Christmas Newsletter 2008

James, Leisel and Annie at the Ryan Shupe & The Rubber Band Christmas Concert, Dec 6th, 2008

Hi everyone!

So this year has been one awesome adventure! We've been in our home about a year, and even though we love it, there is still a lot of work to be done (the kitchen looks terrible, the basement is freezing... though that's where our television is housed currently) and we have no way to get it all done. The upside is that we haven't been watching as much TV as we did when it was upstairs in the nice warm living room.

We got a beagle puppy in May and now she's about all grown up as far as her body is concerned. She's still a puppy at heart though. We named her Shia, after the actor Shia LeBouf from The Greatest Game Ever Played and Indiana Jones 4. Shia still needs a lot of training and discipline so she's got a long way to go before we can really show her off to people.

Annie has 10 teeth now... 6 incisors and 4 molars, matching on both side of her mouth! I didn't know they came in that way. They are all pretty straight, so I hope they stay that way through getting her permanent teeth (I doubt they will. James and I both had to have braces as teenagers). She runs around our house donating toys and other valuables to the dogs chew toy collection and causing other trouble when I'm not looking. Annie loves taking baths and reading books. We went to the library the other day and she went berserk. We brought home a big pile of books and when she's bored, we whip through the whole pile of books a few times before I finally decide it's time to get something else done. She doesn't have hardly any hair still but we can squeeze some of it together for cute pigtails sometimes when she's happy enough to sit still long enough to do it. We were also successful in weaning her from both a bottle and a binkie this year! She eats great with a utensil but still likes to eat with her hands more

James is doing great and slowly moving up the corporate ladder at work. He's not a manager yet, but he's been moved to operations from accounting and now he's indispensable. As far as I am concerned he deserves a bigger paycheck, but we are getting along fine with what we have. He's still a big fan of the Utah Jazz and the Denver Broncos, and of course the Weber State Wildcats. This is all I can think of for James right now. Since he graduated from Weber, he hasn't really had much change in his daily routine. The highlight of his year was probably when his brother got back from his mission in Philadelphia in the spring.

I (Leisel) am in good health and I love being a mommy. I didn't know someone could love me this much! Between not doing the dishes, not doing the laundry, forgetting to take the trash out, and reading to Annie, I'm a pretty busy person. LOL not really. I am currently in the orchestra for the musical adaptation of Peter Pan at Weber State playing trombone. If anyone is in the area around the dates January 23rd -Fabruary 7th, you should definitely come see the show. It's hilarious! As soon as January comes around, I will be starting what I hope is my last semester of school (for awhile) to finish my Associates in General Studies. I've decided I have a greater work to do instead of being a part time student for the next 4 years. Maybe if I am lucky, we will win the lottery and I can take one online class a semester (those things cost $500 each!) and finish my Bachelors in English (or whatever I decide to do again) by the time Annie graduates highschool! I am going to be performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City, NY with the Wind Ensemble at WSU in April 2009 and I am very excited for that. This is a very good group this year (it is every year really) and Carnegie is something to be proud of. I still need to pay for the trip, but I'll be getting a financial aid refund in January that can help pay for that.

Well, this has been fun, and I hope you don't mind having to read this on your computer instead of in a card. :D

We love you all and miss every one of you!

Love, Leisel, James & Annie 2008

Yet another new layout (and some pictures)

I am all hyped up on Photoshop! As you can probably tell, my style of design is always very simple and not too busy. I like it that way :)

A got to go for a walk around the duck pond with Daddy while Mommy took one of her final tests for school. Daddy got a few good pictures of her. BTW this is where she scraped up her nose a few weeks ago, but she had no such accidents this trip! Yay! We need to give her nose time to heal. :D



Cool, she's ready for Pre-Calculus!

Elder Wirthlin gives hope even after he's gone

Elder Joseph B Wirthlin died December 1st, 2008. I receive newsletter emails from meridianmagazine.com and in the email that covered that story, they restated something he said at one point - I don't know when exactly - but it was something I really needed to read.

I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross.

On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth.

Those evil men who sought His life rejoiced. Now that Jesus was no more, surely those who followed Him would disperse. On that day they stood triumphant.

On that day the veil of the temple was rent in twain.

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both overcome with grief and despair. The superb man they had loved and honored hung lifeless upon the cross.

On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies.

On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled.

It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.

I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world's history, that Friday was the darkest.

But the doom of that day did not endure.

The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.

And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.

Last week was a Friday for me. Already I can see my Sunday coming, even though I don't know when. All I can do is press forward in the good work. As put by Joseph B Wirthlin's mother, come what may, and love it.

I've had a bad week

This week hasn't been the best for me. Monday we found out that the neighbors called Animal Control on our dog because she barks at them on the rare occasion that both she and the neighbors are outside. Tuesday A opened up her diaper and found this cool brown stuff inside. Wednesday wasn't that bad. Thursday wasn't either. Friday I stayed home from the black Friday events, while James went to work, which was no fun. I also felt the beginnings of an ear ache on Friday. Saturday the ear ache was getting worse, and the dog tore up part of the kitchen floor and left several deposits around in there. Today the ear ache is really bad (I don't know if I can keep from crying - I hope I lose my hearing), had to go to church anyways, the dog caused a pile of plates to drop from the counter and shatter, chewed up the toaster cord (we can't have toast now until we can afford a new toaster), and A tipped over the Christmas tree and broke a few special ornaments just so she could get a candy cane. Did I mention the last 3 items occurred in the first 15 minutes after we got home from church?

