Christmas Photos

I think, after years of trying different things, that we finally have a tradition for Christmas Eve dinner: Cornish game hens. The kids liked them. I baked 4 and we cut them in half with kitchen shears and each person got a half. I forgot to take a picture until after they were cut so they weren't looking as nice. So I cropped out most of the picture...

After dinner we acted out the nativity. Dennis was Samuel the Lamanite.

Jeffrey and Mary were Joseph and Mary.

Alexa was the angel, Camille the narrator.

Here are our shepherdsand wise men.

After the nativity we watched the Tabernacle Choir program on PBS. Then the kids went to bed.
Dennis and I had decided to surprise the kids and set up Christmas in the new unfinished, uninsulated living room. We tarped the ceiling, walls and floor on Tuesday. We also covered the floor with carpet and blankets. We got some of the wrapping done earlier in the day but most of is still needed to be done after the kids went to bed. I think we got about 3 hours of sleep.

The tree, of course had to stay in it's original spot inside.

I'm sure the kids will remember this Christmas. It was made very memorable, not only by the new room but also by the absence of electricity! We got tons of snow through the night and power was out throughout a lot of the state. It came on about noon.

We already had our kerosene heater set up to warm our room. Dennis had also bought a propane heater the day before. We stayed very cozy.

After presents and breakfast we shoveled the walk. Then we built a snowman.

After the snow fell, the wind blew. The drifts are big and beautiful.

We had such a wonderful Christmas. I feel a little sad that it is over.

December 23

Brandon, Landon, Jeffrey and Alexa dug out a drift. They made the cave even bigger later.

Notice the tractor in the neighbor's yard in the photo below. I just have to say here that we have wonderful farmers in our ward who faithfully plow everyone out. If you look closely at the post above, (the picture with the snowman) you can see the same tractor in the same driveway plowing out our elderly neighbor on Christmas day. They were out today again clearing driveways up down the road.

Let it Snow!

I ran out this morning to take a picture of our beautiful trees. This top picture is with the flash on. I thought the falling snow looked cool. Below is without the flash and you can't tell that it is snowing. Not too long after this we got tons of wind. We have 4-foot drifts around our house now! Our mail was not delivered today so Dennis and I ran to the post office to mail our last minute stuff. Some of the roads are pretty bad. It's nice to not have anywhere to go!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Two of my Projects and Mary's Birthday

I made Mary a dress for her birthday. I think it turned out okay. Sorry she is picking her nose. It was the best picture I could manage today.

I thought this was a cute picture. But please ignore the cake. Every birthday I think I will do much better but they always turn out kind of ugly. But my kids are so nice and think they are great. I guess that is what counts!

We had a giving tree at our ward party. The gifts are for children who end up at the Women's Crisis Center in town. One of the gifts I picked from the tree was jewelry for a girl age 9. Camille likes what I made and that is her age so hopefully the little girl will really like the jewelry. I sure hope so!

Sweet and Short

I have been so swamped with projects. So just a quick post to let you know we are alive and well. Pictures will be coming soon of some of the projects.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Mary's 2nd birthday. I thought it was so cute that the first thing she did the night we put up the tree is climb back in the corner behind the tree. I was too late with the camera and got her while she was crawling out.
Little Sweetie.

Count Your Many Blessings

The other day we had our door and window taken out that goes in between our old house and the new addition. They were moved to their new location in the back of the new. It is wonderful to have all the doors and windows in place. Yesterday when the wind blew and there was a bit of rain, I went out in the new part and marveled at how air tight it is. I walked to each window and looked out and dreamed of the day it will all be finished. But what a good feeling to have it all enclosed and weather proof!

So now in between the old and the new, our builder friend just boarded it all up. I was a bit stressed about not being able to access the new from our house. We go out there all the time to get under the house. That is where our food storage and many other things are. So Dennis made us a fabulous temporary door. It is not beautiful (at all!), but it is very functional. And it is probably warmer in this part of the house than before! We hung up blankets to cover up the insulation.

Dennis put an old door knob on it. Quit ingenious, I think!This is from the outside with the door open. (above)Sometimes, when I get feeling impatient with the whole long process, I try to remind myself how blessed I am. I feel so blessed that we even get to add onto our house. I gave a talk in church on Sunday and loved this quote I found from Mary Ellen Edmunds: "I know there will always be many people who have much, much more than I do--more time, more clothes, more talent, more hair, more pets, more toys, more children, more things--but there will also always be millions who have much much less than I do, and in many situations much, much less than they need. I began to understand it is not what I have, but what I enjoy that brings real happiness." (italics added)

I'm also so grateful for Dennis, that he takes care of the little things. He didn't have to put up a door. We could have just gone out our front door and in the new door. I like this door a lot because to me it says, "I love you!"

