Christmas

I love this time of year.  It reminds me that there is still good in the world.  

There is something about the winter holidays that bring peace and happiness to most of the world.

Since Arthur and I have been married we've either been at someone else's house and have been able to enjoy their christmas tree or we have had a fake one.

When Maya was born, we spent a lot of our time at the hospital because she spent some time in the NICU.  Some wonderful friends made Christmas happen in our home.  They provided us with a tree and all kinds of ornaments.  It was beautiful to come home and find our home decked to the Christmas nines.

When we moved from ID to CA we decided to let someone else enjoy the convenience of a fake tree...no needle clean up.

This Christmas, or first in UT, we got a real tree!!!

We think she's the best lookin' thing!!

It was so fun to have the kids decorate her and get her all dolled up.  You can't tell in the picture, but there's a section of the tree that has about 10 ornaments all in a group.  I couldn't bring myself to move any of them because it was so cute the way Maya put them up...she was so proud she was able to help.

The tree has been falling over lately.  We bought a base and thought her trunk would be big enough, but it's been interesting to try to center her just right so the screws would hold her up.

Last week, I took the morning 'off' to fix the precarious lean she had going on.  After about an hour of shifting and cutting off unnecessary branches, I think we got it under control

May you and your loved ones enjoy this season of giving.  Enjoy this time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, our Savior Jesus Christ, and his gift to us.

Waking up

It's 2:52am and I'm sitting here with my two-year-old.  He's wide awake and I don't know what to do.  When I put him back in bed he screams...and I mean s.c.r.e.a.m.s.

He's been struggling with this for the last week or so and I'm getting a little bit tired.  He doesn't wake up screaming like he's had a nightmare, but once he's banging at the door, there's no turning back.  

I'm trying something different tonight...I turned on the TV.

(move ahead 11 days)

It's now December 17th. I started this post on December 6th...so much for that.

You'll be glad to know that Kade is sleeping like a champ.  I believe he was having bad dreams from watching the movie The Avengers.  I've learned my lesson. We stick to the cartoons and the happy movies.  He's doing great!!

From here on out

I set a goal to post everyday this month and with today's post I have accomplished that goal.  

 A couple of weeks ago, I set a goal to post at least twice a month from December on.

Why do we set goals?  Usually we make goals in order to begin a new habit or make a lifestyle change.  Because I have fulfilled my part of posting everyday, I have a feeling I'll be posting more than twice a month; it won't be everyday, but it may be more than I set my goal at.

My hope is to document the current events of our household and to tell you about the experiences that strengthen me and my family.

As the new year is gaining some serious traction and coming upon us, it'll be that time again...we'll set goals and decide to keep them or forget them.

I choose to keep them.  Make realistic goals that you WANT to accomplish and that you WANT to include in your everyday life.

Feature blogger...Arthur!

"The longer you sit on the fence, the more it starts to hurt"

My colleague said that to a potential client the other day and it was hilarious...

I love my wife. She's pretty much my everything. When we first started dating almost 8 1/2 years ago I have become a better person altogether. She has consistently encouraged me to reach for the highest standards in life. She is smart, gorgeous, everything pure but most of all a daughter of God. She is the love of my life.

I love my kids. Did I just say kids??! Each day I am in utter shock in the best way possible that I have 3 beautiful huggables. I pray for them daily. I want them to be healthy, happy and tempered for the life they have begun. My daughter is the miracle of our family and she reminds me of this daily. In a good way; sometimes. My second is one of the most gentle souls I have ever been around. That will be a trait I will always admire about him. My youngest is a quite the mixture of the first two. He is just getting into my favorite stage where he isn't mobile yet and will still cuddle.

I love my parents. They have supported me through every good and not so good choice in my life. Without their hard work and love I would not have had the chance to live the life I have had thus far.

I love my wife's parents. They are wise, worthy and very hard workers. They encourage, forgive and most importantly support and serve those around them.

I love ALL my siblings. They are pure and have a goodness about them that is evident. They are a shining example of love and strength. We love one another unconditionally and that's how it should be.



Heavenly Father has been SO good to me.

Thanksgiving

Today is a day to give thanks for all the many blessings we each get to partake of.

My family gets to celebrate this holiday with loved ones we've rarely been able to see on Thanksgiving.  

We have so much to be grateful for...

 - family

 - a job

 - our health

- a nice home

- cars

- playgrounds

- playplaces (for those wintery days that I know are coming)

- the gospel

- our Savior

As we reflect on our blessings, hopefully we can remember all that our Heavenly Father has done for us and all that he promises to do as we remain faithful.

All our love to those who are far away, we miss you!!

Rolls

I offered to make the rolls for our family's Thanksgiving Feast!!  Yesterday was the day to tackle my fears and work with yeast.

I was extremely nervous because my history with the stuff hasn't been pretty.  I've never, EVER been able to proof it right and things ended up more unleavened than fluffy and delicious.

I meant to take a picture of the beautiful bowl of proofed yeast, but I was too excited and went ahead and mixed everything together; tears were in these eyes of mine.

I ended up mixing it by hand because I had to do a batch and a half and it wouldn't fit in my mixer bowl.

This is before it doubled in size...I ended up using the oven because our house stays pretty cold.  I set a timer to alert me when to check on it's size.

Here it is after about 20 minutes in ALL it's glory.  She's a beauty ain't she?!

There were two more pans like these and I was getting very excited that this little adventure and ambition of mine was paying off.

Rising a second time.

And....the finished product!! Aren't they glorious?!!!  I couldn't have asked for a better, successful first time.  Thanks to those who encouraged me and knew I could do it!!!!

Ideas (Bonus post on the 26th)

I have a few more days to blog and I need ideas.  

Please leave comments and let me know what you'd like me to ramble about.  If I don't receive any comments/ideas then I'll be sad.

Being amazing

A friend of mine reminded me today that we should always be looking for the good in ourselves.

Instead of comparing ourselves to others, whether good or bad, we should focus on ME.

I realize that it's in many women's nature to find their flaws and flaunt them to the world without shame or bashfulness.  What we should be doing, as this friend has suggested, is finding the good and talk about that.  Let's work on it.

These are in no particular order.

Organize - I'm a very organized person.  Things are in their place, most of the time and I have several lists on my phone that help me accomplish stuff.  With a few rugrats running around, it's sometimes hard to get anything done...we manage.

Willing to try - I'm a semi-adventurous person; which in my book means I'm not adventurous at all :-) BUT when it comes to trying new things, practical things, I'm game.  Skydiving, heliskiing, and/or drag racing are not practical to me, to someONE yes, but to me no.  I'm talking a new recipe, making a blanket using two pieces of fabric (ambitious, right?!), using a new cleaner for the shower (just kidding), or maybe even going to a stranger-friend's house to get to know them better.  Those are my kinds of things to try.

Motherhood - This DOES NOT come natural to me, but I work really hard at it.  Some days are better than others.  I love being a mom to MY kids.  This is something that I have a hard time with; not comparing myself to other moms around me; I kind of live in the mecca of amazing moms.  I know that I will never fulfill the roll of 'super mom' but I'm doing my best and I can be 'super mom' to my kids...sometimes they're totally fine with just making it out of the house to go to the park, and I WIN and so do they.

Directions - I can pretty much get myself anywhere without GPS.  Some of my friends gave me the nickname GPAmy because each time we go to San Francisco together, I drive us around and rarely get lost.  I'm pretty proud of this gift.  In CA it was different because it was mainly memorizing where streets were, but when we moved to Utah I realized how easy it was going to be to get places since most of Utah is on a grid system; moving north and south from Center St. and moving east and west from Main St., not to mention the humongous mountains to the east that can help ANYONE get somewhere.

and last but not least,

Dishes - I really like washing dishes.  It does not bother me...in fact I feel like I have control over how clean they get if I wash them by hand instead of in the dishwasher.  While living in Rexburg, Idaho we lived in an apartment that didn't have a dishwasher so we were used to washing dishes by hand.  Is this a weird one?? Oh well, that's what I came up with!!

