Christmas Jammies

Christmas Report

We had such a marvelous Christmas....all the emotions, ups and downs, excitement, exhaustion, anticipation, franticness, spiritual tenderness, gratitude. Here are a few memories:


Best new game- Brandi gave us Bananagrams and we loved playing it together. It's like an individual scrabble with twists and turns.






Best new recipe-
Marci and Ryan brought a delicious eggnog drink that was a HUGE hit. It might sound a little strange but even those who don't care for eggnog would like this, I'm sure.


1-3/4 to 2 qt. French vanilla (or any vanilla)
2 qt. dairy eggnog or canned eggnog, chilled (8 cups)
1 liter cream soda or root beer

The porportions don't have to be exact. We had it with the rootbeer and it was great!

Gift to Kiddos-

Besides the Christmas jammies for Christmas Eve (can't post the pictures yet), I got recordable books for each kiddo from Hallmark and had Dad read all the boy's books and I did the girl's. I think the kids loved them and it will be a keepsake.

Shake our Head Moment-

Marci and Ryan and the kids came for Christmas and stayed for two nights. It was awesome having them here. On Christmas evening, some of the families were still here and we were trying to play games. I was teaching Sunday school the next day and David was teaching in Young Men's and Marci was teaching in Young Women's....so we all have our manuals spread out, trying to do Christmas and play games and prepare our lessons. It was nuts! But all went well.

Best Funny Story-

Our GNO group has been together over 30 years. It is usually held the second Tuesday of the month and this year BFF Cathy was hosting. Loretta called the first week of December and asked if we could possibly change it to the 3rd week....which meant she had to call everyone to work out schedules, "would this date work or this date"......all of that. Finally Cathy sent an email telling us the date.

Christmas is always the favorite GNO and since it is a little bigger deal, the hostess can always ask people to help. I told Cathy I'd make homemade breadsticks and rolls and bring some shrimp. I got there a little early to help if I could. She had two pots of soup heated and smelling yummy. The stuffed mushrooms were ready to come out of the oven. She had made a gorgeous, festive veggie plate with dip. Desserts. Etc. Etc. (The King and I if you didn't catch that.) Candles were lit on the tables as well as cute favors gracing each plate. I did have to tease her about last year's favor. Cathy also hosted last Christmas and she bought darling ornaments for us and placed them by each tablesetting. As we sat down to eat, Cathy said, "I hope you all enjoy YOUR ornaments." One by one you could hear the snickering when we realized they were personalized....with different names likes Sasha and Abigail and Burt. Not our names but we called each other our new names all night. Cathy hadn't realized they were personalized when she bought them! Anyway, funny memory. I told her she really should have gotten us personalized ornaments again. So, we're getting hungry and waiting. And waiting. She says, "I guess I really should have sent a reminder email to everyone but I didn't think I needed to since we emailed back and forth so much." In my mind, I could see the email she sent a couple of weeks ago. It said, "It's set in stone. See you Nov. 22nd!" Problem was I was at Cathy's on Nov. 21st! The party was the next night! When it actually donned on me that we had the wrong night, Cathy and I laughed so hard we about w.o.p. (figure that one out.) We dished up some food and sat down to eat....just the two of us....tried to have some conversation but one of us would burst out laughing and again get laughing so hard we couldn't even talk.

It was so fun we got to do it again THE NEXT NIGHT!!!


Are we losing our minds or what?

Food Bank

SALT LAKE CITY — Online voters have moved Salt Lake City into second place in a contest that could bring $1 million to the Utah Food Bank. Walmart is sponsoring the "Fighting Hunger Together Challenge," which allows the public to vote for the most deserving of 100 communities. The winning city's food bank will receive $1 million. Food banks from the second through sixth top vote-getting cities will get $100,000 each.


To place a vote, "Like" Salt Lake City on the contest's website. People who have already voted "Like" still can add a comment that will count as another vote for Salt Lake City.
Hitting "Share" will also count as a vote, as will "liking" other friends' comments and "liking" their own comment.
Walmart says it has made a commitment to donate $2 billion by 2015 to the fight against hunger in America. It is letting customers go online and decide which of 100 communities most needs the support.
The Utah Food Bank serves 150 food pantries around the state.
The online contest ends on Dec. 31.

Stealing Baby Jesus

I received this personal story from my friend, J, a few weeks ago and begged permission to share it here. It is one of the sweetest gifts I received this year.

