White Christmas

With all the snow (24 inches in 24 hours) last weekend, it made for a beautiful white Christmas in Maryland. Today was cloudy, and I never even made it outside. This picture was taken on Sunday afternoon, already 5 days ago, but there's plenty of snow left. Below are pictures taken of our backyard. Everyone made snow caves.


It was a very merry Christmas here. I don't know why LittleBuddy was up so many times in the night, but I had to have my first nap before 10 in the morning. We got several games and have had a great time playing them all. We talked to all our grandparents and cousins and felt the peace and joy of just being together.
On Wednesday evening our neighbor passed away. She was just a few months older than me. Steven had helped to dig her car out of the snow Sat. evening around 6.Her husband had come to help her get home and at 8:30 that night she had gone into cardiac arrest and never woke up. Our hearts grieve for her husband and two sons still at home. It made us all realize that just being together is gift enough.
It is great to have Shaena back at home again. She's already treated us to her fabulous homemade salsa and been a great help in getting the house put back together after it all came unraveled Christmas morning. For breakfast, she had the idea to make a pizza with crescent rolls as the base. On top we put grated bake potatoes, grated cheddar and mozzarella, 9 eggs, and some crispy bacon. We baked it at 375 or 30 min. and it was great. The only thing we would add next time would be a bunch of diced green onions. Still, we loved it. It went great with our cinnamon rolls.


She gave me a Willow Tree statue of a mother and daughter, titled Chyrsalis. It says - to protect and cherish and give wings to fly. It made me cry. Being a mother is the only job I've ever wanted and to have my daughter appreciate me being her mother is a blessing to my heart and soul.
We're looking forward to some crafting time tomorrow. Tonight we're still recovering from her arrival after midnight and staying up until 2am talking, then little brother keeping the whole household up on Christmas Eve. We'll sleep well tonight and tomorrow, more time to play. I am so blessed to have this family. At Christmas time I thank the Lord for his plan for eternal families. Without Him, none of this would be possible. With Him, all things are possible.

Another Post

If anyone reads this, I'm sure its a sudden shock that I'm posting again. Its probably partly from guilt - I have the Christmas letter written. It's been done for a couple of weeks. I just put off copying it. Then Friday night, after our ward activity, I thought, Okay now I'll go downstairs and copy the letter, get everything ready to be mailed while it snows, and send them all out Monday morning. So, down I go, and I get three copies made until the ink cartridge lets me know its out of ink, and since we were getting an inch of snow an hour for between 23-24 hours, today was the first time I could venture out to get a replacement. (The last one lasted for over a year and I just forget about it when its so reliable - learned that lesson!)

Except for sending out the letters and getting one more giftcard and making a couple of homemade gifts, still, for my kids - Christmas is ready! I can't believe it. Actually looking at this list, I'm not done yet - wishful thinking!!! Still, it feels good to presents all wrapped and under the tree, packages sent a week ago, baking done and delivered tonight. (One of my neighbors said it was the first time they'd ever been caroled to, which we decided to do since it was Family Night, so that was special for us to be their first!) We've had all kind of service opportunities, and I still can't believe iwe've been able to get it all done. I guess that's just a testimony that when doing the Lord's week, He can make up the deficits without us even realizing it.

The fridge is full, the children are home from school for another day, so there'll be more tubing and snowball fights and snow forts, and they've had lots of activities with their friends, which is a sign we're not out rushing about when we have time for the people who matter the most to us. We're keeping Christmas music on in the car, on the stereo, on PBS yesterday - did you hear Andrea Bocelli? Fabulous! Had to buy that CD today!! Music is such a big part of the holidays for me. I think I've had some part in a ward's Christmas program for more years than I can remember. Probably, for most of my marriage, and its been fun. I really enjoyed preparing with Steven, who is playing The First Noel with myself and Kristine Knudson. Hopefully we get to make it up this coming week, which got snowed out. Steven's winter concert was wonderful. Unfortunately Ryan's has gotten canceled - it was supposed to be tomorrow, so we'll look forward to his make-up one in January.

