Category: Family Time

Thank you, Caroline Ingalls and Marilla Cuthbert

Practicing different songs at the same time!

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but I have never read the Little House books. I have read a few of them, but I missed the overall experience along the way. I’m trying to read them straight through.

These books inspire me to cook things with gravy and cornmeal. They also remind me to be a better housekeeper. Caroline Ingalls and Mrs. Wilder belong in the same category as Marilla Cuthbert for excellent housekeeping. This is what I needed for January reading, since the house has collected a little clutter over the past month. I’ve completed all kinds of extra little jobs, inspired by these stories.

The kids are also getting whipped into shape after Christmas time sloth. They’re coming home to job lists because the best kind of people know how to work. I never give my kids chores. I give them jobs. The choice of names conveys an important message.

They all approach their jobs differently, but an incentive is important for my boys. Our incentives always involve screen time: computer, t.v., or Wii. They must really want to watch something today, because I just found Daniel and Timothy practicing different songs on two different instruments in the same room. I’ll let them get away with it today because they are sharing so nicely.

Waiting for a Robert Lewis Stevenson

We’re sick here. Very ill. Viral.

Childhood illness is just not fair, especially at Christmas. The new sleds have only had a token number of runs.

I find it remarkable that a childhood full of illness was what sparked so much creativity in Robert Lewis Stevenson. His nurse evidently didn’t let him watch endless episodes of America’s Funniest Home Videos on Netflix like I’ve allowed my boys to view this week.

It’s funny to hear them laugh at something with croaking laughs. It’s not funny to hear them coughing violently all day.

Viruses are bad, very bad. If you’re healthy and you haven’t had your flu shot, you should do it today.

A Very Special Celebration

We threw a family Christmas party last night at our house. My mom and I worked on it for about 6 weeks. Here are some photos from the evening.

Place cards for 36 people

DSC_9144Special cookies, most of them decorated by Paige.

DSC_9140Centerpiece and place settings

DSC_9134The little girls’ table

DSC_9135Mom and Dad

DSC_9105My Aunt Kate and her family

DSC_9109Joe’s family

DSC_9120Paul and Care looking great.

DSC_9106Paul and Care and the kids.

DSC_9127Susan and Richard’s family

DSC_9101Sarah and Bryan

DSC_9108Derrick

DSC_9129Happy Stacy

DSC_9131Little David

DSC_9130

DSC_9148I loved the family talent show after dinner. The Christmas pageant was beautifully costumed by Susan. The gifts were generous and so much fun.

DSC_9142Happy 39th anniversary! We hope you love the carolers, Mom.

Merry Christmas!

 

Weekend

Thanks to Sarah and Bryan, we were able to attend the Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Alfie Boe, and Tom Brokaw. Squeeeee! (That was for you, Alfie!)

IMG_0092Joe and Stacy sat with us. My parents were there, too, but our seats were in different areas. We had a great dinner in downtown Salt Lake City with my parents, Joe, and Stacy. I love living here.

I liked seeing Gail Halvorsen, aka The Candy Bomber honored at the concert.

Paige, Gail Halvorsen, and Richard, 2010 at our church in Sahuarita. We were members of the same congregation for a few years.

We got a good 8 or 9 inches of snow. This means we spent the morning clearing snow and trying to make our way to piano lessons. Tricky.

We shot our Christmas music video with our adorable kids.

Mark said to me tonight, “When we were making that movie, I felt like I was in Hollywood.”

When I asked how that felt, he said, “Pretty good!”

The 2009 Christmas video is the one to beat. Wish us luck.

Temple Square Christmas Lights

My mom took the boys on a quick, impromptu tour of Temple Square since she had an appointment downtown.

True, the lights are beautiful, but as my Mom explains, the real beauty is the temple.

 

Mark really liked the scale model of the interior of the temple that they found in the visitor’s center.

The big photos were taken by Timothy. He was proud of this photo of the Christus statue.

Thanks, Grandma, for taking them to Temple Square! It was Timothy and Mark’s first trip to see the lights and probably the first trip that Daniel can remember since he was only two years old when he first saw them.

The Family Dinner Table

I believe in the family dinner ritual. Unfortunately, most nights we are missing one or two people, but I don’t give up. Having everyone around me, being nourished and sharing is the highlight of my day.

Empty chairs make me sad.

Dinner is not always a special occasion. My cooking, our moods, and The Schedule get in the way, but I think that the “dinner time at the table ritual” is special because you can count on it, not because it’s always perfect or fun. My family knows that there will be a meal and that I will expect them to answer a few questions about their day.

Richard fixed two of our broken chairs so we have enough seating for everyone. I love that he did this. I love these old uncomfortable chairs.

I served some leftover baked ziti to the kids around the dinner table last night. My first surprise was that they engulfed it. The next surprise was the conversation that happened as we ate.

We were all feeling comfortable and happy. Mark said, “Mom, our family is different than any other family because our handwriting has monkey tails (I taught the kids to write D’Nealian style), we go to Spring Lake where we have a dinner bell, and we say, ‘Is everybody happy?’ ‘Well, I should say!'”

And so our conversation turned to things which define our family.

Tim added, “We don’t have DS or PS3 or XBox or anything like that and we get really excited about seeing our extended family.”

Daniel said, “We study really hard and we are good students.”

We were interrupted at this point, but I would have added, “We try really hard to make dinner time a good family time.”

I need to remember this little dinner scene to help me press on and keep trying to find ways to sit down together at this table.

I read someplace that the family dinner table is like an altar in the home. It’s a place to teach, train, gather for prayer, and grow in love. It can help families stay together. Amen.

Thanksgiving weekend

The house feels really empty today after spending 5 great days with these people. The boys had their first Thanksgiving in Utah. We have such a big family network here that I only needed to prepare desserts!

And that’s really all I have to show you from our weekend. We made jello, pies, and dozens of sugar cookies. Richard spent approximately 18 hours raking leaves while we did all of this baking.

And when those autumn cookies were gone, we made some Christmas cookies. This morning I discovered that my children had taken pictures of them on several cameras. Maybe we all thought that if they were properly photographed, they wouldn’t be missed after they were eaten.

My mom came by and she and Paige rocked the polka dots.

Timothy won the school Reflections contest for his short film of Spring Lake.

Mark lost his first tooth. I owe you a picture.

Somehow we also neglected to take pictures of all of the family we saw this weekend. Boo!

Sweet gestures

My mom took me out to lunch for my birthday. We couldn’t remember the last birthday we spent together. It was warm and sunny and everything tasted good.

My mom brought a home movie that my cousin made of my grandmother’s surprise birthday party. Watching my grandma and great aunt laughing together brought back beautiful memories of family celebrations with them in Salt Lake City when I was a little girl. Susan always had something special to give each guest so we could remember the occasion. The food was always delicious. I have never found anything to equal Great-grandma’s and Aunt Susan’s parties.

Mark was appalled that he had to go to school on my birthday. He said that he should stay home with me and help me with my work, eat with me, and wash my car. What a lovey.

Timothy gave me a diorama of a road leading to some mountains, I think to remind me that my wish to live in the mountains has finally come true.

My cake was cream filled and delicious and Richard got me the book that I wanted.

I was disappointed to watch my friends preaching to one another about the election online. If only everyone could have just come over and given me birthday hugs, I am sure that would have been a better use of everyone’s time.