Most of December in one post

For the record (our family record, that is), here are some glimpses of the rest of our December:

Jackson the Elf showed up again the first day of December.  He left secretly every night to hurry back to the North Pole to tell Santa if we were being good or bad and then returned to our home and showed up in a new spot in the house each day.  (Below left - he takes a bubble bath in "bubble" marshmallows.  Right, hanging from ceiling on some snowflakes he whipped up). That, is he found a new spot every day except for the days he came down with a really bad cold and  "forgot" to move to a new location.  Twice.  Silly Jackson.

 

 . We saw Santa several times and communicated our utmost desires.

 

The girls and I did some clothes shopping, as they mostly wanted clothes for Christmas and they have to choose the clothes themselves (I absolutely cannot predict what clothes they will like anymore!)  This day we found some perfectly hideous shoe boots in Target.  Does someone really wear these things?

 We got together with some good friends and helped make 40 blankets for several charitable agencies.

Aubrey's school choir put on a lovely and fun Christmas show (Aubrey is third from the left in my blurry iphone picture)
Bailey and her best friends spent an evening at Goodwill picking out ugly Christmas sweaters (which look surprisingly like sweaters I have owned at one time or another) and then had a photo shoot.  They all wore their sweaters to school the next day.

 

 I helped with Joseph's school party.  Oh, 2nd graders.  So cute.  Can I just freeze this age, please?

 The last day of school before the break Joseph was able to wear his pjs to school (and take a pillow, blanket, and stuffed animal to class).  He really wanted to wear a robe also, so we found one on sale at Kohl's.  And then, I don't think he took off the robe or pajamas for at least three days.  Winter break is the best!

Is it really bad that the only cookies we decorated this year were the leftovers of the ones I bought for Joseph's school party?  I was in charge of bringing sugar cookies, and we aren't allowed to bring anything homemade.  So, I bought them at the grocery store, and that was quite awesome actually.  Then that night the kids each decorated a few of the leftover cookies with the leftover frosting.  And I never brought up the subject again, and I'm glad that they forgot that we never made our own sugar cookies.

We kept plenty busy baking, though.  As soon as school was out we started making treats to give away.  We tried a bunch of new recipes, and some were absolute keepers (the best: cinnadoodles and chocolate peppermint sandwiches).  For several days straight I did nothing but mix up and bake goodies.  Dan came home one of the days and asked if I had any ideas for dinner.  I told him that we were eating butter and sugar that night.  Mmmmmm . . . . . if only that butter and sugar consumption hadn't created extra pounds for Dan and I to work off in January . . . .

When the goodies were done, my little elves helped take them around to neighbors and friends.

Our house was the gathering place for the Sub for Santa donations for two families.  It was so fun to see our living room fill up with gifts and then think about how happy the families would be.  Because of this situation, we didn't put any of our own presents under our tree until a day or so before Christmas.  I kind of liked it this way.  

We had a funny experience in regards to the Sub for Santa that I need to record.  One day in Costco Joseph pointed out a toy that he wanted more than ANYTHING for Christmas.  I took note of it and bought it later.  I didn't realize that Dan did the same thing, so mid-December we discovered that we had both bought and stored the same toy. Rather than return it we decided to give it as one of our Christmas gifts to one of the Sub for Santa families.  Then, I did something kind of sneaky to see how charitable my sweet little 7 year old could be.  I pulled out the gift one day and showed it to Joseph. His eyes opened wide and I'm sure he wondered why I would show him his number one desired Christmas gift before Christmas. I explained that there was a 6-year-old boy who wouldn't be able to receive many presents this year, and we thought that maybe he would like this toy.  What did he think?  

He gulped and his face drained of color, and then he said quietly, "I think the boy will really like it. That's a good idea."  So, as far as he knew, we had bought him the toy he wanted and then he had given a thumbs up to us giving it away to someone else. He wanted to help me wrap it up and was very sweet about it - "I hope the boy really likes it - it's a really cool toy."  I was proud of him for the way he handled the situation.  And he was very surprised on Christmas Day when he opened a duplicate of the toy, just for him!

Joseph is a true Lego lover.  He patiently studies the instructions and assembles even the most complex of Lego creations.  One day in late December I dozed off upstairs while watching a movie after tucking Joseph in bed.  When I woke up at midnight I realized I could hear something downstairs.  When I investigated, I found Mr. Joseph working hard at the kitchen table to finish his last Lego set from Christmas. He had apparently been working on it for about 3 hours straight.  He looked up and said, "there, I'm putting on my last piece."  And then he turned the lights off and went back up to bed.

 

We enjoyed some relatively balmy weather the days after Christmas.  Joseph made good use of the time by throwing and catching a football. As I was the only one available, I was his football partner and he had a good time laughing at my lack of throwing and catching abilities.