About twelve years ago I bought the most beautiful Nativity set. I was drawn to it because one of the wise men was a black man. Every December 1st we set it up together in our entry way so that whomever comes into our home can see it first - before all the Santa's. I have had a problem with my two kids bickering this year and true to form, they started bickering about who got to place baby Jesus in the manger. 'Ethan, you got to do it last year. It's my turn!' 'So what, I'm the oldest.' 'Mom, can I do it?' 'Mommmmmm!'

I told them that they could each put the baby in the manger. Ellie put Him in first and then Ethan took Jesus out and placed Him in again, then Ellie wanted to have the last touch so she did it again, then Ethan - then I had to leave the room because I couldn't take it anymore. Aggggghhhhhhhhh!!! Poor baby Jesus - how disruptive to a newborn!

Several days ago, as I was dusting, I noticed that Jesus was not in the manger. I couldn't find Him anywhere. For several hours, until the kids got home from school, I fumed about the bickering, why can't they get along better, why do they have to do these stupid power plays with each other? In my opinion, stealing the infant Christ child from my favorite Nativity was cruel and represented my failure as a mother. When they got home I sat them down, 'WHO STOLE BABY JESUS???????' Ellie just sat there with this innocent look on her face but it was my annoying 14-year old Ethan who said, 'Mom, the angel is holding Him.' 'Huh?' I looked closely at the scene and saw that he had removed the horn the angel was always blowing and placed it by its' side and in the angel's arms he had placed the baby Jesus.' He said, 'The angel never gets a chance to hold Him.'

So we left the baby with the angel for several days and then we gave each of the shepherds and all three of the wise man, after removing the shepherd's crooks, boxes of frankincense and gold and adjusting their stiff arms a bit, a turn to hold the Christ child. Jesus will go back into his manger bed on Christmas Eve and hopefully by then, each player in the nativity scene will have had a few semi-private moments to bond with the infant Christ child.

M., in your busy life, with all of the life support you provide and the gifts you bring to others, I hope that you will have a few moments to steal baby Jesus from the manger and hold Him in your arms. I hope that you will feel His healing power of peace in your heart. J.

Egg'cellent Gift

I love all the thoughtful gifts friends bring at Christmastime. All speak love. I especially loved this unique little gift. Thank you, sweet friend!

The Invitation

This is a poem I read when I was in college. Rod McKuen was totally a 70's poet (and doesn't get a lot of respect from academia) but I loved his thoughts, especially his Christmas carols. Let's take the "x" out of Christmas and leave the porch light on.


INVITATION
(Rod McKuen)

I’ve seen so many Merry Xmas signs
with Christ squeezed out by laziness
or the printer’s economic need.
The outrage that it once produced
has almost found its way into the attic
with nineteen-sixty’s broken toys.


(Had I not the faces of small children
to mirror Christ for me all year long
I might believe God dead, or sleeping anyway.
Though I doubt there lives a Lucifer
who could make September leaves to fall
or set the tails of dogs to wagging.)


God is living in the mountains,
a recluse from some people’s hearts.
but he’d drop by smiling in the chilly night
and celebrate his first son’s birthday
if we cared enough to keep the porch light on.

Hark the Herald...

Yesterday morning we went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas performance featuring David Archuleta, narrated by actor Michael York. David was amazing! He spoke at the end and said that he had attended the Christmas performance 4 years ago when Sissel was the featured performer. He had no idea then what his life would be like now, and that he soon would be performing in that spot as well.

Imagine a choir with over two hundred people. Imagine a fabulous orchestra. Imagine grand organ pipes, decorated with boughs and lights, imagine stars falling from the ceiling, houses lit up on the grand stage of the Conference Center (20,000 people in attendance)- sets beyond imagination. I thought my heart would burst. Music is such a vehicle of the spirit. This day was a gift to me.

To continue on the day, last night was our annual Stake choir fest and more beautiful Christmas music. I couldn't even continue singing the last verse of Silent night.

Life can be so hard at times. Lately a rash of tragedies have occurred. A few weeks ago, one of my dear friend's daughter-in-laws' mother was murdered. It has been big and heart-wrenching news in our valley. Friend Sophia has a young friend in critical care from an accident. Last week, in Arizona, my cousin's son-in-law, Micah Kaplan, a young husband and teacher was killed in an accident as well. He was a beautiful young man. I ache for my friends and family. It seems like life and heartache keeps coming at you with distress and anxiety so yesterday was truly a gift. The spirit of peace comforting the heart. The Lord has promised us that although he won't take away our problems, he will carry us through them. He'll give us the tools to become victors over adversity.

