Wildlife in our yard this morning

Winter

Snow in Cache Valley

I've Been Featured!

My etsy shop is being featured today by Debbie over at Crafty Moose Crafts. She is featuring a different Etsy shop each day from now until Christmas. Head on over and check out my feature and some other great shops at Etsy as well.

Thanks, Debbie!

The MoTab in Concert

Last night, we had the good fortune to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in concert with guest Brian Stokes Mitchell. This was the first time we have been to the Christmas concert, and we weren't disappointed (I didn't think we would be). The choir sang some of their traditional Christmas favorites from Handel's Messiah among others, and they sounded amazing. And whenever Brian Stokes Mitchell was on stage, it was like magic. I enjoyed his Broadway style songs as well as the touching "New Words" about a father teaching his child the meaning of new words. His version of "The Friendly Beasts" was a favorite with all four of us (Jessi couldn't go--too young). Being a fan of musical theater, I knew Brian Stokes Mitchell was an amazing baritone with a beautifully clear voice, and he also seemed like a genuinely nice guy. All the way home, the kids repeatedly declared that Brian Stokes Mitchell is their new favorite singer. Oh, and we enjoyed hearing Grandma and Aunt Marilyn too. We were able to pick both of you out of the choir and saw you both on the screen several times (sorry, Mom).

If you have the chance to see the Sunday broadcast of Music & The Spoken Word on December 15th, I highly recommend it. It'll be a mini version of the Christmas concert and will be well worth watching. If not, be sure to watch for the DVD version and the CD next Christmas--we can hardly wait!

In the meantime, here are some videos of Brian Stokes Mitchell to enjoy.

The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha with the MoTab:




And my favorite Les Miserables song--Stars:

A Christmas Tradition

If you are here from Kimba's Holiday Open House, Welcome! I thought I'd link up to a favorite Christmas tradition we have.

One of our family's favorite Christmas traditions is a great big one that encompasses many little ones: The Advent Book. I know people who do the 12 Days of Christmas, but at our house we do 24 days partly because I couldn't limit our fun activities to 12, and partly because I have an unusual addiction to advent calendars.

So here's how it works:

Preparation: I made a little paper book called "The 24 Days Before Christmas". Every year toward the end of November (okay, November 30th at 11:59), I sit down and look at our calendar to plan an activity for each day from Dec. 1-Dec. 24. Now before you start to think I'm a crazed version or Martha Stewart, I have to tell you that. . .

a) many of them take only a few minutes to complete
b) we recycle most of the activities from year to year, and
c) some are things we would be doing that day anyway like going to a family party.

Deciding which activity to do on what day actually takes the most amount of time. After I've made a plan, I slip a note in each pocket that tells what we'll do that day. And if there is a day where I just can't make a gingerbread house, then I have been known to move or change the tag.

Application: Once the tags are in place, we are ready to go. Each morning in December, in the true spirit of Christmas, my children fight over who gets to pull the tag out each day. Just kidding--I know fighting isn't in the true spirit of Christmas. But after my kids are done fighting, we clean up any spilled blood, read the tag, and jump for joy at the day's activity.

Some days are just plain old fun activities (reading The Grinch or making cookies), and others are service-oriented (baking a treat for a neighbor or purchasing and delivering food for the food bank). Some others are: tell your favorite story of Jesus, make a list of your blessings and hang it in your bedroom, do a secret act of service, watch a Christmas movie--so many possibilities!

Tonight's activity is a family favorite: Have a pizza picnic by the tree and listen to Christmas music. We spread out a blanket and eat our pizza by the lights of the tree while listening to our favorite songs. The first time we did this, I wasn't sure how it would go, but the kids loved it! I think they like it because it's fun to eat pizza on the floor using our Christmas china, and I like it because I don't have to cook. Besides, you always win with pizza. I'm pretty sure a broccoli picnic wouldn't be met with as much enthusiasm.

We've done this for long enough that the book is getting ragged. So next year I think I'll put a gift box under the tree and put a new tag inside each morning. What are some of your family traditions?

