Magical Night!

This year has been eventful for us. I didn't get Christmas cards out this year, and I apologize for that. Every time I thought about what I would say in a Christmas letter, my heart filled with emotion and I wasn't sure I could express all the gratitude and love I feel. So, I didn't send them, and thought maybe I would write something here to express my love for the Savior and what his life and Atonement mean to us in our lives.

It is hard to be grateful for trials when in the midst of them. Especially the ones which come out of nowhere and are not a consequence of a decision anyone has made. However, having it behind us, I can say I am grateful we had the experiences we had this summer. We have grown closer as a family and have seen the Lord's hand blessing our lives in more ways than one, and who can't be grateful for that? It really opened our eyes to the loving concern of all our family and friends, wherever they are. My heart is overwhelmed with gratitude every time I think of all the prayers that were offered on our behalf during that time. My testimony of the power of prayer and fasting has been strengthened.

Today, Erik (14) is doing well. He had another MRI this past Monday, which showed no change from the last one, which is great news. They will do another in June and then yearly after that. (We wanted to get one more done, before the insurance year.) He had his wisdom teeth removed on Thursday and has been in little to no pain with that. (I don't remember mine being so painless!!!) He does well in school, when he applies himself, and has been enjoying his first year of seminary.

Maren (also 14) is always such a good student. She strives for A's and more often than not, achieves her goal! She is getting very good at the violin and piano, and has been playing the piano for her seminary class this year. She has loved seminary and tells us about the things they are doing there. They are studying the Old Testament this year, and she has made it a goal to read from the Old Testament every night for 15 minutes.

Kaden (11) is taking orchestra this year, and is playing the cello. He is really enjoying it, and can't wait to be able to play with Erik and Maren. In Kaden's 6th grade class this year he had a Harry Potter day, where he was sorted into a "house", participated in competitions (like Quidditch), and came home with a scar and wand. Ever since Maren had this teacher (way back when she was in 3rd grade), Kaden has looked forward to a Harry Potter day, so we were very excited that he had this teacher so he could experience this. Kaden has such a witty sense of humor, and often is the quite instigator of many of the quarrels at home. You'd never guess it, though, with as shy as he is in public!

Liam (7) is our tender-hearted child. He is always concerned about everyone else around him (especially Dallin...usually). This year he has really turned into a great little reader. He is always the one who reminds us to read the Book of Mormon every night, and he has started reading right along with us. He does very well, especially with the big, hard words like "iniquity" and "commandments". He is rather shy when around lots of people, or people he doesn't know well, but he loves to giggle and have fun. Many times during the day I am heard to say "Liam! Not so loud!"

Dallin (also 7) is the classic baby of the family. He loves attention, and loves to be funny. He has always been 7 going on 12 (or 3 going on 6, or 5 going on 10). He loves to act older than he is, imitate his older brothers, and generally try to be as witty and clever as a 7-year-old can. He is also turning into a good little reader, but he is stubborn about it.

The past few months, Ben started a part-time hospice job, and I think he is enjoying that (as much as one can enjoy hospice). He really has a way with the elderly, and he loves interacting with them. He has already made quite the impression on one of his patients, who called 911 and had the paramedics take her to the hospital, just so she could talk to Dr. McEntire. He says he would be flattered, but she has a bit of dementia.

I continue to hold things down at home. I have been creating with yarn a lot lately, and have enjoyed that, however there are always a list of other projects that I should be working on as well. Sometime in the next year I hope to remodel some parts of our house...like the kitchen, laundry, and upstairs flooring.

Again, we are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for this Christmas season where we can celebrate his birth and life, and what it means to us in our lives. We hope that everyone has been so blessed and felt of His love this year, as we have.

Orchestra concert

We went to the annual Christmas orchestra concert this year. It was Kaden's first time playing. He has been learning the cello since September. He is the face just to the right of the music stand, avove. Maren and Erik (below) have been in orchestra since they were in 6th grade, as well. It is amazing how much they learn in just a few short years.

Spontaneous Ski Lesson

Last night my next-door neighbor asked me to go to a ski lesson with her this morning at Snowbasin. It was her first time on skis, and it may as well have been my first time. I am always so afraid and timid when I get skis on. I thought for sure I would break something. I only fell once, though. And nothing broke, or even bruised (ok, maybe  the pride was a little bruised, but it was a beginner's ski class and everyone falls at least once, right?). 

The "Learn to Earn" programs at Snowbasin are really cool. I may or may not do another lesson. If I stick with it, I get a discounted season pass at the end of 3 lessons. In any event, it was fun, I learned a lot, and maybe I will be more confident on the slopes. As long as they are the bunny kind, anyway.