What are you good at?  Lots.  

Will you talk about those things instead of putting yourself down?  Probably not all of the time.  

Will it be hard to do that?  Of course.  

It's worth it to remember the things that YOU are good at and not the things others are good at.  We, as women, have a divine role and infinite potential to become great in the sight of God.

He has provided this world so that we can learn and grow in ways we want to; not ways we may feel forced to.  Remember who you are; you are a daughter of God.

A migraine

I think headaches are pretty much the worst thing that could happen to a mother.

I had my second migraine yesterday.  It was bad, like throwing up, feeling dizzy and extremely nauseous bad.

My first migraine was a couple of months ago.  It was a similar experience...I woke up feeling icky and just after breakfast my stomach got upset and my head started to hurt really bad.  It laid me out for a couple of hours but then I was back to business as usual.  

This time, I woke up, made breakfast and I started feeling very nauseous.  Then I got a weird rainbow like line across my right eye and in my peripheral vision.  My head had a constant pain...there was no thump with my heartbeat or relief.

I 'emptied' my stomach on a few occasions and then got some rest before Arthur had to leave to teach his Sunday School lesson.

I'm sure these episodes are nothing compared to others' migraines...I know folks who are out-for-the-count for an entire day.

I'm grateful for these experiences because they allow me to understand, a little, what others are going through...and they help me be grateful for a healthy body otherwise.

New Beginnings

We've had this blog for up and running for about two years or so and I just realized that I've posted more times during the month of November than I have the whole time this blog has been around.

I've decided that this will be the beginning of a new goal for me...I'm going to post something twice a month and if I end up with more posts during a month then GREAT!!!

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I think about keeping up a blog, but I'm realizing that it's better to put something up rather than not do anything at all.

I've also heard that while writing of past experiences, it helps recall feelings and memories that were maybe forgotten about.  So perhaps my twice-a-month-posts will be some personal history gems.

We shall see.

Christmas

I love seeing homes like these...tastefully decorated for Christmas.

Someday I'll have a home to decorate, for now the balcony will have to do :-)

It has been really fun getting the kids excited for Christmas this year.  Maya is finally at an age where she understands what is going on.  Kade sees what's happening, with the lights and gifts, but I'm sure he isn't quite sure what is going on.  Well, and Jett of course is still too young to know but he loves the decorations.

Since we've been married, we've spent Christmas all over.  I'm looking forward to spending Christmas morning as a family.  Each year there is a brunch, well two brunches...one is in California and the other  is in Utah.  It'll be fun to experience our Utah families' Christmas brunch.

This time of the year makes me so happy and grateful.  The fall/winter holidays are some of my favorites because of the meaning behind them.

Arthur and I had a chance to be at Disneyland during the Christmas season.  It was really fun to see the 'Happiest Place on Earth' be even more happy with all the Christmas cheer!!

I'm excited that, in the years to come, we can teach our children the true meaning of Christmas.  We'll get to watch them grow in that knowledge and they'll come to understand the importance of remembering their Savior during this time of year.

Bedtime

The bedtime routine starts at about six around here.  With Arthur gone five nights out of the week, I've gotta start early so I can get each one in bed at a decent hour.

We start with baths.  Jett goes first and then we fill the tub up a little bit more for Kade and then it's Maya's turn.  She wants the water up as high as I'll let it go.  During bath time, I'll usually put on a show to keep those not bathing occupied.

Next we floss and brush teeth...there are a lot of teeth to take care of.  Sometimes a snack is requested before brushing, but most of the time stalling is not an option for these kids.

Then we'll read a book, sing a song, and then say prayers.  Lately, Kade has been stepping up his prayers...ha, actually wanting to say them.  It's so fun to hear him say what he thinks comes next instead of copying what we're whispering to him.

Jett is the first one to go down, followed by Kade, and then Maya quietly sneaks into her room (where Jett is hopefully sleeping) and falls asleep quickly.

Days around here, especially nights, are certainly getting more interesting without my better half around.  I'll be honest, I look forward to bedtime...it means that I get some ME time.  I get to watch a show or two that don't have little cartoons singing and I get to do stuff for myself.  

Some days are definitely better than others.  

Some days my patience is tested to the breaking point.  

Some days all I want to do is lock myself in my room.

Some days I feel like they're all conspiring against me.

Some days I can't wait until bedtime.

BUT,
most days I just stare at them and feel gratitude that my Heavenly Father trusted them with me.

Snow

The first day this week that I have plans to leave the house and this is what I see outside...

I will be safe and stay warm.

Chocolate Chips

Arthur is an avid baker.  He likes it a lot and likes it even more when I request something or try, and like, an experiment.  

While we lived in California over the last year, we went through a lot, and I mean A LOT, of chocolate chips.  Arthur made something with them probably once a week.  As a going away gift, my parents hooked us up with this...

...a 25 pound box of chocolate chips.  We were pretty excited about it.  

Now how exactly is 25 pounds of chocolate chips packaged?  We thought for sure it was in individual bags, like the ones you buy at the store...WRONG!

We got a KICK out of how we found them; in an ENORMOUS blue bag just loose inside.  We've since moved them into our own make-shift individual 2 cup bags.

The box was given to us before we moved to Utah and we were pretty curious how the chocolate chips would do on a move to Utah; with an extended vacation in Tahoe in the middle of that move.  They were stored in our van at the bottom of the storage space in the back.  We were pleasantly surprised when we first opened it to find them still tiny pieces of chocolate.  As we moved them into smaller bags, it turns out, the whole bottom became melted together, which is great for me since I like to enjoy a 'little' bit of chocolate 'every once in a while.'

Arthur will continue baking with the chocolate chips from this box for a long time to come.  I look forward to the experiments and the tried-and-tested recipes he'll make!!

Bonus on the 19th!

My amazing cousin posted this on her blog today...I loved it so much that I wanted all of you to love it too!!!

If you aren't smiling after watching that, something is wrong with you.

Being outside

We love spending time outside around here.  Lately the weather has been ok so we are trying to take advantage of that as much as possible.

Since Jett is big enough to be on the baby swing, Kade is having to get the hang of the big kid swings.   He's doing a great job and loves it!!! 

Jett loves himself a good swing too.  

In our complex we have all kinds of fun things to do.  There is a fairly large playground with several slides and monkey bars to boot.  Around the corner from our apartment building is the set of swings; one baby swing and three big swings.  There's also a half court for basketball, Kade's favorite thing to watch, and a sand volleyball court, which I hate because of all the sand that ends up getting brought into the house.  During the summer there's a pool and spa too.

The other day the kids just stood at the fence where the pool is and asked me a hundred times when they could go in the pool again...next Spring guys, next Spring.

Temple Square

After we finished up at the Church History Museum, we walked over to Temple Square.  

We first walked past the Tabernacle and explained a little bit to Maya what it is used for.  Then we walked to the South Visitors' Center.  In this particular building they have a large model of the Salt Lake Temple.  It has been cut out so people can see inside and know where each room is and what it's purpose is.  I'm a huge fan of this because I have a closet love of architecture and many people don't know this, but when my parents were doing construction on their house, adding on, I drew the plans in order to get permits to start the remodel.

Jett always enjoys being strapped to Arthur...such a fun age!!

We walked around outside a little bit and watched as grounds workers were setting up the Christmas lights.  We headed to the North Visitors' Center where the Christus is.  Maya really liked that we were hanging out in space while we sat and looked at the huge statue.  

By the time we finished up there, our meter was up and we had to be on our way.

We really enjoyed showing our children all the wonderful things that the church has to offer to those who come asking questions.  There are also so many things for us who are already members of the church.  It was cool learning so much while at the Church History Museum.

This is what Temple Square will look like in a few weeks when they have the lighting ceremony.  Very beautiful.

Church History Museum

On Friday, we got to spend some time downtown Salt Lake at the Church History Museum and Temple Square.

It was a pretty chilly day and I forgot my coat on the ground in our place because I had to get a water bottle for the kids.  I'm very forgetful these days so if I don't write it down on my grocery list or if I put something down (like my coat) to do something else, then it will never happen or get purchased.

We parked along side Temple Square and walked across the street to the museum.  We immediately went to the information desk to ask what we should do first or if we should just wander around.  

They saw that we had littles with us so they said that we should head upstairs to the Book of Mormon play area.

We wandered through the section that had several early church artifacts first.  Arthur really enjoyed that.  He'd never been here before and he really liked seeing all the neat things that make up much of our history as Latter-day Saints.

The kids stayed busy pulling a handcart.

There were so many amazing things to look at.  They even had a little replica of the inside of a ship that many saints traveled on.  They had bunk beds that the kids could climb in and get a glimpse of what it was like.

There was a whole lot more that I thought was cool; Joseph and Hyrum Smith's death masks, artifacts from the day Carthage was attacked and they were killed, some history of Nauvoo, clothing that the early saints wore, a sealing alter from the Manti Temple, and a bunch more.

After that, we headed to where they had the Boy Scouts of America display and the kids' Book of Mormon area.

The BSA area had stations for learning how to tie knots.  I was very interested in that.  Since I only spent like two weeks in Girl Scouts (wish I had stuck it out) as a Brownies and I've only observed my dad tying stuff down, I thought it was time to finally become seasoned in the art of tying knots.  They had big 1/2" ropes and a plaque that had pictures of how to tie each type of knot.  It was very cool.  BUT, I didn't last very long.  I'm a very visual person so when my knot didn't match the picture, I walked away. :-)

Next we headed to the kids' area.  They had Nephi's boat and the kids could help put planks together to build the ship.  They also had a large room that had every kind of kitchen appliance, utensil, food, etc.  Maya was pretty much in heaven there.  There were huge, soft building blocks that I enjoyed lounging on and Kade liked building them up just to knock them down = destroy!

The last area we went to was a dress-up area that taught the kids how to do popular Latin dance.

Maya and I are wearing matching skirts.

The adult ones were extremely heavy and, as you can see, had plenty of fabric to recreate the beautiful dances.

We ended the museum tour by walking through the hall called 'The Presidents of the Church."  It was very cool to read about some of the, unknown to me, experiences they had while preparing to be a prophet and while they were serving as the Lord's anointed.

It was a very fun day and very spiritual, believe it or not.  

Tune-in tomorrow for a brief summary of what we did on Temple Square.

Half way!

I can do hard things!

To many people this may not seem hard; writing everyday....but for me, it's VERY difficult.  We'll see if I can keep it up after November.  Maybe a couple times a week is doable.

I'm giving myself a pep talk :-)

Callings

In the LDS/Mormon church, many of the members have callings.  Callings are an assignment that allows one to serve wherever the Bishop (the leader of a particular demographic) and the Lord want.

These are unpaid positions that provide opportunities for a person to learn, grow, and serve.

Right now, I am the Nursery A leader.  There are three 18 month to three year old children classes.  Each of the classes has anywhere from eight to 20 kids.  And in each of those classes there are four capable adults that switch off each week.  

So, I attend the class twice a month and teach the children once a month.  It's really a great setup; I still get to attend the adult classes and I am able to feel fellowship with the ward members.

Arthur is the 16-17 year old Sunday School teacher.  He LOVES it.  I knew he would be great because he has a special ability to reach these young people.  When we lived in CA, he worked with two or three young men and he was able to connect with them. He let them know they had a friend.

He has taught a few times since he received the calling and he's tried a few things in order to establish trust between him and the youth.  He is a very good teacher and is very spiritual and I know he will help these kids do great things.