Russian National Orchestra

We had the chance to see Yuja Wang perform with the Russian National Orchestra. Its was absolutely amazing! The girls couldn't believe how fast her hands moved and she made it look SO effortless! We were thrilled to meet her afterwards and receive her autograph.

Waiting for the music to start:

 

The Russian National Orchestra:

 

 

What's new?

Today seems to be the first chance I've had all week to be home. I just seem to run, run, run. I guess we all do.

Here's a brief synopsis of my exciting life this week: (yes that WAS tongue in cheek)
Monday - drove all day home
Tuesday - Lessons & cleaned out my study (I had music ALL over the floor)
Wednesday - More lessons and spent the entire rest of the day on income taxes, then presented a missionary/cultural night for the YW that evening serving platanos fritos, horchata, black beans, freshly made corn tortillas, pico de gallo, and fresh mangos.
Thursday - Visiting teaching all morning and afternoon
Friday - Trying to get my head back on and figure out where to start digging from.

On top of it all, I've been working through some obstacles with some of my musicians this week. We'll see what this weekend brings.

It's always tough to go out of town for us both before we leave and after. The cleaning, the packing and all of the mental lists of things that need to be done beforehand. Then afterwards, trying to pick back up into the swing of things, getting laundry and everything back into place...maybe I'll have it back together again by next week.

My husband has a new policy which is that he doesn't make any big decisions for at least two weeks after we get back. Long enough to normalize and get back into the swing of things - I rather like that policy.

However, my laundry is calling me and I have just enough time to make a dent before my kiddos head back in from school.

All I can say is I LOVE FRIDAYS and don't like those Mondays quite so much.

Finished quilt

These last three weeks I've been frantically working to finish a quilt for my mother's birthday. I was able to get copies of everyone in the family's handprints and I appliqued them onto a quilt top, then hand sewed them on, and embroidered everyone's names into it. It took a lot time and hard work. My fingers got fairly raw from the stitching.
Hallelujah however - it is finished.

I took it to a quilting shop to have it quilted and when I arrived to pick it up (45 minutes before we were supposed to give it to my mother) I found that it hadn't been bound. Luckily the ladies there had compassion and lent me a machine in their back room where I sat down and finished the quilt.
Here it is!
Front

 

Back

 

Self Portrait

The following is a self portrait that our daughter drew of herself.

 

Here she is in real life with her new glasses that we picked up today - isn't she so cute?? She looks just like a little librarian!!

 

Veiled Compliments

My daughter has a low grade fever today.

Because I'm the primary song leader and my husband is teaching a lesson tomorrow, I figured I'd better give someone a little bit of notice and set up a substitute (the kids are learning a brand new song tomorrow) today rather than tomorrow.

I told my daughter I'd found a substitute. Her response was, "I feel bad for those kids, they are missing out on a really fun song leader." While I KNOW my substitute will do great, I'll take any compliments I can get...at least my kids think I'm fun!

My Interminable Evenings

Yet another interminable night. Our kids went to the local 'learn to ski' program this week instead of going to school. I guess you could call it a mountain perk.

One of the perks is that they went to bed last night at 6:47 pm and were happy about it.

However, my main point (I'm getting there I promise) is that when we tucked our kids into bed tonight (after a full day of skiing topped off with 2 hrs. of gymnastics) at 8:00 they were once again happy to go to bed.

My husband then turned to me and informed me that he was going to bed too (this happens fairly regularly) - very depressing.

I stand on principle that unless one is sick, as an adult, bedtime does not start until at least 10:00. I tried it last week. I kept waking up from 3:00 am on - waiting until I could get up. There's a reason it is dark outside in the morning - it is sleeping time!

Remember back in college when anything before 12:00 am was really early? I'm having a tough time with the early bedtime thing. I spend much of my time at home working on projects, cooking, cleaning, shuttling kids to different activities and often not talking to a real adult ALL day long.