But then there's a moment like tonight, a profound and transcendent experience, the feeling as if a door has opened, and it's all because of that instrument, that incredible, magical instrument. (anon)

Music You Want to Turn Off (or On)

This blog is suppose to be positive but yesterday, while driving in the car, I found myself listening to a talk radio program (which I NEVER do) and they were having a debate about the worst Christmas songs ever. People text in their worst songs list and each one was debated on air. I know it is apples and oranges but every once in awhile, someone says they don't like bananas and I think, "Oh my gosh, how you could not like bananas?" So, for the sake of offending everyone and no one, since memories are usually tied to things we love or dislike,


here are some songs mentioned.



1. Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer- The first time I heard this song it was hysterical. I especially liked that my kids/kiddos thought it was funny. I totally didn't mind getting run over the first time but time after time, it loses its funny. But I'm a good sport when one of the kiddos hears it for the first time and I get to be "the joke" of the song. So, while I don't want to keep hearing this song- I don't mind a bit that my kiddos think it is funny.





2. The Twelve Days of Christmas. This could cause war in the family. Truly this song drives me nuts but it is one of the Dahlquist's (Heather White's family) favorite songs. For many years our families would have Christmas dinner together and Charles would make us "do the song" with all the actions. Our favorite part was watching my husband squirm with the "look" of death on his face. He does not like to act goofy. So that is a great memory. For years, each year for Christmas, I would find something having to do with the 12 Days for my cuz. And last year, we had secret someones doing a 12 Days of Christmas for my MIL which just brightened her life.


So, I have many memories associated with this song, so I try and NOT not-like-it....although I wouldn't choose to listen to it unless my kiddos or the Dahlquists....or my husband.....are doing the actions.





3. Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey A lot of people complained about this song but I don't think I've heard it....or if I have, I've blocked it out of my mind.





4. Christmas Don't Be Late by the Chipmunks Now come on! Obviously the world hasn't seen our ancient family video with the Jaggi boys playing combs with waxed paper on and singing this song. It is a favorite Christmas memory. If you hate this song, please come on over and let me introduce you to the Jaggi boys! (their name is pronounced "Yag- gy.")





5. Christmas Shoes Can I just say, this song really makes me cry...because it is so awful. Truly the Christmas song I never want to hear again. I think DJ's are just playing with us when they play this song. It is worse than fingernails on a blackboard.








I once was in a writing group with a lady (one of my neighbor's mothers) that was pretty feisty and said one time, "If I hear "Oh Holy Night" one more time, I'm gonna scream!" Really? How could you not love Oh Holy Night? I almost made a cd for her of every rendition of the song I could find. Just to be funny. Cause that's how I love people....

I love Christmas music. I have my favorites- a cd by Brad Smith, Barenaked Ladies (thanks Amy)....although Brandi informed me last night when listening to them that we need to refer to them as BNL....she has an 11-year-old and you know how THEY are!.....a Paisley Christmas (Paisley Van Patten is my nail gal's daughter and she has two Christmas cd's. They are WONDERFUL!)

But here are some of my all-time favorites. Many of them you need to have a listen on Itunes or whatever you use. There are some non-standards here:

Where Are you Christmas...by Faith Hill or Paisley or whoever. Love this song!

Christmas Day...by Mandisa featuring Michael W. Smith

Thankful (also Believe) ...by Josh Groban

Angels We Have Heard on High...by Josh Groban and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

or by David Archuletta or by anyone. This is my favorite hymn.

The Gift of Love...The Boones

Il Est Ne Le Divin Entant...David Tolk

Be Still...Kelly Clarkson

O Holy Night...by anyone but try MercyMe for a wonderful rendition

Still, Still, Still ....Mormon Tabernacle Choir or anyone

I Believe....Natalie Grant

I Just Knew....Cherie Call

Even Santa Fell in Love...Jim Brinkman

Christmas Day...Dido

Christmas Canon....Trans.Siberian Orchestra

He Has Come For Us (medley with God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen...stay with this one...it is beautiful!) ...Meredith Andrews

Who Would Imagine a King....by anyone but I especially like Katharine McPhee also by her "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!"

Mary Did You Know...by Kenny Rogers or Donny Osmond or anyone. I love this song too.

I'd love to hear anyone's favorite Christmas playlist. Please share!

Echo of Christmas

Last night David and I attended the Echos of Christmas in Liberty Park with Brandi and family. This is a live nativity that is put on every year and is free. It still goes Monday and Tuesday of next week so if you live in the valley, this would be a great activity for your family. (nondenominational) Dress warm....you "follow" a shepherd through the park where different scenes from the nativity are depicted. The costumes are wonderful and the nativity story is told through music. We loved it!

Here is the information from their website.

2010 Echoes of Christmas

December 14-18 & 20-22 2010

30-minute shows begin every 5 minutes

from 7 - 9 PM each evening

Weather Permitting

Liberty Park - Salt Lake City, Utah

Enter from the North Entrance

900 South at 600 East

Park by "Tennis Bubble" on the Middle West side of the park. Follow the signs and gather just West of Youth Center

Admission is Free

No Ticket Required

Donations Accepted

Family History

This is so funny....if you haven't seen it on Youtube, you really need to brighten your day by clicking here. Truly, it will make you laugh.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80entLldZOg

Odds and Ends

Just wanted to catch up on a few odds and ends of our busy Christmas season. Mondays seem to come around every other day....and I'm always trying to scrounge up menus for my neighbor meals. Last week I made an old favorite for dessert. I make gingerbread (just from a mix-it's yummy) and when it is ready to serve, I microwave (ha! my new arch enemy...) lemon curd, spoon it warm over the gingerbread and serve it with fresh whipped cream. It is a lovely winter dessert and so easy. You can find lemon curd at the grocery store (or make your own.

This weeks meal was chicken ala king, strawberry pretzel salad and cinnamon rolls for dessert. (this is in response to Trina who wants meal ideas.) Oh, and rolls that didn't want to raise.

And speaking of the microwave, my hand is healing very nicely. Thank you to those who have inquired. I would definitely term it a Christmas miracle. I quit wrapping it about 3 days ago, cancelled my last appointment at the burn clinic because every day it looks significantly better. I would show you a picture but it is still a little raw and not so pretty ... and I would hate to detract from the gingerbread with lemon curd picture but compared to what it USED to look like, it looks fabulous! Totally blessed on this one.

~I wanted to show a picture of the beautiful saddle my husband won a couple of weeks ago. He came in first with 160 plus teams.








Last week David and I drove to Las Vegas and stayed with friends, Lynn and Laurie B. We go each year, same time, to the National Rodeo Finals. We went 3 nights...we've done it for a million years and it has grown on me. We spend the days going to all the cowboy expos and while I used to roll my eyes at the hours my husband can spend looking at tack and things made out of barbed wire (Laurie and I make a game out of finding the ugliest thing)- now I can usually find something I enjoy there. We were excited to have my husband fitted for custom boots. We are using hide that my brother got in Africa. (Cape Buffalo...we won't say how he "got" it...) (Just think he fed a village.) We have a great time with our friends. Reba McIntire sang the national anthem one night. Laura Bell Bundy another. Josh Gracin another. While we were there, Laurie got a call from her musician son, Matt, that he had just received a commission from Yale to compose a 20 minute full orchestra piece that will be played at Carnegie Hall. Yahoo!

This is going well...

but let me say, doing 12 Days of Christmas for 4 families is nutso. I really think my mother must have dropped me on my head as a baby....

This is also the season when the kiddos have Christmas programs. I went to Gracie's last week. It wasn't really Christmas but more a dance performance. I got there early (I thought) but could tell it was already going...so I hustled in and got a seat....only to discover I was so early I got to sit through the 5th grade program as well. I pretty much have the dances down....

Then another day I went to Rylee's. The Christmas songs were delightful. Rylee has probably the busiest social calendar around. Last night she had her piano recital, followed by us rushing to dinner and then to her performance in Mountain West Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. I wish I could post pictures but no cameras allowed. What a great night and Rylee was darling in her part.


Monday nights are "Addi Sleepover Nights" as well and last night was no exception. Today I was latching her in her carseat and just had to give her a kiss and I said, "Addi, you are something else." She replied, "I know. My mommy says I am a gift."

And so she is. So are all the kiddos. I'm one blessed grammie....

Birthdays with Santa

Since Brandi has two girls with birthdays within a week and toward the end of November, oftentimes she will do double-duty on a Saturday for birthday parties. The girls chose their themes last year.....to do a Santa party this year. Hallee's was first. She chose a Breakfast with Santa theme. She chose the menu...muffins, sausage, fresh fruit, hot cocoa and milk. Gracie's party was in the evening and it was "Cookies with Santa." All the guests came in their pajamas.