Middle of the Night Musings

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking about everything you need to do, would like to do, or didn't do...like let the cat in when it's freezing outside? Last night I wasn't feeling well, so I went to bed. When Ben asked where Jack was, I said, "Oh, I think he went outside. I should try to go find him." Well, I didn't try to find him...until 3 AM, at which time, I woke up thinking "I have let the cat freeze to death." I half-heartedly attempted to look for him. He wasn't on either porch, so I figured Maren had let him in before going to bed.

But, the damage was done. (Not to the cat...he was fine, although I do think he spent the night outside.) The sleep was interrupted. The brain was on and not to be turned off for at least an hour.

Here is where the "would-like-to-do" comes in. I have long wanted to write down some of the experiences we had when we lived in Mexico, before we had kids, and when Maren and Erik were young. "It wouldn't be very exciting, though," I thought, "without pictures to go along with it." So, I have resolved to find old pictures...the kind that aren't on the computer...and scan them and start sharing some of our past. The only problem is, it may take me a while to get organized enough to find them and start scanning. (Not to mention the time factor...it will take some time...probably lots of time. And I am not sure time is something I have in abundance before the year is over.)

So, I think that in the near future, I will try to bore you all with some of our adventures...mixed in with all my other boring posts. Stay tuned!

Cookies!

Dallin decorates a candy-cane cookie

Liam figuring out how to use the piping bag.

Cookies decorated by everyone

I love doing sugar cookies at Christmas. I love that Krusteze makes a mix that you only have to add butter and eggs to. And you don't have to refrigerate, either. I do not love making frosting...I love eating it, just not making it, otherwise I would have done it in five colors. I love piping, but I am horrible at it when it comes to anything other than stars or lettering. I love watching my kids try to pipe.

Wind storm

As many of you know, we had a "down-slope" wind storm on Thursday, to help issue December in with a bang. It started at about midnight and kept waking us all up. At 4am, Kaden came upstairs saying he couldn't sleep in his room any longer for the howling wind at his window. I don't blame him--I couldn't sleep either listening to it vibrate and whistle and howl. I was glad that Ben had brought the garbage cans into the garage, because we could hear the neighbors' slamming around. It was intense....and that is really saying something for South Weber--we are used to wind!

In the morning, when we turned the news on, the freeways were closed down due to overturned semis. Wind speeds in Centerville had been clocked at the least at 102 mph. I think we got up to 82. I drove M and E to their bus stop, and off they went to school. I debated whether or not to send the elementary kids. Ben tried to drive K to school, and there were downed power lines all the way there. Trees were also in the road, making it hard to get there, as well. I told Ben to just bring K back home, and I kept them all home from school. It was kind of ridiculous that the school district didn't cancel in the first place. With the spotty power coverage, I thought that as soon as the kids got there, power would go out, and the school would be calling to pick them up. It was safer to just stay put.

We rode it out, watching the neighbors' shingles and siding fly from their houses, praying that our house was holding tight. At about 1 or 2, it calmed enough to survey the damage. We lost one of the light fixtures on the side of the garage. Which is really ok by me...I have always hated those but never had a good enough excuse to replace them until now. I was really surprised that is all we lost.

Many of our neighbors lost trees, in addition to their shingles and siding. On Friday, I was in Bountiful and drove past the cemetery there. Many huge, old trees were down. I took some pictures.

"Cheater" coconut cream pie

Store-bought graham cracker crust

1 box of cooked-type Jell-o coconut cream pudding/pie filling

Whipped cream

Toasted shredded coconut

(Thought maybe you would see it easier here, Kim. Enjoy!)

Audiobooks

Maren keeps making fun of me because I keep calling audiobooks "books on tape." She says I date myself when I say that, and I need to get with the times.

 In any event, I downloaded a free app for my iPad that lets you download audiobooks that are in the public domain, so they are free. Old classics...like "Treasure Island" that I had to read in 7th grade Honors English with Mrs. Johnson. And "Return of the Native," that I read in Mrs. Brown's class in 10th or 11th grade. I have read "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy several times and love it every time, and turns out, I am really liking "Return of the Native" a lot, too. Except that Eustacia Vie is a selfish little witch. But what would a novel be without an antagonist?

 I made it through "A Tale of Two Cities" for the first time and really liked it. I would like to listen to "Great Expectations," too; another required reading from 7th grade. Maybe I will throw in "Oliver Twist" soon, too. It is awesome to be able to "read" and get so much around the house accomplished at the same time!

If you enjoy the classics, definitely check out the app!