My husband comes home, we have dinner, get kids into bed, and just when I'm ready for some adult conversation, interaction - anything...I find him snuggled up asleep in bed.

Maybe that's why I find a morbid joy in slinking into our room as quiet as I can be to slip into bed. He's a light sleeper. He generally sits up in bed - disoriented and shouting, 'huh? huh? who's that?' Like if I was a robber, I'd say, 'Hi, my name is Jimmy, nice to meet you, I'm here to rob you'. So I don't say anything and it continues for a few more moments.

Why am I blogging about this? Probably because it is 10:19 pm and I'm finally thinking about going to bed and anticipating the morbid bedtime fun awaiting me.

I do have to say that tonight in my spare time I was very productive.
I watched an NCIS episode online (we don't have cable or satellite tv, just what I can check out from the library on DVD).
I checked my email and responded to several clients.
I put together some information for an upcoming performance for my contractors.
I investigated and considered obtaining a paypal business account for my business blog. I'm just not sure about the 2.9% on every transaction bit.
I started a blog and then erased it.
I read all of my friend's blogs which I haven't even seen for several weeks - nothing like catching up. I also caught up on Dwight Schrute's monthly blog. Interesting. I'm glad I found the link though on my sister in law's blog.
I saw a blog that I mostly like, but decided the crafty ideas were WAY over the top and I'd better stick with non-cutesy plain Jane ideas that don't require a paper cutter.

And now....I'm going in to terrorize my husband.

All you ever wanted to know about my shoes but were too embarrased to ask!

I've been chastised. My sister was bored and was checking out my blog and immediately informed me that I need to do some updating...

I'm sure she's right, but as I rack my brains, I am at a loss. Unfortunately, our life is downright boring these days.

Last weekend my husband went ice fishing. He had a blast! Meanwhile, I turned into a clean freak and when he came home everything was brilliantly shining. I was pretty impressed myself. All week we've managed to really stay on top of it and while I'd planned to do more deep cleaning today, I'm sure it will hold to next week.

The girls and I took a day trip on Monday where I rehearsed, and then took them to PF Chang's (their favorite Chinese restaurant because they LOVE the egg drop soup there, except that they haven't had it since Kansas City in 2004.)

Then we went to the mall in search of some new shoes for me. Really, I'm a disgrace to my gender. I HATE shopping. We spent 3 hours trying to find my shoes. I knew exactly which shoes I wanted, but no one had my size, or the right color or style in stock. Come on!

When we reached the point where my kids were rolling across the shop giving each other steam rollers and laughing and screaming at the top of their voices, (seriously - after being separated (and chastised) several times), I lost it (fortunately), and grabbed the girls, apologized, and marched everyone out the door for another long ride home. We walked in 5 minutes before the missionaries who were coming for dinner arrived. Good thing my husband can make spaghetti.

So here's the deal. After dinner was cleaned up, I found my shoes on the internet and within 20 minutes they were ordered - right style, right size even, and they cost even less than half of what they'd wanted to charge me at the mall. So - fight with kids in a mall, dragging around searching, or 20 minutes on the computer, and home delivered?

I LOVE the internet...and my little rural non-mall shopping community.


My shoes came yesterday. Aren't they cute? I can't wait to wear them.


Other news, on Tuesday, I was still feeling productive and pulled an old pair of shoes out of the closet. They are 2 years old, but were only worn for maybe 1-2 months. Because I have such a high arch and instep, I have a really tough time finding the right shoe, clogs and boots are even worse. So, I bought some new clogs 2 years ago...

I realized that I need to digress here for a moment. I'm a simple gal - I only have a couple of pairs of shoes, and none that coordinate or match with my outfits - I'm not that type. Rural, think rural. I bought my first pair of Dansko clogs 10 years ago. I have worn them every full winter season for the past 10 years. Yep, to church, to work, everywhere. They had great elastic at the top that worked so well with my instep and I loved them, and they are tall and enclosed so wet feet don't generally happen unless the fresh snow is more than 4-5" and I avoid that stuff. When I'm not in my clogs I can be found barefoot or in flip flops. Yep - pretty much a 2 pairs of shoes kind of gal.