Some Creativity Again

Today - a big, beautiful snow day! I love it. It looks like we have about 18 inches outside right now. Life slows down. We all relax and the rush and hustle of the holidays grinds to a halt. Its back to just family and what we have here.

I started my Christmas baking on Thursday night. Today I did some more.

And, now, more time to post some photos I've wanted to share for over a month.

These are the felt turkeys I found at a dollar bin somewhere and used to make our place cards for Thanksgiving - a little ink and their names - easy.
Now for a lot more work, all done by my sister-in-law, Rebecca Jacobs.

Its a countdown for Christmas in a mini-muffin tin, held together with magnetic labels of the numbers. Inside are piece of papers I typed up with an activity every day, most of them service oriented. Its been great fun for the children to do something.
She used the magnetic material you use in a heating vent, which is light weight. Then she used her Xyron to adhere cute patterned papers to the front, then she used her die cut numbers and more Xyron on those to stick on top of the paper, and after all that, she added white snowflakes with more Xyron on them. . . I think I need a Xyron! The ribbon is satin in an apple green - just love it! She is one talented lady!

Mothering

This young man of mine is a blessing. All of my children are. This week he has been at the center of attention. Monday was his orchestra concert. Tuesday we worked hard together, he on cello, me on piano, Ryan on viola, for a performance in church on Sunday.

Wednesday was an usual day. I was requested to come to the high school to discuss my son's and my choice that he not read a couple of books which we found offensive in content. I am not afraid of controversial topics or dark themes, and recognize that clearly life is not all roses and that hard things happen to many people. However, I am concerned that we teach in a way that elevates and inspires people to be their best. I want to expose my children to the best literature that is out there, that models excellent writing and causes one to think about their own life and how they can reach their own potential. There are so many good books available that I don't understand why they are being overlooked for books that have profanity spready thickly and are overtly sexual. Through his high school experience, he has been exposed only to the dark side, rarely to the higher road. I insisted that he read some of the great literature of the world. Does it isolate him? Yes, but he is already isolated in his class by taking a stand on many controversial subjects they have discussed all year. He has gotten quite used to feeling like he was the "lone voice crying in he wilderness." And that day, I felt it too.

I was accused of being against diversity, because one of the books was about the life of black man, but I explained I love the book To Kill A Mockingbird. I was accused of usurping the teacher's authority as a professional educator, but I explained that my value system as my child's parent was being usurped by a teacher who has not invested 17 years in raising this boy to think along a higher standard. I was accused of being too sheltering, that he would be not be prepared for the realities of college life. I praised BYU's standards as being equal to my own, that my son selected that school by himself, because of what he felt while walking on that campus. I was accused of harming my child's classmates because they are missing out on the goodness of Steven. I agreed, that was sad for them, but wondered aloud how much that would be true, as the teacher has allowed them to laugh out loud at some of the opinions he has expressed in class, with the teacher allowing that to happen. They argued that literature is to expose children to the world and that I was preventing my son from being adequate exposure. I explained that he had heard enough swear words from walking down their hallways to sufficiently be exposed enough for a lifetime, that he did not need to read more to be adequately exposed.

Some people advocate exposure to everything, somehow thinking that what matters most is exposure, thus if you're exposed, you're educated. In some schools they even hand out condoms. To me, exposure is not the purpose of education. It is to train a mind to be disciplined and to learn how to do something correctly. Anyone can throw lines on a paper, but someone who knows English, or whatever language they write in, can use them correctly to make something wonderful. Is not the purpose of learning English to increase one's vocabulary, to understand what is being communicated and to learn how to put words together clearly in a way that the person who read them is now better for having read them? My experience says that teaching difficult subjects can be done without having unlimited profanity and rampant sexuality. That was really my only issue. Please allow my son to read something that isn't utterly profane and graphically sexual. In the end, they allowed my son to read books I approve of, without swearing, sexual promiscuity, the rationalization of a man who had incest with his daughter and rampant drug use. I don't think he's really missing very much from missing out on those books. Instead, he gets to read a piece of classical literature that everyone puts on their lists of top 100 books to be read in this lifetime. Taking a stand isn't always easy or popular, but it makes me feel better at the end of the day that a mother can still make a difference in the life of her child.

