Let your Heart Be Light

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On Friday Jimmy and I went on our anniversary date to the Jon Schmidt Christmas Concert. It was nice. We first went to Texas Roadhouse thanks to a gift certificate from a friend. We had the nicest waitress… really. She was so nice. She has 8 girls… 8. They sang to us. She gave us free food. Nice. Plus, those rolls are my favorite.

Back to the concert. We rode a rickety old shuttle bus from Eccles Stadium to Kingsbury Hall at the U. We had lots of time to chat beforehand. I really enjoyed the concert. Steven Sharp Nelson joined in with his cello. It was overall a delightful evening. The concert was long… from 7:30 – 10… but good. I really can’t even believe that Jon could keep going. I know how tiring it is to play the piano, especially when they are intense songs and you’re giving it your all. Wow. Great musicians.

One of my favorite songs was ‘Where are you Christmas?’ when Jon’s daughter came out and sang. Here it is:

Steven Sharp Nelson also released this video this week “Carol of the Bells”. My kids enjoyed both of these.

Thanks for the nice date Jimmy.

you might laugh

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I did. So – I never win anything right? Well… we were all delighted by the Thanksgiving Point membership. Rock on!

And then today I got an email saying I’d won a rockin’ slap-on watch called Simpel. This is the color-combo Hannah and I decided on. Hurray for bright cheery colors.

Maybe on this roll I’ll win something from PW. Or not.

a stronger, happier fam

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With the kids out of school until the new year, we’re all going to be together in close quarters for a few weeks. The fortunate thing is that we love each other. The unfortunate thing is that even though families love each other, they don’t always get along. I came across this fabulous counsel for parents… I liked the part of the talk that advised parents in regards to contention in the home. We’ll give it a go and see if things improve. Having the Holy Ghost in our home is the best because we’re nice and happy and all.

edited later in the evening: Yesterday in R.S. I proclaimed that “I know we receive blessings when we keep the commandments… even when it’s hard… like having family home evening with little ones.” I think we endure hours of bouncing off the walls and wiggling on the couch during FHE… but yet, when you see that tear or sparkle of recognition in the eyes of a child, you realize that it’s all worth it. If they felt the Holy Ghost or learned something new, it’s all good.

Well – anyhoo… fast forward to fhe tonight… or could also be said about today’s morning devotional. I’m not sure the kids could even stay seated on the couch one bit. They were wiggling and sliding on the leather. It was a bit outrageous. I stopped things and declared that tots must learn to sit still for 5 minutes… “You can do it!” Well – anyhoo… I think during the prayer Tru was trying to shoot Hannah in the forehead with a suction cup shooting toy. Then Abe insisted on shooting the suction cup thingie at the clock. It stuck. Really people? Max threw a toy and it hit Tru. And right before the story Abe picked Max up and hurt him. I asked the kids to share a special story of Christ from the Book of Mormon and Hannah and Abe came up quite empty. So the ‘you are not a failure unless you give up’ phrase has been ringing in my ears. And sometimes I very seriously want to give up (just ask Jimmy!). But goodness… can’t give up. Never give up. Keep going sister!

11 years it is folks

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11 years ago today I woke to thunder and lightning… yes, in Utah, in December, on our wedding day. Yikes! Luckily it turned to a lovely snow and the weather was great (well… unless you remember the blizzard of 2000 when we were all traveling up to Idaho for our reception).

This morning – 11 years later, I woke to screaming children. Not really. Well… really. Little did I know way back then… Just kidding… or not.

But – our 11th Anniversary it was. Jimmy was a saint and got up with Tru and Liza during the night so I could sleep. Bless him! And I slept in a wee bit. Bless him! And then after getting my cup of hot chocolate, I sat down by the computer and saw this. Dear man!He’s good to me. I’ll tell ya… we gobbled up those tasty dark chocolate orange sticks. I had a few wee little tears reading Jimmy’s note about why he loves me. The funny part was when I read “you bore our children”. What – I make the children bored? Ha-ha. I laughed at my error in reading that one.

Jimmy is my love and through thick-n-thin (i’m thick… he’s thin!), we’ve made it through… 5 kids and all… 9 moves… lots of jobs… lots of tears… oodles of laughs and hugs… marriage is a good thing when you’ve got a good guy. Love you babe!

Tomorrow we’ve got the date of the year planned. Well – sort of planned. But we’ll be kid-free for a few hours and that’s a good, good thing. Happy Anniversary!

what’s up lately.

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Abe had 2 loose front teeth… that is until Max kicked him in the mouth. The looser of the 2 came out with lots of blood & gore. Now the other one is half out & looking funky in the middle. Every day we try to pull it or at least loosen it a bit.

Tis the season for jell-o juice. Hannah was exclaiming her delight about something to do with it.

Nothing to do with the picture of max but this is funny. I was upstairs resting and the doorbell rang. I heard Max open the door so I came down… only to find him standing there in front of a ward member without pants or underwear. Really child? He had been going potty and was so speedy, he beat me to the door. It happened to be my 1st Counselor, Connie, and we had a nice laugh about it. I began to wonder if having the entire ward bringing the Giving Tree presents to my house was a good idea.

Raspberries. Yum. Our friends let us buy one of their boxes of flash-frozen raspberries from the cannery. $30 for 20 lbs… and they are tasty. We had to repackage them in our own ziplocks. Photo courtesy: Tru.

