Wal-Mart to Christmas shop and then she came home and
said, "I have probably six hours of homework to do." I thought she
would get right on that, but instead I saw her fast asleep on the couch. Haha. The
smells from the kitchen, the sound of carols, the glow from the tree, I guess
it was all just too relaxing. Ahhhh Christmastime.
After I got the kitchen put back together and Callie and Ava left to the Weilemann's to hang out. Matt and I attended the Community Messiah Sing-in. It sounded incredible with the live orchestra. Grayson texted during the closing song that he was ready to be picked up from work so Matt texted him back that we would be there soon, but the last song, "Amen" went on and on. When we finally went to pick up Gray I told him what the hold up was, "The Amen song went on and on, Amen, A-men, A-m-e-e-e-e-en," I told him. He said, "I thought you could only say Amen once." He's a funny guy. Grayson is enjoying working at Papa Murphy's a lot.
Everyone seems to really enjoy him as well. On Friday night we told him he was
going to have to ride his bike home but he said that people are always offering
him rides. Gray is very
particular as to when he wants his sandwich ready before work. He said he gets
hungry at work if he doesn't have a sandwich first. If he works after school I get lots
of text reminders, "Mom, make sure you have the sandwich ready." Then
he included, "And don't forget to pick up Graham
from school." I told the kids, "Some day you will understand what Momma-Christmas-brain is!" After I took Grayson to work, I took Callie to violin and then I was on my way to drop Graham at scouts when I heard him laugh, "And there goes the house..." I had driven right past his scout leaders house. It is a challenge when all three kids have to be different places at 3 pm!A Proper Christmas Dinner Sunday December 9th
Grandma Donna and
Grandpa Mike were already at the house when we got back from church. Dinner was about an hour away
from being ready so the kids played their instruments for them and then a round
of Apples to Apples. They play their instruments every month for Grandma when she comes so she can see their improvement. Gray on the other hand said to me in the
kitchen, "I wish no one in this family played an instrument. They don't
sound good." Gray...
Dinner was A-MAZ-ING.
It was satisfying to make it all myself. Grandma is fun to cook for because she
notices all the details. The orange rolls melted in our mouths. She said, "This dinner would cost $35 a plate in
a restaurant. This is our Christmas present from you." Then she said,
"I hate to eat and run but we are going to." Ha, I would LIKE to see
her run. We watched Home Alone 2 downstairs after they left.
Callie's Violin Recital and Graham's Band Concert
On Monday the 11th we went to
the most charming little violin recital for Callie. It was in her teacher’s
living room and there were only about a dozen of us in attendance. It was
really low-key with different art students sharing their talents. Callie played
her first solo. For only starting in Sept she did really well! Her teacher sang a couple of solo's. One of them was Amazing
Grace. After the first verse her teacher turned off the music, "That
is enough of that." And then we all sang Frosty the Snowman. A
guy replied, "I don't know the words." I assured him, "Nobody
does." So we all sang different words to all the verses. A and Gray both
had to work unfortunately.
The following Thursday was Graham's
first band concert. He was nervous beforehand and kept checking his case to make sure he had his music. We were sitting by the drums and it was so loud in the WHS
Auditorium. I was afraid the drummers would play the whole time and we wouldn't be able
to hear the band. Graham's friend, Eli Gordon played a great drum solo. I didn't have my glasses on
though so I couldn't tell it was him. I was getting so sleepy
during the concert! Later, Ava and Grayson were talking about other kids who played. I said, "I didn't see them." Ava said, "That is because your
eyes were closed." But my ears were open! And that is more important
right?
Christmas Around the World
The Young Women were in charge of the Ward Christmas Party. It was open house style with different booths to look at and sample from. I threw the kind of party I would like to attend. We just held it on a Wednesday in place of our regular activity. OH, and I also used it as our Young Women in Excellence. Three birds!
Above is the YW tree we decorated for our fourth quarter Personal Progress activity in November. The girls decorated ornaments with how they have progressed this past year. We assembled English Crackers, which had a Light the World FHE inside, and we tied ribbon around candy sticks for party favors. For that activity back in November I went early to set up the different stations in the cultural hall. I had to laugh at how it looked when I was done. Super random. I came back home for dinner and Matt asked, "How does it look over there?" I said, "It looks like a mess, but it will all make sense when I explain it to the girls."