Tennessee

It was a such a dash to get ready for this trip with ward boundary changes and meeting many of the new families all in the days preceeding the trip, that I forgot some things I only need on a trip - like my camera battery recharger. So, my photos are limited. Fortunately Mike brought along his camera too so we could remember our outing to see an actual replica of the Parthenon. Did you know Nashville is referred to as the "Athens of the South," for all its universities? I also missed photos of the largest civil war graveyard, right in Franklin. Another day we walked downtown where the Ryman Auditorium and all the record stores and honky tonk bars and music clubs were. It certainly had a country feel to it, and those Southern accents we heard everywhere really made us feel right at home. I loved the many brick homes we saw, and especially Rob and Becki's new home. It's beautiful and modern and comfy and homey. What great hosts they were and what fun we had with everyone!!!

Wouldn't be a trip to the Nashville area without some country music influence, would it? My mom loved seeing a Minnie-Pearl impersonator. She was pretty cute!


MyMike doing the dishes after many a meal. This was Thanksgving. He doesn't cook, but boy, can he clean. He also did 95% of the driving there and back, and had such a good time the whole week. We played a lot of games and relaxed. Life is good.

One of the funnest parts of our trip was all the laughs and smiles. This is Brett doing some Karaoke. He and Eric both sang "Play That Funky Music White Boy." What fun! and then I sang too. Note that Brett is covering his eyes - he just can't stand it! Really, we all just cracked each other up so much, I asked Ryan if his mouth hurt from smiling so much, and he admitted it did. I don't think I've heard him so happy for so many days in a row. . . the joy of cousins and being able to all be silly together!

My brother, Rob, and my parents around the kitchen table. Do you see the chalkboard on the left? Becki made that and would write inspiring quotes on it. What a neat idea! I am inspired by her creativity! Wait til I show you what she made for us for Christmas in a future post! She's amazing, and a terrific cook too. Rob is lucky to be fed so well. We all ate so much and loved every bite. I came back with several new recipes which are Must Makes from now on, like Sweet Potatoes roasted with cinnamon sticks and maple syrup - YUM!! And homemade focaccia that can be made in twenty minutes - Super YUM!

This is one of my favorite photos of the week . . . this is why we came, to be together - generations, far-away cousins. . .it was all good! And, at the Opry Shop behind them, I picked up a "Grand Old Opry" guitar pick for a buck; my bargain of the trip, only barely beating my $2.99 "Nashville Fiddler" CD of awesome musicians performing classics of folk music. A little bargain shopping is a must!

The girls. . . in a home where 13 stayed, only 4 of us were girls. We love each other dearly and relished each and every moment of togetherness.

The big boys ... Adam and Steven both were working on their BYU-Idaho applications this week, hoping to be roommates next year. Matthew is a car guy and plays piano too. These are all GREAT kids!

A highlight was going to the temple in Franklin. Its literally less than ten minutes from my brother's house. I think its the smallest temple I've ever been in, but the spirit was the same and it felt familiar quickly. It was only open for two sessions the day we went. It seemed the best way to show my gratitude on this Thanksgiving holiday for the tremendous blessings of eternal families. And it was more special to be there with Mike, my parents, and Rob and Becki. We took our children there the first day we were touring around, so they could walk around and feel the spirit there too.


MyGirl in front of Miley Cyrus' farm. Shortly after we got there a truck pulled up and we hoped it was Billy Ray, but it wasn't. She was home. . . later spied at the Franklin Walmart, according to my brother, who shopped there the next day. We know we were on surveillance when another minute later, another car pulled up and told us we had to leave. Not that we're all that into Hannah Montana, but when in Franklin, TN, you gotta see the locals. We ate dinner on Friday at the "Bar-B-Cutie" which was better than Famous Dave's, and as I'm looking around I spot a guitar and photo signed by Diamond Rio. This is a small restaurant. In fact, when we got there, we had the place to ourselves. In Nashville, its just a small world when it comes to music moguls!