 I have tried and tried to figure out how to photoshop our eyes to not be so creepy in this lousy iphone picture, but I give up.  The day after Christmas Dan and I took this girls (and Bailey's friend Nina) to see Les Miserables in a big new theater.  It was. . . . . . amazing.  We had a few little quibbles about casting or other cinematic choices, but in general we felt that it was a beautiful rendition of a story that we dearly love.  In fact, I though that the moviemakers did a great job of including some facts from the book which are not in the Broadway play, making the storyline flow more smoothly.  Les Mis has always been one of my favorite stories about hope and redemption.

The following are letters to/from Santa and cards that Bailey wrote and gave to each family member.

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 It was a wonderful December.  There were many other events I realized I didn't document with pictures.  Aubrey sang Silent Night at the ward Christmas party and Mary's Lullaby in a combined YW lesson - and did a beautiful job both times.  The  kids did lots of homework and were very glad when they had a break.  We spent the entire break relaxing, which was exactly the way we wanted it!

Shameless bragging post

I'm going to brag a little. Sorry.

I just sewed curtains for Joseph's room.

Now, I recognize this would be no big deal for most people. I know many people, including my Mom, who regularly sew amazingly beautiful items for their homes. But I am not one of those people.

As I talked about in a previous post, the last time I did a sewing project, I learned to sew as a child but never loved it. Put a paint can and a paintbrush in my hand and I am happy for days, confidently transforming rooms with color.  But, give me a sewing project or walk me into a fabric store and I start to feel anxious and hyperventilate.

I have a sewing machine and I use it several times as year for assorted mending/Scout badge adhering/random projects, but I never feel entirely comfortable with my ability to sew something well.  It's not the actual running the needle through the fabric that bothers me - that part is really quite easy and even fun (I like to zoom a straight line down the fabric and amaze myself with how fast I am).  The part that completely befuddles my mind is all the meticulous planning involved in most sewing projects.  The measuring and measuring again and allowing for seam allowances and gathering and blah blah blah blah and understanding how the individual steps of the sewing process will affect the finished product.  That part just drives me crazy because the end result rarely meets even my most relaxed of expectations.

We have been working to re-do Joseph's new room (Aubrey's old room) over the past month or so.  After looking through some bedding options, Joseph chose a super cute "pirate themed" bed set.  The set included  the bedding, a bedskirt, and a valance.  However, he has an extra wide window in his room so the valance was much too narrow, and he doesn't actually need a bedskirt because his bed  has drawers at the bottom.  So, I decided to take apart the fabric of the bedskirt to piece together fabric to sew onto both sides of the valance to make it fit the window.

This was a particular challenge for my non-sewing-brain because my measurements and cuts had to result in pieces that fit the existing pieces exactly so it would look smooth when I sewed it all together.  Then I needed to sew more tabs for the top of the curtain.

I measured and figured and re-figured one afternoon this last week.  Once I got going I couldn't put the project down, and I didn't get anything else done the rest of the day.

But, by dinner time this was the finished product:

I love it!  And I'm so proud of myself! 

Only I know that I made several mistakes in my measurements which resulted in errors requiring some strategic and creative sewing so that everything fit together as it should.  But, who will ever know but me, right?

Dinner success

I just have to announce that last night I made a new dinner recipe and everybody tried it.

And even Joseph said that he liked it.  Wow.  Double and triple wow.  That seriously has never happened in our house.  With the exception of the old standby chicken nuggets or pizza, there is not a single dish that everyone likes. 

So, I thought I would share my miracle recipe!

Click here

Merry Christmas Eve!

We had a lovely Christmas Eve. It was just the way we prefer it to be ...... quiet and all about family.  We turned down invitations to spend Christmas Eve with some friends because the kids felt like they wanted to do our own traditions and just be together.

So that's how we did it, and it was wonderful. 

After the kids got up on Christmas Eve morning they started tracking Santa on Norad.  And, within a few minutes we saw that Santa was delivering gifts in Donetsk, Ukraine (where Brandon is serving his mission)!  We trust that he left Brandon lots of fun surprises.  
The kids continued to track Santa's progress with the ipad, even when they climbed into their beds in the bonus room at the end of the day.

During the day we delivered treats to some of Bailey's friends (she drove the car) and we worked together to make our traditional Cafe Rio Christmas Eve dinner. Yum, yum, triple yum.  Not as good as the real thing, but almost. (We also had rosemary garlic mashed red potatoes and corn on the table to accommodate different palates, as everyone should have something they like to eat on Christmas Eve).

