Christmas

We had a nice Christmas Eve devotional, with our candlelight singing.  I have realized that we don't sound very good singing, but it's still meaningful to sing together, and Weston was belting out the songs this year.  We shared some testimonies and thoughts following the singing.  We did something a little different after that - Jared suggested we make snowflakes and write something on it as a gift we'll give to the Lord this year (we've done something similar before, but not writing it down to look at next year).  One of our friends gave a talk recently at church also describing how they write something down and put it in a nice present-box to look at the following Christmas.  So we all took a few moments to make a snowflake, write a gift to give, and put it in a little basket for next year.  Then we got to eat our sugar cookies.    

We usually open a family present as well, which wasn't very spiritual, but it was some church comedy movies.  We watched one of those called "Church Ball".  The kids all get their favorite box of cereal for Christmas morning, which they can easily eat as soon as they wake up (usually earlier than I want to get up).  Then we open presents, and while everyone else is enjoying their presents, I make brunch.  I actually prepared the cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve and then baked them in the morning, so it wasn't much work.  I also made a breakfast casserole.  By the time we have brunch, it's usually 11:00 or 11:30, so we don't even do lunch.  But then it's on to preparing for Christmas dinner - rolls, ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, and sweet potato casserole.  It's almost like preparing Thanksgiving meal without the turkey.  We also had 3 different desserts - apple pie, key lime pie, and Twix cheesecake bars.  I made the bars and key lime pie on Christmas Eve but made the apple pie on Christmas Day.  There's not much rest for the adults on Christmas (or in my case - pretty much me doing all the baking).  But luckily all the presents were wrapped before Christmas and ready to go, so it was just a lot of cooking (and cleaning).  Alex helped clean everything up.  

We did get to zoom in with family on Christmas morning with Alex's parents and Aunt Jane and with my family on Christmas afternoon.  We got to see my parents open their Bandera book.  The kids all seemed pretty happy with their gifts - I love the joy and excitement on their faces, even when they open something that was on their wish list (shouldn't be much of a surprise).  It's not as exciting for Nathan and Jared - they're past the Lego phase, so they get random things like hats, clothes, wallets, money, or gift cards.  We couldn't even get them to make a wish list.  Nathan got a fancy rain jacket, which will probably be useful for his mission.  It was fun to see Nathan get an OSU hat from Alex's parents (in OK) and a K-State shirt from Jane (in KS) - they're putting their "votes" in for Nathan's college selection!  I guess a couple of my siblings and in-laws should have sent something BYU for him.  (BYU actually might be the top spot if he gets accepted, as Nathan has realized the financial differences - BYU is much more affordable.)   

Weston seems to have started a tradition of getting Charmin toilet paper - he had it on his wish list again.  It's so funny to see how excited he gets about his own nice toilet paper.  Owen, Weston, and Savannah were equally excited about the new Lego sets.  Savannah got some Calico Critters too, which she's really into right now.  I guess Christmas was a success again!  Lots of happy faces and good food.  I'm happy to have "survived" another Christmas - it's a lot of work... but also sentimental as another last with Nathan.     

They don't look very excited... but they do like doing our candlelight devotional.  

Before Christmas fun

Alex took Jared, Owen, and Weston and went with some friends on a 3-day, 2-night camping trip in Death Valley on December 20th.  It was still pretty cold at night, getting down in the 30's, but they stayed warm and had fun.  They enjoyed playing on the dunes and watching a jet fly back and forth over the desert.  They also saw a waterfall, played kickball, had a snowball fight, and went to the lowest point in North America.  Weston spelled his name in the sand.  

Meanwhile, back at home, Savannah and I had some girl time.  We had a girls night on Savannah's birthday (we did the cake and presents with family before they left).  We had homemade pizza, movie (While You Were Sleeping), cheesecake, and chocolate pie.  We didn't have a lot of room for watching the movie, so we just invited the girls from the 2 families that went camping with Alex.  I think the girls got the better end of the deal, in our warm home, eating cheesecake and watching movies - while the boys were out camping in the cold desert, eating Ramen noodles.  

The girls got a little crazy with the balloons - who knew that balloons could be so fun?   

Another day, Savannah and I went to Nathan's basketball tournament, about 1.5 hours away.  He stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights in a hotel with his team.  We went the 1st game (Alex and me on Saturday) and 3rd game of the tournament (Savannah and me).  He didn't get any playing time... but we were there to support him.  And since we didn't even get to talk to him after the game, I thought it would be fun for Savannah to run over and hug Nathan after the game and give him an apple - one of his favorite snacks.  However...Savannah ran down there a little too early, before they did the handshakes to the other team... so it was hilarious watching Nathan do handshakes with an apple in one hand.  I bet that's the first time that's been done!  Nathan was embarrassed, but at least it will be memorable for him.  Savannah and I went out to lunch after the game and watched Encanto in the theater.  

We planned to go the next day as well (and even made a sign for Nathan), but the game got cancelled, due to one of Nathan's teammates testing positive for Covid.  So they came home early.  (Nathan tested negative, but a few of his teammates tested positive, with more testing positive later in the week after the initial test.) He's in a tournament this week, and his team is down to 6 players.  It did work in his favor for playing time.  He's been a bench warmer this year, so playing time is rare for him.      

December birthdays

Owen turned 13 (another teenager in the house) and Savannah turned 9!  We didn't have a good day to do friend parties, so we're planning to do those in January.  We did have time for cake and presents and a dinner out to Chili's.  

 

Christmas gifts

We sent out our traditional Christmas letters (in a few rounds, since they weren't all done at the same time) - I did a history themed letter, since for much of the year I was either working on my own personal history book or one for my parents, documenting their years living in Bandera, TX.  I did a book about my first 25 years, so I spent a lot of time going through photos and journals.  I'm really grateful for all the friends and family members who have been important connections for us.  For our Christmas letter this year (in addition to the form letter), we wrote personal letters to our friends and family, highlighting some of our memories together.  So it was quite a bit more time consuming... but fun to think back on those memories and send them out.  

I got a little help from my siblings for the book for my parents, getting them to write some of their favorite Bandera memories.  Most of it was photo memories though.  I started the book in August and didn't finish until the end of November.  It ended up being a big project - about 300 pages, but again it was worth the time to go through and document all those memories in a book.  

We had several teachers at church to give gifts to, with 5 kids and 2 teachers each for Sunday school or primary, plus 3 x the 2 YM teachers each - that's 16, plus 4 seminary teachers, 2 elementary school teachers, and primary presidency and song leaders (7) = a lot of gifts (29).  We had to keep it simple, so they got some chocolates and 2 cookies.  We also delivered about 25 chocolate candy cane loaves to friends and ward members.  

We got lots of treats in return (which I didn't take pictures of) and several Christmas cards.  A few thoughtful gifts to us were poinsettias, a book about the temple endowment, and a handmade ornament (Adore Him).  Nathan and Jared also gave a gift this year - a simple photo ornament and a thoughtful note.  It was one of my favorite gifts, just because this Christmas is our last with Nathan home (and I know I'll probably get tearful when I put that ornament on the tree next year).     

 

Singing and such

Savannah did a talent show for activity days at church.  She sang a solo in front of about 25 people.  She sang "Part of your World" from The Little Mermaid.  An activity for December was decorating gingerbread houses - so much sugar involved!  They were wired.  

Owen sang with the junior high choir for a concert.  They had to wear masks while singing, but still sounded good.  His friend Becca is in choir too.  We carpool to the early Monday and Friday morning practices.   

Here's a couple short clips from the concert:

Thanksgiving

We had another great time with friends for Thanksgiving.  (Another last with Nathan...)  We enjoyed the meal outside in their big backyard.  It was fun with the lights and the giant tree.  We had quite a variety of food - the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, and such, as well as fried chicken, tamales, and tri-tip.  We had tons of dessert - rice krispie treats, several kinds of pie, cheesecake, and ice cream.  

To round out the weekend, we watched OSU beat OU in football and put up our Christmas tree.  The boys hung up some interesting custom Lego ornaments and Weston wanted a pig in the baby buggy.  

 

Fun with friends and family

We did one night of camping the weekend before Thanksgiving with several friends.  We enjoyed hanging out around the big campfire.  The kids enjoyed playing games and baseball in the morning.  We weren't too far away from my brother's house, where my parents were visiting, so we spent a day with them.  Kai was with us too, so she got to be in on the fun.  She liked running around with Mike and Carrie's new dog Snickers.  Fun weekend!     

 

Pumpkins and Halloween

This is a year of lasts for us - last time at the pumpkin patch with Nathan.  We had to get our cute pumpkin photos.  

Savannah's neighbor friend came over to carve pumpkins with us.  Weston had to decorate a pumpkin for class, so his is the black dragon.  

I had to make some accessories for the costumes.  Savannah wanted to be Merida, from Brave, so we had to find a dress and things.  I bought the wig online and found the green velvet dress at the thrift store.  I made some puffy sleeves for the dress, bow, arrows, and quiver.  I made a squid launcher for Weston's costume - Vector, from Despicable Me.  I had to make another scarf for Owen's Gru costume (Despicable Me).  Nathan was Gru a previous year, but we couldn't find the scarf.  This one turned out better anyway.  And Jared made his own costume this year.  He did the shirt and glasses for Napoleon Dynamite - he already had the perfect hair for it!  We were having a hard time getting a serious picture without busting out laughing.  

Savannah was the only one who went trick-or-treating this year and got a lot of candy.  We all went to the chili dinner / trunk-or-treat at church.  I didn't decorate our car.  One of the coolest decorated cars was Harry Potter themed with a real rat.  

We had a real rat (not a cute white one) in our house for a week in November, which we finally caught on a glue trap.  That rat was a hard one to catch - he was able to get things off the trap without triggering it.    

Creepy little critter... a little less creepy photo of a spiderweb. 

Church things and such

I don't often document General Conference, but I decided to snap a couple of pictures this time.  Twice a year, we stay home and watch conference at home, a broadcast from Salt Lake City, listening to talks from President Nelson, the apostles, and other leaders.  We also have established the tradition of eating crumb cake on Sunday morning.  Everyone was pretty good about taking notes.  I love it!  There were lots of good talks.  One theme emerged for me, with a phrase that was repeated at least 4 times - about joy having to do more with the focus of our lives than our circumstances.  President Nelson talked about keeping our foundations strong and making time for the Lord.  We know that more challenging times are coming - we need to prepare ourselves to withstand the hard times and find joy by focusing on the Lord and His gospel rather than our circumstances.   

I snapped a couple pictures of Weston and Savannah for their school portraits.  I don't buy them anymore, since I already take so many photos of the kids (and the school pictures are expensive).  The end of October, Weston and Savannah had their primary program at church.  It was Weston's last one, since he's moving on to the youth group in January.  Weston gave the opening message.  He talked about coming back to church after Covid restrictions and how Christ will save the universe.  Savannah also said a part, about establishing a house of order, fasting, prayer, faith and how she tried fasting for the first time recently.  Savannah also sang a verse of "I Feel my Savior's Love" with another girl.  They did really well.  I helped my little sunbeam class - one of the girls had her part memorized.  It was so touching to see the courage of the kids, getting up there and speaking in the microphone and singing the songs.  

I did one sunbeam lesson in November and three in December.  We talked about families, Joseph Smith, the Articles of Faith, and the Christmas story and the gift of being given families.  I found some Melonheadz clip art people online that looked a little bit like us (or modified them just a little bit) and like the families of my class.  I colored our family and they got to color their own.  They were put in a sealed Zipcloc bag with a picture of a temple on it to represent how we can be sealed to our families.  One family has 3 kids and the other has 6 with 1 on the way, so they had quite a few little people to color!

We talked about Joseph Smith and the blessings of the Restoration of the gospel.  For the Articles of Faith, it was a group effort Bingo style game, where they drew pictures randomly that matched the board.  They all got a little treat each time we made 4 in a row. We listened to the songs that went along with them too, since the songs are short.    

Nathan and Jared both gave talks in church recently.  Jared spoke to the congregation in sacrament meeting on missionary work.  He was calm and poised and did a great job.  He got lots of compliments on his talk.  Nathan also spoke on missionary work during a priesthood meeting.  I watched the zoom of it at home (so I snapped a little picture of the screen).  He also did a great job, and he's been a good example and missionary to those around him.  A couple of his basketball teammates and coach have been asking some questions and/or taking some of the lessons with the missionaries.  Nathan also serves as a ward missionary, so he's doing well to prepare for his own full time mission next year. 

 

Fall Sports

Jared ran on the JV cross country team this fall.  He did really well, with a personal record of 18:48 for 3 miles.  He got the coaches award for boys JV, having a great attitude and working hard all the time.  His coach retired from coaching this year - he has coached for the last 19-20 years.  We'll see him around though, because he's in our ward at church.    

Owen played flag football for the first time.  He did well too, considering he hadn't played before.  His team didn't do so well though; they had a pretty tough season, only winning 1 of 8 games and 12th out of 14 teams.  They did win the first game in play-offs though (28-8) against the #5 team in the league, getting them a 2nd round game.  Their second game was close (13-19) to the #4 team - they nearly won it.  They had improved by the end of the season.  Owen was snapping the ball the last few games.  He didn't ever score but had some good defensive plays.  

Savannah has been taking a hip-hop dance class this fall - also doing that for the first time.  She loves it!  They got to do a performance the weekend of Halloween - Savannah was Cousin Itt from the Addams Family.  One of her friends from school was also in the same dance, and two other friends were in a Wizard of Oz dance. 

 

Fun stuff

 Here's some other things for September.  Alex and I got to attend the temple again.  They just opened it up again, by appointments.  It takes a little extra planning to schedule and follow an appointment instead of just walking in, but it also puts the visit solidly on the calendar.  Part of the temple was open a little earlier this year (we went with the boys to do some work the end of May), but for most of the work, it's been closed down since March 2020.  We squeezed in one last visit in March before it shut down.  Having gone to the temple nearly every month since we've been married, we really missed going the past 1.5 years.  We had taken some family names in February 2020 to start their work, so this September visit was a continuation of some of those close family members.  It was a great feeling to be in the temple again.  

The kids had fun jumping on the trampoline while I sprayed them with the water hose one day.  

Nathan sang in a group for the youth talent show at church - they sang "Santiana" by the Longest Johns.  The one guy in the middle did the main part (I think he already knew the song), but the rest of them learned the song the day before!  They did a great job.  

Weston and Savannah were pretty consistent about piano lessons (with me) and practice this month.  It's worked out to do lessons with them on Thursday afternoons, since they get out an hour earlier on that day.  We haven't worked Owen back into the lesson schedule yet, but he's been practicing a little bit too.  They're doing pretty good; it's easier for Savannah and Owen, harder for Weston.  

Weston is finally learning how to ride a bike!  You think it's about time??

(the breaks are due to me putting 3 separate clips together in one so it will fit the requirements to post)

One last fun thing - I found a Colorado Rockies hat at the thrift store and had to get it because it reminds me of my Grandpa Bob.  He used to wear a CR hat, but he always said the CR stood for "Christ Reigns."  Weston snagged my hat pretty quick - he loves hats!  I'm trying to keep him from wearing it so he doesn't wear it out; he's pretty hard on hats.  I guess I could always get a new one, but I kind of like having a hat to wear that's not "crusty."  These were the pictures I could find of my grandpa with the hat - I couldn't actually find one of him wearing it, but he really liked that hat, as you can see he makes a point of holding it up for the camera.  

September birthdays and such

 Alex made it back from his business trip just in time for birthday dinner and dessert.  He got his usual treats, but also some homemade cards.  I had each of the kids make a card for him, and he got one from me with as many things that I love about him as his age.  We had to do birthday breakfast the next day - Owen helped make it.   

My birthday was different this year.  It started out as usual, with a run and breakfast (Owen also helped make my breakfast). A friend saw me out for a run and dropped off a little breakfast treat while I was on my run.  And then... I got to go in for jury duty!  I got called in during July for jury service, but pleaded my hardship before the judge to get out of that one since it was a month long commitment and Alex was out of town.  Apparently, that doesn't count for the year and my service was just deferred for a couple months.  I was hoping to get out of this one, but the night before my birthday I got called in.  

I had to be at the courthouse most of the afternoon, which meant I missed going to Jared's cross country meet.  (I also made my own cake in the morning so that Alex wouldn't feel like he needed to stay home from Jared's meet to bake my cake.)  I sent Alex to cheer on Jared and hoped that I wouldn't actually get called to serve on the jury.  I didn't want to plead a hardship for this one, because a 1-3 month deferment would be service right in the middle of Nathan's senior year of basketball.  So I was going to see if I would be done by sticking through the jury selection.  I hadn't been chosen by the end of the first day and there were about 25 of us left, so I was hopeful.  

I went in the next day and sat in anxiety as they continued with the jury selection process, watching several people be dismissed and listening as new people were called.  This case was also a month long commitment, so obviously we were all hoping to get out of it.  It was interesting listening to some of the comments, which seemed to be aimed at getting dismissed from service.  One potential juror boldly questioned why they were wasting a month of time for a case where for at least one of the parties, the amount of money they were fighting over was a "drop in the bucket" for them.  I think a lot of us were thinking the same thing, but weren't going to say it.  Another person declared that they weren't biased to either side, but said it was the best defense statement they'd ever heard... 

I did eventually get chosen as the first alternate juror.  Only 10 people didn't get chosen and got to go home.  

I got to introduce myself and talk about my education, kids, spouse, and such.  I didn't have to answer very many other questions, aside from the question "Do you like puzzles?", which all of the newly selected jurors had to answer.  That seemed a little odd.  I shared one negative experience that Alex and I had with contracts, which was what this case dealt with, but they weren't concerned about it.  We got sworn in as the jury and then released for lunch break.  I was pretty sad that I had to commit to jury service for the month of October.  

And then... we came back from lunch and found out the 2 parties had settled the case over lunchtime!  We were no longer needed and excused for the year.  What a relief!  I don't know what happened, but we were all grateful they worked it out.  

I was listening to a podcast the next day while cleaning the house and a phrase stuck out to me:  "Mercy wins the day."  I thought that applied well to the court experience.  Both parties had come to court, feeling wronged and seeking for a 3rd party to settle their case.  However, before presenting it to the jury, one or both parties extended mercy to the other.  Mercy wins the day.  I also realized that maybe it was the Lord's mercy that softened their hearts and allowed them to work it out.  For me personally, I felt like the Lord was aware of me and knew that I didn't have time for jury duty this month.  Jared had some CC meets that I didn't want to miss, and the rest of the family would have had to make up for my absence.  In one of my birthday cards, Jared wrote, "I know having jury duty today of all days is horrible, but just like last time they will see that you are a devoted mother and wife, and ain't got time for jury duty."  Well, the court didn't recognize that I didn't have time for jury duty, but I think God knew that.  

So what was the case about?   The case was concerning 2 tech companies, who had signed a contract over some products to be acquired and/or refunded.  They had emails and verbal exchange before the formal written contract.  Apparently, the contract was a little different than the verbal agreement, but the person signing the contract didn't actually fully read the final contract before signing.  The time expired for getting a refund for the products according to the contract and one of the companies lost 53 million dollars over the deal.  However, the timeframe in the written contract wasn't the same as the verbal agreement, so the company at loss felt like the other company had written up a fraudulent contract. However... the company at loss also failed to carefully read the formal contract before signing, so according to the defendant, there was a legally binding signed contract on their side which said the other company's time had expired and they owed them nothing.   

    As I thought more about the case and contracts, I made some spiritual parallels out of the experience.  We make spiritual promises or contracts to God and we end up breaching or failing to live up to our contract all the time.  God allows us, in His mercy, to get another chance - over and over again.  I also thought about how at the final judgment, when we're standing before God, our 3rd party advocate is Jesus Christ.  He is our mercy, and He makes up for our failings if we accept His sacrifice and turn to Him.  How great it is to have a perfect 3rd party to take our case!  A jury, as the "3rd party," although with the best intentions to fairly judge a case, doesn't know perfectly the thoughts, intentions, and actions of the parties for which they're judging.  God and Jesus know us perfectly and with our best efforts to follow them, mercy wins the day!      

I wasn't happy to have jury duty on my birthday or miss Jared's cross country meet, but it wasn't a total waste of time.  I did gain some insights from the experience and learned a little more about the judicial process.  Did you know that you have to leave the notes you take during the trial at the court each day (you can't take them home with you) and they are destroyed after the trial is done?  Interesting.  I also found some things about the jury selection process a little amusing, such as one of the lawyers asking for a raise of hands for anyone who is afraid of public speaking and then asking each of those people to talk about that in front of a courtroom full of people.  Hmmm... 😏

Pandemic blessings

One of the good things about the pandemic has been the ability to watch baptisms remotely.  We couldn't do that before, so it's been nice to see these important events that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to get to in-person to participate.  My nephew Noah got baptized at the beginning of September, and it was fun to watch him do that and also sing in the musical numbers.  He sang a solo, and his brothers joined in singing for a couple of songs.  They're great singers, just like their parents!  We also got to listen to my nephew Jaden give a talk, along with hearing Audrey's testimony and thoughts.  Oh happy day!  I knew we weren't allowed to record or take photos of the baptism, but I did record some of the singing. 

   

September Sunbeams

I prepared 4 lessons during September for my primary class on: temples, forgiveness/peace, Zion's Camp, and priesthood power.  As a church, we're studying The Doctrine & Covenants this year, so there's a lot of focus on church history of the early Saints.  

The first lesson was on temples.  In 1833, the church members were commanded to build a temple in Kirtland, Ohio.  We talked about how the Lord commanded other prophets to construct temples (Moses and Solomon), an ark (Noah), a ship (Nephi), or barges (Brother of Jared).  They didn't know how to build them, but received instruction and a pattern from the Lord to accomplish their task.  Joseph Smith received revelation to build a temple in Kirtland and had to follow a pattern outlined by the Lord.  It took them 3 years to build the temple, with many people helping out in different ways - getting stone from a quarry, cutting the stone, getting lumber and doing the woodwork, sewing clothing for the workers, preparing food, donating time, money, or other resources to the building of the temple.  

As we talked about these things, we put together a paper model of the Kirtland Temple, starting with the foundation and then adding other layers of the temple.        

My next lesson was on forgiveness and finding peace.  In 1833, the church members who lived in Jackson County, Missouri were persecuted, tarred & feathered, business or property destroyed, and forced out of their homes.  When they asked the prophet Joseph Smith, who was in Kirtland, what they should do, he responded that they should seek for peace, to be patient, and to forgive those who had done wrong to them. 

I shared an experience when I had to forgive, although a much different experience from the early Saints.  The boys were playing around in the living room and ended up knocking down my little family figures and breaking off the heads.  I was pretty mad about it, but was able to forgive them for their mistake.  (And I was able to glue all the heads back on).  

We also talked about how to feel peace and stillness.  The counsel that the early Saints received from the Lord was to "Be still and know that I am God."  We talked about ways to be still and how to be reverent.  We sang the primary song "Reverently, Quietly".  

Our next lesson was on Zion's Camp.  Joseph Smith received revelation that it was time to take the lands back in Jackson County, by force if necessary.  A little over 200 people were gathered together, in what was called Zion's Camp, to march about 880 miles from Kirtland to Jackson County to get the Saints' land back.  They faced a lot of trials along the way, along with some contention as well as some great faith.  When they were nearly there, they got word that a mob was coming to attack them.  This was when the Lord stepped in to protect Zion's Camp, bringing a powerful rain storm that caused the river to rise rapidly (not allowing the mob to cross the river), as well as hail and wind.  Zion's Camp had to take shelter in a nearby Baptist Church during the storm, singing hymns.  After the storm was over, Joseph Smith received instruction to return home, not continuing at the time to get their lands.  Many thought that Zion's Camp was a failure, but it was successful in preparing future leaders of the church.  The things they learned from that experience produced the faith and strength they needed for later leadership.  

With my sunbeams, we talked about the physical things we would need for a backpacking trip (first aid kit, hiking guide, map, food & water, flashlight, protective hat and sunscreen, compass, hiking boots, and sleeping bag).  Each of those items was compared with something that would help us on our spiritual journey (love and help others, prophet, scriptures, commandments, your own light and example, prayer, choosing the right, "go and do" faith/action, and the Spirit as a comforter).  They got to color and put their items in a mini paper backpack.  

     

My most recent lesson was on priesthood power and blessings.  We had recently done another lesson on the priesthood, so I tried to think of a different way to teach the lesson.  I made a matching game of different ways the priesthood blesses us.  Each time they made a match, we talked briefly about that blessing.  (I think I'll keep this one in my bag, in case I ever need a last minute thing to do or some pictures.)