This is Exciting

NHSCA OVERALL BOYS NATIONAL TEAM POWER RANKINGS  There is a new US#1! The American Fork HS, American Fork, Utah Cavemen dominated the Utah Pre-Region IV with the fastest team time ever run in the State of Utah. The total team time 76:17.8 run at 4,500 feet elevation over 3-miles with a 49-second spread was astonishing. Team depth was even more impressive as the Cavemen took 1st and 2nd with the 3-5 spread 6-seconds and 3-7 spread 13.7 seconds! Connor McMillan 14:47.2; Zac Jacklin 14:53.6; Tyler Bell 15:29.9; Nathan Tracy 15:30.5; Caleb Thompson 15:36.6; Casey Clinger 15:42.5; Daniel Bentley 15:44.2. The week previous they were within 2-seconds of the American Fork Grass Relays team record set by last season US#2 Cavemen team.

(National Rank; Team Name; Head Coach)
  1. .9694 American Fork HS, American Fork, Utah - Head Coach Timo Mostert  
  2. .9685 Christian Brothers Academy HS, Lincroft, New Jersey - Head Coach Tom Heath  
  3. .9545 Arcadia HS, Arcadia, California - Head Coach Michael Feraco-Eberle
  4. .9168 Gig Harbor HS, Gig Harbor, WA - Head Coach Mark Wieczorek
  5. .9135 Henderson HS, West Chester, Pennsylvania - Head Coach Kevin Kelly
  6. .8948 North Central HS, Spokane, Washington - Head Coach Jonathon Knight
  7. .8874 Needham Broughton HS, Raleigh, North Carolina - Head Coach David Christian
  8. .8781 Carmel HS, Carmel, Indiana - Head Coach Erhard Bell
  9. .8558 Central Catholic HS, Portland, Oregon - Head Coach Dave Frank
10. .8431 Brentwood HS, Brentwood, Tennessee - Head Coach Derek Youel
11. .8318 Northport HS, Northport, New York - Head Coach Jason Strom
12. .8216 Wayzata HS, Plymouth, Minnesota - Head Coach Bill Miles
13. .8202 York HS, Elhurst, Illinois - Head Coach Joe Newton
14. .8168 Don Bosco Preparatory HS, Ramsey, New Jersey - Head Coach Kevin Kilduff
15. .8002 Dana Hills HS, Dana Pointe, California - Head Coach Tim Butler
16. .7750 Southlake Carroll HS, Southlake, Texas - Head Coach Justin Leonard
17. .7715 Belen Jesuit Preparatory HS, Miami, Florida - Head Coach Frankie Ruiz
18. .7592 Tatnall HS, Wilmington, Delaware - Head Coach Patrick Castagno DII US#1
19. .7540 Fayetteville Manlius HS, Manlius, New York - Head Coach Bill Aris
20. .7507 Madera South HS, Madera, California - Head Coach Rich Parris
21. .7385 De La Salle HS, Concord, California - Head Coach John Pelster
22. .7352 St. Anthony's HS, South Huntington, New York - Head Coach Tim Dearie
23. .7335 Saratoga Springs HS, Saratoga, New York - Head Coach Art Kranick
24. .6910 O'Fallon HS, O'Fallon, Illinois - Head Coach Jon Burnett
25. .6230 Bozeman HS, Bozeman, Montana - Head Coach Clint May

Caleb doesn't like being ranked number one and I admit there is a bit of pressure.  But regardless of the outcome of this year's XC  season, this accomplishment is now recorded for our history.  I find it remarkable that a kid who has a crooked walk(run) and one leg longer than the other can even participate in such a listing.  What great discipline he has learned!

Ladybug Day

To start off, I begin with a small list of explanations.

Greta has loved bug collecting this summer.  She has loved Roly Polies, beetles, ladybugs, gnats. . .whatever she could find.

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When we were shopping for school clothes Greta found a ladybug top on clearance at Gymboree that she HAD to have.  Coincidentally, in another store, Tessa bought a red and white polk-a-dot shirt (also on clearance).

