There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays...

It has been fun to decorate for Christmas. I love those first few days when cornucopias and pumpkins fight for space with the Annalee decorations and advent calendars. It took a few days or so but the Christmas decorations won out and everything was up by the time Craig returned home from a two week trip - even the staircase garlands (I love having two separate staircases except when it comes to the decorating part). Now that Alicia is home we have been trying to take photos for the family Christmas card - we chose the one by the fireplace...

Belated Blogging...

I've fallen behind in my blogging - here are a few highlights of the last two weeks. We spent an enjoyable afternoon listening to Emily sing with the Children's Chorus of Washington the music was wonderful and included some accompaniment and additional music by Classical Brass. The concert was held in the sanctuary of the National City Christian Church in downtown DC. The building was beautiful, the organ majestic and the acoustics superb. My favorites were "Gaudete" (taken from the 1582 Scandinavian manuscript, Piae Cantiones), "Praise Ye the Lord of Hosts" from Camille Saint-Saens, Christmas Oratorio, and "Noel Nouvelet" (a traditional French carol). They sang several Chanukah songs as well as a number of well known and some lesser known Christmas carols and songs. I'm still humming/singing the music (it helped that I attended most of the rehearsals to help pass children off)!

Oops, almost forgot another highlight of our Saturday - lunch as a family (well, part of our family, sorry Alicia) at our favorite downtown restaurant Zaytinya's. If you are ever in DC we will take you there. It is fabulous - Greek/Mediterranean/Lebanese mezze!



I took Cristin's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies to a cookie exchange. It was a lot of fun and I came home with some great cookies and recipes to add to our Christmas cookie collection. Even better than the recipes it was a chance to meet many of the newer and younger women in our RS.

Woolly Weekend

A friend and I enjoyed a beautiful drive into the foothills of Sugarloaf mountain as well as a woolly weekend as we toured two of our favorites from the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival that were
part of the Countryside Artisans Holiday Studio Tour. All of these years I've thought I could only make purchases from them during the yearly Sheep and Wool Festival. Now I know how often their studios are open (bad news Craig)! Kiparoo Farm is a wonderful little shop on a working sheep and dairy farm. Wonderful yarns, patterns and more. Dancing Leaf Farm has some of the most beautiful colorways. The owner has a delightful way of packaging her yarn and kits (one of my favorites is a kit in a Chinese take-out box with needles stuck in to look like chopsticks). We also took a peek into an artist's studio filled with fine art (oils, water colors and photography) - I'd love to take Craig there. There were a variety of other studios (furniture, herbs, crafts, etc.) on the tour but we ran out of the time that we had given ourselves (why are Saturdays sooo busy?). I've included a picture of the yarn that I added to my "stash" and yes, if you look closely there are needles and an almost finished fingerless glove. No, I'm not completely ready for Christmas, and no I hadn't run out of more important things to do... but, the yarn was speaking to me and if you've ever had yarn speak to you - you know you must respond by knitting! I love seeing the sheep farms and included a picture of some sheep that I knitted and felted - they live with a small herd of other sheep by my knitting nook - I'm afraid they are as close to having a sheep farm as I will probably ever get!

Don't worry Mom, we'll put in a real railing...

Our Piece of Zion...

I just got these photos of our Mountain home in Zion Ponderosa. I am getting soooo excited! Craig and Alicia visited today and called with all of the news, a list of questions, and lots of pictures. The front of the house isn't viewable from the road (I love "hidden" homes). Alicia said it was so exciting to make a turn in the road and all of a sudden see it!