Merry Christmas!

The Drama Queen

Last night as I was tucking Jessi in bed, she informed me she was not going to preschool on Wednesday. She loves preschool, so I was confused. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: "Why don't you want to go?"

Jessi: "Because Jaden annoys me."

(At this point, I am wondering how Jaden could possibly annoy anyone because he is the tiniest cutest thing around, but okay, I'll bite. . .)

Me: "Why does he annoy you?"

Jessi: "He wants to be my buddy."

(At the end of each school day, the kids line up with a buddy to walk outside to meet their moms or dads to take them home.)

Me: "I think Jaden would be a great buddy."

Jessi: "Well, Madelyn was going to be Gracie's buddy but Madelyn decided to be someone else's buddy so Gracie asked if I would be her buddy but I was already buddies with Hayley so I asked Hayley if I could be Gracie's buddy and Hayley said yes so I was buddies with Gracie and then Jaden asked if he could be my buddy and he's a boy."

Who knew Preschool could be such the drama?

The Stray Cat Saga

I don't like cats. I am allergic to cats. My eyes swell up, water, itch, and my nose runs. I sneeze. I just don't like cats, okay?

I don't remember exactly when the stray cat showed up on our porch. It was sometime during the summer, I think. But I do remember I wasn't too happy about it. One evening, Sean whispered from the front door "come here--quick!" and to my happy surprise, the cat was in the front yard playing (aka torturing) a mouse. At that moment, I made a decision. I like this cat. She stays. The kids named her Midnight Boa, and that was that.

I soon noticed her belly getting larger, and larger, and larger. Great. Kittens. Now what? She's technically a stray, so the kittens aren't ours, right? Or are they? If she has them on our porch and they are always there, then they have adopted us. So they really are ours. All this was circling in my head.

Besides, it was mid-October, starting to get cold outside, and this animal was with child. Or kitten. Whatever. Species didn't matter anymore. My maternal instincts kicked in. Regardless of how I felt about cats, I connected with this expectant mother. I mean, how would I feel if I were pregnant, cold, and living on someone's porch? I decided that even though she couldn't come inside the house, I'd make things comfortable for her. I started to talk nicely to her, and give her water and food, and yes, even touch her. Poor thing.

When we left for our fall break vacation to St. George, I was sure she'd have the kittens alone in the cold while we were gone. When we came back, she was still big as ever, but a couple of days later she looked back to her normal size. I waited for several days for the kittens to come out of hiding, and I even looked around the yard, but there was no sign of them. After a while, I figured nature "took its course" in one way or another. Oh well, it's probably for the best. What would we have done with kittens on our porch? Problem solved thanks to the natural course of life. The kittens were forgotten. Life went on.

Yesterday, Davis found a surprise on our front porch. Two black and white kittens were curled up behind our milk box and were trying to get warm. And they were so cute...and tiny...and cute! I reached down and picked one up. It thrashed in my hands and scratched like crazy--and it hurt! I dropped it out of mostly surprise and a little pain, and it ran away.

Well. One very mean kitten gone--one very cute kitten left huddled behind the milk box. It had to be nicer than that first one, right? Hello?!? Feral kitten alert! No matter. Being the rocket scientist I am, I picked it up. This one was meaner than the first one! It thrashed, scratched, and flailed in my hand. I decided I'd let it know I'm nice, so I tried to talk to it and look at it in a kind way. That's when it looked me square in the eyes and hissed at me. I think it may have been posessed, so I dropped it and it ran off to find its little kitten sibling.

This is the one that hissed at me. It looks harmess enough, right? Well, I've since called the vet for advice. Here's what it boils down to. Animal control won't come get the cats because they've been here too long. I guess techincally they are ours. The animal shelter is full. Their future is in our hands. I don't like cats, but I am still a humane person. Dropping them off in another neighborhood is out of the question. We can tame them and try to give them away or we can keep them. If we keep them, we are looking at rabies and distemper shots and spaying/neutering for 3 cats. Did I mention I don't like cats? I don't want to pay money for 3 wild animals who turned my porch into their home.