And to top it off, our car isn't selling, which could mean that J has to get another job just to pay for it. Why do bad things always happen to us???

I can't say that I am too glad to be alive right now. I'm in so much pain and I can't find anything to be thankful for right now.

I apologize for venting to you. I couldn't help myself. Now you can take comfort in the fact that we aren't perfect and everybody has problems.

2002 Chevy Prizm for sale! $4500 OBO

Hey, we're selling our car! It gets great gas mileage (30+ MPG!!!) and it runs great.

The odometer reads around 143K right now, and I know these cars can get up to at least 250K without having too much trouble.

Outside is Silver, inside is Grey. Automatic transmission, FWD, CD player, professionally cleaned inside a few months ago, 2 newer tires, and new brakes. New windshield too! (not that that matters lol).

I promise this is a great car! J drives it to work almost every day, and now he can take the train and bus and save us a few hundred bucks a month, so we don't need the car anymore.

Call me or email me for more details!

Leisel 801-645-6463
leiselshupe@gmail.com
Clearfield, UT

Christmas Questions Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial (saves moolah) 3. When do you put up the tree? I would do it on the first of November (when FM 100 starts playing Christmas music) but J wont let me until the day after thanksgiving. 4. When do you take the tree down? When we get around to it. That usually happens between Christmas and New Years. 5. Do you like egg nog? Only when it's mixed half-nog, half-milk. I can't stand the thick stuff. 6. Favorite gift received as a child? I can't remember many gifts. I do remember one of those really long shiny ribbons on a stick though. That was fun to play with. Speaking of... I wouldn't mind getting one of those this year! LOL 7. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but that reminds me... I need to find out if they still make Little People nativity by Fisher Price. 8. Hardest person to buy for? Everyone is way easy to buy for, except William. I have no clue what he'll appreciate getting for Christmas. He's so tech-y, but he already has everything! 9. Easiest person to buy for? My baby girl. I know exactly what she wants for Christmas! 10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? Like I said before, I don't remember many gifts from my past. 11. Mail or email Christmas card? Mail. I want to get around to scrapping them in a book and having it as a neat tradition we do for Christmas... looking through all the great cards we've gotten in the past. 12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a wonderful life. 13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December 26th. haha 14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No but I think I may have to this year *sheepish grin*. 15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Oranges. I love them.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Blinking colored.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Mannheim Steamroller's Hark! The Herald Trumpets Sing or something like that.

18. Favorite Religious Song? Joy to the World

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home. Especially now that A can run into the living room on Christmas morning.

19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Comet, Cupid, Donnor and Blizten and of course Rudolph. But don't forget Olive, the other reindeer.

20. Do you have an Angel on top or a star? We use whatever we can put up there. Last year it was Mickey Mouse!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One family present on Christmas Eve, the rest in the morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The snow. I like to look at it, but not walk or drive in it. If I could, I'd stay home from the time it first snows to the first day of Spring.

What do you write about when there's nothing to write about?

A is doing great. She has been more interested in the unknown recently and wants to go everywhere. She loves it when I read to her and I love reading to her. Life is so good when she's around.

Even though I know she's being well cared for at my mom's and in-laws' houses every few days while I am at school for a few hours, I really hate having to leave her in the care of someone else. I can't wait until this semester is over and I can spend my days with A. I am looking forward to next semester a little more because all of my classes are online and I don't have to leave A with anyone except when I am in band. And even though I am looking forward to the trip to Carnegie in April, I am sad that I will have to leave A again, and this time for 5 days! J will be here to take care of her, but 5 days is a long time.

Here is a picture of A and Shia in the kitchen. This is the first time I've attempted to put ponytails in her hair, but I am afraid it's still to early. Her hair is just too thin to do anything with! What do you all think about getting her ears pierced?
Her nose is red because she tripped and skinned it. Pretty sad, but she's healing.

Learn a Hymn a day

I am greatly inspired and edified by the hymns, and it's a shame that most of us don't even look in the hymn book except just once a week. So I am going to figure out a schedule for the hymns so that we have one for every day in a year, and hopefully this doesn't take too long to do. Then I hope to find a place to post this list and everyone can benefit from my work. I hope to have links to a place where you can listen to the song online and download the music, and all that fun stuff.

I will be sure to post here when it is done so you know.

Neil Patrick Harris and Gordon Ramsey

I bet I'm the only one who sees this.

These two look similar to me. I don't care what anyone else says. :D

I watched Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Hulu.com. It's pretty funny.

Annie Kate, the fiery Lion-Pig?