Wonderful Week, Part 3, McNeil/Janes Top 14 List

The McNeil/Janes Top (N) List (where (N) is a function of (M/J x P)^R (new memories divided by old memories reminisced about x new places visited all raised to the number of restaurants where meals were eaten) is one of our favorite traditions to end our trips together by doing (we counted 9 shared family vacations). Here is the Top 14 List for this trip...
14) Upside of any Janes/McNeil vacation: there's always someone awake to play with.
13)Angelo hits the jackpot, retires to Florida.
12)Teen aged Irving Friedman shows up in flying DeLorean, insists we call him "Jonathon".
11) Sensing a shift in consumer demand, Giant changes its name to Clementine World.
10) Everyone enjoys The Office marathon except Kevin...I mean, except Craig.
9) Metal Guitar Gods.
8) Brown is the old blonde, and the new smart.
7)El and Tracey break the news of their engagement to the surprise of everyone except Rhett, Kim, Alicia, Cara, Lisa and Drew...
6) My Morning Jacket comes in from Chicago. Drew travels even further to pull off ticket exchange.
5) In anticipation of everyone's arrival, Lisa forgoes counting sheep and instead counts the number of sheets, blankets, pillows, towels, diet cokes, rolls of toilet paper and number of orange rolls it will take to house and feed seventeen (17) people.
4) Craig draws up a business plan in contemplation of selling his partnership shares to invest in his own Carmel Chex Mix production factory.
3) Despite Emily's full recovery from her appendectomy she continues to parlay the event into an excuse to stay up past midnight for the entire week.
2) McNeils jeopardize entire trip to rescue Drew's suitcase, which he never opens.
1) Don't forget to get all-y'alls sushi, orange rolls, birthday cake, chex mix, key lime pie, sweet potatoes, rolls, metro passes, nertz cards and gag-gifts!

Wonderful Week...continued...

Cara turned 16 on the 23rd so in reality we celebrated both Thanksgiving and Cara. We might be the only family that enjoyed pumpkin pie, key lime pie, cheesecake and Costco B'day cake all on Thanksgiving! Cara was actually born a couple of weeks before her due date, early in the morning the day after Thanksgiving - I've always said that it had something to do with the fact that I had one last piece of pumpkin pie at about 10:30 pm and before I knew it I was in labor. There just wasn't room for Cara and pie! Cara is a wonderful young woman, she loves music, dance, learning new things, has a great sense of humor, is sometimes too smart (if that is possible), has an eclectic taste in just about everything and is a joy to be around. I'm grateful (in more than just a Thanksgiving sense) for her and all she is and all she is becoming. Happy 16th Cara!

What a Wonderful Week!

The Highlight of the past week was a visit from our friend's the McNeils and a quick trip home for Alicia. This is the third Thanksgiving we have shared since being in MD with the McNeils and to be honest we look forward to Thanksgiving all year long because we know (desperately hope) it will include them. Mont, Kristy and Drew came from OK, Rhett and Kim drove down from PA and Eliot and Tracey (girlfriend at the beginning of the trip, fiance by the end) came from UT. Our days and nights were filled with laughing, talking, eating, remembering, sight-seeing, enjoying, and nertz playing. Did I mention eating? The photo montage gives a little insight into our week. A few things to notice include Alicia's change of hair color, the amazing number of Clementines that were consumed, the number of smiles!

I am grateful for...

1) Great Drs., nurses and staff and volunteers at Kaiser and Children's.
2) The inspiration to grab Craig's consecrated oil vial that "just happened" to be sitting on the cedar chest as we ran out the door. I really don't believe anything "just happens"!
3) Good friends who lovingly stood in for a missing dad and left busy work schedules to came to the hospital to give Emily a priesthood blessing.
4) Laparoscopic procedures - Emily has just 3 tiny incisions - it is actually unbelievable. The nurses called Emily their "LAP APPY" (laparoscopic appendectomy).
4) Good friends who helped with carpools, dinner, etc.
5) Cell phones.
6) Cara who held down the fort at home and managed phone calls from family/friends. She also enjoyed missing a day of school - after being up most of the night checking in with me to see how Emily was doing.
7) A sweet husband/father who came home from his trip early and knew that even though I kept saying "we'll be fine, go ahead and finish your trip" we really did need him at home. We kept his return home a secret from Emily - when we got home from the hospital he came around the corner from the kitchen and she just fell into his arms sobbing.
8) Emily's quick recovery - children's power to heal is amazing each day brings major improvements.

An out of the ordinary week...