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The girls have been looking at scrapbooks while we do their hair and seeing layouts about Frog Day, Easter Projects, Muddy Play days (etc.) in their big brothers' past have left them feeling pretty gypped--first by the fact that they don't have any scrapbook pages about themselves, but even more so that 'we just don't do anything fun like you did with the boys'.

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Summer has seemed to slip right by without much of 'that' kind of fun, so I decided to surprise the girls with Ladybug Day. Then, by great chance, on the day I had that scheduled Ladybug Day, a friend needed a place to be while her mom and sister went missionary shopping. What could be more fun? And without prompting, she wore a dress with ladybugs on it; so cute!

Ladybug attire!

  Here is what we did:

Dipped Oreos in red candy melt and added spots and eyes.

Painted ladybugs on toes and fingers.

Made water bottle labels and ladybug snacks (Babybel cheese with olives and crackers with halved cherry tomatoes and olive heads).

Made ladybug love notes.

Painting rocks into ladybugs was also on our agenda, but they decided they'd rather play than do another craft. . . 

The fun part for me was these little girls' delight in it all.  Greta kept saying, "Ellie, don't you love this?"  Ellie kept saying, "I'm just so thankful I could come!"  And Tessa was just delighted to have a friend to share the fun with.  Maybe one of these days we'll get downstairs and the girls can make their own scrapbook pages of Ladybug Day, then perhaps I can be redeemed just a bit!  Until then, at least there is a blog post.

Charity Never Faileth

                                 

Last December I was working on a project and ended up with a framed cross stitch of the Relief Society Logo.  The beauty of the handiwork caught my attention and caused me to consider this motto in a way I never had before. It was at a time my heart was heavy with many things and so I was grateful to have the truth of it settle in.

We live in a world where there are no guarantees and the words "always" and "never" quickly disqualify many statements as true.  However, we have one.  

Charity never faileth.

Never.

No insurance policy needed.

I find that very powerful.  I can count on charity 100%.  Desired outcomes may take longer to arrive than I desire, but if my intentions are pure, come, they will.

A quote I came across the other day that has given me more to ponder along this same thread:

"Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other." 

Elder Marvin J. Ashton

Beautiful.

Disneyland

March 2013

We went to Disneyland.  I suppose most people might end that sentence with an exclamation point.  I used to like Disney years ago, I suppose, but a few issues have grown within me.  I'm not a fan of their marketing.  I don't like that in almost every store in the valley my girls find Disney princess garb that they think they have to have because it's 'cute' and everyone else has it.  And I don't love how Tessa has connected to Disney princesses and makes many beauty and fashion decisions based on them.  We've worked through much of it with her, but I don't really appreciate the almost unavoidable influence.

But when Tom's parents went to live in California for a few months for cancer treatment, Tom talked me into going since we could save a lot of money because we wouldn't have hotel costs.  I dragged my feet.  I even complained a bit (especially when I saw the tickets on the credit card--just so many other things I'd rather have with that amount of money).  I had to have coaching from Tom to just go with the flow.  But I went and managed okay.  The princess scene was not as bad as I had anticipated (we only saw one, except for in the parades) and other than the long lines, it was okay (when we first arrived, the girls wanted to ride the merry go round first (huh?) and it was an hour + wait; that was about too much for me, but Tom had asked me not to complain so I held my peace and it did get better).  At the end of our two days I said, "I guess I could be talked into coming back in 5-10 years."  Tom, on the other hand, had his fill.  He'd much rather spend his vacation money on something different.  So we'll see what the future brings.

Caleb didn't go with us.  He didn't feel like he could miss the beginning days of the new term or track practices.  He had gone last year with the XC team and didn't think it was worth going back for.  The girls' reactions were surprisingly neutral (it was a surprise to them and even with the announcement, they weren't that excited).  They had fun, but they probably would have been just as happy with something cheaper.  Chandler, on the other hand, LOVED it.  He'd go back in a heart beat.  But for now, visiting Disneyland is checked off the list.

For the most part, I forgot to take pictures, but I do have a few.  Tom's parents went with us the first day and that was a very welcome thing.  The lines were so very long that it was great to have extra help with the girls--and what a fun memory for the kids to have their grandparents at Disneyland with them.

When we told Cache we went, his comment was "Well, now we are the typical Mormon family."  I think he's happy to keep his bragging rights of never going to Disneyland. (I feel like I'm raising abnormal children!)

