New Christmas Clothes!

Merry Christmas from the Walker Family!

Christmas Day 2010

I didn't take many pictures today- mostly just enjoyed the day. The favorite gift of the day wasn't even for us- Peter and Mary got Beatles Rock Band- it is currently 5:07 p.m., and the kids have been in the basement playing it pretty much all day. I have to admit, though- it is awesome. My kind of video game! It's even getting Price to sing on key, which is quite a feat.

Dolls for the girls- they even kind of look like them!

Making cookies with Mary...

doing puzzles...

and we had a delicious ham dinner in there somewhere, too. We're just enjoying a relaxing day together (well, that and preparing my relief society lesson for tomorrow).

I am so grateful today for Christmas- especially for the birth of the Savior, and for His selfless life. Because of Him I have my family forever.

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve was, as always, crazy and chaotic... for the most part.

We started out with homemade pizza and root beer, and then progressed to our annual Nativity reenactment. This does not tend to be the reverent part of the evening. Here you can watch the drama unfold:

The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary:

Grandma and Great-Grandma look on:

Mary and the baby:

Mary and the other baby:

(just a minute after reading in Luke 2, "the days were accomplished that she should be delivered," the doorbell rang- there was no one there, but this baby in a manger was on the doorstep. The baby was delivered!

Our handsome (if somewhat reckless) shepherds:

The light over the stairs after the reckless shepherds got a little carried away:

The glass we collected off the stairs:

Finally settling down to listen to Rebekah's explanation of the symbols of Christmas:

(we did advent in here too- but no pictures)

PJ's and Great-Grandma Shipley!

and pj's again...

and again with our traditional Christmas Eve books. I'm still not sure how I feel about two Christmas Eve presents, but it sure gets the kids in bed and quiet better than anything else we've tried!

I love my cute family- this was a great Christmas Eve!

This year's Christmas recipes

Every year, I find new recipes, make them, love them (or not), and then promptly forget what I made or where I found the recipe. This year, I decided to record the recipes so I can remember them for next year!

Triple Nut Toffee

(from the Pillsbury recipe magazine- Nov. 2008)

1/3 c. chopped pecans

1/3 c. slivered almonds (I used sliced)

1/3 c. cashew halves and pieces

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. butter

1/4 c. water

1/2 c. chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Line 15x10x1 inch pan with foil. Spread nuts in pan. Bake 6-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light brown. Pour into small bowl; set aside. Set aside pan with foil to use later.

Meanwhile, in heavy 2 quart saucepan, cook sugars, butter and water over medium-high heat 4-6 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture comes to a full boil. Boil 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until candy thermometer reaches 300 F, or small amount of mixture dropped into ice water forms a hard brittle strand.

Immediately pour toffee into foil-lined pan.

Quickly spread mixture to 1/4 inch thickness with rubber spatula. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand about 1 minute or until chips are softened. Spread softened chocolate evenly over toffee. Sprinkle with nuts.

Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Break into pieces. Store in tightly covered container.

Note: this was SO good. I love toffee- and this was easy and delicious. It would be good without the nuts, too, or with only one kind of nut.

Chocolate-Filled Russian Tea Cakes

(from Pillsbury Nov. 2009)

1 c. butter, softened

1/2 powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

2 c. flour

1/4 t. salt

3/4 c. finely chopped walnuts

48 milk chocolate stars (I used 3 chocolate chips per cookie)

1 c. powdered sugar

1 T. red sugar

1 T. green sugar

Heat oven to 400. In large bowl, beat butter, 1/2 c. powdered sugar and vanilla until well mixed. Beat in flour, salt and walnuts.

Shape slightly less than 1 tablespoonful of dough around each chocolate star to make 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until set and bottoms begin to turn golden brown. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix 1 c. pwd. sugar, and colored sugars.

Immediately remove cookies from cookie sheets; roll in sugar coating. Cool completely about 30 minutes, roll in coating again.

Maple-Walnut Shortbread Cookies

(Pillsbury Nov. 2009)

1 c. butter, softened

1/3 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts

1 egg yolk

2 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 t. maple flavoring

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in 1/2 c. walnuts and the egg yolk until blended. Beat in flour, baking powder, salt and maple until stiff cookie dough forms. Shape dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 350. Divide dough into 8 equal parts. On lightly floured surface, shape each part into a rope 12 inches long and 3/4 inch thick. Cut each rope into 6 pieces. On ungreased cookie sheets, place dough pieces about 2 inches apart; flatten slightly.

