Christmas Break

We are loving Christmas Break.

I am soaking in every single moment of it before we are thrust back into reality.

Dan and I celebrated 21 years of marital bliss (I'm not being sacrastic, by the way) in Salt Lake.

 It gets better every year I tell you.

We have been baking, eating out, doing puzzles, playing games, watching movies and the like.

For example...

Good times!

More Christmas

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

Hannah's homemade slippers for Dan

Emily's gift to Dan and me

Merry Christmas!

It has been a wonderful Christmas! Despite the lack of a white Christmas, I love that the holiday fell on a Sunday this year. 

Here are a few photos from Christmas Eve...

Emily playing Christmas music on the piano

Girls gathering around the tree before our Christmas Eve dinner with family

Left: A few additions to our "Travel Tree" this year   Right: The "regular" Christmas Tree

We are filled with gratitude for our many blessings and most of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our family and dear friends.

Merry Christmas!

Another Christmas Favorite

The family joined the youth in the ward this week to go and see the lights on Temple Square.

I was going to go, but I have to admit I saw the potential to get SO much done thus I opted out.

Five of my favorite people in the entire world!

A Christmas Favorite

Is making sugar cookies and decorating them with

my sweet Julia!

Spirit of Christmas

Really, there is no better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than with music.

Saturday, the family attended a Choir performance of Julia's at the BYU Museum of Art.

It was in celebration of a new acquisition of the museum's by local artist, Brian Kershisnik.

The painting is called The Nativity and it is beautiful.

 Even though Julia is not smiling in this camera phone photo, 

we all got her to smile throughout their performance.

The Wasatch Choir is downright amazing!

A surprise came when the children were told they were going to get to hear from the artist himself about his painting. The large group of parents and children lined the gallery halls and listened intently while the children asked him questions about his work. The questions were quite remarkable and we all learned even more about the artist's inspiration and interpretation of the painting.

Emily and I saw this painting several weeks ago and loved it.

It is not your typical depiction of the Nativity and to hear the artist describe his work was moving.

Dan surprised me with an early Christmas gift and bought me a framed copy.

It now hangs in my dining area and I love it!

Let It Snow Already

We are counting down the days until Christmas...

the house is decked out, the exterior lights and wreaths are hung,

the Christmas shopping has begun, and the air is cold.

But there is no snow on the ground or even in the foothills.

So we have turned to Emily's creations to simulate the snow we are lacking.

In her moments between studying, class, working, helping me and seemingly everyone around her,  

 her rare moments of rest and relaxation yield these beauties.

So, whether we actually have a white Christmas remains to be seen,

but in the meantime, I'm loving this alternative!

Deep Breathing

December is here and it is one of my favorite times of year...when I am on top of everything.

 Can you see the disarray of the bathroom? It pretty much represents everything twisting and turning in my mind this very minute. So, today I am focusing on deep breathing because I am so.very.very.behind on everything.

No Christmas cards are even in the works yet.


I have purchased one gift so far. That's right...one gift...yikes.


My house looks like a pair of hurricanes has gone through it, no kidding, the stairs are littered with stuff, remanants of paper snowflakes are scattered throughout the main floor.


I have Thanksgiving leftovers in my refrigerator still...gross.


I need to prepare for a Relief Society Dinner that I'm actually looking forward to hosting.


Family Christmas traditions are waiting to be organized, prepared and executed (like baskets for the Widows in our ward, one of my favorites). 


Last night as all 4 girls and the dog piled on top of our bed at 10:30pm they talked of wanting to make homemade    gingerbread houses this year. I guess homemade sugar cookies aren't going to cut it.


I could go on and on, but as my dear mother always reminds me..."one day at a time."

So despite the self-imposed stresses of the season, I am taking deep breaths and focusing on the true meaning of the season. And I feel better already!

My Other Child

I really do have 4 daughters.

However, this one seems to be non existent as of late on the blog.

She is alive and feeling better for which we are very grateful.

I have so much to be grateful for and she is a big part of it!

Family Fun

Today we couldn't resist the nice, breezy weather.

On a whim, we dusted off the tennis rackets and headed to the park to play.

At first we looked a little like "The Bad News Bears" of tennis but we improved as we played.

And most importantly, we had fun!

Hannah and I ended our tennis excursion with a run, I taking the shorter route and Hannah running the longer route. A quick dinner of leftovers and Emily and I went to to the MOA to view the new display featuring the art of the Weir Family. My Weir family favorites include Nocturne and Woods in Snow.

A fun day for sure!

A Peek at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving yielded little to no postable photos.

Even the ones below are debatable but hey, it's about posterity.