Speaking of Tru – I like the picture of his feet.

We’ve got specially shaped pancakes. Abe’s favorite – the mad scientist with crazy hair.

Fresh potpourri assembly line with Tru and Max “helping.”

1st Presidency Christmas Devotional

Max’s thumbs up. I like this kid.

Mostly this week I’ve been creating. It’s a nice outlet when we’re cooped up all day in the house (bleh cold!). I’ve done lots of orders from my etsy shop. I made a new quiet book – Old Testament style. Put together 2012 Primary theme posters… mostly because I wanted to have them on our 2012 calendar.

Thanks to my friend Heather H., I got a free code for a Shutterfly Calendar. Love that! I went through photos throughout the years for each month and came up with a few pictures for each one. I’m excited about the cheerful brightness of it all.

Creating is good for my soul. Yes – good.

That’s what’s going on in a nutshell.

autumn cozy love

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Cute little yellow trees. love that wreath. a cozy for a cup? cinnamon stick yule log. cozies for feetsies.

just a few words

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i wrote a journal entry tonight that was over 2,200 words.  nobody needs to hash through that ever, but i needed it for me… to summarize a brutal day… to move forward… to carry on… ya know… all that jazz.

here are a few key phrases:

today was brutal.

rough night with tru.

wait at the doctor’s. it was strep

i went to target. bad idea.

it was like mother duck with all the ducklings lagging behind.

“please people, be gentle with me…
i wouldn’t be here if i thought there was a better idea.
we just need to get this medicine… and get out of here.”

a screaming tantrum. minivan lady is still staring. i started laughing…

little people need me constantly.

max came and snuggled. tender mercy today.

the afternoon was a blur.

i am trying with all my might to do what is right…

i know there is a better way

stretched too thin.

Be Strong, is what the bishop tells me. Be Strong.

i will carry on, carry on, carry on.

and there was a bunch of blah in those other 2000 words.

The most important line to me:And I may never succeed on this earth… but I’m sure gonna try.

Fun Give-a-way

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Just wanted to let y’all know that Janers & I are doing a fun give-a-way over at SFD. Spread the Word!

Courage … Hope … it’s real

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The other night Jimmy suggested watching a nice Christmas Story for a date. I felt like watching something different. We found a movie, As Far as my Feet Will Carry Me, about a German soldier who was captured by the Russians during World War II. This meant – Siberia. Wow… what a life those prisoners had. Anyhoo… the entire movie is about this fellow Clemons Forrell escaping from Russia… a 3-4 year journey. It was interesting movie based on the true story of Cornelius Rost.

Anyhoo… I was thinking about my preference of movies lately. I still adore a sweet love story like Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and Emma… but they lack depth. Mostly when I’m watching them, I think… “Seriously? What kind of life is that… to sit around reading, making stitcheries, and selecting ribbons for the next dance. Who is doing all the work? Oh yeah… the servants. And of course they always end up marrying the richest fellow in town.” They are nice and all… but I start thinking about my own life and how it soooo isn’t like that.

Enter… real life stories. I like stories about courage, hard work, and perseverance… about people who have endured and have overcome. It gives me courage to keep a goin’ when I think my life is challenging.

When Clemons was walking forever through the freezing snow in Siberia, he said something that struck me…I love that… no matter how bleak things may seem… there is always an eternal HOPE in Christ. “May Christ lift Thee up.”

p.s. Is there supposed to be a comma after Constant? My Ricks College Grammar Teacher might be disappointed.

p.p.s. Still gunna watch fun girlie movies… I’m just glad I realized this about me… that’s it’s good to throw in more deep and real stories.

random stuff i like lately: part 2

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My sister Amy introduced this lipstuff to me. I decided it would be a need during this dry wintertime season. Well… I couldn’t find it anywhere, so I decided to do subscribe and save on Amazon. Now I have 12 … plus, they were cheap. My favorite use for the ointment is for all those splits and cracks on the tips of my fingers. It heals much better than neosporin.

Speaking of dry skin… this has always been a favorite thick cream for hands and heels. You only need just a dab. Plus, I love that it’s Norwegian which reminds me of my heritage. Love that!

My 375 Watt 11-year-old Kitchenaid is dying. The motor sounds very sad. I was really wanting to try a Bosch mixer to make bread… but considering Amazon had this 6 qt 600 watt Professional Kitchenaid for $186 on Cyber Monday, I decided I couldn’t stand to buy the Bosch for $400. I’m hoping I’ll love it for the next 10 years.  Happy Anniversary, Merry Christmas, and Happy Birthday to me.  Thanks Jimmy!

I just love these darling water bottles from Lifefactory. I don’t really own one, but aren’t they fun. I’m torn – I like that they are glass so you really could sterilize it well… but I don’t like that they are glass because I know they would be heavy and possibly breakable.

Last night I went to Home Depot to pick out paint for a DIY dresser redo. Do you know how many colors of white there are? A lot. Looking at all the colors and buying paint delights me. A fresh coat of paint… a new color… a clean surface… it’s just fun. Makes me want to repaint my entire house – just kidding Jimmy!

Speaking of color… this week I saw some pictures on the computer of green grass from summertime. Green. It reminded me that the earth is not green right now… at least in my part of the world. It’s gray and shabby. I already miss green and we still have months and months of winter.

Aren’t you proud of me for not even spotlighting any food items today?

Isn’t this smiley cute. Adios for now.