Blue Christmas

This has been a very Blue Christmas for me, in two ways. The first would be thanks to David's mom Cindi who once again put her sewing skills to excellent use. The boys received these BYU pajamas at last nights Christmas Eve party. They are fleece and very comfy. As of right now (4:30 p.m.) all three boys are still wearing them!
The second reason is that my phone has had no dial tone all day long. I reported the problem online to Qwest, but who knows when it will get fixed. I do not expect some phone repairman to give up his/her time on this special day to fix my phone line......but it has been sad for me not to hear the phone ring. You would think that with family all around us we would be out visiting, but we decided to keep today an at home relaxed day, and now I am starting to regret it. I want to at least call people and let them know that I am thinking of them, but the best I can do is .. Merry Christmas!

Let It Snow!

This is the beautiful blanket of white that we woke up to this morning. The boys were so excited! They were told by their teachers at school last Friday that we were going to get a good amount of snow over the weekend. It didn't happen. Andrew was looking forward to trying out his snow pants and was very disappointed with his teachers failed prediction. It is now Tuesday, and the boys are sitting impatiently through six hours of school. I am sure the moment they get home they will be out in the backyard being boys. Well, at least Andrew will be. Isaac is my boy and will probably prefer a book, blanket, and a cup of hot cocoa.

Girls Night Out

Last night was a 'Girls Night Out' with three of my sisters. Anjeanette, Cheri, Charlotte and I met at the Parrothead Island Broiler for delicious salads and then we were off to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas Concert. We were very worried about making it to our seats on time, and so after finding a parking garage, we ran quite a bit of the way to the Conference Center. I have still not adjusted to Utah's cold weather, and was inadequately dressed for the frigid air.
This was truly the beginning of the Christmas season for me. I was filled with love, gratitude and beautiful music. It was wonderful to be surrounded by my sisters. To hug, comfort and strengthen one another. We are all so different, and yet our desire for all things pure and uplifting bind us together. I am looking forward to many more of these times....the next one being a Mama Mia night.

Cheri's Magic

This is my sister, Cheri. Together we accomplished a huge task today. She thought she was coming over to my house to help me organize my food storage room. I had told her that my clothes dryer was having issues...not drying like it is supposed to....when she discovered that there was hair hanging from a pipe in my storage room ceiling. After a closer examination, we realized that my dryer vent duct was crammed full of lint. We spent the next 3 hours disconnecting the duct and shoving pvc pipe, a golf club and a wire hanger with a slotted spoon taped to the end as far as possible into the pipe. We cleared out at least 10 feet. I have never seen so much lint. It was everywhere. Together, we were victorious! The good news is that my dryer now works like it is supposed to, and I have seen Cheri, once again, come to my rescue. I love her. She is an amazing woman. There is nothing that she can't do. She gives everything that she has, and more, to make sure others are happy. Many people realize that she is dependable and unselfish, and so she is called on often to work her magic. Thank you Cheri, for being such a great sister and friend.

Going, Going, Gone.

Time is running out. We will soon be leaving this place. It has been our shelter, our safe place, and our home for the past 3-and-a-half years. Lately, I have been thinking about experiences that we have had here that I would like to remember. This is not, by all means, a complete list.

*David coming home from a trip to the BMX track with horrible road rash up 1/2 of his body.
*Isaac and Andrew swimming for hours a day in the shallow end of the pool until I lovingly forced them to try out the deep end. Now they are my swimmer fish.
*A very difficult pregnancy with our miracle, Luke Sam.
*Having the ward choir come to my home to sing me one of my favorite songs, Simple Gifts. I had missed it when it was sung in Sacrament Meeting due to bed rest.
*Looking for snails with Luke on the front walk.
*Tearing a leaf off of the lime tree (left of the patio), for the delicious citrus scent.
*Hauling an absurd amount of dirty clothing, every week, to the laundry room.
*Dislocating my toe, and resetting it quickly....by myself.
*Semi-Annual Donut Night with friends.
*Discovering the importance of health and nutrition.
*Isaac reading on the top bunk for hours.
*Dave playing the guitar.
*Andrew wanting to be outside, but not wanting to upset his shadow Luke.
*Baseball, soccer, skateboarding, rip-sticking, climbing trees, scootering, running, wrestling, hide-and-seeking, and recovering on the play area in front of the apartment.
*Watching the Livermore Police take care of naughty neighbors.
*Dave finishing up his doctorate...and thinking he was done with school for the rest of his life.....
*Developing new family history research skills.
*Date nights with Dave (movies after the boys are in bed).
*Homework, Homework, Homework.
*Isaac breaking his arm on the school playground.
*Dave and the boys drawing pokemon, animals and faces. Luke using markers on the couch.

We are looking forward to the changes ahead. Our only sadness comes from knowing we are leaving friends and neighbors who have influenced us for good. Friends who have been there for us through difficult times and rejoiced with us when those times have passed. Friends, who in all aspects are our Family.

Moss Beach

With our time here in California slowly running out, our family took advantage of the beautiful weather last weekend. Our closest enjoyable beach is in Half Moon Bay, and our favorite spot is the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve at Moss Beach. The first trip we made here was at high tide, and so we were not too impressed. But, ever since then it has been delightful to visit. We always go when the tide is as low as possible and we are constantly amazed at the many different creatures that we come upon. The tide pools are incredible!
I love the drive to get here. Especially the small curvy roads as we near the coast. There are some neat little shops along the way. The Christmas tree farms were preparing to open, and I will admit that it was strange to see huge paintings of Santa here and there. Mostly because the temperature was in the 80's and we were in a lush, green area.
The boys love to explore here, and play in the sand. Luke thoroughly enjoyed shoveling and throwing wet sand everywhere, including on himself. I spent my time searching for beach glass while Isaac and Andrew collected interesting rocks and shells. I found a shark tooth, which I presented to Dave. The boys thought it was super cool, but when we showed it to the wildlife ranger he kindly reminded us that we were not allowed to take anything from the beach. I asked him about my beach glass and told him that I considered it a favor that I was willing to pick up garbage while at the beach. He agreed that beach glass was not a natural part of the beach. This greatly disappointed the boys since there treasures, along with the tooth, were left for nature to crush and grind into sand.
I love to be on the beach. It is both refreshing and rejuvinating to hear, see and smell the water. As we watched the sunset and prepared to leave, we recognized that everyone else conveniently headed to their cars too. The traffic was so bad heading back east that we drove the coast south a little bit and found a cozy place to enjoy fish and chips.
We have been so overwhelmed with the coming changes that this little excursion brightened our week. It also makes me realize, once again, just how much I am going to miss being here.

Dave and I

Isaac took this picture tonight of Dave and I while we were at the park. I want to mention that this week Dave and I celebrated two anniversaries. We had our first date (Homecoming, Bingham High School) on October 14, 1995, 13 years ago this past Tuesday. Looking back, I always knew that I wanted to be with Dave forever. This brings me to our temple sealing which was October 17, 1998, 10 years ago from yesterday. Dave is my handsome, my boyfriend and my best friend. I am extremely thankful that I am by his side.

Not As We Planned

We had great plans for this weekend. We reserved a hotel room in Pismo Beach, and were looking forward to a much needed family outing. I should have known better. The jeep has been having major issues. I have been treating it nicely. I even washed it last week and Dave cleaned the interior. You would think it would not complain after being so luxuriously pampered. Not so. It has been leaking antifreeze, idling too low, and not starting all of the time. In fact, it quit on Dave in an intersection last night. Instead of our 'beach trip', I stayed in bed until nearly noon while the boys watched a movie. We then walked up to the White's to see this.....



Wowzers! This is Kitten, a Ball Python. Isaac and Andrew had a good time holding her. She was soft and scaly. As for the rest of the day, Dave is going to attempt a drive with the boys to pick out a frame for a piece of his artwork. Luke is going down for a nap, and I am tempted to climb back in bed too.

Shhh...I fed my family tofu...

...and they liked it. Okay, I will admit that there was more chocolate and peanut butter than tofu, but it really was delicious. I used two recipes found on www.recipezaar.com
The first was a Graham Cracker Oatmeal Crust (#32495), and the second was Silky Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (#38401). It was very easy to make, and by the rave reviews that I received, I will be making it again. In fact Isaac requested that I make it every Monday night! Andrew's reaction to the first bite was "This is heavenly." Dave, on the other hand, could not be fooled. He knew that I would not be serving a dessert unless it was at least semi-healthy. After guessing for a few minutes he hit upon the secret ingredient. Tofu. It did not interfere with his affirming that it was a scrumdidlyumptious dessert. Now that I know they will eat it, I can make a few adjustments with the ingredients to make it even healthier. You know, I am responsible for feeding my family, and I cannot have them living in fear over what mom 'mysteriously hides' in their meals. Little do they know....

Luke Sam the Acrobat Man

This is my danger boy. If you have anything that needs to be climbed, explored or destroyed, this is the child who can do it all. He never ceases to amaze me with his death defying tricks and acrobatics. He scales the boys bunk beds, the kitchen cupboards and my dresser drawers as if he is out to accomplish a great feat. We recently had our CA Grandpa (Papa White) repair our coffee table because Luke had climbed it one too many times. I shouldn't say climbed. The appropriate term would be 'pulled himself up onto'. Once on top, he 'hangs ten' on the edge with his tongue sticking out and his eyes as big and round as gold dollars. He loves to experience the thrill before the fall. I can see that moving him to UT will be a safe thing. There may be no 'Mavericks' there, but I can easily see snowboarding in his future.

Finally!

Well...Dave has done it again. I have told him repeatedly that he married me because I am (or was) fun, and I married him because he is smart. He figured out today how to post my blog on our family website, using Blogger. This will finally provide me with a place to share my life with friends and family. I cannot wait to begin!