In the meantime, I'm sure they'll continue to live in our bushes or on our porch and eat the el cheapo cat food I've been picking up from WalMart, and I'm sure they'll cause all sorts of mischief in the neighborhood for which I'll feel responsible.


But aren't they cute?

**Photos courtesy of Davis

Every Who Down In Whoville

One of the really great things about living in a small town is the incredible sense of community that is shared. Tonight, our family went to the Christmas Tree Lighting party at town square--a little park in the center of town by the city office building.

Someone from the city had strung lights on one of the pine trees in the park, and we all watched as the lights were officially turned on for the holidays. Then we stood around the tree and sang Christmas carols, much like the Whos, while we waited for Santa to arrive.

Jessi sat on Mrs. Claus's lap (very reluctantly and with Dad's assistance), and then conveniently "forgot" what she wanted for Christmas. Mrs. Claus, being the wise woman she is, suggested Jessi write a letter to Santa when she remembered. After that, we munched on donuts, sipped hot chocolate, and enjoyed the company of new friends we've made over the past 11 months of living here.

I wonder if we all meet again to sing around the tree on Christmas morning.

Whoville is a pretty great place to be.

The Holidays Are Here. . .

. . .and Rudolph wishes you a Merry Christmas!

Random Pictures

Here are some random pictures I found that Sean took. The first one is an awesome mid-air shot of one of the many hummingbirds that visited the flowers just outside our dining room window every morning during breakfast. The second is of a little waterfall near our house and was taken a few days ago.

Despair, Anyone?

I saw a few of these demotivational posters on Pioneer Woman's blog, and thought they were hilarious. So I had to post a few favorites (though it was difficult to pick just a few).

And my personal favorite:

If you are laughing you may want to see more and can find the rest here.

If you are scratching your head and thinking I'm a cynical fool, then I'm sorry you don't understand.

My Brother's YouTube Addiction

Thanks to my brother, Steven, I have been exposed to some funny, interesting, unusual, and borderline disturbing things (see German Music Video) in the world of YouTube. I'm not sure how he finds them. Maybe he just hangs around on YouTube using wierdo search parameters till something good comes up. Regardless, he's come up with some real gems. Here are some of my favorites:

Rick Astley Blast From The 80's

Donny Osmond's Dream Come True

Rock Cello--The Final Countdown

Group Pranks

German Coast Guard

And the slightly disturbing
Most Awesome German Music Video Ever

And my all time favorite (from The Office) has been pulled from YouTube (NBC copyright). But I found it here instead! And as a lover of the English language, I find it appropriately ironic that Michael Scott uses the word "whomever" in a completely incorrect fashion at the end of the clip when he says: "so whomever's name is Toby . . . " ha ha ha.

Thanks, Steven, and keep them coming!

Halloween

Here are some cute kids in their Halloween costumes:

Glinda the Good Witch

Franny the cute spider witch, and Ali as "The Costume Box that Exploded"

Happy Birthday, Ali

For Ali's birthday, we celebrated a bit early by taking a few of her friends to High School Musical 3. Here she is on the actual day of her birth holding her gift cards, and a fun game called Ruckus, (which, by the way, I highly recommend). Other than that, she celebrated the afternoon and early evening her favorite Thursday way: at dancing, of course! Happy birthday, Ali!

The Pumpkin Walk!

As per Melody Lane Preschool tradition, Jessi had another pumpkin on display in the North Logan Pumpkin Walk this year. The theme was "Heroes", and here are some of our favorite displays:

You may have to click to enlarge so you can see the names, but we were glad to see this entry from the MoTab saluting war heroes. We wondered which of the pumpkins were Grandma and Aunt Marilyn.

Another favorite was the Noah's Ark display complete with two animals of just about every kind you could think of including these ladybugs, and even some monkeys wearing swim goggles!

And last, but definitely not least, here's Jessi posing by her firefighter pumpkin with the Melody Lane entry.