The night of the ward party, many members brought nativities and treats. Members also wrote to missionaries and servicemen. The Young Women sang Peace in Christ to a slide show that Ava put together. Matt had Coco playing at his station and it kept the kids from running amok around the church. The party had a nice vibe (though it didn't start off that way, the other ward had taken all of the tables and it took an hour to round them up). People. There were so any treats! Our ward had a funeral luncheon to put on the following Friday and so we used the leftover treats for that. It was a good thing I had rounded up the tables! Tender mercy.
Gingerbread Houses
The following morning we went to the Rec Center and
decorated Gingerbread houses for, what we figured is our 7th year in a row. I loved watching Graham laugh his head off at the
way Callie was positioning the gummy bears like they were sword-fighting with pretzels. I put
a blob of icing on the roof and it dripped all over the gummy bears head. They
were both laughing hysterically. Other snapshots in my mind are: watching Callie skitter down to mailbox to mail her Santa letter, and when Graham found a Santa hat in the storage room. He was curled up on
the couch reading Christmas books one evening. You can see that the hat came on several outings.
We had such a low-key weekend. We watched Christmas
movies at home and nibbled on treats. Home is just such a cozy place to be at Christmastime that it is hard to get any of us to go
anywhere!
We're Poppin!
Callie helped me make some white-chocolate popcorn one evening. We put some in bags for our new neighbors, including the new BB8 neighbors. Callie also helped me sew up some heat sacks using field corn. We sewed a big pile and kept them in the dining room. When someone would bring us a treat Callie would toss them a heat sack. One kid was from her primary class and as she threw it to him he mumbled, "What the heck?" She gave no explanation, "Merry Christmas!" she hollered as shut the door.
Live Nativity
Our youth attended the 6th annual Live Nativity. I am surprised I have never heard of it before, it was really great. It was very crowded so I ended up just sitting with my kids. I forgot I was even there with the youth. There was free cocoa and donuts for all!
Daddy Fun Day!
They all had a blast at the ice-skating rink in Midway. Callie has expressed
interest in trying out skating but we haven't made the time. It was "Sheriff
and Friends Day." They went with the Sheriff's family, and we were the
friends! I am so glad Ava had the day off because she made it fun for the
others.
TaySulZol
That same night was
the Taylor Christmas party with my Dad's side in Murray. My Aunt Chris organized a
get-to-know-you-game where everyone had to come up front and answer a question. My
question was, "What is the worst advice you've ever been given." That
was hard to think of on the spot. I finally just said, "...to get a college
education." Har har. Chris put a lot of work into the party. Every table
had a full vase of gumballs. I think that is all the kids ate for dinner. I
would never give a bunch of roaming kids a never-ending supply of gumballs but
it wasn't my party. Solly's jaw never stopped chomping all night.
Sunday Sabbath
The next day we enjoyed a Christmas program and one-hour of church. My pesky cough was back so I stayed in the foyer. I should have stayed home all together but the YW were singing and there was a part that only the leaders were singing and there were very few of us as it was. I croaked out what I could. I got to watch Graham sing for the last time with the Primary kids and Ava recite part of the Living Christ. The clerks from the other ward were chatting SO loudly in the hall, during the sacrament and during the musical numbers. I really needed to feel the spirit that day so it was buggin. I stood in the back door of the chapel to watch the primary kids sing and the clerks started chatting up again. People in the congregation were turning to me with looks of, "What is going on out there?" When the clerk caught my eye I shushed him. He looked so startled (like it just dawned on him how inconsiderate he was being) and he hustled into the office and shut the door. Still, I felt badly for shushing. I seriously should have just stayed home.
Oldies but Goodies
While Matt and Gray went ministering, we cozied up downstairs to watch White Christmas. When the guys came back, Grayson came downstairs to see what we were watching. He shook his head as he went back upstairs, "This is the worst movie ever made." Ah, come on now, lets sing it, "Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow, SNOW!" We were now on the home stretch and eagerly awaiting some! The next day after all, was Christmas Eve! That afternoon we also watched Miracle on 34th Street.
We enjoyed a roast beef dinner. The kids called it our Christmas Adam dinner since the next day would be Christmas Eve dinner.
Then before bed we watched It's a Wonderful Life. To that one Grayson said, "This is the best movie ever made." You just never know with that kid. This much I do know,