Sign: Leo
The Leo Baby is, above all else, loud! Forget sleep for the foreseeable future, Mom and Dad. This is a baby who must be heard and will certainly let everyone in their midst know what they want. Think center of attention, since there really is no other way for this tot! With a Leo baby as part of the plan, family life will revolve around this magnetic child. The Leo baby adores an audience, so it should come as no surprise that many of these tots go on to become stars of stage and screen. This babe is auditioning early on! To that end, this is a child who is also competitive, so maybe they are prepping for that dog-eat-dog Hollywood whirl from day one. When in a play group or any social situation, the Leo baby will make friends easily and will thrive on the interaction, since being on-stage is where they're at. Even so, they will have a hard time sharing things, such as roles, responsibilities, and even toys. The King (or Queen) of everything they see, they will be the one making the rules, after all. To sum up, the Leo baby is the leader of the pack, loads of fun, and will expect to live in the most comfortable of kingdoms. Pity the parent who won't play along!

Ruling Planet: Sun

Element: Fire
Those of you born under the influence of the Chinese Element Fire burn through life with your fierce charm, your impulsive enthusiasm and your restless emotions. A natural leader, you inspire with your decisive action and dramatic expression; people can't help but be magnetically drawn to you. Where will you lead your followers? Likely into an exciting adventure of some sort. You're instinctual, but your mind sparks with new ideas and clever solutions. In love, you're highly-charged -- even combustible at times! Hot tamales to the core, these dynamic individuals can see straight to the heart of an issue and make it work for them. You may seem single-minded, but you just refuse to be swayed from a cause they believe to be important.

Birthstone: Peridot
Peridot, the volcanic gem, is the best known gem variety of mineral olivine, a species name for a series of magnesium-iron rich silicate minerals. Peridot is a beautiful olive green stone. It is much less expensive than green tourmaline. Typically found in volcanic rock, this varying green gemstone has occasionally been found in meteorites, and enjoys the unique distinction of being the only precious gem know to exist in outer space.

Flower: Gladiolus or Poppy (Beauty, Strength of Character, Love, Marriage, and Family)

Chinese Sign: Pig
Contrary to its rather negative reputation in the West, the Pig of Chinese Astrology may be the most generous and honorable Sign of the Zodiac. Pigs are nice to a fault and possess impeccable manners and taste. They have so much of the perfectionist in them that others may be inclined to perceive them as snobs, but this is a misconception. Pigs are simply possessed of a truly luxurious nature, one that delights in finery and riches (in surroundings, food, lovemaking and otherwise). This Sign believes in the best qualities of mankind and certainly doesn't consider itself to be superior. Pigs also care a great deal about friends and family and work hard to keep everyone in their life happy. Helping others is a true pleasure for the Pig, who feels best when everyone else is smiling.

A Pig with no one around to appreciate its giving nature is a sad sight. Pigs are so magnanimous they can appear almost saintly; this can lead some less-than-well-intentioned souls to stomp all over this Sign, and the bad news is, the Pig will take the blows! Pigs make great companions in part because of their refusal to see the more negative or base qualities in a partner, but that rose-colored view can lead to this Sign's allowing itself to be taken advantage of. Contrary to their seemingly benign dispositions, however, Pigs can be quite venomous in response to being crossed by a lover, friend or business partner.

Pigs are highly intelligent creatures, forever studying, playing and probing in their quest for greater knowledge. They can be misinterpreted as being lazy, however, due to their love of reveling in the good stuff; this Sign could happily spend hours on end making love, napping, taking a long bubble bath or dallying over an incredible spread of rich foods. Pigs tend to make wonderful life partners due to their hearts of gold and their love of family. Even so, Pigs can be rather exclusive, choosing to spend time with those who will appreciate them most and ignore the rest of the populace. Pigs would do well to realize that there's more to life than being needed. When they open up their world to a diverse group of people, they will truly bloom.

Sigh...

Everybody's pregnant but me! :(

A is such a cutie though.

Update on teeth, also changing names

So the big purple bump on A's gums is gone. In it's place is a shiny new tooth! I'm glad it was just a tooth. But anyways, that makes nine teeth total. 6 incisors and 3 molars. Pretty fun.

I've decided to go back in all my posts and bring all the names down to an initial for security purposes. I have heard a bit about people being taken advantage of because their names are on their blog and other stuff like that. So that's something that will change soon.

Halloween 2008

So for Halloween this, we dressed A up as a Broncos (of Denver NFL) cheerleader. Too bad she didn't have more hair, or we would've put ribbons in her hair too. She was way cute though.

Here she is all dressed up

Here she is trunk-or-treating with our ward

Here she is with daddy, her biggest fan

Sorting candy! Grandma Jayne says it must be something your born with

So A has been cutting molars, and she got this weird purple bruise thing on her gums... this picture was taken a few days ago, and now the purple bump is HUGE! I don't know whether to be worried or not... I hope the tooth comes out soon.

Now this is funny... I took these blocks that spell FAMILY off our piano to dust it, and they were just sitting there on the shelf. J called out to me: Hey! Look! This family is in disarray! I thought it was hilarious!

And here is J's handiwork. He sorted our food storage. He calls it his army of cans. I'd say the troops look pretty sharp.

And just for fun: