May Your New Year Sparkle & Shine . . .

It’s been healthy to take an extended break from writing to focus on my family during the holidays. I love concentrated family time. In order for it to be meaningful, I need to put all other distractions aside.

Our kids have only a few days left until they head back to school (on a Thursday – weird!). New toys and games have been enjoyed, oodles of cookies consumed, much sleeping in has occurred, giggles have been heard throughout the house.

Meanwhile, I will continue shaking my head that it is 2014. How did that even happen so fast?

For the next few days I’ll spend some time giving thoughtful consideration to what I can do better as a mom, wife, daughter, friend and disciple of Jesus Christ. I’m always grateful when a new year comes around so I can reflect on what I’ve done well in the past year (not enough) and what I need to improve on (a lot). 

I’m also going to don this beautiful sparkly headband my mom gave me for Christmas. It’s just shouting “New Year’s Eve”, don’t you think? Where will I be wearing it? Why to my mom’s house, of course, where I will consume delicious food and sit lazily in front of the fire with my SIL Audrey, watching Ryan Seacrest while taking breaks from working on an impossibly hard jigsaw puzzle.

That’s my New Year’s Eve every year, people. I know, I’m living on the edge.

Happy New Year! I’ll be back on Thursday when my peoples are in school.

Thoughts on Angels …

These are my thrift store angels. I find them in all their paper dress glory with their lovely faces and gilded wings and I cannot leave them sitting on the shelf. So they come home to live with me and grace our home with their halleluiah spirit during the Christmas season.

This might seem strange to you if you know I’m a Mormon. We don’t really believe that angels are winged beings. Still, there is something lovely and ethereal about them that I cannot resist.

I’ll tell you something we do believe. That angels are real. That they are and have been throughout the ages, messengers from God.

I love this quote from a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland:

“From the beginning down through the dispensations, God has used angels as His emissaries in conveying love and concern for His children. I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face.”

Think for a minute. Have you felt that love of God manifest through someone else? I know I have! He has given me access to angels in my life. My mother is one of them. There have also been times where I’ve felt that love in an experience I’ve had – something extraordinary has happened that is not coincidental or lucky, and I’ve felt an assurance that those unseen were helping and protecting me.

It is a reason to shout on the rooftops Joy to the World! God does not leave us alone. He not only gave us His Son, but He also ministers to us through angels. This Christmas season, when I walk by my angels, I thank Him for angels. They not only heralded the Christ child’s birth in evidence of God’s love for us, but also give me an individual opportunity to feel that love in my life and interactions with others.

I can be an angel to others to help them feel that love. An angel. Me. Halleluiah!

To read or listen to the rest of Jeffrey R. Holland’s talk called The Ministry of Angels, go here.

Our Christmas Card …

If I had endless piles of money, I would send out five hundred Christmas cards. Alas, this year I had a budget and could only send eighty.

I hope you’ll count this as a virtual Christmas card to each of you, from my family to yours. Because no matter who you are, if you’re reading this blog, I want you to know that I appreciate you and sincerely hope you have a Merry Christmas!

This isn’t our actual card, but is the picture from our card. We used my friend Michelle’s beautiful green barn as our backdrop. It was freezing cold AND windy (a nightmare for someone with bangs) so we cranked this puppy out with a tripod, the auto timer and me running back and forth for about five minutes because I’ve misplaced my camera remote.

I’m proud to say I took this picture. Every one is standing up straight, looking at the camera and smiling. And miracle of miracles, they even held hands for the picture. It might be cheesy, but it means a lot to me. We are in this together, after all, and that gesture of holding hands shouts FAMILY and TEAMWORK!

My kids all look so crazy big in this picture. I know Owlie only comes up to my waist, but in every other family picture we’ve taken since he was born, I’ve been holding him. This is also the first family picture where it is very apparent that Big C is actually bigger than me. Hannie B has clearly left the awkward tween years behind her and fully embraced beautiful teen girl borrowing her momma’s clothes (nice scarf). And my handsome RedDog is on the verge of a major growth spurt.

Family pictures tug at my heartstrings. I love having this visual reference of each of us together, another year older, another year together doing hard and wonderful things side by side. I love comparing year to year, seeing the growth and change.

How about you? Did you get a family picture this year? Was someone making a face? Those are always awesome!

Brown Paper Packages …

Know what’s awesome? Getting an actual brown paper package tied up with strings at Christmas time! That’s what.

I love making my Christmas packages extra special in the wrapping department. I always grab a roll of kraft brown paper for my December mailings. I like to use large sheet of label paper for my addresses so they stand out. I also think a clean wrap job makes for a quicker time in line at the Post Office. The postal workers always comment in the positive.

This week I found rolls of kraft brown paper with tiny white polka dots on an end cap at Target. The line is called “Spritz” and I bought every roll they had. At $1.00 a roll, I couldn’t resist the thought of happy Christmas packages for years to come!

I tied the packages off with red and white baker’s twine, making sure to not cover up the address label.

I hope the recipients smile from ear to ear when their brown paper packages tied up with strings end up on their front porch! Do you have your packages mailed? Are you like me, do you do a little happy dance when a package ends up on your doorstep?  Happy Mailing!

Sixteen . . .

I hope you can excuse my absence. I have been in my room for the last little while rocking back and forth in the fetal position because I have a sixteen year old son. How on earth did that happen?

On Friday night we threw a party for Big C and one of his good friends who turned sixteen the day before him. These two are a perfect pair of friends because they are both fun, funny and creative. She was Belle when he was the Beast in the Homecoming hallway. They are like brother and sister.

Both were willing to sit down with us moms and make plans for the party and take on assignments to make it fun for everyone. We played off the idea of a “Sweet Sixteen” party by having a Sweet AND Sour Sixteen Party – with Miss C being the sweet and Big C being the sour.

One thing the two teens wanted was a candy bar featuring all of their favorite sweet and sour candies. We priced out candy online and then found everything we wanted much cheaper at WalMart.

Miss C is a creative gal. She did the back drop and I set up the candy bar. I loved her choices of color – bright red and tiffany blue. She was dead set that we not use red and green – these poor kids with Christmas time birthdays!

The candy bar was a big hit with all the guests. Imagine, if you can, forty teenagers hepped up on total sugar highs. Awesome fun, I’m tellin’ ya.

Personally, I could just sit in front of that jar of Sour Patch Kids and nibble all night. Yum.

 

A mom of one of the guests called me after her daughter’s invitation arrived to ask if she could make a cake for the kids as a gift. She is an incredibly talented cake artist. What a sweet gesture. We came up with a design together and then she did an amazing amount of work and surprised the kids with the cake. It was incredible and delicious!

We collected pictures from the kids’ growing up years and I made a garland to hang over the cake table. I transferred them all to black and white and had them printed at Costco. We also had the picture from the invitation blown up to poster size and all the guests signed it with Sharpies for Miss C and Big C to remember the night. Here they are blowing out the candles. I love this picture so much! It just captures the magic of the night.

 

The birthday boy and girl wanted to have a fun photo booth with props, so I was there with my camera to capture funny (and awkward) moments all throughout the night.

A few other things that made the party a success . . .

• Big C made a two hour playlist on his iPod which we had playing in the background all night. Dancing and singing at the ready.
• A few games at the start of the party to break the ice and get everyone comfortable, including one where everyone had to pop a balloon without using their hands to get to a super sour piece of candy inside.
• Munchies and soda. Non-stop. All night.
• The birthday boy and girl made a concerted effort to personally speak to each person at the party some time during the night.
• A little thank you favor to take home after the party. We sent each guest home with a giant sized Pixie Stick and a note saying “Thanks for making our birthdays so sweet”.

So now he’s sixteen. And I’m getting old and gray. I love my Big C. So glad we could celebrate him in a big way this weekend!

SnowBoys . . .

I love taking pictures of my kids in the snow. It’s the only time they don’t look super white. The snow is always whiter and my kids’ cheeks are flushed pink, giving them a healthy glow. This little Owlet of mine still loves his bear hat. It’s the only thing babyish he’ll wear. The other day he actually told me to stop calling him a baby. I said, “Okay. Baby.”

Owlie spent six hours in the snow during our snow days. That is a record. He never once complained about being cold. He only came inside because his brothers did. He really must be big if he can handle the cold weather like a pro. Excuse me while I go cry for a minute.

RedDog is in the tough snowball fighting phase. He builds forts and then pelts his brother and friends with perfectly round balls crafted using his snowball maker. Best Christmas present ever.  When there is snow, of course. It’s fun to see him in the snow because he doesn’t wear his glasses. It’s freckle city.

Big C pretends like he’s too cool for the snow. But he can’t help himself. He’s a kid at heart. He helped me shovel the driveway twice during our snow days. That’s two times more than the Hubby. Hmmmm…

Big C also pretends like he’s out in the snow to “help Ollie”. But we know the truth. He wouldn’t wear snow pants – too cool for that – but he did ask me to get him better gloves. Then he was in the thick of the snowball fighting and before he knew it, he was having a great time. I even caught him SMILING on camera. Love it when that happens.

I feel like I should mention that this is the first time all winter the boy has worn a coat. He is a sworn member of the I’m A Teenager, I Don’t Need A Coat Club. It’s a club made up of idiots who would rather freeze than put on a simple jacket. Go figure.

These are my snow boys. I love them. I love them in the snow a whole, whole lot. I’m so happy I grabbed the camera and caught this memory yesterday. Before I know it that big one is going to be out the door.

We need MORE SNOW.

An Almost Perfect Day . . .

Yesterday was almost a perfect day. The snow, the cocoa, the snuggly warm house.

Then at dinner time three people were yelling at eachother and fighting before we even sat down at the table. I couldn’t stand it one more minute, so I yelled louder than all three of them, “STOP! All of you leave the room and come back in when you can have a better attitude. We need a reset!”

They stared at me stunned and then sulked away. One of them may have been an adult. Ollie quietly muttered, “I sorry, Mama.” He hadn’t even been a part of the problem.

We came back together and had dinner. Then I had to apologize for my yelling. I didn’t know what else to do in the moment. It’s what I like to call “shocking the crazy out”. My yelling was the equivalent of throwing a spastic tantrum child into a cold shower. You’d better believe I have done that before.

Today we are all home again with more snow falling by the inches out of the sky. Even the Hubby is here working from home. We’ve had family scripture study together. We’ve snuggled under fuzzy blankets. We’re now having a little technology time. Gingersnaps are on the docket.

It’s a chance at another try for a better day. I’m so glad we can all try better each day.

(Tried a little bokeh shot with my tree. Do you know what bokeh is? That’s when the lights are fuzzy orbs instead of in focus. It’s dreamy, isn’t it?)

“Snowed” In …

Finally! It snowed. We could not be any more delighted than we are. I am serious.  We are a family of snow lovers. We spent all day yesterday cozied up in our house, sipping hot cocoa, listening to Christmas music, and watching the world get blanketed in white.

This is the view out our front door as of 8:00 last night. It’s only four inches, which isn’t much, but it’s enough to cement in all our hearts that the Christmas season is officially here.

We capped off our night with a Christmas devotional featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and our prophet speaking about Jesus Christ – the REAL reason for the season.  I could not picture a happier day in my life.

Today there is no school. Now, before you start shaking your heads and calling us Virginians total snow wimps, let me explain.  After the four inches of snow, we had a night of icy rain.  Today our trees look like this:

And our roads are snow with a half inch of ice on top. No school bus is going to navigate that and put kids’ lives in danger. 

Again, I couldn’t be happier with the weather and having all my kids home. Snow days are some of my favorites. Today we will bake Christmas cookies and work on details for Big C’s upcoming sixteenth birthday party. There will be more cocoa, some sledding (on ice!), lots of rosy cheeks and plenty of fighting. Just keeping it real.

Have a great Monday!

Little Happy Things …

I’m pretty much in love with this December. I know, I know, we’re only four days in, but I can’t help myself.  There’s something about this December.  Here are some things that are putting me in a super happy place right now:

1. I actually got about 90% of my holiday shopping done BEFORE Thanksgiving. There are people who do that every year. I’m more like the people who say they’re going to do that but never do. I did a majority of my shopping on line. Now I get a big smile on my face everytime the doorbell rings and I find a package on my doorstep.

2. I am wrapping presents and putting them under the tree as they arrive. It is probably going to drive Oliver completely batty. He has asked me every day for the past three days, “Now can I open my present?” Not yet, baby. Not yet. It makes me happy to see presents wrapped and under the tree all month long.

3. Pandora radio set to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas station. I’m a purist when it comes to Christmas music. Please don’t be offended when I say that I am not a fan of pop artists and their holiday albums. I also loathe songs like “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” that have nothing to do with Christmas. Can. Not. Stand. This Pandora station gives me choirs singing the glorious news of the Savior’s birth, and you know what? It makes me feel the Christmas spirit big time. (are you checking out my other Pandora stations? One Direction is for Hannie B. Yeah.)

4. Our advent calendar. I grew up opening the finely glittered windows of a German advent calendar each year. There were no toys or candy. It was simple and I looked forward to the countdown until I would open the window that had a picture of a tiny baby Jesus behind it. I couldn’t find anything like that for my kids, but was surprised to find a countdown calendar at the grocery store that had a picture of the Nativity on it. Yes, there is chocolate, but it’s the picture of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that makes me happy.

5.  The prospect of baking. With no shopping to do, I’ve got time on my hands to BAKE! I love holiday baking. I’m excited to make caramels and chocolate dipped peanut butter balls. I need some Ginger Snaps in my belly like yesterday. I’m going to enlist my favorite girl Hannie B. and we’re going to start baking this weekend. Happy, happy tummy!

6. Fresh greenery. I was a little dismayed when I went to Costco to get my live wreath and they had sold out on DECEMBER 3RD. That is a first. But I did get my fresh garland for our door and the smell of it is still in my car. Ten years ago I ditched my faux garland and wreath for the front door and I’ve never looked back. I love the smell, fell, and look of the real deal and their prices can’t be beat. This stuff will stay on my door through mid-January. It’s my way of justifying an artificial tree.

7. The prospect of being home for Christmas.  Don’t get me wrong. Last year was probably the most unforgettable Christmas we’ll ever have. We were on the beach. In Hawaii. It was hot and sunny. We were with our Grandparents. It was a dream. But the old adage is so true – there’s no place like home for the holidays. I think I love my home during the holidays best of all. It’s double cozy. We are all doubly kind. And we talk of Christ more often. That really makes me happy.

What about you? What’s making you happy this Christmas season?

This Funny Boy …

It’s getting cold here. The kind of cold that rattles my bones, sends me running for my fuzzy socks, and makes my whole body dry up. I keep lotion and Chapstick at the ready all the time now.

My little Owlie boy is struggling with the dryness in the air. He’s been licking his sweet little lips like crazy and no matter how much I tell him to stop, he just keeps on licking. It’s gotten so bad he has a permanent red, chappy ring around his mouth.

It is not attractive.

I’ve been slathering his face with Aquaphor every night before he goes to bed. Do you use Aquaphor? I love that stuff! I am in no way getting compensated to say that. Just me, loving on a product that works for our family.

I put it all over my dry heels then throw on socks to go to bed at night. In only a few days my feet are soft again. Dry spots, chapped cheeks, split hands, cracked feet, you name it, we put Aquaphor on it!

The other day we were getting ready to go to school and I told Ollie to go get the tub of Aquaphor so we could put some on his sad little mouth before heading out the door. He came down stairs looking like this and proudly proclaimed, “You don’t need to do it Momma. I did it myself.”

That’s pretty much where we’re at these days. He’s so big! He spends hours playing Legos in his room. He walks around the house singing the actual words to real songs. He says his prayers without help. He sets and clears the table. He empties the shoe basket. He learned how to play Go Fish the other day. He was so excited!

It’s hard to let go of the baby parts of Owlie. He is THE. LAST. ONE. But it is also really great to watch him grown and learn new things. He’s a fun and funny little fellow. He’s my best buddy.

He still needs me to wipe his bum, so I guess I’m not out of a job just yet.

Making A Statement…

Last Christmas when we were having family pictures taken in Hawaii, I wore a “statement” necklace. Have you embraced the statement necklace trend? I really have to control myself so that I don’t go out and buy every single statement necklace I see. It seems to me to be the one thing to take an outfit from so-so to BABAM!

I could wear a great white blouse, jeans, and a statement necklace every single day for the rest of my life and I’d be perfectly happy. Oh, and maybe a scarf.

The statement necklace I wore for our family pictures is special to me. It has a story behind it. I hope you’ll indulge me while I share.

Two years ago I helped host my 20 year high school reunion in Atlanta. It was the first time I’d seen many of my friends since graduating from high school in Germany in 1991. It was three days of amazing fun and memories!

On the last day of the reunion we all had lunch together at a great Germany restaurant in down town Atlanta. My sweet friend Chrissy had on a fabulous necklace that day. I complimented her on it. I obsessed about it a little. I had my picture taken with it. I may have even touched it. It wasn’t awkward at all. I left for the airport a few hours later and never really thought of it again.

A few months later I received a random package in the mail. It was THE necklace. It had a small note attached from Chrissy that said something to the affect of “Just Because”. I was profoundly touched. Chrissy had made a statement. And the statement was, “I care about you and wanted you to know I was thinking about you.” I treasure that necklace. Every time I wear it I think of Chrissy and her meaningful gesture.

Yesterday I learned that Chrissy’s dad passed away on Thanksgiving day after a long battle with cancer. It’s hard not to think about my dad and his cancer when hearing this news. I feel such love, compassion, sorrow and pain for Chrissy. I am praying for her really hard today.

This is me sending her a virtual necklace strung with beads of love and support.

I know her dad must have been a wonderful man to raise such a caring daughter.

Love you, Chrissy!