2010

What did we do in 2010...

Had a visit from Maddy, Ellie and Drew


Had a visit from extended family members


Moved into our new home


Started a garden


Attended opening day of ReAl Salt Lake with family from Seattle


Went Go-Kart racing for the first time


Added a patio to the house


Added a cousin's wedding



Watched the neighbor kids play in puddles at the end of our driveway


Got caught in a rain storm


Harvested from our garden


Went to a drive-in movie


Harvested pumpkins


Painted rooms in our home


Spent a weekend in Park City


Carved our pumpkins for Halloween


Attending the BYU/Utah football and didn't freeze!


Had Michele's family over for Thanksgiving Dinner


Had a Very Merry Christmas


As the sun sets on 2010 I realize we did a lot more than I thought this year. We had a very wonderful and blessed year. I hope that everyone has a safe and peaceful 2011!

Christmas 2010

We had an interesting Christmas this year.

Ok not really. We did the usual Christmas Eve festivities with Rick's sister and her family. That was great fun. Rick's boy eventually joined us as well. On the drive home Rick mentioned that he didn't feel too well. It continued into Christmas and we ended up staying home watching movies all day. No family visits :( It's all good though. I did get a new faucet in the powder room and Rock Band 3 with the keyboard. It is really hard I know how to play the piano! We also received an adorable Gnome representing the great rugby team of Leicester! (Thanks Wayne!!)
We are so grateful, as you know by reading my blog, for our home. It was our Christmas present this year. It was so nice to have the space this year for my Christmas decorations. (Which we still took today the day after Christmas.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Indoctrinated

I have become indoctrinated into the LDS Christmas Concert culture.

Prior to last night I had not attended a Christmas Concert at the Conference Center. I have lots of the cd's from prior years but had never bothered going. Well last night I did and I had a fantastic time. It was also the first time I had heard David Archuleta sing. Yes, I had avoided him thus far. (He sang at half time of the season opener for ReAl but I was too busy chatting with others to pay attention.) He did a great job.

Michael York was the other guest and he did an incredible job. He spoke wish such conviction about the beginnings of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that I think he truly believed what he was saying.
Here are a few things I have learned because of my insider information -

Many know that MoTab is self sustaining. For their tours they only use money from sales of their cd's, dvd's, etc. They also pay for the guest's at the Christmas concert out of this money. There have been several celebrities asking for very large sums of money and after the concert, they have returned the money. They are able to feel the Spirit and conviction of the choir in what they believe that they can't take the money.

Micheal York is a very kind and clean man. He practically cleaned the green room each night.
David Archuleta's "people" don't realize that the security at the Conference Center is top notch and were worried about things. In the end, he was not mauled to death by 12 year old girls.

I supposed I am going to have to plan on attending each year now.

Christmas Lunch

Thursday I was able to attend a Christmas lunch where Elder Christofferson spoke. It was a fun intimate setting. He had a wonderful message and joked around. It is so fun to see the Apostles away from giving a sermon.
One of the things Elder Christofferson mentioned was this poem:

To My Brothers and Sisters,

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up... It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5 Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My
name.

9.. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them,
buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about
your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :

I LOVE YOU,

Jesus Christ

It was a very fun experience and I look forward to attending again next year.

Thanksgiving #24

I am thankful for YouTube If it weren't for YouTube you wouldn't have the awesome videos in my music post. I am able to share all sorts of videos with family because of YouTube that normally they wouldn't easily be able to see because they are too big to email.

I am also able to see videos of my niece living out of state.

I was thinking the other day that MTV isn't what is used to be and groups don't need to make music videos any more. Then I thought, no wait, they do - they make them for YouTube now.
I was able to find the name of one of my all time favorite Christmas movies because of YouTube, and in turn I was able to find the DVD and add it to my collection - A Muppet Family Christmas

YouTube is pretty dang cool in my book.

Fun Photo

I am looking through my photos to find 3 I want to use for a project on Saturday when I saw this one of my family. We are missing a few people but it is still one of my all time favorites. I just love the personalities coming out.

Santa - Believing, or Not

I have to admit something, I don't think I ever believed in Santa Clause. Seriously. My mom never really did stuff to make him real. I remember there being gifts that had a different wrapping on them and of course the cookies were half eaten. If I did believe in him it was long before I really remember life. I remember my mom filling the stockings in front of me. I know that I was the one doing it by the time I was 14. I was the one eating the cookies and drinking the milk too. Even though I remember taking my youngest sister and helping her put them out. I don't know how my brother and sisters felt/though. I am going to have to ask them...hey Maddy...did you believe in Santa?

I mentioned this to my mom one day. She said that she never did anything because she didn't want to lie to us. (She thinks she is a hippy but she isn't a very good one.) Anyway, she said that if she were to do it over again she would make a big deal about Santa because it is a good learning experience for kids to learn and figure things out on their own that he isn't real.

Then there is the flip side. I have a friend who loves Christmas and Santa so much that I know at age 12 his son still 100% believed in Santa. He would get in fights with kids at school about it. I think my friend was going to tell him before he started Jr High but seriously....there has to be a stopping point.

As for the other Holiday people...nope never believe in them either. I knew my mom was the tooth fairy. I knew she hid our Easter Baskets behind the drapes and I was also doing that by the time I was 14.

I don't think of this as being sad though. Well maybe a little but it is the way it was and not much I can do about it know. I will tell you this, I sure as heck did NOT like sitting on Santa's lap! (I had to clear all my photos off my hard drive this week or I would post a photo.)

Christmas Ornament - Our First Christmas

I forgot to post on Saturday.
This has been a really good exercise for me. Today's ornament I had first thought we purchased at Disneyland but as soon as I started typing I remembered, this is from my aunt!
This is our only ornament that says "Our First Christmas" It doesn't have the year but that is all good. It does have a little hole on the bottom so we put a light inside of it and it illuminates from the inside.
I am happy we have a First Christmas Together ornament.

Christmas Ornaments

A few weeks ago I came across a blog where someone was writing about their Christmas ornaments. I thought that would be a fun thing to blog about so for the next few weeks, leading up to Christmas, I am going to blog about my ornaments.
Rick and I were married on December 14th 2006. We headed to Disneyland the next day. We came back a few days before Christmas. We had a wonderful time there and were able to buy LOTS of ornaments. Today I am going to post photos of the first two I decided to buy.
I was unable to find any that had the date on them or said First Christmas so the above one had to do when it came to "First Christmas."

They did however, have an ornament that was all weddingy. I could have put in a photo from our wedding but decided on us at Disneyland. Techinically it was outside California Adventure but we all get the point. My ornaments all mean something to me but these being from our first Christmas being married mean something extra to me.

HELP! - Christmas/Easter Traditons that Center around Christ or Other Spiritual Aspects Needed

I am on the enrichment committee at church. (Only heaven knows why. All I can do is stuff on my computer!) We are trying to put together a book that has holiday traditions (I think specifically Christmas but I figure Easter is good too) that center around the Spirit of the Season.
I know that most of my friends have little kids and so this is probably something that you don't have many of yet BUT I know that you are the type of moms who are so on top of this stuff that you probably really do have great ideas (I am specifically thinking about my friends from high school!)
Please share your ideas with me!!