Brandi made these little snowman wowzers. They were made with powdered sugar donuts, candy corn noses and food coloring eyes. So simple but so cute!

One of the activities for both girl's parties were these mugs, which the girls colored and decorated themselves.

A stocking hung on each chair for each guest to take their loot home in.

And I loved that each girl got a candy cane place tag setting.


The girls are lucky to have a special connection with Santa and Mrs. Claus, that they would make house calls (two in one day!) and read stories and have each girl sit on their laps for pictures and play games. We LOVE Mr and Mrs. Santa!

Brandi worked so hard on creating a little wonderland for each of the girl's parties. What a good mommy!

Winter Tru-Love

Snowmen fall from Heaven unassembled.

Today was our Bucket Group at Erica's and it had a snow theme. Not only did we learn to cut out snowflakes (who knew the secrets?) (elementary school teachers, that's who!).... during a delicious lunch, we shared our favorite (and not so favorite) snow stories (which I'll tell you about tomorrow.) For me, you know what I talked about---my own winter tru-love.

I've been known to whine and beg and guilt my family on many occasions to "please, please, please- just build me a snowman! I NEED a snowman." Of course, that is until I tried to make one myself, forgetting how hard they are! Snowmen truly are an act of love. Now I'm trying to be a little less whiny. But here are some snowmen that my children have surprised me with....

Gracie built this one. Her face just melts me!

After much begging, Tanner surprised me with Felix. He was one great snowman besides being bilingual. I love a man with an accent...

A really GREAT surprise was one Sunday coming home from church to find Chilly waving and this adorable note:

One of the first years after we moved to this property, we didn't have any snow for Christmas. What's up with that? But my sweet Ben loaded his truck with snow from Alta (ski resort) and brought it down to make me this guy. Thankfully Josh (age five in this picture) was there to help. Talk about a love gift!

I'm just so sad when snowmen leave us. They bring such joy.....

Blessings in Disquise

“We don’t have life experiences so that we can simply endure them. We must endure them WELL so that those experiences do CHANGE us. That is the purpose of those experiences. If we don’t change through them, then they are simply tragic. But if they do change us, then they are what I like to call ‘difficult blessings.’ They are blessings that we would never wish for, that we would never wish upon anyone else. But if we are honest with ourselves we realize that the best attributes we have, our love, our compassion, our desire to serve, to do better, to be better couldn’t have come about to the same degree without those experiences. And so, while we would gladly do away
with the experience, we would never trade what the experience has done to us. Unfortunately, we cannot have one without the other.”

(thanks, Susan, do you know who the quote is by?)

Christmas Advent

Here is one of my favorite new Christmas projects. I found these free downloadables at the website below. You can print off the cute calendar numbers from her site (how generous!) The trick is finding a 3" scalloped punch (I'm ordering mine from Amazon but the numbers would be cute, as it, which is square on the download.) She has actually done 25 numbers but that is waaay too long for this attention deficit girl so I'm doing the 12 Days of Christmas for all my kiddos (one bag for each family.) Will start a week from today on Dec. 13th with the last sack telling them to come to Grandma's for Snicky Snack dinner (Christmas Eve) and their last surprise. I haven't decided what I'm doing for the twelve treats but here are some ideas:

Write a letter to Santa (stationary included)

a can of gourmet hot chocolate with candy cane stirring sticks

bags and a punch to make luminaries, sand and candles

a Christmas craft

something to make as a family to take to someone else anonymously

Christmas bingo

a Christmas movie

a nativity to set up with the story to read

cookie dough and cookie cutters, icing

a Christmas book to read together

draw a picture of the nativity, then hide it and the enclosed treat under parent's pillow

What are some ideas you might do?

http://bethproudfoot.blogspot.com/

Our Few Days...

~Saturday was awesome with both Hallee and Gracie's birthday parties. Can't wait to show pictures but Brandi has my camera. You don't know how much you love something until it is gone (speaking of my dying camera...) One party was Breakfast with Santa....the other Cookies and Milk with Santa. Brandi does everything amazingly...can't wait to share. Santa and Mrs. Claus were delightful!


~Saturday David won a beautiful saddle among other things coming in first place at a roping. Yahoo cowboy! Love this guy. Good thing he came home in a good mood since....

~While he was off roping, I did a little wander through the snow (easily over a foot) on our property and found a new geyser. As in broken water pipe. Again. David wonders, as he's digging, while they don't burst when the weather is nice. It has been freezing here as well! I think there might be a correlation...