I resume my lengthy narrative (so my sister has something to read, but she won't because it's too long at this point). So two years ago when my clogs seemed like they may need a replacement, I bought these :

The buckle is adjustable for a high instep/arch. Well, they didn't really work, so I took off the top strap and they gave me a little more needed room. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, the elastic on the side ripped. I couldn't send them back since I'd 'adjusted' them, and so...they have been lying in my closet for a very long time while I continued to contemplate taking them to the shoe repairman.

As such, on Tuesday I was feeling productive and so I headed to the local 'everything' store in search of the perfect needle. I couldn't find it. Then, my hand brushed something and a ziplock bag fell onto the floor. I picked it up and randomly placed it on the bottom shelf. Then, I glanced and that contents. There in the ziplock back were the two perfect needles I was searching for!!



Armed with some very sturdy fishingline, my cool needle and pliers, I began to work on my poor broken shoe. An hour later, my fingers were very sore, but I was elated, because my shoe was fixed, and you couldn't even tell!

As so goes the saga of my shoes. If you aren't asleep by now - I would recommend some nice warm milk and a good book!

Other news, on Tuesday evening, I talked my husband into helping me get my latest quilt up on some frames he made for me several years ago. I've never hand quilted a whole quilt before and am fairly intimidated, BUT it is a fall/Halloween quilt, so I figure I have at least 10 more months to work on it once my sore fingers mend.

Other interesting news, I think we need a new furnace. If you have an extra - please send it around. While we have progressively gotten healthier since our 3 months of catastrophe last year, our furnace is now negotiating for a strike and making demands. Everytime we turn it on we get moaning and complaining and well - all sorts of scarey noises. Apparently the furnace guy we called just got his wisdom teeth out, so we are on the 'eventual' waiting list.

You'll know if it really goes out - we'll be on your doorstep!

Oh, and I am thrilled to announce that the girlfriend snowshoe season has begun - full swing. How I love warm days with snow on the ground and a pair of snowshoes strapped to my feet!

That's it - our most boring life in a nutshell, but nonetheless you can consider yourself updated! :) Thanks for making it through!!

Giveaway

Well - no, it isn't mine...but you should check it out!
I stumbled across a fantastic blog with such cute ideas - especially for anyone out there who enjoys homemade gifts and a little sewing - check this siteout!

Weekend Creations

Our daughter decided she wanted her hair cut yesterday. "Short - like a boy's" were the directions. Since we've been here before, I didn't mind at all since it means less arguments about combing out her hair, and it is no longer in her eyes and in her face. She loves it which means I do too!

 

Our Saturday has been full of fun little projects...cleaning, creating etc.
First off - the sour cream (my fancy tupperware) carton Drums...complete with the pink ribbon to hold it together.

 

The girls decided that they wanted to make these thingys. I have no idea what they are called, but they asked about it earlier in the week and we promised they could make them this weekend. They made all of the markings for the nails, and our eldest actually did all of the hammer work herself. I heard mention that she may want to become a carpenter once she grows up. Awesome!
Here's the youngests - I think hers has a star pattern superimposed over a house:

 

Our eldest's creation:

 

Letter to Santa

I just came across my daughter's letter to santa:

 

(I want a scuba diving set and a swim suit and a gas (glass?) toy. You are fun)

Priceless...unfortunately she didn't get anything on her list, but I think she was still happy with her Christmas outcome!

More Christmas

Somehow, all of the girls ended up with cozy slippers!

 

This is probably my favorite photo/gift from this year's Christmas. While shopping with our daughter for her daddy, she came across this gift. She was 100% sure that this is exactly what he wanted and needed for Christmas.

A pearly pink rocking horse keychain. What more could a man want? I tried to otherwise direct her to no avail - this was THE gift for him.

 

Of course - he LOVES it!

