Christmas Music!

Music to help me remember the reason for the season.

Holiday Party Music

I spent way too much time looking for Christmas music this week. I want to share what I've found so that I can feel like my time was spent productively helping others as well. (That's not too much of a stretch, is it?) Enjoy!

Blogging Sabbatical

So I've been on a little blogging sabbatical. Perhaps I can ease my guilty conscience by explaining myself. After many years of having Russ work full time and go to school part time his December graduation means that we now have time to just hang out together. Before, when he did homework I blogged, so naturally no homework means no blogging, right? Now we just talk and talk without stress or interruption. We've taken on a several projects together and I've found a few community groups that have kept me busy in the evenings as well.

Now that I'm behind I must catch up. Over the next week (or two) I will go through pictures and fill in most of what I've missed. The blog dates will match the date the events occurred, which might be against blogging ethics - but it's my blog and I'll do what I want to. (You would predate blog too if it happened to you.)

Easter 2009

We did a lot of normal things this Easter...

We also did some not so normal things...

My mistake!

Our kids were visiting with my parents. I was at home frantically looking for my missing keys because the kids and I were supposed to meet Daryl, Becky and Addy for dinner. I found the phone in my search and called over to my parents, hoping that if I gave them a heads up they would be ready when I got there.

A sweet little voice answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Hi," I said, "Hurry up and get your shoes on because I'm coming over to get you right now!"

Pause.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"This is your mom."

"My mom?"

"Naomi?" A gasp mixed with my laughter. "Sorry, I have the wrong number."

Whoops! Poor little girl.

Favorite Things From This Winter

1. Yoga (December and January)

Yoga amazes me. It's good for strengthening, balancing, flexibility and I think it's perfect for those who need some peaceful-getaway-productive time. Pictured above is the "Pigeon Pose." It's a nice stretch that eases the tension in the hip joint. It's my favorite and I'm always sad when the instructor moves on to the next pose.

2. Birthdays (January and February)

When it's cold out and the days are shorter, family birthday gatherings seem to be even more pleasant. Here are a couple birthday celebrations without their own blog entry...

Daryl's Birthday
&
Addy's Birthday

3. Ugly-Sweater-Cousin-Curry Fest (January 16, 2009)


80's-cool-cousins with sweet sweaters and Masamen curry - does an evening get better than this?

4. First Black President (January 20, 2009)

America has come a long way! Four decades after the civil rights movement we have an African American holding the highest office in the land. That is something worth celebrating whether of not one agrees with his policies.


5. The Theater (February 7, 2009)

Hurray for the fine arts! And hurray for a nearby university with great performances. We took the kids to see a theatrical production of "Go, Dog! Go!" Camen, Naomi and Savannah are familiar with the book and laughed and laughed at the creator's interpretation.


6. Volleyball (February and March)

I should begin with a little history on this subject. I went out for the volleyball team in 7th grade and 8th grade and I didn't make the team. Who gets rejected at such an early age? Well... um... me. I played intermurals instead and secretly hoped that the coach would referee one of my games and then my impressive skill would earn me a spot. It never happened. Then I moved out of state and never tried out again. I think I was partially afraid of rejection and part of it was that I moved to a gargantuan school in Texas where students were strongly encouraged to pick one only sport or activity and excel at it. I choose basketball. I've always enjoyed volleyball and never miss an opportunity to play. One summer, at BYU, my roommate Charis and I played several times a week and I loved it!

This winter I signed up to play in a women's league. Not knowing anyone who was interested I signed up by myself. The same was true for my teammates, and since we were the only team that didn't register together we dubbed ourselves the "Eclecticats." My teammates had all played in high school and one played in college. Wow! It is so cool to play with that kind of skill! Nice sets, killer hits, steady serves and the just the right amount of a competitive drive. We did pretty well in most of our games and they helped me grow with some nice pointers and a little coaching. (Thankfully, they were patient with my unreliable serve.)

We entered the final tournament in the top tier. We played at 5:30 and lost, we played at 7:45 and won, we played again at 8:50 and won, by 10:00 p.m. we were exhausted but very excited to begin play in the championship game. The better (and younger) team won. We didn't get the championship t-shirt, but 2nd place and a few extra hours of fun on the court was a great consolation prize.


7. Family Bike Rides (February 21, 2009)

Utah winters can chill you to the bone, and then two weeks later the snow can all nearly melt and you can go for a bike ride in a light weight jacket. So we did.


8. Girl's Gymnastics! (January, February, March and April)

Naomi and Savannah had an encouraging teacher, new friends, games, mats, beams, and trampolines to look forward to once a week. It's a great way to burn energy when the wind is blowing and the ground is covered with snow.

We had one unregistered participant that also had a great time.


The teacher insisted that I allow Mason to play on the apparatus. I guess she knew that I wasn't going to be able to keep him on a chair in the corner. Savannah was put into a class with kids two years older than her and she needed (or wanted) a lot of help. I got a great workout running back and forth between chasing Mason and keeping him out of the other kid's way and helping Savannah do her cartwheels, somersaults and handstands.

9. New Haircut (March)

I have been ready for a new haircut for about four years. Finally my little sister, Kristina, helped me out. Ahh, something different!