A last minute change of plans kept the family home for the holiday.

Hilary and Hannah were present but we never got a group photo and the ones that were taken around the kitchen table playing games, well, let's just say they would have been removed if I had posted them.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends...we are grateful for each one!

A Family Can Dream

When we took the family to Samoa the summer of 2010, I knew I would be back one day 

with my better half. After all, he loves the place, people, culture, language, all of it.

Apart of him feels at home when he is there.

We are already planning for a future mission when we're seniors to serve (hopefully there).

Anyway, when we heard that there was a chance, perhaps even a slim chance that we could go back sometime next year with the girls in a service oriented trip, 

we've been giddy, dreamy, and hopeful.

Having said this, it would truly be a miracle if it all fell into place,

but a marvelous one indeed!

Rain forest canopy

Return to Paradise Beach

Remember Julia?

My child who is growing up at lightning speed!

She is a busy girl but I managed to get 3 of the 4 girls together and go to Yogurtland for an after school treat and Thanksgiving Break celebration. Truth be told, Emily rounded us up and it was a great idea.

We talked, laughed, took pictures and indulged in fresh strawberry frozen yogurt.

Julia's latest passion is tumbling...tumbling at home on the couch, on the carpet, the trampoline and of course weekly at lessons. She is in between piano teachers and enjoying a short hiatus until the new year. She continues to wake up EARLY to diligently participate in the school choir. I'm eagerly anticipating their Christmas concert. 

You can find her busy doing something all.the.time.

Sunday with a Scripture Chain

Sunday our ward had its annual sacrament meeting primary presentation.

There is no other sacrament meeting like it and I look forward to it every year.

This was also Julia's LAST Primary Program and I'm still trying to come to grips with it.

Bishop Snow and his counselors came in to Primary during sharing time to give the children a thank you treat for all their hard work. We surprised them with the scripture chain the kids have been making since the beginning of the year.

Almost every Sunday if the kids had read their scriptures during the week, they were able to write their name on a strip of paper and then add it to the chain.

The children wrapped the bishopric in the chain and presented it to them.

It is always wonderful to hear from our wonderful bishopric!

It Snowed!

We have been drinking insane amounts of hot chocolate with a 

lots of whipped cream on top.

I did something I have never done before.ever.

I put up the Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving.

I only did it because I don't want to face it when we get back in town

and life gets crazy again.

I have also never waited this long to start Christmas shopping.

I am feeling extraordinarily grateful for the Internet.

I love this time of year.

Anticipating a lot of quality family time,

the changing season,

and all the beauty that accompanies it.

In Case You're Wondering...

It is not for a lack of love or desire that I haven't blogged about

Emily.

I am learning and I am truly understanding that when a child

is in her twentieth year that she is more than capable and even much better

 about sharing her life with the rest of the world than even an adoring mother can.

Even though there are loads of things I would love to write about Emily,

happier I could not be that she is a bright, lovely, sweet and smart adult.

From here on out, Emily's happenings, celebrations and thoughts will be autobiographical.

Love my Emily xoxo

Sadie Hawkins

Hilary and Ian

Hannah and Karac

Group Photo

A Must Read...

Before you think my recommendation of this new novel is a little biased...

I am here to say that this will not be my brother David Clark's last novel.

This is an amazing, sensitive, realistic and tender story. 

You will laugh and you will cry and sometimes at the same time. 

I'm so proud of my brother for doing this! 

Anyone who has ever written anything of worth knows and  understands

 what a painstaking and personal process writing entails. He is truly a gifted writer and I'm pretty excited that I know this author personally. 

FYI: You can order your copy here or here or here

Lunch and Lumination, 11.11.11

Did you know that tonight there is a Full Moon? I've been delving into the depths of all things the moon for our science unit at school. There are so many fun and interesting things to do with the students in this science unit. I'm so excited for the rest of the month's activities and lessons.

Today, 11.11.11, I had the BEST lunch with the BEST guy.

We were in Salt Lake today and decided we would wait patiently for 

The Red Iguana to open. We weren't the only ones either.

I haven't had Mexican food this good and this authentic in a long time.

Lousy picture of a beautiful day!

More Halloween...

 Julia looked awesome on Halloween.

She came up with the costume idea on her own, picked up everything and put it all together!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Emily who did her make up, took the photos and supported her at the Halloween Parade at school. She is an amazing big sister!

The weather was absolutely perfect! 

School parties, the ward trunk or treat and trick or treating yielded a huge stash of candy partially pictured above.

This awesome group of neighborhood kids and friends came back to our house for hot chocolate and a candy exchange. It was so fun and entertaining to listen to them barter and exchange candy!