Monday began as most Mondays do - BUSY. I found myself busy getting back into the schedule of school, busy getting both Cara and Emily to school because Craig was out of town, busy with preparations for Thanksgiving visitors, busy with a new commitment helping on the EB Wood Middle School media center advisory committee. After the meeting we flew to DC (not literally of course but it was the closest Emily has ever been to being late for Chorus). By the time we arrived home it had been a long day, a quick dinner was followed by trying to "encourage" Emily to finish the last little bit of her homework. Instead of finishing she complained that her stomach hurt and she couldn't possibly finish ANYTHING. My mind quickly tried to anticipate what the rest of the evening might bring - in no particular order.
1) Emily throwing up and not being able to get to the bowl or to the bathroom and the possibility that I might be awakened during the night to load lots of yucky laundry into the washing machine and the need to scrub the carpet
2) The possibility that the stomach ache was only because she had had such a long day and because she didn't want to finish her homework and I might have to provide a bit of good natured cajoling to get the homework finished
3) An early bedtime for everyone with the hope that tomorrow would be a little less hectic.
I had no idea what the evening would really bring...

As I talked to Emily, I saw that she was deteriorating even as I talked to her. I could tell she was genuinely uncomfortable and starting to get shaky. My first solution to all medical problems are to encourage going to the bathroom - I'm not sure why and in reality it didn't help at all this time. It is however my first suggestion and it actually works much of the time. I was quickly realizing that #2 and #3 above were unlikely to occur - although #1 was still a possibility. Her stomach was really hurting and hurting enough that I could tell she was frightened. An unpleasant aside, at this point is to mention that throwing up doesn't frighten Emily - she is actually quite a pro so I was getting the feeling that something was up. (In kindergarten she would get ready for school, run to the bathroom, throw-up still wearing her backpack, rinse and run to the car and go to school. Please know I'm not neglectful - the Dr. actually ran a number of tests to see why she was throwing up so often and nothing ever showed up. She "kind-of" but not completely outgrew it.)

It started to be apparent that if she was going to throw up she would have by now and at this point I started thinking that #4 was probably going to involve a visit to Kaiser Urgent Care. I talked to an advice nurse who suggested the possibility that it was the beginning of virus. That sounded reasonable and I know there is some stuff going around. However, when she asked more about the discomfort and where it was located, Emily pointed away from her stomach (where it had been just a few minutes before) and said that her stomach didn't hurt anymore but it hurt right where your appendix is - the dreaded right lower quadrant. As soon as I relayed that to the advice nurse she suggested I bring her into Urgent Care.

Our visit to Urgent Care in Kensington included a quick exam, blood work that indicated a raised white blood count and paperwork and directions to Children's Hospital in DC. We got there as quickly as we could and got checked into the ER. We then spent several delightful hours in small room with only a flimsy curtain separating us from a sad and screaming toddler and a teenage girl who argued (alot) with her dad. I think Emily was starting to wonder if maybe finishing her homework might have been the easiest thing to have done. She was examined by the surgical resident, moved to a more private room in the observation area and settled in for a long (although by this time somewhat short) night with the promise of an ultrasound in the AM to take a look at her appendix. The ultrasound showed that she needed an appendectomy - which she underwent Tues. afternoon. Everything went really well...to be continued...

Saturday and Sunday - generally fairly busy days were extra busy this weekend. Craig and I made a quick run to The Great Indoors to talk over some lighting and fixture choices for the Zion's house. While we were there, Cara helped me at home by staying online until tickets went on sale for tickets to High School Musical the Concert - shhh they are a surprise for Emily. I think they will make a perfect stocking stuffer.
After getting home, Craig went to stake leadership meetings in conjunction with our stake conference. He had a short break before the evening meeting so I met him at Panera for a quick sandwich and soup. The evening meeting was wonderful (as usual - as good as the Sunday meeting always is, I've always thought the Sat. meeting was better). Sunday morning Cara and I went early for a youth choir rehearsal - an advantage to the early rehearsal were great seats for conference!
The youth choir was the highlight of the Sunday meeting. The choir performed numbers from the musical presentation "From Cumorah's Hill". It was a reprise of sorts because a smaller group had performed the entire production during their youth conference in Palmyra. Cara was in the youth conference group and was able to share her talents by playing her flute and singing a solo. The music was beautiful and a sweet testimony of the Book of Mormon. Their closing number was I Never Stand Alone - it was written from the perspective of Moroni and the loneliness he must have felt at the end of the Book of Mormon. The lyrics talk about when you stand with the prophets you never stand alone. It is a powerful message - I hope Cara could feel the power of the words that she was singing. We hurried home for a quick lunch before Craig headed to San Diego for a Deloitte partners meeting and a trip to Utah (Alicia, the house, Kent and family). Little did we know what the next few days would bring...