Cache's Birthday

May 2013

One of the things Cache asked for for his birthday was a Braille Book of Mormon.  He had seen it in the LDS online catalog and wanted it (so not surprised).  It was only $3.50.  I quickly ordered it so I could include it in his package.  A few days later a very, very large box appeared on my doorstep.  I knew that Tom was ordering me a Bosch for Mother's Day, but I didn't think he had ordered it and there was no way, that could be this big.  So I hefted the awkward box in and noticed that it was indeed from the LDS catalog.  When I opened it I laughed.  And laughed.  And laughed.  (and then laughed some more; tears were streaming down my face--the girls were confused at my amusement over such a boring box!).  It did say that it was in six volumes, but I hadn't considered that they would six 4" 12x12 binders!  The box was almost as tall as Greta!  The first binder contains the Introduction through the 2 Nephi 12.  I am still astounded at the great deal it was--and free shipping at that.  The church really does want the scriptures in everyone's hands! 

So, on Mother's day when we talked to Cache, I told him I had ordered him a Braille Book of Mormon.  Then I had someone drag the box into the room and we pulled out the first binder.  He got a great kick out of it.  The next day he wrote:  "I knew the Braille Book of Mormon was a great thing.  Just wait until I take it to Sunday School with me."  Truly, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened!

The other thing he wanted for his birthday was a calendar that went from June to June.  I had actually wanted to do that for him with a bit of a family almanac on it, but didn't want him to think I was counting down the days until he came home so I didn't go forward with that idea.  So after his prompt, I woke up my Mixbook account and created a nice calendar for him.  Each date has something that happened in our family then the year listed.  It is a very fun record (I loved it so much I ordered one for myself as well :).

Ragnar

June, 2013

So I thought Caleb running Ragnar was just for fun and a nice little competition to keep racing mentalities up in the off season.   Apparently not.  Out of nearly 1400 teams,  they took 2nd overall and first in the high school division.  They were beat out by Weber State Cross Country.  One of Caleb's assigned legs was 'Ragnar Hill'--the toughest leg in the race.  He had the best time on that leg than any other runner. He said it was SO much fun.  Not sure where that boy gets his running gene from. . . But it is such great discipline!

This photo is not from Ragnar, but the the Steel Days race in July.  He took 3rd overall in that, 2nd in his age group.  Hopefully this all shapes up to be another successful XC season!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

March 2013

We checked the Chitty Chitty Bang Band DVD out from the library a few years ago; it since has been one of Tessa's favorites. When I saw that it was at the Hale Center Theater I hurried to get seats when children under 5 could attend.  I was disappointed that the price for the kids was the same as adults, but decided to splurge anyway.  I booked early enough to get front row seats.  It was well worth it!  The girls were enamored the actors, as were the actors were with them.  During the final applause, Baroness Bomburst came out with cotton candy and handed it to Tessa and said, "For You!!!!!".  (I'm pretty sure that was not really uncommon, but my sister-in-law said they didn't do that when she went.)  When we went out to get this picture, the actors commented on the girls.  It was such a delightful play and a fun, fun morning.  

Swirly greenish thing at the bottom is the cotton candy--Greta already has a piece.  They were a big sticky mess after it!

I'm disappointed with the picture quality, but at least it will give the girls something to remember it by.

Sure Foundation

May 2013

Tom and I had a Ward Council assignment a bit ago in downtown Provo.  As we drove passed the temple, I noticed it was being 100% supported by steel beams.  We didn't have time to stop and it was too late when we finished our assignment so I knew I had to get the kids out for a field trip.  We went on Memorial Day.  The kids weren't nearly as impressed as I was, but I was reminded of Bishop Davies' talk in last conference about the structure of the temples.  They really are ensuring the temple can withstand buffetings.  I should do likewise.  I must make sure those footings run deep.  One way I'm going to do that is to attend the temple more often. The wonderful new temple film is meaningful, thought-provoking and engaging.  I'm thrilled with the new insights that have come since its release.  I'm anxious for more.  My footings can go deeper.

Dance Festival

May 2013

The boys have not ever been big fans of the school dance festival, however, it shouldn't surprise you that Tessa was thrilled.  Wait. . .  that may not even be a strong enough word.  We didn't get sleep for a month because of it. 

The day finally arrived and she grinned from ear to ear the entire day.  Not much better than being able to do the Chicken Dance in front of a very large audience!!

Greta's Hairstyles

March, 2013

(I'm tardy, obviously.)

I'm not sure how a little four year old has the dexterity to put in hair bands, but she does.  Her styles are still coming a long, but it is very cute when she insists on her own hair dos.  I should probably take pictures, but the dos she gives me are pretty awesome as well. (But I'm still not wearing them out of the house as of yet :).

Chandler's Eagle Project

June, 2013

Well over a year ago we noticed a neighboring elementary school had their wall ball walls brightly painted.  Our school had plain, gray, boring concrete wall ball walls.  Chandler decided right away that that is what he wanted to do for his Eagle project when it rolled around.  So after he became a Life scout in March, we got to work so we could pull it off during the summer.  

The first hurdle was getting the principal to buy the idea.  We had heard from a couple of people that she was allowing very few Eagle projects because too many had given her problems in the past, but ones involving paint were definitely not going to be accepted any more.  Chandler was determined to pitch the idea even if it was rejected.  So he prepared a plan--one that involved carefully choosing helpers, mixing and pouring all paint on tarps, cleaning up with our own power washer if necessary etc. that he presented to her.  At the very last minute we decided to print off a couple of pictures of our fence to give her a vision of how it could turn out.  He also gave her a list of educational mural ideas that he could paint.  He did a great job and I think it was a pretty hard offer to refuse.  She decided to give him a chance but with very specific guidelines and deadlines. 

The guidelines were not difficult to manage because it was basically what he had already planned (no stray paint, clean up all messes, provide all materials etc.).  It was the deadline that was difficult.  She didn't want us to begin during the first week of June because of the demands already on the janitors that week and she wanted it completed by June 30.  Normally that would be plenty of time, but Chandler was scheduled for two scout camps that would occupy his time from June 17-June 30.  That basically gave us one week (with one of those days being his 13th birthday and he was fairly adamant that we didn't work that day).  Thankfully, the janitor worked with us and let us start the Thursday and Friday the first week of June to get the base coats painted.  

We didn't know how porous the walls were until we got close and actually started working.  It was a pretty tough job and took about 4 layers of paint with the last layer being brushed on with small brushes to fill in holes.  Even with that, we ended up only getting the largest holes.   We worked night and morning on the shady side of the walls for about 3 hours each session.  (because I was closely supervising and/or painting when we had helpers there, I didn't get pictures of anyone doing this process except Chandler, but we had a nice rotation of helpers these days.)  

 Then, Saturday night we headed back at dark to project the designs on the walls.  We had planned to use a converter and run the power out of our van, but after we couldn't get that to work, we realized that the converter had a limit of wattage, which was way less than the projector needed.  We couldn't figure out what to do.  With the tight time frame we HAD to get the designs up that night.  Thankfully Tom remembered someone in our ward who had a generator and he was kind enough to let us borrow it.  That was a true life saver.

 Early Monday morning Chandler and I arrived and set up and then friends started showing up for painting assignments.  He directed them and insisted on good work.  He taught them how to wash out brushes and paint well.  For the most part things went well.  We had a few hiccups, but nothing that couldn't be fixed.

 When we were almost finished, Chandler went into the school to get Mrs. Crandall to show her what we had done and to find out if there was anything else she would like us to do to complete the project. She was amazed with Chandler's work.  While she liked the murals, she was extremely grateful for the job Chandler had done.  He had done everything he promised to do.  She told him "Chandler, even though you are not 100% completed, I would be happy to sign your Eagle papers right now.  You have done such an amazing job with this project and done everything you committed to do."  Chandler was so thrilled with her accolades. He did wait until we had completely finished and cleaned up before getting her signature though. I'm pretty sure the janitor was happy with us as well because after the first couple of days, we took our own hose and faucet key so he didn't have to do that for us.  He checked on us the first few days periodically--mostly I think to just make sure paint was only where it should be.  We were very independent from his help and that was probably a good thing for him.

We knew going into it, that It would be a very time intensive project.  Chandler and I both put in about 50 hours each.  Other family members and friends combined did about that also.  It made for a very crazy, crazy week, but IT'S DONE!!  And it is something he'll see often for many years that will remind him of the things he learned about leadership and service.

He's almost finished with his paperwork and he's got to go pass off the camping merit badge then go to the board of review!  We're excited to get this checked off his list!

Skyping Scriptures

In looking at our summer schedule I just didn't know where to fit family scriptures in.  Caleb leaves every morning before 7:00 am which meant waking the whole family for a 6:30 appointment in the scriptures.  There are a lot of downsides to that--I really didn't want the girls up at that time if I could help it because it would mean I didn't get my scriptures in, not to mention the added grumpiness because of the early rising since early bed time is most difficult in the summer.  Plus, when my family is groggy, the very limited discussion we get out of the kids would definitely be at zero.  On the other hand, the evenings are always hit and miss.  It is a hard choice:  do you pick the time you'll get better quality but a lower quantity or do you pick the time with greater quantity and sacrifice quality?  Then Tom came up with the (near) perfect solution:  Skype-n-Scriptures during his lunch.  It would be absolutely perfect except Tessa has gymnastics twice a week during Tom's lunch break, and every now and again we are not home at that time.  BUT, I believe, the quantity and quality are the highest we'll get.  Most days, it has been a great solution.

Crickets in the City

One night a month or so ago, our family was driving down State street.  The windows were down, we were all chatting, sounds of the street were coming through, the radio may have even been on.  Out of nowhere, Greta piped up "Where are the crickets?"  As I stopped my conversation and payed attention, I could hear crickets as well.  A busy street in the city seems like an odd place for crickets, but they were there, loud and clear.  It reminded me that often listening to the Spirit is the same way. The Spirit is drowned out by commotion.  Too often I fall into that trap.  I really enjoyed the article called Opening our Hearts to Revelation by Elder Patrick Kearon in the August 2013 Ensign.  Here are some highlights for me:

We must be selective in the messages we choose to receive. It is vital to our spiritual well-being that we not consume so much of our time receiving good messages that we make ourselves unavailable to receive the best messages.2

To return safely to our eternal home, we must remain in constant communication with our Heavenly Father. If we place barriers between ourselves and the source of that critical communication—revelation—we will be unable to receive the messages of guidance we need from Him.

We may not know we are doing it, but occasionally we cut ourselves off from divine communication when our hearts become overburdened by the worries, pressures, irritations, and deadlines of daily life. Our hearts can become blocked from the peace and comfort the Lord would give us if we are too troubled and concerned. When we stay up too late and work too hard in order to meet our daily demands, fatigue sets in, we become overtired, and the world looks like a much gloomier place; things get out of perspective and out of proportion.

As with so much in life, what we consume is a choice, so if you spend much of your time consuming one kind of message, don’t be surprised that you become influenced by it. Spending too much of our time with social media, celebrity or entertainment news, games, and the pursuit of online, time-hungry activities constitutes a poor digital diet. When we choose to consume the attitudes and opinions of the mass media, we find our own values and viewpoints following suit. We tell ourselves we’re not being affected by these messages, but that is not possible.

Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?”4

The most important message any of us could receive or carry is a reminder of who we are and how we are loved by our Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

I know I'm not quite where I need to be to achieve "constant communication with our Heavenly Father", but I'm so very thankful for the times I've been blessed with this sacred communication.  When I'm in that mode, I have such a greater sense of purpose, identity and love from Heavenly sources.  It brings such calm and peace into my life.  I'm going to work harder to listen to the crickets in the noisy city.  

I've just been thinking. . .

As of late. . .

1)  Chandler was at the Blue and Gold Banquet serving as a Den Chief a few weeks back.  After it ended, he was being chased by a cub scout.  Because he was being tackled, he was on the move with his head down; the chase ended pretty quickly when the top of his head collided with a door knob.  We were summoned to the church and Tom took him into InstaCare--seven staples to close that thing up.  All of the medical personnel were amazed at such a feat.  I'll spare you the picture.

2)  Our credit card was stolen.  Thanks to impressive fraud software it was caught after only an $80-something purchase at a Smith's in Las Vegas.  But, sheesh, what a pain. 

3)  Greta was complaining about a sore tooth so I took her in to get it fixed.  As the dentist was telling me that he was basically doing a child root canal (really?) and I started seeing blood ooze from the tooth I became very light headed.  I turned my head in hopes of distracting myself and clicked out a text message to Tom about what was happening.  I hit send and put my phone back in my pocket.  The next thing I knew I heard someone say, 'Check her head, she bumped it pretty good.'  I opened my eyes and the dentist from the other room was pulling my hair back checking my head.  I also bit my tongue and landed myself underneath the dentist chair Greta was in.  I was told I made a very loud thud and everyone in the office arrived on the scene and were staring me in the face when I came to.  I'm not sure how long I was out, but it was long enough to draw quite a crowd!  I was carried to the next room and given my own pink nose with oxygen and a cold cloth on my head.  I sat and laughed at myself knowing what a kick out of it Tom would get out of it. (I was right!)  However, I believe I traumatized little Greta.  She didn't have her glasses on because they didn't fit with the gas apparatus and all she knew was there was a lot of commotion about her mom, who she could not see;  poor thing! I feel bad about that, but every time since when I've thought of myself lying on the floor, I've laughed out loud!  I just find it so funny!  I also think it was a very good idea that Tom took Chandler to get his head stapled up and not me.  

4) I bought a quilt way back in 2007 from the benefit blog for my sister, Katie.  It was made by Shauna Dickerson, a friend of one of my other sisters from when she lived in New Jersey.  Cache sent a package the other day which contained a recipe book he'd picked up from one of his apartments.  It was a recipe book compiled by the Young Women of the Scotch Plains stake.  In it were a couple of recipes submitted by Shauna Dickerson.  How interesting.

5) Earlier in the week, I had planned to make apple pies on Thursday--one for my friend and one for my family.  When I went to the store to buy a disposable pie tin, I learned that it was 3-14: Pi day.  Coincidentally, when I looked at my menu, what did I have scheduled?  Chicken Pot Pie.  So we accidentally celebrated Pi Day unusually well!

Feeding the Missionaries

We had the missionaries over for dinner on Sunday (being in Utah county that is a very rare opportunity, but Tom was just called to be the Ward Mission Leader so I snagged up the first opportunity that came our way.  Yay!)  As we were preparing for the meal and setting the table, Greta said, "I get to sit by Cache!"  It melted my heart.  She was so disappointed when we explained it wouldn't be Cache coming to dinner.  Little four year old minds have no comprehension of two years or how far away New Jersey is.  So sad!  But it was great to feed the missionaries and to give my family a glimpse of what their big brother is doing.  Such a wonderful experience!

Primary 2013

The 2013 theme for Primary is I Am a Child of God.  Here is what our Primary is doing to strength the children this year.

It was our ward's turn to do the bulletin board.  All of the pictures are off of  lds.org and printed poster sized at Costco.  They go with the song My Heavenly Father Loves Me.
I still need to get a picture of the side wall.

We resurrected the Time Machine to kick off this year's theme.  We had many visitors:  Nephi, Ammon, Joseph Smith, Noah, Esther and then two modern day visitors: the bishop, myself for Jr. Primary and Sister Hooley for Sr. Primary.  Each was asked by our news reporter "Who are you?"  Their text followed the same theme  "I am Ammon., a great missionary. I cut off some Lamanite's arms and converted many other Lamanites to the church. But most importantly, I am a child of God."

I love this picture because it shows how engaged all of the children are!

  

It was really good.  The kids were very attentive and seemed to grasp that no matter how many things each person accomplished, the most important thing about them was that they were a child of God.  

Earlier in the year, we had each child write a statement for themselves.  One child a week will be asked by the reporter "Who are you?"  Then they get to read their card.  They will receive a 4x6 photo to take home to remind them that the most important thing about themselves is that they are a child of God.  One of my counselors pointed out that even the first Sunday (after the time machine) a little 4 year old boy knew "But most importantly I am a child of God" without having to be told.  We hope by the end of the year, it will be so well rehearsed that they remember and apply that doctrine for a long time.   Below are sample cards each child will get after they are interviewed.

 

The Sharing Time outline suggested that we have children express ways each week they know Heavenly Father loves them then put a cotton ball (or similar item in a jar).  Instead, we decided to do a quilt.  During sharing time, over the course of the year, each child and teacher will have an opportunity to share how they feel Heavenly Father's love and add a square to the quilt.  They will see it get bigger and bigger each month.  We loved the idea of a quilt to represent warmth and Heavenly Father's love.  Near the end of the year, we will have Activity Day girls tie it and then we'll donate to Primary Children's Medical Center to bless the life of another.  (I have a wonderful Presidency, can you tell?)

(Thank you to Noreen for the pictures and for Ammon's great costume--her husband is the one with the abs!)

Christmas 2012 Bits and Pieces

Sunday (Dec. 23) night I Skyped with Caleb from his bedroom to make sure we were up and running for our Christmas day visit with Cache.  Kinda fun :)  

Christmas Eve started by Tom and I getting up way too early to hit the gym then Harmon's---it is a bit of a drive but they have a nice selection of unusual fruits that the kids wanted to give in the stockings this year.  We stopped at Cabela's on the way home to get a gift for our Christmas Eve visitor (Roger).

During the day, the kids got their stockings ready and finalized their plan for those.  (More details below.) and we tied a few baby quilts as a service project. I love the small sized ones because they fit in my front room where we seem to have more participation from all family members because it is in a better location.  We did a total of 3 this year.

It snowed most of the day on Christmas Eve (fun!) and the kids enjoyed a little time out in it in the afternoon.  I really wanted a snowman, but that didn't end up happening.

We eat a full Chinese feast on Christmas Eve and so everyone has a meal-prep assignment with me.  Caleb helped with the Beef and Broccoli, Chandler did the Tiny Spicy Chicken, Tom helped with the Shrimp Chow Mein and the girls helped with the Spring Rolls (those were purchased to make life a bit easier that day.)  It was a yummy meal and we loved the left overs for a few days after Christmas.

After dinner, we acted out the Nativity.  Roger, Tom's widower friend, who didn't have any plans for the evening was our narrator.  (None of our Nativity pictures ever turn out, and this one is probably the worst, but I want everyone to remember Roger's visit.)  After the Nativity, all the boys went downstairs for a little ping pong tourney.  In his younger years, Roger was pretty good.  Then we gave Roger his gifts and invited him back for the next day (which he declined).

Then we sent the kids to bed....or in other words, they all went to go back to our room to stay until morning.  They have a phone, snacks, TVs, movies, games etc.  They are not to come out and if they need something, they can call us.  It is WONDERFUL because it allows us to get to work much earlier.

Our Christmas day plans weren't too elaborate this year because of our planned service project (more about that farther down) and our Skype with Cache.  The biggest way we changed things up this year was the kids did each other's stockings.  They had a budget and had to buy small gifts, fruit and candy to fill it.  Then they had to hide it and devise some way for that person to find it. . . scavenger hunt, clues etc.  It ended up being so much fun and it was 100% unanimous that we repeat it (it is rare to get unanimity on anything it seems!).

First item of the morning was to follow your yarn trail to get your ornament.  We've done it in the past, but not since the girls have been added to the family so we thought it was time again.  This year, for the boys at least, it not only wound around and around inside the house, but there were multiple trips outside.  Such a thing is very hard to photograph, especially outside in the semi-darkness, but below are a few reminders for the kids.

Look, Mom!  A purple mustache!

Caleb's gear from Nike caused flash problems all morning!

One of our family gifts this year was a Hot Wheels race track.  We've never had one because when the boys were of age, that's not where their interests lied, but this year we decided it would be a great gift for everyone to share.  Right we were.  It was a hit with everyone.  When we told Cache about it, he said, "Aww, that's legit."

One of the activities we had during the day was shooting empty water bottles down with Nerf or rubber band guns.  The bottles were numbered and some yielded a draw from the 'money bag', the 'treat bag' or a 'task bag', other were duds.