~ You know I'm not a sports guy but I went to two Jazz games this past week. Even I got excited when we beat the Lakers in a FUN game! Then the BYU/Utah football rivalry game was exciting. I felt I had to watch it for David since he was out digging.... Better a digger than a kicker for Boise or BYU lately.

~got to teach about Ezekiel this week in Gospel Doctrine. Amazing stuff about the temple. I love the scriptures. They fill up my heart...

~spent time last night in the burn unit at the hospital. Foolish mistake when finishing up my neighborhood meals. Imagine you wrapped your hand around a hot curling iron and had to hold it ...for hours and hours. I thought I would die. I didn't. Today I don't feel a thing. I believe in miracles.... Hard to type with a panda-bear-wrapped hand. Just second-degree burns so I'm blessed...it was an exploding honey container from the microwave,not a curling iron. Boiling honey is not a good thing. Oh, and they had to cut my wedding rings off. Ouch, double ouch. What a night. But today is good. Today I'll live...

~this afternoon one thing after another went wrong. One of "those" days. But life goes on and truly I am thankful that none of it was life-threatening...just annoying. I'm looking forward to a new day tomorrow! Sorry this post is so complaining. I'll do better next time. Just don't call me honey.....

Grateful

The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! ~Henry Ward Beecher

Idea

A friend gave me this great idea for your pumpkin pie. She bought the giant ones at Costco for a special event, then cut the pie out with a cookie cutter. I think she used round but I like the effects of this scalloped one. It just takes fancy a step up the notch. I didn't do a very good job of tidying the edges but I still thought it looked pretty. You will have all the excess pieces left over that you will have to put in a bowl, call it pumpkin cobbler and scarf it up. Sometimes you have to take it for the team.

Today

Monday was my little Meals on Wheels. I made BBQ ribs, baked squash with apples and lemon bars. You'll find the recipes on the cooking blog. I also put some of the leftover apples on smashed sweet potatoes and it was delicious.

~When I delivered the meals, I found both families in tears. One, in particular, just needed to be hugged and told she was loved and walk her through some things she went through years ago that for some reason (depression) she is re-living again. The other family continues to have major concerns and needed a shoulder as well. Since I had been having a difficult day myself, I came home realizing that this little service of mine has never really been about the food (although the food really does matter to these people!)..... it has been that they know that they are loved. Mondays are a day they look forward to. They have a friend that comes not only with food but arms to hug, ears to listen. I knew when I got home from deliveries that the same applied to me. The best thing to do when your heart is aching is to serve and yesterday helped reaffirm that. Sometimes Mondays are hard. They are always crazy busy. But we are now 10 months going strong and I realize this service is for me as much as for them.

~Today is Cousin Casey's birthday! Ta-da! I bought him a special present yesterday that I bet he can't guess what it is. He'll have to wait for Thanksgiving for it since I won't see him until then. Today is also my hairdressers birthday. That sounds so impersonal but she isn't to me. I've know her since she was 11 and she used to babysit my kids when they were little. We even took her on a few vacations with us. Now she's all grown up. She's never married and her mother is gone....and she's never had a birthday party in her life. Since her birthday falls during Thanksgiving week, her siblings often forget. I haven't figured out exactly what I need to do this year to help her day be awesome. Since the day has begun, I'd better get my mind going on it!

~Last night Kirk and Cathy took David and I to the Jazz game. We went out to dinner before and Cathy and I laughed and talked all through the game. We're SUCH big sports fans! Great date night with hubbies.

~I keep laughing about Sunday night. T and T and the kiddos came over to "show us the skits" the kids had made up and were dying to perform. They were adorable and crazy. When I think of these kiddos, I think tornado. Really, it is insane! Love them to death!

~I had to leave the tornado in a rush since I had been asked to speak at our Young Women's Evening of Excellence. The theme of the evening was "The Worth of the Soul (Soles)" and they had decorated with tons of shoes. All different. Funky. Fun. Beautiful. No two alike. Just like the girls. It was a fun evening (I couldn't believe I didn't have my camera) and I felt honored to have been asked to speak. Natalie Summerhays (the YW president) said she had looked for a song for the girls to sing but didn't find exactly what she wanted so she wrote one. She played the guitar and the girls sang....and it was fabulous. One line of the song has stuck in my mind. "If I'm one in a million, will the Lord really know me?" The answer is yes. And we need to remind ourselves of that often.....

~my dad made it through his second "chiseling" of skin cancer yesterday. It was basil cell carcinoma...but of course we didn't know that at first so it was a scare but all is well. All is well.