Bake 15-17 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely about 30 minutes.

In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High about 1 minute 30 seconds, until chips can be stirred smooth. In another small bowl, place 1 c. walnuts.

For each cookie, dip 1/2 inch of 1 long side into chocolate, then coat chocolate edge with walnuts. Place on sheets of waxed paper; let stand about 2 hours or until chocolate is set.

(These shortbread cookies were my other favorites- delicious!)

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

(Managing Your Meals)

2/3 c. butter

3/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1/2 t. vanilla

1 3/4 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

4 t. milk

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, mix in thoroughly. Add sifted dry ingredients together with milk; mix until blended.

Chill 1 hour for ease in handling. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Arrange on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes or until done.

Cool; frost with butter cream frosting. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownie Cups

(I made this one up)

Brownies:

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. flour

1/4 t. baking powder

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/3 c. cocoa

1/4 t. salt

Mix, put into lined mini-muffin tins (fill just over half full).

Cheesecake filling:

1 pkg. cream cheese (softened)

1 egg

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

1/8 t. salt

Mix until smooth. Place a small amount on the top of brownie (maybe 1/2 t.) Bake at 350 until done (sorry, didn't check how long it took).

Cool, top with raspberry pie filling.

(These were good, but I'm still working on the recipe- I want the filling to be a little more like cheesecake- this one was a little thin)

Catching up

Snowman made with our one day of massive snowfall. Since then it's been rain- and this poor snowman has been reduced to a soggy lump.

This has been quite a month so far. The first week of December, I was in bed- or kneeling by the side of the bed, or in the recliner, or in whatever position happened to be the non-painful one for the day. I missed a lot that week: volunteering in three kids' classrooms, parent teacher conferences, piano lessons, tithing settlement, volunteering at Festival of Trees, Meals on Wheels, teaching the relief society lesson on Sunday, making dinner.... Thanks to everyone who filled in for me in various ways that week- especially Tim, Mom and Dad! Thankfully, that is

over for now. I'm doing much, much better. I did go to the back specialist on the 7th, and he scheduled a cortisone shot, but I ended up cancelling it because I was so much better.

The 12th was our annual "Christmas in the Grove" stake choir concert. This is one of my favorite things about the Christmas season every year- I love singing with so many talented musicians, with an amazing director and the ability to testify of Christ through song. It is always a wonderful experience. When I found out that we were staying here, the choir was one of my first thoughts- I can keep singing! This year, Rebekah and Josh sang in the youth choir, too. My goal for next year is to get the younger kids convinced to sing in the children's choir!

Monday the 13th was the ukulele concert for Ethan's class- we pulled it off, they were great, and it's over. That's all I have to say about that.

The rest of that week was kind of crazy- three temple trips (one Relief Society for me, baptisms for Tim and the kids, and sealings for Tim and I on our anniversary), practices for the ward Christmas play, dentist appointments for everyone, and preparations for the ward Christmas

program that Sunday. Saturday was the ward Christmas breakfast- the kids performed the Scripture Scouts Christmas play, and did such a great job. What could be better than kids singing about Christ's birth?

Sunday's Christmas program was wonderful, too. Rebekah, Emma and I sang in the choir, Emma sang a duet for the beginning of Away in a Manger, I accompanied a solo, and everything worked!

And school was out!!!

I was a little leery of the whole week off before Christmas, but it has been great. The older the kids get, the more fun this kind of stuff is. We have shopped for stocking presents, visited the library (twice), exercised at the rec center, made sculptures out of pipe cleaners, made a snowman, gone to the movies (Megamind), baked lots and lots of cookies, eaten lots of cookies, delivered treats to neighbors, made animal habitat models out of salt dough (yeah- I don't know what that has to do with Christmas, but it kept the kids busy for a really long time), met Grandma and Grandpa Walker for dinner and a drive through the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights, and Tim took the older kids to the BYU basketball game last night. I love having time to plan things to do each day- no school, no homework, no practices- it's so nice to have a break!

The view from here...

