Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas cards, matching jammies, gingerbread houses... none of those things happened in our home this year, but we did spend many moments together celebrating our favorite season. 

Visiting Santa (I spy Grandpa!)

Caroling with Santa around the nursing home- 

and visiting with him at the church Christmas breakfast- 

No matter how old, in our house we believe.

Games and carols with some of our neighbor friends was an especially fun night

And by a Christmas miracle, no one was burned or spilled the wax from the candles, despite their being lit for almost an hour.  Carols by candlelight equals magic.

 Another ugly sweater/white elephant Christmas party was a hit!

 My homemade creation didn't win any awards, but it got a lot of laughs!

 We spent a few nights snuggled up around the fire watching our favorite Christmas movies-  

Adam's drawing was selected as a winner to be displayed at the fire station, so we made a big batch of cinnamon rolls and delivered them to the firefighters one night.

They were kind enough to give us a tour of the station and let the kids crawl all over the different trucks and ambulances.

  Checking out "the Santa house"- 

 Class Christmas parties- 

and Christmas concerts- 

Emma did a great job singing along with all of the songs, and acting like a duck in between.

She got to help with the jack-in-the-box.

Her two best school friends- Lexie and Leah.

 And another visit with Santa-  

 Snowman pancakes on Christmas Eve- simple things can be so exciting at Christmastime!

 

There was a lot that we didn't do this year (the things I mentioned above never happen, actually.  I love receiving Christmas cards but I have yet to send one of our own, and my kids are too darn picky about their pjs to even attempt making them wear matching ones on Christmas morning).  I don't know if it was the Thanksgiving trip to Utah, Jason getting called as bishop, my being released from Relief Society, or the need to make plans for our upcoming trip, but the days in December seemed to fly by, and we did our best to chase the Christmas spirit all the while.  As expected, I felt it most when we were serving others and singing our favorite Christmas carols.  But no matter how busy we got or how many Christmas to-do's we checked off the list, it still felt like the most wonderful time of the year!

Jason's Birthday

The weekend before his birthday, I arranged to have a friend take our kids overnight so Jason and I could enjoy a night alone in Des Moines.  We ate a delicious dinner at District 36 then stayed at Des Lux- one of the coolest boutique hotels we've ever stayed in.  It was a delightful surprise in little ol' Iowa, and we had such a great time doing absolutely nothing- our favorite thing to do when we get the chance to be alone together.  I thought for sure that Jason had ruined all of my planning by getting on my phone the day before and looking at my calendar, but he promised he was genuinely surprised, and I forgave him just as soon as we dropped the kids off.  We had a great time alone together!

And Daddy's birthday celebration wouldn't be the same without an assortment of delicious Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, lots of hugs and kisses from the kids, and a few more surprises as gifts.  Each of my brothers, brothers-in-law, and my dad took time to write a note, letter, or poem to Jason as a birthday gift, and he had a great time reading each one.  They came at such a good time, when Jason really needs to be surrounded with love, support, and encouragement from his family.  It was fun watching him read each one, and between that and the weekend-getaway he's said that 36 is a birthday he'll never forget.

I think it might also have something to do with the fact that Jason was called to be the bishop of our ward that weekend.  In our church, all positions and responsibilities are unpaid, rather we fill them voluntarily when asked, and the bishop serves like a pastor or rabbi (but with a lot less formal training or preaching).  Because the Ames and Des Moines stakes were recently split and reorganized to form a third stake in the area, and because our bishop was called to serve in the stake presidency, a new bishop was needed for our ward.  Jason got a call from our new stake president on our way to Utah (which greatly changed our conversations for the trip there and back), and then was extended the call the Saturday night, the night after our birthday getaway.  He was sustained in church the following Sunday, and nothing has been the same since.  He will be busier with serving than ever before, but I know he'll do a wonderful job.  The day I first saw Jason he was serving, the day I first met him he served me, and he has kept that servants heart about him ever since.  I will be released as the Relief Society president this Sunday (would have been last Sunday, but his first week in charge Jason cancelled church due to -30 temps!) and although I was sad about that at first, now I'm ready to shift my focus back to my family even more.  Our family will be blessed by this opportunity for service, and it will definitely be an adventure unlike any we've had before!

Don't Forget

When Noah gives a thumbs up, he sticks up his pointer finger (just like his siblings did at this age).

Last night Noah did a happy cheer and song when I came in to tuck him in, followed by "I just LOVE you, Mommy!" and a huge hug around the neck.

When I told Noah he could cook dinner, he patted my cheeks and said, "I can't!  I'm not a cooker!  You're a cooker!"

He does a million cute things every day, and rather than stress myself out about remembering them forever, or even long enough to blog about them, I just let the joyful moment wash over me and tell myself to remember the happiness that my last three-year-old brings.

Because there is a whole lot of happiness. 