(when I called to check on him yesterday he told me he now has a new hole in the head. I told him it runs in our family....)

~The wind is howling. The storm is coming. I have class this morning, then a couple of errands and watching Addi then I'd just like to hunker down. Life is good. Life is hard. The holidays are coming ready or not.

Cinderella

We had the best, best, best girls date on Saturday which also happened to be Hallee Babe's birthday. Brooke had to meet us from work and Marci had some conference going on but the rest (including my MIL) of us had a ball. First we went to lunch at Hires.....then we headed to a production of Cinderella at Hillcrest High. Malia Morley, who lives in our Ward, had the lead so that was extra fun. Honestly, Tenille and I both said we enjoyed it as much as the Broadway touring production of Lion King. The sets moved, there were over 200 in the cast, all in period costumes, dancing in every aisle, so energetic, great auditorium. The stepsisters were hysterical. The 9 "leads" had voices beyond their years. It was the Rogers and Hammerstein production so it had music we were familiar with. I love these dates that we have.....the girlie kiddos love them too. I think we are creating some wonderful memories together. Next month it will be going to see Rylee dancing in The Nutcracker. (I didn't have a picture of Rylee up above...sorry!) I asked the birthday girl (below on the left in the yellow) if she liked it and she said, "I LOVED it." She also loved at the restaurant telling each of us when it was our turn to say what we loved about her (our birthday tradition.) Hallee is fun to play with, has a beautiful smile, is kind and helpful, tries really hard to be forgiving. I love this girl! Happy B. Day Hallee!

Tenille with Hallee, Heidi and Addi

Gracie and Annee

Fairy Godmother (who had a Bronx accent...):


But the world is full of zanies and fools


Who don't believe in sensible rules


And won't believe what sensible people say


And because these daft and dewey-eyed dopes


Keep building up impossible hopes


Impossible ... Things are happening everyday






(it goes on to say that when you believe, magic happens!)

Thanksgiving Planner

I have mentioned before that my first Thanksgiving to David's parent's home was an eye-opener. My future mother-in-law put cranberries in the salad, instead of in a dish to the side, made twice-baked potatoes instead of mashed (heavens!) and 5 kinds of desserts, none of them related to Thanksgiving. I learned that it is not a crime. I learned that each of those desserts were each of her children's favorites. It was a meal of love. I've become less of a Thanksgiving boss, insisting on what foods have to be served, and more inclined to see what evolves. (p.s. I have no idea who these pilgrim people are in the picture above, just in case you were wondering.)

This is our "off" year...the year I'm suppose to share...but I still get almost everyone since I have found if you have Thanksgiving dinner set at breakfast-time, most people can make it and leave. Just kidding. Our dinner is at 1. Which is pretty early but then the kids can go and do their own thing with other family. All my kids/kiddos will be here except Ryan and Marci and kiddos. And actually, they will be here too, in the morning, while Marci is doing some "walk" with members of her family. My best news is that Tenille's mom's kitchen is still under construction which means we get them, and hopefully Tenille's mom and dad and Jake and (heart be still) Torah (I promise I won't bring up the gold medal.) Torah's dad is in town from Australia so he may be coming as well. Aunt Pat (not my aunt) and Cousin Casey (also not my cousin) will be coming!!!! Yeah! Pat will come the day before to help me cook. We'll probably end up going to the movies instead. Ben will be down from the mountain but Susie might have to work that day. (Alta Ski Resort) The highest number we could have would be 19 adults and 9 kiddos, but I suspect we'll have 11 adults and 9 kiddos. We love a full house.

So far, the menu is looking like this:

Turkey

Prime Rib (since two aren't turkey crazy)

mashed potatoes and gravy (I watched the cooking show Bobby Flay's Throwdown and he went up against Ree Drummond, Pioneer Women. He actually made Brussels Sprouts instead of mashed potatoes...no WONDER he lost!)

stuffing

homemade rolls

Heather's (Aunt Jan's- not my aunt) Sweet potatoes (recipe on cooking blog) plus a side of regular sweet potatoes with just brown sugar, butter and marshmallows for my hubby

stuffed celery, pickles, olives, cranberries, etc.

Tenille is bringing a salad and dip and crackers

Brandi is bringing pumpkin pie squares

Brooke is bringing green bean casserole

I'm making Carmelita bars since that is Brooke's favorite.(recipe on cooking blog)

My MIL is making a jello salad

I'm pretty sure we're all going to waddle out the door.

