First 3 kisses... aw yeahh

First (and last) kisses...from a goat.



Rewriting the Christmas Story

Last night we were watching the new nativity movie the church has produced.  I thought Darin and I had done a pretty good job of teaching our children this beautiful true story of Christ's birth.  However, I realized that pop culture has a strong hold on our kids after Matthew shared his "knowledge".

When watching the part of the wisemen bringing gifts to Jesus, Darin asked, "What were the gifts?"  Matthew enthusiastically exclaimed in earnest, "Gold, silver, and rum!"  Really?  Was Jack Sparrow one of the wisemen?

Shortly after that we were watching Mary, Joseph, and little Jesus flee to Egypt.  Darin asked, "Why were they going to Egypt?"  Once again, Matthew came through with, "Because King Hagrid wanted to kill all the baby boys!"   And all along I thought Hagrid was one of the good guys!

We all laughed and laughed after both of these revelations. However, I think we will be revisiting the real story of Christmas and clear up any misunderstandings.

Come to Zion, Come to Zion

**Warning:  This blog is nothing if not completely chronologically incorrect.  I figure if I'm recording things at all though, it's better than nothing, right?  This trip actually took place back in October.  Sigh.  Is it already December tomorrow?

What used to be called the deer hunt (at least in my house growing up), then was called UEA, is now called Fall Break.  Whatever you call it, it gives the kids two days off of school.  Wahoo! We decided to take a break from fall, and go to Southern Utah for more summer-like weather.  A very good choice, indeed.  We met up with Darin's mom and dad for a grand day at Zion National Park.  What a stunningly beautiful place. 

The happy hikers.



Weeping Rock



Ahh!  Refreshing!



Yikes!  We definitely held onto the boys' hands.  A lot.

Handsome Matthew



There's my man . . . and his momma.  :)



The desert becomes her.



Sunshine, nature, family.  Yep, I'm happy!



Cooling off after our hike with a little ice cream

I don't know what this face is, but it makes me laugh every time I see this picture.

Lovely ladies.

Just chillin' after a busy day. 

 We loved spending time with Michael and Jan and their kids.  We enjoyed good food, conversation, lots of playing, and chickens!  Thanks for hosting us!  We wish we could have stayed longer.  We love you!

Thanksgiving Dinner . . . A Little Early

Darin's mom and dad are going to be enjoying their official Thanksgiving feast in Massachusetts this year, so we decided those of us in Utah should get together and eat good food together a little early.  We had a great time with them, Mike and Jill, and all the kids.  And I won't complain about eating Thanksgiving dinner twice, either! 

"Acorns" that Matthew, Jacob and I made.  They were a hit.

The kid table.  In the sunroom. With the door locked.  Ahh, peace.

Jacob helped me make these cute napkin rings for the kids.  They made great finger puppets later, too.

Yum, yum!  Glad Jill brought delish Lion House Rolls.  I think the boys ate nothing but rolls and acorns.

The adult table.  Inside. Where it's quiet.

As Darin put it, "The maiden voyage on our wedding china."  After 16 years of marriage, I think it was about time we brought it out, don't you?

Hot tub party - Darin throws a ball, some kids jump for it, others get drenched, all have fun.

Dancing off that turkey and stuffing playing Just Dance on the Wii

Work it, girls!  Even Grandma Lynette got in on the action!

And the boys joined in, too.  I must say they were very entertaining dancers!

While the kids and ladies were dancing their hearts out, the men went to the store to look at electronics.  So they had a good time, too.  After we had sufficiently digested dinner, we broke out Lynette's awesome pies.  Sooo good!  Thanks Mike and Jill and Dave and Lynette for all the delicious food and fun company!  Living close to family isn't bad.  Not bad at all! 

Doh!

 Do you know what that is?  That unassuming piece of paper in Sarah's hand?  It is a driver's permit!!!  I can't believe we are at this stage already, but the calendar doesn't lie, and after some, ahem, prodding and pleading, Darin took Sarah to the DMV to take her test.  She passed.   And now that piece of paper says she can drive.  With a parent.  And which parent would that be?  (Well, legally, either one, but . . .)  I have been the happy driving companion with Sarah.  No, really.  It has been fun.  We have had several scenic drives in our church parking lot and have even ventured onto some quiet residential streets.  She has been very cautious, and is improving.  I'm proud of her for wanting to learn how to drive.  Yes, I actually said that.  There seems to be some odd trend among teens right now.  That is, the don't want to get their driver's licenses.  What?  I know, I'm confused, too, but thankfully, Sarah is not following that trend.  I will report on her progress periodically. 

Next up, we need to get the gender on the permit corrected - she was marked as a male and didn't notice it until she was almost home.  You can see she was really happy about that.  Oh, well, she's learning to drive either way! Way to go, Sarah!  Love you!

Matthew's Baptism Day

Matthew turned eight in July, but due to our living in limbo at that time, we decided to wait until we were settled into a home and new ward to have him baptized.  He patiently waited, but was so excited when we finally had a date set for his big day.  October 8, 2011 was a special day for all of us.  We were blessed to have so many family members in attendance for his baptism, confirmation, and a luncheon afterwards.  Matthew is our first child to be baptized with that many family members in attendance.  We truly felt blessed and loved to have so many able to come and share this day with us.

Matthew was proud to have Darin baptize and confirm him.  He also expressed that he is excited to baptize his own son one day.  When I asked him (that night) how he felt about the experience, he said, "I feel so happy.  When dad confirmed me, I felt like I was warmer all over.  Do you think that's the Holy Ghost?"

Yes, Matthew.  That is the Holy Ghost.  I hope you will always pay attention to the way you feel.  The Holy Ghost communicates with us in many different ways, but always, it is connected with feelings. "I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart."  D&C  8:2

Thumbs way up, Matthew!  I love you and am proud of you wanting to make good choices.  You are a good boy and bring much happiness to your family!

Halloween

I must confess that Halloween is not my favorite holiday.  I prefer to celebrate autumn, but I am also not a complete scrooge so I pass out candy, get my kids costumes and all that stuff.  Here is a very brief recap of our day:

Sarah and friends on their way to a Star Wars party - can't you tell from their costumes?

Jack-o-Lanterns courtesy of Matthew (left), and Jacob (right), and mom (who did all the actual carving.)

Megan (fairy), Matthew (GI Joe Ninja), Jacob (Sam Flynn from Tron)



My own "decoration".  Told you I prefer celebrating autumn!

The day was complete with costume parades, class parties, changing minds on costumes - several times, friends, and candy.  Lovely day.

Are these cute or what?

The Halloween Phantom has been in our neighborhood, and he left us some goodies the other night.  So it is our turn to be the "phantom" and deliver some treats.  I saw these two sugar cookie ideas on this lovely site and decided I must try them - using my own personal favorite dough recipe.  They were both super easy and I think they turned out so cute.  And yummy.

I want my mummy!  Bwahahahahah!

A little corny!  :)

 Karen, the captions are just for you.  And me.  :)  Yep, still giggling to myself. 

There are some other fun treats I want to make from this site.  I'm especially intrigued by the worms.  Really.  I think I'll try them.  That is all.

Cecret Lake

At the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon is the Albion Basin.  It is a beautiful area that keeps patches of snow year round and provides several hikes and even rock climbing for those so inclined (not me.)

 You often can't even get into the Basin until late spring (unless you're skiing.)  

A short hike up the mountain,

 there is a lovely glacial lake - Cecret Lake.  In late spring and summer there are gorgeous fields of wildflowers covering the mountainside.  Everyone should go on this hike during that time of year.

I have been on this hike quite a few times, but never in the fall. Our family decided to take advantage of a warmish autumn evening and hiked to the lake.  (Thankfully, we went when we did, as it snowed two days later and we probably wouldn't be able to hike in now!)  I wasn't disappointed. 

 Fall has it's own beautiful flowers and berries.

Of course, the leaves, are not to be missed.  

The quaking aspens were absolutely glowing golden as the evening sun streamed through them, and I remembered that when we moved to Pennsylvania, I had missed them - not many quakies there!  And the smell of fall is heavenly no matter where you live. 

Being in nature always lifts my spirits, and this peaceful evening was no exception. I'm so blessed to have an inspiring, beautiful world to live in, seasons to pass through, and family to enjoy it all with.

Goodness from our Garden

A peek at what is out our back door... 

Ginormous pumpkins!

The. best. raspberries. ever.

So we inherited a great garden when we moved into our house.  The two stars of the show have been the above items.  If I can't find Jacob, I go to the raspberry patch where he is often sitting on the ground with handfuls of raspberries and a red-with-juice mouth.  The pumpkins may take a Herculean effort to remove from the garden to the front porch.  But, boy, will they be worth it . . . I hope!

Back on the Grid

It has been a while.  Far too long, really.  But we're back online,  in our own (new to us) house, and getting settled.  The kids are in school, Darin is at work, and I am figuring out life in our new location.  There has been some, ahem, anxiety on my part throughout this whole process, and unfortunately, it continues.  During a (very helpful) conversation with my sister-in-law, Jill, yesterday, I was reminded that places hold a very dear place in my heart just as people do.   As much as I miss my friends, I can still thankfully call, email, or text them.  However, I am not able to visit the places I miss - and I do miss so many.  So I will be holding their memories close as I look for new places to love.   

So, in honor of that conversation, I took a quick trip today to a new place.  A place that I'm sure will bring me a lot of peace and satisfaction here, just as it did in PA.  Drum roll . . .  I went to our new library!  Hee, hee.  I know, I am a total nerd.  I've mentioned it before, but I love libraries.  I don't know what it is, but there is something very soothing about the quiet, and the books, and the people.  Jacob and I arrived just in time (previously unbeknownst to us) for a puppet show, which he thoroughly enjoyed.  We even ran into another mom and her kids from our ward there, and then spent another half an hour browsing books.  What a serendipitous  (I had to use that word just to completely seal the deal on my nerdiness) occasion!  A new place to love, new friends, a puppet show, and a bag full of books checked out.  All in all, a wonderfully soothing morning for my anxious spirit. 