Chandler's shot got him a draw from the task bag.  His task was to go down to the storage room blindfolded, and emerge with a can of applesauce, a can of pinto beans, a can of Chicken Noodle soup and a Spice cake mix.  I guess when your bedroom is right next to the storage room, you know exactly where everything is, even when blindfolded!  (Tom watched to make sure no peeking went on.)  The task said it paid $40!  Later though, Chandler unwittingly traded his birthright for a mess of pottage---he opted to take the coveted bottle of Sasparilla in exchange for the $40.  Great trade for me!

Tessa convinced me (more like I finally gave in) to let her wear lipstick.  "I have to look beautiful when we talk to Cache!"  

New hats for a few!

One of the highlights of the day was Skyping with Cache.  It was wonderful to see him, hear his voice and visit with him for a while.  We had problems with the video off and on, and so some of it was spent just talking, but we both loved the times we dared turn our video on (much better the 2nd hour than the first).  He looked good and sounded great and it made my momma heart feel warm and full again of him.

Right after our visit with him we headed out for our annual Christmas day service project.  Because of some recommendations Cache had made regarding my inquiries as to how to better prepare missionaries coming from our home, I was looking for a more 'real' service project than making deliveries to the Senior Citizen trailer court. I had a few things planned, both of which fell through.  The day before Christmas though, I made a phone call and landed us the best project.  A sister I visit teach was moving two days after Christmas and was willing to take my whole family's help for an hour or so on Christmas day.  It was an eye opening experience for my family and we all came home so happy to be of such needed service.  (Which is why it is a toss up as to which was the best thing of the day-- talking to Cache or serving Jesus Christ.  It is just too hard to choose; both were wonderful and satisfying.)

By then it was 4:30 and we decided to finish opening presents!

We probably could not have purchased a better gift for this little girl than a Panda Bear pillow pet.  They have not separated much since that day.  Little Greta is such a nurturer.

Greta also got dress up clothes--another hit (just not as much so as 'Pandy-Bear').  It was a great gift because both girls can play at the same time since they really do share everything.  They have such a great relationship.

This is a terrible picture (captured from a poor video), but it is only to record Tessa's main gift--a mini trampoline.  It was also a perfect gift for the bouncy girl that she is! (She also got jump ropes--Chinese and regular--both much loved by her.)

As the day wore on, Chandler got a bit grumpy---even after opening gifts that he should have loved.  Because none of them were the thing he wanted MOST:  an X-Wing Star Fighter Lego set.  Hope was pretty much lost because not a single package under the tree was the right size or shape for such a gift.  Sad, sad, days.  

(You may wonder how he knew immediately which Lego set he had received. . . well, this is Chandler we're talking about. . . )

A few other notes about Christmas for historical purposes: 

This year Caleb wanted a State Ring (for winning XC state champions) for Christmas so he only got little things like duct tape, a pound of beef jerky, guy shower gel etc.  Tom and I didn't get gifts this year either because our gift was our trip to Portland. Being together was our best Christmas gift ever--better than anything we could have acquired.  We may just repeat it (hopefully not always to Portland!).  

Tom is 100% involved in planning, shopping, wrapping and carrying out traditions on Christmas.  It is one of our favorite things to do together.  We start with a grid as early as October with each child's name on a row and the number of gifts  (or the specific gift, such as the ornament) across the top.  We pencil in gift ideas as we brainstorm what would be best for each child that year.  Along with it, we have the budget so we can stay within that too.  We work on it over the course of a couple of weeks.  We do quite a bit of research and product reviews before making a single purchase.   We make sure everyone has the same number of gifts and that it 'feels fair' (because exact dollar amount of budgeting for each child never works out because younger children's things are much less expensive than gifts for older ones.) We  think (maybe over think?) through every decision to make sure we aren't acquiring too much stuff  or causing confusion as to why we celebrate Christmas and to make sure that what we are spending our money on will be valued by the person receiving it.  Christmas is a very planned, organized event, so I'm not sure how it plays out as a fun, relaxed great day, but it always does!

We spread Christmas out over the whole day.  This year we started about 6:00 am and finished opening the last present about 5:30 pm.  I know that sounds unusual to most, but we love it.  

One last note for myself:  coding words this year:  Greek, limit, jumpy, snows.