I called Aunt Pat last night to make sure we cover her "must haves" for dinner. She said she needed to have "smoked oysters!" NOT! I think she's bringing her own....

I'm pretty sure the pilgrims had smoked oysters at their first Thanksgiving but really! (Pat went on a business trip to New Orleans this year and she hasn't quit eating smoked oysters since...)

No one diets on Thanksgiving. What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? Erma Bombeck

Better Not Pout

I am usually one who celebrates the first Christmas carols on Nov. 1st. To me Thanksgiving is part of the wonderful season of Christmas. I'm ready! I'm ready! Usually. Not this year. It's not that I'm not thankful. It's not that I don't love and celebrate the Lord. But this year is hard. I just don't have that "jingle jangle" spirit going.


Today was Friday. I thought this would help. Art therapy.



I haven't painted a Santa for years. He's almost done. He told me while I was painting him that it was okay. I had permission to take a year off. But then he reminded me I wasn't in top form last year (and forgot his cookies and the reindeer's carrots) but this year he understood. Then he whispered, "Just breathe in and out. In and out. Things have a way of working themselves out."


That is a spirit of Christmas we need to remind ourselves about often. Sometimes life is mere breathing, not jingle jangling. And that's okay.

Thanks, Santa.

Les Miz

I'm in love. Again. With the music of Les Miserables.

Heart be still.....

This year is the 25th anniversary of the first production of Les Miz. In October they filmed a BBC tribute show which aired all over the world, last night, in select theaters. Besides showing the London show, they talked with the writers and producers and shared some memories of the making of Les Miz. At the end, each of the stars who have been Jean Valjean on the London stage came together to sing together. It was over the top beautiful.

Last night Susie (Ben's girlfriend forever) and I had a date to go. The awesome background to this is that the star of the show, Alfie Boe- see here:
turns into this- Jean Valjean.

He is actually someone that Susie knows. (He married a family friend.) In fact, Susie's mom and sister-in-law were at a viewing somewhere else in the valley with Alfie's wife. While Susie slummed with me.

It was so fun to hear the in and out of Alfie's Utah connection. (There was an article in the Salt Lake Tribune by Lisa Schencker that you can google.) He is from England, is a Tony award (La Boheme) winner, met his wife, Sarah, who is from Salt Lake while both were working on different productions in San Francisco. They split their time between London and Salt Lake. Susie told me a couple of Christmases ago, he dressed up as Santa to entertain at their combined family Christmas party. I'm pretty sure I would like this guy to show up as Santa.

Susie and I went out to dinner before the show and ate ourselves into obilvion. Neither of us could believe the guys wouldn't even consider going. They missed out. My heart was practically bursting when we left the theater. Isn't it amazing what music can do to the soul. Thanks, Suz, for a GREAT DATE!

It was the end to a perfect day. I went to the temple earlier with two of my cousins which was extremely tender and wonderful. We have this new history together that we celebrate and know our Grandma Darley is smiling down from heaven that she finally got her "three" favorite granddaughters together. (We still argue who was the favorite.) I won't soon forget all the emotions I felt this day....

Whether true or false, what is said about men often has as much influence on their lives, and particularly on their destinies, as what they do.(quote from Les Miz)

Totally Gone

Please, please, please, I'm so sorry if you keep getting emails from me....

I've been TOTALLY hacked and it just doesn't end.

I can't even open my email now. Please if you get something from me, without a subject, do not open it. They will get you as well. I think they got millions this week. I am soooo sorry!

Thanksgiving 2008

Love these Indians!

Turkey Favors

Today I've been working on favors for the kiddos for Thanksgiving. If the pictures seem a titch blurry, it is because the dang turkeys kept jumping around on the table. Turkeys are always a little skittish this time of year for some reason.....


(please, please, please, Santa, I want a new camera for Christmas...this one is driving me nuts!)

I made the turkeys using brown paper cups, eyes are called Candy Dots (self adhesive) from Pebbles in My Pocket (where I got the idea). I stuck on the waddle and beak with double stick tape. The multi-colored feathers go on that way as well. I won't put on the feathers since the children will write what they are thankful for on each feather. The original idea had the little cups filled with peanuts in their shells but (can you imagine the shell mess!) I'm putting a glazed corn pop inside. Just a little nibble.

Tenille will do the feathers for the kiddos headbands which are tradition as well. This year we will forego the vests. It will be all I can do to get a headband on Parker. He's 11 and 11-year- olds act like turkeys sometimes.....