BETHLEHEM BLANKET

This holiday season has certainly been slipping by too quickly.  I am really excited to have the remainder of this week to spend with the kids at home during the day.  (Yes, I am very aware that by the end of next week- I will be singing a different toon!)  We’ve got some fun stuff planned, though, and I’m looking forward to some fun family time together.

Tonight after our 4th visit to the Dr. in less than 2 weeks with both kids, we decided to take them out to their favorite restaurant…Texas Roadhouse.  Alyssa loves their mashed potatoes with brown gravy, and Tyson thinks it’s awesome to get steak in a kids meal with a baked potato.  Those kids just love it there. 

Tonight before bed, we read a new Christmas book:

 

It was a good little story that put us in the mood to start the remainder of the week out right.  I’m more excited to have this book earlier in the season next year to make it a fun family tradition to incorporate.

We also brought out a little white woven blanket that Todd and I purchased in Bethlehem.  It came with a short poem.  As Todd read it to the kids, Tyson sat looking at and touching the blanket and his eyes seemed so intent on looking at it while taking in what was being said.  He said he thought it was so neat that we had this blanket from the actual place that Christ was born.  We decided to use a small wooden cradle that Grandpa John built for Alyssa’s dollies.  It will be just right for what we need to fill with straw and place our baby Jesus in on Christmas Eve.

Bethlehem Blanket

On that sweet night so long ago

A child was born in David’s Town

And in A manger bed of straw

His mother Mary laid him down. 

In swaddling clothes she wrapped her son

And rocked Him as the angels sung. 

And shepherds came to visit Him

As heavenly chorus sang. 

No regal cloth to cover him,

No blanket soft to cuddle down,

No remnant white to make His stat,

No purple, nor crown.

But now in David's city A blanket soft is made. 

The Bethlehem Blanket it is called,

“A special one” tis said. 

So wrap your baby in its fold

And think of that fair night

When Christ was born in manger poor

Mid angels Heavenly light. 

A RASH DECISION

(documenting) When Tyson was a toddler, he broke out in over a hundred hives all over his body from penicillin.  Now he’s done it again- a nasty rash plagued him for a few days due to a reaction from another type of antibiotic.  It was quite the sight.  These photos show it at half strength.  It doubled up from this point and was no fun.  Worst part of the whole thing for Tyson, outside of the itch,  was having to let the Dr. and us see his bump covered bummy!  Poor thing! 

CHRISTMAS AT HEART

………………………………

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*

He

who has not

Christmas in his heart

will never find it under a tree. 

~Roy

L. Smith

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THE GIFT OF ONE

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O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands hath made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy pow'r throughout the Universe displayed;

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!  How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!  How great Thou art!

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I was blessed with the opportunity the past few months to wrap my hands around a project that has brought me so much pleasure and joy to produce.  I was put in charge of my ward’s  Relief Society Christmas Dinner & Program this year.

While Todd and I were on our trip this last spring, I remember so clearly, sitting across the valley from the Temple Mount, while listening to our presenter.  I had some thoughts come to me about Christ’s life and how I could share  parts of it in a way that may touch other’s through how I would present it.  I immediately turned to the back of my journal and wrote down an outline for a Christmas Program.

I have enjoyed every minute of putting this presentation together and sharing it.  When the day arrived on Tuesday,l I had so much joy in my heart about the story, music and presentation I was about to share. 

I was expecting apx. 20 or so women to show up.  It’s such a busy time of year.(Luckily women always double that number “just in case”)  It was touching to see that we had nearly 55 women come to our R.S. night.  I was so happy that they had come to celebrate our Savior.  

We traveled through different portions of Christ’s life and  His Divine purpose on this earth. 

We traveled though his childhood, Ministry and on to his crucifixion and resurrection.  We ended the night in Bethlehem to celebrate the gift of his birth.

One of the best parts of this journey for me, has been having the opportunity to truly focus on Christ and the Gospel in depth for a few hours on a daily basis.  More so than just prayers and small thoughts through out the day.  Many times I would give my mother a call and we would shed tender tears together as I was able to share my thoughts and finding with her.  Those  will be cherished conversations forever.

I’ve spent time researching art work and music and talks etc.  It has filled my life with  an immeasurable sense of peace and calmness more so than usual.  After going through a period of anxiety a few years ago, thinking I would not get back to the out going person who I usually am, and coming out of it on the other end has been amazing! The final tests have been being able to speak in sacrament and prepare this program.  Though  I have definitely felt the storms of life hovering around me- I have continued to enjoy an inner peace that can only be provided through one source.  I am thankful to know that all of us on this earth have the opportunity to know Christ personally.  He is the Savior of the World.  He lives!

*If anyone would like some more details about the program, email me! 

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I forgot to take photos before the night started- so as helpers were taking things down, I tried to quickly put some things back together to grab a few photos.  I wish I had pics of the table settings & centerpieces.  Mainly for reference.  Oh well!  Also, many of you know…décor is hard to accomplish in a church house.  Limited resources there.  

* We did have a fun gift for all the ladies who attended.  It was a Grapefruit and Sea salt Body Scrub in a small jar. I used grape seed oil in it as well. The burlap that we put around the top was also used in part of the centerpieces.  I tried to tie the theme completely together starting with the invitations and on through out.

I am SOO thankful to everyone who helped me make this happen.  You all know who you are.  Behind the scenes, with the food, décor etc.  Also- the musical talent was AMAZING!  It doesn’t hurt to have stunningly beautiful and professional voices in the ward at my fingertips.

Anne, Todd and Alyssa…THANK YOU for being there with me to support me.  I love you!

The plate chargers were actually silver, but it doesn’t show in the photo.

ON DANCER, ON PRANCER

Lyssie Lou got the chance to perform a little Christmas dance number for us last weekend.  It was short  & sweet.  Fun to see her growing up and becoming more confident.  This is the first time I’ve seen a natural joyful smile on her face while performing.  The one that comes from really loving what you’re doing.  That’s what I’ve hoped for her to find.  So glad she did!  Alyssa was also happy to have Grammy & Grandpa there to support her too.  She specifically requested them!

WASHINGTON D.C. 2011

I have been waiting for Todd to write about his trip to DC this past summer. I couldn't blog it- because I've never been there and wasn't able to go with. So I am very excited to see that he finally got around to posting doing it.

So...In Todd's words...

Occasionally I have business trips that take me to some cool places within the US. In August I had the opportunity to go back to my old missionary stomping grounds in Washington DC (served in the DC South mission from ‘94-‘96). This became even more special because I was able to arrange for Tyson, McCade (my nephew) and parents to come out with me. McCade flew out with me and spent 2 days in the hotel room while I was in my meetings and then my parents flew Tyson out to meet us for a few days of history and fun.  The trip was made more exciting by the rare earthquake that rattled the east coast and then the hurricane coming in fast. In 2 1/2 days we were able to see the following:

White House, Ford’s Theater, Museums (Natural History, American History, Air and Space, Holocaust), National Archive (Declaration of Independence, Bills of Rights, Constitution), Library of Congress (Gutenberg Bible), US Capitol, Mint, Memorials (MLK, Korean, Lincoln, Vietnam, WWII, Washington), Arlington Cemetery, Tomb of Unknown Soldier, JFK Grave, and Arlington House.

PROACTIVE HAPPINESS

‎

"To get up each morning 

with the resolve to be happy…

.

is to set our own conditions

to the events of each day.

.

To do this is to

condition circumstances

.

instead of being

conditioned by them."

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-Ralph Waldo Emerson

COURAGE TO STAND

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"As we go about living from day to day, it's almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged.  We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not.  Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone? . . . It is essential that we are able to face—with courage—whatever challenges come our way.

Remember the words of Tennyson:

“My strength is as the strength of ten,

because my heart is pure”

(Alfred Lord Tennyson, “Sir Galahad”)."

-President Thomas S. Monson

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ZOO LIGHTS 2011

Last Saturday we met Lesa, Sky and Sierra at the Zoo for the opening of the Christmas Zoo Lights Season.  We went two years ago and had a great time.  Once again we bundled up for a brisk night.  The pictures don’t do the brilliance of the lights justice.  The Zoo has done a really nice job of adding fun and whimsy for the holidays.  The kids were excited to see Santa and his reindeer…However, little miss BeDoo the teenager, wanted NOTHING to do with him.  When Lesa somewhat demanded Sierra to go up by him to get a picture with the two kids, she would NOT sit by him.  Santa being the AWESOME guy he is- with years of jolly experience under his belt- slowly stood up and stepped right over to Sierra.  The look on Sierra’s face was priceless.  It topped the whole night off with splendor!  Well, that and yummy hot cocoa for all! 

Saturday was also the 5th Anniversary of Scott’s passing.  He would have loved seeing Sierra in such Santa Clause Agony.  I thought it was neat that Lesa and the kids happened to run in to some friends of theirs that moved away a few years ago, ones that Scott also knew very well.  Sky perked up with an extra smile and seemed to enjoy even more the rest of the night with Jack and Tyson by his side.  Tyson ended up heading over to Sky’s with Jack for a sleepover.  They had a great time!  Thanks guys for sharing this time with us.  We love you.

 

THANKFUL THOUGHTS 2011

Saturday after Thanksgiving, Todd wanted to cook our own Browned Bird so he could have lots of yummy sandwiches for the next week.  Tyson loves to help clean/season and prep the bird.  Alyssa got in on the action for a minute, until she saw the ‘insides’ coming out…at which point she left it to the boys to finish.  Tyson was a little nervous using an electric knife for the first time.  But so excited to do so. 