This has been my view for a week now. Yes, that's the laptop, my knees, and the far wall. I herniated a disc in my back last Saturday, and it is taking a long time to heal. I can be up for short periods of time now, but the progress sure seems slow. I can feel that it's getting better now, though. Meanwhile, I'm pretty much a bust as a Mother, wife, school volunteer, Relief Society counselor, piano teacher, and housekeeper. Thank goodness for Tim, Mom, Dad and the kids!

Mom Walker's Birthday Party!

Tim's Mom's birthday was the day before Thanksgiving- the brothers and sisters decided to arrange a surprise party for her that Friday- all of the siblings were there, along with her brother and sister and some other extended family. It was fun! I gave Rebekah the camera and asked her to take some pictures- this is what I got:

Mom has been an amazing blessing in my life- she is such an example of Christlike obedience and service, and of humility. She is kind to everyone, and is very slow to judge or criticize. I have only felt love and acceptance from her from the first day we met, and I am so grateful for that. She is a wonderful grandmother to my children- they know that she loves them unconditionally, but she also takes every opportunity to teach the gospel to them.
We love you, Mom!

Thanksgiving 2010

Yes, I brought the camera to our Thanksgiving celebration. Did I take even one picture? Uh, no. Use your imagination.

We didn't have school Wednesday, so we cooked, cleaned, and waited around for Matt and Jenni to come with Abby and Tommy! We had a good (short) visit, and then packed ourselves, our bags, orange rolls, sweet potatoes, cranberry relish, and 5 pies in the car and drove down to Levan.

It was just us and Mom and Dad Walker for dinner this year- pretty low-stress. We all had a wonderful time. As we drove to Levan, we were watching the outdoor thermometer in the car- it was cold enough in PG (I think 19 when we left), but it just kept dropping- just before we reached Levan it hit 1. Ouch. It wasn't quite that cold at their house when we arrived- more like 4, but still. Overnight, it got down to -12. Needless to say, we skipped the ATV riding this time around!

The kids were spoiled for breakfast- it would have been cold cereal at home, for sure, but Grandpa gave in and made his famous pancakes for the kids.

We had a wonderful dinner- everything was delicious, and it was so nice to be with Mom and Dad. Of course, there was plenty of football watching to be done after- mostly classic BYU (that way you don't have to stress about the outcome!)

We headed home after pie that evening.

This Thanksgiving I am truly grateful for my life. I am grateful for:
-a wonderful husband
-kids who try hard, learn from their mistakes, and who want to do what's right
-parents who are patient with me and who have welcomed us into their home for the last 2 1/2 years
-Tim's parents, who are such a blessing and example in our lives
-Tim's new job!
-a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for our family and directs us in the way that will bring us the greatest joy
-enough- food, clothing, stuff, money- not a lot, just enough!
-friends- especially old ones (as in we've been friends a long time- not that you're old!)
-sisters
-good schools and teachers for our kids
-good church leaders/teachers
-the temple
-prayer

Tim turns 40!

Yes, he did it- Tim has been around for 4 whole decades! I opted for the minimalist approach on the candles. That was a really good cake, by the way- pineapple upside down with sliced almonds. Yum....

I have been thinking a lot lately about Tim and his role as husband and father in our family. I am especially thankful for him this year. I am coming to realize how incredibly blessed I am to be his eternal partner. Even before we got married, I knew he was a good man- but I had no idea, really. Tim wants to do what is right. He tries his very best to be worthy of personal revelation and to follow that revelation. He loves me- often more than I deserve, and shows me that love, unconditionally, every day. Even when I'm a pill. He is such a good father for our children, and they love him for it. You only need to know of our children's obsession with Peanuts, Schoolhouse Rock, geography, history and 80's music to get a feeling for how much they want to emulate their dad! I am eternally grateful to Tim for his example to our sons (and daughters) of what a righteous priesthood holder looks like. They have an excellent role model.

Happy Birthday- I love you!

Bek's Band Trip!

Rebekah had a great first year in marching band this year- she made lots of great friends, got lots of exercise, and got major flute practice! The end of season trip was to Disneyland this year- she had an amazing time, and is looking forward to next year already!