 
I thought I had missed getting an individual picture of Bailey, but there is her head on the left side of Aubrey's picture below.  Bailey is a pro photobomber!  Oh wait, here is an individual picture of Bailey . . .

During dinner we focused on the Savior and what we want to do to be more like Him. Everyone shared what they are most looking forward to about this next year (Brandon coming home tops the list for all of us) and one thing that we plan to do to be more Christlike.  

Then we performed our Nativity play, complete with very non-professional costumes and lots of giggles.

After six straight years of playing Mary, Bailey debuted in a new role as the heavenly angel.  Aubrey played the role of Mary, Joseph was . . . Joseph, of course, and Dan was the shepherd(s).  I was the narrator and camerawoman.

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Next the kids opened sibling gifts and they gave their gifts to Dan and me.  Below, Joseph stopped to read his letter from Bailey - she had written very thoughtful cards to each family member to go along with our gifts.

Joseph picked out a Spiderman DVD for Dan for Christmas. He was sure that his Dad would love it, but if  

 he didn't, Joseph knew that HE would love it!

 

Then the kids opened their new pjs and their Christmas Eve book (The Christmas Train, which we read before bed).

,

  After plenty of giggling and a crazy Christmas photo shoot,

they hustled upstairs to have a sleepover in the bonus room, as is tradition.  Bailey slept on the couch and Aubrey and Joseph slept on mattresses on the ground.

Dan and I heard giggling coming from the bonus room for hours. The kids kept each other honest in regards to not going downstairs to see if Santa had come.  Apparently, at one point they all needed to use the bathroom so they all entered the room together and then two waited in the bathtub (with the shower curtain closed) while the other one used the toilet.  After they had all had their turn, they headed back to watch Christmas shows and to dream about the morning . . .

These are the notes that the kids left for Santa, as well as Santa's replies:

 

 

 And these are a few of the sweet letters Bailey gave to each of us on Christmas Eve. I 'll have to look around to find the other letters.  Bailey has a real gift for writing uplifting and kind words.

Beyond the Barricade

This is the poster we printed out and will hang in our home throughout 2013:

Somewhere beyond the barricade, is there a world you long to see?

         I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. 
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.
You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're
Doing Something.  
So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself.
Make New Mistakes.  Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.  
Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

Neil Gaiman

There will be times when you will be frightened and discouraged. 
You may feel that you are defeated. 
The odds of obtaining victory may appear overwhelming. 
At times you may feel like David trying to fight Goliath.  
But remember—David did win! 
Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required.
"Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the saying, 
'I will try again tomorrow.'"
President Thomas S. Monson

This is the theme that Dan and I chose for our family for this year.  We want to encourage all of us to try to new things, even at the risk of making mistakes. Obviously, we aren't encouraging serious moral mistakes, but we are encouraging every member of the family to try hard things - and what is hard is different for each of us.  Last Monday we had a family home evening in which we built a "barricade" out of furniture and blankets. Then we talked about the symbolism of a barricade. This was especially resonant because we all love Les Miserables and all (except Joseph) just saw the movie.  "Beyond the barricade, is there a world you long to see?" is one of my favorite lines, from the last song of the play/movie.  

We talked about how we each have a "world we long to see".  But, life is about overcoming obstacles, so we each have individualized "barricades" in our way. We talked about what some of these barricades might be and what we need to do to climb over or break down the barricades and continue on our way to the world we long to see.  Just like the revolutionaries who sing the song in Les Mis, the first step is envisioning what is on the other side of the barricade and what life would be like without the obstacles.  

This year we are going to try new things, even when we are frightened or discouraged. Even when it is hard and painful and uncomfortable.  We're not going to let a fear of making a mistake, doing it wrong, not being perfect, hold us up.  Because what is beyond the barricade is wonderful.

Love is Christmas

 

 

In case it isn't clear to you from these pics, we had a great time just being together on Christmas Eve and the entire Christmas season.  This is the good stuff . . . faith in the Savior and Redeemer, family, love, Christmas.  

(Someone introduced me to this Christmas song this season - I love the message!)

Love is Christmas

by Sara Bareilles

I don't care if the house is packed,

Or if the strings of light are broken.

I don't care if the presents are wrapped,

Or if there's nothing here to open.

Love is not a toy, and no paper will conceal it.

Love is simply joy that I'm home.

I don't care if the carpet is stained; we have food upon the table.

I don't care if it's gonna rain, our room is warm and stable.

Love is who we are, and no season can contain it.

Love would never fall for that.

Let love lead us, love is Christmas.

Why are you so scared that you'll mess it up? Imperfection keeps you haunted.

All you need is your best my love, that's all anyone ever wanted.

Love is how we do it, let no judgment overrule it.

Love -  I look to you, and I sing.

Let love lead us, love is Christmas.