A Little More Progress

On Thursday we got our siding started! Dennis asked the guy who framed it how much he would charge for siding. His bid came in over $1000 less than the lowest of our other bids. We jumped on it! We also got our windows put in.By the end of the day Friday they had the front and side all done.
They got a good start on the back.

Here is the inside--the new living room door and window. (You can see our vehicles through the window. They usually park in a different spot but the siding guys have their trailer in the way so we had to park right in front.)

Tomorrow... I don't think I'm really excited for this part... they will take out this window and door and move them to their new location. We will have to be boarded up until we are ready to open things up. (Eventually this whole wall will come out and there will be a step down into the old.) It will make my kitchen dark and gloomy, I'm afraid. But Dennis is going to rig up something that hinges and opens so that we can get in and out of the old into the new. That will be nice. And it will also be nice to be able to go out the new back door. It has had house wrap over it for 2 weeks and has been unusable.

Yesterday afternoon, Dennis, Jeffrey and Brandon built these new temporary steps. They are much nicer than the cinder blocks. I'm sure OSHA would smile a *little* more favorably on these steps.

I never did report that my dad and brother, Dave got the wiring nearly done a couple of weeks ago.

Plumbing is the next step. Wish us luck.

What do I do all day?

Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do that day which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know.

~Charles Kingsley~

quoted in The Family Home Evening Resource Book, p. 231
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Have you ever wondered what your grandmother's days were like when she was your age? I have and so for the sake of my children's children I wanted to post what I do with my time.

I wake up, three or four mornings a week at 5:30 and go for a 3 mile walk. Some people are impressed by this. But really it is the buddy system that makes sure it works, so I do it for my friend and she does it for me. I know that she is either in my driveway waiting for me there, or on the weeks that I drive, she is waiting for me at her house with her shoes on and all bundled up for our walk. Plus it is fun to visit. I really, really enjoy walking, once the hard part of getting out of bed is over with.

I come home from my walk and start getting things ready for the kids to go to school. Dennis and I work in the kitchen together to get lunches and breakfast ready. I mainly make the lunches and he mainly makes breakfast. Jeffrey, Brandon and Camille are supposed to get their piano practicing done before breakfast. When they are done and ready they are supposed to come help assemble lunches and set the table. (On really good days everyone does what they are supposed to do!) I also try to get into the bathroom to help Camille and Alexa fix their hair. They are getting good at fixing their own hair, which is so nice! The kids get on the bus at 7:30 and Dennis leaves shortly thereafter for school.

At this point my tasks usually happen in a slightly different order each day. I clean up the kitchen,

(here is our Friday morning breakfast. And of course that is not booze, it is Mona Vie, a nutrition juice--a nice side to sugared cereal, don't you think!) start laundry, bathe Drew and Mary, make my bed, (but this day, Dennis made the bed for me!!!! He does a more exact job than I do)plan and clean up whatever needs cleaning. Lately Mary has been insisting on story time even before she gets dressed.
I get our lunch about 11:30. After that Mary takes her nap and Drew watches PBS kids or a movie and sometimes even falls asleep during that time. Today he did snooze. I thought he looked most uncomfortable! (Do you feel sorry for him? He needs a blanket and a pillow!)It is so nice and quiet if he sleeps. This is my favorite time of day! I sit on my bed and read my scriptures, write in my journal, read conference talks and anything else of a spiritual nature. Then I either work on a creative project or read a novel, if I have one going. If I don't get a little time to myself I start feeling a little grouchy.

I love love love the days I don't have to go anywhere. I am such a homebody!
Today was a bit busy. Tomorrow we are feeding the missionaries and I wanted to make a pumpkin pie for dessert. (I might add that this is home grown pumpkin that I froze a couple of years ago.) Plus I am taking a potato salad tomorrow to our ward craft day. This is just the cooked and cut up potatoes. Veggies and dressing coming soon!So this all happened during nap time. I still had time to work on some cards. For some reason I'm showing my messy craft table. I don't know why. (For posterity's sake perhaps, I mean, wouldn't you like to see something like this of your grandmother's?) Cleaning it off happens every so often. Should be oftener.

The kids get home about 4:00. I give them a snack and then they to do their homework and their chores. Sometimes Jeffrey and Brandon go to work for people in the neighborhood. The past couple of days they have been helping a couple in our ward get ready to sell a house. I'm so glad they have a way to earn some money.

The kids each have one night a week they help with dinner. We eat whatever time Dennis gets home, unless he has an away game. Evenings are so different, depending on whether any of us have things going on. but we do try to read scriptures as a family at 8:15 and have family prayer. Then the kids go to bed. I like to read or craft after they get to bed. I usually try to get to bed by 10:30.

Jeffrey prepared our lesson in home evening last Monday and gave the quote that is at the beginning of this post. I have been thinking about it all week and it is what prompted me to type this all out. It's been fun!

So I end where I began. Here is another quote from Jeffrey's lesson:

Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that power to work is a blessing, and that love of work is success.

~David O. McKay~