Before they are all gone...

Craig was surprised with a "thank-you" gift from a colleague for some work they had done together. The tin is delightful (I love autumn) and the goodies are delicious. Needless to say, there were more goodies than are shown in the picture. The company has a website Cheryl and Company has some great gift ideas. I love that "Cheryl" is spelled the same way as my mom's name - and by the way she (my Cheryl) makes delicious homemade frosted brownies. They were the most requested goodie at many a party in our neighborhood and school as I was growing up. My mom may have been the original "Cheryl and Co."!I have great memories of only being able to eat the edges of her brownies because the "good ones" in the center were always being taken somewhere. I still love to eat the edges of anything we bake!

Sing....sing a song...

Emily had a "uniform check" in anticipation of her CCW Christmas concert. It was so fun to see everyone at the rehearsal in uniform. They continue to sound wonderful - and I'm not just saying that because I'm the mom. I was listening to their rehearsal and was amazed at how quickly they picked up the harmonies and new languages. Their conductor seems to have achieved the perfect balance for working with children - fun but has complete control. They actually rehearse a fair amount of the time by singing acappella - I'm amazed at how well they do. The adult choirs I have sung with always struggle singing without the piano and it is amazing that this choir does it without even thinking about it. We can't wait until December to hear them in concert.
Emily enjoys the rehearsals and we have some great car time together during the commute. We drive about 45 minutes to get there and it takes about an hour to get home depending on traffic (DC rush hour). We enjoy our "alone time" to visit and she almost always has all of her homework completed by the time we get home. Over the years, my children have completed a lot of homework in places other than at a desk or at the kitchen table. Lots of homework has been done between rehearsals, in the car, while waiting for another sibling in the waiting room of a variety of places, etc. I like to think I'm helping them to become good at being flexible and thinking "outside of the box"!

Political Junkies

After voting earlier in the day I enjoyed staying tuned in to the television and radio watching and listening to the mid-term election results. It is fun being a political junkie in the shadow of Capitol Hill! Needless to say, Craig and I were were quite pleased with the days results :) It will be interesting to see what develops in the days and months to come. No Republican rhetoric in the "comments" section - this means you Dad!

Happy Halloween

Emily enjoyed Halloween this year as a chef. Her new chef's jacket and hat could also be used for a "what I want to be when I grow up" dress up day. You've got to try her Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. It is hard in 6th grade (1st year of middle school) to know whether to dress up or not. She had an elaborate plan that included "dress up" and "don't dress up" contingencies. She did end up dressing up at school and then went trick-or-treating with a friend in another neighborhood in the evening. They ended the night sleeping-over at our house because they didn't have school the next day. See Cristin, your birthday (11/1) is celebrated all over Maryland! Now I'm not a fan of the sleep-over (for a variety of reasons) so Emily is always very excited when one takes place. In fact, I came home from errands the next day to find her vacuuming and dusting the front stairs (without being asked) as a "thank-you" for the sleep-over. Hmm, I wonder what else she would be willing to do...

While I am blogging this post, most of my family is sharing a sweet moment with my brother, Regan and his wife Vanessa. They are being sealed for "time and all eternity" this morning in the Timpanogas Temple of our church. I am so happy for them - a little homesick today that I am not with them but thrilled for them and this decision that they have made, also very glad that I was able to share in their wedding day four years ago today. The life path that brought them to this moment has certainly had its challenges, but I love that they see the best in other and encourage and support each other. I don't know that we ever truly understand why things happen the way they do - but I think things happen for a reason. In spite of the challenges, I know that the past has helped them to become the people they are today and I'm so grateful that they found each other and that together we are part of a forever family! Congratulations Regan and Vanessa!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Birthday wishes to my sister, Cristin! Our relationship has come a long way since we shared a basement bedroom and I marked off the closet (I assured her that my having more than half of the closet was appropriate because I am older and had more stuff)! We weathered a few sibling storms in the early years but have since become wonderful friends. Her list of accomplishments, talents, etc. is long - I love and appreciate all of those things about her - but I value our relationship the most! Cristin, in the words of Alexandra Stoddard to you...Celebrate Now!

Poms

I love this new picture of Cara from Poms. Check out those feet (all of the years en pointe in ballet). I must admit, I never knew what "poms" were until we moved to the east coast. Here is a brief Pom Primer: (Much of this I learned the hard way....)
*Most importantly, poms are NOT cheerleaders and they do not cheer (even if they look like they are)!
*Poms perform at athletic events (football and basketball) usually during pregame, half-time and at pep rallies.
*Their official name is actually Pom Pons (note the "n" - that is correct).
*Pom squads have their own competitions (invitationals and county/state wide competitions).
*Poms are a sport (I've always wondered about calling it a sport when what they do is set to music)!
*Poms are definitely athletes.
*We love our Pom!

Morning Routines

One of my favorite morning routines after everyone is on their way to work/school is to sit down with The Washington Post. I read through the entire paper (I just peruse Sports and Business unless a headline catches my eye) and then I grab a pen and work on the crossword puzzle(s). There are actually two puzzles on T, W and Th! I tell myself that I'm not just "doing" the crossword puzzle - I'm actually staving off Alzheimers (read the research). So in reality I'm not wasting time - I'm actually exercising. I'm compulsive enough about finishing that I've been known to "google", looking for an answer to an obscure clue, I've been seen picking up our copy of the NY Times Atlas to look something up, I've even called Craig at work for help with an arcane geography clue. I almost always finish - it is a great way to start my day! How do you like to start your day?

NHS

Well, here is the poorly taken but obligatory picture of Cara crossing the stage at the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony - (double-click to make it larger) that really is her! The picture with her NHS advisor turned out much better. Their NHS chapter has always had great service opportunities. I'm sure Alicia still has fond memories of tutoring at a local community center. I'm sure Cara will enjoy her involvement as well. In spite of the large number of inductees, the ceremony moved along and was very nice - it was followed by Costco "gotta love that frosting " cake in the cafeteria (really can anything beat that?)! Way to go Cara!

Mondays...

Mondays seem to be catch-up days for us as we try to recover from the weekend! I'll be busy working through the "to-do" list today but thought I would post a quick picture of Cara from Homecoming - you'll have to ask her for the details. The words I heard repeated most often were fun and hott - and yes I think it has two t's. In addition to everything else Cara has going on in her busy life - she is being inducted into the National Honor Society at her HS tomorrow night! I must admit, Cara is somewhat hard to describe. She has so many eclectic ideas, interests and opinions, but however you describe her, suffice it to say she is a delight! Note the uniquely Cara french manicure.

Week at a Glance

Thought I would post a few of the highlights of our week.
* Mini-Concert - we were thrilled to hear Emily singing with CCW. After only a few weeks of rehearsal they sang amazing music in French, Latin, Hebrew and of course English. We can't wait for the first "real" concert in December.
* Successful Homecoming dress shopping trip. After striking out completely at Nordstrom's and Macy's Cara found the perfect dress at Forever 21. Alicia we REALLY missed you this week - you've become a much better style consultant than I!
* Craig's biggest deadline of the year will soon be over. I think it will be a 100+ hour week. I think the only time he has slept has been on the Metro. Hopefully he can recuperate next week!? (haha he replies)
* On the knitting front, I've finished knitting my Pink Christmas gift - it still needs to be felted ... pictures to follow. I'm having fun knitting 2 tea sets for my two youngest nieces.
* High school Homecoming festivities have ruled the week. Go RHS! Pep Rally today, game tonight, dance tomorrow...
Note: "Highlights" somehow fit into and become a part of our real life! Including, numerous carpools/driving, middle school volunteering, driving practice (in the car not golfing) with Cara, ballet, poms, tap, jazz, homework, laundry, lunches, Montgomery College, housecleaning(?), bill paying, church responsibilities, talking on the phone, the loves, the laughs, etc., etc - all of the things that are part of "It's a Wonderful Life" (the picture is a little blurry - the sign hangs in my kitchen and it is a wonderful reminder!