10. Snow (March 10, 2009)

Eight is Great!

Camen hit the magical number eight. I took a child development course in college and one of the few things I remember from the course is that this is the age when the right and left hemispheres of the brain become fully connected. Interesting, huh?

For those of our faith the 8th birthday is a monumental, it's like the 12th birthday for Jews, but our celebrations usually pale in comparison to most bar mitzvahs. We celebrated simply with a Betty Crocker cake mix, a few presents and lots of family. (We do friend parties every other year.) Camen was happy with everything and was so excited for his upcoming baptism and confirmation.

We wanted to be sure that Camen knew that baptism was his decision and didn't ever want to leave the impression that he had to be baptized. Living in such a homogeneous population it takes extra effort to teach kids that not everybody believes what we do and to introduce some beliefs of other religions.

We taught Camen the Gospel and put extra emphasis on helping him to feel and recognize the Spirit. Intellectually he proved himself capable of understanding the doctrines and my anxiety about his ability to feel a spiritual confirmation soon dissipated.

It's hard to define and articulate spirituality to a seven year old. It's also challenging to measure and really know what a child has felt. However, spirituality oftentimes comes naturally and easily to children, I think that the cynicism we develop as we mature is what makes it unnecessarily complicated. Faith, hope and humility are fundamental in feeling the spirit, and as it turns out Camen was the one who did most of the teaching.

On the morning of his baptism I arrived at the church and most of our family was already seated. My mother-in-love, (new term I picked up from Emily), was playing some soft prelude music on the piano. I smiled and felt awkward for coming in just minutes before we were to begin. I sat down next to Russ and greeted Aunt Raquel and her son Truman who were seated behind me. A moment later Camen found me and while my back was still turned he squeezed me with a warm hug. I was a bit surprised as he doesn't initiate random hugs very often. I turned around, returned the hug and noticed the happiness in his eyes. He didn't seem nervous or uncomfortable, he just looked happy.


The program was simple and personal. As a member of the Primary presidency I had the assignment to speak about baptism, Russ's dad and brother Jayden sang a beautiful duet, and then our bishop gave a memorable talk on the Holy Ghost. Russ then baptized Camen and confirmed him. Spiritually, it was a very sweet.

It was wonderful to have so much support from our family and loved ones. In this photo Camen his with his parents, grandparents, and paternal great-grandparents. (I wish I would have taken a large group photo with everyone.)


Camen has a pure heart and it is a joy to have him in our lives.

Our Little Wolf.

Camen is now officially a Cub Scout. I had no idea this would be such a big deal - turns out it is a huge deal! He's been counting down the months until he could enter the pack. We went to the local scouting office and $65 later he has a uniform and a book. (I paid the high price believing that the BSA had their shirts made in the USA. Wrong, it was made in China.)

He was formally introduced at his first pack meeting in March and afterwards pestered me daily to help him finish up the final portion of his Bobcat Award. Do you think we can maintain that pattern until he gets his Eagle?

Valentines Day!

I have fond memories of my mom making a big deal out of Valentine's Day. It wasn't every year, but I love to recall the feelings her special surprises induced. What simple joy to find unexpected tangible emblems of her love for us!

This year I wanted to do the same thing for my family, actually I've been meaning to for the last couple years. I was going to do it by myself but life is busy and I was running behind and had to recruit my amazing husband for some help. We went to work late Friday night and then on Saturday morning our kids woke up to a fabulous snowfall and to this...


And they came running!


Here's a classic expression.


We had raspberry lemon muffins, juice and cheap chocolate for breakfast.



Later that morning Russ took Naomi out for her "special day." They went to Elaine's French Bakery in Orem, which is a must visit for anyone living in Utah County. They took some treats over to Russ' grandparents, built snow chickens and spent some time looking through Grandpa's amazing museum. I love that Russ got a picture of Naomi hugging her great-grandmother. She gives the warmest hugs ever!



After Mason's nap we took advantage of the fresh powder and went sledding.


And it was lovely.

Six Years Old!

Naomi celebrated her 6th birthday today! Before our very eyes she is changing from a little girl to a little lady. She gets smarter, sweeter, taller and funnier every day. I really can't get over how much she has grown. We love her creativity, her sense of humor, her willingness to serve and genuine compassion. I feel that many of her strengths are my weaknesses and I'm humbly learning from her good example. Naomi is quickly making her place in this world and she has undeniably claimed a very special place in our hearts.

*kiss*

February Birthdays!

Naomi and her cousin Gavin (James and Jennifer's boy) share birthdays. Savannah's birthday is only ten days earlier, so we celebrated them all together in one smashing occasion. Ages 2, 4 and 6 they make a cute bunch.

Sweet Savannah is Four!

Happy Birthday Savannah! Our sweet angel is four. We celebrated by "blendering" a birthday cake in the morning and had a simple family birthday party in the evening. She loved her cake and presents.


Just look at this enthusiasm...

This fun energy is just part of who she is. Savannah is so happy with life and anxious to share her joy with those around her.

To finish the evening we watched a slideshow of Savannah's first four years.


We love her and are so thankful for the sweet sunshine she brings into our home.