Like discovering eggnog-

And hanging out with Mickey- 

And bundling up to play in the snow- 

But there's also a lot of "No!" and crying about not getting screen time and tearing books and refusing to put on his shoes or put away his toys, and relocating every Christmas decoration in the house- 

 

 And this- painting his own nails and giving himself a lotion hairstyle- 

 Thank goodness he (mostly) still holds still at naptime. 

My little sweetie-monster.

The Temple

 2003-

2016-

One of us has more hair, one of us has less... but largely we are the same people that stood together in front of the Provo Temple 13 years ago.  We've been strenthened and shaped by the covenants we make and the peace we feel there.  And our lives have been blessed immeasurably because of the many times we've returned since that first date back in 2003.

Our understanding of God's plan and His doctrine give us eternal perspective. 

-Dallin H. Oaks

I know your lives are busy.  I know that you have much to do.  But I make you a promise that if you go to the house of the Lord, you will be blessed; life will be better for you. 

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Utah for Thanksgiving

We took the opportunity to be with family this year for Thanksgiving.  The drive there is always long and hard, but it was especially made so this time around by a huge snowstorm from Evanston to Salt Lake City that delayed us two hours.  When we finally arrived to the house Jason's family was staying at we discovered what was keeping Noah quietly preoccupied for those last two hours.

Thanksgiving means chocolate turkeys for breakfast, no matter where we are.  

Leah got one too, but she was far more interested in holding her two new cousins.  Penny and June were so adorable!  We even got a picture of Grandma will all seven of her grandkids.

The house that we stayed in was perfect for so many of us, and the kids especially loved the backyard.  We need one of these at our house!

We even remembered to take a picture of (almost) everyone before we headed to my parent's home for the evening.  

My family has a long-standing Thanksgiving evening tradition of watching White Christmas while eating turkey sandwiches, shrimp dip and chocolate pie.  I miss it every year, and this year I was so excited to be part of it!  We haven't spend Thanksgiving at home since we moved from Utah in 2009, so we tried to fit in every bit of tradition and family togetherness we could. And, of course, I didn't take a single picture of it.  But it was wonderful to be there again! 

This picture is just missing Aaron and Kirsten.  These are my brothers and sisters!

I'm not sure when this happened, or how I feel about it!

We took the kids to BYU one afternoon, and they loved it.  We live in a state divided by Iowa State University and the University of Iowa, and we needed to remind them that we are cougars!

We trekked all over campus, telling them what each building was for and some of the many, many memories we had in each place, from the physics building where Leah and I once participated in a health study to the underground library, where Daddy turned in his masters thesis just hours before Adam was born.  The Wilk, where we grabbed many a breakfast on the go, to the university administration building, where the kids were shocked to hear that I once worked.  (They are shocked every time they learn that I once had a job outside the home!)

Noah fixated on the huge 'Y' on the mountain and the bell tower, and Adam kept asking, "So, how do you get into college?  How can I go here?"  I think we've got some cougs in our future!

I couldn't be in Utah without sneaking in a visit with Bea!  We always have the best visits.

And the popcorn and fudge! Church with my family, a "cupcake" date with Al, the children's museum with cousins. shopping with my mom... it was all wonderful!

And far too soon, it was time to head home again.  We were anxious about leaving at our usual 4 AM, so we pushed our departure back to 5 and still had a long, hard trek back home.  Snow, ice, fog, horrible wind, and we have never been so glad to see our home sweet home again.  But it was wonderful to spend the time that we did with the people we love most!

Duet

I'm not sure if they're saying "yum yum" or "meow-meow", but this adorable duet went on for about five minutes before I pulled out the camera.

Just two brothers crafting and singing together.

Symphony

Leah's first Des Moines Youth Symphony concert was the night before we left for Utah.  It was so fun listening to her practice in the weeks leading up to the performance in this beautiful hall of the Performing Arts Center. 

Here is the Nutcracker Suite 

(albeit sideways)

The Planets by Gustav Holst

And my favorite piece of the concert- Danny Boy.  Symphonia and Philharmonic combined for this beautiful arrangement. 

We were so excited that Leah's beloved 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Eischeid came to the concert.  She is a true blessing in our lives- loving and encouraging Leah just as much as Mom and Dad do.  She gave her a card that said some day she hopes to hear Leah perform in Carnagie Hall.  Wouldn't that be an accomplishment!

And we all made it to the end!  The final group consisted of all Des Moines area high school-aged musicians, and they were incredible.  Really, just wonderful.  The director of the group spoke for a moment, and I adored what he said so much that I jotted it down to remember for later-

"Music is love and joy.  It is enchantment and creativity. It's an art form that teaches us to listen, to love, to create, to inspire.  It is a gift of humanity."  

I felt that as I listened to each of the musicians perform- some of them headed to college and some of them no taller than Adam.  Music is a gift of humanity, and I'm so grateful that our whole family has been given this opportunity to immerse ourselves a little deeper into it. 

And we were so proud of Leah!  She put hours of practice into this concert, and the efforts definitely paid off!