Christmas Photos

Here are a few of our Christmas highlights:
Our Jerusalem supper almost completely fit into a lazy susan we bought a while back. Everything but the cheeses and crackers on one tray in the midddle of the table - it worked out SO well! This year was my favorite Jerusalem supper yet. I cheated and bought a rotisserie chicken. How can you pass up a $4.00 chicken that is already cooked and juicy and which needs no prep other than to put it into the serving dish? I couldn't. Everything else was so easy just to put into the dishes and we were ready to go. I loved it cause I wasn't busy bustling about and I was able just to enjoy the simplicity.

 

Here are our girls in their traditional Christmas Eve pajamas. Unfortunately our eldest got the wrong size, and hers will fit her for the next 3 years!

 

We took the kids shopping for each other this year. It was SO great to see how considerate they were in choosing each other's gifts. One got her sister a bunch of plastic horses which she LOVED!

 

The other bought her sister a bubblegum ball machine - every kid's dream come true right? AND this one was a key chain too!

 

We loved that they were so much more excited about watching each other open their gifts than worrying about what was under the tree for them. One of them remarked that because they used their own money for gifts, it meant so much more to them!

Snowshoe excursion

Yesterday we decided to head out snowshoeing at one of our favorite (nearby) State Parks.
While it was a little chilly - we had a great time.
No one cried.
No one had to be carried.
It was momentous.
And beautiful.
I can't wait to go again.

 

 

 

 

Joseph Smith's Birthday

Every year I think, "wow, I need to remember Joseph Smith's birthday and celebrate it with my family." Then, I forget and it gets lost in the holiday bustle.

Today I remembered!

As a tribute to this great man, I want to share what I believe about Joseph Smith.



While I grew up in as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I believed in Joseph Smith, but it took several years for me to gain my own testimony of him and his divine mission. When I was 11, my family took a road trip and we visited many religious historical sites. One of these sites was the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York.



This is where Joseph Smith went as a 14 year old boy, to pray and ask which church he should join. In answer to his prayer, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph and told him that the full gospel was not upon the earth. Joseph was subsequently called as a prophet, received the priesthood and authority to act in God's name, and restored the FULL gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth once again.

While visiting the grove was meaningful to me, while I worked as a missionary in Guatemala, I had an experience that cemented my testimony of Joseph Smith.

My companion and I had been working with an investigator named Elder. He was exploring 2 different churches along with ours at the time. He wanted to KNOW that Joseph was a prophet of God. While we'd shared our testimonies of Joseph Smith with him and read together, Elder was still struggling.

Prior to visiting Elder one particular day, we'd been studying Joseph Smith History. We read Joseph's account in JS-H 1: 24 "However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise."

After reading this, we said a prayer, and we headed to Elder's house. We read this passage with him and asked if we could pray with him together to ask Heavenly Father if Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and Jesus Christ, and if he really was a prophet of God.

As we knelt together in a circle on Elder's porch, each one of us took a turn in prayer. As my companion prayed, I had the strongest spiritual confirmation I've ever received. I was infused with joy, happiness, peace, and the knowledge that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God - how do you describe a spiritual manifestation in words? My eyes flew open to see if anyone else was experiencing what I felt and knew in my heart to be true. I KNEW from that moment that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God. I am so grateful for this confirmation and so grateful for Joseph Smith. He gave his life for what he believed.

I finish this post with one of my favorite quotes, "The world can use these words. I know this now. Every man gives his life for what he believes. Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little or nothing, and yet they give their lives to that little or nothing. One life is all we have, and we live it as we believe in living it and then it's gone. But to surrender what you are and live without belief is more terrible than dying - even more terrible than dying young." Joan of Arc

Jerusalem Supper - Traditions

My favorite Christmas tradition is our Jerusalem Supper. When I was a kid, we always went to my grandma's house for the huge family party (followed the next day by another). At one point, I was maybe 10, my parents decided to begin their own tradition. At first, I was devastated to miss the family party, however after a few years, the Jerusalem supper became very meaningful to me.

More than anything, I love the simplicity of this supper. I'm not into commercialism, and I'm not a huge Santa fan or proponent. That's not what Christmas is about, nor should it be the focus. I love that this supper helps us completely shift the Christmas focus to Christ and not to Santa, and what I'm getting for Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, we gather for a very simple supper. We try to imagine what it might have been like for Joseph and Mary - what would their supper have been on the eve of Christ's birth? Not too fancy...

So, we turn out all of our lights, light a few candles and some of our clay lamps from Jerusalem, and we dine on - dates, figs, pomegranates, nuts, different cheeses, olives, crackers, (okay - so there I don't go quite so traditional...I'm not a big fan of flat bread) and possibly some roasted fish, fowl, or lamb, and grape juice.

Afterwards, we watch "Joy to the World" and then act out and read the Christmas story from Luke. We finally finish up singing Christmas carols, then our kids don their new Christmas eve p.j.s, and we all trundle off to bed.

My latest project

Here's the latest project that I've been working on:

I spent all day Friday doing the stitching.

 

Yesterday I spent the morning with a friend who does her own matting and framing. She did this matt and frame for me.

 

What I want for Christmas...

We are 9 days away from Christmas and we still don't know what Santa will be bringing to our house. A bit of a problem. See, our trampoline broke this spring and after reviewing our options, it was cheaper to buy a new one than try and get it repaired. So we planned to have Santa give the family a new tramp and be done with it.

However, earlier this fall, we got some REAL shelves for our garage, and although it is tight, we can actually fit both cars into the garage.

Did I mention we've been experiencing sub-arctic cold levels lately? There's just nothing that says fun like scraping a windshield in -24* weather. As such, my husband has been opting for that garage option lately.

And as such, we realized if Santa brings a trampoline, the trampoline will have to sit in the garage (where my husband's car would go) for um...5+ months.

He decided it wasn't worth it.

Now we scramble.

We told our kids that because of un-expected hospital bills Christmas will be pretty lean this year and that we need to make gifts for each other. I just realized they will be out of school after Friday and I will lose any surprise element since they will be with me 24/7 after that.

It looks like I'll be doing a lot of sewing after they are in bed next week!

So - since my husband asked, here's my Christmas list - (he keeps losing it).

*New cello case (the one from 7th grade that weighs 40 lbs and has broken straps and feet, its on it's way out)- Bam cases have wheels and are backpackable (and the best) and they are lighter than a feather - sigh...
*Machine Quilting machine and frame
*Snowshoes (since my husband broke mine last winter)

Our kitchen really wants that 6 or 7 qt. crock pot that we keep seeing at Costco (our favorite place to shop) - it has been begging for years, and a Victorio strainer for applesauce and grape juice and canning.

Regarding my gifts - I think I might've been naughty, because I know what Santa's budget looks like, and nothing on my list really fits!

However, for anybody out there looking for a tax write off/or wanting to make a charitable contribution, or for those dying to know what I really want for Christmas - there you have it.

My youngest gave me a letter for Santa. She apparently wants a scuba diving set (who wouldn't looking at where we live?).

Yet another update

I took a nap today so I'm prolonging my bedtime. 10:00 now seems so late since lately I've been asleep by 9:00 if not 8:30 - silly me.

So, I've been catching up and reading everyone's blogs. On my road to recovery (I sound like I'm dealing with an addiction or something here) I am making progress. Wednesday I woke up and almost felt normal again. Thursday I woke up and realized that I felt really normal. While I still get winded going up and down the stairs and doing some things, things are definitely much better.

I went to the doctors with a schlew of questions on Wednesday. The first was, "How much blood did you take out of me?" He gave me a very scientific answer. He showed me with his hands - "about this much." It looked like 2 cups. He said it was an awful lot of blood to have just been sloshing around inside of me.

