Merry Christmas

We're enjoying a wonderful Christmas day together and hope you all are too! Merry Christmas!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Snow fell in Boise on Saturday and Sunday. Then it turned cold, really cold. Like high temperatures being in the mid 20s, and the low temperatures being in the teens. It is so cold the snow will not compact in your hand to make a snowball, let alone a snowman. Not to be deterred though, Ryan, Sabrina and Roderic used buckets to make a snow fort (it is a wall to fend off attacks). It has frozen solid and it is sturdy enough for Roderic and Sabrina to sit on it.



This morning, Roderic wanted to go out and play in the snow (it was maybe 18 degrees). I bundled him up in his snowsuit, coat, hat, boots, gloves and sent him out. He came back in minutes later for a knife to use on the snowfort. Hyrum decided he too needed to go outside, so I put him in his snowsuit, coat, gloves, hat and shoes (memo to self: get BOOTS for Hyrum and waterproof gloves). I pulled the boys around on the sled in our front yard, then they took turns pulling each other. We invited our neighbors to come out and then we went for an adventure. We went to the field at the end of our cul-de-sac and let the kids go sledding down the 4' hill. When Susie and I were sufficiently cold, we gave the children a time limit and then came back home to warm up. It was fun - and COLD!





It is 22 degrees F right now. Tonight Sabrina gets to go see "Winter Gardens Aglow" at the Idaho Botanical garden with the Activity Day girls in our ward. To prepare, she'll be wearing her thermals, regular clothes, snowpants, heavy coat, hat, scarf, gloves. Perhaps I'll even send her with some hand warmers from our emergency kit.

I'll stay home with the boys and sip some cocoa.

Simple Joys

Last Sunday, our lesson in Relief Society was on joy. Our teacher gave us all a small stone. She asked us to put it up against one eye and shut the other. Then, she asked us what we saw. I had a little peripheral vision, so I could see a few people next to me, but other than that, there was a giant unsurmountable black object blocking my view. She likened the rock to trials that we encounter in life. When we're in the think of one, that is all we are able to focus on, yet on the periphery, there are others who can help us get through or put things in perspective. Then she had us hold hte rock several inches from our eye and look. We now held our trial in its proper perspective, and it was no longer giant, insurmountable or blocking my view.

Others can help us, but also we can help ourselves by remembering things that bring us simple joys. Here are some of mine:

• The smell of someone peeling an orange
• Christmas lights
• Watching a fire burn
• Reading a good book
• The distant sound of children playing
• Hot chocolate with a melted candy cane
• Funny things Roderic says (have you read his recent additions in the side bar?)
  
• Good music
• A well written blog entry
  

Coffee Cake, anyone?

Happy 35th birthday, Ryan!

To celebrate his special day, I planned on buying him an ice cream cake from our neighborhood ice cream parlor. I didn't think to plan ahead, though, and order the cake in advance with the flavors of ice cream of my choice. So I went up to "Sweet Tooth" on Saturday night to look at their already made cakes. They had 3 to choose from. One was labeled 'Espresso Toffee', the other two weren't labeled at all. I asked the employee what they were and she said, "Oreo, almond and coconut." Those were seen on the outside of the cake. She almost lost me at coconut, but I remembered that Ryan really likes coconut, so I didn't rule it out. I asked what was on the inside and she said, "I don't remember. Probably sweet cream. It will be a mystery cake." I decided to purchase it, brought it home and put it in the chest freezer, so Ryan would have one surprise for his birthday.

Sunday after church, I invited the Keele family to join us for ice cream cake to celebrate Ryan's birthday. They came, we sang, Ryan blew out the candles, leaving 3 behind because he was overconfident that he would get them all and didn't leave enough breath to do another pass (his words not mine). I tried to cut the cake but it was too frozen, so Julie asked her husband to cut it for me. Inside the cake looked like chocolate cake with oreos mixed in. We gave Ryan a piece, and served the rest and then the complaints started rolling in. They said it tasted like coffee. I didn't believe it. It looked like chocolate. Then I had a bite and sure enough, it was coffee flavored ice cream. YUCK! I guess Ryan got 2 surprises for his birthday.

Today, I plan on calling my local ice cream parlor to let them know that it is imperative to label all of their ice cream cakes. I wouldn't have purchased that cake had I known it had coffee flavored ice cream inside.

Photos by Sabrina

Gelukkig Sint Nicolaas Dag

To celebrate Sint Nicolaas Day this year, we attended the Idaho Suzuki Association Holiday Christmas Concert, where Sabrina played her violin with a large ensemble. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera. Fortunately, Mark from Shoot Idaho came and took pictures throughout the evening, and got a couple good ones of Sabrina. For the ones I like the best click here, here and here. I made that dress special for this occasion.

About 15 minutes after we arrived back home, our doorbell rang and when we got to the door, no one was there, but there was a wrapped present and a page of poems from Sinter Klaas. Roderic was so excited to open the present to find a new ZFeeR (VCR) and DVD player. Ours has been broken for the last couple of months. As he was going to bed last night, he was telling me all of the movies that he can now watch because we have a ZFeeR again. "Dank u Sinter Klaas!"

Ryan dear, your worth is great,
You work hard and play long;
All the children shout when you come home
Now fix that squeak to please your mate!
~~~~~
To Malauna the mother,
To Malauna the wife.
Malauna's a good girl;
She is a delight.
~~~~~
Who would rather read than do
Anything else in the world?
Why, it's Sabrina!
Fantasy, history, science fiction
Diary, poem, scripture.
This girl loves to read.
~~~~~
Roderic is a happy boy,
Who likes to play rough.
Very rough.
Lucky for us his hugs and kisses
Bring real pleasure.
~~~~~
To Hyrum we say,
You gladden the day.
Trains are your ideal,
Just as is proper, for real.
All that breathe are endeared by your smile,
Expressing yourself in 2-year-old style.

Merry Christmas, Love Micron

Micron hosts a Children's Christmas Party each year for the families of their employees. All it costs us is a can of food per child (and the gas to get to the venue). We try to go each year, and it is getting more fun to attend now that we have more children and they're older. They rent out the Idaho Center in Nampa, for 4 nights to host the party. (The Idaho Center is where the circus, monster truck rallies, concerts, and rodeo are held.) To keep the children entertained, there are lots of inflatables, a midway of games to play, rock climbing walls, swings and an entire toddler play area. Lots of fun. There is also a chance for a photo-op with Santa Claus.

And for a special present to their employees, all must take 3 weeks vacation time between now and the end of February 2009. On the surface, that doesn't sound so bad, but when you realize that vacation time and sick time and just plain time off all come out of the same pool, its a little nerve-racking. We like to have a 3-week cushion for Ryan just in case he or any of us were to get really sick. By the end of February, he'll be down to 30 hours, or just about 4 days. I sure hope we don't get sick.

Thankful

I am thankful for the family I have. These kids are just so stinkin' cute! I am thankful that my parents and half of my siblings came to my house for Thanksgiving this year. We missed you Milaka, Cortney, Colle and Colter. I am thankful that Keturah has a nicer camera than me, in order to take this picture (and about 50 others) at sunset. I'm thankful that she sang a duet with me in Sacrament meeting. I'm thankful that she woke up with me at 4:50 am on Friday to go to some stores. I'm thankful that Shanda and Jason woke up at 5 am on Friday to go to some different stores (I'm loving the 500 thread count sheets). I'm thankful that their children play with my children. I'm thankful that Ryan supports me in my calling as choir director, among many other things.