We enjoyed the afternoon together with a very special visitor in our home.  uncle Christian was able to come spend some time with us.  We were so happy.  While the Turkey cooked, I mixed some dough for the kids and Chris to make ornaments for the kids tree.  They cut them out and placed ribbons on them to hang for later.  Tyson and Alyssa took turns wheeling around in Christians awesome chair.  Tyson soon learned how much upper body strength it actually takes someone having to maneuver one of those. 

I had planned on looking through our Thankful Thoughts during dinner- so it was fun to have Chris there with us.  We set the table and enjoyed another full Thanksgiving feast with all the extra fix’ns.  We loved having holiday music in the background as that is one of Christians favorite things! 

A priceless moment presented itself to us as we gathered round the table while reading our Thankful thoughts.  The kids and Todd had each randomly selected 6 or 7 thoughts to share.  It became my turn and I grabbed a few and started to read.  I had Christian help me read the first one or two as we started each one with  “I am Thankful for… , and then opened the next one.  On it was written, “being able to walk!”

As I glanced at the paper and registered what it said.  I quickly teared up as I looked at Christian and my family and then read it out loud. 

“I AM THANKFUL FOR BEING ABLE TO WALK!”

I had forgotten that weeks earlier I wrote that down as something I was thankful for.  I remember thinking about my senses and things I take for granted.  Beautiful sunsets and eyesight to see them.  Sweet music and ears to hear those sounds.  The ability to walk, and strength to do so.

I looked as Christian as I stated the fact.  It is true!  And I know that rather than feeling sorrow- Christian felt joy that I would consider that such a blessing.  I also know that Christian is anxiously awaiting the time when he will be made whole. 

I am SO thankful for having the opportunity to grow up with such an amazing physical example of strength and miracle.  I have learned things that many may never learn or have the opportunity to learn on a level that most don’t allow themselves to be privy to.  Not by choice of mine- but through a daily example of growing up side by side with one of Christ’s miracles.  Christian is truly that!  He is on borrowed time.  The Lords time.  As our family sits and waits for that miracle to cease- we STAND in awe of the lessons that we learn. 

One of the greatest things about Todd is that when we first me, I watched him interact as a teenager with Christian.  NOT ONCE did he shy away or feel awkward from the beginning.  The opposite transpired and they grew a brotherly bond.  Not only had Todd been a brother to him through the years, he has been a physical angel to Christian in lifting him and carrying a load that only angels know how to do.  I am so blessed!   

 

THE GINGERBREAD GANG

The Friday after Thanksgiving, Grandma Jami was in town and wanted to do Gingerbread houses with the grandkids.  We all headed to Carson & Ang’s house for pizza and video games.  Quite the collection of little personalities running around and enjoying!  Thanks Grandma for making this a running tradition for our children to remember.  Even when we don’t start the houses til 9:30-  You are a trooper and we love you!

THANKSGIVING 2011

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"As we pause to thank Him for

The blessings of the past year,

We must not forget to thank Him

For the lessons we have learned

Through our difficult times.

We are not to be thankful

For just the pleasant, easy things,

But ALL things."

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I am Thankful for All that I have in my life.

I am so grateful for family and friends. 

I am Thankful for my home.  For clothing.  For shelter. I am Thankful for all these things above any hardships that I encounter.  I am Thankful I can see the beauty in life and joy among life’s sorrows. 

I am Thankful for a Father in Heaven who loves me. 

Who loves us all!

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Our family went over to Grammy Anne & Grampa John’s for a yummy feast this year along with Lesa, Kira, Sierra and Sky. 

Todd’s Uncle Tom ‘Turkey’ joined us for dinner as well since his wife, Linda and family were all on the east coast this year without him. 

Anne set a beautiful table with a special Pilgrim centerpiece which Grammy Ruth, her mother, hand painted.  Lesa brought darling Chocolate Turkey Cake Pops for everyone, and I gave each of the kids a pair of Turkey Gloves.

The food was yummy as always.  Moist turkey, Grandfather’s dressing, homemade rolls, sweet creamed corn…  Bread Pudding and a Pumpkin Cream cheese roll for desert. 

After dinner we all sat like stuffed muffins on the couch for a while, not really good for anything.  Finally though, we mustered energy to play a few rounds of categories.  It was a nice and pleasant evening! 

When we left the kids couldn’t walk away without messin’ around in the fresh fall leafs.  They couldn’t help but spread a big Thanks of the leafy love to Grammy and Grampa’s! 

-Thanks for having us Turkeys over-

GETTING KINECTED!