Good News

I thought I'd better write the events of the past few weeks down before I forget the details. Here goes:

On October 15th, Tim called me from school, saying that he had been given a job announcement by the head of his program for a psychometrics* position with an educational software company in Provo. He asked if I thought he should apply- I told him he should pray about it. Not 10 minutes after we hung up, he called back- someone from the company had called him and asked him to apply.

Tim felt good about it, so he submitted his application, and they set up some appointments with him- one time he went out with an educational researcher to work to kids who have been using the test in the schools, and another day he talked with the head of the research department about how to fix some of their problems. On the 22nd, the head of HR set up an appointment for Tim to meet with the CEO.

We went to the temple that morning- I just felt like I needed the reassurance that I always find there. It helped a lot- I felt at peace- but we still didn't know what was going to happen. In the afternoon, Tim drove to Provo to meet with the CEO. Afterwards, he was very enthusiastic and hopeful- she told him that she believes very much in the Book of Mormon admonition to pray over your flocks and fields... and that she prays for the right people to be found to work at their company. She was encouraging (though not specific) about salary, and acted like she really liked Tim. I was excited at this point- looking at houses, rearranging my thinking... and I was really hoping for a job offer the next day. Nothing. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown, or a heart attack, or possibly both. Thursday we still heard nothing. I finally had to take a deep breath, settle down, and remember that things would work out.

Friday, October 29th, Tim heard from one of the employees there, asking him to do some analysis for them as a trial. So much for date night, huh? Tim spent about 6 hours that night completing the analysis and offering his suggestions for change.

We got through the weekend, not knowing what to expect. Monday we heard nothing. Tuesday morning, Tim left for school. A few hours later, he called. "Look at your email." I did- he had forwarded me a job offer- part time until April (while Tim tries to finish as much school work as possible) and then full-time. They need him immediately. He started today :).

It's been crazy- I've struggled a little with a couple of things. First, we have several friends and family members who are out of work and looking for a job. They are trying hard. They are being righteous. It doesn't really seem fair that Tim was just handed a job. I don't know the answer to that still, but I do know that Heavenly Father will take care of their families, too. Second, I was all psyched up to move out-of-state. Not that I don't love Utah, but my mindset for the last 2 years has been that we would be moving far away, at least for a while. It has been a little hard to rearrange my thinking. But that's just because I'm stubborn.

Aside from those two issues, I am thrilled. Tim is totally excited for this job- the work really appeals to him, and the people have been great so far. The pay is generous- and way more than we've ever made before (that's not saying much, since Tim has been a teacher). We can actually think about buying our own house!

So we're staying here. We won't be able to buy a house until spring, when Tim starts full-time, but we're looking! Our preference would be to stay in Pleasant Grove- mostly for the sake of Rebekah, who has made wonderful friends here, and only has 3 years of school left. We would really like to stay in the PGHS boundaries. We would love to stay in our stake, and even in our ward, although that may be too much to ask. Mostly, we're excited and grateful. What an amazing journey we are on!



*Yeah, I know no one is going to know what a psychometrician does. I had to google it, myself. Basically, it has to do with the science of measurement- figuring out how to make effective tests, what data to collect, and how to analyze the data to figure out how and if kids are learning. It involves lots of statistics. It's what Tim's been studying for the last 2 1/2 years. That's my take on it.

Halloween 2010

Halloween around here is kind of an extended event. The Saturday before, we have the neighborhood Halloween carnival. It was very nearly rained out this year, but we did get to play games in neighbors' garages, and have yummy chili and doughnuts in another garage. Very fun, if wet.

The great thing about the week-early party is that it forces me to get costumes ready early. Then, when the kids need costumes for the school parties/parade and trick-or-treating, they're all ready. Bonus!

I have no pictures of the carnival, and my school parade pictures, predictably, turned out blurry. I did manage to get pictures of everyone in their costumes, however.

We started the night with a half-hearted attempt at a spooky dinner:

They didn't turn out quite like the recipe showed, but hey- they still got eaten.

And here are the kids' costumes:

Emma as Padme:

Annie the Princess:

Ethan as Legolas without the hair (he wouldn't even consider a wig):

Josh and Price- Secret Service.
You could tell we were in Utah County, since everyone thought they were missionaries.

Trick or treating at Grandma Shipley's apartment. The kids got quite the haul visiting her neighbors!

By the end of the night we were tired, soaked and in sugar-induced comas, but it's over!
Bring on November!