More interesting tales and pictures to come as we find new people and places to love.

Packin' it In and Feelin' the Love

Well, folks.  This is it.  The week we leave our home, friends, adopted family, and beloved places for our new home, new friends, true family, and new places.  There will be tears shed.  Torrential tears.  But really, that's been happening almost every day for a few months now. 

In addition to packing our stuff, we've also been packing in experiences with our favorite people.  We have been blessed with wonderful neighbors. They threw a going away party for us last week at which they told us that in throwing a party they were in no way condoning our leaving!  We had  a great time eating, talking, laughing, and playing together.  We will miss them.  Greatly.

The next night, some dear friends in the ward hosted an open house for us (and three! other families that are moving from our ward this week).  Another wonderful night was shared with our adopted family.  Yesterday, I received a treasured book full of notes written and pictures taken that night.  I'm not sure how much I heard in Sacrament Meeting as I was busy wiping my eyes and my nose as I looked through the book.  Saying good bye after church was another eye-wiping, nose-blowing, air-gulping event for me.  I love these people.  So much. 

I am overwhelmed by the amount of help and love we've been given in preparing for this move.  I think I've been in denial, even while packing and making preparations to leave, that this was really going to happen.  Reality is here.  My dad flies in tonight, and he will start driving with me tomorrow.  Away from home.  Toward our new home.  I'm excited.  I'm terrified.  I'm laughing.  I'm crying. . . I'm going to go say another prayer. 

Lessons from Elephants

Several years ago I remember hearing or watching a program about an experiement conducted with several herds of elephants.  (If I wasn't so lazy, I would search it out and cite it for you, but, alas, I am lazy, so you'll just have to take my word for it .  . . or look it up yourself!)  Anyway, all adult male elephants were removed from the herd for a period of time to see if the behavior of the remaining elphants changed.  The researchers were particularly interested in obvserving what would happen with the young elephants.  Well, they quickly found that the young elephants (particularly the adolescent males) began to show signs of aggression and violence towards other members of the herd.  The researchers were surprised at how rapidlly this change took place and soon reintroduced the adult males into the herd.  The young elephants' behavior returned to normal - generally peaceful and communal.  Very interesting, no?

Could this scenario apply to herds of the human variety?  Well, our little herd has lost its adult male for (not quite) two weeks now to a new job, and boy are the young 'uns showing signs of it - especially my boys!  Just like the elephants, aggression and violence are up, peace and community are down.   If anyone has ever doubted the powerful positive influence of a dad or father figure, doubt no longer.  Luckily, the head of the herd will return this weekend for a few days and hopefully be able to restore a little tranquility before leaving again. 

We miss you, Darin!  We are looking forward to our herd being together again for good!

Transplanting

A couple of weeks ago I was planting flowers in my yard.  I came across a rogue Black-eyed Susie that had cropped up in the front of the flower bed rather than in the back of the bed where all the others had been planted a few years ago.  I dug it up and transplanted it back where all it's "family members" lived - at the back of the bed.  It had been a happy little plant at the front of the bed, and once transplanted, it promptly wilted.  This is fairly common behavior for a transplanted plant - it takes a little while to adjust to it's new location. But with continued care I know that Black-eyed Susie will perk up and be full of blooms once late summer or early fall roll around. 

About this time 12 years ago, Darin and I flew into the Philadelphia International Airport and took our first drive up I-476.  Darin had been offered a job in Philadelphia and before accepting, we decided to check out the area.  We both felt such a sense of peace and we knew the Lord wanted us to move across the country and start a new phase in our life.  We planned to live in PA for 2-3 years and then move back to Utah  - closer to family. Leaving family behind in Utah was tough, but the peace and assurance we felt from the Lord helped ease the transition greatly. We gained a whole new family in our ward family, as well as a wealth of experiences that I truly believe we could not have been blessed with anywhere else.

In spite of our 2-3 year plan, my dad gave me some great advice right before we moved:  "Put down roots as if you were going to stay there forever."  Well, Dad, I did just that.  And here we are 12 years later and feeling like we could stay here forever.  I have put down roots deep.  Really deep.  I love living in this little patch of the Earth.  But I'm being uprooted.  And transplanted.  Back to Utah.  Darin and I have prayed about this move and have once again received peace and assurance from the Lord that this is what we are to do.  That truly is a tremendous blessing, but it doesn't mean that being uprooted doesn't hurt.  As grateful as I am to be going back to my family, it hurts to leave my other "family" behind.  It hurts to leave this absolutely beautiful location where so many friendships and memories have been made and lessons have been learned. 

I feel like that Black-eyed Susie.  What is wrong with where I am currently growing?  I quite like it here!  I am happy here!  But the Gardener has another location for me now.  The move hasn't occurred yet, but I fully anticipate wilting a bit once I have been set down in my new surroundings.  I don't say that to be negative - just realistic.  I know that it will be hard for me.  And yet, with the Gardener's continued care, I know that I will bounce back.  And perk up.  And put down my roots.  And bloom once again.

 

Maybe even by late summer or early fall.