Todd is such a little kid!!!  He has NO sense of patience when it comes to the things he really wants…which to his credit, isn’t a lot.  Unless it comes to kids, electronics, and fun!  Over Thanksgiving Holiday, he said he wanted to break out the family Christmas present early so we could enjoy it for the Holiday season.  Sad thing is…he KNOWS I’ll go along with it.  I can’t wait for ANYTHING!  Surprises are my favorite.  Of course I wanted to put my mama’s touch on it with cute wrapping and have the kids sit and make it fun.  Alyssa didn’t realize how much fun it would be…so it took a while for the smile from her, until she started playing, and loved!  Tyson right off the bat was in heaven. 

Happy Early Christmas present to our family!  It’s a great workout. 

I’ll be just fine self prescribing playing the kinect 4 times a week to myself!

 

DOUGH IN LOVE!

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My family is DOUGH in love… 

Especially me!

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SOpe…‘twas my birfday a week ago Sunday. I’m offically 37, which makes me another year wiser, right?

Tyson gave me the best traditional Spanish ear pulls. 37 of them!

I had a great day with my family. At 7:30am Tyson came in asking what I wanted him to make me for Breakfast. Todd reminded him, I would like it served in bed…just so Todd could have it served to him too! Alyssa gave me big hugs. We enjoyed church and then came home to relax for the day. It was so nice to not go anywhere the rest of the day. We played games and just plain hung out.

I don’t think I’ve ever cried over a present before. If I have, it sure has been a while. But…I cried this time.  (Ain’t nutt’n wrong wid dat!)  They gave me a Bosch Mixer and food processor. I was THRILLED! Alyssa picked out a cute serving tray and they got measuring cups and bread pans for me as well. I am in heaven. I took a specialty bread making class with my friend a few weeks ago- and…

I can’t wait to spread some sweet, toasty love with this thing!

KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES

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Me:  “Kids- now if there’s a sack with tissue at the top, don’t touch it, or look inside or you might see what the present is, and you’ll ruin your Christmas.”

20 minutes later…

Tyson:  “Mom?  Will you please staple that present together?”

Me:  “Just don’t look inside the sack- or else you’ll ruin your Christmas”

another 20 minutes later…

Tyson:  “ Please just staple the bag shut.  It’s just too tempting for me.”  “If you don’t staple it by tomorrow morning, I’ll have to look inside.”  “I’ll go get the stapler.”

* Now, if it were me…I’d just wait til ‘mom’ left…

and well…look inside!  Glad to hear Tyson is learning self awareness of his boundaries.  OR, just a good moral diverter!

Actually- Tyson is one of those kids who LOVES surprises.  He will close his eyes every time or look away…just to gain the FULL experience of the SURPRISE!!!

WITH A GREATFUL HEART

“Let gratitude be

the pillow upon which you kneel

to say your nightly prayer. 

And let faith be the bridge you build

to overcome evil and welcome good.”

—  Maya Angelou

TURKEY BOWL

Tyson played in his friends 3rd annual Turkey Bowl this morning.  We got a call to bring over a flag on our way.  I thought it was such a neat idea that his friends family decided to open their ‘Bowl Games’ this year with the national anthem in their backyard.  As children they see the fun and love of the game…as adults they will reflect with respect and love for tradition that reaches far beyond friendship. 

TO BE SENSITIVE

"There is an aristocracy of the sensitive.

They represent the true human tradition

of permanent victory over cruelty & chaos."

.

~ E. M. Forster 

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WITH GREAT PURPOSE

“Go forward in life

with a twinkle in your eye

and a smile on your face,

but with great purpose

in your heart”

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-Gordon B. Hinkley

BREAKING DAWN

My sister in law is known for throwing great parties in her neighborhood.  Especially when it comes to… Bella & Edward!  I joined in the fun this year and it did not disappoint.  She went all out with table décor and catered food.  We each got our own replica wedding ring and napkin wrapped with a garter!  Gotta love the rendition of Bella & Edwards wedding cake.  Ang provided plenty of tulle, ribbon & jewels for each of us to make a wedding veil to wear to the movie…and that we did!  She gave each of us a cute little bag of chocolates along with our ticket to enjoy.  Thanks Ang, for having me out.  Next time I might feel inclined to bring my neighborhood out with yours!!  Can you handle another 40?  hahaha- 

LITTLE TURKEY!

Yep- That’s me!  The one with the biggest smile, donning an awesome rust colored velour jumpsuit jacket.  Just look at the golden brown skin on that thing!! 

Cameron, look! you’re next to me.    Carson would be trying to sneak out to the arcade, and Shawn running around like a crazy kid.  Christian would’ve been in his little red quickie lighting up the room I’m sure!

Kristine & Holly, Willow, Cresta- you look marvelous!  We always had our Pearson Thanksgivings at one of the Hotels.  Gotta love that Towne Hall eh girls.