Then I asked to see pictures of my tube that they removed. He didn't have them right there in the file with him, so he drew me a picture. (He really is a fantastically competent doctor, I just thought this was funny). Actually, he drew the picture to explain to me what it should have looked like, and what they actually found. That part wasn't quite so funny or pretty.

They took more blood and I am happy to announce that my blood count is headed back up again - hooray. I somehow think this may have to do with them not taking my blood every day for tests for a week. My veins had also healed enough for them to take more blood. The nurse sadly said she could see 'tracks' on my arms from all of the blood they've been taking. (I really do sound like a recovering addict here!)

So, I got some answers from the doctor and I've got a plan - I'm focusing on healing right now. After I heal, we'll continue to figure things out. I really like my doctor. I don't even need a pep talk from my brother anymore to make me call him.
I do have to say though - I swear that I lost some brain cells during my surgery. I'll type something and then go back through and re-read it and realize that I totally put the wrong word in somewhere - and it SO won't make sense. It seems like my brain just sort of skips words and just keeps on going, or I put words together backwards. I'm not sure about that part, but just skip over any mistakes you may notice - I'm blaming them all on the surgery.

So, while I thought I was doing better, someone told me at church today that I looked peaked (pronounced peak id not peak'd). I didn't think much of it until someone else said, "How are you? Last time I saw you you really looked peaked". What is up with that? I thought I was looking hot!
Guess I was mistaken.

Anyways - last but not least, we celebrated another anniversary and still really love each other (my husband and I that is). We were thrilled to pay off our car this week and that's pretty much our anniversary and Christmas all piled in there together this year.

To celebrate we watched the first and second halves of the last episode of MONK - and loved it. We hung out and chatted about somebody's problems and how to help them. We took the family to Costco and had a fine dinner of a slice of pizza (fine dining I tell you - don't think I can handle that again!) and took the kids to a sitters while we went to the movies. While it wasn't Trinidad and Tobago - it worked. We've got a lot of hospital bills headed our way!

We've definitely had a tough couple of months, but feel like we are finally headed back up for some air (knock on wood). We've definitely been stretched and grown and changed and learned. I guess that's what we are here for. While I would REALLY like things to remain static, I am learning that it just isn't part of the cycle of life. I don't like it, but hopefully soon I'll figure out how to come to terms with that one. I guess I'll have to let you know once I get there.

Bangs

Miracles never cease!

After a couple of years of having her hair in her face and hiding behind it, my child asked if she could have bangs last night. Here they are with her beautiful smiling face!

My gratitude and Thanks

While we've been struggling through our difficulties (let's face it, everyone has trials and difficulties), I've been amazed at the outpouring of help I've received from so many people. THANK YOU!

I love the quote by Jeffrey R. Holland who said, "there's nothing in life so bad, that whining won't make it worse." So, as I've been looking for my silver lining, I've found so many things to be thankful for. Here are a few of them:

One of my children is a thorny rose - not really a close snuggly lovey type of kid. This past week I received two spontaneous kisses on the forehead and hugs from her. She also said, "goodbye mom, I love you" as she headed out the door this morning. I can't say how long it has been since I heard something like that from her.

Children who have been happy to help - who could complain about that?

A surprise visit from my sister. She didn't find out until Friday evening that I had been in the hospital. She and her husband hopped in the car and drove 10 hours (through the night) to spend a day with me and help me with whatever I needed. While the things I had been worried about accomplishing were possibly trite and silly, she willingly jumped in and helped get them done. What a load off my mind! Aside from that, we had an opportunity to chat and deepen our relationship.

I've been overwhelmed by people's generosity. Friends and neighbors have shown up on the doorstep with food, hugs, and love.

Every experience we have allows us to change and grow. A quote by Joseph B. Wirthlin has been ringing through my mind lately, "Come what may and love it."

I am trying to love it and accept, and I see examples in others of the type of person I want to be in those who have so lovingly served my family. I truly feel my Savior's in the actions of those who have encircled us during this difficult time. THANK YOU